Did an accidental "blood plague" in World of Warcraft help scientists model COVID better? The results are in
Way before COVID, in 2005 the World of Warcraft game developers accidentally introduced an extremely virulent highly contagious disease into this game which then spread to infect the whole fantasy world and caused a virtual pandemic......»»
iMac review roundup: good performance, good price -- and great colors
Apple's new M4 24-inch iMac shows that the all-in-one desktop computer still has a loyal fanbase, with every reviewer also relishing the more vibrant colors of the new model.M4 24-inch iMac - Image credit: AppleApple hosted a "week of exciting announ.....»»
Thoughts on the M4 iMac, and making peace with the death of the 27-inch model
The 16GB RAM upgrade is one of many welcome, if incremental, improvements. The M4 iMac is a nice computer. Apple's addition of 16GB RAM to the basic $1,299 model makes it a whole.....»»
Scientists reveal strigolactone perception mechanism and role in tillering responses to nitrogen
"How is plant growth controlled?" and "What is the basis of variation in stress tolerance in plants?" were among the 125 most challenging scientific questions, according to the journal Science in 2016......»»
How do brains coordinate activity? From fruit flies to monkeys, scientists discover a universal principle
The brain is a marvel of efficiency, honed by thousands of years of evolution so it can adapt and thrive in a rapidly changing world. Yet, despite decades of research, the mystery of how the brain achieves this has remained elusive......»»
Europe wants ministers at plastic pollution treaty talks
Europe is pushing for ministers to take part in UN talks this month to ensure that the world's first treaty on plastic pollution will be "highly ambitious"......»»
Calcite: The versatile mineral shaping the future of carbon removal
Found all over the world, calcite is the most stable form of calcium carbonate and is the main mineral found in limestone......»»
I tried to beat UFO 50’s hardest game. It turned into a fight for my soul
A quest to defeat UFO 50's hardest game became an existential battle to keep fighting in the face of real world hopelessness......»»
Evolutionary anthropologist presents hypothesis about why humans are dominating the world over other animals
Why is human culture—the shared body of knowledge passed down across generations—so much more powerful than animal cultures?.....»»
Novel AI framework incorporates experimental data and text-based narratives to accelerate search for new proteins
Harnessing the power of artificial intelligence (AI) and the world's fastest supercomputers, a research team led by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory has developed an innovative computing framework to speed up the desi.....»»
Assessing the efficacy of clinical drugs targeting SARS-CoV-2 main protease
Over the last few years, the SARS-CoV-2 virus, responsible for COVID-19, has undergone significant changes, evolving from the original wild-type strains to the highly transmissible omicron variant......»»
Mysterious Sydney beach blobs: Scientists uncover their complex composition
A multi-disciplinary team of scientists have made significant progress in understanding the origins of the mysterious black balls washing ashore on Sydney beaches......»»
Team develops non-invasive biosensor for early kidney disease detection
Traditionally, kidney health has been monitored by measuring blood creatinine levels, which indicate muscle breakdown. High creatinine levels can suggest that the kidneys are not filtering waste efficiently. However, creatinine levels can be affected.....»»
Scientists calculate predictions for meson measurements
Nuclear physics theorists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have demonstrated that complex calculations run on supercomputers can accurately predict the distribution of electric charges in mesons, particles made.....»»
Climate change is contributing to drought in the American West even without rainfall deficits, scientists find
Higher temperatures caused by anthropogenic climate change made an ordinary drought into an exceptional drought that parched the American West from 2020–2022. A study by UCLA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration climate scientists ha.....»»
Biologists discover how plants evolved multiple ways to override genetic instructions
Biologists at Washington University in St. Louis have discovered the origin of a curious duplication that gives plants multiple ways to override instructions that are coded into their DNA. This research could help scientists exploit a plant's existin.....»»
New report details what happened to the Arecibo Observatory
In 1963, the Arecibo Observatory became operational on the island of Puerto Rico. Measuring 305 meters (~1000 ft) in diameter, Arecibo's spherical reflector dish was the largest radio telescope in the world at the time—a record it maintained until.....»»
Astronomers use JWST and ALMA to explore the structure of a giant spiral galaxy
Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), an international team of astronomers have observed a giant spiral galaxy designated ADF22.A1. Results of the observational campaign, published Oc.....»»
Vampire bats" metabolism mirrors that of blood-sucking insects, biologists find
A pair of biologists at the University of Toronto has found that vampire bats are able to burn amino acids as a fuel source similarly to blood-sucking insects. In their study published in the journal Biology Letters, Giulia Rossi and Kenneth Welch co.....»»
Scientists use high-energy heavy ion collisions as a new tool to reveal subtleties of nuclear structure
Scientists have demonstrated a new way to use high-energy particle smashups at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC)—a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science user facility for nuclear physics research at DOE's Brookhaven National La.....»»
Bioinspired hydrogels harness sunlight: A step closer to artificial photosynthesis
Mimicking how plants convert sunlight into energy has long been a dream for scientists aiming to create renewable energy solutions. Artificial photosynthesis is a process that seeks to replicate nature's method, using sunlight to drive chemical react.....»»