Earth

Scientists have pushed back the boundaries of atom-based transport, creating a current by characterizing the many-body effects in the transport of the atoms along a periodic lattice. This work by Anton Ivanov and colleagues from the Institute for Theoretical Physics, at the University of Heidel-berg, Germany, adopted a new analytical approach before comparing it to approximate numerical simulations, and is reported in a paper recently published in EPJ B.

UPTON, NY - Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have identified a series of clues that particular arrangements of electrical charges known as "stripes" may play a role in superconductivity-the ability of some materials to carry electric current with no energy loss. But uncovering the detailed relationship between these stripe patterns and the appearance or disappearance of superconductivity is extremely difficult, particularly because the stripes that may accompany superconductivity are very likely moving, or fluctuating.

Researchers from the universities in Mainz, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Ulm have proposed a new platform for quantum simulation. In a theoretical paper recently published in Physical Review Letters, they show that a combined system of ultracold trapped ions and fermionic atoms could be used to emulate solid state physics. This system may outperform possibilities of existing platforms as a number of phenomena found in solid state systems are naturally included, such as the fermionic statistics of the electrons and the electron-sound wave interactions.

On August 28th the LEGATO project team held a successful workshop on rice ecosystem services and ecological engineering at the 6th Annual International Conference of the Ecosystem Services Partnership (ESP) in Bali, Indonesia.

Lisdexamfetamine dimesylate (trade name: Elvanse) has been approved in Germany since March 2013 as part of a comprehensive treatment programme for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children aged 6 years and over when response to previous treatment with the drug methylphenidate was inadequate. No added benefit of the drug versus the appropriate comparator therapy could be established in the assessment of the drug manufacturer's dossier according to the Act on the Reform of the Market for Medicinal Products (AMNOG). The manufacturer did not present any relevant studies.

Shocks caused by climate and seasonal change could be used to aid recovery of some of the world's badly-degraded coral reefs, an international team of scientists has proposed.

A new report by Australian and Swedish marine scientists in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment suggests that it may be possible to restore living coral cover to a badly-degraded reef system – though not easy.

AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands – Omecamtiv mecarbil, a cardiac myosin-activator, did not achieve its primary efficacy endpoint in reducing dyspnoea (shortness of breath) in patients with acute heart failure, according to the results of the phase II ATOMIC-AHF (Acute Treatment with Omecamtiv Mecarbil to Increase Contractility in Acute Heart Failure) study.

Plasticity is a groundbreaking concept in the context of forests and climate change, and Thomas Wohlgemuth, leader of the Ecological Disturbance group within WSL, is convinced of its validity. The geobotanist heads up the organisational team for the international conference ClimTree 2013: "Climate Change: Tree Responses in Central European forests" to be held from 1-5 September 2013 in Zürich. No wonder, then, that forests' adaptability features prominently in the event's many lectures.

Although greenhouse gases and aerosols have very distinct properties, their effects on spatial patterns of rainfall change are surprisingly similar, according to new research from the University of Hawaii at Manoa's International Pacific Research Center (IPRC) and Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The study is published in the September 1 online issue of Nature Geoscience.

STANFORD, Calif. — A new study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine could help pinpoint ways to counter the effects of the antibiotics-driven depletion of friendly, gut-dwelling bacteria.

A number of intestinal pathogens can cause problems after antibiotic administration, said Justin Sonnenburg, PhD, assistant professor of microbiology and immunology and the senior author of the study, to be published online Sept. 1 in Nature. Graduate students Katharine Ng and Jessica Ferreyra shared lead authorship.

It's convenient to correlate extreme climate and weather events to extreme forcings, but science does not work that way.

From May to July 2012, the Great Plains region of the western United States faced a powerful and unpredicted drought. Following 7 months of normal rainfall, the drought was one of the largest deviations from seasonal precipitation rates seen in the region since observations began in 1895.

Clouds reflect some incoming sunlight, tending to cool Earth's surface, but they also trap some heat leaving Earth's surface, causing warming.

These effects, known as cloud radiative forcing, play a key role in temperature variations on Earth's surface and thus are important for climate modeling.

However, the precise effects of cloud cover on the diurnal temperature cycle have not been well documented.

In the Amazon rainforest, the chain of events that turns a small-scale process like a localized increase in evaporation into a towering storm cloud is long and twisted.

To understand the complex dynamics that lead to precipitation, and to identify the relative importance of various processes, researchers need high temporal resolution, all-weather observations over many years.

Such observations have traditionally been scarce for tropical continental environments, such as the Amazon, where logistics are difficult.

Nora Noffke of Old Dominion University and Stan Awramik of the University of California, Santa Barbara describe the interaction of carpet-like communities of benthic microorganisms (biofilms) with sediment dynamics at the sediment-water interface to form distinctive sedimentary structures called microbialites.

Black carbon, also known as soot, emitted from combustion of fuels and biomass burning, absorbs solar radiation in the atmosphere and is one of the major causes of global warming, after carbon dioxide emissions.

When black carbon is deposited on snow and ice, the soot-covered snow or ice absorbs more sunlight, leading to surface warming. Due to the large amount of snow and ice in the Arctic—which has warmed twice as fast as the global average over the past century—the region is likely to be especially sensitive to black carbon.