ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• NASA's Perseverance drives on Mars' terrain for first time
• New potential for functional recovery after spinal cord injury
• Uncovering hidden forever chemicals
• Novel urine test developed to diagnose human kidney transplant rejection
• Small volcanic lakes tapping giant underground reservoirs
• How does your brain process emotions? Answer could help address loneliness epidemic
• Comet Catalina suggests comets delivered carbon to rocky planets
• After old age, intellectual disability is greatest risk factor for death from COVID-19, study finds
• Making sense of commotion under the ocean to locate tremors near deep-sea faults
• The gut mycobiome influences the metabolism of processed foods
• Tantalizing signs of phase-change 'turbulence' in RHIC collisions
• Controlling adhesions in the abdomen
• What can stream quality tell us about quality of life?
• New method facilitates development of antibody-based drugs
• Life's rich pattern: Researchers use sound to shape the future of printing
• Antibiotic-resistant strains of staph bacteria may be spreading between pigs raised in factory farms
• Research identifies impact of teenage screen use
• Walking pace among cancer survivors may be important for survival
• 'Falling insect' season length impacts river ecosystems
• Speeding up commercialization of electric vehicles
• Study finds no link between gender and physics course performance
• Beauty is in the brain: AI reads brain data, generates personally attractive images
• Tracking proteins in the heart of cells
• Antarctic seals reveal worrying threats to disappearing glaciers
• The collapse of Northern California kelp forests will be hard to reverse
• Fine particulate matter from wildfire smoke more harmful than pollution from other sources
• Chimpanzees without borders
• New way to halt excessive inflammation
• Twistoptics: A new way to control optical nonlinearity
• Team of bioethicists and scientists suggests revisiting 14-day limit on human embryo
• Why we're so bad at daydreaming, and how to fix it
• This frog has lungs that act like noise-canceling headphones
• Dramatic decline in western butterfly populations linked to fall warming
• Ultralight materials: High strength through hierarchy
• Artificial intelligence reveals current drugs that may help combat Alzheimer's disease
• New evidence COVID-19 antibodies, vaccines less effective against variants

NASA's Perseverance drives on Mars' terrain for first time Posted: 05 Mar 2021 01:36 PM PST The first trek of NASA's largest, most advanced rover yet on the Red Planet marks a major milestone before science operations get under way.

New potential for functional recovery after spinal cord injury Posted: 05 Mar 2021 10:37 AM PST Researchers have successfully reprogrammed a glial cell type in the central nervous system into new neurons to promote recovery after spinal cord injury -- revealing an untapped potential to leverage the cell for regenerative medicine.

Uncovering hidden forever chemicals Posted: 05 Mar 2021 10:37 AM PST Researchers found large quantities of previously undetectable compounds from the family of chemicals known as PFAS in six watersheds on Cape Cod using a new method to quantify and identify PFAS compounds. Exposures to some PFAS, widely used for their ability to repel heat, water, and oil, are linked to a range of health risks including cancer, immune suppression, diabetes, and low infant birth weight.

Novel urine test developed to diagnose human kidney transplant rejection Posted: 05 Mar 2021 10:37 AM PST Investigators proposes a new, noninvasive way to test for transplant rejection using exosomes -- tiny vesicles containing mRNA -- from urine samples.

Small volcanic lakes tapping giant underground reservoirs Posted: 05 Mar 2021 10:37 AM PST In its large caldera, Newberry volcano (Oregon, USA) has two small volcanic lakes, one fed by volcanic geothermal fluids (Paulina Lake) and one by gases (East Lake). These popular fishing grounds are small windows into a large underlying reservoir of hydrothermal fluids, releasing carbon dioxide (CO2) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) with minor mercury (Hg) and methane into East Lake.

How does your brain process emotions? Answer could help address loneliness epidemic Posted: 05 Mar 2021 10:37 AM PST New research finds that specific regions of the brain respond to emotional stimuli related to loneliness and wisdom in opposing ways.

Comet Catalina suggests comets delivered carbon to rocky planets Posted: 05 Mar 2021 10:37 AM PST Comet Catalina is helping explain more about our own origins as it becomes apparent that comets like Catalina could have been an essential source of carbon on planets like Earth and Mars during the early formation of the solar system.

After old age, intellectual disability is greatest risk factor for death from COVID-19, study finds Posted: 05 Mar 2021 09:38 AM PST A study of national data shows the devastating impact the pandemic has had on those with intellectual disabilities and their caregivers.

Making sense of commotion under the ocean to locate tremors near deep-sea faults Posted: 05 Mar 2021 09:38 AM PST Researchers have developed a new method for detecting small earthquake tremors and successfully applied it to the Nankai Trough, Japan. The technique allowed the accurate estimation of tremor location and propagation speed, leading to the first estimates of this fault's permeability -- crucial information in evaluation of earthquake rupture processes.

The gut mycobiome influences the metabolism of processed foods Posted: 05 Mar 2021 09:38 AM PST Studies of the microbiome in the human gut have largely overlooked non-bacterial microbes: viruses, protists, archaea and fungi. Now research in mice points to a significant role for fungi, called the mycobiome, in the intestine.

Tantalizing signs of phase-change 'turbulence' in RHIC collisions Posted: 05 Mar 2021 09:37 AM PST A new analysis of collisions conducted at different energies at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) shows tantalizing signs of a critical point -- a change in the way that quarks and gluons, the building blocks of protons and neutrons, transform from one phase to another. The findings will help physicists map out details of these nuclear phase changes to better understand the evolution of the universe and the conditions in the cores of neutron stars.

Controlling adhesions in the abdomen Posted: 05 Mar 2021 08:35 AM PST Adhesions are scars in the abdomen, which can occur after surgery, often have serious consequences. Now, researchers have discovered how such adhesions form. The findings may help to develop a drug to prevent adhesions in the future.

What can stream quality tell us about quality of life? Posted: 05 Mar 2021 08:35 AM PST Findings reveal that demographics such as race and population density, as well as health indices such as cancer rates and food insecurity, show strong correlations with water quality across Virginia.

New method facilitates development of antibody-based drugs Posted: 05 Mar 2021 08:35 AM PST In recent years, therapeutic antibodies have transformed the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases. Now, researchers have developed a new, efficient method based on the genetic scissors CRISPR-Cas9, that facilitates antibody development.

Life's rich pattern: Researchers use sound to shape the future of printing Posted: 05 Mar 2021 08:35 AM PST Researchers have developed a way to coax microscopic particles and droplets into precise patterns by harnessing the power of sound in air. The implications for printing, especially in the fields of medicine and electronics, are far-reaching.

Antibiotic-resistant strains of staph bacteria may be spreading between pigs raised in factory farms Posted: 05 Mar 2021 08:34 AM PST DNA sequencing of bacteria found in pigs and humans in rural eastern North Carolina, an area with concentrated industrial-scale pig-farming, suggests that multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains are spreading between pigs, farmworkers, their families and community residents, and represents an emerging public health threat, according to a new study.

Research identifies impact of teenage screen use Posted: 05 Mar 2021 08:34 AM PST Two thirds of children use more than one screen at the same time after school, in the evenings and at weekends as part of increasingly sedentary lifestyles, according to new research.

Walking pace among cancer survivors may be important for survival Posted: 05 Mar 2021 06:24 AM PST A new study finds a possible link between slow walking pace and an increased risk of death among cancer survivors. The researchers say more work is needed to see if physical activity programs or other interventions could help cancer survivors improve their ability to walk and perhaps increase survival after a cancer diagnosis.

'Falling insect' season length impacts river ecosystems Posted: 05 Mar 2021 06:24 AM PST Insects that fall from the surrounding forest provide seasonal food for fish in streams. Researchers have shown that the lengthening of this period has a profound effect on stream food webs and ecosystem functions. These research results provide proof that changes in forest seasonality also affect the ecosystems of nearby rivers. This finding also highlights the importance of predicting the effects of climate change.

Speeding up commercialization of electric vehicles Posted: 05 Mar 2021 06:24 AM PST Researchers have developed a high-capacity cathode material that can be stably charged and discharged for hundreds of cycles without using the expensive cobalt (Co) metal. The day is fast approaching when electric vehicles can drive long distances with Li- ion batteries.

Study finds no link between gender and physics course performance Posted: 05 Mar 2021 06:00 AM PST A new data-driven study casts serious doubt on the stereotype that male students perform better than female students in science -- specifically, physics.

Beauty is in the brain: AI reads brain data, generates personally attractive images Posted: 05 Mar 2021 05:01 AM PST Researchers have succeeded in making an AI understand our subjective notions of what makes faces attractive. The device demonstrated this knowledge by its ability to create new portraits on its own that were tailored to be found personally attractive to individuals. The results can be utilized, for example, in modelling preferences and decision-making as well as potentially identifying unconscious attitudes.

Tracking proteins in the heart of cells Posted: 05 Mar 2021 05:01 AM PST The cell must provide its various organelles with all the energy elements they need, which are formed in the Golgi apparatus. But how do the proteins that carry these cargoes - the kinesins - find their way within the cell's ''road network'' to deliver them at the right place? Researchers have discovered a fluorescent chemical dye, making it possible for the first time to track the transport activity of a specific motor protein within a cell.

Antarctic seals reveal worrying threats to disappearing glaciers Posted: 05 Mar 2021 05:01 AM PST More Antarctic meltwater is surfacing than was previously known, modifying the climate, preventing sea ice from forming and boosting marine productivity- according to new research. For the first time, researchers have been able to obtain full-depth glacial meltwater observations in winter, using instruments attached to the heads of seals living near the Pine Island Glacier, in the remote Amundsen Sea in the west of Antarctica.

The collapse of Northern California kelp forests will be hard to reverse Posted: 05 Mar 2021 05:01 AM PST Satellite imagery shows that the area covered by kelp forests off the coast of Northern California has dropped by more than 95 percent, with just a few small, isolated patches of bull kelp remaining. Species-rich kelp forests have been replaced by 'urchin barrens,' where purple sea urchins cover a seafloor devoid of kelp and other algae. A new study documents this dramatic shift in the coastal ecosystem and analyzes the events that caused it.

Fine particulate matter from wildfire smoke more harmful than pollution from other sources Posted: 05 Mar 2021 05:01 AM PST Researchers examining 14 years of hospital admissions data conclude that the fine particles in wildfire smoke can be several times more harmful to human respiratory health than particulate matter from other sources such as car exhaust. While this distinction has been previously identified in laboratory experiments, the new study confirms it at the population level.

Chimpanzees without borders Posted: 05 Mar 2021 05:01 AM PST Chimpanzees are divided into four subspecies separated by geographic barriers like rivers. Previous studies attempting to understand chimpanzee population histories have been limited either by a poor geographic distribution of samples, samples of uncertain origin or different types of genetic markers. Due to these obstacles, some studies have shown clear separations between chimpanzee subspecies while others suggest a genetic gradient across the species as in humans.

New way to halt excessive inflammation Posted: 05 Mar 2021 05:01 AM PST Researchers have discovered a new way to 'put the brakes' on excessive inflammation by regulating a type of white blood cell that is critical for our immune system.

Twistoptics: A new way to control optical nonlinearity Posted: 04 Mar 2021 02:27 PM PST Engineering researchers report that they developed a new, efficient way to modulate and enhance an important type of nonlinear optical process: optical second harmonic generation -- where two input photons are combined in the material to produce one photon with twice the energy -- from hexagonal boron nitride through micromechanical rotation and multilayer stacking. Their work is the first to exploit the dynamically tunable symmetry of 2D materials for nonlinear optical applications.

Team of bioethicists and scientists suggests revisiting 14-day limit on human embryo Posted: 04 Mar 2021 02:27 PM PST An international team of bioethicists and scientists contends it may be justified to go beyond the standing 14-day limit that restricts how long researchers can study human embryos in a dish. Going beyond this policy limit could lead to potential health and fertility benefits, and the authors provide a process for doing so.

Why we're so bad at daydreaming, and how to fix it Posted: 04 Mar 2021 02:27 PM PST We don't intuitively understand how to think enjoyable thoughts. But when researchers provided participants with a list of examples that were pleasant and meaningful, they enjoyed thinking 50% more than when they were instructed to think about whatever they wanted.

This frog has lungs that act like noise-canceling headphones Posted: 04 Mar 2021 11:54 AM PST To succeed in mating, many male frogs sit in one place and call to their potential mates. But how do females pinpoint a perfect mate among all the background noise of other frogs? Now, researchers have found that they do it thanks to a set of lungs that reduce their eardrum's sensitivity to environmental noise, making it easier to zero in on the calls of males.

Dramatic decline in western butterfly populations linked to fall warming Posted: 04 Mar 2021 11:54 AM PST Western butterfly populations are declining at an estimated rate of 1.6% per year, according to a new report. The report looks at more than 450 butterfly species, including the western monarch, whose latest population count revealed a 99.9% decline since the 1980s.

Ultralight materials: High strength through hierarchy Posted: 04 Mar 2021 11:54 AM PST As light as possible and as strong as possible at the same time. These are the requirements for modern lightweight materials, such as those used in aircraft construction and the automotive industry. A research team has now developed a new materials' design approach for future ultralight materials: Nanometer-sized metal struts that form nested networks on separate hierarchical levels provide amazing strength.

Artificial intelligence reveals current drugs that may help combat Alzheimer's disease Posted: 04 Mar 2021 10:35 AM PST Researchers have developed a method based on artificial intelligence that rapidly identifies currently available medications that may treat Alzheimer's disease. The method also reveals potential new treatment targets for the disease.

New evidence COVID-19 antibodies, vaccines less effective against variants Posted: 04 Mar 2021 10:35 AM PST New research has found that new variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 can evade antibodies that work against the original form of the virus that sparked the pandemic, potentially undermining the effectiveness of vaccines and antibody-based drugs now being used to prevent or treat COVID-19.

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