Tag: Science Daily

Tackling the climate crisis can only be achieved by 'placing people at the heart of climate action', researchers say.

Humble potatoes are a rich source not only of dietary carbohydrates for humans, but also of starches for numerous industrial applications. Scientists are learning how to alter the ratio of potatoes' two starch molecules -- amylose and amylopectin -- to increase both culinary and industrial applications.

Diatoms are the most important producers of plant biomass in the ocean and help to transport carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere into the deep ocean and thus regulate our climate. Because diatoms rely on silica rather than calcium carbonate to build their shells, they were previously thought to benefit...

A new study shows how the brains of Egyptian fruit bats are highly specialized for echolocation and flight, with motor areas of the cerebral cortex that are dedicated to sonar production and wing control.

Several hundred settlements from the time between 500 and 1400 AD lie in the Bolivian Llanos de Mojos savannah and have fascinated archaeologists for years. Researchers have now visualized the dimensions of the largest known settlement of the so-called Casarabe culture. Mapping with the laser technology LIDAR indicates that it...

Researchers have now designed a micro-sized artificial cilial system using platinum-based components that can control the movement of fluids at such a scale. The technology could someday enable low-cost, portable diagnostic devices for testing blood samples, manipulating cells or assisting in microfabrication processes.

Researchers have used silicone wristbands to track firefighters' exposures to 134 potentially carcinogenic chemicals. Analysis of the chemicals absorbed by the wristbands over a six-day shift show that while some exposures are linked to being at the scene of a fire, others aren't. This suggests that just being a firefighter...

Residents of Belmont County in eastern Ohio have long suffered from health problems they suspected were the result of air pollution from fracking facilities, but regulators dismissed and downplayed their concerns. With technical assistance from volunteer scientists, local advocacy groups set up their own network of low-cost sensors. They found...

There's a new method for determining whether dinosaurs were hot- or cold-blooded, using clues in their bones that indicated how much the individual animals breathed in their last hour of life. The study shows that the bird-hipped dinosaurs like T. rex and Brachiosaurus were hot-blooded, while the lizard-hipped dinosaurs like...

A study of nomadic pine siskins, a type of finch often seen on backyard feeders, found that when male migratory siskins were paired with a settled male bird in captivity, they started exhibiting signs of ending migration too. They stopped restless flying and lost body mass, fat stores and muscle...