Tag: Science Daily

Nearly everyone can identify a pond, but what, exactly, distinguishes it from a lake or a wetland? A new study offers the first data-driven, functional definition of a pond and evidence of ponds' distinct ecological function, which could have broad implications for science and policy.

A robotic microswarm may one day automate the routine of rinsing, brushing, and flossing teeth. A multidisciplinary team developed the technology, which employs a magnetic field to direct the iron oxide nanoparticle-based microrobots into antimicrobial bristle- and floss-shaped arrays.

Researchers are challenging a centuries-old beliefs about how mammals might regenerate damaged parts of the body. In humans, the natural ability to regenerate is limited to tissues like the epidermis, the outermost layer of skin, and some organs, such as the liver. Other species, most notably salamanders, have the ability...

Researchers created atomic-level models of the spike protein that plays a key role in COVID-19 infection and immunity, revealing how the protein bends and moves as it seeks to engage receptors.

Camelina, an oilseed plant grown in modern-day Ukraine, may have been a more important and widespread crop than previously thought. New findings could inform breeding programs to improve this crop for biofuels applications.

Researchers have created an inhalable COVID-19 vaccine that is shelf stable at room temperature for up to three months, targets the lungs specifically and effectively, and allows for self-administration via an inhaler.

A study has identified a molecule -- the purine inosine -- that boosts fat burning in brown adipocytes. The mechanism was discovered in mice, but probably exists in humans as well: If a transporter for inosine is less active, the mice remain significantly leaner despite a high-fat diet.

Researchers definitively linked the function of a specific domain of proteins important in plant-microbe biology to a cancer trigger in humans, knowledge that had eluded scientists for decades.

Robotic ammonites, evaluated in a university pool, allow researchers to explore questions about how shell shapes affected swimming ability. They found trade-offs between stability in the water and maneuverability, suggesting that the evolution of ammonite shells explored different designs for different advantages, rather than converged toward a single best design.

Earth's oceans are crisscrossed with roughly 1.2 million km of fiber optic telecommunication cables. Researchers have now succeeded in using a fiber in a submarine cable as a passive listening system, enabling them to listen to and monitor whales.