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 Fleeting flash is most-distant optical afterglow from gamma-ray burst ever detected
Rapid follow-up of the optical afterglow from one of the most distant confirmed short gamma-ray bursts (SGRB), thought to be the merger of two neutron stars, is casting new light on these enigmatic objects. The observations confirmed the object's distance and placed it squarely in the epoch of cosmic high noon, when the Universe was in its ''teenage years'' and rapidly forming stars.
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Hammer-on technique for atomic vibrations in a crystal
Vibrations of atoms in a crystal of the semiconductor gallium arsenide (GaAs) are impulsively shifted to a higher frequency by an optically excited electric current. The related change in the spatial distribution of charge between gallium and arsenic atoms acts back on their motions via electric interactions.
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Wireless aquatic robot could clean water and transport cells
Researchers have developed a tiny plastic robot, made of responsive polymers, which moves under the influence of light and magnetism. In the future this 'wireless aquatic polyp' should be able to attract and capture contaminant particles from the surrounding liquid or pick up and transport cells for analysis in diagnostic devices.
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More than one cognition: A call for change in the field of comparative psychology
Researchers argue that cognitive studies in comparative psychology often wrongly take an anthropocentric approach, resulting in an over-valuation of human-like abilities and the assumption that cognitive skills cluster in animals as they do in humans. The authors advocate for philosophical and procedural changes to the discipline that would lead to a better understanding of animal minds and the evolution of multiple forms of cognition.
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Evolution after Chicxulub asteroid impact: Rapid response of life to end-cretaceous mass
The impact event that formed the Chicxulub crater (Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico) caused the extinction of 75% of species on Earth 66 million years ago, including non-avian dinosaurs. One place that did not experience much extinction was the deep, as organisms living in the abyss made it through the mass extinction event with just some changes to community structure.
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Experts' high-flying study reveals secrets of soaring birds
New research has revealed when it comes to flying the largest of birds don't rely on flapping to move around. Instead they make use of air currents to keep them airborne for hours at a time. A study has revealed the Andean condor - the world's heaviest soaring bird - actually flaps its wings for one per cent of its flight time.
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Tech sector job interviews assess anxiety, not software skills
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 is competent at coding. The interviews may also be used to exclude groups or favor specific job candidates.
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Robot jaws shows medicated chewing gum could be the future
Medicated chewing gum has been recognized as a new advanced drug delivery method but currently there is no gold standard for testing drug release from chewing gum in vitro. New research has shown a chewing robot with built-in humanoid jaws could provide opportunities for pharmaceutical companies to develop medicated chewing gum.
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Particulate plutonium released from the Fukushima Daiichi meltdowns
Small amounts of plutonium (Pu) were released from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) reactors into the environment during the site's 2011 nuclear disaster. However, the physical, chemical, and isotopic form of the released Pu has remained unknown. Now, recent work has shown that Pu was included inside cesium-rich microparticles (CsMPs) that were emitted from the site.
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 Why Some Birds Are Likely To Hit Buildings
Birds that eat insects, are on migrations or that usually live in the woods are most likely to fly into buildings that feature a lot of glass.
-- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
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Avian speciation: Uniform vs. particolored plumage
Although carrion crows and hooded crows are almost indistinguishable genetically, they avoid mating with each other. Researchers have now identified a mutation that appears to contribute to this instance of reproductive isolation.
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New materials for extra thin computer chips
In order to create more compact electronic devices, new materials are being used - especially 2D-materials, which only consist of a single atomic layer. This, however, is only half the story: Every electronic device consists of multiple materials. So the ultra-thin semiconductors have to be paired with ultra-thin insulators. Scientists have now found out how to do this.
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Artificial energy source for muscle
Muscle physiologist sought an alternative energy source to replace the body's usual one, adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Such a source could control muscle activity, and might lead to new muscle spasm-calming treatments in cerebral palsy, for example, or activate or enhance skeletal muscle function in MS, ALS and chronic heart failure. They report this month that they have made a series of synthetic compounds to serve as alternative energy sources for the muscle protein myosin.
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Gigantic, red and full of spots
Starspots are more common among red giant stars than previously thought. Astronomers report that approximately eight percent of red giants exhibit such spots. Although red giants are generally regarded as slowly rotating stars, those with starspots are apparently an exception. The new publication offers a comprehensive analysis of the reasons for their short rotation periods.
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A micro-lab on a chip detects blood type within minutes
The need to first zero in on a blood group can delay blood transfusions in emergency situations, and this in turn can prove fatal. Thus, to speed up the process, a team of scientists has developed a lab-on-a-chip device that can not only tell the blood type within five minutes but allows medical staff to read the results through simple visual inspections.
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Lasers etch an efficient way to address global water crisis
Researchers use sunlight and a laser-etched metal surface to evaporate and purify water for safe drinking at greater than 100 percent efficiency. The method could help relieve water shortages in drought-stricken areas and be helpful in water desalinization projects.
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The new tattoo: Drawing electronics on skin
One day, people could monitor their own health conditions by simply picking up a pencil and drawing a bioelectronic device on their skin. In a new study, engineers demonstrated that the simple combination of pencils and paper could be used to create devices that might be used to monitor personal health.
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Parasite infestations revealed by tiny chicken backpacks
Blood-feeding livestock mites can be detected with wearable sensor technology nicknamed ''Fitbits for chickens.'' To help farmers detect mite infestations, a team of entomologists, computer scientists, and biologists has created a new insect detection system.
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For next-generation semiconductors, 2D tops 3D
A research team designs a halide perovskite material for the next-generation memory device. Commercialization is accelerated for next-generation data storage device via low-operating voltage and high-performance resistive switching memory.
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Researchers find the worst reason to give a gift
Here's a good way to make sure a friend hates a gift from you: Say it will save him money. In a series of studies, researchers found that people reacted negatively to gifts that they were told - or that they inferred - were given to help them save money.
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Artificial intelligence predicts which planetary systems will survive
An astrophysicist has found a new method for determining the long-term stability of planetary configurations that is up to 100,000 times faster than the previous approach. This breaks the computational bottleneck and enables sharper views of the orbital architectures of exoplanetary systems.
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Green is more than skin-deep for hundreds of frog species
The through-and-through greenness of hundreds of frog species that can be found deep in their lymphatic fluid, soft tissues and even bones, comes from a clever biochemical workaround that combines a normally virus-fighting type of protein with a toxic byproduct of blood breakdown. The camouflage innovation has happened at least 40 times across 11 families of frog and toad.
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Bat research critical to preventing next pandemic
The current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has a likely connection to bats, and the next viral outbreak probably will too. A recent review calls for more research into bats' molecular biology and their ecology, to help predict, and hopefully prevent, the next pandemic.
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Engineered llama antibodies neutralize COVID-19 virus
Antibodies derived from llamas have been shown to neutralise the SARS-CoV-2 virus in lab tests, researchers have found. They hope the antibodies -- known as nanobodies due to their small size -- could eventually be developed as a treatment for patients with severe COVID-19.
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Cystic fibrosis: Why so many respiratory complications?
Cystic fibrosis causes severe respiratory and digestive disorders. Despite considerable therapeutic advances, this disease still reduces life expectancy, in particular due to life-threatening respiratory infections. Scientists have now discovered the reason for this large number of lung infections: a protein, Vav3.
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Special filters in glasses can help the color blind see colors better, study finds
A new study found that special patented glasses engineered with technically advanced spectral notch filters enhance color vision for those with the most common types of red-green color vision deficiency ('anomalous trichromacy'). Notably, the ability to identify and experience expanded color was also demonstrated when color blind test subjects were not wearing the glasses.
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When calling loudly, echolocation is costly for small bats
Calling in the ultrasonic range enables small bats to orient themselves in the dark and track down insects. Louder calls travel farther, improving a bat's ability to detect their prey. It was long assumed that echolocation does not contribute much to energy expenditure in flight because individuals couple their calls with the beat of their wings. Scientists have now shown that high intensity echolocation calls substantially contribute to energy expenditure.
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Genetic variation shapes individual perception of fatty foods
Most people would agree that the pleasure of some foods stems in part from its fat content. New research has now found that liking of fatty food is more complex than its fat content alone -- it could also be related to inborn genetic traits of the consumer related to fat perception.
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How Venus flytraps snap
Venus flytraps catch spiders and insects by snapping their trap leaves. This mechanism is activated when unsuspecting prey touch highly sensitive trigger hairs twice within 30 seconds. A study has now shown that a single slow touch also triggers trap closure - probably to catch slow-moving larvae and snails.
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The Power of Psychedelics
They worked for my depression; could they be the future of psychiatry?
-- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
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Key role of immune cells in brain development
Researchers have identified how specific brain cells interacting during development could be related to neurological and neuropsychiatric diseases, including some that occur later in life.
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Topological materials 'cherned' up to the maximum
In topological materials, electrons can display behavior that is fundamentally different from that in 'conventional' matter, and the magnitude of many such 'exotic' phenomena is directly proportional to an entity known as the Chern number. New experiments establish for the first time that the theoretically predicted maximum Chern number can be reached -- and controlled -- in a real material.
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Less impact from wildfire smoke on climate
New research revealed that tiny, sunlight-absorbing particles in wildfire smoke may have less impact on climate than widely hypothesized because reactions as the plume mixes with clean air reduce its absorbing power and climate-warming effect.
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T-ray camera speed boosted a hundred times over
Scientists are a step closer to developing a fast and cost effective camera that utilizes terahertz radiation, potentially opening the opportunity for them to be used in non-invasive security and medical screening.
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Gene yields insights into the causes of neurodegeneration
Cornell researchers including Fenghua Hu, associate professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics and member of the Weill Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology, are taking a closer look at the factors that cause Alzheimer's, FTLD and similar diseases. Hu's latest study, ''A role of the frontotemporal lobar degeneration risk factor TMEM106B in myelination,'' was published June 23 in the journal Brain.
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Extraordinary regeneration of neurons in zebrafish
Biologists have discovered a uniquely rapid form of regeneration in injured neurons and their function in the central nervous system of zebrafish. They studies the Mauthner cells, which are solely responsible for the escape behavior of the fish, and previously regarded as incapable of regeneration. However, their ability to regenerate crucially depends on the location of the injury.
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Why stakeholders in 'wind energy vs biological conservation' conflict have low mutual trust
Each year, wind turbines are responsible for the death of hundreds of thousands of airborne animals such as bats. To find a constructive way out of this ''green-green'' dilemma, companies building and running wind turbines might have to work together with environmental experts and conservationists. Yet lack of trust between them can hinder effective collaboration. Scientists show: shared values are not sufficient to build trust, as beliefs and emotions have stronger influence.
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Construction: How to turn 36 seconds into USD 5.4 billion
A team of researchers have, for the first time ever, linked 40 years of productivity data from the construction industry with the actual work done. The results show that productivity in the construction industry has been declining since the 1970s. The results also explain the decline and how to achieve far more efficient construction in North America and Europe.
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