Новости за 06.04.2022

A better understanding of tree growth-climate sensitivity across regions and species may reduce uncertainties in simulating forest carbon budgets. However, few studies have explored the growth-climate sensitivity of different tree species in Southwest China.

As we approach summer beach season, you may occasionally encounter a "keep out" sign indicating that the area is temporarily closed. If fecal pollution is suspected, public health officials can run lab tests on water samples to check whether or not it's safe for people to swim in the water.

Plants are often exposed to multiple herbivores, and densities of these attackers often fluctuate greatly in the field. Herbivore identity and density are known to be two major drivers of plant-mediated interactions among herbivores, but their combined effects are poorly understood.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists had a problem mapping the genomes of bacteria to better understand the origins of their physical traits and improve their function for bioenergy production. The method they had successfully used for genetic mapping of plant feedstock for biofuels relied on creating and then analyzing diverse, sexually recombined variants, while bacteria generally reproduce asexually with limited diversity.

Plant-foliage-derived gases drive a previously unknown atmospheric phenomenon over the Amazon rainforest, according to a recent study by researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL).

Whales are threatened by a variety of human activities off the West Coast of the United States, including fishing, ship traffic, and pollution. Overlap between these stressors can compound effects on whale populations, but are rarely addressed by current whale-protection policies in California, according to a study from the University of California, Davis.

Research conducted by Princeton University physicists is paving the way for the use of silicon-based technologies in quantum computing, especially as quantum bits—the basic units of quantum computers. This research promises to accelerate the use of silicon technology as a viable alternative to other quantum computing technologies, such as superconductors or trapped ions.

It is well established that quantum error correction can improve the performance of quantum sensors. But new theory work cautions that unexpectedly, the approach can also give rise to inaccurate and misleading results—and shows how to rectify these shortcomings.

The next generation of catalytic converters could have longer lifetimes and need fewer rare materials to operate, a new study suggests.

Drought had already devastated Allawddin Rahimi's wheat fields when the Taliban reached his village in northern Afghanistan. The group's takeover left him with no choice but to flee.

The 200 miles of ocean along California's coastline was once filled with seaweed called bull kelp. The seaweed created rich, underwater forests until the population began to die out in 2014. In the seven years since then, 95% of bull kelp beds off the coast of California have died.

A CABI-led study has developed the first forecasting models targeting the larval stages of fall armyworm—using real-time earth observation data and pest occurrence within a farmer's field, the models will assist in the fight against the devastating fall armyworm (FAW) pest, which in Africa alone is estimated to cause annual yield losses of USD $9.4 billion.

On 08 March 2022, the journal BioDesign Research published a review article titled "What Have We Learned from Design of Function in Large Proteins?" by Olga Khersonsky and Sarel J. Fleishman. The article proposes an evolution-guided atomistic design approach that eliminates mutations that could destabilize proteins, induce misfolding, or distort the active site domain of residues, and preserves non-ideal key sequences and structural features through the use of natural backbone and sequence constraints.

The Florida horse conch population—one of the world's largest invertebrate animals—is shrinking. Established in 1969 as the Florida state shell with a record length of two feet, it has become symbolic of Florida's natural resources and widely used in advertising for the state's tourism industry. But unregulated commercial harvesting and recreational live collection are pushing populations closer to collapse.

A new analysis has found that tumble drying a load of laundry released microfibers into the air at a level comparable to the amount of microfibers released down the drain during machine washing of the same load—but fabric conditioners and lint filters with smaller pore size reduced release from dryers. Dr. Neil Lant and colleagues from Procter and Gamble and Northumbria University, U.K., present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on April 6, 2022.

A new analysis suggests that most U.S. dog owners are unaware of—and do not follow—guidelines on safe pet food and dish handling from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but that better education and implementation of the guidelines could reduce contamination. Dr. Emily Luisana of North Carolina State University in Raleigh and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on April 6, 2022.

A set of dinosaur footprints in Spain has unusual features because the dinosaur that made the tracks had an injured foot, according to a study published April 6, 2022 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Carlos M. Herrera-Castillo of the Autonomous University of Madrid and colleagues.

Stories about animals such as Harambe the gorilla and Cecil the lion often sweep the media as they pull at people's heartstrings. But are people more likely to feel empathy for animals than humans?

In arid Western states, the climate is growing warmer and drier, leading to increased demand for water resources from humans and ecosystems. Now, the atmosphere across much of the U.S. is also demanding a greater share of water than it used to, according to a new study by a team from DRI, University of California, Merced, and Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego.

The development of experimental platforms that advance the field of quantum science and technology (QIST) comes with a unique set of advantages and challenges common to any emergent technology. Researchers at Stony Brook University, led by Dominik Schneble, Ph.D., report the formation of matter-wave polaritons in an optical lattice, an experimental discovery that enables studies of a central QIST paradigm through direct quantum simulation using ultracold atoms. The researchers project that their novel quasiparticles... Читать дальше...

Of the many contemporary conveniences often taken for granted in developed countries, modern sanitation may be among the most important. A new study suggests that wastewater infrastructure may provide societal benefits far beyond the dramatic improvements in community hygiene.

Haptophyte Phaeocystis globosa is an important causative agent of harmful algal blooms. Outbreaks of P. globosa blooms usually occur in the eutrophic coastal waters in the form of colonies and influence marine ecosystems and mariculture industry.

President Joe Biden is releasing 1 million barrels daily from U.S. oil reserves in hope of staving off gasoline inflation. Germany and other European nations continue to buy natural gas and oil from Russia, effectively undermining the pain of war sanctions.

The spindly filaments and coral-like colonies of the ancient phylum of marine animals known as bryozoans likely aren't the first thing that come to mind when you envision safe and protective child care.

Around the world, statues of historic figures who symbolize colonialism and oppression are being critically examined, and often removed. Across the United States, Confederate figures and statues with clear racist symbolism have been uninstalled or actively torn down. These removals reflect a shifting zeitgeist that seeks to include the history of Indigenous and racialized peoples. But some symbols of oppression are less tangible than a statue.