In crop-breeding, plant phenotyping is the detailed study of a plant’s characteristic ‘visible’ or phenotypic features. It includes counting the number of plants generated by a crossing experiment and grading the features displayed by the offspring or progeny. The progeny with the desirable traits is then crossed to produce the next generation of crops, and the process is repeated to enhance the crop variety. Conventional methods for plant phenotyping typically lack scalability, accuracy, and are immensely labor-intensive. This imposes a certain bottleneck on crop-breeding programs. However, with technological ...

A University of Houston professor and her research team are seeking to improve the lives and education of bilingual children across the country through their research on developmental language disorder. Anny Castilla-Earls, professor of communication sciences and disorders, was awarded $3.27 million for five years by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders to investigate the relationship between a child’s proficiency in English or Spanish and the language in which they receive treatment for developmental language disorder. Developmental language disorder, or ...

An international team of scientists led by Dr. LU Rusen from the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory (SHAO) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has used new millimeter-wavelength observations to produce an image that shows, for the first time, both the ring-like accretion structure around a black hole, where matter falls into the black hole, and the black hole's associated powerful relativistic jet. The source of the images was the central black hole of the prominent radio galaxy Messier 87. The study was published in Nature on April 26. The image underlines for the first time the connection between the accretion flow near the central supermassive black hole and the origin ...

Our genetic code includes over 15,000 specific sections that can be made into molecules called lincRNAs. Some of these sections can occur in coiled-up sections of our genome called TADs. LincRNAs derived from TADs appear to act as markers indicating the specific kind of tissue they are within. When something is wrong in these tissues, the markers could help with targeted medical interventions. The team that discovered this novel feature has outlined a way to apply this idea to different diseases and demonstrated it with a heart disease known as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Diseases can affect very specific ...

Fungal spores found in dung have revealed that large animals went extinct in two “waves” in the Colombian Andes. Spores of coprophilous fungi pass through the guts of megafauna (animals over 45kg) as part of their life cycle, so the presence of the spores in sediment samples shows large animals lived in a certain place and time. The study, by the University of Exeter, found that large animals became locally extinct at Pantano de Monquentiva about 23,000 years ago, and again about 11,000 years ago – with major impacts on ecosystems. The study used ...

More than 45,000 Americans died by suicide in 2020, a 30% increase over 2000, making it the 12th leading cause of death in the U.S. Studies have shown that the social and environmental factors where people live, like exposure to violence and crime, access to quality health care, food insecurity, job opportunities, and air pollution, are connected to suicide rates. Now, a new research study from the University of Chicago provides more statistical evidence that social determinants of health are tightly linked to suicide risk. The study, published ...

Contrary to popular belief, firearm deaths in the U.S. are statistically more likely in small towns, not major cities, according to new research. Across the country, gun suicides are more common than gun homicides, and gun suicides are largely responsible for an increase in gun deaths over the past few decades, the study also finds. The analysis of two decades of U.S. mortality data was conducted by researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and the University of California, Davis, and appears in the journal JAMA Surgery. “Our study has found that the divide in total intentional ...

About The Study: The findings of this randomized clinical trial including 2,200 adolescents indicate that the NVX-CoV2373 (Novavax, Inc.) COVID-19 vaccine is safe, immunogenic, and efficacious in preventing COVID-19, including the predominant Delta variant, in adolescents.  Authors: German Anez, M.D., of Novavax, Inc., in Gaithersburg, Maryland, is the corresponding author.  To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.9135) Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions ...

About The Study: This study found that living in a more economically deprived and socially marginalized area was associated with increased risk of using violence against others. The finding suggests that interventions may need to include investments in neighborhoods with the highest levels of violence to help reduce downstream transmission of violence.  Authors: Elizabeth C. Pino, Ph.D., of the Boston University School of Medicine, is the corresponding author.  To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/  (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.8404) Editor’s ...

Note to journaliststs. There are two linked press releases below: the first describes the scientific findings. The second describes the challenges of working in the Amazon forest. How the Amazon rainforest is likely to cope with the effect of future drought New study identifies regions in the rainforest most at risk from drier conditions Drought will reduce the rainforest’s ability to remove carbon from the environment A major collaboration involving 80 scientists from Europe and South America has identified the regions of the Amazon rainforest where trees are most likely to face the greatest risk from drier ...

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine have unraveled the processes that give astrocytes, the most abundant glial cell in the brain, their special bushy shape, which is fundamental for brain function. They report in the journal Nature that neuronal activity is necessary and sufficient for astrocytes to develop their complex shape, and interrupting this developmental process results in disrupted brain function. “Astrocytes play diverse roles that are vital for proper brain function,” said first author  Yi-Ting Cheng, a graduate student in Dr. Benjamin Deneen’s lab at Baylor. “For instance, they support the activity of other essential brain cells, ...

The new chemical process is not limited to wind turbine blades but works on many different so-called fibre-reinforced epoxy composites, including some materials that are reinforced with especially costly carbon fibres. Thus, the process can contribute to establishing a potential circular economy in the wind turbine, aerospace, automotive and space industries, where these reinforced composites, due to their light weight and long durability, are used for load-bearing structures. Being designed to last, the durability of the blades poses an ...

"Previously we had seen both the black hole and the jet in separate images, but now we have taken a panoramic picture of the black hole together with its jet at a new wavelength”, says Ru-Sen Lu, from the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory and leader of a Max Planck Research Group at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The surrounding material is thought to fall into the black hole in a process known as accretion. But no one has ever imaged it directly. "The ring that we have seen before is becoming larger and thicker at 3.5 mm observing wavelength. This shows that the material falling into the black hole produces additional emission that is now observed in the new ...

In 2017, astronomers captured the first image of a black hole by coordinating radio dishes around the world to act as a single, planet-sized telescope. The synchronized network, known collectively as the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), focused in on M87*, the black hole at the center of the nearby Messier 87 galaxy. The telescope’s laser-focused resolution revealed a very thin glowing ring around a dark center, representing the first visual of a black hole’s shadow.  Astronomers have now refocused their view to capture a new layer of M87*. The team, including scientists at MIT’s Haystack Observatory, has harnessed ...

Astronomers in the Canadian-led CHIME/FRB Collaboration have doubled the number of known repeating sources of mysterious flashes of radio waves, known as fast radio bursts (FRBs). Among them are astronomers from the University of Toronto. Through the discovery of 25 new repeating sources (for a total of 50), the team also solidified the idea that all FRBs may eventually repeat. FRBs are considered one of the biggest mysteries in astronomy, but their exact origins are unknown. Astronomers do know that they come from far outside of our Milky Way, and are likely produced by the cinders left behind after stars die. Most of the thousands of FRBs that astronomers have discovered to ...

For the first time, astronomers have observed, in the same image, the shadow of the black hole at the centre of the galaxy Messier 87 (M87) and the powerful jet expelled from it. The observations were done in 2018 with telescopes from the Global Millimetre VLBI Array (GMVA), the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), of which ESO is a partner, and the Greenland Telescope (GLT). Thanks to this new image, astronomers can better understand how black holes can launch such energetic jets. Most galaxies harbour a supermassive black hole at their centre. While black holes are known for ...

The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) will present the 2023 David A. Karnofsky Memorial Award to Hagop Kantarjian, M.D., chair of Leukemia at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, for his contributions to leukemia clinical research and his dedication to improving the lives of patients. “Cancer research and patient care have been my life’s passion and mission and, I am honored to be recognized by ASCO with the society’s highest scientific award,” Kantarjian said. “I am grateful for all of the outstanding investigators in the Leukemia Department and outside ...

The researchers focused on 66 PFAS compounds for their study. These can be grouped into three categories: 1) PFAS groups that have been regulated for some time; 2) new PFAS that industry uses as substitutes for regulated PFAS; and 3) precursors that can degrade to other, more persistent PFAS. However, because these individual analyses can detect only a small fraction of the more than 10,000 PFAS used by industry and because many polyfluorinated compounds cannot be measured because of the lack of analytical ...

New research involving Cambridge University has found evidence — locked into an ancient stalagmite from a cave in the Himalayas — of a series of severe and lengthy droughts which may have upturned the Bronze Age Indus Civilization. The beginning of this arid period — starting at around 4,200 years ago and lasting for over two centuries — coincides with the reorganization of the metropolis-building Indus Civilization, which spanned present-day Pakistan and India. The research ...

For the rational design of new material compounds, it is important to understand the mechanisms underlying their synthesis. Analytical techniques such as nuclear magnetic resonance and spectroscopy are usually employed to study such mechanisms in molecular reactions. However, reaction pathways governing the formation of solid-state crystalline compounds remain poorly understood. This is partly due to the extreme temperatures and inhomogeneous reactions observed in solid-state compounds. Further, the presence of numerous atoms in solid crystalline compounds ...

Some things are related, others are not. Suppose you randomly select a person from a crowd who is significantly taller than the average. In that case, there is a good chance that they will also weigh more than the average. Statistically, one quantity also contains some information about the other. Quantum physics allows for even stronger links between different quantities: different particles or parts of an extensive quantum system can "share" a certain amount of information. There are curious theoretical predictions about this: surprisingly, ...

Farming is one of the oldest activities in the world and has always been at the forefront of technological innovation. With mechanized equipment, modified seeds, and digital devices, every aspect of farming, from planting to harvesting is gradually getting optimized. These benefits have also translated to better crop yield estimation for crops such as soybean. Deep learning-based yield estimation models use approaches like regression, traditional bounding boxes, or density maps to make counting of seeds easier. Compared ...

Using hydrophones to eavesdrop on a reef off the coast of Goa, India, researchers have helped advance a new low-cost way to monitor changes in the world’s murky marine environments. Reporting their results in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (JASA), the scientists recorded the duration and timing of mating and feeding sounds – songs, croaks, trumpets and drums – of 21 of the world’s noise-making ocean species.  With artificial intelligence and other pioneering techniques to discern ...

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the most common form of pancreatic cancer. It’s also one of the deadliest. More than 90% of PDAC patients die within five years of diagnosis. Usually, by the time the cancer is identified, it has already spread. “PDAC is often found too late for treatments like chemotherapy and surgery to be very effective,” Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) Professor Adrian Krainer says. “But if we can clearly understand the underlying genetic mechanisms of PDAC, this might lead to earlier diagnoses and new types of therapies.” Krainer ...

Modern cameras and sensors, together with image processing algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI), are ushering in a new era of precision agriculture and plant breeding. In the near future, farmers and scientists will be able to quantify various plant traits by simply pointing special imaging devices at plants. However, some obstacles must be overcome before these visions become a reality. A major issue faced during image-sensing is the difficulty of combining data from the same plant gathered from multiple image sensors, also known as ‘multispectral’ or ‘multimodal’ ...