Новости за 14.04.2022

A springtime blizzard walloped Canada's western Prairies region and parts of Ontario province this week, closing roads, airports and schools, and leaving a dump of snow to shovel.

The largest peatlands in the Amazon rainforest, which hold a vast, concentrated amount of carbon, are under increasing threat from changing land use, research suggests.

In China, the year 2021 was marked by a series of highly unusual weather events, including record cold conditions in January, freak dust storms in spring and severe flooding in Zhengzhou in July.

Phase transitions, such as the boiling of water or the melting of a metal, are commonplace but fascinating phenomena that spur surprises decades after decades. They often occur as the temperature of a substance is changed, through the nucleation of bubbles of the new phase, which then expands. In the end, the new phase has taken over the whole container.

In a recent study published in Nutrients, a research group led by Prof. Zheng Zhiming from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (HFIPS) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has found a novel function of vitamin K2: regulating mitochondrial membrane potential and alleviating oxidative stress, thus repairing mitochondrial dysfunction and inhibiting nerve cell damage caused by 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA).

Armed drone strikes earn more public support and legitimacy when they have international approval from organizations such as the United Nations, according to a survey conducted by a team of Cornell researchers.

If there was ever any doubt the 2011 discovery by a post-doctoral student was indeed the hottest rock on Earth, new findings from a Western-led research team are putting that uncertainty to rest.

Amid predictions of climate change driving up temperatures and causing more extreme heat in the Midwest, a new study led in part by University of Maryland researchers has found that growing one particular perennial grass could cut Midwest warming by 1 degree Celsius.

A new study by scientists from British Antarctic Survey (BAS) has used computer modeling to rank the factors responsible for the Larsen C ice shelf melt according to their severity.

Climate policies could be the next target for right-wing populist parties as the cost of energy soars, researchers into the links between climate policy and political parties warn.

As biotechnology advances, the risk of accidental or deliberate misuse of biological research like viral engineering is increasing. At the same time, "open science" practices like the public sharing of research data and protocols are becoming widespread. An article publishing April 14th in the open access journal PLOS Biology by James Smith and Jonas Sandbrink at the University of Oxford, UK, examines how open science practices and the risks of misuse interface and proposes solutions to the problems identified.

Aerosols in the atmosphere react to incident sunlight. This light is amplified in the interior of the aerosol droplets and particles, accelerating reactions. ETH researchers have now been able to demonstrate and quantify this effect and recommend factoring it into future climate models.

Since the mid-20th century, research and discussion has focused on the negative effects of excess nitrogen on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. However, new evidence indicates that the world is now experiencing a dual trajectory in nitrogen availability with many areas experiencing a hockey-stick shaped decline in the availability of nitrogen. In a new review paper in the journal Science, researchers have described the causes for these declines and the consequences on how ecosystems function.

In human chromosomes, DNA is coated by proteins to form an exceedingly long beaded string. This "string" is folded into numerous loops, which are believed to help cells control gene expression and facilitate DNA repair, among other functions. A new study from MIT suggests that these loops are very dynamic and shorter-lived than previously thought.

How does a cell "decide" what type of cell to become? The question of "cell fate" has been explored for decades now, especially in the context of stem cell biology, but there are still gaps in our understanding. For example, any multicellular organism is made up of different cell types that play specific roles, while they all work together to sustain the organism as a whole.

LMU zoologists have found the first ever riffle beetle larva in Baltic amber.

With their superior properties, topological qubits could help achieve a breakthrough in the development of a quantum computer designed for universal applications. So far, no one has yet succeeded in unambiguously demonstrating a quantum bit, or qubit for short, of this kind in a lab. However, scientists from Forschungszentrum Jülich have now gone some way to making this a reality. For the first time, they succeeded in integrating a topological insulator into a conventional superconducting qubit. Just in time for "World Quantum Day" on 14 April... Читать дальше...

The ground-based laser system homed in on the red drone flying by, shooting a high-energy beam invisible to the naked eye. Suddenly, a fiery orange glow flared on the drone, smoke poured from its engine and a parachute opened as the craft tumbled downward, disabled by the laser beam.

In an increasingly polarized nation, cooperation across party lines is key to sustained climate mitigation in the United States, according to a new CIRES study. To sustain climate progress over decades, bipartisan cooperation on solutions like renewable energy or emissions reduction will be necessary, the authors say.

A research team, affiliated with UNIST has come up with an innovative hydrocarbon manufacturing route, using a commercially available ball-milling device. The new method has commercial potential, as it uses natural wood-derived charcoal to produce methane (CH4), the main hydrocarbon component of natural gas.

Green spaces can promote well-being, but they may not always be benign. Sometimes, they can be a tool for control.

In early September 2020, severe winds, high heat, and prolonged drought conditions led to the explosive growth of wildfires along the western slopes of the Cascades Mountains in the Pacific Northwest. The fires engulfed enormous tracts of forestland, destroyed communities, took dozen of lives, and cost hundreds of millions to fight.

Organic aerosols—such as those released in cooking—may stay in the atmosphere for several days, because of nanostructures formed by fatty acids as they are released into the air.

Many human experiences were uniquely altered during the COVID-19 pandemic including a significant rise in the number of people seeking outdoor recreation options during quarantine. In a series of studies looking at this trend, researchers at the University of New Hampshire found a dramatic increase during the pandemic of visitors to the parks and protected areas of New England that resulted in significant social, situational and ecological impacts on people's behavior, decision making and experience quality.

Nearly 12 years after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, scientists are still examining the potential health effects on workers and volunteers who experienced oil-related exposures.