Heavens
The surface of the planet Mars bears probable traces of 'sedimentary volcanism', a geological phenomenon that leads to the eruption of mud from underground. But how does a mixture of sediment and water behave in the open air on the Red Planet? Conditions there are extremely different from those on Earth - atmospheric pressure is 150 times lower and temperatures are generally negative.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- Catnip is most famous for its ability to launch felines into a euphoric frenzy, but the origin of its cat-attracting chemical is a remarkable example of evolutionary innovation.
While the compound nepetalactone drives two-thirds of cats batty, likely by mimicking sex pheromones, its real purpose is protecting catnip from pests. Nepetalactone belongs to a class of chemicals called iridoids, which can repel insects as effectively as DEET.
Three earthquakes in the Monterey Bay Area, occurring in 1838, 1890 and 1906, happened without a doubt on the San Andreas Fault, according to a new paper by a Portland State University researcher.
The paper, "New Insights into Paleoseismic Age Models on the Northern San Andreas Fault: Charcoal In-built ages and Updated Earthquake Correlations," was recently published in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America.
DURHAM, N.C. - Electrical engineers at Duke University have devised a low-cost method for passively locating sources of radio waves such as Wi-Fi and cellular communication signals.
Their technique could lead to inexpensive devices that can find radio wave devices like cellular phones or Wi-Fi emitters, or cameras that capture images using the radio waves already bouncing all around us.
The results appear online on May 12 in the journal Optica.
TORONTO, May 11, 2020 -- The oldest molecular fluids in the solar system could have supported the rapid formation and evolution of the building blocks of life, new research in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveals.
An international group of scientists, led by researchers from the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) and co-authors from McMaster University and York University, used state-of-the-art techniques to map individual atoms in minerals formed in fluids on an asteroid over 4.5 billion years ago.
At an idyllic island in the Mediterranean Sea, ocean covers up the site of a vast volcanic explosion from 3200 years ago. A few hundred kilometers north-west, three other islands still have their volcanic histories from a few million years ago mostly intact. No explosions there. So why the differences between the Santorini caldera and the Aegina, Methana and Poros lava domes? Researchers used volcanic "fingerprints' and plate tectonics research to find out why.
The end of a civilisation
Nature is an amazing source for food, shelter, clothing and medicine. An impressive number of modern drugs are isolated from many sources such as plants, animals and microbes. The development of natural products from traditional medicines is of great importance to society. Modern concepts and methodologies with abundant clinical studies, a unique diversity of chemical structures and biological activities aid the modern drug discovery process.
A red beetle, classed as the most destructive date palm pest, causes millions of dollars of annual economic losses worldwide. Now, a small team in Saudi Arabia has found a cost-effective approach that uses laser pulses to detect the very early stages of infestation, giving farmers enough time to save their trees.
For the first time, UBC researchers have shown a key difference in the three-dimensional structures of a key metabolic enzyme in the parasite that causes malaria compared to its human counterpart.
The finding, recently published in the International Union of Crystallography Journal, brings researchers one step closer to developing new therapies to combat drug-resistant malaria.
Researchers at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) have used the infrastructure of the former TAMA300 gravitational wave detector in Mitaka, Tokyo to demonstrate a new technique to reduce quantum noise in detectors. This new technique will help increase the sensitivity of the detectors comprising a collaborative worldwide gravitational wave network, allowing them to observe fainter waves.
Osaka - Understanding the behavior of proteins and enzymes is key to unlocking the secrets of biological processes. The atomic structures of proteins are generally investigated using X-ray crystallography; however, the precise information for hydrogen atoms and protons (hydrogen ions) is usually unattainable.
To achieve your goals you need passion, grit and a positive mindset - or expressed another way, the belief that you'll succeed if you just keep at it.
But what's the connection between these factors, and what's the most important one? That, it turns out, depends on who you are.
A recent study has investigated the links between this particular combination of factors. Previous studies show that many factors play a role in achieving success. But the new research reveals that what is most important can vary between the sexes.
By tracking the thick clouds of Venus' rapidly rotating atmosphere, researchers have gained new insight into the dynamic forces that drive atmospheric super-rotation - a little-understood phenomenon in which an atmosphere rotates much faster than the solid planetary body below. Based on observations from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) spacecraft Akatsuki, which has been orbiting Venus since 2015, the study suggests that super-rotation is maintained by a combination of solar heating-driven thermal tides, planetary waves and atmospheric turbulence.
New research indicates river delta deposits within Mars’ Jezero crater – the destination of NASA’ Perseverance rover on the Red Planet – formed over time scales that promoted habitability and enhanced preservation of evidence.
Undulating streaks of land visible from space reveal rivers once coursed across the Martian surface – but for how long did the water flow? Enough time to record evidence of ancient life, according to a new Stanford study.
A small survey conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that more than half of respondents who reported having attempted to acquire a firearm in Baltimore's underground firearm market in the prior six months were unsuccessful-- some due to lack of financial means, and others reporting they had no trusted point of contact for acquiring guns through unlawful means.