Scientists urged to pull the plug on "bathtub modeling" of flood risk
Recent decades have seen a rapid surge in damages and disruptions caused by flooding. In a commentary article published in the journal Earth's Future, researchers at the University of California, Irvine and the University of Bristol in the United Kin.....»»
More than 40% of coral species face extinction, according to new research
Following a global assessment, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species has revealed that 44% of reef-building coral species globally are at risk of extinction. The announcement was made at the ongoing COP29 UN climate conference......»»
Parasaurolophus pipes: Modeling the dinosaur"s crest to study its sound
Fossils might give a good image of what dinosaurs looked like, but they can also teach scientists what they sounded like. The Parasaurolophus is a duck-billed dinosaur with a unique crest that lived 70 million to 80 million years ago. It stood around.....»»
Scientists develop novel high-fidelity quantum computing gate
Researchers from the RIKEN Center for Quantum Computing and Toshiba have succeeded in building a quantum computer gate based on a double-transmon coupler (DTC), which had been proposed theoretically as a device that could significantly enhance the fi.....»»
"Genetic time machine" reveals complex chimpanzee cultures
In recent decades, scientists have clearly demonstrated that chimpanzees, like humans, pass on complex cultures such as tool use from generation to generation. But human culture has become vastly more sophisticated, from the Stone Age to the Space Ag.....»»
Historically bad year for dolphin strandings on Cape Cod has scientists looking for answers
An unprecedentedly bad year for beached dolphins on Cape Cod might have to do with warming waters changing the availability of the animals' food, said scientists hoping to curb the strandings......»»
AI tool can engineer "better, faster, stronger" proteins
Nature is adept at designing proteins. Scientists are even better. But artificial intelligence holds the promise of improving proteins many times over. Medical applications for such "designer proteins" range from creating more precise antibodies for.....»»
Transparent worms with glowing proteins may help fertility treatments
The development of maternal egg cells is pivotal for survival—but also precarious. During meiosis, the DNA-containing chromosomes can easily be broken or lost, causing infertility, miscarriage or genetic disorders like Down syndrome. Scientists hav.....»»
Aquaculture researchers decode the genome of the African catfish to advance modern breeding approaches
Scientists at the Research Institute for Farm Animal Biology (FBN) in Dummerstorf have decoded the genome of the African catfish (Clarias gariepinus), in collaboration with international partners......»»
Illegal mining clampdown in South Africa: Treating desperate people like criminals is an injustice
Illegal artisanal gold mining in South Africa is in the spotlight again. Under Operation Vala Umgodi ("plug the hole"), South African authorities have since December 2023 been trying to disrupt the illicit gold mining economy by cutting off water, fo.....»»
Greenland"s meltwater will slow Atlantic circulation, climate model suggests
A team of climate scientists in Germany and China has found evidence, using a climate model, that in the coming years, freshwater inputs to the Irminger Sea Basin will have the biggest impact on the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC)......»»
New organic molecule design can lead to long-lasting, durable OLEDs for displays
Scientists have developed a method to improve the stability and efficiency of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), a technology used in smartphones, TVs, and other electronic displays......»»
Scientists uncover cross-species neural mechanism for early detection of life motion in visual processing
Visual systems of both humans and animals can detect life motion from the environment at the earliest stage of visual processing, research by scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) uncovered......»»
Qubit that makes most errors obvious now available to customers
Can a small machine that makes error correction easier upend the market? We're nearing the end of the year, and there are typically a flood of announcements regarding quantum comp.....»»
Using matter waves, scientists unveil novel collective behaviors in quantum optics
A research team led by Dominik Schneble, Ph.D., Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, has uncovered a novel regime, or set of conditions within a system, for cooperative radiative phenomena, casting new light on a 70-year-old problem.....»»
Scientists develop culture system to unlock secrets of the skin microbiome
The human skin is home to a wide variety of bacteria. The composition of the community of bacteria—called the "skin microbiota"—has serious implications for skin health. A healthy balance between different species of bacteria on the skin often tr.....»»
Mixed forests can reduce the risk of forest damage in a warmer climate
Forests with few tree species pose a considerably higher risk of being damaged, and the introduced lodgepole pine is especially vulnerable. This is the finding of a new study published in Ecosphere by researchers from Umeå University and the Swedish.....»»
Climate change and air pollution could risk 30 million lives annually by 2100
Mortality attributable to air pollution and extreme temperatures is a major concern, and it is expected to heighten in the future. In a new study led by the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, an international research team found that, under the most.....»»
NASA"s Swift reaches 20th anniversary in improved pointing mode
After two decades in space, NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory is performing better than ever thanks to a new operational strategy implemented earlier this year. The spacecraft has made great scientific strides in the years since scientists dreame.....»»
Scientists discover a new giant virus that infects freshwater algae
Scientists from the Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences found forty new freshwater viruses infecting aquatic microorganisms this year. The first one, which they isolated and described in detail, was named Budvirus after the South Bohemian.....»»
Madagascar"s huge ocean algae bloom was caused by dust from drought-stricken southern Africa
Scientists have found new evidence that desertification, potentially linked to global warming, leads to large amounts of nutrient-rich dust landing in the sea, causing ocean algae to grow rapidly. Biological oceanographer John A. Gittings and an inte.....»»