Mystery behind formation of surface ice-shapes on Pluto unraveled
Scientists have unravelled a fascinating new insight into how the landscape of the dwarf-planet Pluto has formed. A team of international researchers, including Dr Adrien Morison from the University of Exeter, has shown how vast ice forms have been shaped in one of the planet’s largest craters, Sputnik Planita. Perhaps the most striking feature on […]
Study of Antarctic ice’s deep past shows it could be more vulnerable to warming
Insights into how the West Antarctic Ice Sheet responded to a warmer climate millions of years ago could improve predictions of its future. The new study, led by Imperial College London scientists, examined the status of Antarctic ice sheets during the Early Miocene, around 18-16 million years ago, which experienced both warm and cold periods. […]
Meltwater influences ecosystems in the Arctic Ocean: Freshwater from sea ice delays the biological carbon pump by four months
In the summer months, sea ice from the Arctic drifts through Fram Strait into the Atlantic. Thanks to meltwater, a stable layer forms around the drifting ice atop the salty seawater, producing significant effects on biological processes and marine organisms. In turn, this has an effect on when carbon from the atmosphere is absorbed and […]
Biodiversity loss in plants worldwide
When alien plants integrate into an existing ecosystem and successfully spread there, in rare cases this can contribute to the increased uniqueness of the regional flora. However, much more often this process — known as “naturalization” — leads to a homogenization of regional floras and thus to a net loss of global floristic uniqueness. Especially […]
Impaired-driver sensor could pave the way for safer vehicles
The bipartisan infrastructure bill recently signed into law by President Joe Biden includes a requirement for automakers to install driver monitoring systems that detect intoxicated or impaired drivers. Current systems rely on cameras, which have limitations. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Applied Electronic Materials have made heat-resistant, pressure-detecting sensors that, when attached to seats, can […]
Trees are biggest methane ‘vents’ in wetland areas – even when they’re dry
Most of the methane gas emitted from Amazon wetlands regions is vented into the atmosphere via tree root systems — with significant emissions occurring even when the ground is not flooded, say researchers at the University of Birmingham. In a study published in the Royal Society journal, Philosophical Transactions A, the researchers have found evidence […]
Are You at Risk for Pancreatic Cysts?
Latest Cancer News SATURDAY, Nov. 13, 2021 (HealthDay News) Pancreatic cysts can progress into cancer over time, an expert says, so it’s important to identify and monitor patients with these growths. Located between the stomach and the spine, the pancreas produces enzymes that help digest food and secretes hormones — such as insulin […]
Liquid fuels from carbon dioxide: Electrocatalyst converts CO2 into multicarbon products
A new electrocatalyst called a-CuTi@Cu converts carbon dioxide (CO2 ) into liquid fuels. As reported by a team of Chinese researchers in the journal Angewandte Chemie, active copper centered on an amorphous copper/titanium alloy produces ethanol, acetone, and n-butanol with high efficiency. Most of our global energy demands are still being met by burning fossil […]
Capturing the impact of human sewage on Earth’s coastal ecosystems: New worldwide mapping analysis identifies key exposure hotspots in unprecedented resolution
A first-of-its-kind, high-resolution mapping analysis estimates the amounts of nitrogen and pathogens released into coastal ecosystems from human wastewater sources around the world. Cascade Tuholske (now affiliated with the Columbia Climate School) and colleagues at the University of California, Santa Barbara, present this research in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on November 10, 2021. Human […]
Nerves may be key to blocking abnormal bone growth in tissue: Drugs being investigated for pain relief may prevent heterotopic ossification, study suggests.
Blocking a molecule that draws sensory nerves into musculoskeletal injuries prevents heterotopic ossification (HO), a process in which bone abnormally grows in soft tissue during healing, UT Southwestern researchers reported in a study. The findings, published in Nature Communications, suggest that drugs currently being tested in clinical trials to inhibit this molecule for pain relief […]