Новости за 04.03.2022

What triggers an outbreak of the influenza virus? A new study of the flu in the 48 contiguous U.S. states, using data from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) on NASA's Aqua satellite, has found that the answer is closely tied to local weather—specifically, to low humidity—and varies from state to state.

In the 1970s, a handkerchief peeking from a man's back pocket was a useful way of signaling his gayness to other gay men—while keeping his sexual identity secret from everyone else, who were unlikely to know the hanky's hidden meaning.

The mysteries of underwater life have long been a source of inspiration for writers, filmmakers, and marine biologists. But scientists interested in understanding the biological diversity of the oceans are often limited by the relatively shallow depths accessible via scuba diving. Small research submersibles, while expensive, allow for the exploration of much deeper waters. A new paper co-authored by researchers at the Smithsonian's Tropical Research Institute (STRI) and National Museum of Natural History (NMNH)... Читать дальше...

Nanoparticles (which have sizes ranging between 3–500 nm), and sub-nanoclusters (which are around 1 nm in diameter) are utilized in many fields, including medicine, robotics, materials science, and engineering. Their small size and large surface-area-to-volume ratios give them unique properties, rendering them valuable in a variety of applications, ranging from pollution control to chemical synthesis.

Scientists from Washington University in St. Louis are helping to recover gases from a container of lunar soil that astronauts collected and sealed under vacuum on the surface of the moon in 1972. The effort is part of NASA's Apollo Next Generation Sample Analysis (ANGSA) initiative.

Scientists' increasing mastery of quantum mechanics is heralding a new age of innovation. Technologies that harness the power of nature's most minute scale show enormous potential across the scientific spectrum, from computers exponentially more powerful than today's leading systems, sensors capable of detecting elusive dark matter, and a virtually unhackable quantum internet.

The heat, pressure, and force that materials experience during manufacturing processes, such as forming, casting, and molding, can cause internal inconsistencies in manufactured metal parts. These inconsistencies include distortions and uneven microstructures, or "strain," which can lead to the parts cracking and failing.

While many physics instructors are beginning to incorporate lessons on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the classroom, it can often feel like an add-on rather than an integral component of becoming a physicist.

New research in the INFORMS journal Information Systems Research finds self-regulating is critical to reducing crime linked to Airbnb commercial listings.

Researchers from the University of New Hampshire have mapped magnetic fields in three dimensions, a major step toward solving what they call the "grand challenge" of revealing 3D magnetic configuration in magnetic materials. The work has implications for improving diagnostic imaging and capacity in storage devices.

A hallmark of so-called topological quantum states is that they are protected against local perturbations. ETH physicists now demonstrate that in the paradigmatic case of the integer quantum Hall effect, vacuum fluctuations can cause a breakdown of topological protection.

In the latest United Nations report on climate change, scientists document the stark toll inflicted by global warming through more intense heat waves, droughts, floods and other disasters, and present a dire warning that humanity should act quickly to move away from fossil fuels and cut planet-heating emissions.

Paleontologists from the Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM) published a study in the scientific periodic Gondwana Research describing the new fossilized specimen.

The Slope Sea off the Northeast United States is a major spawning ground for Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus), a new paper affirms. This finding likely has important implications for population dynamics and the survival of this fish, according to the paper, "Support for the Slope Sea as a major spawning ground for Atlantic bluefin tuna: evidence from larval abundance, growth rates, and particle-tracking simulations," published in the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.

Arctic Indigenous worlds, experiences, and challenges past and present—along with their implications for our climate crisis—are the focus of a course at Princeton this spring titled "Pluriversal Arctic." That is also the life's work of the course's instructor, Olga Ulturgasheva, an Eveny member, renowned anthropologist and the current Canadian Studies Pathy Distinguished Visitor at Princeton.

Amazon announced partnerships Thursday with 140 colleges and universities—including nine in Florida—to fully fund tuition and fees for employees.

A team of researchers affiliated with multiple institutions in Japan has developed a technique for tracing the diffusion of carbon isotopes using atomic-scale vibrational spectroscopy. In their paper published in the journal Nature, the group describes how they used isotopic imaging of 12C carbon atoms embedded in 13C graphene to monitor self-diffusion. Jordan Hachtel, with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has published an outline of recent research involving attempts to detect isotopes with high spatial... Читать дальше...

The mechanism of plant defense mediated by the non-expressor of pathogenesis-related (NPR) genes in monocots (plants having a single embryonic leaf) is not well-documented. Now, scientists from Tokyo University of Science have discovered how the NPR family of genes regulate immune responses in the model monocot Brachypodium distachyon. These findings provide a blueprint for plants' defense systems and might contribute to more research towards resilient crop species, boosting pesticide-free cereal crop cultivation.

A recent pilot program measuring the results of online tutoring for K-12 students has shown positive, promising results, according to a new study from the University of California San Diego's Rady School of Management.

When you think of soaps, you may first picture the liquid foams or solid bars that wash away dirt, grime and bacteria. However, not all soaps are cleansers. In the art conservation world, metal carboxylates, also known as "metal soaps," are undesirable: They form in ongoing chemical reactions that can damage the integrity of the paint and the appearance of paintings over time.

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) have designed a new type of magnet that could aid devices ranging from doughnut-shaped fusion facilities known as tokamaks to medical machines that create detailed pictures of the human body.

Gazing at the night sky can evoke a sense of wonder regarding humanity's place in the universe. But that's not all it can evoke. If you're knowledgeable about asteroid strikes like the one that wiped out the dinosaurs, then even a fleeting meteorite can nudge aside your enjoyable sense of wonder. What if?

Recent molecular findings offer new details on how Nipah and Hendra viruses attack cells, and the immune responses that try to counter this onslaught. The results point toward multi-pronged tactics to prevent and treat these deadly illnesses.

Scientists at the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC) have identified a nuclear import mechanism essential for organ growth and development. Manipulation of this mechanism has potential applications in the control of organ growth and organ regeneration.

Researchers from the University of Eastern Finland and the University of Montreal (Canada) have discovered that a micro-protein, which they named Nrs1, supports cell division and proliferation when nutrients are scarce. This result, published in PLOS Biology yesterday, sheds a new light on how evolution subtly reshapes the genomes of unicellular microorganisms, providing them with plasticity to adjust their growth and proliferation to ever-changing environments.