Coral adaptation unlikely to keep pace with global warming

Coral adaptation to ocean warming and marine heatwaves will likely be overwhelmed without rapid reductions of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to an international team of scientists.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/sB7vHOV

Clinical trial reveals twice-yearly injection to be 96% effective in HIV prevention

Recent results from a recent clinical trial indicate that a twice-yearly injection of Lenacapavir offers an overall 96% reduced risk of acquiring HIV. This makes Lenacapavir significantly more effective than the standard daily oral PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis).

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/vxV9LTq

Early North Americans made needles from fur-bearers

Paleoindians at Wyoming's LaPrele mammoth site made needles from the bones of fur-bearers, likely to creat garments from the animals' furs to keep warm in a cool climate.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/IVXDnPL

Fossil dung reveals clues to dinosaur success story

Researchers have been able to identify undigested food remains, plants and prey in the fossilized feces of dinosaurs. These analyses of hundreds of samples provide clues about the role dinosaurs played in the ecosystem around 200 million years ago.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/Uc2Qgio

Inside the 'swat team' -- how insects react to virtual reality gaming

Humans get a real buzz from the virtual world of gaming and augmented reality but now scientists have trialled the use of these new-age technologies on small animals, to test the reactions of tiny hoverflies and even crabs. In a bid to comprehend the aerodynamic powers of flying insects and other little-understood animal behaviors, the study is gaining new perspectives on how invertebrates respond to, interact with and navigate virtual 'worlds' created by advanced entertainment technology.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/pUcC35t

Nanorobot hand made of DNA grabs viruses for diagnostics and blocks cell entry

A tiny, four-fingered 'hand' folded from a single piece of DNA can pick up the virus that causes COVID-19 for highly sensitive rapid detection and can even block viral particles from entering cells to infect them, researchers report. Dubbed the NanoGripper, the nanorobotic hand also could be programmed to interact with other viruses or to recognize cell surface markers for targeted drug delivery, such as for cancer treatment.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/V6Ooji2

Animal characters can boost young children's psychological development

A study has shown that iconic characters such as Peter Rabbit -- or Toad and Ratty from The Wind in the Willows -- can also play an important role in the development of children's theory of mind skills, which include the ability to read and predict social changes in the environment through tone of voice, choice of words, or facial expression.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/WUoFycV

Magnetic tornado is stirring up the haze at Jupiter's poles

Dark ovals in Jupiter's polar haze, visible only at UV wavelengths, were first noticed 25 years ago, then ignored. A new study shows that these dark UV ovals are common, appearing at the south pole in 75% of Hubble Space Telescope images taken since 2015. They appear less often at the north pole. The scientists theorize that a magnetic vortex generated in the ionosphere stirs up and concentrates the hydrocarbon haze that blankets the poles.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/jxHJaPI

New study reveals the explosive secret of the squirting cucumber

A team has solved a mystery that has intrigued scientists for centuries: how does the squirting cucumber squirt? The findings were achieved through a combination of experiments, high-speed videography, image analysis, and advanced mathematical modelling.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/DZIQidv

Novel supernova observations grant astronomers a peek into the cosmic past

An international team of researchers has made new observations of an unusual supernova, finding the most metal-poor stellar explosion ever observed.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/YKefRBL

Most energetic cosmic-ray electrons and positrons ever observed

Scientists have recently identified electrons and positrons with the highest energies ever recorded on Earth. They provide evidence of cosmic processes emitting colossal amounts of energy, the origins of which are as yet unknown.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/b4rmQp0

Ancient hot water on Mars points to habitable past

New research has uncovered what may be the oldest direct evidence of ancient hot water activity on Mars, revealing the planet may have been habitable at some point in its past.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/sq1AfB2

A bioinspired capsule can pump drugs directly into the walls of the GI tract

Inspired by the jets of water that squids use to propel themselves through the ocean, a team developed an ingestible capsule that releases a burst of drugs directly into the lining of the stomach or other organs of the digestive tract.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/QM9HNiW

3.2 million km/h galaxy smash-up

A massive collision of galaxies sparked by one travelling at a scarcely-believable 2 million mph (3.2 million km/h) has been seen in unprecedented detail by one of Earth's most powerful telescopes. The dramatic impact was observed in Stephan's Quintet, a nearby galaxy group made up of five galaxies first sighted almost 150 years ago. It sparked an immensely powerful shock akin to a 'sonic boom from a jet fighter' -- the likes of which are among the most striking phenomena in the Universe.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/Q5sO1lG

Researchers identify previously unknown compound in drinking water

Researchers have reported the discovery of a previously unknown compound in chloraminated drinking water. Inorganic chloramines are commonly used to disinfect drinking water to safeguard public health from diseases like cholera and typhoid fever.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/w8xq7CN

New imaging method enables detailed RNA analysis of the whole brain

Researchers have developed a groundbreaking microscopy method that enables detailed three-dimensional (3D) RNA analysis at cellular resolution in whole intact mouse brains. The new method, called TRISCO, has the potential to transform our understanding of brain function, both in normal conditions and in disease, according to the new study.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/rQ5nBq0

New ion speed record holds potential for faster battery charging, biosensing

A speed record has been broken using nanoscience, which could lead to a host of new advances, including improved battery charging, biosensing, soft robotics and neuromorphic computing. Scientists have discovered a way to make ions move more than ten times faster in mixed organic ion-electronic conductors. These conductors combine the advantages of the ion signaling used by many biological systems, including the human body, with the electron signaling used by computers. The new development speeds up ion movement in these conductors by using molecules that attract and concentrate ions into a separate nanochannel creating a type of tiny 'ion superhighway.'

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/MLud3xz

These wild chimpanzees play as adults to better cooperate as a group

Compared to children, adults don't play as much, but social play into adulthood is considered a universal human trait. Play has a role in building tolerance, cohesion, bonding, and cooperation. By comparison, play in adults of other species has been considered rare, and yet a new study shows that some chimpanzees, like people, continue to play often throughout their entire lives and especially before engaging in acts that require collective cooperation.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/hVwWZf2

Astronomers discover first pairs of white dwarf and main sequence stars in clusters, shining new light on stellar evolution

Astronomers have discovered the first pairs of white dwarf and main sequence stars -- 'dead' remnants and 'living' stars -- in young star clusters. This breakthrough offers new insights on an extreme phase of stellar evolution, and one of the biggest mysteries in astrophysics.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/7NyauOm

The chilling sound of the Aztec death whistle

The Aztec skull whistle produces a shrill, screaming sound. A study shows that these whistles have a disturbing effect on the human brain. The Aztecs may have deliberately used this effect in sacrificial rituals.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/VysHhbF

How cells habituate

Up until recently, habituation -- a simple form of learning -- was deemed the exclusive domain of complex organisms with brains and nervous systems, such as worms, insects, birds, and mammals. But a new study offers compelling evidence that even tiny single-cell creatures such as ciliates and amoebae, as well as the cells in our own bodies, could exhibit habituation akin to that seen in more complex organisms with brains.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/59S2VcJ

New fossil reveals the evolution of flying reptiles

A newly discovered pterosaur fossil is shedding light on the evolutionary journey of these ancient flying reptiles. This complete specimen, named Skiphosoura bavarica, provides crucial insights into how pterosaurs transitioned from early, smaller forms to the later, gigantic species. By analysing the unique features of Skiphosoura, paleontologists can now trace the step-by-step evolution of pterosaurs, including changes in head size, neck length, wing structure, and tail length. This groundbreaking discovery offers a clearer understanding of how these magnificent creatures soared through the prehistoric skies.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/xKQRnwD

Redefining net zero will not stop global warming

An international group of authors who developed the science behind net zero demonstrate that relying on 'natural carbon sinks' like forests and oceans to offset ongoing CO2 emissions from fossil fuel use will not actually stop global warming. The science of net zero, developed over 15 years ago, does not include these natural carbon sinks in the definition of net human-induced CO2 emissions. Yet governments and corporations are increasingly turning to them to offset emissions, rather than reducing fossil fuel use or developing more permanent CO2 disposal options. Emissions accounting rules encourage this by creating an apparent equivalence between fossil fuel emissions and drawdown of CO2 by some natural carbon sinks, meaning a country could appear to have 'achieved net zero' whilst still contributing to ongoing warming.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/a4rvOHV

New idea may crack enigma of the Crab Nebula's 'zebra' pattern

A theoretical astrophysicist may have solved a nearly two-decade-old mystery over the origins of an unusual 'zebra' pattern seen in high-frequency radio pulses from the Crab Nebula.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/ytLgYFI

How optogenetics can put the brakes on epilepsy seizures

In what could one day become a new treatment for epilepsy, researchers have used pulses of light to prevent seizure-like activity in neurons.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/Skw0cuI

Gaming for the good!

It turns out gaming is good for you! New research indicates massive multiplayer online gamers learn by gaming and their skills in the workplace are enriched by those seemingly endless hours previously thought of as frittering away time.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/G8HDTLn

NASA satellites reveal abrupt drop in global freshwater levels

The Earth's total amount of freshwater dropped abruptly starting in May 2014 and has remained low ever since. The shift could indicate Earth's continents have entered a persistently drier phase.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/t8JkNxQ

Earliest evidence of humans using fire to shape the landscape of Tasmania

Some of the first human beings to arrive in Tasmania, over 41,000 years ago, used fire to shape and manage the landscape, about 2,000 years earlier than previously thought.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/7jRTbnx

New research shows relationship between heart shape and risk of cardiovascular disease

A new study has revealed that the shape of the heart is influenced in part by genetics and may help predict the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/Ws7rt5y

Living microbes discovered in Earth's driest desert

A new technique allows researchers to separate external and internal DNA to identify microbes colonizing the hostile environment of the Atacama Desert.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/mXEHFW9

The secrets of fossil teeth revealed by the synchrotron: A long childhood is the prelude to the evolution of a large brain

Could social bonds be the key to human big brains? A study of the fossil teeth of early Homo from Georgia dating back 1.77 million years reveals a prolonged childhood despite a small brain and an adulthood comparable to that of the great apes. This discovery suggests that an extended childhood, combined with cultural transmission in three-generation social groups, may have triggered the evolution of a large brain like that of modern humans, rather than the reverse.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/1viWE4T

Scientists discover laser light can cast a shadow

Researchers have found that under certain conditions, a laser beam can act like an opaque object and cast a shadow, opening new possibilities for technologies that could use a laser beam to control another laser beam.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/53zwTy7

12,000-year-old stones may be very early evidence of wheel-like technology

A collection of perforated pebbles from an archaeological site in Israel may be spindle whorls, representing a key milestone in the development of rotational tools including wheels, according to a new study.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/s1vNon0

A formula for life? New model calculates chances of intelligent beings in our Universe and beyond

The chances of intelligent life emerging in our Universe -- and in any hypothetical ones beyond it -- can be estimated by a new theoretical model which has echoes of the famous Drake Equation. This was the formula that American astronomer Dr Frank Drake came up with in the 1960s to calculate the number of detectable extraterrestrial civilizations in our Milky Way galaxy. More than 60 years on, astrophysicists have produced a different model which instead focuses on the conditions created by the acceleration of the Universe's expansion and the amount of stars formed.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/b1nzGBd

Time alone heightens 'threat alert' in teenagers -- even when connecting on social media

Scientists detect a heightened 'threat vigilance' reaction in adolescents after a few hours of isolation, which socializing online doesn't appear to ameliorate. They say the findings might shed light on the link between loneliness and mental health conditions such as anxiety disorders, which are on the rise in young people.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/8FXVPG0

Possible to limit climate change to 1.5°C, if EU and 17 other countries go beyond their own targets

A new study finds that limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius is still possible, but some countries require support to meet their climate responsibilities. An 'additional carbon accountability' indicator is introduced, revealing that the EU and 17 other countries must exceed their own current targets to achieve this global goal.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/Yr1khVg

Asthma may place children at risk of memory difficulties

Asthma is associated with memory difficulties in children, and early onset of asthma may exacerbate memory deficits, according to a new study.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/e9DVzyu

Secret behind the corpse flower's famous stench

A new study on titan arum -- commonly known as the corpse flower for its smell like rotting flesh -- uncovers fundamental genetic pathways and biological mechanisms that produce heat and odorous chemicals when the plant blooms. The study provides insight into the flower's ability to warm up just before blooming through a process known as thermogenesis, an uncommon trait in plants that is not well understood. The researchers also identify a new component of the corpse flower's odor, an organic chemical called putrescine.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/1ibzIrE

Einstein's equations collide with the mysteries of the Universe

Why is the expansion of our Universe accelerating? Twenty-five years after its discovery, this phenomenon remains one of the greatest scientific mysteries. Solving it involves testing the fundamental laws of physics, including Albert Einstein's general relativity. Researchers compared Einstein's predictions with data from the Dark Energy Survey. Scientists discovered a slight discrepancy that varies with different periods in cosmic history. These results challenge the validity of Einstein's theories for explaining phenomena beyond our solar system on a universal scale.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/HVbAc49

Finding function for noncoding RNAs using a new kind of CRISPR

Genes contain instructions for making proteins, and a central dogma of biology is that this information flows from DNA to RNA to proteins. But only two percent of the human genome actually encodes proteins; the function of the remaining 98 percent remains largely unknown. One pressing problem in human genetics is to understand what these regions of the genome do -- if anything at all. Historically, some have even referred to these regions as 'junk.' Now, a new study finds that some noncoding RNAs are not, in fact, junk -- they are functional and play an important role in our cells, including in cancer and human development.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/RtSUg72

Deep ocean clues to a million-year-old ice age puzzle revealed in new study

A new study challenges theories regarding the origins of a significant transition through the Earth's ice ages. The research provides fresh insights into the ocean's role in climate during the Mid-Pleistocene Transition, an enigmatic interval of change in climate cycles that began about one million years ago.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/40gmKIB

How plants grow thicker, not just taller

Using a computer model that reveals how plants grow thicker over time, biologists have uncovered how cells are activated to produce wood tissue. Understanding the genetic and molecular signals behind this growth, they hope to advance forestry practices and carbon dioxide storage in trees.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/qGD3Qyk

Quantum vortices confirm superfluidity in supersolid

Supersolids are a new form of quantum matter that has only recently been demonstrated. The state of matter can be produced artificially in ultracold, dipolar quantum gases. A team has now demonstrated a missing hallmark of superfluidity, namely the existence of quantized vortices as system's response to rotation. They have observed tiny quantum vortices in the supersolid, which also behave differently than previously assumed.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/fFJcBR8

Off-the-shelf thermoelectric generators can upgrade CO2 into chemicals: The combination could help us colonize Mars

Readily available thermoelectric generators operating under modest temperature differences can power CO2 conversion, according to a proof-of-concept study by chemists. The findings open up the intriguing possibility that the temperature differentials encountered in an array of environments -- from a typical geothermal installation on Earth to the cold, desolate surface of Mars -- could power the conversion of CO2 into a range of useful fuels and chemicals.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/SBNMdt9

The egg or the chicken? An ancient unicellular says egg

Chromosphaera perkinsii is a single-celled species discovered in 2017 in marine sediments around Hawaii. The first signs of its presence on Earth have been dated at over a billion years, well before the appearance of the first animals. A team has observed that this species forms multicellular structures that bear striking similarities to animal embryos. These observations suggest that the genetic programs responsible for embryonic development were already present before the emergence of animal life, or that C. perkinsii evolved independently to develop similar processes. Nature would therefore have possessed the genetic tools to 'create eggs' long before it 'invented chickens'.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/hoSnDEr

Interstellar methane as progenitor of amino acids?

Gamma radiation can convert methane into a wide variety of products at room temperature, including hydrocarbons, oxygen-containing molecules, and amino acids, reports a research team. This type of reaction probably plays an important role in the formation of complex organic molecules in the universe -- and possibly in the origin of life. They also open up new strategies for the industrial conversion of methane into high value-added products under mild conditions.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/pexf3D5

Asteroid grains shed light on the outer solar system's origins

Tiny grains from asteroid Ryugu are revealing clues to the magnetic forces that shaped the far reaches of the solar system over 4.6 billion years ago. The findings suggest the distal solar system harbored a weak magnetic field, which could have played a role in forming the giant planets and other objects.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/6xzuPtY

Mighty radio bursts linked to massive galaxies

Researchers have uncovered where FRBs are more likely to occur in the universe -- massive star-forming galaxies rather than low - mass ones.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/JNks693

Groundbreaking study provides new evidence of when Earth was slushy

At the end of the last global ice age, the deep-frozen Earth reached a built-in limit of climate change and thawed into a slushy planet. Results provide the first direct geochemical evidence of the slushy planet -- otherwise known as the 'plume-world ocean' era -- when sky-high carbon dioxide levels forced the frozen Earth into a massive, rapid melting period.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2T8PNLj

Towards a hydrogen-powered future: Highly sensitive hydrogen detection system

Hydrogen, a promising fuel, has extensive applications in many sectors. However, its safe and widespread use necessitates reliable sensing methods. While tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS) has proved to be an effective gas sensing method, detecting hydrogen using TDLAS is difficult due to its weak light absorption property in the infrared region. Addressing this issue, researchers developed an innovative calibration-free technique that significantly enhances the accuracy and detection limits for sensing hydrogen using TDLAS.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/Bg4JDFj

Deaf male mosquitoes don't mate

Romance is a complex affair in humans. There's personality, appearance, seduction, all manner of physical and social cues. Mosquitoes are much more blunt. Mating occurs for a few seconds in midair. And all it takes to woo a male is the sound of a female's wingbeats. Imagine researchers' surprise when a single change completely killed the mosquitoes' libidos.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/opjmsOq

New trigger proposed for record-smashing 2022 Tonga eruption

Fifteen minutes before the massive January 2022 eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano, a seismic wave was recorded by two distant seismic stations. The researchers propose that the seismic wave was caused by a fracture in a weak area of oceanic crust beneath the volcano's caldera wall. That fracture allowed seawater and magma to pour into and mix together in the space above the volcano's subsurface magma chamber, explosively kickstarting the eruption.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/AGgIcus

The secrets of baseball's magic mud

The unique properties of baseball's famed 'magic' mud, which MLB equipment managers applied to every ball in the World Series, have never been scientifically quantified -- until now. Researchers now reveal what makes the magic mud so special.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/9xUv2Ff

Synthetic genes engineered to mimic how cells build tissues and structures

Researchers have developed synthetic genes that function like the genes in living cells. The artificial genes can build intracellular structures through a cascading sequence that builds self-assembling structures piece by piece. The discovery offers a path toward using a suite of simple building blocks that can be programmed to make complex biomolecular materials, such as nanoscale tubes from DNA tiles. The same components can also be programmed to break up the design for different materials.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/auUmEhe

Fossil of huge terror bird offers new information about wildlife in South America 12 million years ago

Evolutionary biologists report they have analyzed a fossil of an extinct giant meat-eating bird -- which they say could be the largest known member of its kind -- providing new information about animal life in northern South America millions of years ago.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/JUr40YA

Astronomers discover the fastest-feeding black hole in the early universe

Astronomers have discovered a supermassive black hole at the center of a galaxy just 1.5 billion years after the Big Bang that is consuming matter at a phenomenal rate -- over 40 times the theoretical limit. While short lived, this black hole's 'feast' could help astronomers explain how supermassive black holes grew so quickly in the early Universe.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/xhRBTfK

Indigenous cultural burning has protected Australia's landscape for millennia, study finds

Ancient cultural burning practices carried out by Indigenous Australians limited fuel availability and prevented high intensity fires in southeastern Australia for thousands of years, according to new research.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/HJAtoYL

Revolutionary high-speed 3D bioprinter hailed a game changer for drug discovery

Biomedical engineers have invented a 3D printing system, or bioprinter, capable of fabricating structures that closely mimic the diverse tissues in the human body, from soft brain tissue to harder materials like cartilage and bone.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/jTsVEGA

Violating Bredt's rule: Chemists just broke a 100-year-old rule and say it's time to rewrite the textbooks

According to Bredt's rule, double bonds cannot exist at certain positions on organic molecules if the molecule's geometry deviates too far from what we learn in textbooks. This rule has constrained chemists for a century. Chemists have now shown how to make molecules that violate Bredt's rule, allowing chemists to find practical ways to make and use them in reactions.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/N712M5F

Echolocating bats use an acoustic cognitive map for navigation

Echolocating bats have been found to possess an acoustic cognitive map of their home range, enabling them to navigate over kilometer-scale distances using echolocation alone.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/6GW2Xuj

NASA's Hubble, Webb probe surprisingly smooth disk around Vega

Teams of astronomers used the combined power of NASA's Hubble and James Webb space telescopes to revisit the legendary Vega disk.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/7IOpbRc

Combining VR and non-invasive brain stimulation: A neurotechnology that boosts spatial memory without surgery

Researchers have joined forces to give a boost to spatial memory by creating a unique experimental setup that combines non-invasive deep-brain stimulation, virtual reality training, and fMRI imaging. The study demonstrates that targeted, painless electric impulses to the hippocampus and adjacent structures, a deep brain region implied in memory and spatial navigation, can improve the brain's ability to recall locations and navigate more effectively.

from All Top News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/VeSz6qd