Scientists map geographic patterns of soil microbe communities in Hexi Corridor deserts
A research group led by Li Yuqiang from the Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources (NIEER) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences recently mapped biogeographic patterns of soil microbe communities in the Hexi Corridor deserts of northern Ch.....»»
Thousands told to flee wildfire near Los Angeles
Thousands of people were urged to flee an out-of-control wildfire burning around communities near Los Angeles on Thursday, with dozens of homes already lost to the fast-moving flames......»»
Battling air pollution may contribute to climate change by impacting soil carbon storage
Decades-old policies aimed at improving air quality may also be accelerating global climate change, warns a recent study published in the journal Ecology......»»
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......»»
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......»»
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.....»»
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.....»»
New research may lead to potatoes that are less reliant on nitrogen fertilizers
Because nitrogen fertilizers contribute to global greenhouse gas emissions, scientists are looking for ways to modify agricultural plants so that they rely on less nitrogen. In research published in New Phytologist, investigators have found that bloc.....»»
Soil sampling in Houston"s greater Fifth Ward reveals toxic levels of lead in yards, play areas
Houston, like many American cities, has areas with soil contaminated by non-biodegradable and persistent pollutants such as arsenic, lead, nickel and cadmium, known as heavy metals and metalloids. These are both naturally occurring in the atmosphere.....»»
Braving sharks and hordes of urchins, scientists are growing kelp one forest at a time
The weathered UC Davis Marine Laboratory looms in thick fog on the edge of the ocean near Bodega Bay. Inside, an experiment is playing out that gives a badly-needed boost to Northern California's kelp forests—underwater cathedrals of green and gold.....»»
New framework uses games of chance to put "price" on intangible assets
A new statistical model could help to address the age-old question of how to price non-physical, intangible goods like data, say scientists......»»
Bach, Mozart or jazz: Scientists provide a quantitative measure of variability in music pieces
Physicists at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPI-DS) have investigated to which extent a piece of music can evoke expectations about its progression. They were able to determine differences in how far compositions of dif.....»»
Scientists find key to engineering water-responsive biopolymers
Scientists at the Advanced Science Research Center at the CUNY Graduate Center (CUNY ASRC) have developed a novel approach to better understand and predict the behaviors of water-responsive materials—solid matter that can change shape by absorbing.....»»
Decadal climate patterns reveal new insights into tropical cyclone formation and El Niño-Southern Oscillation link
A new study has revealed how decadal-scale climate fluctuations impact the ability of climate models to simulate tropical cyclone frequency in response to El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events. This finding offers an improved understanding of t.....»»
New modeling of complex biological systems could offer insights into genomic data and other huge datasets
Over the past two decades, new technologies have helped scientists generate a vast amount of biological data. Large-scale experiments in genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and cytometry can produce enormous quantities of data from a given cellula.....»»
Helping the most vulnerable stay cool in extreme heat
The health effects of heat waves hit some communities harder than others. People with preexisting health conditions, as well as those who have low income or are physically or socially isolated, very old or very young, from racial or ethnic minority g.....»»
Scientists shed light on an arms race between barley and a fungal pathogen
Scientists from the Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry (IPB), together with partners from the University of Cologne, have discovered a new group of defense substances in barley that are effective against a broad spectrum of fungal pathogens. One.....»»