The secret lives of roots: Tropical forest root systems are central to improving climate change predictions
International research co-authored by Joshua Fisher, associate professor in Chapman University's Schmid College of Science and Technology, suggests that studying root function in tropical forests could help vegetation models improve predictions of cl.....»»
Can Philly become a hothouse for bananas and pineapples as the climate warms?
As climate change warms Philadelphia, the plants that can be grown in the city will change, too......»»
Reducing distrust in social media is not straightforward, computer scientists warn
Are anti-misinformation interventions on social media working as intended? It depends, according to a new study led by William & Mary researchers and published in the Proceedings of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '24)......»»
Fine roots make the difference in metabolomes and microbiomes
Bacteria and fungi live together on the surface of plant roots, which can promote symbiotic interactions with the plant. Plant roots that are especially fine can support various niches for their microbial proliferations, but traditionally, microbiome.....»»
How scientific conference attendees can reduce their carbon footprint
Climate researchers often emphasize the fact that reducing carbon emissions is in everyone's best interest, and should involve all of us. But how good are they at minimizing their own carbon footprint?.....»»
Health systems eliminating a form of anesthesia that hangs in the air for more than a decade after use
Philadelphia-area health systems are phasing out a common anesthesia gas that hangs in the atmosphere for 14 years. Desflurane is the most potent greenhouse gas found in hospitals, which are increasingly engaged in efforts to reduce their carbon foot.....»»
Climate-change research project aboard USS Hornet paused for environmental review
The city of Alameda has indefinitely shut down the Marine Cloud Brightening Program—a study based out of the University of Washington and set up on the deck of the U.S.S. Hornet to utilize the San Francisco Bay's ideal cloudy conditions—citing co.....»»
How do we reduce pesticide use while empowering farmers? A more nuanced approach could help
Pesticides threaten humans, wildlife and our environment. Food production must change......»»
NHTSA probes Waymo after 22 reports of crashes or traffic violations
U.S. auto safety regulators are investigating Alphabet-owned after reports that its autonomous driving systems led to collisions or violated traffic laws......»»
Before launching, GPT-4o broke records on chatbot leaderboard under a secret name
Anonymous chatbot that mystified and frustrated experts was OpenAI's latest model. Enlarge (credit: Getty Images) On Monday, OpenAI employee William Fedus confirmed on X that a mysterious chat-topping AI chatbot known as.....»»
Persistent strain of cholera defends itself against forces of change, scientists find
A deadly strain of cholera bacteria that emerged in Indonesia back in 1961 continues to spread widely to this day, claiming thousands of lives around the world every year, sickening millions, and with its persistence, baffling scientists......»»
GM"s Cruise resumes autonomous testing with a human backup behind wheel
This marks the first time Cruise's self-driving systems have been activated on public roads since October......»»
The secret to mimicking natural faults? Plexiglass and Teflon
When a fault ruptures in nature, some sections of the fault slip suddenly and seismically, weakening as velocity increases. Other regions creep slowly and strengthen with increasing velocity. The relative locations of these sections affect the size a.....»»
Researchers reveal how genetically identical water fleas develop into different sexes
Daphnia are tiny crustaceans, or "water fleas," that are extremely adaptable to their environment. This is due to their remarkable phenotypic plasticity, i.e., their ability to change their form or behavior despite their genetic makeup remaining unch.....»»
New study examines the price tag of phasing-out coal
Coal phase-out is necessary to solve climate change, but can have negative impacts on workers and local communities dependent on coal for their livelihoods. Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden and Central European University in.....»»
Optical power evolution in fiber-optic networks: New framework for better modeling and control
With the emergence of internet services such as AI-generated content and virtual reality, the demand for global capacity has surged, significantly intensifying pressures on fiber-optic communication systems. To address this surge and reduce operation.....»»
A novel flame-retardant, smoke-suppressing and superhydrophobic transparent bamboo for future glasses
Professors Yiqiang Wu and Caichao Wan, along with their team from Central South University of Forestry and Technology (CSUFT), have pioneered a transparent material derived from natural bamboo. This material features a three-layered flame-retardant b.....»»
Loss and hope: US park rangers" climate crisis fight
American biologist Laura Brennan describes the coin-sized Karner blue butterfly as "very delicate and graceful" with a "lovely blue" coloring and "just a little speckling of orange.".....»»
Identity crisis: Climate destroying wonders that gave US parks their names
Glacier National Park's ice fortress is crumbling. The giant trees of Sequoia National Park are ablaze. And even the tenacious cacti of Saguaro National Park are struggling to endure a decades-long drought......»»
These Artificial Blood Platelets Could One Day Save Lives
Platelets help blood clot, but they have a short shelf life. With blood in short supply, synthetic platelets could help meet demand......»»
Establishing a security baseline for open source projects
In this Help Net Security interview, Dana Wang, Chief Architect at OpenSSF, discusses the most significant barriers to improving open-source software security (OSS security) and opportunities for overcoming these challenges. The OpenSSF community has.....»»