ScienceDaily: All - June 04, 2024
Today's top research news
Sunshine spurs spending: Investors bet big on sunny days
New research has found a connection between pleasant weather conditions and higher investment in lottery-like stocks.
Image: maradon 333/Shutterstock.com
Frequent mowing puts poisonous weed into survival mode
A study has found that frequent mowing of Solanum elaeagnifolium, also known as silverleaf nightshade, may help create a 'superweed.' A professor of entomology and plant pathology has been studying silverleaf nightshade for more than a decade. New findings have shown that the more silverleaf nightshade was mowed, the more it developed ways to avoid destruction. The taproot went down further, nearly 5 feet deep, in the first generation of mowed plants. More spikes popped out on the stem as a defense against caterpillars feeding on the flowers. The flowers became more toxic to caterpillars, leading to less pressure from natural predators.
Airplane noise exposure may increase risk of chronic disease
A new study indicates that airplane noise may increase one's risk of developing cardiometabolic diseases, a cluster of conditions such as heart attack, stroke, diabetes, and hypertension. The study found that people who were exposed to airplane noise levels at 45 dB or more were more likely to have higher self-reported body mass index (BMI), with the highest BMI measures linked to aircraft noise levels at 55 dB or above.
A technique for more effective multipurpose robots
MIT researchers developed a technique to combine robotics training data across domains, modalities, and tasks using generative AI models. They create a combined strategy from several different datasets that enables a robot to learn to perform new tasks in unseen environments.
Researchers call for strengthening sustainability regulations in laws governing space exploration
Researchers call for strengthening existing planetary protection policies beyond the space surrounding Earth to include requirements for preserving the Lunar and Martian environments.
New machine learning method can better predict spine surgery outcomes
Researchers combine AI and mobile health to predict recovery from lumbar spine surgery.
Microscopic defects in ice shape how massive glaciers flow, study shows
A glacier's flow depends on how microscopic defects move through the ice, according to new research that also yielded a new model for predicting how glaciers will flow, ultimately contributing to sea-level rise.
Mapping the seafloor sediment superhighway
A new scientific model is giving researchers an unprecedented, global look at the activities of clams, worms, and other invertebrate animals that burrow at the bottom of the ocean.
Traffic speeds decrease when bike lane is present
Researchers conducting a study at a high-traffic intersection in a Jersey Shore town have found that the installation of a bike lane along the road approaching the convergence reduced driving speeds.
Oral nucleoside antiviral is progressing toward future pandemic preparedness
Obeldesivir (GS-5245), a novel investigational small molecule oral antiviral, represents a new tool in the ongoing effort to prepare for future pandemics.
Shape and depth of ocean floor profoundly influence how carbon is stored there
The movement of carbon between the atmosphere, oceans and continents -- or carbon cycle -- regulates Earth's climate, with the ocean playing a major role in carbon sequestration. A new study finds that the shape and depth of the ocean floor explain up to 50% of the changes in depth at which carbon has been sequestered there over the past 80 million years. While these changes have been previously attributed to other causes, the new finding could inform ongoing efforts to combat climate change through marine carbon sequestration.
Novel software that combines gene activity and tissue location to decode disease mechanisms
A new computational machine learning method developed by computational biologists can help researchers discover spatial patterns of gene expression in diseased tissue.
Altered carbon points toward sustainable manufacturing
Researchers develop a vastly more productive way to convert carbon dioxide into useful materials and compounds.
Biological processes depend on puzzle pieces coming together and interacting. Under specific conditions, these interactions can create something new without external input. This is called self-organization, as seen in a school of fish or a flock of birds. Interestingly, the mammalian embryo develops similarly. Scientists now introduce a mathematical framework that analyzes self-organization from a single cell to a multicellular organism.
New study sheds light on the effects of humor in medical practices
A humorous remark at just the right time can go a long way. Benevolent humor helps medical assistants (MAs) cope positively with their stressful working day, according to a new study.
Computational insights into colonic motility to aid understanding of ulcerative colitis
Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that causes inflammation and ulcers (sores) in the digestive tract. Ulcerative colitis affects the innermost lining of the large intestine, also called the colon and rectum. At least 40,000 people are living with IBD in Ireland, and over 5 million globally.
Snaring -- a non-selective method of poaching using wire traps -- is widespread in tropical forests in Southeast Asia. Snaring decimates wildlife populations and has pushed many larger mammals to local or even global extinction. Eleven years of data from ranger patrols in the Thua Thien Hue and Quang Nam Saola Nature Reserves in Viet Nam show that intensive removal efforts are labour-intensive and costly but brought snaring down by almost 40 percent and therefore reduced imminent threats to wildlife. Further reductions were difficult to achieve despite continued removal efforts. Snare removal is therefore necessary but by itself not sufficient to save the threatened wildlife diversity in tropical forests, scientists conclude.
Urgent need for action now for increasing threat from invasive alien species
Urgent action now is needed to tackle the major and growing global issue of invasive alien species, says a team of 88 experts from 47 countries. The paper follows the (IPBES) thematic assessment report on invasive alien species and their control. The experts say co-developing management actions with multiple stakeholders including government and private sector stakeholders, and Indigenous Peoples and local communities will be critical to achieving success in addressing biological invasions.
Thawing permafrost: Not a climate tipping element, but nevertheless far-reaching impacts
Permafrost soils store large quantities of organic carbon and are often portrayed as a critical tipping element in the Earth system, which, once global warming has reached a certain level, suddenly and globally collapses. Yet this image of a ticking timebomb, one that remains relatively quiet until, at a certain level of warming, it goes off, is a controversial one among the research community. Based on the scientific data currently available, the image is deceptive, as an international team has shown in a recently released study. According to their findings, there is no single global tipping point; rather, there are numerous local and regional ones, which 'tip' at different times, producing cumulative effects and causing the permafrost to thaw in step with climate change.
Fungus breaks down ocean plastic
A fungus living in the sea can break down the plastic polyethylene, provided it has first been exposed to UV radiation from sunlight. Researchers expect that many more plastic degrading fungi are living in deeper parts of the ocean.
Greenhouses cover more and more of Earth's surface
Greenhouse cultivation is booming globally, especially in the Global South -- and across one country in particular. This is revealed in a new study that deploys detailed satellite imagery and AI to map greenhouses across the planet. According to the researchers, the development is a source of both promise and concern.
A team has scaled up the powerful brain-mapping tool BARseq. The technology is now capable of mapping millions of neurons throughout the brain. Identifying how neural connections are wired up over time is key to understanding the brain's perceptual abilities. It may also lead to better treatments for a variety of neurological conditions.
Protein discovery could help prevent cancer treatment-related heart damage
Blocking a protein known as CDK7 could prevent heart damage associated with a commonly used cancer chemotherapy medication, according to a new study. Importantly, the researchers also found that inhibiting CDK7 could help enhance the medication's cancer-killing capability. Based on an animal model, the study findings could provide a foundation for future treatment strategies to reduce chemotherapy-related heart toxicity and increase treatment effectiveness. This could ultimately help increase the lifespan of people with cancer.
Captivating blue-colored ant discovered in India's remote Siang Valley
A new species of blue ant was discovered in Yingku village in Arunachal Pradesh, Northeastern India. It was named Paraparatrechina neela, after the word 'neela' which means blue in various Indian languages. Its unique blue coloration makes it stand out among other ant species.
Kinship and ancestry of the Celts in Baden-Württemberg, Germany
The Celtic culture of the pre-Roman Iron Age in Western and Central Europe has left numerous traces to this day, not least in the form of enormous burial mounds and spectacular archaeological artifacts. Despite this rich legacy, much about this civilization remains hidden from us.
How sharks survived a major spike in Earth's temperature
The sharks we know today as the open ocean's top predators evolved from stubby bottom dwellers during a dramatic episode of global warming millions of years ago.
The unexpected connection between brewing coffee and understanding turbulence
Using unconventional statistical mechanics to understand fluid dynamics, a professor helped solve a 150 year old physics problem of how turbulent fluids move through a pipe.
The coldest lab in New York has new quantum offering
Physicists describe the successful creation of a molecular Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC). Made up of dipolar sodium-cesium molecules that were cooled with the help of microwave shielding to just 5 nanoKelvin and lasted for up to two seconds, the new molecular BEC will help scientists explore a number of different quantum phenomena, including new types of superfluidity, and enable the creation of quantum simulators to ecreate the enigmatic properties of complex materials, like solid crystals.
Researchers call for return of Sumas Lake following devastating 2021 floods
A new proposal has emerged in response to the November 2021 floods that swept Sumas Prairie in the Fraser Valley, British Columbia, causing mass evacuations and millions in damages. Instead of rebuilding the dykes to manage water flows and prevent future floods, scientists, along with members of the Sumas First Nation and other research partners, suggest an alternative: let Sumas Lake, which was drained in the early 1920s and converted into the farmland known as Sumas Prairie, return to its natural state. This can be done by buying out properties on the lakebed -- a solution that is projected to cost around $1 billion, less than half of the estimated $2.4 billion cost of repairing the dykes and installing a new pump station.
Paving the way for hydrogen from algae enzymes
Under certain conditions, some algae are able to produce hydrogen -- a much sought-after green energy source. Its production takes place in the unique catalytic center of the unicellular algae and is only possible if certain cofactors of the relevant proteins are present. Researchers have identified how such a cofactor, the so-called hydrogen cluster, is assembled. Specifically, they describe the previously unexplained role of the enzyme HydF, which is involved in the final steps of assembly.
Healthy adults under age of 75 urged to take recommended daily allowance of vitamin D
Healthy adults under the age of 75 are unlikely to benefit from taking more than the daily intake of vitamin D recommended by the Institutes of Medicine (IOM) and do not require testing for vitamin D levels. For children, pregnant people, adults older than 75 years and adults with high-risk prediabetes, the guideline recommends vitamin D higher than the IOM recommended daily allowance.