The body is full of electrical signals. Researchers have now created a new nanomaterial that is capable of both detecting and modulating the electric field. This new material can be used in vitro studies for 'reading and writing' the electric field without damaging nearby cells and tissue. In addition, researchers...
Biomass burning increases low clouds over southeastern Asia
Clouds have significant impact on the energy balance of the Earth system. Low clouds such as Stratocumulus, Cumulus and Stratus cover about 30 percent of the Earth surface and have a net cooling effect on our climate. What counteracts global warming, can have economic consequences: a persistently dense and low...
Safe drinking water remains out of reach for many Californians
An estimated 370,000 Californians rely on drinking water that may contain high levels of arsenic, nitrate or hexavalent chromium, and contaminated drinking water disproportionately impact communities of color in the state, finds a new analysis. Because this study is limited to three common contaminants, results likely underestimate the actual number...
Ancient Mesopotamian discovery transforms knowledge of early farming
Researchers have unearthed the earliest definitive evidence of broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum) in ancient Iraq, challenging our understanding of humanity's earliest agricultural practices.
Researchers switch off gene to switch on ultraviolet in butterfly wings
A team of researchers has identified a gene that determines whether ultraviolet iridescence shows up in the wings of butterflies. The team showed that removing the gene in butterflies whose wings lack UV coloration leads to bright patches of UV iridescence in their wings. According to the researchers, the gene...
Within a dinosaur’s head: Ankylosaur was sluggish and deaf
Scientists took a closer look at the braincase of a dinosaur from Austria. The group examined the fossil with a micro-CT and found surprising new details: it was sluggish and deaf.
Hidden order in windswept sand
Researchers have analyzed an extensive collection of sand samples from so-called megaripple fields around the world and gained new insights into the composition of these sand waves. These could help settle debates about the mechanistic origin of some recently discovered enigmatic extraterrestrial sand structures and improve our ability to infer...
Coastal ecosystem being destabilized by climate change
Ecological communities on the Oregon coast are being subtly destabilized by the pressures of climate change despite giving an appearance of stress resistance, new research shows.
New research on magnetite in salmon noses illuminates understanding of sensory mechanisms enabling magnetic perception across life
Scientists suggest magnetite crystals that form inside specialized receptor cells of salmon and other animals may have roots in ancient genetic systems that were developed by bacteria and passed to animals long ago through evolutionary genetics.
Scientists uncover new information about cellular death process, previously thought to be irreversible
Researchers report a new method for analyzing pyroptosis -- the process of cell death that is usually caused by infections and results in excess inflammation in the body -- and show that the process, long thought to be irreversible once initiated, can in fact be halted and controlled. The discovery...