 New pathogen threatens fennel yield in Italy
A new fungal genus and species Ochraceocephala foeniculi causes fennel yield losses of about 20-30% for three different cultivars. It damages the crops with necrotic lesions on the crown, root and stem.
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Experiences of undesired effects of hormonal contraception
A study of women who experienced mental ill-health from a hormonal contraception indicates they value their mental well-being higher than a satisfactory sex life. Their experiences can influence their choice of contraception. This is one of four themes that researchers have identified in interviews with 24 women who experience negative effects of some hormonal contraception.
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When warblers warn of cowbirds, blackbirds get the message
This is the story of three bird species and how they interact. The brown-headed cowbird lays its eggs in other birds' nests and lets them raise its young -- often at the expense of the host's nestlings. To combat this threat, yellow warblers have developed a special 'seet' call that means, 'Look out! Cowbird!' In a new study, researchers report that red-winged blackbirds respond to the seet call as if they know what it means.
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Discovery of life in solid rock deep beneath sea may inspire new search for life on Mars
Newly discovered single-celled creatures living deep beneath the seafloor have provided clues about how to find life on Mars. These bacteria were discovered living in tiny cracks inside volcanic rocks after researchers perfected a new method cutting rocks into ultrathin slices to study under a microscope. Researchers estimate that the rock cracks are home to a community of bacteria as dense as that of the human gut, about 10 billion bacterial cells per cubic centimeter.
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 Our Trust in Science Is Complicated
In an era of big research, having confidence in scientists, individually or collectively, involves trade-offs
-- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
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Our oceans are suffering, but we can rebuild marine life
It's not too late to rescue global marine life, according to a study outlining the steps needed for marine ecosystems to recover from damage by 2050. The study found many components of marine ecosystems could be rebuilt if we try harder to address the causes of their decline.
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Bird Fossil Shared Earth with T. Rex
Dating back 67 million years, this representative of the group of modern birds has been dubbed the Wonderchicken. [Not an April Fool's Day joke.]
-- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
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AI finds 2D materials in the blink of an eye
A research team has introduced a machine-learning algorithm that can scan through microscope images to find 2D materials like graphene. This work can help shorten the time required for 2D material-based electronics to be ready for consumer devices.
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Most of Earth's carbon was hidden in the core during its formative years
Carbon is essential for life as we know it and plays a vital role in many of our planet's geologic processes -- not to mention the impact that carbon released by human activity has on the planet's atmosphere and oceans. Despite this, the total amount of carbon on Earth remains a mystery, because much of it remains inaccessible in the planet's depths.
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How dopamine drives brain activity
Using a specialized magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sensor that can track dopamine levels, neuroscientists have discovered how dopamine released deep within the brain influences distant brain regions.
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About the distribution of biodiversity on our planet
Large open-water fish predators such as tunas or sharks hunt for prey more intensively in the temperate zone than near the equator. With this result, a study is challenging a long-standing explanation for the distribution of biodiversity on our planet.
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Uncertain climate future could disrupt energy systems
Scientists have published a new study proposing an optimization methodology for designing climate-resilient energy systems and to help ensure that communities will be able to meet future energy needs given weather and climate variability.
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Smartphone videos produce highly realistic 3D face reconstructions
Normally, it takes pricey equipment and expertise to create an accurate 3D reconstruction of someone's face. Now, researchers have pulled off the feat using video recorded on an ordinary smartphone. Shooting a continuous video of the front and sides of the face generates a dense cloud of data. A two-step process uses that data, with some help from deep learning algorithms, to build a digital reconstruction of the face.
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Understanding brain tumors in children
The causes of 40% of all cases of certain medulloblastomas -- dangerous brain tumors affecting children -- are hereditary. A genetic defect that occurs in 15% of these children plays a key role by destabilizing the production of proteins. The researchers suspect that protein metabolism defects could be a previously underestimated cause of other types of cancer.
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Climate change may be making migration harder by shortening nightingales' wings
The Common Nightingale, known for its beautiful song, breeds in Europe and parts of Asia and migrates to sub-Saharan Africa every winter. A new study suggests that natural selection driven by climate change is causing these iconic birds to evolve shorter wings, which might make them less likely to survive their annual migration.
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Scientists see energy gap modulations in a cuprate superconductor
Scientists studying high-Tc superconductors have definitive evidence for the existence of a state of matter known as a pair density wave -- first predicted by theorists some 50 years ago. Their results show that this phase coexists with superconductivity in a well-known bismuth-based copper-oxide superconductor.
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Plant disease primarily spreads via roadsides
A precise statistical analysis reveals that on the Åland Islands a powdery mildew fungus that is a common parasite of the ribwort plantain primarily spreads via roadsides because traffic raises the spores found on roadsides efficiently into the air.
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Models explain changes in cooking meat
Mathematicians show that by modelling meat as a fluid-saturated matrix of elastic proteins, which are deformed as the fluid moves, cooking behaviors can be simulated more precisely.
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Global nuclear medicine community shares COVID-19 strategies and experiences
In an effort to provide safer working environments for nuclear medicine professionals and their patients, clinics across five continents have shared their approaches to containing the spread of COVID-19. This compilation of strategies, experiences and precautions is intended to support nuclear medicine clinics as they make decisions regarding patient care.
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Engineers 3D print soft, rubbery brain implants
MIT engineers are working on developing soft, flexible neural implants that can gently conform to the brain's contours and monitor activity over longer periods, without aggravating surrounding tissue. Such flexible electronics could be softer alternatives to existing metal-based electrodes designed to monitor brain activity, and may also be useful in brain implants that stimulate neural regions to ease symptoms of epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, and severe depression.
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Separating HIIT Fact from Fiction
It’s easy to get lost in the hype around new workout devices or protocols that promise maximal results in minimal time
-- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
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What Called Them to Physics?
Scientists at the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics engage in a series of conversations
-- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
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Fish have diverse, distinct gut microbiomes
The rich biodiversity of coral reefs even extends to microbial communities within fish, according to new research. The study reports that several important grazing fish on Caribbean coral reefs each harbor a distinct microbial community within their guts, revealing a new perspective on reef ecology.
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Advances in production of retinal cells for treating blindness
Researchers have discovered a way to refine the production of retinal cells from embryonic stem cells for treating blindness in the elderly. Using the CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing, they have also managed to modify the cells so that they can hide from the immune system to prevent rejection.
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'Tequila' powered biofuels more efficient than corn or sugar
Agave tequilana, the plant native to Mexico used to make tequila, could prove to be an efficient alternative to sugarcane and corn to make biofuels in semi-arid regions. This research is the first to look at the plants lifecycle and model the economics.
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On Mars or Earth, biohybrid can turn carbon dioxide into new products
Chemists have created a hybrid system of bacteria and nanowires that captures energy from sunlight and transfers it to the bacteria to turn carbon dioxide and water into organic molecules and oxygen. On Earth, such a biohybrid could remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. On Mars, it would provide colonists with raw material to manufacture organic compounds ranging from fuels to drugs. The efficiency is greater than the photosynthetic efficiency of most plants.
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Blocking the iron transport could stop tuberculosis
The bacteria that cause tuberculosis need iron to survive. Researchers have now solved the first detailed structure of the transport protein responsible for the iron supply. When the iron transport into the bacteria is inhibited, the pathogen can no longer grow. This opens novel ways to develop targeted tuberculosis drugs.
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The candy-cola soda geyser experiment, at different altitudes
Dropping Mentos® candies into a bottle of soda causes a foamy jet to erupt. Although science fair exhibitors can tell you that this geyser results from rapid degassing of the beverage induced by the candies, the precise means by which bubbles form hasn't been well characterized. Now, researchers have used experiments in the lab and at various altitudes to probe the mechanism of bubble nucleation.
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How Twitter Is Changing Medical Research
From online journal clubs to conference updates, social media is changing the dissemination and discussion of biomedicine
-- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
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Sturgeon genome sequenced
Sturgeons lived on earth already 300 million years ago and yet their external appearance seems to have undergone very little change. A team of researchers has now succeeded in sequencing their genome, delivering a missing piece of the puzzle essential to understanding the ancestry of vertebrates.
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Elephant welfare can be assessed using two indicators
In two new studies, scientists have investigated how to measure stress in semi-captive working elephants. The studies suggest that both physiological and behavioral approaches can be used to reliably assess the well-being of semi-captive Asian elephants.
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Solving a medical mystery and changing CDC screenings for COVID-19
UC Davis Health physicians and medical staff detail the diagnosis and treatment for first known case of community transmission of COVID-19 in the US. The case reveals how the patient's symptoms matched -- and sometimes varied from -- published studies of COVID-19 infection at the time.
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Artificial intelligence can help some businesses but may not work for others
The temptation for businesses to use artificial intelligence and other technology to improve performance, drive down labor costs, and better the bottom line is understandable. But before pursuing automation that could put the jobs of human employees at risk, it is important that business owners take careful stock of their operations.
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A new mechanism triggering cell death and inflammation: A left turn that kills
Researchers describe their discovery of a new mechanism that could contribute to the pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases. The scientists found that ZBP1, a protein best known for defending against incoming viruses, is activated by sensing an unusual form of cellular genetic material (Z-nucleic acids), leading to cell death and inflammation.
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Wastewater test could provide early warning of COVID-19
Researchers are working on a new test to detect SARS-CoV-2 in the wastewater of communities infected with the virus. The wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) approach could provide an effective and rapid way to predict the potential spread of novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) by picking up on biomarkers in feces and urine from disease carriers that enter the sewer system.
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The Most Mercurial Field of All
Ultracold atomic systems are pushing the boundaries of known physics and may even set the stage for quantum computing
-- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
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