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07

Baby white sharks prefer being closer to shore, scientists find

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Remember #BabyShark? And no, this was not the very catchy song for kids that took the internet by storm. Earlier this year, social media was abuzz with stunning footage of a newborn great white shark, captured by a flying drone.

03

Key protein regulates immune response to viruses in mammal cells

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Researchers have revealed the regulatory mechanism of a specific protein that plays a key role in balancing the immune response triggered by viral infections in mammal cells. These findings could help drive the development of antiviral…

Thursday, Apr 18

23

Unraveling the mysteries of consecutive atmospheric river events

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In California's 2022-2023 winter season, the state faced nine atmospheric rivers (ARs) that led to extreme flooding, landslides, and power outages—the longest duration of continuous AR conditions in the past 70 years. Scientists at…

Research team resolves decades-long problem in microscopy

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When viewing biological samples with a microscope, the light beam is disturbed if the lens of the objective is in a different medium than the sample. For example, when looking at a watery sample with a lens surrounded by air, the light…

RNA's hidden potential: New study unveils its role in early life and future bioengineering

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The beginning of life on Earth and its evolution over billions of years continue to intrigue researchers worldwide. The central dogma or the directional flow of genetic information from a deoxyribose nucleic acid (DNA) template to a ribose…

Smoother surfaces make for better accelerators

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With every new particle accelerator built for research, scientists have an opportunity to push the limits of discovery. But this is only true if new particle accelerators deliver the desired performance—no small feat in a world where each…

22

Scientists reveal hydroclimatic changes on multiple timescales in Central Asia over the past 7,800 years

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A recent study published in the PNAS shows that western Central Asia has experienced a long-term drying trend over the past 7,800 years. This discovery, based on the analysis of a stalagmite from the Fergana Valley in Kyrgyzstan, adds a…

Research reveals a surprising topological reversal in quantum systems

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In principle, one shouldn't compare apples to oranges. However, in topology, which is a branch of mathematics, one must do just that. Apples and oranges, it turns out, are said to be topologically the same since they both lack a hole—in…

NASA's Juno gives aerial views of mountain and lava lake on Io

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Scientists on NASA's Juno mission to Jupiter have transformed data collected during two recent flybys of Io into animations that highlight two of the Jovian moon's most dramatic features: a mountain and an almost glass-smooth lake of…

Toxic fireproof chemicals can be absorbed through touch, 3D-printed skin model shows

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Cancer-causing flame retardants found in everyday things like plastics, furniture, fabrics and electronics can be sucked up by the skin and absorbed into the bloodstream in 24 hours, scientists have found.

21

Skyrmions move at record speeds: A step towards the computing of the future

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An international research team led by scientists from the CNRS has discovered that the magnetic nanobubbles known as skyrmions can be moved by electrical currents, attaining record speeds up to 900 m/s.

A third of China's urban population at risk of city sinking, new satellite data shows

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Land subsidence is overlooked as a hazard in cities, according to scientists from the University of East Anglia (UEA) and Virginia Tech. Writing in the journal Science, Prof Robert Nicholls of the Tyndall Center for Climate Change Research…

Novel material supercharges innovation in electrostatic energy storage

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Electrostatic capacitors play a crucial role in modern electronics. They enable ultrafast charging and discharging, providing energy storage and power for devices ranging from smartphones, laptops and routers to medical devices, automotive…

20

Scientists discover forests that may resist climate change

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While it's common knowledge that mountaintops are colder than the valleys below, a new University of Vermont (UVM) study is flipping the script on what we know about forests and climate.

Invasive species sound off about impending ecosystem changes

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Anticipating changes to ecosystems is often at best an educated guess, but what if there was a way to better tune into possible changes occurring?

Materials follow the 'Rule of Four,' but scientists don't know why yet

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Scientists are normally happy to find regularities and correlations in their data—but only if they can explain them. Otherwise, they worry that those patterns might just be revealing some flaw in the data itself, so-called experimental…

19

Drawing a line back to the origin of life: Graphitization could provide simplicity scientists are looking for

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Scientists in Cambridge University suggest molecules, vital to the development of life, could have formed from a process known as graphitization. Once verified in the laboratory, it could allow us to try and recreate plausible conditions…

Hubble goes hunting for small main belt asteroids

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Like boulders, rocks, and pebbles scattered across a landscape, asteroids come in a wide range of sizes. Cataloging asteroids in space is tricky because they are faint and they don't stop to be photographed as they zip along their orbits…

Dense network of seismometers reveals how the underground ruptures

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The idea that earthquakes release stress by a single strong quake along a single fault plane may need to be corrected. A recent study by researchers from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) with the participation of the GFZ German…

18

Scientists grow human mini-lungs as animal alternative for nanomaterial safety testing

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Human mini-lungs grown by University of Manchester scientists can mimic the response of animals when exposed to certain nanomaterials. The study is published in Nano Today.

Training of brain processes makes reading more efficient

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A team of researchers from the University of Cologne and the University of Würzburg have found in training studies that the distinction between known and unknown words can be trained and leads to more efficient reading. Recognizing words…

Team finds direct evidence of 'itinerant breeding' in East Coast shorebird species

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Migration and reproduction are two of the most demanding events in a bird's annual cycle, so much so that the vast majority of migratory birds separate the two tasks into different times of the year.

'Human-induced' climate change behind deadly Sahel heat wave: Study

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The deadly heat wave that hit Africa's Sahel region in early April would not have occurred without human-induced climate change, according to a study by the World Weather Attribution (WWA) group published Thursday.

Thermal properties of new 2D materials for microchips can now be measured well

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Making ever smaller and more powerful chips requires new ultrathin materials: 2D materials that are only 1 atom thick, or even just a couple of atoms. Think about graphene or ultra-thin silicon membrane for instance.

How insects control their wings: The mysterious mechanics of insect flight

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Many of us would love the superpower to fly, and for good reason: Flight offers a crucial evolutionary advantage. Flying enables an animal to travel large distances quickly, in search of food and new habitats, while expending far less…

Data-driven music: Converting climate measurements into music

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A geo-environmental scientist from Japan has composed a string quartet using sonified climate data. The 6-minute-long composition—titled "String Quartet No. 1 "Polar Energy Budget"—is based on over 30 years of satellite-collected climate…

Discovery of new ancient giant snake in India

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A new ancient species of snake dubbed Vasuki Indicus, which lived around 47 million years ago in the state of Gujarat in India, may have been one of the largest snakes to have ever lived, suggests new research published in Scientific…

17

Researchers create nanomembrane to increase reaction rate in chemical production

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Flow-through reactors packed with enzymes can produce certain chemicals in a gentle and careful way. However, their performance has so far been limited. A research team from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon and RWTH Aachen University has now…

Researchers reveal a hidden trait in Mycobacterium genomes governing stress adaptation

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A new study, led by Qingyun Liu, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Genetics, has uncovered a genetic feature known as "transcriptional plasticity," which plays a pivotal role in governing the transcriptional response of…

16

Scientists experimentally observe current-driven antiskyrmion sliding

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Prof. Zhang Ying's group from the Institute of Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), in collaboration with domestic universities and the Los Alamos National Laboratory in the United States, has experimentally observed current…