Scientists say there is enough evidence to agree to global action on microplastics
Science has provided more than sufficient evidence to inform a collective and global approach to tackle the continued spread of plastic pollution, according to a new report......»»
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.....»»
Pathogens that cling to microplastics may survive wastewater treatment
Wastewater treatment fails to kill several human pathogens when they hide out on microplastics in the water, reports a study led by Ingun Lund Witsø of the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, published November 6, 2024 in the open-access journal.....»»
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.....»»
The frozen carbon of the northern permafrost is on the move—we estimated by how much
Among the most rapidly changing parts of our planet are the coldest landscapes near the top of the globe, just south of the Arctic. This region is warming two to four times faster than the global average......»»
European Union evaluating if Corning monopolizes the smartphone screen market
The European Union is investigating Corning over concerns that the company might misuse its dominant position in the global market for alkali-aluminosilicate glass, commonly used in smartphone screens.Ceramic Shield on an iPhone 16 | Image credit: Ap.....»»
Tracking biodiversity: Researchers outline strengths and challenges in new monitoring framework
As the UN COP16 on biodiversity meets in Calì, Colombia, experts from McGill University are on-site, providing important input into the global conversation. These experts have been instrumental in shaping the global biodiversity monitoring framework.....»»
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.....»»
Study shows commercial ties influence ESG ratings and highlights need for regulation
An analysis published in the Journal of Accounting Research uncovers evidence that conflicts of interest arising from commercial ties lead to bias in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) ratings......»»
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......»»
Apple’s global head of accessibility to attend Web Summit Lisbon 2024
This year’s Web Summit Lisbon kicks off next week, and guests will have the chance to attend a talk by Sarah Herrlinger, Apple’s current global head of accessibility. Unsurprisingly, the presentation will discuss how Apple considers accessibility.....»»
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.....»»
Decades after global regulations, the Arctic Ocean"s legacy persistent organic pollutants haven"t dropped
The presence of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in all the world's oceans but one has been in steady decline since 2001, when 152 countries agreed on a comprehensive global ban. The exception has been the Arctic Ocean, which has seen a sharp ris.....»»
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.....»»
How many additional exoplanets are in known systems?
One thing we've learned in recent decades is that exoplanets are surprisingly common. So far, we've confirmed nearly 6,000 planets, and we have evidence for thousands more. Most of these planets were discovered using the transit method. though there.....»»
Earth underwent a massive, rapid melting period after the last global ice age, new study suggests
At the end of the last global ice age, the deep-frozen Earth reached a built-in limit of climate change and thawed into a slushy planet. Results from a Virginia Tech-led study provide the first direct geochemical evidence of the slushy planet—other.....»»
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.....»»
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.....»»