Scientists have invented a new 'whipping jet' sprayer that allows for greater control over how aerosols move. The device could benefit pharmaceutical, automotive, food processing, carbon capture and other industries.
Vulnerability of red sea urchins to climate change depends on location
A new study of red sea urchins, a commercially valuable species, investigated how different populations respond to changes in their environments. The results show that red sea urchin populations in Northern and Southern California are adapted to their local conditions but differ in their vulnerability to the environmental changes expected...
First computational reconstruction of a virus in its biological entirety
A researcher has created a computer reconstruction of a virus, including its complete native genome. Although other researchers have created similar reconstructions, this is believed to be the first to replicate the exact chemical and 3D structure of a 'live' virus.
Mixture of crops provide ecological benefits for agricultural landscapes
There are often too few flowering plants in agricultural landscapes, which is one reason for the decline of pollinating insects. Researchers ave now investigated how a mixture of crops of faba beans (broad beans) and wheat affects the number of pollinating insects. They found that areas of mixed crops compared...
Bioenergy: Precision gene editing in miscanthus
Researchers have successfully demonstrated precision gene editing in miscanthus, a promising perennial crop for sustainable bioenergy production. Biologists edited the genomes of three miscanthus species using CRISPR/Cas9 -- a far more targeted and efficient way to develop new varieties than prior methods. The results will accelerate efforts to tap the...
New nanoparticles deliver therapy brain-wide, edit Alzheimer’s gene in mice
Researchers describe a new family of nano-scale capsules made of silica that can carry genome-editing tools into many organs around the body and then harmlessly dissolve.
Rare opportunity to study short-lived volcanic island reveals sulfur-metabolizing microbes
On the short-lived island of Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha'apai, researchers discovered a unique microbial community that metabolizes sulfur and atmospheric gases, similar to organisms found in deep sea vents or hot springs.
Squirrels that gamble win big when it comes to evolutionary fitness
Imagine overhearing the Powerball lottery winning numbers, but you didn't know when those numbers would be called -- just that at some point in the next 10 years or so, they would be. Despite the financial cost of playing those numbers daily for that period, the payoff is big enough...
Bacterial electricity: Membrane potential influences antibiotic tolerance
The electrical potential across the bacterial cell envelope indicates when bacteria no longer operate as individual cells but as a collective. Researchers have discovered this connection between the electrical properties and the lifestyle of bacteria. Although bacteria are single cellular organisms, they form spatially structured communities, so-called biofilms. Within biofilms,...
Violence was widespread in early farming society
Violence and warfare were widespread in many Neolithic communities across Northwest Europe, a period associated with the adoption of farming, new research suggests. Of the skeletal remains of more than 2300 early farmers from 180 sites dating from around 8000 -- 4000 years ago to, more than one in ten...