ScienceDaily: All - August 27, 2024
Today's top research news
Are crops worldwide sufficiently pollinated?
Scientists have analyzed crop yields of more than 1,500 fields on six continents, and found that production worldwide of important, nutritionally dense foods such as fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes is being limited by a lack of pollinators.
Image: Ian Grainger/Shutterstock.com
Physicists ease path to entanglement for quantum sensing
A quantum mechanical trick called 'spin squeezing' is widely recognized to hold promise for supercharging the capabilities of the world's most precise quantum sensors, but it's been notoriously difficult to achieve. In new research, physicists describe how they've put spin squeezing within better reach.
Public trust in drinking water safety is low globally
A new study finds more than half of adults surveyed worldwide expect to be seriously harmed by their water within the next two years. The study sought to understand public perceptions of drinking water safety. Because perceptions shape attitudes and behaviors, distrust in water quality has a negative impact on people's health, nutrition, psychological and economic well-being -- even when the water meets safety standards.
Scientists use evolution to bioengineer new pathways to sustainable energy, pharmaceuticals
Using evolution as a guiding principle, researchers have successfully engineered bacteria-yeast hybrids to perform photosynthetic carbon assimilation, generate cellular energy and support yeast growth without traditional carbon feedstocks like glucose or glycerol. By engineering photosynthetic cyanobacteria to live symbiotically inside yeast cells, the bacteria-yeast hybrids can produce important hydrocarbons, paving new biotechnical pathways to non-petroleum-based energy, other synthetic biology applications and the experimental study of evolution.
Closing the RNA loop holds promise for more stable, effective RNA therapies
New methods to shape RNA molecules into circles could lead to more effective and long-lasting therapies, shows a new study. The advance holds promise for a range of diseases, offering a more enduring alternative to existing RNA therapies, which often suffer from short-lived effectiveness in the body.
Immune system that bacteria use to respond to viral infections
An article highlights new insights into the PARIS, an immune system that bacteria use to respond to viral infections.
First low frequency search for alien technology in distant galaxies
Researchers have announced a groundbreaking study using the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) in Western Australia. The research is the first to search for signs of alien technology in galaxies beyond our own, focusing on low radio frequencies (100 MHz). This new approach looks at distant galaxies, making it one of the most detailed searches for super civilizations -- those more advanced than ours.
Astrophysicists use AI to precisely calculate universe's 'settings'
The new estimates of the parameters that form the basis of the standard model of cosmology are far more precise than previous approaches using the same galaxy distribution data.
Matching dinosaur footprints found on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean
An international team of paleontologists has found matching sets of Early Cretaceous dinosaur footprints on what are now two different continents.
Early galaxies were not too big for their britches after all
According to a new study, some of the earliest galaxies observed with the James Webb Space Telescope are in fact much less massive than they first appeared. Black holes in some of these galaxies make them appear much brighter and bigger than they really are. This helps resolve the debate over whether the size of early galaxies requires a revision of the standard model of cosmology.
Bicycle rolling-stop laws don't lead to unsafe behavior by riders or motorists, research shows
Laws that let bicyclists treat stop signs as yield signs lead neither riders nor motorists to act unsafely, according to a groundbreaking study.
2 in 3 parents want help preventing their child from developing hereditary health conditions
One in five parents say their child has been diagnosed with a hereditary condition, while nearly half expressed concerns about their child potentially developing such a condition, a new national poll suggests.
New record in search for dark matter
New results from the world's most sensitive dark matter detector put the best-ever limits on particles called WIMPs, a leading candidate for what makes up our universe's invisible mass.
Key discovery advances fight to reduce breast cancer recurrence
The surprising discovery that cellular protein G 13 may actually protect against -- rather than promote growth of -- the most commonly relapsing type of breast cancer signals potential for more effective and innovative treatments.
Knowing you have a brain aneurysm may raise anxiety risk, other mental health conditions
Even if the risk is small, the potential of a debilitating brain vessel rupture may be a psychological burden, finds new study.
Finding love: Study reveals where love lives in the brain
We use the word 'love' in a bewildering range of contexts -- from sexual adoration to parental love or the love of nature. Now, more comprehensive imaging of the brain may shed light on why we use the same word for such a diverse collection of human experiences.
Malaria is caused by a eukaryotic microbe of the Plasmodium genus, and is responsible for more deaths than all other parasitic diseases combined. In order to transmit from the human host to the mosquito vector, the parasite has to differentiate to its sexual stage, referred to as the gametocyte stage. Unlike primary sex determination in mammals, which occurs at the chromosome level, it is not known what causes this unicellular parasite to form males and females. New research has implemented high-resolution genomic tools to map the global repertoire of genes of gametocyte development towards the male or the female sexual fates.
Scientific consensus can strengthen pro-climate attitudes in society
Climate scientists have long agreed that humans are largely responsible for climate change. A new study finds that communicating the scientific consensus about climate change can clear up misperceptions and strengthen beliefs about the existence and the causes of climate change. The team surveyed over 10,000 people from 27 countries on 6 continents.
Short-duration, light-intensity exercises improve cerebral blood flow in children
Enhancing prefrontal cortex (PFC) cognitive functions requires identifying suitable exercises that increase cerebral blood flow. A recent study using functional near-infrared spectroscopy found that short-duration, low-intensity physical exercises, except static stretching with monotonous movements, increased oxygenated hemoglobin (oxy-Hb) levels, thereby activating the PFC and enhancing blood flow in children. This study marks a significant step toward improving both the physical and mental health of children.
A hybrid arrowhead against immune disorders
A bacterially derived natural product inhibits the cellular immune response in a more targeted manner without blocking the cell's disposal system.
Why children can't pay attention to the task at hand
Study finds salamanders are surprisingly abundant in northeastern forests
Two recent amphibian-focused studies shed light on the ecological importance of red-backed salamanders, while confirming that proactive measures would prevent costly impacts from a wildlife disease spreading across Europe that has not yet reached North America.
Looking for clues about your biological age? Your grandparents' education may offer some insight.
Eating well, exercising and attending regular doctor appointments can support a long healthy life, but a new study identified one possible factor beyond our control: whether you had a grandparent who went to college.
Old chemo drug, new pancreatic cancer therapy?
Researchers discovered that treating pancreatic cancer with a common chemotherapy drug makes immunotherapy more effective. Folinic acid elevates levels of two anti-cancer immune molecules within pancreatic tumors: natural killer T cells and type-I interferons. In mice, this led to a more effective immune response, slower tumor growth, and longer survival.
Sustaining oyster farming with sturdier rafts
Seeking affordable, sturdy rafts for oyster farming, researchers propose polyethylene rafts. Their findings show a polyethylene raft as being about five times more durable than a conventional bamboo raft.
Synthetic immunology: Approaching a turning point in the treatment and prevention of disease
Synthetic immunology, an innovative field of research which could lead to fundamentally new approaches and methods in the treatment of infectious diseases and cancer.