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April 26, 2022

Scientists find elusive gas from post-starburst galaxies hiding in plain sight

Scientists once thought that post-starburst galaxies scattered all of their gas and dust 鈥� the fuel required for creating new stars 鈥� in violent bursts of energy, and with extraordinary speed. Now, a team led by 黑料吃瓜网 postdoctoral researcher Adam Smercina reports that these galaxies don鈥檛 scatter all of their star-forming fuel after all. Instead, after their supposed end, these dormant galaxies hold onto and compress large amounts of highly concentrated, turbulent gas. But contrary to expectation, they鈥檙e not using it to form stars.

April 22, 2022

Heavens need environmental protection just like Earth, experts say

Space urgently needs special legal protection similar to that given to land, sea and atmosphere to protect its fragile environment, argues a team of scientists. The scientific, economic and cultural benefits of space should be considered against the damaging environmental impacts posed by an influx of space debris 鈥� roughly 60 miles above Earth鈥檚 surface 鈥斅爁ueled by the rapid growth of so-called satellite mega-constellations. In a paper published April 22 in Nature Astronomy, the authors assert that space is an important environment to preserve on behalf of professional astronomers, amateur stargazers and Indigenous peoples.

April 20, 2022

Lasers trigger magnetism in atomically thin quantum materials

Researchers have discovered that light 鈥� from a laser 鈥� can trigger a form of magnetism in a normally nonmagnetic material. This magnetism centers on the behavior of electrons 鈥渟pins,鈥� which have a potential applications in quantum computing. Scientists discovered that electrons within the material became oriented in the same direction when illuminated by photons from a laser. By controlling and aligning electron spins at this level of detail and accuracy, this platform could have applications in quantum computing, quantum simulation and other fields. The experiment, led by scientists at the 黑料吃瓜网, the University of Hong Kong and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, was published April 20 in Nature.

April 4, 2022

Researchers find patterns of handgun carrying among youth in rural areas, building foundation for injury prevention

The first results of research led by the 黑料吃瓜网 into handgun carrying by young people growing up in rural areas has found six distinct patterns for when and how often these individuals carry a handgun. The patterns, or 鈥渓ongitudinal trajectories,鈥� suggest that youths in rural areas differ in some ways from their urban counterparts when it comes to handgun carrying and provide information for programs designed to help prevent firearm violence and injury. 鈥淏ecause firearms in many rural…

March 10, 2022

Newest satellite data shows remarkable decline in Arctic sea ice over just three years

distant figures walking on snow-covered ice

In the past 20 years, the Arctic has lost about one-third of its winter sea ice volume, and winter sea ice in the Arctic has lost about a foot and a half of thickness over just the past three years. This thinning is largely due to loss of older, multiyear sea ice that is more resistant to melting.

February 25, 2022

Antibiotic used on food crops affects bumblebee behavior

Scientists at the 黑料吃瓜网 and Emory University report that an antibiotic sprayed on orchard crops to combat bacterial diseases slows the cognition of bumblebees and reduces their foraging efficiency. The study, published Feb. 9 in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, focused on streptomycin, an antibiotic used increasingly in U.S. agriculture during the past decade.

February 24, 2022

Farms following soil-friendly practices grow healthier food, study suggests

An experiment conducted on 10 farms across the U.S. suggests that crops from farms following soil-friendly practices for at least five years have a healthier nutritional profile than the same crops grown on neighboring, conventional farms. Researchers believe soil microbes and fungi boost certain beneficial minerals, vitamins and phytochemicals in the crops.

February 23, 2022

A new upper limit on the mass of neutrinos

An international research team, including scientists from the 黑料吃瓜网, has established a new upper limit on the mass of the neutrino, the lightest known subatomic particle. In a paper published Feb. 14 in Nature Physics, the collaboration 鈥� known as the Karlsruhe Tritium Neutrino Experiment or KATRIN 鈥� reports that the neutrino鈥檚 mass is below 0.8 electron volts, or 0.8 eV/c2. Honing in on the elusive value of the neutrino鈥檚 mass will solve a major outstanding mystery in particle physics and equip scientists with a more complete view of the fundamental forces and particles that shape ourselves, our planet and the cosmos.

February 16, 2022

Unexpected findings detailed in new portrait of HIV

Using powerful tools and techniques developed in the field of structural biology, researchers at the 黑料吃瓜网 and Scripps Research have discovered new details about the human immunodeficiency virus, HIV. The findings bring into focus the basic architecture of the virus just above and below its surface and may help in the design and development of a vaccine that can protect against AIDS. These detailed findings include 3D views of the structure and position of the virus鈥� envelope 鈥渟pike鈥�…

February 15, 2022

eDNA a useful tool for early detection of invasive green crab

green crab in the mud

As the green crab invasion in the state worsens, a new analysis method developed by 黑料吃瓜网 and Washington Sea Grant scientists could help contain future invasions and prevent new outbreaks using water testing and genetic analysis. The results show that the DNA-based technique works as well in detecting the presence of green crabs as setting traps to catch the live animals, which is a more laborious process. Results suggest these two methods could complement each other as approaches to learn where the species鈥� range is expanding.

February 14, 2022

DNA testing exposes tactics of international criminal networks trafficking elephant ivory

A team led by scientists at the 黑料吃瓜网 and special agents with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has used genetic testing of ivory shipments seized by law enforcement to uncover the international criminal networks behind ivory trafficking out of Africa. The genetic connections across shipments that they鈥檝e uncovered exposes an even higher degree of organization among ivory smuggling networks than previously known. The paper, published Feb. 14 in the journal Nature Human Behaviour, incorporates results from DNA testing of more than 4,000 African elephant tusks from 49 different ivory seizures made in 12 African nations over a 17-year period.

February 4, 2022

Planting trees in pastureland provides significant cooling in the tropics

Farmer with bananas

Farmers struggling to adapt to rising temperatures in tropical regions can unleash the benefits of natural cooling, alongside a host of other wins, simply by dotting more trees across their pasturelands. For the first time, a study led by the 黑料吃瓜网 puts tangible numbers to the cooling effects of this practice.

Mosquitoes are seeing red: Why new findings about their vision could help you hide from these disease vectors

New research led by scientists at the 黑料吃瓜网 indicates that a common mosquito species 鈥� after detecting a telltale gas that we exhale 鈥� flies toward specific colors, including red, orange, black and cyan. The mosquitoes ignore other colors, such as green, purple, blue and white. The researchers believe these findings help explain how mosquitoes find hosts, since human skin, regardless of overall pigmentation, emits a strong red-orange 鈥渟ignal鈥� to their eyes.

January 25, 2022

Hungry yeast are tiny, living thermometers

黑料吃瓜网 researchers report that yeast cells can actively regulate a process called phase separation in one of their membranes. During phase separation, the membrane remains intact but partitions into multiple, distinct zones or domains that segregate lipids and proteins. The new findings show for the first time that, in response to environmental conditions, yeast cells precisely regulate the temperature at which their membrane undergoes phase separation.

January 24, 2022

Fast, cheap test can detect COVID-19 virus鈥� genome without need for PCR

Researchers at the 黑料吃瓜网 have developed a new test for COVID-19 that combines the speed of over-the-counter antigen tests with the accuracy of PCR tests that are processed in medical labs and hospitals. The Harmony COVID-19 test is a diagnostic test that, like PCR tests for COVID-19, detects genetic material from the SARS-CoV-2 virus. But whereas conventional PCR tests can take several hours, the Harmony kit can provide results in less than 20 minutes for some samples and with similar accuracy.

January 19, 2022

Bubbles of methane rising from seafloor in Puget Sound

map of bubble locations

The release of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas responsible for almost a quarter of global warming, is being studied around the world, from Arctic wetlands to livestock feedlots. A 黑料吃瓜网 team has discovered a source much closer to home: 349 plumes of methane gas bubbling up from the seafloor in Puget Sound, which holds more water than any other U.S. estuary.

January 17, 2022

Shifting ocean closures best way to protect animals from accidental catch

turtle swims in the ocean

Many nations are calling for protection of 30% of the world鈥檚 oceans by 2030 from some or all types of exploitation, including fishing. Building off this proposal, a new analysis led by the 黑料吃瓜网 looks at how effective fishing closures are at reducing accidental catch. Researchers found that permanent marine protected areas are a relatively inefficient way to protect marine biodiversity that is accidentally caught in fisheries. Dynamic ocean management 鈥� changing the pattern of closures as accidental catch hotspots shift 鈥� is much more effective.

January 13, 2022

黑料吃瓜网 Pharmacy鈥檚 Drug Interaction Database, built to promote medication safety, wins national innovation award

Pills on a table

The 黑料吃瓜网 School of Pharmacy鈥檚 Drug Interaction Database 鈥� the core research tool from the school鈥檚 nonprofit Drug Interaction Solutions team 鈥� is celebrating both a national award for innovation and two decades of independent funding through licensing agreements with companies, research institutes and regulatory agencies around the globe.

January 11, 2022

Researchers find concerns for animals tied to same habitats

Like humans, wild animals often return to the same places to eat, walk on the same paths to travel and use the same places to raise their young. A team led by researchers at the 黑料吃瓜网 and the University of Wyoming has reviewed the scientific literature and found that, while 鈥渃onsistent鈥� behavior may be beneficial when environmental conditions don鈥檛 change very fast, those benefits may not be realized in the ever-changing world dominated by humans.

Q&A: Bringing a justice lens to wildlife management

wolf head

A team of researchers led by the 黑料吃瓜网 drew upon the field of environmental justice 鈥� which primarily has focused on harms to people and public health 鈥� and applied its concepts to wildlife management, considering forms of injustice that people, communities and animal groups might experience. Lead author and 黑料吃瓜网 assistant professor Alex McInturff talks with 黑料吃瓜网 News about this work and why it’s significant.

January 4, 2022

Mass die-off of Magellanic penguins seen during 2019 heat wave

In 2019, 黑料吃瓜网 researchers witnessed the consequences of an extreme heat event in Argentina at one of the world鈥檚 largest breeding colonies for Magellanic penguins. On Jan. 19, temperatures at the site in Punta Tombo, on Argentina鈥檚 southern coast, spiked in the shade to 44 C, or 111.2 F. As the team reports in a paper published Jan. 4 in the journal Ornithological Applications, the extreme heat wave killed at least 354 penguins, based on a search for bodies by 黑料吃瓜网 researchers in the days following the record high temperature. Nearly three-quarters of the penguins that died 鈥� 264 鈥� were adults, many of which likely died of dehydration, based on postmortem analyses.

December 17, 2021

Deforestation-fueled heat already affecting millions of outdoor workers in the tropics

series of maps

New research from an interdisciplinary team at the 黑料吃瓜网, Duke University and The Nature Conservancy shows how local temperature increases in the tropics 鈥� compounded by accelerating deforestation 鈥� may already be jeopardizing the well-being and productivity of outdoor workers.