Earth
A new study published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science is changing the way that biological oceanographers view the swimming and sinking behaviors of open ocean, or pelagic, snails. Pteropods and heteropods are small marine snails, most measuring on the order of millimeters to centimeters, that are found throughout the world's ocean from the surface to depths of 3000 feet (1000 meters). Although small in size, these organisms play a vital role in the ocean's food web and biogeochemical cycles, as well as the global carbon cycle.
High-severity wildfires in northern coastal California have been increasing by about 10 percent per decade since 1984, according to a study from the University of California, Davis, that associates climate trends with wildfire.
The study, published online in Environmental Research Letters, shows that the drought of 2012-2016 nearly quadrupled the area burned severely, compared to the relatively cooler drought of 1987-1992.
In January 2018, China stopped accepting most plastic recyclables from Western nations. Within days, there was no hiding just how much plastic nations were producing and consuming. Piles of plastic sprung up in Britain, Europe, Canada, the United States, and elsewhere. Other Eastern nations began banning the import of plastic waste. Governments worldwide are now scrambling for solutions to mitigate the growing problem of plastic pollution.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- September 17, 2020 -- For people with chronic insomnia, a good night's sleep is elusive. But what if insomnia symptoms could be alleviated by simply listening to one's own brainwaves?
Researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Health conducted a clinical trial that showed reduced insomnia symptoms and improved autonomic nervous system function using a closed-loop, acoustic stimulation neurotechnology. The study is published in the September 17 online edition of the journal Brain and Behavior.
Powerful storms with heavy rainmaking capabilities appeared over the coast of central Vietnam in NASA provided infrared imagery on Sept. 17.
NASA's Infrared Data Reveals Heavy Rainmakers
Tropical cyclones are made up of hundreds of thunderstorms, and infrared data can show where the strongest storms are located. That is because infrared data provides temperature information, and the strongest thunderstorms that reach highest into the atmosphere have the coldest cloud top temperatures.
WASHINGTON -- Scientists and researchers at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory and National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), submitted their findings to ACS Nano, a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal, on their collaboration to develop SARS-CoV-2 nanoparticle probes that are used to study fundamental interactions between SARS-CoV-2 Spike proteins and human cells.
CALVERT ISLAND, British Columbia --- Researchers have identified an invasive blood-sucking parasite on mud shrimp in the waters of British Columbia's Calvert Island. The discovery represents the northern-most record of the parasite on the West Coast and is likely an indication of its ability to spread without human transport.
DALLAS, September 17, 2020 -- An investigation of the Finnish Twin Cohort reaffirmed a link between smoking and subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), a type of bleeding stroke that occurs under the membrane that covers the brain and is frequently fatal. The new study by researchers in Finland is published today in Stroke, a journal of the American Stroke Association, a division of the American Heart Association.
As more people work temporary gigs with little protection, or fear layoffs in an unstable economy, job insecurity is on the rise. These stresses understandably contribute to poor mental health and feelings of anxiety. But given gender disparities in the workforce - women are more likely to work temporary jobs and receive lower pay - researchers were curious whether job insecurity affected men and women differently.
To understand the massive capabilities and complexities of the brain, neuroscientists segment it into regions based on what they appear to do--like processing what we sense or how to move. What's been lacking, however, is an ability to tie those functional maps precisely and consistently to matching distinctions of physical structure, especially in live animals while they are performing the functions of interest.
The calcification of the carotid artery is a sign of advanced arteriosclerosis, which may be associated with chronic coronary artery disease (CAD) and can lead to death. Such calcification can be seen in regular oral panoramic radiography.
SAN ANTONIO -- Sept. 16, 2020 -- A Southwest Research Institute scientist has identified stellar phosphorus as a probable marker in narrowing the search for life in the cosmos. She has developed techniques to identify stars likely to host exoplanets, based on the composition of stars known to have planets, and proposes that upcoming studies target stellar phosphorus to find systems with the greatest probability for hosting life as we know it.
The flooding season had just ended in China. Persistent strong precipitation events in many regions of China resulted in severe flooding disasters in the just passed summer of 2020. It is of great significance to capture precursor signals of persistent strong precipitation events.
Building materials with a clear composition and stable structure is one of the primary challenges in chemistry and cluster science. Ongoing extensive efforts have been paid to exploring new stable clusters thus to construct new materials and to understand structural evolution bridging atoms and macroscopic matter. This is interesting yet challenging in chemistry. In the past decades, researchers have achieved significant advances, such as the discovery of fullerene C60, tetrahedral Au20, and all-boron fullerene B40, etc.
Philadelphia, September 16, 2020 - The risk of developing major depressive disorder (MDD) surges during adolescence-particularly for girls. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can be an effective treatment, but only about half of girls diagnosed with depression show significant improvement. Researchers at Harvard Medical School and McLean Hospital have now identified a non-invasive test of brain function that could help predict who will respond to CBT.