ScienceDaily: Featured - September 29, 2024
Featured research news
Return of the elephants seals: From a few to thousands
A new international study has revealed the genetic impact of hunting in northern elephant seals. The research shows that this species narrowly escaped extinction by hunting, resulting in lasting genetic effects in the present population.
Scientists design new drug to fight malaria
A team has designed a new drug against malaria and identified its mechanism of action.
Researchers discover new bacterium that causes gut immunodeficiency
Researchers have discovered a new bacterium that weakens the immune system in the gut, potentially contributing to certain inflammatory and infectious gut diseases. The team identified the bacterium, Tomasiella immunophila (T. immunophila), which plays a key role in breaking down a crucial immune component of the gut's multi-faceted protective immune barrier.
These fish use legs to taste the seafloor
Sea robins are unusual animals with the body of a fish, wings of a bird, and walking legs of a crab. Now, researchers show that the legs of the sea robin aren't just used for walking. In fact, they are bona fide sensory organs used to find buried prey while digging.
Image: nozawa satoshi/Shutterstock.com
A method of 'look twice, forgive once' can sustain social cooperation
Using mathematical modeling, researchers found a way to maintain cooperation without relying on complex norms or institutions.
'Weekend warrior' physical activity may help protect against more than 200 diseases
Compared with inactivity, a weekend warrior pattern of exercise (concentrating most moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in one to two days during the week) or a more evenly distributed physical activity pattern were associated with similarly lower risks of diseases across 16 categories -- from heart and digestive conditions to mental health and neurological illnesses. The findings indicate that concentrated physical activity patterns may be just as effective for disease prevention as patterns where exercise is spread out throughout the week.
This rocky planet around a white dwarf resembles Earth -- 8 billion years from now
A 2020 microlensing event was caused by a planetary system with an Earth-like planet and brown dwarf. The star type was uncertain. The team has determined that the star is a white dwarf, a system resembling what our sun-Earth system will look like in 8 billion years. The good news: the planet survived its star's red giant phase, so maybe Earth will too. The bad news: it's still uninhabitable.
ESO telescope captures the most detailed infrared map ever of our Milky Way
Astronomers have published a gigantic infrared map of the Milky Way containing more than 1.5 billion objects -- the most detailed one ever made. Using the European Southern Observatory's VISTA telescope, the team monitored the central regions of our Galaxy over more than 13 years. At 500 terabytes of data, this is the largest observational project ever carried out with an ESO telescope.
Scientists uncover a critical component that helps killifish regenerate their fins
Spontaneous injuries like the loss of a limb or damage to the spinal cord are impossible for humans to repair. Yet, some animals have an extraordinary capacity to regenerate after injury, a response that requires a precise sequence of cellular events. Now, new research has unveiled a critical timing factor -- specifically how long cells actively respond to injury -- involved in regulating regeneration. The approach not only sheds light on the evolutionary aspects of regeneration but also holds promise for developing novel therapeutic strategies in regenerative medicine.
NASA's Hubble finds that a black hole beam promotes stellar eruptions
In a surprise finding, astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have discovered that the blowtorch-like jet from a supermassive black hole at the core of a huge galaxy seems to cause stars to erupt along its trajectory. The stars, called novae, are not caught inside the jet, but apparently in a dangerous neighborhood nearby.
Single-dose gene therapy is potentially life-changing for adults with hemophilia B
Adults with hemophilia B saw their number of bleeding episodes drop by an average of 71 percent after a single infusion of gene therapy, according to the new results of an international Phase III clinical trial.
How special is the Milky Way Galaxy?
The SAGA Survey just published three new research articles that provide us with new insights into the uniqueness of our own Milky Way Galaxy after completing the census of 101 satellite systems similar to the Milky Way's.
Drone footage provides new insight into gray whales' acrobatic feeding behavior
Drone footage is offering new insight into the acrobatics undertaken by gray whales foraging in the waters off the coast of Oregon.
Mars' missing atmosphere could be hiding in plain sight
New research suggests Mars' missing atmosphere -- which dramatically diminished 3.5 billion years ago -- could be locked in the planet's clay-covered crust. Water on Mars could have set off a chain reaction that drew CO2 out of the atmosphere and converted it into methane within clay minerals.
Ice cores show pollution's impact on Arctic atmosphere
A new study on ice cores from Alaska and Greenland found that air pollution from the burning of fossil fuels reaches the remote Arctic in amounts large enough to alter its fundamental atmospheric chemistry. The researchers unexpectedly found pollution's footprint in levels of an airborne byproduct of marine phytoplankton activity, which plummeted as soon as widespread fossil fuel usage began in the industrial era. The findings illustrate the long reach of fossil fuel emissions.
Brazilian fossils reveal jaw-dropping discovery in mammal evolution
The discovery of new cynodont fossils from southern Brazil by a team of palaeontologists has led to a significant breakthrough in understanding the evolution of mammals.
Deep-sea discovery shines light on life in the twilight zone
A new study could change the way scientists view microbial processes in the deep ocean. The unexpected findings expand our understanding of the impacts of climate change, including how and where the ocean stores carbon.
One in two El Niño events could be extreme by mid-century
Climate change from greenhouse gas emissions could make extreme El Nino events more frequent, according to new research.
Bacterial 'flipping' allows genes to assume different forms
Imagine being one cartwheel away from changing your appearance. One flip, and your brunette locks are platinum blond. That's not too far from what happens in some prokaryotes, or single-cell organisms, such as bacteria, that undergo something called inversions. A study has now shown that inversions, which cause a physical flip of a segment of DNA and change an organism's genetic identity, can occur within a single gene, challenging a central dogma of biology -- that one gene can code for only one protein.
Major boost in carbon capture and storage essential to reach 2°C climate target
Large expansion of carbon capture and storage is necessary to fulfill the Paris Climate Agreement. Yet a new study shows that without major efforts, the technology will not expand fast enough to meet the 2 C target and even with major efforts it is unlikely to expand fast enough for the 1.5 C target.
Mapping distant planets: 'Ridges', 'deserts' and 'savannahs'
Researchers examined Neptunian exoplanets -- these planets share similar characteristics to our own Neptune, but orbit outside of our solar system. Scientists discovered a new area called the 'Neptunian Ridge' -- in between the 'Neptunian desert' and the 'Neptunian Savannah'. A new 'map' of distant planets shows a ridge of planets in deep space, separating a desert of planets from a more populated savannah.
Shrinking AR displays into eyeglasses to expand their use
Augmented reality (AR) takes digital images and superimposes them onto real-world views. But AR is more than a new way to play video games; it could transform surgery and self-driving cars. To make the technology easier to integrate into common personal devices, researchers report how to combine two optical technologies into a single, high-resolution AR display. In an eyeglasses prototype, the researchers enhanced image quality with a computer algorithm that removed distortions.
Reconstructing the evolutionary history of the grape family
Until now, it was believed that plants of the grape family arrived at the European continent less than 23 million years ago. A study on fossil plants draws a new scenario on the dispersal of the ancestors of grape plants and reveals that these species were already on the territory of Europe some 41 million years ago. The paper describes a new fossil species of the same family, Nekemias mucronata, which allows us to better understand the evolutionary history of this plant group, which inhabited Europe between 40 and 23 million years ago.
Webb discovers 'weird' galaxy with gas outshining its stars
The discovery of a 'weird' and unprecedented galaxy in the early Universe could 'help us understand how the cosmic story began', astronomers say. GS-NDG-9422 (9422) was found approximately one billion years after the Big Bang and stood out because it has an odd, never-before-seen light signature -- indicating that its gas is outshining its stars. The 'totally new phenomena' is significant, researchers say, because it could be the missing-link phase of galactic evolution between the Universe's first stars and familiar, well-established galaxies.
World's oldest cheese reveals origins of kefir
Scientists successfully extracted and analyzed DNA from ancient cheese samples found alongside the Tarim Basin mummies in China, dating back approximately 3,600 years. The research suggests a new origin for kefir cheese and sheds light on the evolution of probiotic bacteria.
Protein behavior can be predicted with simple math
Researchers have discovered that mutations affect protein stability following remarkably simple rules. The discovery has profound implications for accelerating the development of new treatments for diseases or the design of new proteins with industrial applications.
Ice age clues point to more extreme weather patterns in our future
A new study combines data from ancient shells with advanced climate modeling to shed light on how El Ni o weather patterns might change in a warming world.
Tree-ring data reveal that periodic shifts in strong winds high above the Earth's surface have driven opposite climates in different parts of Europe for the past 700 years and likely much longer, resulting in contrasting patterns in weather, agricultural and societal extremes.
Encoding human experience: Study reveals how brain cells compute the flow of time
A landmark study has begun to unravel one of the fundamental mysteries in neuroscience -- how the human brain encodes and makes sense of the flow of time and experiences.
Specially designed video games may benefit mental health of children and teenagers
Scientists conclude that some video games created as mental health interventions can be helpful -- if modest -- tools in improving the mental well-being of children and teens with anxiety, depression and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Extinct volcanoes a 'rich' source of rare earth elements
A mysterious type of iron-rich magma entombed within extinct volcanoes is likely abundant with rare earth elements and could offer a new way to source these in-demand metals, according to new research. Rare earth elements are found in smartphones, flat screen TVs, magnets, and even trains and missiles. They are also vital to the development of electric vehicles and renewable energy technologies such as wind turbines.
Abrupt intensification of northern wildfires due to future permafrost thawing
Climate scientists and permafrost experts show that, according to new climate computer model simulations, global warming will accelerate permafrost thawing and as a result lead to an abrupt intensification of wildfires in the Subarctic and Arctic regions of northern Canada and Siberia.
Another Franklin expedition crew member has been identified
The skeletal remains of a senior officer of Sir John Franklin's 1845 Northwest Passage expedition have been identified using DNA and genealogical analyses.
Atmospheric blocking slows ocean-driven melting of Greenland's largest glacier tongue
Northeast Greenland is home to the 79 N Glacier -- the country's largest floating glacier tongue, but also one seriously threatened by global warming: warm water from the Atlantic is melting it from below. Experts have however now determined that the temperature of the water flowing into the glacier cavern declined from 2018 to 2021, even though the ocean has steadily warmed in the region over the past several decades. This could be due to temporarily changed atmospheric circulation patterns. Researchers now discuss how this affects the ocean and what it could mean for the future of Greenland's glaciers.
Lengthened consonants mark the beginning of words
Speech consists of a continuous stream of acoustic signals, yet humans can segment words from each other with astonishing precision and speed. To find out how this is possible, a team of linguists has analysed durations of consonants at different positions in words and utterances across a diverse sample of languages. They have found that word-initial consonants are, on average, around 13 milliseconds longer than their non-initial counterparts. The diversity of languages for which this effect was found suggests that this might be a species-wide pattern -- and one of several key factors for speech perception to distinguish the beginning of words within the stream of speech.
Astronomers catch a glimpse of a uniquely inflated and asymmetric exoplanet
Astronomers have observed the atmosphere of a hot and uniquely inflated exoplanet using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope.
The heart of the question: Who can get Medicare-covered weight loss medicine?
With Medicare now covering semaglutide for people with obesity and cardiovascular disease who don't have diabetes, a study looks at who that might include, depending on what cutoffs prescription plans apply.
How cranes navigate their complex world
Knowing how animals use their environments to survive and thrive is a key challenge for predicting how global climate change will affect wildlife. A global collaborative study of four species of crane has shed light on the way that migrations are finely tuned to unpredictable and complex environments. A team from 10 countries combined novel animal tracking technology, remote-sensed information about the environment, and a new statistical framework to gain insight into four iconic species: common cranes, white-naped cranes, black-necked cranes, and demoiselle cranes.