Burrowing critters increase risk of levee failure
When burrowing animals dig into earthen levees to make their homes, they can weaken the infrastructure to the point of collapse and localized flooding — but most flood risk models don’t take that into account. Researchers have developed a new method t…
Factors that prevent mangroves from spreading in South America
Due to their pronounced carbon storage capacity, mangroves are an important player in climate change. But they sometimes just don’t extend beyond certain latitudes, even when the sites seem suitable. Researchers have now cracked this question for the e…
Evidence emerges for dark-matter free galaxies
Astronomers have found no trace of dark matter in the galaxy AGC 114905, despite taking detailed measurements over a course of forty hours with state-of-the-art telescopes.
Powerful new tool makes coral reef monitoring faster, easier, cheaper
As coral reefs face increasing threats around the world, a team of researchers has developed a genetic analysis tool that can determine many different types of coral on a reef with just a sample of seawater.
New type of earthquake discovered
A research team has documented a new type of earthquake in an injection environment in British Columbia, Canada. The seismic events are slower than conventional earthquakes. Their existence supports a scientific theory that until now had not been suffi…
Important role of prokaryotic viruses in sewage treatment uncovered
Prokaryotic viruses (phages) existing in activated sludge (AS), a biological treatment process widely used in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), act to regulate the composition of microbial community in the activated sludge. Phages are major bacteria…
Too dry, too hot, or too wet: Increasing weather persistence in European summer
Global warming makes long lasting weather situations in the Northern hemisphere’s summer months more likely — which in turn leads to more extreme weather events, a novel analysis of atmospheric images and data finds. These events include heatwaves, dr…
Researchers crack the synthetic code of rare molecules sought after in drug development
A research team has succeeded in producing two molecules that are otherwise only formed by microorganisms from extremely contaminated wastewater in an abandoned mine in South Korea. The method, which took four years to develop, could pave the way for n…
Long-range four-stranded DNA structures found to play a role in rare aging disease
A special form of four-stranded DNA, recently seen in human cells, has been found to interact with a gene that causes Cockayne Syndrome when faulty.
Liquid crystals for fast switching devices
An international team has investigated a newly synthesized liquid-crystalline material that promises applications in optoelectronics. Simple rod-shaped molecules with a single center of chirality self-assemble into helical structures at room temperatur…
Male spiders are attracted by a female like planets orbiting a star
The tiny male golden orb-weaving spider faces a considerable challenge when searching for a mate. He is a fraction of the size of the massive female, but must carefully enter her web and approach her without being noticed, because the cannibalistic fem…
Protein variant identified that renders chemotherapy ineffective in gastric cancer
A new protein variant underlies the ability of gastric cancers to resist an otherwise effective family of chemotherapy drugs, according to a study by a multidisciplinary team. The results suggest a treatment strategy that could improve the prognoses of…
Minimal effort required: A ten-minute run can boost brain processing
Researchers found that as little as ten minutes of moderate-intensity running could benefit mental health. In study participants, both mood and cognitive functions improved, and the activation of bilateral prefrontal subregions associated with cognitiv…