Science In flow

An artificial intelligence learned to skilfully control digital humanoid soccer players by working through decades worth of soccer matches in just a few weeks from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/Hyj3f4z

Robots without batteries, motors or electronics can lack power, but a tiny gearbox driven by an external magnetic field enabled one soft robot to jump almost 40 times its height from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/7gdKWMN

Researchers have shown that mice respond more to the antidepressant effects of the drug ketamine when administered by men and not by women. The group demonstrated that a stress response in a specific region of the mouse brain from handling by a man is essential for ketamine to work. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/C8GlkTp

Adding an ingredient called an adjuvant can help vaccines elicit a more robust immune response, better training the body to fight a pathogen. Researchers report a substance that boosted the immune response to an experimental COVID-19 shot in mice by 25 times, compared to injection with the vaccine alone. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2ogGWUS

Hormone replacement therapy has a bad reputation because of potential risks to long-term health. A new look at the evidence could change our relationship with HRT - and the menopause from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/DkHVPzc

Housing a growing population in homes made out of wood instead of conventional steel and concrete could avoid more than 100 billion tons of emissions of the greenhouse gas CO2 until 2100, a new study shows. These are about 10 percent of the remaining carbon budget for the 2°C climate target. Besides the harvest from natural forests, newly established timber plantations are required for supplying construction wood. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/u3NpaZ1

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory will scan the whole southern sky every three nights. From short-lived supernovae to alien megastructures, here are some of the fleeting cosmic phenomena it could capture from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/jJlKdiI

Researchers have demonstrated the low environmental footprint of water fluoridation compared to other preventive measures for tooth decay. Research findings also strengthen the case internationally for water fluoridation programs to reduce dental decay, particularly in the most vulnerable populations. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/t1i9fBN

The vast array of shapes that fungi can take, including colourful mushroom caps and tangles of thread-like moulds, evolved in two big bursts hundreds of millions of years ago from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/mRq7baG

Computer simulations of a simplified dishwasher that uses hot, dry steam and no detergent found that it could kill all heat-resistant bacteria on a plate in under half a minute – but it might not actually clean your dishes from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/x0aGtQH

In 2004, construction workers in Norwich, UK, unearthed human skeletal remains that led to a historical mystery -- at least 17 bodies at the bottom of a medieval well. Using archeological records, historical documents, and ancient DNA, British researchers have now identified the individuals to be a group of Ashkenazi Jews who may have fallen victim to antisemitic violence during the 12th century. Their findings shed new light on Jewish medical history in Europe. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/0wRWCJN

NASA has had to delay the launch of its powerful SLS rocket. New Scientist’s Leah Crane reports from the scene in Florida from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/PLKn4iq

Scientists developed a simple, rapid method for identifying food poisoning-inducing bacteria based on color differences in the scattered light of composite structures consisting of gold, silver, and copper nanoparticles and polymer particles. Using these composites as test labels bound to specific bacteria, the researchers detected food poisoning bacteria E. coli O26, E. coli O157, and S. aureus as white, red, and blue scattered light, respectively, under the microscope. This new method enables simultaneous identification of multiple bacterial species within one hour, significantly shortening the usual 48-hour time requirement for conventional bacterial tests. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/Es2TWhC

Plants lengthen and bend to secure access to sunlight. Despite observing this phenomenon for centuries, scientists do not fully understand it. Now, scientists have discovered that two plant factors -- the protein PIF7 and the growth hormone auxin -- are the triggers that accelerate growth when plants are shaded by canopy and exposed to warm temperatures at the same time. The findings will help scientists predict how plants will respond to climate change--and increase crop productivity despite the yield-harming global temperature rise. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/iMT75fj

A new study shows that while Bd can significantly reduce in captive frogs, captivity can have negative consequences for the frogs' protective skin microbiota, providing new insight into diversity management. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/jg5SkWf

The idea of plant consciousness may be wild, but finding objective ways to probe their inner lives could bring benefits to us all from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/mFciMGo

The idea of plant consciousness may be wild, but finding objective ways to probe their inner lives could bring benefits to us all from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/mFciMGo

NASA is sending its colossal Space Launch System into space for the first time on 29 August for the Artemis I mission around the moon. Watch the launch coverage here from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/21n7OPv

Most children can fold a paper plane, but Alom Shaha prefers paper helicopters – and they are better for experimenting with from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/Qwc0vzj

NASA is sending its colossal Space Launch System into space for the first time on 29 August for the Artemis I mission around the moon. Watch the launch coverage here from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/wyITVDm

Grass lawns and hiking trails are no problem for this robot, which learned to walk on them on the fly thanks to a machine learning algorithm from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/g7ZiTvR

A start-up has developed data centre pods that can be submerged in the ocean to let the water naturally keep them cool. Cooling is normally very energy-intensive from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/YmH8D5C

An analysis in nearly 2.3 million Europeans has found detrimental associations between cold weather and deaths from heart disease, particularly in poor neighbourhoods. Hot weather was linked with excess deaths from heart disease and stroke in patients with heart conditions. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/6PXQN1h

Several antiviral drugs kill viruses by inducing lots of mutations, but a computer model suggests this could have unpredictable consequences from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/xtBXj7C

Researchers have published one of the earliest studies assessing the use of tecovirimat to treat monkeypox symptoms and skin lesions. The antiviral drug approved for smallpox treatment appeared to be safe and effective in 25 patients with monkeypox (MPX). from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/jnScT9L

While nature play infrastructure grows, new research from Australia shows that teachers also need a knowledge-boost on how to best link nature play areas to the curriculum and children's learning. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/SkLPMWV

Hacking concerns continue to dog the online Conservative party vote, which will decide next UK prime minister – should online voting even be used in such situations? from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/1QPcbfV

The majority of days every year could become dangerously hot in many parts of the world if warming reaches 3°C by 2100 from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/ozvNH2D

The rules of wrinkling are surprisingly hard to pin down. Using experiments, simulations and mathematical proofs, a team has uncovered how curved thin sheets of plastic will wrinkle when flattened from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/gmQwoBc

Embryo-like structures grown in an incubator instead of a uterus could lead to better treatments for infertility and a range of other medical conditions from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/lsDKdOF

Sensitive test to detect a possible fifth fundamental force known as the chameleon force provides the best evidence yet that it isn’t a valid candidate for dark energy from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/oSNMyg2

The so-called tomato flu spreading among children in Kerala, India, is probably caused by hand, foot and mouth disease, a common childhood illness that is usually mild from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/ebYsztJ

Green roofs have existed for more than 2000 years, but, along with living walls, they are becoming more popular – and provide major eco-benefits, writes Beronda L. Montgomery from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/0mK92t1

Engineers have designed a battery made from inexpensive, abundant materials, that could provide low-cost backup storage for renewable energy sources. Less expensive than lithium-ion battery technology, the new architecture uses aluminum and sulfur as its two electrode materials with a molten salt electrolyte in between. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/1vsI6LC

Scientists investigating the remains of an old wooden ship off the cold, windy coast of far southern Argentina say it almost certainly is the Dolphin, a globe-trotting whaling ship from Warren, R.I., lost in 1859. Archaeologists have spent years researching the ship's origin without making a definitive identification, but a new analysis of tree rings in its timbers has provided perhaps the most compelling evidence yet. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/BCfxOG7

A first-of-its-kind study of the 50 largest cities in the U.S. found a lack of preparedness, specifically to evacuate carless and vulnerable populations. Only seven cities had strong plans, including Charlotte, North Carolina; Cleveland; Jacksonville; Miami; New Orleans; New York; and Philadelphia. Twenty cities achieved a moderate rating, six cities had a weak rating and 17 plans were not available or do not exist. Among the cities with plans not found include Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Minneapolis. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/jyCiOtL

The growing demand for nickel, copper, cobalt, and zinc -- raw materials for solar panels and batteries -- puts the mining and metals sector in the spotlight of climate change mitigation. But how does the sector itself fare when it comes to meeting the sustainable development goals? Researchers analyzed the global trends of patents related to climate change mitigation technology filed by the mining and metals sectors to find out. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/pZSBXuM

Marked differences in how climate change will affect different parts of Europe require further focus and political attention if European agriculture is to adapt to future climatic conditions, say researchers. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/iJkgLoc

By using techniques from both genetics and oceanography, researchers have found that the mangrove populations in the Ryukyu Islands are relatively isolated from one another, which has implications for conservation. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/GcBsIEi

Inspired by experiments showing entanglement over time, not just space, physicist Vlatko Vedral is reconsidering the way we think of time in quantum mechanics. The new approach treats space and time as part of one entity and could help us unravel black holes and make quantum time travel possible from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/XVKkZjF

Research supports a causal relationship between air pollution and heart attacks since smokers, who already inhale smoke, were unaffected by dirty air. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/KwOZ5tF

A simple conservation strategy deployed by conservationists and scientists is greatly assisting in the extraordinary success of threatened Roseate terns on Rockabill Island, off the coast of Dublin. Ireland is home to the majority of Europe's Roseate Terns with Rockabill incredibly hosting 85% of the European population on this tiny island, which is the size of a football pitch. The number of breeding pairs is now ten times what it was when the project started in 1989, and chicks that hatched and fledged on Rockabill have gone on to boost other important colonies in Wexford and England. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/uekRJZA

To investigate whether paleoclimatic temperature shifts are correlated with body size changes, biologists decided to test this hypothesis using tetraodontiform fishes as a model group. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/vSMbuJl

After a comprehensive study of plants across the United States, researchers have arrived at the unexpected conclusion that plants able to fix atmospheric nitrogen are most diverse in arid regions of the country. This finding runs counter to the prevailing assumption that nitrogen-fixers should be comparatively most diverse in environments where nitrogen in the soil is in limited supply. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/1y0u9jD

Researchers have developed a sensor that detects rot in potatoes and inhibits the disease from growing and spreading to other plants. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/F1nj2Hl

Humans aren't the only ones suffering through unprecedented heatwaves in a warming climate. Consider the humble minnow. These tiny fish represent the all-important base of the food chain in many freshwater ecosystems. And like all fish, minnows adjust their body temperature to match their surroundings. As climate change turns up the heat, could minnows cook? from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/CtYnSje

People who were in Facebook groups shut down seemingly for violating vaccine misinformation rules went on to tweet more anti-vaccine content in the following month from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/AqVHN1g

Would you have your baby’s genes sequenced at birth? A groundbreaking trial that used whole-genome sequencing to predict newborns' future health, is starting to reveal the impact it has had on the whole family, seven years down the line from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/DwCjGXV

A new study highlights that global demand for sulfuric acid is set to rise significantly from '246 to 400 million tons' by 2040 -- a result of more intensive agriculture and the world moving away from fossil fuels. A projected shortage of sulfuric acid, a crucial chemical in our modern industrial society, could stifle green technology advancement and threaten global food security, according to a new study. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/ovzMs8x

What we flush down the toilet is becoming a valuable resource for tracking diseases, including monkeypox and polio, but there are important questions over who gets to use it and what for from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/HAg5nFL

What we flush down the toilet is becoming a valuable resource for tracking diseases, including monkeypox and polio, but there are important questions over who gets to use it and what for from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/HAg5nFL

Consuming a fat molecule produced by gut bacteria appears to offer protection against anaphylaxis caused by peanut allergy from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/aO2rklt

Waste water contains a treasure trove of data on our health, well-being and inequality, and can be used to head off epidemics, track pandemics and even spot new designer drugs before their effects show up in the population. But how much information are we willing to flush down the toilet? from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/FonYyf6

Waste water contains a treasure trove of data on our health, well-being and inequality, and can be used to head off epidemics, track pandemics and even spot new designer drugs before their effects show up in the population. But how much information are we willing to flush down the toilet? from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/FonYyf6

Expand your plant collection for free by saving seeds this year, storing them over the winter and sowing them next spring, says Clare Wilson from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/F5dkqHN

Could a system of eight-dimensional numbers help physicists find a single mathematical framework that describes the entire universe? from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/htB8IFY

By cleverly capturing the behaviour of our feline friends, Stray offers a great experience for those who fancy spending time as a cat, says Jacob Aron from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/Gv3CQpe

For the first time, a speedcuber has demonstrated a solution to the Rubik’s cube that combines the two final steps of the puzzle’s solution into one from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/MdlxNye

A proposal for a computer built using liquid crystals – similar to those found in LCD TVs – would use the orientation of the molecules to store data. Calculations would look like ripples through the liquid from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/cYOiftb

A spike in global temperatures could have been the trigger for the rise of reptiles towards the end of the Permian Period, not a mass extinction of mammals as had been thought from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/wjP9YEW

Two artificial sweeteners, saccharin and sucralose, may impede the body’s ability to regulate blood sugar levels after eating, potentially due to associated changes in the microbiome from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/rCq5MXU

What do corncobs and tomato peels have to do with electronics? They both can be used to salvage valuable rare earth elements, like neodymium, from electronic waste. Researchers used micro- and nanoparticles created from the organic materials to capture rare earth elements from aqueous solutions. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/aQwXHUK

Oceans have their own unique soundscape. Many marine organisms, for example, use sound for echolocation, navigation or communication with conspecifics. In recent decades, however, more and more sounds caused by human activities are permeating the waters. A study now presents evidence that these sounds affect some invertebrates that live in and on the seafloor in ways that important functions they provide for their ecosystems may be impacted. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/reOokqj

The population of polecats in Britain has recovered over the past century and it may be in part due to interbreeding with feral ferrets from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/phlR9ud

A newly-discovered walking shark that breaks all of the rules for survival is the focus of a new study that examined differences in walking and swimming in neonate (newly-hatched) and juvenile walking sharks. Despite dissimilarities in body shapes -- neonates have bulging bellies and juveniles are slender -- the three aquatic gaits they use (slow-to-medium walking, fast-walking and swimming) did not differ. Kinematics between neonate and juvenile epaulette sharks did not alter during early development. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/7cYdCOz

Applying CRISPR-based technology to a broad agricultural need, scientists have developed a new technology aimed at Drosophila suzukii, the invasive fruit fly responsible for millions of dollars in crop damage. The technology replaces the need for insecticides with precise genetic edits in flies. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/bSt8WZG

Female mosquitoes that had their human-scent receptors blocked could still smell people. The finding suggests the insects have a more elaborate olfactory system than was previously known from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/EfDZOva

An analysis of bumblebee wings from a network of UK museums shows signs of stress linked to increasingly hotter and wetter conditions. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/89QAvuX

Saccorhytus coronarius lived around 500 million years ago and was thought to be a common ancestor of deuterostomes, making it the earliest known ancestor of humans, but it turns out to be on another branch of life from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/ejRDHEw

Using a mouse model, researchers from Japan uncover the key role of neutrophil extracellular traps in the contact hypersensitivity response. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/CcsRuiT

It is common for young animals, in particular mammals, to play. Researchers have for the first time mapped the development of play in young chickens. The results show that the young chickens spend lots of time playing in different ways -- just like puppies and kittens. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2KJ4cX9

A solar fuel cell that produces carbon monoxide and hydrogen is light enough to float on water, which could help address the shortage of land available for solar projects from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/rgU1M4C

Over three million people are infected with the hepatitis E virus every year. So far, no effective treatment is available. An international team has investigated which factors are important for the virus in the course of its replication cycle and how it manages to maintain the infection. The researchers analysed various mutations of the virus and found changes that may allow the virus to trick the immune system. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/VLfCIZt

A Rutgers scientist aiming to help heal a sick horse created an ultra-sensitive DNA test that could have applications for difficult-to-detect illnesses in humans such as Lyme disease. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/KpRN4Tm

There is plenty of ice and watery minerals underground at the poles of Mars, but NASA’s InSight lander found almost none at the equator, leaving scientists wondering where the water went from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/cl27tMN

A new framework for classifying the positive impacts of non-native species will allow conservationists and policymakers to make better-informed management decisions, according to a new article. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/Q26jb5G

Orchestral ensembles have faced many challenges when starting to perform again during the COVID pandemic, and contamination is a chief concern: specifically, whether wind instruments are vectors of contamination through aerosol dispersion. Researchers worked with musicians to deepen our understanding of how much aerosol is produced and dispersed by wind instruments. They used visualization to characterize the flow, tracked fog particles in the air, and measured aerosol concentration from wind instruments with a particle counter. Then they combined these to develop an equation to describe aerosol dispersion. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/WNXDLib

Decarbonization scenarios produced by major fossil fuel companies are incompatible with Paris Agreement goals for a safe and habitable planet, according to new research. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/WNIbuAB

When the heat index was created nearly 45 years ago, it was a good measure of how hot it feels under increasing humidity. It still is. But with climate change, weather extremes are becoming more common, and the Heat Index can underestimate the apparent temperature and the physiological stress humans suffer. Scientists have now updated the index and found that the current index can underestimate apparent temperatures by as much as 23 degrees Fahrenheit. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/BNgsZX9

Researchers have made a surprising discovery linking Delta/Notch signaling in subperineurial glia (SPG) to the regulation of nerve ensheathment and neurotransmitter release at the Drosophila neuromuscular junction (NMJ). SPG, the counterpart of the endothelial layer in the vertebrate blood-brain barrier, form the key cellular layer that is critical for axonal ensheathment and the blood-brain barrier in Drosophila. The results provide a mechanistic insight into the biology of barrier function and glia-neuron interactions. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/OgdAHfv

A research group implemented a survey over two years to assess vector infestation and the infection risk of the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi in triatomine bugs, the culprits responsible for Chagas disease, throughout El Salvador. Their findings showed the nationwide ubiquity of the principal insect vector and identified areas where these insects have high Trypanosoma cruzi infection rates. The results contribute to potential cost-effective vector control efforts that concentrate attention and resource allocation to highly infected areas in El Salvador. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/h0Dq8AQ

People with chronic constipation who ate an AI-recommended diet for six weeks had an average 2.5-fold increase in weekly complete bowel movements from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/ZHsSmUv

How effective is biodiversity conservation of European and African national parks? This seems to be strongly associated with societal and economic conditions. But even under the most favorable conditions, conservation efforts cannot completely halt emerging threats to biodiversity if conditions outside of the parks do not improve. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/hVYpojs

The after-effects of nuclear war would be catastrophic for agriculture. Simulations show billions of people could starve depending on the size of the conflict from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/eimb7v6

Solar panels aren't just for rooftops anymore -- some buildings even have these power-generating structures all over their facades. But as more buildings and public spaces incorporate photovoltaic technologies, their monotonous black color could leave onlookers underwhelmed. Now, researchers have created solar panels that take on colorful hues while producing energy nearly as efficiently as traditional ones. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/cVlUFap

Analysis quantifies monetary land value benefits of environmentally friendly practice. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/DKiTxyp

New algorithm forces turbines in wind farms to be team players, boosting energy output overall. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/p3cz1Cj

Relying on stormwater management (SWM) ponds to restore the depleting wetlands is not sustainable and lacks the critical ecosystem services vital for biodiversity, a new study found. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/epg6iBh

Civil and environmental engineers have formulated a method to predict human movement during large-scale extreme events with the goal of enabling more effective emergency responses. The model also revealed great disparity in movement among different economic groups. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/QZX1k68

Look out for the Teapot, a group of stars that looks as if it has the steam of the Milky Way coming out of its spout from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/8BugJ9m

Thawing Arctic hillsides release a significant amount of organic carbon that has been locked in frozen ground for thousands of years but which now can contribute to an already warming climate, according to new research. The finding comes from the study of hillsides in a far north region of Russia, where the researchers also found a significant and rapid increase of collapsed hillsides. The collapses feature landslides that gradually expose more of the permafrost for thawing -- and more carbon for release. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/pWb9qxz

A new model illustrates how meltwater from the Antarctic ice can trap heat under ice shelves, increasing melting in a feedback loop. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/P1lYdeU

A bacterial species closely related to deadly citrus greening disease is rapidly evolving its ability to infect insect hosts, and possibly plants as well. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/x2aoZtY

A study of over 26,000 middle-aged UK women reveals those with a vegetarian diet had a 33% higher risk of hip fracture compared to regular meat-eaters. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/mecEPRX

New research sheds light on how a certain kind of pattern in nature arises. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2hjkqvZ

Simulations of a quantum computer made of six rubidium atoms suggest it could run a simple brain-inspired algorithm that can learn to remember and make simple decisions from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/AkhUtB3

Based on the book by journalist Sheri Fink, this TV mini-series dramatises the shocking stories of health workers and patients whose lives are changed forever as Hurricane Katrina overwhelms a US hospital in 2005, finds Bethan Ackerley from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/h9EUTOJ

More than a million large-nose antelopes now roam the Kazakhstan steppe, a big rebound from the 130,000 animals left after a fatal bacterial disease killed half of the population from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/bXT1Jsl

Simulations suggest that Earth could theoretically host two more moons the size of the one we've got now, or several smaller moons from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/ZzHOKha

Simultaneous extreme heat and drought events have consequences in a variety of areas -- for example the economy, health and food production. In addition, due to complex socio-economic connections, such extreme events can cause knock-on effects, researchers have shown. More systematic risk assessments are needed to make affected regions more resilient. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/JoTeplm

Moving like an insect may not be the most efficient way for tiny flying robots to hover – they get more lift by taking advantage of vortices of air that form under their wings from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/7gPKjXL

Twenty people who were legally blind or visually impaired received a transplant of a cornea made from pig collagen. All of them had improved sight, including three who now have 20/20 vision after being legally blind from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/T9YkjWQ

Researchers and entrepreneurs have developed an implant made of collagen protein from pig's skin, which resembles the human cornea. In a pilot study, the implant restored vision to 20 people with diseased corneas, most of whom were blind prior to receiving the implant. The promising results bring hope to those suffering from corneal blindness and low vision by providing a bioengineered implant as an alternative to the transplantation of donated human corneas, which are scarce in countries where the need for them is greatest. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/oWnKTua

Researchers have developed a new enzyme engineering platform to improve plastic degrading enzymes through directed evolution. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/cpAZYfg

In mouse studies, researchers find that excess alcohol consumption alters gut microbiome but latter is not directly or significantly linked to liver disease. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/Vn1btI3

Sneezing out mucus may be one of the oldest ways for organisms to get rid of unwanted waste. A group of researchers found that sponges, one of the oldest multicellular organisms in existence, 'sneeze' to unclog their internal filter systems that they use to capture nutrients from the water. Additionally, authors find that other animals who live with the sponges use their mucus as food. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/matdCni

Researchers have modeled a key mechanism by which DNA replicates. The study could help identify new targets to treat disease. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/MLSbA7E

Despite having no nerves or muscles, sea sponges slowly contract to squeeze sand and debris out of the openings they feed through from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/jZJ4ziS

New research has provided the strongest evidence yet that Earth's continents were formed by giant meteorite impacts that were particularly prevalent during the first billion years or so of our planet's four-and-a-half-billion year history. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/QfyjnYM

Even relatively modest climate warming and associated precipitation shifts may dramatically alter Earth's northernmost forests, which constitute one of the planet's largest nearly intact forested ecosystems and are home to a big chunk of the planet's terrestrial carbon. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/c79PiUY

An experiment using solar concentrators, which focus sunlight to a point, to roast green chillies suggests it may be possible to build portable solar cookers from New Scientist - Home https://ift.tt/TrI2UaP

Climate change has led to warming temperatures in the Pacific Northwest, leading some insect species to expand their range into more northerly oak savannas, according to new research. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/U1sWOVt

Scientists have developed a small robot to understand how ants teach one another. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/CQwSsr2

Social hunting strategies are already well documented in many animal species when prey is distributed in an unpredictable way across the landscape. Researchers have now demonstrated for the first time that animals -- in this case the common noctule bat -- join together and form a mobile sensory network in order to increase their chances of finding their prey. The analyses show that predators can adjust to variable environmental conditions through flexible foraging strategies by networking with conspecifics. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/PZrfwFv

Dust from all over the world is landing in the Sierra Nevada mountains carrying microbes that are toxic to both plants and humans. New research shows higher concentrations of the dust are landing at lower elevations, where people are more likely to be hiking. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/olT76ZG

Spinosaurid dinosaurs were able to develop up to three generations of teeth at the same time, a high replacement rate that explains why so many teeth of this type have been found in Cretaceous sites. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/WZqPtKO

A historically overlooked rod-like projection present on nearly every cell type in the human body may finally be getting its scientific due: A new study has found that these appendages, called cilia, on neurons in the brain have a key role in ensuring a specific dopamine receptor's signals are properly received. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/lAq7QIO

A team has developed a new mathematical method that can eliminate signal noise and thus enable the extraction of clear signals from single-cell RNA sequencing data. The new method successfully decreases random sampling noise in the data to enable a precise and complete understanding of a cell's activity. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/UdD87bo

Scientists are proposing management changes on western federal lands that they say would result in more wolves and beavers and would re-establish ecological processes. from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/Zkjm4Ot