Tsukuba, Japan - Sometimes a dead log isn't just a dead log. This one in Japan turned out to be the habitat of a species previously unknown to science. In a new study published in the journal Nematology, a University of Tsukuba-led research team has described a new species of nematode found inside bark beetles that emerged from a dead log of a fir tree. Nematodes, also known as roundworms, are a diverse phylum (category) of unsegmented worm-like animals that live in a wide variety of habitats and have diverse life habits. Many nematodes, including this previously unknown species, are either parasitic or live inside a host organism for the duration of a particular life stage. The log from the trunk of a fallen Veitch's fir tree (Abies veitchii) was ...

Southeast Asian monsoon region falls in the warm and humid tropics modulated by Asian monsoon. It is home to nearly 15% of the world's tropical forests and one of the biodiversity hotspots in the world. With the unprecedented urbanization and population growing rate, water scarcity issues have already posed a serious challenge for sustainable development in Southeast Asian monsoon region. However, the impact of anthropogenic forcing, such as greenhouse gases and anthropogenic aerosols, on extreme drought events in the region is still unclear. Scientists from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics (IAP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences investigated the observed drought changes over Southeast ...

Researchers at the University of Gothenburg have observed the absorption of a single electron by a levitated droplet with such a magnification that it is visible with the naked eye and can even be measured with a normal millimeter scaled ruler. Matter in the universe is composed of elementary particles like electrons, protons, and neutrons. They are everywhere, but they are so small that the human eye cannot discern them. In the last century, physicists have proven the existence of these particles through different experiments, but in most cases the observation of the particles have been indirect. - Electrons are one of these fundamental particles. In 1909, Robert Millikan proved that the charge of the electron is quantized. In other words, there exists a minimum, indivisible ...

Researchers from Skoltech and Saratov State University have designed a simple and easily reproducible labeling system for individual cells that enables researchers to track single cell behavior and migration for tasks requiring extreme precision. The paper was published in the journal ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces. Modern biomedical science and developmental biology often require scientists to track and trace individual cells, whether it is to establish the best purified cells from various types of cell lines, in particular to select mesenchymal stem/stromal cells best suited for tissue ...

The production of chemicals is a cumbersome business. Often, only a small part of what is actually wanted is produced in the factory. The large remainder is unusable - or even worse. Examples? The defoliant "Agent Orange" used by the US army in the Vietnam War was produced in great hurry. It contained dioxin as an impurity. As a result, not only did trees in the combat zone lose their foliage, but US soldiers and Vietnamese civilians also fell ill with cancer years later. There are also examples from agriculture: In the production of the insecticide lindane, ...

As a new member of photovoltaic family, antimony trisulfide (Sb2S3) has the satisfactory bandgap of 1.7eV, benefiting the fabrication of the top absorber layer of tandem solar cells. Due to special quasi-one-dimensional structure, it shows advantages of less dangling bonds. Based on these advantages, the vacancy defects upon the surface causing the recombination of the carriers could be reduced sharply, which helps to solve the photovoltaic problems in solar cells. In the previous studies, the relationships between conformation, chemical composition and ...

Scientists have developed a new method that improves dispensing of viscoelastic fluids - a vital process for circuit board production, 3D printing and other industrial applications Viscoelastic fluids are difficult to dispense as liquid bridges that form between the substrate and nozzle must be broken New research has found that twisting these liquid bridges breaks them in a quicker and cleaner way than the conventional method of stretching them Researchers used high speed imaging to observe that when twisted, a crack forms at the edge of the liquid bridge and propagates towards the center The underlying mechanism that breaks the liquid bridge was found to be "edge fracture" and is the first time that ...

During flock encounters, a single vocal interaction seems to be sufficient for making the decision of whether to recruit an individual or flock. Parrots are known for their splendid ability to imitate, including the contact calls of other individuals during vocal interactions. Such rapid vocal matching is hypothesised to precede and mediate the formation of new flocks. But how are such interactions perceived by others? Heidi M. Thomsen, first author and PhD student at the Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen explains: -"By using a novel experimental design, we were able ...

Seiichi Shirai (1905-1983) was an influential architect whose work has affected the designs of significant architects of the 20th century. Associate Professor Kosuke Hato of the Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, Shinshu University has studied the work of Shirai and examined why the architect worked extensively on calligraphy. Hato's strategy is to clarify the relationship between the architect and his activity of calligraphy through Shirai's Theory of Tradition. The 1950s in Japan is known as a time when architects actively discussed traditions, and Shirai is a representative example. Hato, in his past article, clarified not only the ...

Is it possible to drive nanoparticles to orbit below the light diffraction limit using a Gaussian beam? A recent joint research project reported in Nature Communications says yes. It is well known that light possesses not only energy but also momentum. When light irradiates an object, momentum is transferred to the object, thus generating light pressure on the object. At the microscopic scale, microparticles and nanoparticles (such as biocells and macromolecules) can be manipulated by the light force. Atoms can be cooled by light pressure to achieve atomic clocks, Bose-Einstein condensation, and so on. In addition to the linear momentum of light being transferable, the angular momentum of light can also be transferred to an object, thus causing object rotation. Since ...

Tissue-engineering scaffolds built around ultrashort peptides provide a new platform for studying bone regeneration in the lab. The peptides developed at KAUST self-assemble into a cartilage-like hydrogel that mimics the natural matrix that underpins bone formation in the body. Its physiologically relevant properties enable this cell-friendly biomaterial to support the growth and development of bone marrow precursor cells. It also enables tubular blood vessels to take shape, which is a critical part of bone health and repair. "Our system is a simple, efficient and robust model that closely resembles the complex architecture of native bone tissue," says Ph.D. student Salwa Alshehri. "Using these peptide-based ...

Thousands of years ago, archaic humans such as Neanderthals and Denisovans went extinct. But before that, they interbred with the ancestors of present-day humans, who still to this day carry genetic mutations from the extinct species. Over 40 percent of the Neanderthal genome is thought to have survived in different present-day humans of non-African descent, but spread out so that any individual genome is only composed of up to two percent Neanderthal material. Some human populations also carry genetic material from Denisovans - a mysterious group of archaic humans that may have lived in Eastern Eurasia and Oceania ...

A study carried out by the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ICTA-UAB) and the Instituto de Saúde Pública of the University of Porto (ISPUP), concludes that exposure to natural spaces during the first COVID-19 lockdown in 2020 was beneficial for the mental health of Spanish and Portuguese citizens. The research shows that, in Portugal, during the first confinement, people who maintained or increased contact with natural public spaces, such as parks and coastal areas, or who could contemplate these spaces from their homes, presented lower levels of stress, psychological distress and psychosomatic symptoms. In Spain, those who maintained or increased contact with private natural ...

"Boomers" and "millennials" who go to church are more likely to trust their neighbours and donate to charity, according to a new study. Religious beliefs and participation help close the gaps in civic participation between millennials and their elders, researchers have found. Experts have measured the social "capital" religion gives people of all ages. They found those in their 20s and 30s were less likely to join groups and associations, and less likely to be religious, but being involved with the church gave them more "religious capital" than older people who also attended services. The study shows boomers often have more social capital than millennials and are more likely to be religious. Religious ...

A faster method for collecting pure malaria parasites from infected mosquitos could accelerate the development of new, more potent malaria vaccines. The new method, developed by a team of researchers led by Imperial College London, enables more parasites to be isolated rapidly with fewer contaminants, which could simultaneously increase both the scalability and efficacy of malaria vaccines. The parasite that causes malaria is becoming increasingly resistant to antimalarial drugs, with the mosquitoes that transmit the disease also increasingly resistant to pesticides. This has created an urgent need for new ways to fight malaria, which is the world's third-most deadly disease in under-fives, with a child dying from malaria every two minutes. Existing ...

Ibaraki, Japan - Severe childhood restrictive cardiomyopathy is a condition that causes the muscles in the walls of the heart to become stiff, so that the heart is unable to fill properly with blood. A mutation in a protein called BAG3 is known to result in restrictive cardiomyopathy, muscle weakness, difficulty taking in enough oxygen, and damage to multiple peripheral nerves, often shortening the patient's lifespan significantly. Until now there has been no successful model for the disease, making it extremely difficult to study. However, researchers in Japan and Germany have now created a mouse model that mimics the human pathology, allowing the disease to be studied more easily. The team's data suggest ...

Osaka, Japan - Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common liver disease worldwide and can progress to liver cirrhosis, liver failure or cancer. Currently, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) diagnosis requires an invasive liver biopsy which can lead to procedural complications. Now, researchers at Osaka University working with international collaborators have identified a noninvasive biomarker that can identify patients at risk of NAFLD complications using a simple blood test. Owing to the increasing prevalence of obesity worldwide, ...

The electroreduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) to produce value-added multicarbon compounds is an effective way to cut down CO2 emission. However, the low solubility of CO2 largely limits the application of related technology. Although gas diffusion electrode (GDE) can accelerate the reaction rate, the instability of the catalysts caused by electrolyte flooding hinders further reaction. Recently, inspired by setaria's hydrophobic leaves, Prof. GAO Minrui's team from University of Science and Technology of China developed Cu catalyst composed of sharp needles which possesses high level ...

When animals are hot, they eat less. This potentially fatal phenomenon has been largely overlooked in wild animals, explain researchers from The Australian National University (ANU). According to lead author Dr Kara Youngentob, it means climate change could be contributing to more deaths among Australia's iconic marsupials, like the greater glider, than previously thought. "Hot weather puts all animals off their food. Humans can deal with it fairly well; we usually have plenty of fat reserves and lots of different ...

A destructive pest beetle is edging closer to Australia as biological controls fail, destroying home gardens, plantations and biodiversity as they surge through nearby Pacific islands. University of Queensland researcher Dr Kayvan Etebari has been studying how palm-loving coconut rhinoceros beetles have been accelerating their invasion. "We thought we'd outsmarted them," Dr Etebari said. "In the 1970s, scientists from Australia and elsewhere found that coconut rhinoceros beetles could be controlled with a beetle virus from Malaysia. "This virus stopped the beetle in its tracks and, for the last 50 years or so, it more-or-less stayed put ...

As demand for electricity rises and climate change brings more frequent and extreme storms, residents in rural and suburban communities must have access to the minimal electricity they need to survive a large, long-duration (LLD) power outage. A new study in the journal Risk Analysis compared strategies for providing emergency power to residents in two hypothetical New England communities during such an event. The results suggest that cooperative strategies like sharing a higher capacity generator among multiple homes cost 10 to 40 times less than if each household used its own generator. "Our findings provide impetus for utilities, regulators, ...

Osaka, Japan - A team of scientists headed by SANKEN (The Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research) at Osaka University demonstrated that single virus particles passing through a nanopore could be accurately identified using machine learning. The test platform they created was so sensitive that the coronaviruses responsible for the common cold, SARS, MERS, and COVID could be distinguished from each other. This work may lead to rapid, portable, and accurate screening tests for COVID and other viral diseases. The global coronavirus pandemic has revealed the ...

[Background] In recent years, physical reservoir computing*1), one of the new information processing technologies, has attracted much attention. This is a physical implementation version of reservoir computing, which is a learning method derived from recurrent neural network (RNN)*2) theory. It implements computation by regarding the physical system as a huge RNN, outsourcing the main operations to the dynamics of the physical system that forms the physical reservoir. It has the advantage of obtaining optimization instantaneously with limited computational resources by adjusting linear and static readout weightings between the output and a physical reservoir without requiring optimization of the weightings by back propagation. However, since the information processing capability depends ...

SINGAPORE, 17 June 2021 - New details on the structure and function of a transport protein could help researchers develop drugs for neurological diseases that are better able to cross the blood-brain barrier. The findings were published in the journal Nature by researchers at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Duke-NUS Medical School, Weill Cornell Medicine and colleagues. Omega-3 fatty acids, like docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), are important for brain and eye development. They are derived mainly from dietary sources and converted ...

New research presents over 300 new analyses of bronze objects, raising the total number to 550 in 'the archaeological fingerprint project'. This is roughly two thirds of the entire metal inventory of the early Bronze Age in southern Scandinavia. For the first time, it was possible to map the trade networks for metals and to identify changes in the supply routes, coinciding with other socio-economic changes detectable in the rich metal-dependent societies of Bronze Age southern Scandinavia. The magnificent Bronze Age in southern Scandinavia rose from copper traded from the British Isles and Slovakia 4000 years ago. 500 ...