Новости за 15.03.2022

Researchers at the University of Alberta have uncovered new information about a cellular mechanism in the immune system that provides a critical step toward better understanding how antibodies evolve and improve in the human body.

A small asteroid hit Earth's atmosphere over the Norwegian Sea before disintegrating on March 11, 2022. But this event wasn't a complete surprise: Astronomers knew it was on a collision course, predicting exactly where and when the impact would happen.

Fossil plants reveal the evolution of green life on Earth, but the most abundant samples that are found—fossil leaves—are also the most challenging to identify. A large, open-access visual leaf library developed by a Penn State-led team provides a new resource to help scientists recognize and classify these leaves.

The first worlds beyond our solar system were discovered three decades ago. Since then, close to 5,000 exoplanets have been confirmed in our galaxy. Astronomers have detected another 5,000 planetary candidates—objects that might be planets but have yet to be confirmed. Now, the list of planets has shrunk by at least three.

Whether it's a rich, creamy risotto gradually stirred to perfection, or the story of the turtle and the hare, there are plenty of examples showing that a slow and steady approach can be the key to success.

The interplay between the terrestrial carbon cycle and emissions of carbon dioxide from streams and rivers into the atmosphere is at the center of a new Yale School of the Environment-led study aimed at calculating the amount for the global carbon emissions budget.

Since the Syrian civil war began in 2011, approximately 20,000 Syrian refugees have resettled in the United States, with an estimated 130 families resettling in Houston. Prior to their resettlement, most Syrian refugees reported experiencing traumatic events including torture of self or loved ones, death of family members or friends and loss of property, income and self-sufficiency.

When the Michelin Guide of Washington, D.C. restaurants was first published, it provided customers with a new tool to make choices, but it also introduced a new form of ranking that triggered insecurity in highly ranked organizations. In order to fit with what they believed the audiences would expect from the elite, newly awarded restaurants modified their descriptions about menus, cuisine techniques and pricing, while restaurants with an already high status engaged in compensatory actions to emphasize authenticity and exclusivity.

Decades of logging and fire suppression have left California's forests prone to drought, infestation and catastrophic wildfire. Climate change is only exacerbating these impacts. But for thousands of years before, during and after European colonization, Indigenous tribes have lived within and among these forests, intentionally lighting fires to manage landscapes and ecosystem mosaics, enhance habitat, produce food and basketry materials, clear trails, reduce pests and support ceremonial practices.

Could a spritz of super-tiny particles of gold and peptides on a damaged heart potentially provide minimally invasive, on-the-spot repair?

Greenhouse gas emissions from air conditioners are expected to climb as economic growth drives efforts to control both temperature and humidity, according to an analysis by scientists from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Xerox PARC.

The more frequent wildfire disasters become, the less time communities will have to recover from each catastrophe. But it can take months for a town's water to be safe to drink again after a wildfire.

Geographers at the University of Southampton have produced high resolution population maps of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) nearly 40 years after its last population and housing census. The study is the latest in a number aimed at supporting countries with outdated or incomplete census data.

Big trees play an outsized role in old-growth forests—from offering fire resistance to producing strong genetic offspring, big trees give forests multiple ecological advantages. New research gives managers yet another reason to honor the behemoths—big trees protect melting snowpacks in water-stressed environments. The research from Michaela Teich, Kendall Becker and Jim Lutz from the Department of Wildland Resources at Utah State University and colleague Mark Raleigh from Oregon State University... Читать дальше...

Seventy percent of the world's population now live in dictatorships, according to this year's report on democracy from the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Institute at the University of Gothenburg.

Before Miami Beach became the first U.S. city to dramatically elevate streets before sea levels rise, hairstylist Gustavo Briand was used to flooding.

Trade-offs between the benefit of colonizing new particles and the risk of being wiped out by predators allow diverse populations of marine microbes to exist together, shows a study published today in eLife.

The climate pattern El Niño varies over time to such a degree that scientists will have difficulty detecting signs that it is getting stronger with global warming.

For women who choose to get married, one decision that they may face is whether to change their last name or not. For a researcher who is published in academic journals, a marital name change may make it difficult for others to find their work.

For those watching the news, anti-vaccination movements seem to be evolving, with both new tactics and a new watchword—liberty, rather than conspiracy.

A biotech firm is seeking permission to release genetically modified mosquitoes into the open air of California for the first time later this year, aiming to reduce the expanding populations of invasive mosquitoes and prevent deadly disease.

The U.S. Army has stated it views mentoring as a key way to not only help the most qualified individuals advance in their military careers but to address diversity gaps in its leadership. New research from the University of Kansas shows that men and women in the Army's special operations overwhelmingly view mentorship positively, but men view it as a way to advance, while women view it as a way to survive in a male-dominated organization.

As the floodwaters recede, mountains of debris are left behind—sheets of plaster, loose clothes, mattresses and, of course, trees. Some debris I've seen in floods includes massive tree trunks weighing 5 tons or more, bobbing along like corks in the rapidly flowing waters.

Hydrogen bond engineering can convey stretchability, toughness and self-healing properties to materials, although enhancement effects of conventional hydrogen bonds is limiting due to their weak interaction strength. For instance, organisms can withstand extreme conditions due to strong hydrogen bond-based interactions induced by trehalose. In a new report now published in Science Advances, Zilong Han and a team of scientists in smart devices and engineering mechanics at the Zhejiang University in China... Читать дальше...

Alkene production by the catalytic dehydrogenation of light alkanes is an alternative to conventional heavy hydrocarbon cracking. Dehydrogenation is an endothermic equilibrium-limited reaction and is typically performed at elevated temperatures at close to atmospheric pressure. Even at 500°C, the thermodynamic equilibrium conversion for propane dehydrogenation is less than 20%. Further, the high operating temperature results in large amounts of carbon deposition on the catalyst, which implies the... Читать дальше...