AI predicts the influence of microplastics on soil properties
Plastic waste and its buildup in nature has become a major environmental concern in recent times. While plastic pollution in the oceans is undoubtedly a problem, the presence of plastics in soils around the world is also known to cause severe environ.....»»
Self-determination and social identity: Modeling team motivation
What are the underlying dynamics of group motivation in a team or organization? How does it take shape? And how does it influence a team's functioning and effectiveness?.....»»
Mapping malaria in Africa: Climate change study predicts where mosquitoes will breed in future
The relationship between climate and malaria transmission is complex and has been the subject of intense study for some three decades......»»
Record low Antarctic sea ice "extremely unlikely" without climate change, says scientists
Scientists at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) have found that the record-low levels of sea ice around Antarctica in 2023 were extremely unlikely to happen without the influence of climate change. This low was a one-in-a-2000-year event without cli.....»»
Composition of gut microbiota could influence decision-making
The way we make decisions in a social context can be explained by psychological, social, and political factors. But what if other forces were at work? Hilke Plassmann and her colleagues from the Paris Brain Institute and the University of Bonn show t.....»»
Scientists develop new geochemical "fingerprint" to trace contaminants in fertilizer
An international team of scientists has uncovered toxic metals in mineral phosphate fertilizers worldwide by using a new tool to identify the spread and impact of such contaminants on soil, water resources, and food supply......»»
Detecting influence campaigns on X with AI and network science
In the age of generative-AI and large language models (LLMs), massive amounts of inauthentic content can be rapidly broadcasted on social media platforms. As a result, malicious actors are becoming more sophisticated, hijacking hashtags, artificially.....»»
Stiffness and viscosity of cells found to differ in cancer and other diseases
During illness, the stiffness or viscosity of cells can change. Tom Evers demonstrated this by measuring such properties of human immune cells for the first time. "The stiffness of certain cells could be a way to make a diagnosis," Evers said......»»
Why have venture capitalists become so founder-friendly?
Companies backed by venture capitalists ("VCs") have a disproportionate influence on our economy; they provide funding to less than 0.25% of new businesses, but more than 47% of US companies that went public between 1995 and 2018 were venture backed......»»
Scientists use generative AI to answer complex questions in physics
When water freezes, it transitions from a liquid phase to a solid phase, resulting in a drastic change in properties like density and volume. Phase transitions in water are so common most of us probably don't even think about them, but phase transiti.....»»
Data-driven model rapidly predicts dehydrogenation barriers in solid-state materials
Researchers have developed a data-driven model to predict the dehydrogenation barriers of magnesium hydride (MgH2), a promising material for solid-state hydrogen storage. This advancement holds significant potential for enhancing hydrogen storage tec.....»»
Exploring interface phenomena for more durable and effective nickel–tungsten alloys
Alloying is a key process in creating new materials. By combining metals with desirable traits, scientists can produce alloys with suitable properties. For example, stainless steel, formed by combining iron with chromium, nickel, and other elements i.....»»
Researchers identify nutrient enrichment driven by canopy rainfall redistribution
Precipitation deeply couples with nutrient cycling through its interactions with atmospheric deposition and canopy interception, which alters its own chemical properties. Throughfall and stemflow carry numerous elements into the soil, not only affect.....»»
Uneven strain distribution induces detwinning in penta-twinned nanoparticles
Twinned nanoparticles have regions of clear symmetry that share the same crystal lattice, separated by a clear boundary. Changing the twin structure can affect the properties of the nanoparticles, which makes controlling twinning to create tailored n.....»»
BLint: Open-source tool to check the security properties of your executables
BLint is a Binary Linter designed to evaluate your executables’ security properties and capabilities, utilizing LIEF for its operations. From version 2, BLint can also produce Software Bill-of-Materials (SBOM) for compatible binaries. BLint fea.....»»
Nitrogen pollution is less harmful to mixed forests, study shows
In a study published in the journal Plant and Soil, researchers from the Institute of Applied Ecology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have shown that mixed larch and deciduous forests are more resistant to soil acidification—a decrease in soil p.....»»
Non-photosynthetic vegetation helps improve accuracy of wind erosion impact assessment
The process of soil wind erosion is influenced by vegetation cover. From a functional point of view, vegetation can be divided into photosynthetic vegetation (PV) and non-photosynthetic vegetation (NPV). The NPV represents dormant and dead vegetation.....»»
Monster galactic outflow powered by exploding stars
Star death and birth both contribute to driving material out of a galaxy. Enlarge / All galaxies have large amounts of gas that influence their star-formation rates. (credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, and J. Lee (NOIRLab)) Galaxie.....»»
Unveiling crucial virulent milRNAs implicated in the initial infection of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense
Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc) is a typical soil-borne fungus that causes Fusarium wilt by infecting the roots and blocking the vascular tissues of host banana plants, and threatens global banana production. In total, four races have been re.....»»
Saturated soils could impact survival of young trees planted to address climate change
The saturated soil conditions predicted to result from increased rainfall in the UK's upland regions could have a knock-on effect on the ambition to create more woodland in the fight against climate change, a new study has found......»»
Scientists create black arsenic visible infrared photodetectors
In recent years, the exceptional structure and fascinating electrical and optical properties of two-dimensional (2D) layered crystals have attracted widespread attention. Examples of such crystals include graphene, black phosphorus (BP), and transiti.....»»