Feature Channels: Story Ideas: Science

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Data scientists at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York and colleagues have created an artificial intelligence model that may more accurately predict which existing medicines, not currently classified as harmful, may in fact lead to congenital disabilities. The model, or “knowledge graph,” described in the July 17 issue of the Nature journal Communications Medicine, also has the potential to predict the involvement of pre-clinical compounds that may harm the developing fetus. The study is the first known of its kind to use knowledge graphs to integrate various data types to investigate the causes of congenital disabilities.

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The recent tragic loss of the Titan submersible in the depths of the North Atlantic has brought the fascinating (and very dangerous) world of Oceanography and Marine Science to the forefront. Below are some recent stories that have been added to the Marine Science channel on Newswise, including expert commentary on the Titan submersible.

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Current farming practices disrupt soil, release carbon into atmosphere

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When some semiconductors absorb light, the process can create excitons, quasi-particles made of an electron bound to an electron hole. Two-dimensional crystals of tungsten disulfide have unique but short-lived exciton states. Scientists developed a new approach called time-resolved momentum microscopy to create separate images of these individual quantum states. The study found that the coupling mechanisms that lead to mixing of the states may not fully match current theories.

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Researcher will discuss the study which involved a sleeping aid known as suvorexant that is already approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for insomnia, hints at the potential of sleep medications to slow or stop the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

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Below are some of the latest articles that have been added to the Space and Astronomy channel on Newswise, a free source for journalists.

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Here are some of the latest articles that have been added to the Marine Science channel on Newswise, a free source for media.

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APL scientists have leveraged the global coverage of satellite imagery and the strengths of machine learning to create the first automated approach for estimating greenhouse gas emissions from the road transportation sector.

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The soil used for crops provides more than a space to grow.

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Gray whales that migrate along the West Coast of North America continued to decline in number over the last 2 years, according to a new NOAA Fisheries assessment. The population is now down 38 percent from its peak in 2015 and 2016, as researchers probe the underlying reasons.

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A new study provides the best evidence to date that scientists overall are most innovative and creative early in their careers.

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Pennycress serves as viable alternative to traditional cover crops

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Landslides threaten many lives. A new study suggests we could predict landslides better with electrical measurements of soil.

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Though well-known as a respiratory illness, COVID-19 can also affect the nervous system. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Infectious Diseases have developed a new tool and possible vaccine candidate that could help scientists understand how SARS-CoV-2 could be invading these cells.

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Data suggests a previously unobserved relationship between body temperature and REM sleep, with REM sleep appearing to act like a "thermostatically controlled brain heater.”

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The memory system alternates between periods of learning and remembering. These two functions are controlled by different neural circuits. Using an animal model, scientists from the Institut Pasteur recently identified a neural signal in the hippocampus, a brain region essential for forming and recalling memories, that enables the brain to alternate between remembering and learning modes. The findings were published in the journal Nature Communications on July 15, 2022.

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It's not possible to grow cacao without insects - that's logical. After all, they ensure that the flowers are pollinated and that the valuable cacao fruits, a sought-after material for the food industry, develop. Studies in Indonesia had shown in the past that birds and bats also contribute to increasing crop yields. However, a new study published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B shows now how large this contribution is.

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A three-year study in northeastern Illinois and northwestern Indiana found that – even at small scales – emergent wetlands or ponds support many wetland bird species.

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The Cornell Mui Ho Center for Cities will unveil new findings from the first ever global survey of mayors. The new data sheds light on urban trends and political priorities from executive leaders and covers a range of topics including climate change, economic development, access to core urban infrastructure and services, affordable housing, public health, municipal budgets, and more.

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To simulate stellar novae accurately on computers, researchers need accurate inputs for nuclear reaction rates. Nuclear physicists have now determined an important and challenging proton-capture reaction rate using laboratory experiments. A state-of-the-art nova simulation incorporates the new experimental information, allowing physicists to compare the results for comparison to actual nova observations.

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Researchers have created a new metric that uses temperature instead of precipitation deficits to predict and identify droughts, especially flash droughts.

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Scientists have harnessed the potential of bacteria to help build advanced synthetic cells which mimic real life functionality.

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As more frequent and intense heat waves expose animals to temperatures outside of their normal limits, an international team led by researchers at the University of Bristol studied over 100 species of insect to better understand how these changes will likely affect them.

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Leaf samples help identify plant health and nutritional needs.

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The first full genome in the tomatillo tribe adds to the rich story of the tomato family.

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Researchers at Stockholm University and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences have developed a novel value chain for production of textile and bio-fuel from fast-growing poplars.

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A previously overlooked factor — the position of continents — helps fill Earth’s oceans with life-supporting oxygen. Continental movement could ultimately have the opposite effect, killing most deep ocean creatures.

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Researchers have developed floating ‘artificial leaves’ that generate clean fuels from sunlight and water, and could eventually operate on a large scale at sea.

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The impact of environmental conditions on the dynamic structures of RNAs in living cells has been revealed by innovative technology developed by researchers at the John Innes Centre.

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The reconstructed megadolon (Otodus megalodon) was 16 meters long and weighed over 61 tons. It was estimated that it could swim at around 1.4 meters per second, require over 98,000 kilo calories every day and have stomach volume of almost 10,000 liters.

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In the face of climate change, breadfruit soon might come to a dinner plate near you. While researchers predict that climate change will have an adverse effect on most staple crops, including rice, corn and soybeans, a new Northwestern University study finds that breadfruit — a starchy tree fruit native to the Pacific islands — will be relatively unaffected.

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Lungs are essential to many vertebrates including humans. However, four living amphibian clades have independently eliminated pulmonary respiration and lack lungs, breathing primarily through their wet skin. Little is known of the developmental basis of lung loss in these clades.

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Throughout evolution, prey animals have adopted a range of strategies to evade their predators. But these oftentimes elaborate strategies come at a cost.

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Researchers at Osaka University use machine learning methods on a large dataset of trauma patients to determine the factors that correlate with survival, which may significantly improve triage and rapid treatment procedures.

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Consuming methylmercury-contaminated fish poses a hazard to human health. New research published in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry may help environmental resource management officials predict which regions are likely to have fish with high concentrations of this toxin, without the need for extensive testing.

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It is common for young animals, in particular mammals, to play. Researchers at Linköping University (LiU), Sweden, have for the first time mapped the development of play in young chickens. The results show that the young chickens spend lots of time playing in different ways – just like puppies and kittens.

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Seafaring drones on Lake Superior will soon allow a team of Cornell University scientists to examine fresh details about the abundance and distribution of forage fish – species, such as zooplankton and shrimp, which provide nourishment for sportier marine species higher on the food chain.

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Now, researchers say ubiquitous evidence for ongoing geological carbon sequestration in mantle rocks in the creeping sections of the SAF is one underlying cause of aseismic creep along a roughly 150 kilometer-long SAF segment between San Juan Bautista and Parkfield, California, and along several other fault segments.

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Larger organic farms operate more like conventional farms and use fewer sustainable practices than smaller organic farms, according to a new Cornell University study that also provides insight into how to increase adoption of sustainable practices.

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Quantum clocks are shrinking, thanks to new technologies developed at the University of Birmingham-led UK Quantum Technology Hub Sensors and Timing.

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UB study warns about the ecological impact of native species in waters that do not correspond to them.