technical updates

Researchers have introduced a new method for taking high-resolution images of fast-moving and rotating objects in space, such as satellites or debris in low Earth orbit. They created an imaging process that first utilizes a novel algorithm to estimate the speed and angle at which an object in space is rotating, then applies those estimates to develop a high-resolution picture of the target. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2NLKHhe

Scientists have long used information from sediments at the bottom of the ocean to reconstruct the conditions in oceans of the past. But a study raises concerns about the common use of pyrite sulfur isotopes to reconstruct Earth's evolving oxidation state. These signals aren't the global fingerprint of oxygen in the atmosphere, according to new research from Washington University in St. Louis. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/37WmzQ9

Researchers and their partners have discovered a slimy strategy used by bacteria to defeat antibiotics and other drugs used to combat infections afflicting people with cystic fibrosis. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3uFQOo3

Robots that could take on basic healthcare tasks to support the work of doctors and nurses may be the way of the future. Who knows, maybe a medical robot can prescribe your medicine someday? That's the idea behind 3D structural-sensing robots being developed and tested right now. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/301JJzX

When it comes to learning to read, new research suggests that explicit instruction -- a phonics teaching method in which the relationship between sound and spelling is taught directly and systematically -- is more effective than self-discovery through reading. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2ZX4OvB

Marine protected areas (MPAs) around Oahu do not adequately protect populations of herbivorous reef fishes that eat algae on coral reefs. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3r00RC6

A scientist's research into the geometrical characteristics of a physical theories is highlighted in a new article. A physicist examines what structural property of a theory like quantum mechanics makes it prone to contextuality. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/301uwyQ

A veteran SpaceX rocket suffered a launch abort just minutes before liftoff Sunday night (Feb. 28) while attempting to launch 60 Starlink internet satellites. from Space.com https://ift.tt/3dUszfS

A computer science lab challenges -- and beats -- deep learning in a test to see if a new bioinformatics approach effectively tracks the lab of origin of a synthetic genetic sequence. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2NN3cSA

Researchers have produced cellulose nanofiber (CNF) synthesized silk naturally through a simple tweak to silkworms' diet. Mixing CNF with commercially available food and feeding the silkworms resulted in a stronger and more tensile silk. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3sGkXBX

Two spacewalking astronauts began preparing the International Space Station (ISS) for new solar arrays on Sunday (Feb. 28). from Space.com https://ift.tt/3b6Yg41

Spacewalking astronauts ventured out Sunday to install support frames for new, high-efficiency solar panels arriving at the International Space Station later this year. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2ZXWoUH

A team of international researchers went back to the formation of the solar system 4.6 billion years ago to gain new insights into the cosmic origin of the heaviest elements on the periodic table. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3bNTRlj

Based on a manual recently discovered in a 3,500-year-old medical papyrus, an Egyptologist has been able to reconstruct the embalming process used to prepare ancient Egyptians for the afterlife. It is the oldest surviving manual on mummification yet discovered. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3dUWbd5

Whether we smell, taste or see, or when adrenaline rushes through our veins, all of these signals are received by our cells via a specific group of receptor proteins called G protein-coupled receptors, which transmit signals to the inside of the cell. Biochemists have now discovered that such receptors can also produce signals even in the absence of an external stimulus: For certain receptors clustering is apparently sufficient. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/37WBoSv

SpaceX will launch its next batch of Starlink satellites on Sunday (Feb. 28) and you can watch it live online. from Space.com https://ift.tt/3q2YqNY

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris made a truly cosmic call to the International Space Station last week to celebrate the milestone spaceflight of NASA astronaut Victor Glover. from Space.com https://ift.tt/3aYWaD8

A Brazilian Earth observation satellite soared to space aboard an Indian rocket late Saturday (Feb. 27) along with 18 satellites from the United States and India. from Space.com https://ift.tt/3q5DFB8

The maternal care of offspring is one of the behavioral drivers that has led some bee species to have an ever-expanding social life over the history of evolution, new research has found. By virtue of being in a social group the genome itself may respond by selecting more social, rather than non-social genes. The behavior and social environment come first setting the stage for future molecular evolution. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3dT6oXm

A study has found the most densely populated galaxy cluster in formation in the primitive universe. The researchers predict that this structure, which is at a distance of 12.5 billion light years from us, will have evolved into a cluster similar to that of Virgo, a neighbor of the Local Group of galaxies to which the Milky Way belongs. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3swX7Z3

Furthermore, the targeted Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) intervention was safe, less costly, and more cost-effective compared with standard 'blanket' IRS, meaning savings could potentially be reallocated to other malaria control and elimination activities. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3pYwrPu

'Everyone's unique' is a popular maxim. All people are equal, but there are of course individual differences. This was no different with dinosaurs. A study has now revealed that the variability of Plateosaurus trossingensis was much greater than previously assumed. The paleontologists examined a total of 14 complete skulls of this species, eight of which they described for the first time. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3bFcbgA

An undesirable effect can occur in super-resolution fluorescence microscopy: photoblueing. A new article shows how it can be prevented or made useful for research. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3bOpQlB

Researchers find sea stars' shape plays an important role in their ability to withstand dynamic water forces and remain attached to surfaces. Understanding such shape shifting could help design underwater robots that can similarly adapt to extreme hydrodynamic environments. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2PjDV2Q

A research team has developed mathematical model to predict seizures that will give epilepsy patients an accurate warning five minutes to one hour before they are likely to experience a seizure. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3sLvcVJ

Our use of social media, specifically our efforts to maximize 'likes,' follows a pattern of 'reward learning,' concludes a new study by an international team of scientists. Its findings reveal parallels with the behavior of animals, such as rats, in seeking food rewards. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3pZe9NV

Koalas are facing multiple environmental and health issues which threaten their survival. Along with habitat loss - accelerated by last year's devastating bush fires - domestic dog attacks and road accidents, they suffer from deadly chlamydial infections and extremely high frequency of cancer. Scientists now demonstrate that a retrovirus invading the koala germline explains the high frequency of koala cancer. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3b2gi7r

Researchers found that microbes living in ancient sediment below the seafloor are sustained primarily by chemicals created by the natural irradiation of water molecules. Results of this research may have implications for life on Mars. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/37SbrDR

An ornate Roman chariot has been discovered "almost intact" near Italy's buried city of Pompeii, the archaeological park announced on Saturday, calling it a discovery with "no parallel" in the country. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3uFbsoo

This week, the community was left in awe at all the images and sounds coming to us from NASA's Perseverance rover. from Space.com https://ift.tt/3dRg6tg

Scientists can't agree on why these hills in the Russian Arctic ripple with stripes. from Space.com https://ift.tt/37Ve1J0

India will send a Brazilian Earth-observation satellite to space along with 18 additional satellites — and you can watch the launch live. from Space.com https://ift.tt/3uFFh87

A camera on the ExoMars orbiter recently captured a photo showing a very, very tiny Perseverance on Mars. from Space.com https://ift.tt/2MzonXM

From fist bumps at JPL to Mars donuts at Krispy Kreme and Red Planet billboards in New York City, people went all out for the Perseverance rover's landing. from Space.com https://ift.tt/3bKmgJ5

Marine protected areas (MPAs) around Oʻahu do not adequately protect populations of herbivorous reef fishes that eat algae on coral reefs. That is the primary conclusion of a study published in Coral Reefs by researchers from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST). from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3r1JDnM

This dramatic breakup comes after a major crack formed on the shelf in November 2020 and continued to grow. from Space.com https://ift.tt/2ZTd5Aq

A test facility simulating rock positions was developed in Samara Polytech. It allows carrying out many experiments with the core material under conditions close to rock positions at different depths. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/37RK10H

Eminent scientists warn that key ecosystems around Australia and Antarctica are collapsing, and propose a three-step framework to combat irreversible global damage. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3aU2Ceq

Conventional crop-spraying with herbicide to kill weeds among a crop wastes a lot of the herbicide and raises environmental concerns. A smart crop sprayer might identify weeds growing through the crop and spot spray only the unwanted plants. Work from a team in China published in the International Journal of Computational Science and Engineering, looks at the real-time segmentation of a cornfield to detect weeds that could be used to control such a smart crop-sprayer. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2PecrM2

Inertial confinement fusion (ICF) implosions require very high levels of symmetry in order to reach the high densities and temperatures required for fusion induced self-heating. Even percent-level deviations from perfect spherical symmetry can lead to significant distortions of the implosion and ultimately degrade fusion performance. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3dO5lIh

Michigan State University's Muhammad Rabnawaz has created a new coating for paper packaging that's both economical and ecofriendly. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3uyuZXq

A new approach makes liquid-crystal-like beacons out of harmful amyloid proteins present in diseases such as Type II diabetes. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3aURTjP

NASA's Perseverance rover has landed in a rich scientific hunting ground, if its first good look around is any guide. from Space.com https://ift.tt/3stcMZn

Cosmologists simulated 4,000 versions of the universe in order to understand what its structure today tells us about its origins. from Space.com https://ift.tt/3qWSya5

Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin is pushing the target date for the debut launch of its heavy-lift New Glenn rocket from late 2021 to late 2022. from Space.com https://ift.tt/3kobaxs

Most golfers really want to avoid sand traps, but NASA astronaut Alan Shepard had no choice but to deal with that when wielding a six-iron head on the moon's dusty surface 50 years ago this month. from Space.com https://ift.tt/3szJzw9

The number of monarch butterflies that showed up at their winter resting grounds in central Mexico decreased by about 26% this year, and four times as many trees were lost to illegal logging, drought and other causes, making 2020 a bad year for the butterflies. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3suEFAt

A world without sharks is a world less resilient to extreme climate events, scientists say. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2ZQ1XVd

According to the National Weather Service, the average lead time for a tornado warning is now up to 13 minutes nationally, a significant improvement from the 1980s when the average was just five minutes. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/37OITv0

The COVID-19 virus holds some mysteries. Scientists remain in the dark on aspects of how it fuses and enters the host cell; how it assembles itself; and how it buds off the host cell. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/37O8ofP

The unprecedented cost of the 2018 Kilauea eruption in Hawai'i reflects the intersection of distinct physical and social phenomena: infrequent, highly destructive eruptions, and atypically high population growth, according to a new study published in Nature Communications and led by University of Hawai'i at Mānoa researchers. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2O3t9x6

Doppler radar improves lives by peeking inside air masses to predict the weather. A Purdue University team is using similar technology to look inside living cells, introducing a method to detect pathogens and treat infections in ways that scientists never have before. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3uyjYFr

While protons populate the nucleus of every atom in the universe, sometimes they can be squeezed into a smaller size and slip out of the nucleus for a romp on their own. Observing these squeezed protons may offer unique insights into the particles that build our universe. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2Pe4Zk1

Litter is not only a problem on Earth. According to NASA, there are currently millions of pieces of space junk in the range of altitudes from 200 to 2,000 kilometers above the Earth's surface, which is known as low Earth orbit (LEO). Most of the junk is comprised of objects created by humans, like pieces of old spacecraft or defunct satellites. This space debris can reach speeds of up to 18,000 miles per hour, posing a major danger to the 2,612 satellites that currently operate at LEO. Without effective tools for tracking space debris, parts of LEO may even become too hazardous for satellites. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3krK74j

A University of Oklahoma-led study published in 2020 revealed that both area and plant growth of paddy rice is significantly related to the spatial-temporal dynamics of atmospheric methane concentration in monsoon Asia, where 87% of the world's paddy rice fields are situated. Now, the same international research team has released a follow-up discussion paper in the journal Nature Communications. In this paper, the team identifies the limits and insufficiency of the major greenhouse emission database (EDGAR) in estimating paddy rice methane emissions. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3sm5RRU

States regularly use administrative records, such as motor-vehicle data, in determining whether people have moved to prune their voter rolls. A Yale-led study of this process in Wisconsin shows that a significant percentage of registered voters are incorrectly identified as having changed addresses, potentially endangering their right to vote. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3bFbGDb

The UK is still not in a position to assume responsibility for regulation in several critical policy areas including trade, crime and the environment, a new academic report—UK regulation after Brexit—has found. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/386JDf9

A new study shows that a widespread decline in abundance of emergent insects—whose immature stages develop in lakes and streams while the adults live on land—can help to explain the alarming decline in abundance and diversity of aerial insectivorous birds (i.e. preying on flying insects) across the USA. In turn, the decline in emergent insects appears to be driven by human disturbance and pollution of water bodies, especially in streams. This study, published in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, is one of the first to find evidence for a causal link between the decline of insectivorous birds, the decline of emergent aquatic insects, and poor water quality. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/37QcsvX

SpaceX has fired up its newest Starship prototype for the second time, continuing the vehicle's test-flight prep. from Space.com https://ift.tt/2NDEV16

Tigers could once be found across much of Asia, from eastern Turkey to Siberia and Indonesia. Today, they are reduced to living in just 6% of their former range. In many of these areas tigers are no longer even valued as free-ranging wild animals, but merely as products for financial profit, worth more dead than alive. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2MnqOfN

When the bushfires hit the town of Drake in NSW, Rod Simpson says he became one of Australia's first climate refugees. He's traveled across States, and the Tasman waters in search of a place to settle. More than a year on, he's still searching. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3pMOyaY

Shoppers don't trust the sustainability credentials being provided by the food industry, a new European survey shows. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3pTsKui

An aversion to light has long been a survival tactic used by the smallest creatures in our ocean, but research co-led by the University of Strathclyde has discovered this photophobia may already be protecting them against impacts of environmental changes in the Arctic. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3bG0kP9

A Skoltech researcher has developed a theoretical model of wave formation in straits and channels that accounts for nonlinear effects in the presence of a coastline. This research can improve wave prediction, making maritime travel safer and protecting coastline infrastructure. The paper was published in the journal Ocean Dynamics. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3dKDxEB

The first hatchery-raised sea urchins outplanted in Kāneʻohe Bay are 10-years-old, and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit (PCSU) and the State of Hawaiʻi Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) are celebrating the milestone anniversary. The sea urchin hatchery, funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and DAR, successfully transplanted the first cohort in January 2011 and has since released 600,000 sea urchins across the state. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3pULJ7R

Recently, researchers led by Prof. Zhou Haishan from the Institute of Plasma Physics (ASIPP) of the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (HFIPS) reported their new findings about the influence of irradiation effects on hydrogen permeation through alpha-alumina (α-Al2O3) tritium permeation barrier (TPB). from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3pMMG1W

When a pandemic and a natural disaster hit a community simultaneously, disease exposure and social distancing can limit the availability of critical personnel, leaving a community positioned for a lengthy recovery. With both types of events expected to occur with increasing frequency, a team of researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has been running simulations to better understand how communities can weather concurrent crises. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3bFAJ98

In a breakthrough for quantum computing, University of Chicago researchers have sent entangled qubit states through a communication cable linking one quantum network node to a second node. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3aQ4Xaq

Zoom dress up parties and 'trust falls' - team building has become the go-to tool for managers trying to increase rapport and productivity, but many employees resent compulsory bonding, often regarding it as the bane of their workplace existence. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/383SrT1

Allergy sufferers are no strangers to problems with pollen. But now, due to climate change, the pollen season is lasting longer and starting earlier than ever before, meaning more days of itchy eyes and runny noses. Warmer temperatures cause flowers to bloom earlier, while higher CO2 levels cause more pollen to be produced. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3usPBQS

China has revealed the first images of lunar samples from its Chang'e 5 mission following a meeting between China's president and mission representatives. from Space.com https://ift.tt/3uvwJk6

NASA's Apollo 13 astronauts have been immortalized as a new bronze statue now on display at Space Center Houston. from Space.com https://ift.tt/2O0tiB8

Cartographers have struggled to map Earth accurately in 2D for centuries. from Space.com https://ift.tt/2ZM1qnc

China's Tianwen-1 spacecraft has trimmed its orbit around Mars to allow the spacecraft to analyze the chosen landing region on the Red Planet. from Space.com https://ift.tt/3uyy89R

Colliding dust particles on Mars probably produce static electricity, a new experiment reveals. from Space.com https://ift.tt/3dJI8af

A study co-authored by scientists at the New England Aquarium has found that known deaths of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales represent a fraction of the true death toll. This comes as the death of a calf and recent sightings of entangled right whales off the southeastern United States raise alarm. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3knppT8

Evolutionary expert Charles Darwin and others recognized a close evolutionary relationship between humans, chimps and gorillas based on their shared anatomies, raising some big questions: how are humans related to other primates, and exactly how did early humans move around? Research by a Texas A&M University professor may provide some answers. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3pRShEi

Researchers have perfected the recipe for keeping sea anemone and coral cells alive in a petri dish for up to 12 days. The new study, led by scientists at the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, has important applications to study everything from evolutionary biology to human health. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3sqcwud

Liquid structures—liquid droplets that maintain a specific shape—are useful for a variety of applications, from food processing to cosmetics, medicine, and even petroleum extraction, but researchers have yet to tap into these exciting new materials' full potential because not much is known about how they form. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3uoT8j4

Pheasants fall into two groups in terms of how they find their way around—and the different types prefer slightly different habitats, new research shows. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3aPO0N6

The genetic tool CRISPR has been likened to molecular scissors for its ability to snip out and replace genetic code within DNA. But CRISPR has a capability that could make it useful beyond genetic repairs. "CRISPR can precisely locate specific genes," says Lacramioara Bintu, an assistant professor of bioengineering at Stanford. "What we did was attach CRISPR to nanobodies to help it perform specific actions when it reached the right spot on DNA." from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3dJJRMB

The Perseverance Mars rover's "sky crane" descent stage made the ultimate sacrifice last week, and we now have a photo to memorialize the flying robot's heroic death. from Space.com https://ift.tt/3svHMs1

A new topological invariant χ is defined in systems with S4 symmetry to diagnose the existence of Weyl fermions. By calculating χ, the computational cost for searching Weyl semimetals is greatly reduced. Recently, Gao et al. implemented this method in the high-throughput screening and found a lot of new Weyl semimetal candidates with exotic properties, providing realistic platforms for future experimental study of the interplay between Weyl fermions and other exotic states. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2P8HCby

I wrote a song using the first audio ever recorded on the surface of Mars, captured by NASA's Perseverance rover. from Space.com https://ift.tt/2NTWgmv

Nearly a century after dark matter was first proposed to explain the motion of galaxy clusters, physicists still have no idea what it’s made of. from Space.com https://ift.tt/2P2Efmh

Radio images of the sky have revealed hundreds of “baby” and supermassive black holes in distant galaxies, with the galaxies’ light bouncing around in unexpected ways. from Space.com https://ift.tt/3dG9rCj

As Relativity Space plans to launch its 3D-printed Terran 1 rocket late this year, key market indicators show a company growing so quickly that it's attracting massive investor attention. from Space.com https://ift.tt/3dPBUp4

A group of 28 pilot whales were successfully refloated at a notorious New Zealand beach where more than a dozen of the marine mammals died this week, jubilant rescuers said Wednesday. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3stGjCx

If you have ever gotten up on a winter morning and thrown yourself into the arduous task of scraping frost from a windshield, a Virginia Tech lab is engaging science [IS1] that could make your life much easier. In research funded by the National Science Foundation, Associate Professor Jonathan Borekyo has led a team in developing a potential solution for frost removal by way of electrostatics. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3khDHEG

China says its Tianwen-1 spacecraft has entered a temporary parking orbit around Mars in anticipation of landing a rover on the red planet in the coming months. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2ZKx44l

The huge parachute used by NASA's Perseverance rover to land on Mars contained a secret message, thanks to a puzzle lover on the spacecraft team. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3pPxIbe

A revolutionary machine-learning (ML) approach to simulate the motions of atoms in materials such as aluminum is described in this week's Nature Communications journal. This automated approach to "interatomic potential development" could transform the field of computational materials discovery. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3smp5Xp

Mangrove forests with greater species diversity can store more carbon, according to new research published in the British Ecological Society journal Functional Ecology. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3usnotC

Researchers from University of British Columbia published a new paper in the Journal of Marketing that examines whether and how the use of 'ugly' labeling for unattractive produce increases sales and profit margins. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3pPAgGC

No one went to Oktoberfest in 2020, but chances are those who attended in the past are still thinking about it. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2ZMbug0

A new study has discovered that not all cockroaches are equal and "super athletes", with larger respiratory systems, are more likely to win physical mating battles. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2NXSJ6l

Carbon nanotubes are tiny. They can be a hundred thousand times smaller than the width of a human hair. But they have huge potential. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3qQvQk6

Ancestry estimation—a method used by forensic anthropologists to determine ancestral origin by analyzing bone structures—is rooted in "race science" and perpetuates white supremacy, according to a new paper by a forensic anthropologist at Binghamton University, State University of New York. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3dHJIJO

Small changes to people's writing style can reveal which social group they "belong to" at a given moment, new research shows. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3dFsBrZ

New research has highlighted the value of recycling general anesthetic used in routine operations. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2NSQO35

Organic molecules that capture photons and convert these into electricity have important applications for producing green energy. Light-harvesting complexes need two semiconductors, an electron donor and an acceptor. How well they work is measured by their quantum efficiency, the rate by which photons are converted into electron-hole pairs. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2NysgN4

Do you dim the lighting and turn on the red light for a romantic night in with your partner? It turns out moths aren't so different in that regard. A new study published in Frontiers in Genetics shows that dim red light boosts sexual activity in a model species, the yellow peach moth Conogethes punctiferalis (family Crambidae), by selectively activating a genetic pathway related to olfaction in the antennae. This pathway ultimately makes males more sensitive to the odor of the female sex pheromone and thus more motivated to mate. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3aMqAs0

SpaceX's Starship SN10 vehicle performed its first static fire test on Tuesday (Feb. 23), lighting up its three Raptor engines for a few seconds at SpaceX's South Texas site. from Space.com https://ift.tt/3pWAKed

The history of dogs has been intertwined, since ancient times, with that of the humans who domesticated them. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/37GY2y5

A team of researchers concludes that a game-theory approach may offer new insights into both the spread and disruption of viruses, such as SARS-CoV-2. Its work, described in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, applies a "signaling game" to an analysis of cellular processes in illuminating molecular behavior. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/37Hgk2m

When we eat, our bodies convert food into energy that fuels our lives. But what happens to the energy stored in the 80 billion pounds of food thrown away annually in America? As part of advancing sustainable energy solutions, scientists at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are converting food waste into clean, renewable fuel that could power our planes, trains and automobiles. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3qQB27E

A new study from Australia's national science agency, CSIRO, in waters off the Western Australian coast has showed floating a special kind of filter paper in seawater can reveal which species are present in an area. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3upLViQ

Researchers have developed a new sensor that could allow practical and low-cost detection of low concentrations of methane gas. Measuring methane emissions and leaks is important to a variety of industries because the gas contributes to global warming and air pollution. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3qZyrs9

Water pollution has become increasingly serious, and the main pollutant in most water bodies is nitrogen. Microbial nitrification/denitrification is one of the most effective nitrogen removal pathways for wastewater. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2ZFxAjZ

A new system for evidence-based mushroom classification seeks to reduce poisoning events and clarify edibility status, according to a review published this year. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/37EPOH4

A new study has for the first time explored the extraordinary rate at which the world's largest fish, the endangered whale shark, can recover from its injuries. The findings reveal that lacerations and abrasions, increasingly caused through collisions with boats, can heal in a matter of weeks and researchers found evidence of partially removed dorsal fins re-growing. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3bvAFZJ

A research team from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has found that the biodiversity evolution of birds had been influenced mainly by long-term climatic changes and also by the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3br4evm

Wildlife managers in Florida are finally moving to address an existential question: If the state is like an all-you-can eat buffet for invasive reptiles originally introduced as exotic pets, then why are some of those species still imported and sold by breeders and pet stores? from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/37GFkXp

Mars's two moons, Phobos and Deimos, have puzzled researchers since their discovery in 1877. They are very small: Phobos's diameter of 22 kilometers is 160 times smaller than that of our moon, and Deimos is even smaller, with a diameter of only 12 kilometers. "Our moon is essentially spherical, while the moons of Mars are very irregularly shaped—like potatoes," says Amirhossein Bagheri, a doctoral student at the Institute of Geophysics at ETH Zurich, adding: "Phobos and Deimos look more like asteroids than natural moons." from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3dAF4gx

Having a memory of past events enables us to take smarter decisions about the future. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPIDS) and Technical University of Munich (TUM) identify the basis for forming memories in the slime mold Physarum polycephalum—despite its lack of a nervous system. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3aL4iaj

Young novice drivers who speak into handheld smartphones while driving are also likely to drive while under the influence of drink or drugs, according to researchers at Lero, the Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Software. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3upopT7

The use of the polymeric flame retardant PolyFR in "eco-friendly" foam plastic building insulation may be harmful to human health and the environment, according to a new commentary in Environmental Science & Technology. The authors' analysis identifies several points during the lifecycle of foam insulation that may expose workers, communities, and ecosystems to PolyFR and its potentially toxic breakdown products. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3kd9ve2

The Mars moons Phobos and Deimos have been born from the remains of a larger moon that shattered. from Space.com https://ift.tt/2NAyJXH