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October 7, 2020

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updated 10:45pm EDT

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Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2020: CRISPR/Cas9 Method for Genome Editing

Oct. 7, 2020 — This year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry is being awarded to Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna for the development of the CRISPR/Cas9 method for ...

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Remote Control of Blood Sugar: Electromagnetic Fields Treat Diabetes in Animal Models

Oct. 6, 2020 — Researchers may have discovered a safe new way to manage blood sugar non-invasively. Exposing diabetic mice to a combination ...

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Previous Infection With Other Types of Coronaviruses May Lessen Severity of COVID-19

Oct. 6, 2020 — Being previously infected with a coronaviruses that cause the 'common cold' may decrease the severity of severe acute ...

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Nobel Prize in Physics 2020: Discoveries About Black Holes

Oct. 6, 2020 — This year's Nobel Prize in Physics is being awarded to Roger Penrose 'for the discovery that black hole formation is a robust prediction of the general theory of relativity' ...

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ESO Telescope Spots Galaxies Trapped in the Web of a Supermassive Black Hole

Oct. 1, 2020 — Astronomers have found six galaxies lying around a supermassive black hole when the Universe was less than a billion years ...

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Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2020: Discovery of Hepatitis C Virus

Oct. 5, 2020 — The 2020 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is being awarded jointly to Harvey J. Alter, Michael Houghton and Charles M. Rice for the discovery of Hepatitis ...

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Dinosaur Feather Study Debunked

Sep. 30, 2020 — A new study provides substantial evidence that the first fossil feather ever to be discovered does belong to the iconic bird-like dinosaur, Archaeopteryx. This debunks a ...

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Can the Common Cold Help Protect You from COVID-19?

Sep. 29, 2020 — A new study provides evidence that the seasonal colds you've had in the past could protect you from COVID-19. The study also suggests that immunity to COVID-19 is likely to ...

Astronomers using | (c) NASA, ESA, and A. Riess (STScI/JHU) and the SH0ES team;

Hubble Watches Exploding Star Fade Into Oblivion

Oct. 1, 2020 — When a star unleashes as much energy in a matter of days as our Sun does in several billion years, you know it's not going to remain visible for long. Like intergalactic ...

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Modern Humans Reached Westernmost Europe 5,000 Years Earlier Than Previously Known

Sep. 28, 2020 — Modern humans arrived in westernmost Europe 41,000 to 38,000 years ago, about 5,000 years earlier than previously known, ...

Fighting Intestinal Infections With the Body's Own Endocannabinoids

Oct. 7, 2020 — Endocannabinoids, signaling molecules produced in the body that share features with chemicals found in marijuana, can shut down genes needed for some pathogenic intestinal bacteria to colonize, ...

Invisible Threat: Listeria in Smoked Fish

Oct. 7, 2020 — Fish should be a regular component of our diets. It is an important source of biologically high-quality and easily digestible protein, minerals and vitamins. However, raw, smoked and cured fish ...

Advanced Prostate Cancer Has an Unexpected Weakness That Can Be Targeted by Drugs

Oct. 7, 2020 — Researchers reported that the SUCLA2 gene is frequently involved in the deletion of the tumor suppressor gene RB1 in advanced prostate cancer. RB1 ...

Study Confirms Genetic Link in Cerebral Palsy

Oct. 7, 2020 — An international research team including the University of Adelaide has found further evidence that rare gene mutations can cause cerebral palsy, findings which could lead to earlier diagnosis and ...

A Hydrogel That Could Help Repair Damaged Nerves

Oct. 7, 2020 — Injuries to peripheral nerves -- tissues that transmit bioelectrical signals from the brain to the rest of the body -- often result in chronic pain, neurologic disorders, paralysis or disability. ...

Physical Activity and Sleep in Adults With Arthritis

Oct. 7, 2020 — A new study has examined patterns of 24-hour physical activity and sleep among patients with rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and knee ...

Mammals Share Gene Pathways That Allow Zebrafish to Grow New Eyes

Oct. 7, 2020 — Working with fish, birds and mice, researchers report new evidence that some animals' natural capacity to regrow neurons is not missing, but is instead inactivated in ...

COVID-19 Transmission Rebounds Quickly After Physical Distancing Rules Are Relaxed

Oct. 5, 2020 — Looking at data from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, researchers found that eight weeks after restrictions were lifted or loosened, only ...

Dozens of Mammals Could Be Susceptible to SARS-CoV-2

Oct. 5, 2020 — Numerous animals may be vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, according to a large study modelling how the virus might infect different animals' ...

Users of Blood Pressure Medicine Have a Lower Risk of Dying from Influenza and Pneumonia

Oct. 2, 2020 — Users of widely used drugs against elevated blood pressure or heart problems may have a better chance of surviving severe influenza or pneumonia ...

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Mind & Brain

New Key Player in Long-Term Memory

Oct. 7, 2020 — A research team has discovered that during memory consolidation, there are at least two distinct processes taking place in two different brain networks - the excitatory and inhibitory networks. The ...

Traveling Brain Waves Help Detect Hard-to-See Objects

Oct. 7, 2020 — A team of scientists has uncovered details of the neural mechanisms underlying the perception of objects. They found that patterns of neural signals, called traveling brain waves, exist in the visual ...

Evidence of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and MND in Brains of Young People Exposed to Dirty Air

Oct. 6, 2020 — After examining the brainstems of 186 young Mexico City residents aged between 11 months and 27 years of age, researchers, found markers not only of ...

Children Use Make-Believe Aggression and Violence to Manage Bad-Tempered Peers

Oct. 6, 2020 — Children are more likely to introduce violent themes into their pretend play, such as imaginary fighting or killing, if they are with playmates whom ...

IL-21 Protein a Key Part of Immune Response to Central Nervous System Infections

Oct. 6, 2020 — Researchers now better understand the role of a protein, interleukin-21 (IL-21), in the immune system response to infections in the nervous system. ...

Dog Brains Do Not Prefer Faces

Oct. 5, 2020 — Even though dogs gaze into man's eyes, dog brains may not process faces as human brains do. A new study suggests that the canine visual system is organized differently: the face network found in ...

How Long Does the Preschool Advantage Last?

Oct. 5, 2020 — Children who attend preschool enter kindergarten with greater skills than those who don't, but that advantage is nearly halved by the end of the year as their counterparts quickly begin to catch up, ...

Process for Regenerating Neurons in the Eye and Brain Identified

Oct. 5, 2020 — A team of researchers has identified networks of genes that regulate the process responsible for determining whether neurons will regenerate in certain animals, such as ...

Scientists Reveal How the Brain May Fuel Intense Neural Communication

Oct. 5, 2020 — In an in-depth study of neurons grown in laboratory petri dishes, researchers discovered how neuronal synapses find the energy to support intense communications bouts thought to underlie learning and ...

Millimeter-Precision Drug Delivery to the Brain

Oct. 5, 2020 — Focused ultrasound waves help researchers to deliver drugs to the brain with pinpoint accuracy, in other words only to where their effect is desired. This method is set to enable treatment of ...

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Living Well

Reducing Household Food Waste

Oct. 6, 2020 — Researchers employed a values-based intervention in an attempt to reduce household food waste in 53 families in the Phoenix ...

Research Identifies Sperm Biomarker Associated With Couples' Pregnancy Probability

Oct. 6, 2020 — Researchers have identified a single-measure biomarker in sperm mitochondrial DNA that may predict male reproductive health and pregnancy ...

Excess Folic Acid During Pregnancy Harms Brain Development of Mice

Oct. 5, 2020 — A study of pregnant mice found high levels of folic acid were associated with significant changes in brain development of ...

Exposure to Vitamin D in the Womb Might Minimize Risk of High Blood Pressure for Children Born to Mothers With Preeclampsia

Oct. 5, 2020 — Children appear to be at greater risk of having high blood pressure when their mothers had the high blood pressure condition called preeclampsia ...

How the Brain Helps Us Navigate Social Differences

Oct. 5, 2020 — Researchers found that, among pairs of people who had very different socioeconomic backgrounds - calculated according to education level and family income - there was a higher level of activity in an ...

Drink Coffee After Breakfast, Not Before, for Better Metabolic Control

Oct. 2, 2020 — The new study looked at the combined effects of disrupted sleep and caffeine on our metabolism - with surprising ...

Babies' Random Choices Become Their Preferences

Oct. 2, 2020 — When a baby reaches for one stuffed animal in a room filled with others just like it, that random choice is very bad news for those unpicked toys: the baby has likely just decided she doesn't like ...

Fecal Transplantation Can Restore the Gut Microbiota of C-Section Babies

Oct. 1, 2020 — Birth by Cesarean section is detrimental to normal gut microbiota development. Researchers demonstrated that the intestinal microbiota development can be restored by postnatal, orally-delivered ...

Two Molecular Handshakes for Hearing

Oct. 1, 2020 — Scientists have mapped and simulated those filaments at the atomic level, a discovery that shed lights on how the inner ear works and that could help researchers learn more about how and why people ...

From San Diego to Italy, Study Suggests Wisdom Can Protect Against Loneliness

Oct. 1, 2020 — Researchers examined middle-aged and older adults in San Diego and Cilento, Italy and found loneliness and wisdom had a strong negative correlation. ...

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Matter & Energy

Diamonds Are a Quantum Scientist's Best Friend

Oct. 7, 2020 — New research details the phenomenon of what is called 'triplet superconductivity' in diamond. Triplet superconductivity occurs when electrons move in a composite spin state rather than as a single ...

Aerodynamicists Reveal Link Between Fish Scales and Aircraft Drag

Oct. 7, 2020 — A new research study has revealed that fish scale arrays generate a streaky base flow on the surface of the animal which yields important clues into reducing drag - the aerodynamic force that opposes ...

New Findings Pave the Way to Environmentally Friendly Supercapacitors

Oct. 7, 2020 — Similar to batteries, supercapacitors are suitable for the repeated storage of electrical energy. Researchers have now presented a particularly safe and sustainable variant of such a ...

Intelligent Nanomaterials for Photonics

Oct. 7, 2020 — 2D materials - combined with optical fibers - can enable novel applications in the areas of sensors, non-linear optics, and quantum technologies. However, combining these two components has so far ...

Molecular Swarm Rearranges Surface Structures Atom by Atom

Oct. 7, 2020 — Researchers have now developed a molecular tool which makes it possible, at the atomic level, to change the structure of a metal surface. The restructuring of the surface by individual molecules - ...

Underwater Robots to Autonomously Dock Mid-Mission to Recharge and Transfer Data

Oct. 6, 2020 — Robots exploring deep bodies of water can only go so far before needing to recharge and upload data. Purdue University engineers have designed a ...

There's a Reason Bacteria Stay in Shape

Oct. 6, 2020 — A simple theoretical model seeks to explain why bacteria remain roughly the same size and shape. The work by chemists could offer new insight into diseases, including ...

Hunting for the Lowest Known Nuclear-Excited State

Oct. 6, 2020 — Measurements in thorium-229 take a step towards the direct laser excitation of an atomic nucleus in this unique ...

Hydrogen Embrittlement Creates Complications for Clean Energy Storage, Transportation

Oct. 6, 2020 — Hydrogen is becoming a crucial pillar in the clean energy movement, and developing safe and cost-effective storage and transportation methods for it ...

This 'Squidbot' Jets Around and Takes Pics of Coral and Fish

Oct. 6, 2020 — Engineers have built a squid-like robot that can swim untethered, propelling itself by generating jets of water. The robot carries its own power source inside its body. It can also carry a sensor, ...

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Space & Time

Moon's Magnetic Crust Research Sees Scientists Debunk Long-Held Theory

Oct. 7, 2020 — New international research into the Moon provides scientists with insights as to how and why its crust is magnetized, essentially 'debunking' one of the previous longstanding ...

New Research Explores How Super Flares Affect Planets' Habitability

Oct. 7, 2020 — New research will help astrobiologists understand how much radiation planets experience during super flares and whether life could exist on worlds beyond our solar ...

Looking for Pieces of Venus? Try the Moon

Oct. 7, 2020 — A growing body of research suggests the planet Venus may have had an Earth-like environment billions of years ago, with water and a thin ...

Explaining the Formation of a Hexagon Storm on Saturn

Oct. 6, 2020 — Researchers create a new 3D model that could explain the formation of a hexagon storm on Saturn -- a hurricane about 20,000 miles in ...

Astronomers Turn Up the Heavy Metal to Shed Light on Star Formation

Oct. 6, 2020 — Astronomers have developed a new way to study star formation in galaxies from the dawn of time to today. Using a new algorithm to model the energy and wavelengths of light coming from almost 7000 ...

Trans-Neptunian Object Arrokoth: Flattening of a Snowman

Oct. 5, 2020 — The trans-Neptunian object Arrokoth, also known as Ultima Thule, which NASA's space probe New Horizons passed on New Year's Day 2019, may have changed its shape significantly in the first 100 million ...

Gemini South's High-Def Version of 'A Star Is Born'

Oct. 5, 2020 — NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is still more than a year from launching, but the Gemini South telescope in Chile has provided astronomers a glimpse of what the orbiting observatory should ...

Some Planets May Be Better for Life Than Earth

Oct. 5, 2020 — Researchers have identified two dozen planets outside our solar system that may have conditions more suitable for life than our own. Some of these orbit stars that may be better than even our ...

The Most Sensitive Optical Receivers Yet for Space Communications

Oct. 1, 2020 — Communications in space demand the most sensitive receivers possible for maximum reach, while also requiring high bit-rate operations. A novel concept for laser-beam based communications, using an ...

Einstein's Description of Gravity Just Got Much Harder to Beat

Oct. 1, 2020 — Astrophysicists put general relativity to a new test with black hole ...

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Computers & Math

Deep Learning Takes on Synthetic Biology

Oct. 7, 2020 — Machine learning is helping biologists solve hard problems, including designing effective synthetic biology tools. Scientists have now created a set of algorithms that can effectively predict the ...

Could Megatesla Magnetic Fields Be Realized on Earth?

Oct. 6, 2020 — Researchers have discovered a novel mechanism called a 'microtube implosion,' demonstrating the generation of megatesla-order magnetic fields, which is three orders of magnitude higher than those ...

Scientists Find Evidence of Exotic State of Matter in Candidate Material for Quantum Computers

Oct. 5, 2020 — Using a novel technique, scientists have found evidence for a quantum spin liquid, a state of matter that is promising as a building block for the ...

New Algorithm Could Unleash the Power of Quantum Computers

Oct. 5, 2020 — A new algorithm that fast forwards simulations could bring greater use ability to current and near-term quantum computers, opening the way for applications to run past strict time limits that hamper ...

New Shortcut Enables Faster Creation of Spin Pattern in Magnet

Oct. 5, 2020 — Physicists have discovered a much faster approach to create a pattern of spins in a magnet. This 'shortcut' opens a new chapter in topology research. Interestingly, this discovery also offers an ...

Deep Learning Gives Drug Design a Boost

Oct. 5, 2020 — A computational tool may help pharmaceutical companies expand their ability to investigate the safety of ...

Efficient Pollen Identification

Oct. 5, 2020 — From pollen forecasting, honey analysis and climate-related changes in plant-pollinator interactions, analysing pollen plays an important role in many areas of research. Microscopy is still the gold ...

Tool Helps Clear Biases from Computer Vision

Oct. 1, 2020 — Researchers have developed a tool that flags potential biases in sets of images used to train artificial intelligence (AI) systems. The work is part of a larger effort to remedy and prevent the ...

The Secretive Networks Used to Move Money Offshore

Sep. 29, 2020 — In 2016, the world's largest ever data leak dubbed "The Panama Papers" exposed a scandal, uncovering a vast global network of people -- including celebrities and world leaders, who used offshore tax ...

Driving Behavior Less 'Robotic' Thanks to New Model

Sep. 29, 2020 — Researchers have now developed a new model that describes driving behavior on the basis of one underlying 'human' principle: managing the risk below a threshold level. This model can accurately ...

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Plants & Animals

Long-Term Consequences Difficult to Predict

Oct. 7, 2020 — A research team has investigated the consequences of changes in plant biodiversity for the functioning of ecosystems. The scientists found that the relationships between plant traits and ecosystem ...

Molecular Mechanism of Cross-Species Transmission of Primate Lentiviruses

Oct. 7, 2020 — A research group showed that gorilla APOBEC3G potentially plays a role in inhibiting SIVcpz replication. Intriguingly, the research group demonstrated that an amino acid substitution in SIVcpz Vif, ...

Nitrous Oxide Emissions Pose an Increasing Climate Threat

Oct. 7, 2020 — Rising nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions are jeopardizing the climate goals of the Paris Agreement, according to a major new study. The growing use of nitrogen fertilizers in the production of food ...

Past Tropical Forest Changes Drove Megafauna and Hominin Extinctions

Oct. 7, 2020 — Researchers have discovered that Southeast Asia, today renowned for its lush rainforests, was at various points in the past covered by sweeping grasslands. The expansion and reduction of these ...

Paleontologists Identify New Species of Mosasaur

Oct. 7, 2020 — A new species of an ancient marine reptile evolved to strike terror into the hearts of the normally safe, fast-swimming fish has been identified, shedding light on what it took to survive in highly ...

Toothless Dino's Lost Digits Point to Spread of Parrot-Like Species

Oct. 6, 2020 — A newly discovered species of toothless, two-fingered dinosaur has shed light on how a group of parrot-like animals thrived more than 68 million years ...

Supercharged 'Clones' Spark Scarlet Fever's Re-Emergence

Oct. 6, 2020 — Scarlet fever is on the rise worldwide, after being almost eradicated by the 1940s. Researchers says supercharged 'clones' of the bacteria Streptococcus pyogenes are to blame for the resurgence of ...

New Study Rebuts 75-Year-Old Belief in Reptile Evolution

Oct. 6, 2020 — A statistical analysis of that vast database is helping scientists better understand the evolution of these cold-blooded vertebrates by contradicting a widely held theory that major transitions in ...

Pesticides and Food Scarcity Dramatically Reduce Wild Bee Population

Oct. 6, 2020 — The loss of flowering plants and the widespread use of pesticides could be a double punch to wild bee populations. In a new study, researchers found that the combined threats reduced blue orchard bee ...

Indonesia's Old and Deep Peatlands Offer an Archive of Environmental Changes

Oct. 6, 2020 — Researchers probing peatlands to discover clues about past environments and carbon stocks on land have identified peatland on Borneo that is twice as ...

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Earth & Climate

Data Tool Helps Users Manage Water Resources, Protect Infrastructure

Oct. 7, 2020 — River systems are essential resources for everything from drinking water supply to power generation - but these systems are also hydrologically complex, and it is not always clear how water flow data ...

Polar Ice, Atmospheric Water Vapor Biggest Drivers of Variation Among Climate Models

Oct. 7, 2020 — Researchers have found varying projections on global warming trends put forth by climate change scientists can be explained by differing models' ...

Climate Change Could Mean Fewer Sunny Days for Hot Regions Banking on Solar Power

Oct. 7, 2020 — Changes to regional climates brought on by global warming could make it so that areas such as the American Southwest that are currently considered ...

Sea-Level Rise Projections Can Improve With State-of-the-Art Model

Oct. 7, 2020 — Projections of potentially dramatic sea-level rise from ice-sheet melting in Antarctica have been wide-ranging, but a Rutgers-led team has created a model that enables improved projections and could ...

New Climate Model Helps Researchers Better Predict Water Needs

Oct. 6, 2020 — New research combines climate and land use projections to predict water availability, information that is crucial for the preparations of resource managers and land-use ...

Warmer Winters Are Keeping Some Lakes from Freezing

Oct. 6, 2020 — Warmer winters due to climate change are causing lakes in the Northern Hemisphere to experience more ice-free years, according to a new study. Researchers recently analyzed nearly 80 years of lake ...

California's August Complex Largest Fire in State's History

Oct. 6, 2020 — NOAA/NASA's Suomi NPP satellite captured another startling image of the August Complex of fires that has grown to over 1,000,000 acres burned (1,006,140 acres total) and because of that grim ...

Diamonds Found With Gold in Canada's Far North Offer Clues to Earth's Early History

Oct. 6, 2020 — The presence of diamonds in an outcrop atop an unrealized gold deposit in Canada's Far North mirrors the association found above the world's richest ...

Earth Grows Fine Gems in Minutes

Oct. 6, 2020 — Some of Earth's finest gemstones grew in a matter of minutes. Geologists made that discovery while investigating mineral formations that are rich in lithium and rare ...

CRISPRing Trees for a Climate-Friendly Economy

Oct. 6, 2020 — Researchers have discovered a way to stably fine-tune the amount of lignin in poplar by applying CRISPR/Cas9 technology. Lignin is one of the main structural substances in plants and it makes ...

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Fossils & Ruins

Evolution of the Y Chromosome in Great Apes Deciphered

Oct. 6, 2020 — New analysis of the DNA sequence of the male-specific Y chromosomes from all living species of the great ape family helps to clarify our understanding of how this enigmatic chromosome ...

The First Human Settlers on Islands Caused Extinctions

Oct. 6, 2020 — Though some believe prehistoric humans lived in harmony with nature, a new analysis of fossils shows human arrival in the Bahamas caused some birds to be lost from the islands and other species to be ...

Who Is Driving Whom? Climate and Carbon Cycle in Perpetual Interaction

Oct. 6, 2020 — The current climate crisis underlines that carbon cycle perturbations can cause significant climate change. New research reveals how carbon cycle and global climate have been interacting throughout ...

Battling With Neighbors Could Make Animals Smarter

Oct. 6, 2020 — From ants to primates, 'Napoleonic' intelligence has evolved to help animals contend with the myriad cognitive challenges arising from interactions with rival outsiders, suggest ...

6,500-Year-Old Copper Workshop Uncovered in the Negev Desert's Beer Sheva

Oct. 5, 2020 — A new study indicates that a workshop for smelting copper ore once operated in the Neveh Noy neighborhood of Beer Sheva, the capital of the Negev Desert. The new study also shows that the site may ...

Rivers May Begin Jumping Course Much Farther in the Coming Years

Sep. 30, 2020 — A river's only consistent attribute is change. As the Greek philosopher Heraclitus remarked, 'No man ever steps in the same river twice.' Although this dynamic nature is often out of sight and mind, ...

Anglo-Saxon Warlord Found by Detectorists Could Redraw Map of Post-Roman Britain

Oct. 5, 2020 — A discovery by a metal detectorist on club outing proved to be a significant burial with the remains of an imposing warlord, along with ...

A Tale of Two Cesspits: DNA Reveals Intestinal Health in Medieval Europe and Middle East

Oct. 5, 2020 — Analysis of 14th-15th century latrines in Jerusalem and Riga, Latvia identifies some of the microbes resident in the guts of these pre-industrial ...

Body Size of the Extinct Megalodon Indeed Off the Charts in the Shark World

Oct. 5, 2020 — A new study shows that the body size of the iconic gigantic or megatooth shark, about 15 meters (50 feet) in length, is indeed anomalously large compared to body sizes of its ...

Ice Discharge in the North Pacific Set Off Series of Climate Events During Last Ice Age

Oct. 1, 2020 — Repeated catastrophic ice discharges from western North America into the North Pacific contributed to, and perhaps triggered, hemispheric-scale ...

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Science & Society

Climate-Friendly Cooling to Help Ease Global Warming

Oct. 6, 2020 — A new study shows that coordinated international action on energy-efficient, climate-friendly cooling could avoid as much as 600 billion tons CO2 equivalent of greenhouse gas emissions in this ...

Letter from Leading Researchers Urges Terminology Update, Shift in COVID-19 Guidance

Oct. 5, 2020 — Experts with leading research institutions across the United States are urging that researchers across disciplines must converge to deliver clear ...

Scientist Maps CO2 Emissions for Entire US to Improve Environmental Policymaking

Oct. 5, 2020 — With wildfires in the West and hurricanes in the Gulf, the nation is affected by extreme weather-related events resulting from climate change. In ...

Two's a Crowd: Nuclear and Renewables Don't Mix

Oct. 5, 2020 — If countries want to lower emissions as substantially, rapidly and cost-effectively as possible, they should prioritize support for renewables, rather than nuclear power, the findings of a major new ...

Coastal Flooding Will Disproportionately Impact 31 Million People Globally

Oct. 2, 2020 — Researchers analyzed these geographic regions, which include cities like New Orleans, Bangkok, and Shanghai, using a new global dataset to determine how many people live on river deltas, how many are ...

Planaria Flatworms Can Be Alternative Screening Tool to Avoid Rabbit Skin Testing

Oct. 1, 2020 — A new, accurate screening tool for clinical skin products has been developed which uses flatworms rather than ...

How a Toxic Chromium Species Could Form in Drinking Water

Sep. 30, 2020 — The water crisis in Flint, Michigan, brought much-needed attention to the problem of potentially toxic metals being released from drinking water distribution pipes when water chemistry changes. Now, ...

Smart Cruise Control Steers Drivers Toward Better Decisions

Sep. 29, 2020 — Smart cruise control, better human decisions. Engineers study how cars and trucks move cooperatively on the road, respond to each other's environmental sensors and react as a group to lessen traffic ...

800 Million Children Still Exposed to Lead

Oct. 1, 2020 — Every third child in the world has too much lead in their body, according to a new report from UNICEF and Pure ...

Satellite Imaging to Map Groundwater Use in California's Central Valley

Oct. 1, 2020 — Researchers report in a new study a way to improve groundwater monitoring by using a remote sensing technology (known as InSAR), in conjunction with climate and land cover data, to bridge gaps in the ...

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Business & Industry

Screen Time Can Change Visual Perception -- And That's Not Necessarily Bad

Sep. 30, 2020 — The coronavirus pandemic has shifted many of our interactions online, with Zoom video calls replacing in-person classes, work meetings, conferences and other events. Will all that screen time damage ...

Children Will Wait to Impress Others -- Another Twist on the Classic Marshmallow Test

Sep. 10, 2020 — When it comes to self-control, young children are better able to resist temptation and wait for greater rewards if they take into consideration the ...

Being a Selfish Jerk Doesn't Get You Ahead: Study

Aug. 31, 2020 — Two studies provide empirical evidence to settle the question of whether being aggressively Machiavellian helps people get ahead. The studies concluded that being a jerk provides no advantage in ...

Winning the Digital Transformation Race: Three Emerging Approaches for Leading Transition

July 28, 2020 — New research has outlined three new approaches that digital innovators can take to reduce the risk of failure and seize competitive advantage in the ...

When Power Is Toxic: Dominance Reduces Influence in Groups

July 16, 2020 — A new study finds that groups led by subordinate males outperform those led by dominant and aggressive ...

We Need to Talk: Communication Prevents Inaction by Leveraging Goodwill

July 13, 2020 — An experimental game demonstrates that communicating sentiment (i.e. emotional state, satisfaction) and outlook (i.e. expectations, aspirations) helps people to cooperate on common problems by ...

Tech Sector Job Interviews Assess Anxiety, Not Software Skills

July 14, 2020 — A new study finds that the technical interviews currently used in hiring for many software engineering positions test whether a job candidate has performance anxiety rather than whether the candidate ...

Desk-Based Jobs May Offer Protection Against Poor Cognition in Later Life

July 7, 2020 — People who work in jobs that require less physical activity - typically office and desk-based jobs - are at a lower risk of subsequent poor cognition than those whose work is more physically active, ...

An Ethical Eye on AI

June 29, 2020 — Researchers have found a mathematical means of helping regulators and business manage and police Artificial Intelligence systems' biases towards making unethical, and potentially very costly and ...

No Keys to the Kingdom: New Single Sign-on Algorithm Provides Superior Privacy

June 29, 2020 — Single sign-on systems (SSOs) allow us to login to multiple websites and applications using a single username and password combination. But these are ...

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Education & Learning