Scientists peel back ancient layers of banana DNA to reveal "mystery ancestors"
Bananas are thought to have been first domesticated by people 7,000 years ago on the island of New Guinea. But the domestication history of bananas is complicated, while their classification is hotly debated, as boundaries between species and subspec.....»»
Scientists explore the vast reservoir of dissolved organic matter in oceans
Few things last very long in the world of the open oceans, it would seem. In the light-filled surface layer, microscopic algae convert carbon dioxide and water into biomass via photosynthesis. Individual cells vanish in a matter of hours or days, ing.....»»
Saturday Citations: Bulking tips for black holes; microbes influence drinking; new dinosaur just dropped
What did scientists do this week? Exactly four things, all of which are summarized below......»»
Beyond CRISPR: seekRNA delivers a new pathway for accurate gene editing
Scientists at the University of Sydney have developed a gene-editing tool with greater accuracy and flexibility than the industry standard, CRISPR, which has revolutionized genetic engineering in medicine, agriculture and biotechnology......»»
A black hole of inexplicable mass: JWST observations reveal a mature quasar at cosmic dawn
The James Webb Space Telescope observed a galaxy in a particularly young stage of the universe. Looking back into the past, it became clear that the light from the galaxy called J1120+0641 took almost as long to reach Earth as the universe has taken.....»»
Stacking three layers of graphene with a twist speeds up electrochemical reactions
Tri-layer may be better than bi-layer for manufacturing, improving the speed and capacity of electrochemical and electrocatalytic devices......»»
Novel catalysts for improved methanol production using carbon dioxide dehydrogenation
Encapsulating copper nanoparticles within hydrophobic porous silicate crystals has been shown by scientists at Tokyo Tech to significantly enhance the catalytic activity of copper-zinc oxide catalysts used in methanol synthesis via CO2 hydrogenation......»»
After ISIS bombs, an urgent call to preserve an ancient Syrian temple
The Temple of Bel stands in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, adjoining a desert oasis with palm trees and bountiful water. Constructed in the first two centuries of the Common Era, the temple served for nearly two thousand years as a sanctuary for.....»»
Human activity: A double-edged sword in the face of drought
Earth and environmental scientists have reported that, as human socio-economic activities increase, greenhouse gas emissions will rise, leading to more frequent extreme weather events such as droughts and floods. However, a research team from Pohang.....»»
Tesla has teased three new cars — but what are they?
Tesla is prepping some new vehicles. At a shareholder event, the company showed off a slide with three mystery vehicles. But what are those mystery cars?.....»»
Scientists solve the puzzle of directional hearing underwater
When underwater, humans cannot determine where a sound comes from. Sound travels about five times faster there than on land. That makes directional hearing, or sound localization, nearly impossible because the human brain determines the origin of a s.....»»
Science Is Full of Errors. Bounty Hunters Are Here to Find Them
A new project is paying researchers to find errors in other scientists’ work. The only problem? Even error hunters make mistakes......»»
Scientists use heart and lung model to calculate potential health threats facing future space tourists in microgravity
Space exploration has always captivated our imagination, offering the promise of discovering new worlds and pushing the boundaries of human capability. As commercial space travel becomes more accessible, individuals with various underlying health con.....»»
New insights into how cell shape influences protein transport rates
When a cell spreads out or changes its shape to adapt to its environment, the transport rate of proteins between the nucleus and cytoplasm changes. Previously, scientists assumed this change was caused by a shift in the size of the nuclear envelope's.....»»
Simons Observatory begins measurements to probe Big Bang inflation
Almost 14 billion years ago, the universe was born in a blur of mystery. The new Simons Observatory in Chile's Atacama Desert may soon answer the great scientific question of what happened in that tiny fraction of a second after the Big Bang......»»
Economists reveal the costs of sanctions
What effect do economic sanctions have on the countries affected, such as Russia or Iran? What impact do they have on the sanctioning states? And is there possibly an ideal coalition of sanction partners? Economists from Würzburg, Kiel, Berlin and B.....»»
Spectroscopic technique that singles out water molecules lying on the surface reveals how they relax after being excited
A more complete picture of how excited water molecules at an interface with air lose their energy has been uncovered by RIKEN scientists in a study published in the journal Nature Communications. This finding will be valuable for better understanding.....»»
Scientists discover surprising link between ancient biology and restricted human hair growth
University of Manchester scientists have linked one of the ways that cells respond to stressful conditions with restricted healthy hair growth......»»
New photonic chip spawns nested topological frequency comb
Scientists on the hunt for compact and robust sources of multicolored laser light have generated the first topological frequency comb. Their result, which relies on a small silicon nitride chip patterned with hundreds of microscopic rings, appears in.....»»
Why scientists are intrigued by air in NASA"s Mars sample tubes
Atmospheric scientists get a little more excited with every rock core NASA's Perseverance Mars rover seals in its titanium sample tubes, which are being gathered for eventual delivery to Earth as part of the Mars Sample Return campaign. Twenty-four h.....»»
Citizen scientists gather eDNA in water samples for global biodiversity census
Kara Andres, a postdoctoral fellow with the Living Earth Collaborative at Washington University in St. Louis, collected samples of water from Simpson Lake, in Valley Park, Mo., as part of a coordinated global effort to use environmental DNA—genetic.....»»