Other Sciences News

A large stream of meltwater (about 5 to 10 m in width) emerges from an upstream supraglacial lake in the Greenlandic ice on July, 21 2012. The darker shapes are minor streams covered by cryoconite (a mix of dust particles, soot, meteorite dust and organic material) which covers the ice sheet. Cracks cutting through the streams are visible. Along these cracks water can flow through, enlarging them and, eventually, generating moulins that can deliver meltwater through the ice. Image credit: M. Tedesco / CCNY / NASA ICE.

Greenland Ice Sheet Very Close to Melting Point of No Return, Scientists Say

Mar 28, 2023 by News Staff

With ongoing carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels, the atmosphere of Earth heats up, which has dramatic consequences for the ice sheets....

In a randomized controlled trial, a significant increase in urinary phenolic metabolites was observed in healthy young adults who consumed skin roasted peanuts and peanut butter daily for 6 months compared to those who consumed a control butter (cream without fiber or polyphenols). Image credit: Petra Pezibear.

Peanut Consumption Could Have Positive Impact on Vascular Biomarkers in Healthy Young Adults

Mar 27, 2023 by News Staff

New research from the University of Barcelona and the CIBER Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición suggests that the urinary phenolic metabolites...

Genetically predicted, lifelong, higher plasma caffeine concentrations were associated with lower body mass index and fat mass, as well as a lower risk of type 2 diabetes. Image credit: Sci.News.

Study: Higher Blood Caffeine Levels Might Reduce Body Fat and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes

Mar 27, 2023 by News Staff

Karolinska Institutet researcher Susanna Larsson and colleagues investigated the potential causal effects of long term plasma caffeine concentrations on...

In two large population-based cohorts, Ochoa-Rosales et al. observed longitudinal associations between higher habitual coffee consumption and lower risk of type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance. Image credit: Sci.News.

Coffee Consumption Reduces Risk of Type 2 Diabetes, New Study Suggests

Mar 24, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Coffee is among the most consumed beverages worldwide. Coffee consumption has been associated with lower risk of type 2 diabetes, but underlying mechanisms...

Using an interventional study in healthy, normal-weight participants, Thanarajah et al. demonstrate that, independent of body weight gain and alterations in metabolic markers, exposure to high-fat/high-sugar food: (i) reduces preferences for low-fat food, (ii) plays a critical role in up-regulating brain responses to anticipation and consumption of highly palatable, energy-dense food, and (iii) has a generalized effect on the neuronal encoding of prediction errors in the context of associative learning and independent of food rewards. Taken together, repeated consumption of high-fat/high-sugar relative to isocaloric low-fat/low-sugar food, and in the absence of changes in body weight or metabolic state, can rewire brain circuits and thereby induce neurobehavioral adaptations. Hence, changing the food environment and reducing the availability of energy-dense high-fat/high-sugar food items is pivotal to combating the obesity pandemic. Image credit: Thanarajah et al., doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2023.02.015.

Daily Consumption of Sweet and Fatty Snacks Alters Our Reward Circuits: Study

Mar 23, 2023 by News Staff

Western diets rich in fat and sugar promote excess calorie intake and weight gain; however, the underlying mechanisms are unclear. To close this gap, researchers...

Faisal et al. demonstrated three-dimensional micropatterned sensors based on a subnanometer-thick epitaxial graphene for detecting the electroencephalography signal from the challenging occipital region of the head. Image credit: Faisal et al., doi: 10.1021/acsanm.2c05546.

Researchers Develop Non-Invasive Graphene Sensors for Brain-Machine Interfaces

Mar 21, 2023 by News Staff

Using their non-invasive sensors, Professor Francesca Iacopi from the University of Technology Sydney and her colleagues have demonstrated hands-free communication...

Aled Roberts and Nigel Scrutton used simulated Martian soil mixed with potato starch and a pinch of salt to create the material that is twice as strong as ordinary concrete and is perfectly suited for construction work in extraterrestrial environments. Image credit: Aled Roberts & Nigel Scrutton, doi: 10.1515/eng-2022-0390.

StarCrete: Materials Scientists Create Starch-Based Concrete for Extraterrestrial Construction

Mar 17, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

The StarCrete is twice as strong as regular concrete and is made from extraterrestrial dust, potato starch, and a pinch of salt. Aled Roberts and Nigel...

Like humans, great apes voluntarily seek and engage in altered experiences of self-perception and situational awareness. Image credit: We-o.

Great Apes Spin Themselves to Deliberately Make Themselves Dizzy, Scientists Say

Mar 17, 2023 by News Staff

Among animals, humans stand out in their consummate propensity to self-induce altered states of mind. Archaeology, history and ethnography show these activities...

The dashed white line in this illustration shows the boundary between the inner and outer Solar System, with the asteroid belt positioned roughly in between Mars and Jupiter. A bubble near the top of the image shows water molecules attached to a rocky fragment, demonstrating the kind of object that could have carried water to Earth. Image credit: Jack Cook / Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

Study Offers New Insights into Extraterrestrial Origins of Earth’s Water

Mar 16, 2023 by News Staff

In new research, planetary scientists from the University of Maryland and elsewhere analyzed melted meteorites that had been floating around in space since...

Duan et al. identified a mechanism of intestinal Th17 cell differentiation that emerges from an intestinal epithelial cell-associated an unfolded protein response. Image credit: Duan et al., doi: 10.1016/j.immuni.2023.02.018.

Xanthine Plays Important Role in Gut Health, New Study Suggests

Mar 15, 2023 by News Staff

Xanthine, which is found in coffee, tea and chocolate, may play a role in the generation of interleukin-17-producing T helper (Th17) cells, an important...

Shoshany et al. define and analyze a new model of time travel paradoxes, which is fully compatible with all known physics; the model consists of a wormhole time machine in 3+1 spacetime dimensions, which can be either permanent (existing eternally) or temporary (activated only for a short time). Image credit: Genty.

New Quantum Breakthrough Paves Way for ‘Local Wormholes’

Mar 13, 2023 by News Staff

A local wormhole is a physical system characterized by the no-cloning of information that mediates the action of an exchange-free quantum computer: locally...

Chauhan et al. designed a smart supercapacitor using a novel stack of metal oxides that can efficiently harvest energy from sunlight and simultaneously store it. Image credit: Chauhan et al., doi: 10.1039/D2TA06790K.

Newly-Developed Supercapacitor Harvests and Stores Solar Energy

Mar 9, 2023 by News Staff

Like batteries, supercapacitors store and release electricity. But unlike batteries, supercapacitors don’t need a chemical reaction to store energy....

This schematic shows the layers of Earth’s atmosphere, from the troposphere to the thermosphere. SOFIA observes from within the stratosphere and studied the ratio of main oxygen to heavy oxygen in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere, up to an altitude of about 200 km (124 miles). Image credit: NASA / SOFIA / L. Proudfit.

SOFIA Makes First Detection of Oxygen-18 in Mesosphere and Lower Thermosphere of Earth

Mar 8, 2023 by News Staff

In the lower atmosphere of Earth, oxygen contains a higher fraction of the heavy isotope 18O than ocean water does. This enrichment is a signature of biological...

This artist’s impression shows the evolution of the Universe beginning with the Big Bang on the left followed by the appearance of the Cosmic Microwave Background. The formation of the first stars ends the cosmic dark ages, followed by the formation of galaxies. Image credit: M. Weiss / Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

Study: Our Momentary Perception of Time May Stretch or Shrink with Each Heartbeat

Mar 8, 2023 by News Staff

The role of the heart in the experience of time has been long theorized but empirical evidence is scarce. In new research, scientists from Cornell University...

The demonstration of the metalens telescope proves the exciting potential lying in the metasurfaces and could bring new possibilities for areas involving large optical systems, including geosciences, planetary observation, and astrophysical science. Image credit: Zhang et al., doi: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.2c03561.

Scientists Create First Ultrathin, Compact Metalens Telescope Capable of Imaging Far-Away Objects

Mar 7, 2023 by News Staff

Metalenses promise potential for a paradigm shift of conventional optical devices. They comprise tiny, antenna-like surface patterns that can focus light...

Experimentally determined crystal structure of the K9N56 compound at 61 GPa. Image credit: Laniel et al., doi: 10.1038/s41557-023-01148-7.

Chemists Form First Known Compound Containing Aromatic Nitrogen Rings

Mar 7, 2023 by News Staff

A team of chemists from Germany, Sweden, the United Kingdom and China has synthesized the potassium nitrogen compound K9N56 — composed of 520 atoms...

How has sediment transfer and accumulation from lands to oceans affected Earth’s geomorphology? Salles et al. present results from a high-resolution model of surface physiography, validated by independent observations from the geological record, which simulates landscape evolution caused by erosion and deposition over the past 100 million years. Image credit: Salles et al., doi: 10.1126/science.add2541.

Geoscientists Create Dynamic Model of Earth’s Landscape over Past 100 Million Years

Mar 3, 2023 by News Staff

The new model provides a high-resolution understanding of how today’s geophysical landscapes were created and how millions of tons of sediment have flowed...

The space salad. Image credit: University of Adelaide.

Researchers Create Space Salad for Astronauts

Mar 3, 2023 by News Staff

The space salad contains ingredients — including soybean, poppy, barley, kale, peanuts, sweet potato and sunflower seeds — that could be grown...

Reconstruction of a hunter-gatherer associated with the Gravettian culture (32,000-24,000 years ago), inspired by the archaeological findings at the Arene Candide site, Italy. Image credit: Tom Bjoerklund.

Scientists Sequence Genomes of Prehistoric Hunter-Gatherers from Different Eurasian Cultures

Mar 2, 2023 by News Staff

Modern humans have populated Europe for more than 45,000 years. However, our knowledge of the genetic relatedness and structure of ancient hunter-gatherers...