Preserved presolar silicate grains found in Ryugu samples
A large international team of space scientists and geochemists has found preserved presolar silicate grains in surface samples collected from the Ryugu asteroid by the Japanese space probe Hayabusa2 in 2018 and 2019 and returned to Earth in 2020. In.....»»
"Everyone can be a naturalist" says the man who preserved more than 150,000 acres
Suburban environs can be dull. Lawns and roads don't offer much biodiversity for curious boys. But Charles Bier, a recently retired senior director of conservation science for the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, found a way outside......»»
To stick or not to stick? Mixed sand columns illuminate design of better materials
Scientists from Tokyo Metropolitan University have been studying the strength and toughness of sand columns made of a mixture of sticky and non-sticky grains. They have uncovered the mechanism behind how the strength changes as grains are mixed in di.....»»
Study predicts best times for Curiosity to sample Mars" methane
Since methane was first detected in Mars' atmosphere 20 years ago, scientists have struggled to uncover its origins and how it is transported around the Red Planet. Measurements from atmospheric samples collected by NASA's Curiosity rover at Gale cra.....»»
Confirmation of ancient lake on Mars offers hope that Perseverance rover"s soil and rock samples hold traces of life
If life ever existed on Mars, the Perseverance rover's verification of lake sediments at the base of the Jezero crater reinforces the hope that traces might be found in the crater......»»
DNA from preserved feces reveals ancient Japanese gut environment
DNA from ancient feces can offer archaeologists new clues about the life and health of Japanese people who lived thousands of years ago, according to a study published in PLOS ONE by Luca Nishimura and Ituro Inoue from the National Institute of Genet.....»»
Ecosystem from 3.4 billion years ago: New pieces discovered in the cradle of life puzzle
A new study has unraveled key findings about the earliest life forms on Earth. In rock samples from Barberton, Republic of South Africa, researchers were able to find evidence of an unprecedented diverse biological carbon cycle established at 3.42 bi.....»»
Scientists retrieve rare methane hydrate samples for climate and energy study
A scientific drilling mission in the Gulf of Mexico has returned with 44 cores from a methane hydrate reservoir deep under the seafloor. Globally, energy-rich methane hydrates hold an estimated 15% of the world's organic carbon but are poorly underst.....»»
New technology for conducting deep-sea research on fragile organisms
A University of Rhode Island professor of Ocean Engineering and Oceanography, along with a multidisciplinary research team from multiple institutions, successfully demonstrated new technologies that can obtain preserved tissue and high-resolution 3D.....»»
Focused ion beam technology: A single tool for a wide range of applications
Processing materials on the nanoscale, producing prototypes for microelectronics or analyzing biological samples: The range of applications for finely focused ion beams is huge. Experts from the EU collaboration FIT4NANO have now reviewed the many op.....»»
The first assessment of toxic heavy metal pollution in the Southern Hemisphere over the last 2,000 years
Human activity, from burning fossil fuels and fireplaces to the contaminated dust produced by mining, alters Earth's atmosphere in countless ways. Records of these impacts over time are preserved in everlasting polar ice that serves as a sort of time.....»»
Scientists collect eDNA samples in the extreme environment of the Arctic melting glaciers autonomously
What if there was a way to collect environmental DNA (eDNA) samples in extreme environments autonomously? And what if this method allowed the collection of more samples and to prevent risk of sample contamination? Portuguese researchers from the Inst.....»»
More than 30 new species of bacteria discovered in patient samples
Unknown germs are a common occurrence in hospitals. Researchers at the University of Basel have spent many years collecting and analyzing them. They have identified many new species of bacteria, some of which are significant for clinical practice......»»
New research reveals how to obtain high-quality DNA from marine samples
The oceans are still the most underexplored part of our planet. Diversity of large organisms in the Arctic Ocean has been investigated in many ways, yet research on the diversity of Arctic microorganisms is lacking. One of the problems, apart from in.....»»
High-sensitivity visualization of ultrafast carrier diffusion by wide-field holographic microscopy
Femtosecond transient microscopy is an important tool to study ultrafast transport properties of excited states in solid-state samples. Most implementations are limited to photoexciting a single diffraction-limited spot at the sample and tracking the.....»»
Analysis finds that organic compounds in asteroids likely formed in colder regions of space
Analysis of organic compounds—called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)—extracted from the Ryugu asteroid and Murchison meteorite has found that certain PAHs likely formed in the cold areas of space between stars rather than in hot regions n.....»»
Toxic chemicals found in oil spills and wildfire smoke detected in killer whales
Toxic chemicals produced from oil emissions and wildfire smoke have been found in muscle and liver samples from Southern Resident killer whales and Bigg's killer whales......»»
New method could help estimate wildlife disease spread
A new method could be used by biologists to estimate the prevalence of disease in free-ranging wildlife and help determine how many samples are needed to detect a disease......»»
Genomic analyses reveal poaching hotspots, trade routes of most trafficked endangered mammal
UCLA scientists and colleagues have created a genetic source-to-destination map of the most trafficked mammal in the world—the pangolin—using samples from living white-bellied pangolins and scales from the animals confiscated at illicit markets......»»
Fine-tuning gold nanoparticles in tellurite glass for unique photonics
Silicate glass is a commonly-used glass found in most households, in drinking glasses or windowpanes for example. The integration of gold nanoparticles (NPs) in silicate glass has been used in art and decoration for centuries. These NPs impact the wa.....»»
Measuring the distances to galaxies with space telescopes
One of the James Webb Space Telescope's science goals is to understand how galaxies in the early universe formed and evolved into much larger galaxies like our own Milky Way. This goal requires that we identify samples of galaxies at different moment.....»»