How Earth’s inner core formed, grew and evolved over time remains a mystery, one that a team of University of Utah-led researchers is seeking to plumb with the help of seismic waves from naturally occurring earthquakes.
A new research finding shows that a likely large Earth-like granite system is present on the Moon. The finding, details of which are published in a Nature paper, may help expand knowledge of geothermal lunar processes.
A research group from Japan has developed a method to produce highly active mRNA vaccines at high purity using a unique cap to easily separate the desired capped mRNA.
A study using a synthetic ‘minimal cell’ organism stripped down to the 'bare essentials' for life demonstrates the tenacity of organism's power to evolve and adapt, even in the face of an unnatural genome that would seemingly provide little flexibility.
Researchers from IIASA and the University of Maryland have found that nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas and stratospheric ozone-depleting substance, could be readily abated with existing technology applied to industrial sources.
Scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital found that altering amounts of the nutrient glutamine in the tumor microenvironment could enhance or impair the immune system’s anti-cancer response.
A large formation of granite discovered below the lunar surface likely was formed from the cooling of molten lava that fed a volcano or volcanoes that erupted early in the Moon’s history – as long as 3.5 billion years ago.
New theoretical research proves that machine learning on quantum computers requires far simpler data than previously believed. The finding paves a path to maximizing the usability of today’s noisy, intermediate-scale quantum computers for simulating quantum systems and other tasks better than classical digital computers, while also offering promise for optimizing quantum sensors.
Have you ever been compelled to enter sensitive payment data on the website of an unknown merchant? Would you be willing to consign your credit card data or passwords to untrustworthy hands? Scientists from the University of Vienna have now designed an unconditionally secure system for shopping in such settings, combining modern cryptographic techniques with the fundamental properties of quantum light. The demonstration of such "quantum-digital payments" in a realistic environment has just been published in Nature Communications.
One of the more unusual ways objects can increase longevity is by sacrificing a part of themselves: From dummy burial chambers used to deceive tomb raiders, to a fuse melting in an electrical circuit to safeguard appliances, to a lizard’s tail breaking off to enable its escape.
Our body’s fat metabolism plays a vital role in energy production in our body. A research team at the University of Basel, Switzerland, has discovered a molecular switch that regulates lipid metabolism in our cells. This switch controls the storage or conversion of lipids into energy.
Scientists directly observed a pair-density wave (PDW) in an iron-based superconducting material with no magnetic field present. This state of matter, which is characterized by coupled pairs of electrons that are constantly in motion, had been thought to only arise when a superconductor is placed within a large magnetic field. This exciting result opens new potential avenues of research and discovery for superconductivity.
Gene therapy that alters hemoglobin genes may be an answer to curing sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia. Scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard found base editing increased fetal hemoglobin production in a new treatment.
The study by researchers at New York University, Columbia Engineering, and the New York Genome Center, combines a deep learning model with CRISPR screens to control the expression of human genes in different ways—such as flicking a light switch to shut them off completely or by using a dimmer knob to partially turn down their activity. These precise gene controls could be used to develop new CRISPR-based therapies.
Scientists have for the first time observed the early universe running in extreme slow motion, unlocking one of the mysteries of Einstein’s expanding universe.
A recently-published study led by Prof. Einat Levy-Gigi, from Bar-Ilan University, examined for the first time the interactive effect of exposure to stress in the school setting and cognitive flexibility on the tendency to develop post-traumatic symptoms among education and teaching staff. One hundred fifty education and teaching personnel (85% women and 15% men with an average age of 43 and average teaching experience of 13 years) volunteered to participate in the study and underwent an assessment of their exposure to stress, their cognitive flexibility, their ability to cope and their level of post-traumatic symptoms.
In recent years, scientists have been studying special materials called topological materials, with special attention paid to the shape, i.e., topology, of their electronic structures (electronic bands). Although it is not visible in real space, their unusual shape in topological materials produces various unique properties that can be suitable for making next-generation devices.
Sports are a way in for people who want to build contacts with other people. Sports give you an opportunity to integrate and interact with people on an equal footing. For immigrants, sports can be the key that allows them to fit into a society.
Shear band formation is not typically a good sign in a material — the bands often appear before a material fractures or fails. But materials science and engineering researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison have found that shear bands aren’t always a negative; under the right conditions, they can improve the ductility, or the plasticity, of a material.
The Lightwave Research Lab has developed a fast and extremely efficient method for transferring huge amounts of data. The technique uses dozens of frequencies of light to transfer several streams of information over a fiber optic cable simultaneously.
A new study, led by the University of Portsmouth, suggests young children are more vocal when interacting with toys and household items, highlighting their importance for developing language skills.
Argonne scientists have developed a fluoride-containing electrolyte for lithium metal batteries that could boost the electric vehicle industry. The usefulness of this electrolyte extends to other types of advanced battery systems beyond lithium ion.
A new study by Lab scientists finds that as rising global temperatures shift snow to rain, mountains across the Northern Hemisphere will be hotspots for extreme rainfall events that could trigger floods and landslides – potentially impacting a quarter of the world’s population.
A new study led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer, University of California, Irvine and Baylor College of Medicine has created the world’s largest and most comprehensive map of normal breast tissue, providing an unprecedented understanding of mammary biology that may help identify therapeutic targets for diseases such as breast cancer. The Human Breast Cell Atlas, published today in Nature, used single-cell and spatial genomic methods to profile more than 714,000 cells from 126 women. The breast atlas highlights 12 major cell types and 58 biological cell states, and identifies differences based on ethnicity, age and the menopause status of healthy women.
The research team studied a hormone called GDF15 that they had previously shown to reduce appetite in response to the type 2 diabetes drug metformin. It was discovered that in mice, GDF15 blocks the slowing of metabolism that occurs during dieting by ramping up calcium futile cycling in muscle.
A study of more than 22,000 people with multiple sclerosis has discovered the first genetic variant associated with faster disease progression, which can rob patients of their mobility and independence over time.
As we move into a world where human-machine interactions are becoming more prominent, pressure sensors that are able to analyze and simulate human touch are likely to grow in demand. One challenge facing engineers is the difficulty in making the kind of cost-effective, highly sensitive sensor necessary for applications such as detecting subtle pulses, operating robotic limbs, and creating ultrahigh-resolution scales. However, a team of researchers has developed a sensor capable of performing all of those tasks.
Researchers who found novel coronaviruses in UK bats say genetic surveys of the viruses should be regularly conducted, even if none of those viruses can infect humans yet.
Two to three weeks after conception, an embryo faces a critical point in its development. In the stage known as gastrulation, the transformation of embryonic cells into specialized cells begins.
Having a seat at the table, and voices heard, makes a world of difference when it comes to natural resources. It sounds intuitive, but experts didn’t have enough data to prove it until now.
A team led by scientists and engineers at the University of Washington has announced a significant advancement in quantum computing. They have detected signatures of “fractional quantum anomalous Hall” (FQAH) states, promising step in constructing a type of fault-tolerant qubit.
Cambridge scientists have created a stem cell-derived model of the human embryo in the lab by reprogramming human stem cells. The breakthrough could help research into genetic disorders and in understanding why and how pregnancies fail.
Adhesive tape fulfills many purposes, from quickly fixing household appliances to ensuring a reliable seal on a mailed package. When using tape with a strong bond, removing it may only be possible by scraping and prying at the tape's corners, hoping desperately that surface pieces don’t tear away with the tape.
A study by researchers at the University of Vienna and the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna shows that information from body postures plays a similarly important role for dogs as it does for humans. The results offer new insights into how dogs and humans perceive each other and their environment. They confirm that the temporal lobe plays a central role in social communication and perception. The study is currently published in the journal Communications Biology.
By 2030, if the 30 by 30 initiative supported by more than 100 countries is successful, 30% of our land and ocean ecosystems will be designated protected areas meant to safeguard biodiversity and help limit the impacts of climate change.
Many of the world’s largest aquatic food producers are highly vulnerable to human-induced environmental change, with some of the highest-risk countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa demonstrating the lowest capacity for adaptation, a landmark study has shown.
A groundbreaking theoretical proof shows that a technique called overparametrization enhances performance in quantum machine learning for applications that stymie classical computers.
Carbon compounds form the foundations of all known life, and as such are of a particular interest to scientists working to understand both how life developed on Earth, and how it could potentially develop elsewhere in our universe. As such, the study of interstellar organic (carbon-containing) chemistry is an area of keen fascination to many astronomers. An international team of astronomers has used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to detect a carbon compound known as methyl cation for the first time. This molecule is important because it aids the formation of more complex carbon-based molecules. It was found in a young star system with a protoplanetary disk, 1,350 light-years away in the Orion Nebula.
Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer have engineered a new model of aggressive renal cell carcinoma (RCC), highlighting molecular targets and genomic events that trigger chromosomal instability and drive metastatic progression.
The study, published today in Nature Cancer, demonstrates that the loss of a cluster of interferon receptor (IFNR) genes plays a pivotal role in allowing cancer cells to become tolerant of chromosomal instability. This genomic feature may be used to help clinicians predict a tumor’s potential to become metastatic and treatment resistant.
Pioneering analysis of deep-sea corals has overturned the idea that ocean currents contributed to increasing global levels of carbon dioxide in the air over the past 11,000 years.
The rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration is a primary catalyst for global warming, and an estimated one fifth of the atmospheric CO2 originates from soil sources.
FSU Assistant Professor Richard Bono was part of a multi-institution team that found evidence that the planet’s magnetic field was stable from 3.9 to 3.4 billion years ago, a time when scientists think life may have first originated.
Cancer immunotherapy has revolutionized treatment of many forms of cancer by unleashing the immune system response against tumors. Immunotherapies that block checkpoint receptors like PD-1, proteins that limit the capacity of T cells to attack tumors, have become the choice for the treatment of numerous types of solid cancer.