ScienceDaily: All - March 23, 2024
Today's top research news
Researchers take major step toward developing next-generation solar cells
Engineers have discovered a new way to manufacture solar cells using perovskite semiconductors. It could lead to lower-cost, more efficient systems for powering homes, cars, boats and drones.
Image: solar cells production line, IM Imagery/shutterstock.com
If faces look like demons, you could have this extraordinary condition
Imagine if every time you saw a face, it appeared distorted. Well, for those who have a very rare condition known as prosopometamorphopsia (PMO), which causes facial features to appear distorted, that is reality. A new study reports on a unique case of a patient with PMO. The research is the first to provide accurate and photorealistic visualizations of the facial distortions experienced by an individual with PMO.
James Webb Space Telescope captures the end of planet formation
How much time do planets have to form from a swirling disk of gas and dust around a star? A new study gives scientists a better idea of how our own solar system came to be.
Revolutionizing hydrogen production: Economical and efficient solutions unveiled
Scientists introduce superaerophobic three-dimensional nickel nanostructured catalysts for accelerated water electrolysis.
Enormous ice loss from Greenland glacier
Ground-based measuring devices and aircraft radar operated in the far northeast of Greenland show how much ice the 79 N-Glacier is losing. According to recent measurements, the thickness of the glacier has decreased by more than 160 meters since 1998. Warm ocean water flowing under the glacier tongue is melting the ice from below. High air temperatures cause lakes to form on the surface, whose water flows through huge channels in the ice into the ocean. One channel reached a height of 500 meters, while the ice above was only 190 meters thick.
Scientists close in on TB blood test which could detect millions of silent spreaders
Millions of people are spreading tuberculosis unknowingly - now scientists say they are close to developing a new test that is as simple as the lateral flows used during the Covid pandemic.
An avocado a day may improve overall diet quality, researchers report
Eating one avocado per day may improve overall diet quality. A recent study found that the participants who had an avocado per day significantly increased their adherence to dietary guidelines.
The health impacts of a complex protein that plays a major role in the development of Alzheimer's disease and heart conditions can be lessened by three kinds of drug inhibitors, according to scientists.
Scientists uncover evidence that microplastics are contaminating archaeological remains
A team of archaeologists discovered tiny microplastic particles in deposits located more than seven meters deep, in samples dating back to the first or early second century and excavated in the late 1980s.
Your dog understands that some words 'stand for' objects
It's no surprise that your dog can learn to sit when you say 'sit' and come when called. But a new study has made the unexpected discovery that dogs generally also know that certain words 'stand for' certain objects. When dogs hear those words, brain activity recordings suggest they activate a matching mental representation in their minds.
Movement disorder ALS and cognitive disorder FTLD show strong molecular overlaps, new study shows
Single-cell gene expression patterns in the brain motor and frontal cortex, and evidence from follow-up experiments, reveal many shared cellular and molecular similarities that could be targeted for potential treatment.
Most new doctors face some form of sexual harassment, even after #MeToo
More than half of all new doctors face some form of sexual harassment in their first year on the job, including nearly three-quarters of all new female doctors and a third of males, a new study finds. That's actually down somewhat from the percentage of new doctors who experienced the same five or six years before.
Researchers propose a new way to identify when babies become conscious
Academics are proposing a new and improved way to help researchers discover when consciousness emerges in human infancy.
Signs of life would be detectable in single ice grain emitted from extraterrestrial moons
Could life be found in frozen sea spray from moons orbiting Saturn or Jupiter? New research finds that life can be detected in a single ice grain containing one bacterial cell or portions of a cell. The results suggest that if life similar to that on Earth exists on these planetary bodies, that this life should be detectable by instruments launching in the fall.
Tudor era horse cemetery in Westminster revealed as likely resting place for elite imported animals
Archaeological analysis of a near unique animal cemetery discovered in London nearly 30 years ago has revealed there was an international horse trading network, orchestrated by the elites of late medieval and Tudor England, which brought superior physical specimens to the UK for jousting and for use as status symbols.
Two of the Milky Way's earliest building blocks identified
Astronomers have identified what could be two of the Milky Way's earliest building blocks: Named 'Shakti' and 'Shiva', these appear to be the remnants of two galaxies that merged between 12 and 13 billion years ago with an early version of the Milky Way, contributing to our home galaxy's initial growth. The new find is the astronomical equivalent of archeologists identifying traces of an initial settlement that grew into a large present-day city.
Evolutionary history of the formation of forceps and maternal care in earwigs
Researchers examined the developmental processes and reproduction-related behavior of 8 of the 11 families of Dermaptera (earwigs) in detail and compared with those reported in previous studies. The results confirmed that Dermaptera is a polyneopteran order, and the features such as caudal forceps and elaborate maternal care for eggs and young larvae emerged in parallel within the order during evolution.
Say hello to biodegradable microplastics
Finding viable alternatives to traditional petroleum-based plastics and microplastics has never been more important. New research shows that their plant-based polymers biodegrade -- even at the microplastic level -- in under seven months.
Rose essential oil: A safe pesticide for organic agriculture
Following injury, plants release terpenoids to enhance their defenses. Researchers studying terpenoid-enriched essential oils (EOs) have found that rose EO (REO) can stimulate defense genes in tomato leaves. Furthermore, REO attracts herbivores that protect the plant from the moth species, Spodoptera litura, and Tetranychus urticae, a mite pest. This suggests that applying REO could be a sustainable approach to pest management in organic farming.
Secrets of the Van Allen belt revealed in new study
A challenge to space scientists to better understand our hazardous near-Earth space environment has been set in a new study.
New geological study: Scandinavia was born in Greenland
The oldest Scandinavian bedrock was 'born' in Greenland, according to a new geological study. The study helps us understand the origin of continents and why Earth is the only planet in our solar system with life.
As we age, our cells are less likely to express longer genes
Aging may be less about specific 'aging genes' and more about how long a gene is. Many of the changes associated with aging could be occurring due to decreased expression of long genes, say researchers. A decline in the expression of long genes with age has been observed in a wide range of animals, from worms to humans, in various human cell and tissue types, and also in individuals with neurodegenerative disease. Mouse experiments show that the phenomenon can be mitigated via known anti-aging factors, including dietary restriction.
Scientists have uncovered the fossilized skull of a 270-million-year-old ancient amphibian ancestor in the collection of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. The team of researchers described the fossil as a new species of proto-amphibian, which they named Kermitops gratus in honor of the iconic Muppet, Kermit the Frog.
Entanglements of humpback whales in fish farms rare -- and naivety could be to blame
The first study of humpback whale entanglements in B.C. aquaculture facilities found eight over 13 years, with the curiosity of young whales a potential contributing factor.
Alaska Native tribes take lead on shellfish toxin testing where state falls short
A group of coastal Alaska Native tribes in 2016 began monitoring shellfish, a traditional harvest, for deadly biotoxins because the state only tests commercial harvests. The program fills an essential gap in public health protection and has found success, with 17 tribes now in the testing network. Securing stable, long-term funding and improving public outreach could improve outcomes even further, a new study reports.
Species diversity promotes ecosystem stability
What maintains stability within an ecosystem and prevents a single best competitor from displacing other species from a community? Does ecosystem stability depend upon the presence of a wide variety of species, as early ecologists believed, or does diversity do the exact opposite, and lead to instability, as modern theory predicts? A new study suggests an answer to this question that has been a subject of debate among ecologists for half a century.
Heat to blame for space pebble demise
The dust of comets fills the space between the planets, collectively called the zodiacal cloud. Still, severe breakdown has reduced that dust in size so much that it now scatters sunlight efficiently, causing the faint glow in the night sky known as the 'zodiacal light.' It was long thought that high-speed collisions pulverized the comet ejecta, but now a team of researchers reports that heat is to blame.
A new way to quantify climate change impacts: 'Outdoor days'
'Outdoor days,' a new measure, describes climate change impacts by noting the number of days per year that outdoor temperatures are comfortable enough for normal outdoor activities.
Research offers hope for preventing post-COVID 'brain fog' by targeting brain's blood vessels
Researchers have identified a mechanism that causes neurological problems in mice infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind COVID-19. The researchers also found a treatment that helped prevent these changes.