Science News

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Dark matter comprises over 80% of all matter in the cosmos but is invisible to conventional observation, because it seemingly does not interact with light or electromagnetic fields. Now Dr. Sukanya Chakrabarti, the Pei-Ling Chan Endowed Chair in the College of Science at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), along with lead author Dr. Tom Donlon, a UAH postdoctoral associate, have written a paper to help illuminate just how much dark matter there is in our galaxy and where it resides by studying the gravitational acceleration of binary pulsars. Chakrabarti gave a plenary talk on this work and other methods to measure galactic accelerations at the 243rd meeting of the American Astronomical Society in New Orleans in January.

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Robert Petterborg saw an opportunity to improve a critical part used to test a weapons system. Using his spare time at work and with the help of his Sandia National Laboratories colleagues, he designed a new cable connector that eliminates misalignments that could interfere with testing and potentially damage hardware.

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Identifying the microorganisms behind a dental infection can be a lengthy and expensive process. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces have designed a chemical sensor array, or an artificial tongue, that distinguishes dental bacteria and can inactivate them.

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In a new paper published in the journal Nature, Michigan State University researchers Robert Quinn and Doug Guzior report the discovery of the enzyme responsible for producing microbially conjugated bile acids, some of the most abundant and crucial molecules in our gut.

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People who experienced a disaster had a higher prevalence of problem alcohol use in the years after the disaster, and the rates of problem alcohol use increased over time. A study of nuclear power plant workers who experienced a disaster found that those who were exposed to life-threatening danger, discrimination, death of a colleague, or major property loss had an increased prevalence of problem alcohol use. However, for some, the increase in problem drinking did not occur until more than a year after the disaster. The study’s findings, recently published in Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research, point to the prolonged impacts on people who experience disaster and the importance of providing long-term monitoring and support beyond the immediate aftermath of the disaster.

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Researchers have made significant strides in the field of environmental pollution mitigation by enhancing the effectiveness of vanadium-based catalysts through nitrogen-doped biomass carbon for the degradation of furan at lower temperatures. This innovative approach not only offers a more efficient means of breaking down harmful pollutants but also represents a significant step towards more sustainable and cost-effective environmental protection measures.

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Copper smelting, a critical process in metal production, often leads to the generation of slag containing valuable metals. Traditionally, this slag has been discarded, causing environmental issues and resource loss. A recent study introduce a method for recovering copper, lead, and zinc from copper smelting slag, addressing both environmental concerns and resource recovery.

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The Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS) has developed a damage prevention and early detection system for buried pipelines, preventing pipeline failures caused by third-party interference (TPI) and other threats.

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This study unveils a breakthrough in battery technology, utilizing coffee grounds to produce high-performance P-doped hard carbon anodes for sodium-ion batteries. The optimal doping level of phosphorus (2M H3PO4) enhances electrochemical performance, resulting in a remarkable reversible capacity of 341 mAh g-1 at 20 mA g-1 and an 83% initial Coulombic efficiency. The material's porous structure, increased interlayer spacing, and C-P bonds contribute to its outstanding performance, marking a promising advancement in sustainable energy storage solutions.

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Utilization of crude glycerol generated as a by-product from biodiesel production process, for the production of high value-added products, represents an opportunity to overcome the negative impact of low glycerol prices in the biodiesel industry. In the present investigation, alternative ways of valorization of crude glycerol have been provided, by using this renewable material as substrate by natural yeasts of the Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) species Yarrowia lipolytica.

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The idea that people make decisions based on social context is not a new one in neural economic games. But now, for the first time, researchers publishing in Nature Human Behavior show the impact of the social context may spring from the dynamic interactions of dopamine and serotonin. Researchers built carbon-fiber electrodes that were implanted in patients receiving Deep Brain Stimulation surgery. The method allows researchers to measure more than one neurotransmitter at a time, revealing a dance that has never been seen before

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Physicists from the National University of Singapore (NUS) have developed a novel method of repurposing fish scale waste to act as a bio-adsorbant to effectively remove the pollutant Rhodamine B from water, and a material for information encryption.

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People who tend to act rashly when upset may be more likely to expect alcohol to affect them—both positively and negatively—and may be more likely to want to drink to improve their mood. Mood changes, whether positive, negative, or neutral, did not alter these beliefs, according to a study of college students published in a recent issue of Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research. This study helps to inform further research on the relationship between impulsivity and alcohol misuse.

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New exploration in underwater navigation, a team from the Naval University of Engineering in Wuhan, China, has created novel algorithms that rectify inertial errors using sparse acoustic signals.

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Thanks to the rapid progress in tiny tech, we've been mainly using microfluidics to sort tiny particles by size. But now, there's a new way to sort them by shape, which could be a big deal for medical tests and chemistry. This study shows off a new method using sound waves to separate oddly shaped particles from round ones, without needing any labels.

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The Academy for Eating Disorders (AED) announces annual award recipients to be honored at the 2024 International Conference on Eating Disorders. The AED awards celebrate individuals who have shown exceptional dedication and achievement in the international eating disorder field.

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Scientists are a step closer to unravelling the mysterious forces of the universe after working out how to measure gravity on a microscopic level.

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As California and the west coast stare down yet another major winter storm, the threat of devastating flooding and mudslides is even more urgent. Drew Ellis, a climate science and meteorology expert at Virginia Tech, explains what causes these conditions.

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UT Battelle LLC, a management contractor for the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science, has awarded $1.2 million to Stony Brook University researchers for a study to test surface pathogen prevention.

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The device, developed by researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, is silicon-based and takes advantage of techniques developed for microelectronics manufacturing.

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Warmer soils harbour a greater diversity of active microbes, according to a new study from researchers at the Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science (CeMESS) at the University of Vienna. The study, published in Science Advances, represents a significant shift in our understanding of how microbial activity in the soil influences the global carbon cycle and possible feedback mechanisms on the climate. Until now, scientists have assumed that higher soil temperatures accelerate the growth of microbes, thus increasing the release of carbon into the atmosphere. However, this increased release of carbon is actually caused by the activation of previously dormant bacteria.

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Machines still can’t think, but now they can validate your feelings, based on new research from New Jersey Institute of Technology Assistant Professor Jorge Fresneda.

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Nearly 800,000 Americans suffer a stroke every year, and most end up with some level of permanent motor disability. One researcher at Northern Arizona University is developing a device that could help healthcare providers personalize care for stroke survivors—and improve their chances of full recovery.

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Only six millimeters in length, black flies (Simuliidae) may look harmless like house flies, but their bites can be very unpleasant.

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Seba’s short-tailed bat (Carollia perspicillata) lives in the subtropical and tropical forests of Central and South America, where it mostly feeds on pepper fruit

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The University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine has received a $2.1M grant from PolyBio Research Foundation to expand long COVID research. The grant, issued via PolyBio’s Long COVID Research Consortium (LCRC), will support studies to characterize mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 persistence in the gut, including determining the impact of viral reservoirs on gut microbiome ecosystems.

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Student combines her fascination with technology and research to uncover whether hearing aids that use Bluetooth technology can be hacked.