PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Fuel breaks for forest fires could be more effective in reducing potential risks and impacts if planned using a new optimization approach, which accounts for uncertain wildfire behavior in fire-prone

2025-05-21
(Press-News.org) Fuel breaks for forest fires could be more effective in reducing potential risks and impacts if planned using a new optimization approach, which accounts for uncertain wildfire behavior in fire-prone landscapes of Alberta, Canada

Article URL: https://plos.io/42Oi8ni

Article title: Evaluating fuelbreak strategies for compartmentalizing a fire-prone forest landscape in Alberta, Canada

Author countries: Canada, U.S.

Funding: Funding for this work was provided by Natural Resource Canada’s Canadian Forest Service Wildfire Risk Management Program (DY, NL, EN, MAP). Additional support was provided by the US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service (FHK). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Positive expressive writing consistently improves wellbeing, but not all techniques are created equal

2025-05-21
The benefits of positive expressive writing for psychological health and wellbeing depend on the particular approach and on individual differences, according to a systematic review published on May 21, 2025 in the open-access journal PLOS One by Lauren Hoult from Northumbria University, U.K., and colleagues. Writing interventions first explored in research direct people to write about stressful or negative topics repeatedly over the course of several consecutive days, which often improves mental health in the long run, but risks heightening negative emotions in the moment. Positive expressive writing, on the other hand, emphasizes self-reflection, gratitude, ...

Digital mental health tools need human touch - study

2025-05-21
One in eight people worldwide suffers from mental disorders, yet less than half receive adequate treatment. New research from the University of Reading, published today (Wed, 21 May) in PLOS One, reveals that keeping a human in the loop – even in scripted roles – significantly enhances emotional engagement and perceived empathy during online psychological interviews.  Scientists tested 75 participants across three types of short online interviews about their wellbeing: one with a semi-scripted ...

Climate change has affected wine regions worldwide, but with uneven impacts

2025-05-21
All of the world’s winegrowing regions have been impacted by climate change, but with unequal impacts that vary across the growing season, reports a new study by E.M. Wolkovich of the University of British Columbia and colleagues, published May 21 in the open-access journal PLOS Climate. Winegrapes are an important perennial crop that has been highly affected by climate change. Studies show that warmer temperatures are shifting the regions suitable for winegrowing toward the poles, while traditional regions are yielding grapes that ripen faster ...

When lightning strikes: Gamma-ray burst unleashed by lightning collision

2025-05-21
Osaka, Japan – Lightning is a phenomenon that has fascinated humanity since time immemorial, providing a stark example of the power and unpredictability of the natural world. Although the study of lightning can be challenging, scientists have, in recent years, made great strides in developing our understanding of this extreme spectacle. A study that will be published in Science Advances, led by researchers from The University of Osaka, describes a world-first observation of an intense burst of radiation, known as a terrestrial gamma-ray flash (TGF), synchronized ...

Shrinking Nemo: Clownfish survive heatwaves by shrinking

2025-05-21
Clownfish have been shown to shrink in order to survive heat stress and avoid social conflict, Newcastle University research reveals. The fish, recognisable from the starring role in the film ‘Finding Nemo’, were studied by academics from the universities of Newcastle, Leeds and Boston, USA. The work was conducted in collaboration with Mahonia Na Dari Conservation and Research Centre, in Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea. The team measured the length of 134 clownfish every month for five months, and monitored the water ...

Penn engineers discover a new class of materials that passively harvest water from air

2025-05-21
A serendipitous observation in a Chemical Engineering lab at Penn Engineering has led to a surprising discovery: a new class of nanostructured materials that can pull water from the air, collect it in pores and release it onto surfaces without the need for any external energy. The research, published in Science Advances, was conducted by an interdisciplinary team, including Daeyeon Lee, Russell Pearce and Elizabeth Crimian Heuer Professor in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (CBE), Amish Patel, Professor in CBE, Baekmin Kim, a postdoctoral scholar in Lee’s lab and first author, and Stefan Guldin, Professor in Complex Soft Matter at the Technical University of Munich. Their work ...

‘Fast-fail’ AI blood test could steer patients with pancreatic cancer away from ineffective therapies

2025-05-21
An artificial intelligence technique for detecting DNA fragments shed by tumors and circulating in a patient’s blood, developed by Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center investigators, could help clinicians more quickly identify and determine if pancreatic cancer therapies are working. After testing the method, called ARTEMIS-DELFI, in blood samples from patients participating in two large clinical trials of pancreatic cancer treatments, researchers found that it could be used to identify therapeutic responses. ARTEMIS-DELFI and another method developed by investigators, called WGMAF, to study mutations were found to be better predictors ...

Plant cell sculptors

2025-05-21
New research from the Sainsbury Laboratory at the University of Cambridge has shed light on how plants precisely control their growth and development, revealing that seemingly similar molecular components fulfil surprisingly different jobs. The study, published in Science Advances, focuses on the SCAR/WAVE protein complex, a crucial molecular machine that helps shape plant cells by directing the formation of the internal cell scaffold known as the actin cytoskeleton. This is vital for processes like the growth of root hairs, which are essential for nutrient uptake, and the shape of leaf hairs, called trichomes. Plants, much like other complex ...

Scientists reveal how deep-earth carbon movements shape continents and diamonds

2025-05-21
A new study published in Science Advances by researchers from the Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (GIG-CAS), along with international collaborators, reveals that deeply subducted carbonates can cause significant variations in the redox states of Earth's mantle. This process influences the formation of sublithospheric diamonds and plays a role in the long-term evolution of cratons—ancient stable parts of the continental lithosphere. The research team conducted high-pressure experiments simulating depths between ...

Viral mouth-taping trend ‘sus’ says Canadian sleep expert

2025-05-21
LONDON, ON – Mouth taping, a growing trend on social media channels like TikTok, carries serious health risks, especially for those with sleep-disordered breathing and obstructive sleep apnea, according to a paper published today in PLOS One.  The study from Lawson Research Institute (Lawson) of St. Joseph’s Health Care London, London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute (LHSCRI) and Western University’s Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry also found no strong evidence of health benefits.  The trend involves ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

The Lancet: Additional imaging techniques detect early stage cancers missed by mammograms in women with dense breasts, finds trial

Antidepressant withdrawal symptoms more common among long-term users

Illinois study: Novel AI methodology improves gully erosion prediction and interpretation

Urban areas have higher rates of high-dose opioid prescriptions

Lotions, perfumes curb potentially harmful effects of human oxidation field, study finds

Are groovy brains more efficient?

Scientists discover class of crystals with properties that may prove revolutionary

Good news for people with migraine who take drugs before or during pregnancy

Vitamin D supplements show signs of protection against biological aging

SwRI fabricates bed-netting prototypes to target malaria-causing parasites

Can social and economic welfare policies influence depression risk?

Fuel breaks for forest fires could be more effective in reducing potential risks and impacts if planned using a new optimization approach, which accounts for uncertain wildfire behavior in fire-prone

Positive expressive writing consistently improves wellbeing, but not all techniques are created equal

Digital mental health tools need human touch - study

Climate change has affected wine regions worldwide, but with uneven impacts

When lightning strikes: Gamma-ray burst unleashed by lightning collision

Shrinking Nemo: Clownfish survive heatwaves by shrinking

Penn engineers discover a new class of materials that passively harvest water from air

‘Fast-fail’ AI blood test could steer patients with pancreatic cancer away from ineffective therapies

Plant cell sculptors

Scientists reveal how deep-earth carbon movements shape continents and diamonds

Viral mouth-taping trend ‘sus’ says Canadian sleep expert

Global virus network statement in support of the WHO Pandemic Preparedness Accord

Dana-Farber genomic score predicts progression to multiple myeloma

Femtosecond-level precision achieved in chip-scale soliton microcombs

New CRISPR technology could help repair damaged neurons

New strategy for screening anxiety and depression in epilepsy patients, study shows 

A gene variant increases the risk of long COVID

Re-creating the sounds of an underground city #ASA188

Area deprivation index may not accurately measure neighborhood health

[Press-News.org] Fuel breaks for forest fires could be more effective in reducing potential risks and impacts if planned using a new optimization approach, which accounts for uncertain wildfire behavior in fire-prone