Culture
ITHACA, N.Y. - In the dark of night, ogre-faced spiders with dominating big eyes dangle from a silk frame to cast a web and capture their ground prey. But these spiders also can capture insects flying behind them with precision, and Cornell University scientists have now confirmed how.
They look like microscopic bottle brushes: Polymers with a backbone and tufts of side arms. This molecular design gives them unusual abilities: For example, they can bind active agents and release them again when the temperature changes. With the help of neutrons, a research team from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has now succeeded to unveil the changes in the internal structure in course of the process.
In 2017 the term 'populism' made 'Word of the Year' according to The Cambridge Dictionary for its ubiquitous use across media headlines, in political speeches, campaigns, as well as across numerous academic publications and conferences.
Washington, DC--New work led by Carnegie's Matt Clement reveals the likely original locations of Saturn and Jupiter. These findings refine our understanding of the forces that determined our Solar System's unusual architecture, including the ejection of an additional planet between Saturn and Uranus, ensuring that only small, rocky planets, like Earth, formed inward of Jupiter.
COLUMBUS, Ohio - As COVID-19 cases begin climbing again in the United States, the possibility arises of a grim moral dilemma: Which patients should be prioritized if medical resources are scarce?
Researchers from the United States and China asked more than 5,000 people from 11 countries how they would make one version of that ethical decision. Study participants considered 15 possible scenarios, choosing which of two COVID-19 patients should get access to a ventilator that could save their life.
LAWRENCE -- How likely you are to trust a self-driving car or advice from Siri?
A University of Kansas interdisciplinary team led by relationship psychologist Omri Gillath has published a new paper in the journal Computers in Human Behavior showing people's trust in artificial intelligence (AI) is tied to their relationship or attachment style.
We may wish some memories could last a lifetime, but many physical and emotional factors can negatively impact our ability to retain information throughout life.
A new study published in the journal Psychological Science found that people who feel enthusiastic and cheerful--what psychologists call "positive affect"--are less likely to experience memory decline as they age. This result adds to a growing body of research on positive affect's role in healthy aging.
Zooplankton can grow faster and produce more offspring when exposed to a substance that affects human happiness.
"These substances are antidepressants, so-called 'happy pills,' that are often used in the treatment of smoking cessation and depression. Our wastewater is one pathway for the substances to end up in nature," says Professor Sigurd Einum at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology's (NTNU) Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics (CBD) in the Department of Biology.
As the country enters the final days of a marathon and polarizing election season, politicians' faces are everywhere. And that trend is not likely going anywhere, especially in the realm of social media.
A University of Georgia researcher used computer vision to analyze thousands of images from over 100 Instagram accounts of United States politicians and discovered posts that showed politicians' faces in nonpolitical settings increased audience engagement over traditional posts such as politicians in professional or political settings.
A University of Massachusetts Amherst environmental health scientist has used an unprecedented objective approach to identify which molecular mechanisms in mammals are the most sensitive to chemical exposures.
The study, published in the journal Chemosphere, advances the understanding of the interaction of chemicals, both pollutants and pharmaceuticals, on gene expression and the impact on human health.
The coronavirus doesn't spread uniformly through a community.
But in the world of disease modeling, many projections take a high-level approach to a geographic area, like a county or state, and forecast based on a general idea that a virus will take root and spread at an equal rate until it reaches its peak of infection.
Researchers based in Brazil and the United States have completed the first-ever mapping exercise to profile the toxins produced by tube-dwelling anemones, or cerianthids, a family of marine animals belonging to the same phylum (Cnidaria) as sea anemones, jellyfish and corals. The analysis revealed that the toxins that can act on the nervous system, cardiovascular system, and cell walls, among other functions, paving the way to the discovery of novel medications.
An international team of researchers that includes a Texas A&M University professor has studied the lineage of dogs and found that there were at least five different types of dogs as far back as 11,000 years ago.
Anna Linderholm, director of the BiG (bioarchaeology and genomics) Laboratory and an archaeologist at Texas A&M, and a team of worldwide researchers have had their work published in the current issue of Science magazine.
Oct. 29, 2020-- A new study published online in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society examines whether the amount of RNA, or genomic load, of SARS-CoV-2 detected in swab tests of patients being admitted to the hospital with viral pneumonia is associated with more severe COVID-19. SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that causes COVID-19. Previous studies on this question have had conflicting results.
The plant pathogenic nematode Heterodera schachtii infects more than 200 different plants, including sugar beets, and causes significant economic losses. Over the past 50 years, the primary management tool in California has been crop rotation. When the number of H. schachtii in a soil exceeds a threshold, growers are contractually required by the local sugar factory to plant crops that do not support the nematode's reproduction. This practice reduces the nematode population so that the next sugar beet crop can flourish.