As Florida punishes schools, study finds masks cut school COVID outbreaks 3.5X
Universal masking prevents some school outbreaks and lowers case rates. Enlarge / A second-grade teacher talks to her class during the first day of school at Tustin Ranch Elementary School in Tustin, CA on Wednesday, August 11, 2021. (credit: Ge.....»»
Study examines influence of social media on televised debate viewing
Anyone who regularly watches news or sports has likely noticed the steady creep of content competing for screen space, whether it be stock market prices, social media posts, game scores or some other graphic display. Previous studies have indicated t.....»»
Global study reveals health impacts of airborne trace elements
As anyone with seasonal allergies knows, unseen airborne particles can really wreck a person's day. Like the tree pollen that might be plaguing you this spring, small concentrations of trace elements in the air can have significant negative impacts o.....»»
Current police response to intimate partner violence calls for change, researchers say
Policing of intimate partner violence (IPV) may result in adverse consequences for survivors, according to a new study at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. However, the evidence concerning the generalized consequences of IPV polici.....»»
Soil bacteria link their life strategies to soil conditions: Study
Soil bacteria help regulate the cycling of carbon and nutrients on Earth. Over time, these bacteria have evolved strategies that determine where they live, what they do, and how they deal with a changing environment. However, microbiologists do not f.....»»
Climate damages by 2050 will be 6 times the cost of limiting warming to 2°
Study tracks the past costs of climate events and projects them into the future. Enlarge (credit: Frame Studio) Almost from the start, arguments about mitigating climate change have included an element of cost-benefit an.....»»
The Aral Sea has made Central Asia significantly dustier, according to study
The drying up of the Aral Sea has made Central Asia 7% dustier in the last 30 years. Between 1984 and 2015, dust emissions from the growing desert almost doubled from 14 to 27 million tons. This is the result of a study by the Leibniz Institute for T.....»»
Plugging the leak on laundry pollution
Joaquim Goes, an ocean biochemist at Columbia Climate School's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, had to look twice when he first saw the tiny strands of fiber floating in a water sample from the Hudson River. An expert in microplastics detection, he.....»»
Peptides on interstellar ice: Study finds presence of water molecules not a major obstacle for formation
A research team led by Dr. Serge Krasnokutski from the Astrophysics Laboratory at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy at the University of Jena had already demonstrated that simple peptides can form on cosmic dust particles. However, it was previo.....»»
In life cycle diagrams, small changes make a big difference
Life cycle diagrams are ubiquitous in science textbooks, and they may be due for some updates. A new study finds simple design changes in these diagrams can have a dramatic impact on the ability of undergraduate students to understand key biology con.....»»
Study shows copper beads in pig feed reshape swine gut microbiome
Copper is a natural antimicrobial material that, when added to pig feed, may promote the growth and health of the animals. Since pigs can tolerate high levels of the metal, researchers at Texas Tech University in Amarillo recently investigated whethe.....»»
Arboviruses, mosquitoes and potential hosts tracked in real time in São Paulo city
The technology used to sequence SARS-CoV-2 at record speed early in the COVID-19 pandemic has been successfully tested as a technique to monitor arboviruses and diseases transmitted mainly by mosquitoes......»»
Researchers investigate culture-specific trauma responses in Switzerland
The heavy impact of traumatic experiences can differ depending on culture and geography. According to a new study from the University of Zurich, the culture-specific sequelae of trauma found in Switzerland align with the norms of a competitive and in.....»»
New model finds previous cell division calculations ignore drivers at the molecular scale
When a single bacterial cell divides into two during periods of rapid growth, it doesn't split in half once it reaches a predetermined size. Instead, data has shown, a cell will divide once it has added a certain amount of mass......»»
Ocean environment safety of nanocellulose investigated in study of mussels
Cellulose nanofibers represent a promising resource for multiple industrial sectors, but what is their impact on the marine environment? A study published in Environmental Science: Nano recently addressed this issue in a study on marine organisms con.....»»
A chunk of metal that tore through a Florida home definitely came from the ISS
"I don't think I've seen or heard, after my own research, any of these events occurring." NASA has confirmed that the object that fell into a Florida home last month was part of a battery pack released from the International Space St.....»»
Electronic tongue can detect white wine spoilage before humans can
While the electronic tongue bears little physical resemblance to its namesake, the strand-like sensory probes of the "e-tongue" still outperformed human senses when detecting contaminated wine in a recent study......»»
UK study finds young adults taking longer to find work than preceding generation
The proportion of U.K. graduates who found work straight out of university fell by nearly 30% between those born in the late 70s to those a decade younger, according to a new study involving a University of Liverpool researcher......»»
Unique field study shows how climate change affects fire-impacted forests
During the unusually dry year of 2018, Sweden was hit by numerous forest fires. A research team led from Lund University in Sweden has investigated how climate change affects recently burned boreal forests and their ability to absorb carbon dioxide......»»
The rising flood of space junk is a risk to us on Earth—and governments are on the hook
A piece of space junk recently crashed through the roof and floor of a man's home in Florida. Nasa later confirmed that the object had come from unwanted hardware released from the international space station......»»
Understanding climate warming impacts on carbon release from the tundra
The warming climate shifts the dynamics of tundra environments and makes them release trapped carbon, according to a new study published in Nature. These changes could transform tundras from carbon sinks into carbon sources, exacerbating the effects.....»»