Though prescribed burns reduce wildfire threats and even improve habitat for some animals, new research shows these fires also spread stinknet, an aptly named weed currently invading superblooms across the Southwestern U.S.
Electronic noses sniff out volatile organic compounds
Tracing volatile organic compounds is important for public safety and all 'smell' related issues. To this end, researchers introduce a fluid mechanics-based chamber design for an electronic nose that consistently detects VOCs at low concentrations. The strategy, which includes using a shunt-like device to control the behavior of fluid flow,...
Identifying the bee’s knees of bumble bee diets
A new study has identified the bee's knees of bumble bee dietary options in Ohio and the Upper Midwest. By viewing almost 23,000 bumble bee-flower interactions over two years, researchers found that these bees don't always settle for the most abundant flowers in their foraging area -- suggesting they have...
How a drought affects trees depends on what’s been holding them back
Droughts can be good for trees. Certain trees, that is. Contrary to expectation, sometimes a record-breaking drought can increase tree growth. Why and where this happens is the subject of a new article.
Montreal protocol is delaying first ice-free Arctic summer
New research shows that the 1987 global treaty, designed to protect the ozone layer, has postponed the occurrence of the first ice-free Arctic by as much as 15 years.
A multiomics approach provides insights into flu severity
Researchers were able to identify changes in the accessibility (that is, the 'readability') of transposable elements. To do this, the researchers used an approach combining various sets of multiomics data, which characterize and quantify collections of biomolecules in cells or organisms. One was the transcriptome, which consists of all copies...
What you count is not necessarily what counts
Seawater is full of bacteria, hundreds of thousands live in every liter. But the sheer number of bacteria living in the water does not necessarily mean a lot. More important is how active they are and how quickly they duplicate.
Dinosaurs were the first to take the perspectives of others
Understanding that others hold different viewpoints from your own is essential for human sociality. Adopting another person's visual perspective is a complex skill that emerges around the age of two. A new study suggests that this ability first arose in dinosaurs, at least 60 million years before it appeared in...
New insights into the complex neurochemistry of ants
Ants' brains are amazingly sophisticated organs that enable them to coordinate complex behavior patterns such as the organization of colonies. Now, researchers have developed a method that allows them to study ants' brain chemistry and gain insights into the insects' neurobiological processes. The findings could help to explain the evolution...
Fine particulate matter catalyzes oxidative stress in the lungs
Study sheds new light on the adverse health effects of air pollution: hydrogen peroxide production of fine particles may not be as important as previously assumed. A new study reveals that the adverse health effects of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) are attributable to the conversion of peroxides into more reactive...