"They"re everywhere": microplastics in oceans, air and human body
From ocean depths to mountain peaks, humans have littered the planet with tiny shards of plastic. We have even absorbed these microplastics into our bodies—with uncertain implications......»»
Self-adaptive system for temperature control: A dynamically controllable strategy for healing wound tissue
Skin functions as a sophisticated sensorial system in the human body, capable not only of detecting environmental stimuli—such as temperature, pressure, strain, and vibration—but also of actively responding to these changes. Among these, the temp.....»»
Bee body mass, pathogens and local climate influence heat tolerance
How well bees tolerate temperature extremes could determine their ability to persist in a changing climate. But heat tolerance varies between and within populations, so a research team led by Penn State entomologists examined bee physical traits—su.....»»
Debates on campus safety in response to Palestine solidarity activism show we need strategies to navigate discomfort
Canada's House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights will soon begin hearings on antisemitism and Islamophobia. The process comes partly in response to claims that university and college campuses are unsafe spaces......»»
"Everywhere we looked, we found evidence": Microplastics expert on 20 years of pollution research
Thirty years ago, while counting barnacles, limpets and seaweeds along rocky shores, I started noticing a daily tide of litter, mostly plastic. As a marine biology Ph.D. student at Liverpool University, I kept removing it, but the next day, there'd b.....»»
How "apocalypse" became a secular as well as religious idea
The exponential growth of artificial intelligence over the past year has sparked discussions about whether the era of human domination of our planet is drawing to a close. The most dire predictions claim that the machines will take over within five t.....»»
First steps toward a whole-body map of molecular responses to exercise
Research definitively confirms that muscle-moving, calorie-burning activity slows the advance of disease, improves cognitive function, boosts the immune system, and reduces rates of mortality from all causes......»»
Saturday Citations: Parrots on the internet; a map of human wakefulness; the most useless rare-earth element
We field a torrent of science news updates every week and on Saturday morning, we highlight three or four of them based on the observed preferences of a panel of dogs as shown by the Paired-Stimulus Preference Assessment, a standardized evaluation of.....»»
Boeing"s Starliner joins select club of crewed US spaceships
Throughout the annals of American space exploration, a select few spacecraft have had the distinction of carrying human beings beyond Earth......»»
Microsoft plans to lock down Windows DNS like never before. Here’s how.
ZTDNS brings the best of both worlds to DNS: encryption and fine-grained control. Enlarge (credit: Getty Images) Translating human-readable domain names into numerical IP addresses has long been fraught with gaping secur.....»»
We still don’t understand how one human apparently got bird flu from a cow
A genetic analysis and case report reveal new insights and big gaps in our knowledge. Enlarge / Holstein dairy cows in a freestall barn. (credit: Getty | ) The US Department of Agriculture this week posted an unpublished.....»»
Aligned peptide "noodles" could enable lab-grown biological tissues
A team of chemists and bioengineers at Rice University and the University of Houston have achieved a significant milestone in their work to create a biomaterial that can be used to grow biological tissues outside the human body......»»
NASA is helping protect tigers, jaguars, and elephants—here"s how
As human populations grow, habitat loss threatens many creatures. Mapping wildlife habitat using satellites is a rapidly expanding area of ecology, and NASA satellites play a crucial role in these efforts. Tigers, jaguars, and elephants are a few of.....»»
Human activity is causing toxic thallium to enter the Baltic Sea, finds new study
Human activities account for a substantial amount—anywhere from 20% to more than 60%—of toxic thallium that has entered the Baltic Sea over the past 80 years, according to new research by scientists affiliated with the Woods Hole Oceanographic In.....»»
Study finds human noise negatively impacts cricket survival and reproduction
As the sun sets and the sweltering heat gives way to a balmy evening, there's one sound that fills the air, both beloved and bothersome: the rhythmic symphony of chirping crickets. However, human-generated noise can mask the harmony of the cricket so.....»»
The COVID-19 pandemic changed our patterns and behaviors, which in turn affected wildlife
The Earth now supports over eight billion people who collectively have transformed three-quarters of the planet's land surface for food, energy, shelter and other aspects of the human enterprise......»»
Bioreactor processes and cryotechnologies improve active ingredient tests using human cell cultures
Many new drug candidates end up failing because they cause serious side effects in clinical trials even though lab tests involving cell cultures have been successful. This is a common occurrence if the cells used come from animal tissue, for example......»»
Deeper understanding of malaria parasite sexual development unlocks opportunities to block disease spread
For the first time, the developmental stages of the deadliest human malaria parasite have been mapped in high resolution, allowing researchers to understand this ever-adapting adversary in more detail than previously possible......»»
What Fubo and others get wrong in their fight against new sports streamer
A number of live video distributors have sent a letter to Congress imploring the body to help them fight against an upcoming mega-sports streaming service......»»
Weak magnetic field may have supported diversification of life on Earth
An unusual reduction in the strength of Earth's magnetic field between 591 and 565 million years ago coincided with a significant increase in the oxygen levels in the atmosphere and oceans, according to a paper published in Communications Earth & Env.....»»
Historical data suggest hard knocks to human societies build long-term resilience
Frequent disturbances to human societies boost the ability of populations to resist and recover from subsequent downturns, a Nature paper indicates. The study, which analyzes 30,000 years of human history, has implications for future population growt.....»»