Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily

Frogs, salamanders, and other amphibians are not just battling habitat loss and pollution they're now also contending with increasingly brutal heat waves and droughts. A sweeping 40-year study shows a direct link between the rise in extreme weather events and the growing number of species landing on the endangered list. Europe, the Amazon, and Madagascar have become danger zones, with amphibians unable to adapt quickly enough. But there s hope scientists are calling for focused conservation efforts like habitat restoration and micro-refuges to help these vulnerable creatures survive.

Shrinking silicon transistors have reached their physical limits, but a team from the University of Tokyo is rewriting the rules. They've created a cutting-edge transistor using gallium-doped indium oxide with a novel "gate-all-around" structure. By precisely engineering the material's atomic structure, the new device achieves remarkable electron mobility and stability. This breakthrough could fuel faster, more reliable electronics powering future technologies from AI to big data systems.

Scientists have discovered that a molecule known for defending animal immune systems called itaconate also plays a powerful role in plants. Researchers showed that itaconate not only exists in plant cells but actively stimulates growth, such as making corn seedlings grow taller. This surprising crossover between plant and animal biology may unlock new, natural ways to boost agriculture and even improve human health.

Scientists have uncovered over 200 new giant viruses lurking in ocean waters that not only help shape marine ecosystems but also manipulate photosynthesis in algae. These massive viruses once nearly invisible to science are now being exposed using powerful supercomputing and a new tool called BEREN. By studying these viruses, researchers hope to predict harmful algal blooms and even explore biotech applications from the novel enzymes found in these viral genomes.

Bronze Age life changed radically around 1500 BC in Central Europe. New research reveals diets narrowed, millet was introduced, migration slowed, and social systems became looser challenging old ideas about nomadic Tumulus culture herders.

Harvard and PSI scientists have managed to freeze normally fleeting quantum states in time, creating a pathway to control them using pure electronic tricks and laser precision.

Astronomers have revealed new research showing that millions of new solar system objects are likely to be detected by a brand-new facility, which is expected to come online later this year.

Researchers found telehealth visits can improve care for cats with feline arthritis.

Using a newly devised, three-dimensional model to study the regeneration of nerve tissue in the nose, researchers have discovered that one type of stem cell thought to be dormant may play a more significant role in preserving the sense of smell than originally believed.

New research demonstrates that with collaboration between stakeholders, Australia can fully decarbonize its domestic and energy export economies by 2060 -- a feat requiring $6.2 trillion USD and around 110,000 square kilomters of land -- while avoiding harm to important areas for biodiversity outcomes, safeguarding agricultural activities, and respecting Indigenous land rights.

A new study challenges a decades-old assumption in neuroscience by showing that the brain uses distinct transmission sites -- not a shared site -- to achieve different types of plasticity.

The effects of artificial intelligence on adolescents are nuanced and complex, according to a new report that calls on developers to prioritize features that protect young people from exploitation, manipulation and the erosion of real-world relationships.

To satisfy the seafood needs of billions of people, offering them access to a more biodiverse array of fish creates opportunities to mix-and-match species to obtain better nutrition from smaller portions of fish.

A new study found exposure to specific tiny particles in air pollution during pregnancy are associated with increased risk of various negative birth outcomes.

Scientists have discovered how pancreatic cancer cells thrive in the lungs or liver, environments that are as distinct to cells as the ocean and desert are to animals. The spread of cancer cells to organs like these often produces the very first symptoms of pancreatic cancer. But by that time, the pancreatic cancer has spread out of control.

According to a recent study, in patients with frontotemporal dementia (FTD), epileptic seizures are significantly more common than previously known. The discovery deepens understanding of the symptoms of this memory disorder and emphasises the importance of taking epileptic seizures into account in the treatment and monitoring of patients.

Eating a colorful variety of flavonoid-rich foods like tea, berries, dark chocolate, and apples may significantly lower your risk of chronic diseases and even help you live longer. A major study tracking over 120,000 people for more than a decade found that it's not just the quantity but the diversity of flavonoids that offers the biggest health benefits.

A new study details processes that keep pollutants aloft despite a drop in emissions.

Researchers asked patients, some of whom had experienced lower back pain for up to 40 years, if being in nature helped them coped better with their lower back pain. They found that people able to spend time in their own gardens saw some health and wellbeing benefits. However, those able to immerse themselves in larger green spaces such as forests felt even more positive, as they were able to lose themselves in the environment and focus more on that than their pain levels. The researchers have recommended trying to incorporate time spent in nature into people's treatments plans, and are also using their findings to develop virtual reality interventions that allow people to experience some of the benefits of being in nature without the need to travel anywhere if they are unable to do so.

Collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet could be triggered with very little ocean warming above present-day, leading to a devastating four meters of global sea level rise to play out over hundreds of years according to a new study. However, the authors emphasize that immediate actions to reduce emissions could still avoid a catastrophic outcome.

A new study has finally confirmed the theory that the cause of extraordinary global tremors in September -- October 2023 was indeed two mega tsunamis in Greenland that became trapped standing waves. Using a brand-new type of satellite altimetry, the researchers provide the first observations to confirm the existence of these waves whose behavior is entirely unprecedented.

A new type of mRNA vaccine is more scalable and adaptable to continuously evolving viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 and H5N1, according to a new study.

Environmental DNA from the air, captured with simple air filters, can track everything from illegal drugs to the wildlife it was originally designed to study.

The biosynthesis of the great variety of natural plant products has not yet been elucidated for many medically interesting substances. In a new study, an international team of researchers was able to show how ipecacuanha alkaloids, substances used in traditional medicine, are synthesized. They compared two distantly related plant species and were able to show that although both plant species use a comparable chemical approach, the enzymes they need for synthesis differ and a different starting material is used. Further investigations revealed that the biosynthetic pathways of these complex chemical compounds have developed independently in the two species. These results help to enable the synthesis of these and related substances on a larger scale for medical use.

As psychedelics gain traction as potential treatments for mental health disorders, an international study stands to improve the rigor and reliability of clinical research.

Researchers have discovered that baboons walk in lines, not for safety or strategy, but simply to stay close to their friends.

Supermassive black holes might naturally replicate the colossal energies of man-made particle colliders possibly even revealing dark matter offering a cosmic shortcut to discoveries that would otherwise take decades and billions to pursue.

A new study shows how person-to-person variation in antibody immunity plays a key role in shaping which influenza (flu) strains dominate in a population.

Scientists have identified a new source of energetic particles near the Sun. These definitive observations were made by instruments aboard NASA's Parker Solar Probe, which detected the powerful phenomena as the spacecraft dipped in and out of the solar corona.

Researchers have identified a gene that plays a key role in prostate cancer cells that have transitioned to a more aggressive, treatment-resistant form. The gene can be indirectly targeted with an existing class of drugs, suggesting a potential treatment strategy for patients with aggressive subtypes of prostate cancer.

Marijuana use among older adults in the US has reached a new high, with 7 percent of adults aged 65 and over who report using it in the past month, according to a recent analysis.

Electronics often get thrown away after use because recycling them requires extensive work for little payoff. Researchers have now found a way to change the game.

Chronic inflammatory bowel disease is challenging to treat and carries a risk of complications, including the development of bowel cancer. Young people are particularly affected: when genetic predisposition and certain factors coincide, diseases such as ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease usually manifest between the ages of 15 and 29 -- a critical period for education and early career development. Prompt diagnosis and treatment are crucial. Researchers have now discovered a therapeutic target that significantly contributes to halting the ongoing inflammatory processes.

New research adds to our understanding of how rapidly rising sea levels due to climate change foreshadow the end of the Great Barrier Reef as we know it. The findings suggest the reef can withstand rising sea levels in isolation but is vulnerable to associated environmental stressors arising from global climate change.

Physicists have developed a lens with 'magic' properties. Ultra-thin, it can transform infrared light into visible light by halving the wavelength of incident light.

Aortic valve narrowing (aortic stenosis) with concomitant cardiac amyloidosis is a severe heart disease of old age that is associated with a high risk of death. Until now, treatment has consisted of valve replacement, while the deposits in the heart muscle, known as amyloidosis, often remain untreated. Researchers have now demonstrated that combined treatment consisting of heart valve replacement and specific drug therapy offers a significant survival advantage for patients.

Researchers have published the first example of a synthetic sugar detection test for snake venom, offering a new route to rapid diagnosis and better antivenoms.

Global warming is continuously advancing. How quickly this will happen can now be predicted more accurately than ever before, thanks to a method developed by climate researchers. Anthropogenic global warming is set to exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2028 and hence improved quantification of the Paris goals is proposed.

Flooding in coastal communities is happening far more often than previously thought, according to a new study. The study also found major flaws with the widely used approach of using marine water level data to capture instances of flooding.

Tracing the origin of an ultra-hot exoplanet: The chemical composition of WASP-121b suggests that it formed in a cool zone of its natal disc, comparable to the region of gas and ice giants in our Solar System. Methane indicates unexpected atmospheric dynamics: Despite extreme heat, methane was detected on the nightside -- a finding that can be explained by strong vertical atmospheric circulation. First detection of silicon monoxide in a planetary atmosphere: Measurements of this refractory gas allow quantifying the rocky material the planet had accumulated.

A trial of an interactive game that trains people to alter their brain waves has shown promise as a treatment for nerve pain -- offering hope for a new generation of drug-free treatments.

Some microbes living on sand grains use up all the oxygen around them. Their neighbors, left without oxygen, make the best of it: They use nitrate in the surrounding water for denitrification -- a process hardly possible when oxygen is present. This denitrification in sandy sediments in well-oxygenated waters can substantially contribute to nitrogen loss in the oceans.

Human-AI interactions are well understood in terms of trust and companionship. However, the role of attachment and experiences in such relationships is not entirely clear. In a new breakthrough, researchers from Waseda University have devised a novel self-report scale and highlighted the concepts of attachment anxiety and avoidance toward AI. Their work is expected to serve as a guideline to further explore human-AI relationships and incorporate ethical considerations in AI design.

Despite advances in machine vision, processing visual data requires substantial computing resources and energy, limiting deployment in edge devices. Now, researchers from Japan have developed a self-powered artificial synapse that distinguishes colors with high resolution across the visible spectrum, approaching human eye capabilities. The device, which integrates dye-sensitized solar cells, generates its electricity and can perform complex logic operations without additional circuitry, paving the way for capable computer vision systems integrated in everyday devices.

What happens inside your brain when you hear a steady rhythm or musical tone? According to a new study, your brain doesn't just hear it -- it reorganizes itself in real time.

Making a discovery with the potential for innovative applications in pharmaceutical development, a microbiology student has found a long sought-after fungus that produces effects similar to the semisynthetic drug LSD, which is used to treat conditions like depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and addiction.

Researchers have synthesized a new compound called infuzide that shows activity against resistant strains of pathogens.

Researchers have recreated the world's oldest synthetic pigment, called Egyptian blue, which was used in ancient Egypt about 5,000 years ago.

A new way of thinking about Alzheimer's disease has yielded a discovery that could be the key to stopping the cognitive decline seen in Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases, including ALS and Parkinson's.

Researchers have discovered that the mixing of small particles between two solid electrolytes can generate an effect called a 'space charge layer,' an accumulation of electric charge at the interface between the two materials. The finding could aid the development of batteries with solid electrolytes, called solid-state batteries, for applications including mobile devices and electric vehicles.

Researchers have developed a deep learning model called LSTM-SAM that predicts extreme water levels from tropical cyclones more efficiently and accurately, especially in data-scarce coastal regions, to offer a faster, low-cost tool for flood forecasting.

Researchers have engineered a laser device smaller than a penny that they say could power everything from the LiDAR systems used in self-driving vehicles to gravitational wave detection, one of the most delicate experiments in existence to observe and understand our universe.

Scientists have reported use of antibacterial coatings made from resilin-mimetic proteins to fully block bacteria from attaching to a surface. A protein that gives fleas their bounce has been used to boot out bacteria cells, with lab results demonstrating the material's potential for preventing medical implant infection.

California Central Valley, which is known for the agriculture that produces much of the nation's fruits, vegetables and nuts, is a major contributor to a growing dust problem that has profound implications for people's health, safety and well-being.

New research shows that the presence of solar panels in Colorado's grasslands may reduce water stress, improve soil moisture levels and -- particularly during dry years -- increase plant growth by about 20% or more compared to open fields.

Researchers showed that hydrogen sulfide, which is associated with numerous health conditions, is emitted from California's largest lake at levels far higher and more frequently than previously reported.

Students recently unveiled their invention of a robotic actuator -- the 'muscle' that converts energy into a robot's physical movement -- that has the ability to detect punctures or pressure, heal the injury and repair its damage-detecting 'skin.'

Researchers have discovered a protein that is involved in plant leaf aging.

In a comparative pilot study, the Mediterranean diet and the low FODMAP diet both provided relief for patients with IBS.

Singing to your infant can significantly boost the baby's mood, according to a recent study. Around the world and across cultures, singing to babies seems to come instinctively to caregivers. Now, new findings support that singing is an easy, safe, and free way to help improve the mental well-being of infants. Because improved mood in infancy is associated with a greater quality of life for both parents and babies, this in turn has benefits for the health of the entire family, the researchers say. The study also helps explain why musical behaviors may have evolved in parents.