ScienceDaily: All - November 03, 2023
Today's top research news
How salt from the Caribbean affects our climate
Past cold periods such as the Little Ice Age were associated with reduced strength of North Atlantic currents and increased surface salinity in the Caribbean. This was accompanied by disturbances in the distribution of salt to the north leading to longer, stronger cooling phases in the northern hemisphere.
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Some benefits of exercise stem from the immune system
Research in mice shows that the anti-inflammatory properties of exercise may arise from immune cells mobilized to counter exercise-induced inflammation. Immune cells prevent muscle damage by lowering levels of interferon, a key driver of chronic inflammation, inflammatory diseases, and aging.
Seeing the unseen: How butterflies can help scientists detect cancer
There are many creatures on our planet with more advanced senses than humans. Turtles can sense Earth's magnetic field. Mantis shrimp can detect polarized light. Elephants can hear much lower frequencies than humans can. Butterflies can perceive a broader range of colors, including ultraviolet (UV) light.
Photo battery achieves competitive voltage
Researchers have developed a monolithically integrated photo battery using organic materials. The photo battery achieves an unprecedented high discharge potential of 3.6 volts. The system is capable of powering miniature devices.
Vacuum in optical cavity can change material's magnetic state without laser excitation
Researchers in Germany and the USA have produced the first theoretical demonstration that the magnetic state of an atomically thin material, ?-RuCl3, can be controlled solely by placing it into an optical cavity. Crucially, the cavity vacuum fluctuations alone are sufficient to change the material's magnetic order from a zigzag antiferromagnet into a ferromagnet.
Charged 'molecular beasts' the basis for new compounds
Mass spectrometers are high-tech machines that play an important role in our society. They are highly sensitive analytical instruments that are indispensable in areas such as medical diagnostics, food quality control and the detection of hazardous chemical substances. A research group is working to modify mass spectrometers so that they can be used for a completely different purpose: the chemical synthesis of new molecules.
An exotic tick that can kill cattle is spreading across Ohio
A species of exotic tick arrived in Ohio in 2021 in such huge numbers that their feeding frenzy on a southeastern farm left three cattle dead of what researchers believe was severe blood loss. The scientists have reported on the state's first known established population of Asian longhorned ticks, and are now conducting research focused on monitoring and managing these pests.
Large herbivores such as elephants, bison and moose contribute to tree diversity
Using global satellite data, a research team has mapped the tree cover of the world's protected areas. The study shows that regions with abundant large herbivores in many settings have a more variable tree cover, which is expected to benefit biodiversity overall.
Predicting saltwater intrusion into groundwater using Plymouth, Mass. as test case
As the world warms and ice sheets melt, the ocean continually rises. The greater Boston area can expect to see between one and six feet of sea level rise by 2100, according to recent estimates. To find out what this rise might mean for freshwater supplies, a team of hydrogeologists developed an innovative new model that can not only predict saltwater intrusion over the next 75 years, but also pinpoint the main sources of salt contamination today -- road salt and human development.
New secrets about cat evolution revealed
By comparing genomes of several cat species, the project has helped researchers understand why cat genomes tend to have fewer complex genetic variations (such as rearrangements of DNA segments) than other mammal groups, like primates. It also revealed new insights into which parts of cat DNA are most likely to evolve rapidly and how they play a role in species differentiation.
Rats have an imagination, new research suggests
Researchers have developed a novel system to probe a rat's thoughts, finding that animals can control their brain activity to imagine remote locations. Â
Chimpanzees use hilltops to conduct reconnaissance on rival groups -- study
Research on neighboring chimpanzee communities in the forests of West Africa suggests a warfare tactic not previously seen beyond humans is regularly used by our closest evolutionary relatives.
To restore ecosystems, think about thwarting hungry herbivores
Re-establishing plantings of trees, grasses and other vegetation is essential for restoring degraded ecosystems, but a new survey of almost 2,600 restoration projects from nearly every type of ecosystem on Earth finds that most projects fail to recognize and control one of the new plants' chief threats: hungry critters that eat plants.
Research outlines how sex differences have evolved
Researchers have shown that sex differences in animals vary dramatically across species, organs and developmental stages, and evolve quickly at the gene level but slowly at the cell type level.
Researchers develop solid-state thermal transistor for better heat management
A team of researchers has unveiled a first-of-its-kind stable and fully solid-state thermal transistor that uses an electric field to control a semiconductor device's heat movement. The group's study details how the device works and its potential applications. With top speed and performance, the transistor could open new frontiers in heat management of computer chips through an atomic-level design and molecular engineering. The advance could also further the understanding of how heat is regulated in the human body.
Good news, bad news on dental pain care seen in new study
Americans who have a tooth pulled or another painful dental procedure in the United States today are far less likely to get opioid painkillers than they were just a few years ago, a new study shows. But the COVID-19 pandemic seems to have thrown a wrench into the effort to reduce opioid use in dental care.
Female sex determining gene identified in mice
Researchers have identified a gene which is an early determining factor of ovary development in mice.
New designs for solid-state electrolytes may soon revolutionize the battery industry
Researchers have announced a major breakthrough in the field of next-generation solid-state batteries. It is believed that their new findings will enable the creation of batteries based on a novel chloride-based solid electrolyte that exhibits exceptional ionic conductivity.
A known environmental hazard can change the epigenetics of cells
An international team of researchers has discovered that formaldehyde, a widely spread pollutant and common metabolite in our body, interferes in the epigenetic programming of the cell. This finding expands the knowledge of formaldehyde, previously considered only as a DNA mutagen, and helps establishing a further link with cancer.
New observations down to light-year scale of the gas flows around a supermassive black hole have successfully detected dense gas inflows and shown that only a small portion (about 3 percent) of the gas flowing towards the black hole is eaten by the black hole. The remainder is ejected and recycled back into the host galaxy.
At least 14 percent of Americans have had long COVID, study finds
One in seven people in the US reported having had long Covid by the end of 2022, suggests a large-scale investigation of long Covid and symptom prevalence by academics at UCL and Dartmouth.
Observation of a virus attaching to another virus
'Satellite' viruses must be in proximity to their 'helper' virus to replicate, but this research reports the first documented case of a satellite virus attaching itself to its helper virus. Out of 50 observed helpers, 40 had a satellite bound. Bioinformatic analysis of the satellite and helper viruses' genomes provides clues as to why the satellite may have evolved to attach to the helper, and suggests this pair may have been co-evolving for about 100 million years.
Brain health in over 50s deteriorated more rapidly during the pandemic, study finds
Brain health in over 50s deteriorated more rapidly during the pandemic, even if they didn't have COVID-19, according to major new research linking the pandemic to sustained cognitive decline.
Less physical activity in adolescence likely rooted in biology
The slowdown of physical activity during adolescence is not likely caused by lifestyle and environment but by energy demands placed on the body as it grows and sexually matures, according to a new study. Â
Stronger, stretchier, self-healing plastic
An innovative plastic, stronger and stretchier than the current standard type and which can be healed with heat, remembers its shape and partially biodegradable, has been developed. They created it by adding the molecule polyrotaxane to an epoxy resin vitrimer, a type of plastic. Named VPR, the material can hold its form and has strong internal chemical bonds at low temperatures.
AI should be better understood and managed -- new research warns
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and algorithms can and are being used to radicalize, polarize, and spread racism and political instability, says an academic. An expert argues that AI and algorithms are not just tools deployed by national security agencies to prevent malicious activity online, but can be contributors to polarization, radicalism and political violence -- posing a threat to national security.
Contrary to common belief, artificial intelligence will not put you out of work
New research is providing insights for business leaders on how work experience affects employees interacting with AI.
Two million European households could abandon the electrical grid by 2050
Researchers report that 53% of European freestanding homes could have supplied all their own energy needs in 2020 using only local rooftop solar radiation, and this technical feasibility could increase to 75% in 2050. The study shows that there is no economic advantage for individual households to be fully self-sufficient under current or future conditions, though in some cases the costs are on par with remaining on-grid. The researchers estimate that self-sufficiency will be economically feasible for 5% (two million) of Europe's 41 million freestanding single-family homes in 2050, if households are willing to pay up to 50% more than the cost of remaining fully grid dependent.
One sleepless night can rapidly reverse depression for several days
Most people who have pulled an all-nighter are all too familiar with that 'tired and wired' feeling. Although the body is physically exhausted, the brain feels slap-happy, loopy and almost giddy. Now, neurobiologists have uncovered what produces this punch-drunk effect. In a new study, researchers induced mild, acute sleep deprivation in mice and then examined their behaviors and brain activity. Not only did dopamine release increase during the acute sleep loss period, synaptic plasticity also was enhanced -- literally rewiring the brain to maintain the bubbly mood for the next few days.
Practicing mindfulness can help people make heart-healthy eating choices
A study found that participants in a mindfulness-based blood pressure reduction program improved health behaviors that lower blood pressure. When people who had elevated blood pressure participated in an eight-week mindfulness-based blood pressure reduction program, they significantly improved their scores on measures of self-awareness and adherence to a heart-healthy diet compared to a control group.
When massive stars or other stellar objects explode in the Earth's cosmic neighborhood, ejected debris can also reach our solar system. Traces of such events are found on Earth or the Moon and can be detected using accelerator mass spectrometry, or AMS for short.
How 'blue' and 'green' appeared in a language that didn't have words for them
A new study suggests the way a language divides up color space can be influenced by contact with other languages. Tsimane' people who learned Spanish as a second language began to classify blue and green into using separate words, which their native tongue does not do.
'Jurassic worlds' might be easier to spot than modern Earth
An analysis finds telescopes could better detect potential chemical signatures of life in an Earth-like exoplanet that more closely resembles the age the dinosaurs inhabited than the one we know today.
Study links changes in global water cycle to higher temperatures
A new study takes an important step toward reconstructing a global history of water over the past 2,000 years. Using geologic and biologic evidence preserved in natural archives -- including 759 different paleoclimate records from globally distributed corals, trees, ice, cave formations and sediments -- the researchers showed that the global water cycle has changed during periods of higher and lower temperatures in the recent past.