Science In flow

A new study shows how a blend of salts in the presence of heat flows may have contributed to the formation of the first self-replicating biomolecules. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2V3XYW9

A new linguistic study sheds light on the nature of languages spoken before the written period, using computational modeling to reconstruct the grammar of the 6500-7000 year-old Proto-Indo-European language. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/38r9r5e

Scorpions have unusual joints in their tails that can twist and bend at the same time, and this design could be used for flexible robots from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/3kJvt8W

A new study has revealed that biotechnology could be the missing ingredient in helping cocoa farmers get a better deal for their beans. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3jDmvLr

Scientists have uncovered a fascinating new insight into what caused one of the most rapid and dramatic instances of climate change in the history of the Earth. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2WG8N1e

Researchers have created a soft, stretchable device that converts movement into electricity and works in both dry and wet environments. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3ywv1A2

Researchers combined large sets of real-world solar data and advanced machine learning to study the impacts of severe weather on U.S. solar farms, and sort out what factors affect energy generation. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3jwNJD7

Researchers have discovered a universal mathematical formula that can describe any bird's egg existing in nature -- a significant step in understanding not only the egg shape itself, but also how and why it evolved, thus making widespread biological and technological applications possible. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3zyXFBO

Researchers have demonstrated that genes are capable of identifying and responding to coded information in light signals, as well as filtering out some signals entirely. The study shows how a single mechanism can trigger different behaviors from the same gene. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3BvmjUC

In Indonesia, Goffin’s cockatoos have been seen whittling tools such as wedges and scoops that help them break into the pits of sea mangoes from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/3jyGGtT

Maersk, the world’s biggest shipping company, has ordered eight ships capable of running on methanol, which could prove a crucial route to help the shipping industry decarbonise from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/2WxusIN

The latest coronavirus news updated every day including coronavirus cases, the latest news, features and interviews from New Scientist and essential information about the covid-19 pandemic from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/38z2sah

Results of a heat-confinement experiment on the twisty Wendelstein 7-X stellarator in Germany could enable devices based on the W7-X design to lead to a practical fusion reactor. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3sZGwyN

The skyscrapers and urban development that have made Hong Kong the 'Pearl' have also generated pollutants that affect the marine species that live in Hong Kong's coastal waters. On-going climate change and dams along the Pearl River have also altered these coastal ecosystems. However, it is largely unknown in what ways they are altered, because we lack information about baseline conditions back then. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3jrZx9Q

Scientists say Hurricane Ida, which reached wind speeds of 241km/h, killed at least one person and left more than a million people without power, was almost certainly made worse because of climate change from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/3DAMqLp

Crashing waves and water temperature along rocky shorelines strongly influence the growth patterns of the yellowfoot limpet (Cellana sandwicensis) an intertidal species endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3yqSEtC

Researchers have identified a new species of mosasaur -- an 18-foot-long fish-eating monster that lived 80 million years ago. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3sZMMXh

An analysis of web archives of national libraries and public records offices found that some of the documents meant to be permanent are no longer discoverable when they are moved from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/2Y1GMld

PayPal will now allow customers to buy and sell four cryptocurrencies, which could make it more useful for everyday life. Is this the moment when cryptocurrencies become mainstream? from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/3kznuvf

Scientists use the adhesive capabilities of mussels as a model for simultaneously optimizing the strength, stretchiness and adhesion of GelMA hydrogels, a feat not obtained in previous attempts. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3zztHNZ

Hydrogen is a promising clean energy source with great potential to replace greenhouse gas-emitting fossil fuels. While total water (H2O) splitting is the easiest way to obtain hydrogen (H2), this reaction is slow and not yet commercially feasible. Now, scientists have developed a novel electrocatalyst that significantly improves hydrogen production from water splitting in an energy and cost-efficient way. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3mIpUuh

Plant endophytic microorganisms, especially those growing inside seeds, can survive antimicrobial compounds and have attracted attention for their potential biocatalytic activity. Recently, researchers successfully isolated several strains of endophytic bacteria that survive in high concentrations of antimicrobial resveratrol and piceatannol inside passion fruit seeds and get transmitted to next-generation seedlings. One of the bacteria could convert resveratrol and piceatannol to their respective derivatives. These findings will significantly advance endophyte and biocatalyst research. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3kBRUgf

Using a novel modelling approach, new research reveals the location and intensity of key threats to biodiversity on land and identifies priority areas across the world to help inform conservation decision making at national and local levels. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2WBckOs

Interviews with Northern California residents reveal that social norms and social support are essential for understanding protective health behaviors during wildfire smoke events -- information that could be leveraged to improve public health outcomes. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3yz0rWi

Humans living about 400,000 years ago produced an unprecedented diversity of elephant bone tools, including pointed tools for carving meat and wedge-shaped tools for cracking open large femurs and other long bones. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3kJ5M8O

As we live and breathe, ancient-looking fish known as bowfin are guarding genetic secrets that that can help unravel humanity's evolutionary history and better understand its health. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3DtDxDx

Researchers have discovered a new way to track genetically modified animals using the artificial transgenes they leave behind in the environment. The discovery provides a powerful new tool to locate and manage genetically modified animals that have escaped or been released into the wild. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2WD0Lqa

Beavers are often translocated to restore populations in areas, reduce their conflicts with humans and to take advantage of their ability to improve ecosystems. However, few studies have accessed the impacts of dispersing beavers, making it difficult to determine best practices for translocations. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3DuO6pI

With the addition of sensors and enhanced communication tools, providing lightweight, portable power has become even more challenging. New research demonstrated a new approach to turning thermal energy into electricity that could provide compact and efficient power. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3DvZ1j6

Against infections, tumors and inflammations, immune cells are locally positioned as rapid reaction forces in the organs of the body. On site, they specialize and take on various tasks. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3DsSbe9

Judiciously decomposing organic matter from 700 degrees Fahrenheit to 1,200 degrees F, without oxygen -- a process known as pyrolysis -- and retaining nutrients from dairy lagoons can transform manure into a manageable, ecologically friendly biochar fertilizer, according to new research. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3sXuNk2

A team of researchers has come up with a new solution to boost the surveillance of designer drug abuse. The team has identified three new urinary biomarkers that could be used to detect consumption of ADB-BUTINACA, an emerging synthetic cannabinoid which is a type of new psychoactive substance. The innovative approach used to identify the biomarkers can be applied to other existing and new synthetic cannabinoids. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3ysenBp

An analysis of web archives of national libraries and public records offices found that some of the documents meant to be permanent are no longer discoverable when they are moved from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/38qL7R2

PayPal will now allow customers to buy and sell four cryptocurrencies, which could make it more useful for everyday life. Is this the moment when cryptocurrencies become mainstream? from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/3kznuvf

Perhaps the most important problem in physics is how gravity and quantum mechanics fit together, and strange fluctuations in gravitational waves could help us figure it out from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/3zvZsrl

Would you wear clothing made of muscle fibers? Use them to tie your shoes or even wear them as a belt? It may sound a bit odd, but if those fibers could endure more energy before breaking than cotton, silk, nylon, or even the material used in bullet-proof vests, then why not? from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3gMzpol

Healthy older adults who ate a handful of walnuts (about ½ cup) a day for two years modestly lowered their level of low-density lipoprotein or LDL cholesterol levels. Consuming walnuts daily also reduced the number of LDL particles, a predictor of cardiovascular disease risk. The study explored the effects of a walnut-enriched diet on overall cholesterol in elderly individuals from diverse geographical locations and spanning two years. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/38r8Noc

Up to three cups of coffee per day is associated with a lower risk of stroke and fatal heart disease, according to new research. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3DuQ7lW

Animals as small and soft as tardigrades seldom have legs and almost never bother walking. But a new study finds that water bears propel themselves through sediment and soil on eight stubby legs, in a manner resembling that of insects 500,000 times their size. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3h1UDin

Researchers discovered that chlorpyrifos, which is banned for use on foods in Canada but widely sprayed on fruits and vegetables in many other parts of the world, slows down the burning of calories in the brown adipose tissue of mice. Reducing this burning of calories, a process known as diet-induced thermogenesis, causes the body to store these extra calories, promoting obesity. Scientists made the discovery after studying 34 commonly used pesticides and herbicides in brown fat cells and testing the effects of chlorpyrifos in mice fed high calorie diets. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3ymcXsh

Sand and gravel are the most mined materials in the world, with between 32 and 50 billion tons extracted globally each year. They are being extracted faster than they can be replaced. But according to a new study, the human and environmental costs of this extraction on lower and middle-income countries have been largely overlooked. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3kxrM6d

The importance of the root system for agricultural yields is often underestimated. Whether roots can access water and nutrients effectively also determines the resilience of important crops to drought and climate change. Researchers have discovered and described a mutant in barley: Its roots grow downwards much more sharply than usual. This discovery potentially provides a starting point for breeding more drought-resistant varieties. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3sUWxWH

How to design efficient demo areas for urban carbon sequestration? In the latest policy brief research groups focus on the main principles of urban demonstration areas using biochars for carbon sequestration. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3sX1Ft9

Updating the laws, the researchers say, will allow the true value of public resources to be revealed in an environmental market. It will give different groups equal footing in auctions, and create a more stable, actionable path toward conservation, to the benefit of both industry and the environment. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2Y9cMEb

As scientists continue to explore the wide-ranging effects of heat stress on the health of dairy cattle, a new study adds to the growing understanding of the negative influences of heat stress, not just throughout the lifespan but across generations. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3yvQ2dY

We all love home-made jam, but getting it right means grappling with the chemistry of pectin, says Sam Wong from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/2Wvdr1R

A new study finds that U.S. residents struggle to understand terms frequently used by scientists to describe climate change. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3ky69mj

What do frog eggs have in common with 'anti-aging' creams? Their success depends on a group of chemical compounds called retinoids, which are capable of generating and re-generating tissues. A new study in plants shows that retinoids' tissue-generating capacities are also responsible for the appropriate development of roots. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3DBj7bQ

Quantum theory can’t be the final answer and some theorists are exploring new ways to formulate physical laws – and yet there is no guarantee that any theory can completely describe the universe from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/3jv7prj

After “quantum supremacy”, the next step is scaling up and mastering the errors that dog qubits. But some researchers reckon the noise might always to be too high for useful quantum computers from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/3DsCBiA

The way we calculate the properties of subatomic particles with quantum theory goes haywire when it comes to hypothetical particles of gravity, but there may be a clever workaround from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/2WyZMqr

Time-loops in video games can easily become a bit boring, but mystery adventure game The Forgotten City has found a nice way to bypass the problem, says Jacob Aron from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/3mGbMBK

Academics have been monitoring the Lyme Bay Marine Protected area using underwater cameras and other techniques since 2008, but this is the first known study to examine an MPA's response and resilience in the face of extreme storms. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3gXB9vh

Around 650 million years ago, the Earth entered into the Marinoan glaciation that saw the entire planet freeze. The 'Snowball Earth' impeded the evolution of life. But as it warmed, biotic life began to flourish. A research team has now analyzed rock samples from China to tell us more about this transition. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/38jhaST

A study provides some of the first evidence that climate change and drought are shifting the range of infectious disease in forests suffering from white pine blister rust disease. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3kBLGxc

A neural network trained on a dataset of images can identify recyclable objects with more than 95 per cent accuracy using a standard webcam from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/38j0eff

New research reveals hints of quantum states in tiny proteins called microtubules inside brain cells. If the results stand up, the idea that consciousness is quantum might come in from the cold from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/3jn4tNi

Climate change may increase the risk of viruses infecting new hosts in the Arctic, suggests a study of genetic material from an Arctic lake from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/3sS8cW1

There is tantalising evidence to suggest that photosynthesis in some bacteria depends on quantum coherence and birds’ amazing feats of navigation rely on entanglement from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/3ytkJ3G

In a new study, researchers have measured the number of pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes in backyard and commercial compost. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3gDhZuk

The world's oceans are becoming increasingly stressful places for marine life, and experts are working to understand what this means for the future. From rising temperatures; to acidification as more carbon enters the waters; to changes in the currents; the challenges are multifaceted, making experiments and projections difficult. Copepods are small marine animals that are abundant, widely dispersed, and serve as major structural components of the ocean's food web. A team of scientists from the University of Connecticut, Jinan University in China, and the University of Vermont have found that a species of copepod called Acartia tonsa can cope with climate change, but at a price. Their research was published today in Nature Climate Change. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3mC8Qpw

As climate change continues to do more damage to our planet, scientists are working to find more efficient and cleaner ways to power the earth. One appealing alternative to common petrochemical processes that generate significant greenhouse gases and other waste products could come from biological systems. Recent work has led to advances in understanding of biochemical pathways and increased rates of chemical production by biological systems. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2XRJNV9

From seismic surveys and Navy sonar to fisheries and shipping, many human activities in the ocean environment cause short-term changes in the behaviors of marine mammals. A longstanding challenge for scientists and regulatory agencies alike has been to understand the biological significance of those changes in terms of their overall impact on affected populations of animals. A new study provides a comprehensive framework for conducting this type of assessment. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/38nuMMI

Farmers seldom plant the African baobab because it takes up to 23 years to fruit, but a team in Ghana has got the trees to flower in less than three years from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/3sZay5B

Stop and listen awhile in any green space, and it probably won’t be too long before you hear birdsong. But how good are you at knowing what you’re listening to? from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/3sZaBOP

Time spent in nature has huge benefits for our mental and physical health, and few of us get enough of it. A range of apps aim to help us do it better – but do they work? from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/3gFgsE1

A young woman who lost the sensation of hunger after a stroke may help to explain one of the most mysterious areas of the brain and lead to new treatments for obesity from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/3yrkRjP

The latest coronavirus news updated every day including coronavirus cases, the latest news, features and interviews from New Scientist and essential information about the covid-19 pandemic from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/3mKLEFA

The maths suggests the reality we get from quantum probabilities is random, but there might be some hidden determinism at play – or perhaps the present can influence the past from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/3sT60xF

New Scientist's weekly round-up of the best books, films, TV series, games and more that you shouldn't miss from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/3mRpemv

Astronomers have mapped the history of one of the nearest galaxies, the Large Magellanic Cloud, in more detail than ever before, showing when its stars formed from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/3DmRT8F

Taken by photographer Patrick Viruel, this image shows a new type of fabric called Spiderweave being tested for NASA's Adaptable, Deployable, Entry and Placement Technology, an entry system it has designed for galactic mission from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/2XQMztN

The lowly workers of Star Trek: Lower Decks return for a second season on Amazon Prime Video and really hit their stride from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/3znG9QU

In the early months of the covid-19 pandemic, wastewater samples from Kentucky and Tennessee had a 72 per cent increase in hydrocodone, plus spikes in antidepressants and anti-anxiety drugs from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/3mDlCnQ

Henry David Thoreau was an American author and philosopher famous for his observations of the natural world and his transcendentalist beliefs from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/38gGTeF

Safe passages for species adapting to climate change aren't always being protected, a new study warns. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2USX9Q0

New research will detect and evaluate the vulnerability of global tropical rainforests by focusing specifically on threats from changes to land-use and climate. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2Y1IbbC

A new analysis of 2.5-billion-year-old rocks from Australia finds that volcanic eruptions may have stimulated population surges of marine microorganisms, creating the first puffs of oxygen into the atmosphere. This would change existing stories of Earth's early atmosphere, which assumed that most changes in the early atmosphere were controlled by geologic or chemical processes. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3mFifN9

Engineering has a diversity problem. A new podcast hopes to make the field appealing to all by celebrating a wide range of engineers, finds Gege Li from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/38eJ7ez

High energy cosmic rays usually come from powerful supernova explosions, but a new discovery suggests they can be released by smaller nova explosions too from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/3sRFpBc

The magnets used in the iPhone 12 and Apple Watch 6 are strong enough to cause medical implants such as pacemakers to shut down if held too close to the body, according to tests done by the US Food and Drug Administration from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/3yh6zCr

A new luminescent sensor can detect terbium, a valuable rare earth element used in smart phone displays, from complex environmental samples like acid mine waste. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3jjGa2O

Mantis shrimp pack the strongest punch of any creature in the animal kingdom. How mantis shrimp produce these deadly, ultra-fast movements has long fascinated biologists. Now, an interdisciplinary team of roboticists, engineers and biologists have modeled the mechanics of the mantis shrimp's punch and built a robot that mimics the movement. The research sheds light on the biology of these pugnacious crustaceans and paves the way for small but mighty robotic devices. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3jg0qCc

Knowing where cold water is likely to stay cold is critical for conservation. But "cold" is more than just a number on a thermometer. Dams do not adequately support cold-water ecosystems, finds a new study. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3mzmiuC

Recent archaeogenetic studies have shown that human movements like migrations and expansions played a major role in driving the spread of cultures and genes in ancient Europe. However, it is only now with detailed regional studies and dense sampling that researchers start to better understand the magnitude, rate and social implications of these changes. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3B7AWwW

For home gardeners and farmers, herbivorous insects present a major threat. The predator insects that feed on these bugs emit odors that pests can sense, which changes the pests' behavior and physiology to avoid being eaten. With bugs becoming more resistant to traditional pesticides, researchers now report they have bottled the 'smell of fear' produced by predators to repel and disrupt insects naturally. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3gyW3jY

An international study found that intact tropical mountain (or montane) forests in Africa store around 150 tons of carbon per hectare. This means that keeping a hectare of forest standing saves CO2 emissions equivalent to powering 100 homes with electricity for one year. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3ydASd7

Carbon dioxide from the atmosphere dissolves in waterways, forming bicarbonate ions and other compounds that change water chemistry, with possible harmful effects on aquatic organisms. In addition, bicarbonate can reenter the atmosphere as carbon dioxide later. Now, researchers have developed tiny 'nanojars' that split bicarbonate into carbonate and capture it, as well as certain toxic anions, so they can be removed from water. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3gA6ns5

Tyrannosaurus rex, the fearsome predator that once roamed what is now western North America, appears to have had an East Coast cousin. A new study describes two dinosaurs that inhabited Appalachia -- a once isolated land mass that today composes much of the eastern United States -- about 85 million years ago: an herbivorous duck-billed hadrosaur and a carnivorous tyrannosaur. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3Beaj9O

Pulling heat-trapping carbon dioxide out of the air and turning it into useful products, a concept called carbon capture and utilization, has the potential to offer both environmental and economic benefits. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3jfMgkp

A fossil acquired in a police raid has turned out to be one of the best-preserved flying reptiles ever found, according to a new study. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3kmpmaI

A new study analyzes the association between more than 100 environmental exposures and the 'epigenetic clock' of over 1,000 children in six European countries. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3yhlFbb

The Codex Telleriano Remensis, created in the 16th century in Mexico, depicts earthquakes in pictograms that are the first written evidence of earthquakes in the Americas in pre-Hispanic times, according to a pair of researchers who have systematically studied the country's historical earthquakes. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3ydfeFT

A new analysis suggests that U.S. workers in industries that expose them to weather conditions work fewer hours per day when temperatures surpass 90 degrees Fahrenheit -- but only during periods of economic growth. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3zldfka

A new hydrogel that can be implanted during keyhole surgery and that provides a scaffold for cartilage cells to grow on could help improve the treatment of damaged joints from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/3gAzGum

Clearer skies from restrictions on traffic during the covid-19 pandemic seem to have brought forward China’s spring by around eight days, resulting in so much vegetation growth that the country was almost a fifth "greener" from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/3sQsfo2

At sites in the UK with streetlights, moth caterpillars decline by up to 50 per cent – and the decline is worse near LED lights compared with older, sodium lamps from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/3Dc7w2J

The discovery of a gene linked to endometriosis, a painful condition that affects up to one in 10 women, has led to a drug treatment that shows promise in mice but hasn't yet been tested in people from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/3jdlgCi

A new form of magnetic resonance imaging can detect chemical labels added to DNA to control gene activity. It requires eating a special diet and has only been tested on piglets so far, but should work in people, too from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/3jeENlS

Unrealistic and flawed scientific experiments mean the true impact of nitrogen pollution on the environment is unknownremains poorly understood, a new study warns. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3yhmgcT

A 100-million-year-old fossil belongs to a strange pterosaur with a 50-centimetre-tall head crest that would have made it difficult for the winged reptile to fly from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/3jhepaR

Early socialization of dairy calves is sometimes given lesser priority in the interest of physical health, with young calves housed individually to prevent the spread of contagious diseases such as those that cause diarrhea, or scours, a major source of calf mortality. In a new study, scientists investigated whether this individually housed tactic is justified and what unintended consequences it may have. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3sQ4dJB

Particles in many places at once, spooky influences and cats that are dead and alive at the same time – these are the phenomena that earned quantum theory its reputation for weirdness from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/3mxKrS0

Certain proteins may have evolved to tamp down 'cheating' during meiosis, the cell-division process that gives rise to eggs and sperm. While chromosomes can tip the scales in their favor of winding up in an egg, the team's new work identifies a mechanism that keeps the odds closer to 50-50, possibly reducing the likelihood that chromosomal abnormalities will arise during egg production. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3yiv0PM

The highest-ever resolution imaging of an infectious prion provides the first atomic-level data of how these abnormal proteins are assembled to cause fatal neurodegenerative diseases in people and animals -- and how they can be potentially targeted by new therapies. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3gyTlLs

The latest coronavirus news updated every day including coronavirus cases, the latest news, features and interviews from New Scientist and essential information about the covid-19 pandemic from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/3kkWPSN

New research has confirmed that keeping car windows open to draw in fresh air is key to reducing the risk of contracting the virus in vehicle environments -- but there are trade-offs. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3gOuLq7

A controversial recommendation to adjust a person’s kidney test results based on their ethnicity has been removed from medical guidance in the UK from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/38eofUN

Stingless bees are found throughout tropical and subtropical parts of the world and produce significantly less honey than their European honey bee counterparts (Apis mellifera) which are the world's major honey production species. However, stingless bee honey is highly prized as a specialty food, noted in Indigenous cultures for its medicinal properties, and attracts a high price. Now new research has identified that the Tetragonula carbonaria stingless bee, which is native to Australia, is a powerhouse at converting regular table sugar into the rare low GI sugar trehalulose, found only in stingless bee honey and not as a major component in any other food. Researchers also identified that the bees do this within their gut - the trehalulose does not result from native flora or unique resins that form the pots stingless bees store their honey in. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3yfYwWk

Hydrogen produced from renewable energy sources with the help of electric power is deemed a key to the energy transition: It can be used to chemically store wind and solar energy in a CO2-neutral way. Researchers have studied water electrolysis processes on the surface of an iridium oxide catalyst. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3sJxSnK

Urbanization is one of the most drastic forms of land-use change. Its negative consequences on biodiversity have been studied extensively in countries like Germany. However, there has been less research in tropical regions from the Global South. Researchers investigated the effects on farmland bird communities in Bangalore and found that urbanization filters out species with certain traits, such as insect-eating birds, which are important for pest control. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3Df5QW9

A pair of scale model structures subjected to simulated storm conditions in an lab responded like real wood-frame homes during recent hurricanes, suggesting model buildings can yield important design information for low-lying areas vulnerable to storm surges and big waves. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3msFp9x

Core samples taken from a stand of old growth Douglas-fir trees in the South Beach area just south of Newport showed reduced growth following the 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami that struck the Pacific Northwest in 1700. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/38cMna8

Researchers have discovered a new chemical mechanism used by roots of white lupin to clean up arsenic-contaminated soils, such as those from mining operations. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3sL5Et1

Actor and the inventor of a wireless communications technique still in use today from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/3munjnn

Researchers have identified what may be the key molecular mechanism responsible for COVID-19 mortality -- an enzyme related to neurotoxins found in rattlesnake venom. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3klLKkj

The Arctic has been warming more than twice as fast as the rest of the planet. Meanwhile CO2 measurements show substantial increases in the amount of carbon absorbed into and emitted by Arctic plants and soil. Scientists assumed this was playing a large role in changes to the Arctic carbon cycle. But they were not able to measure carbon uptake and release independently. This study provides insights into this important process based on the modelling of atmospheric measurements of carbonyl sulfide. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3gwlT8l

Climate change has severely reduced the length of the seal hunting season in a rural Alaska village, potentially threatening a key feature of the community's Indigenous way of life. The study led by Indigenous hunters, the Native Village of Kotzebue and scientists shows that over the past 17 years, the seal hunting season shrank about one day per year. Sea ice decline is a major cause of the shrinking season. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3guuw2Z

A recent study led by an entomologist explores the different kinds of cells that make up mosquito immune systems. The research could shed light on how mosquitoes transmit malaria. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3kmZaN6