Oxygen is fundamental to sustaining life on Earth. The ocean gets its oxygen from its uppermost layers in contact with the atmosphere. As our planet continues to warm, the ocean is gradually losing its capacity to absorb oxygen, with severe consequences on marine ecosystems and human activities that depend on them. While these trends will likely continue in the future, it remains unclear how ocean oxygen will redistribute across the ocean interior, where ocean currents and biological degradation of biomass dominate over atmospheric diffusion. “Marine sediments are the history book of the ocean. ...

Springtime brings native wildflowers to bloom in the Santa Monica Mountains, northwest of Los Angeles. These beauties provide food for insects, maintain healthy soil and filter water seeping into the ground — in addition to offering breathtaking displays of color.  They’re also good at surviving after wildfire, having adapted to it through millennia. But new research shows wildflowers that usually would burst back after a blaze and a good rain are losing out to the long-standing, double threat of city smog and nonnative weeds. A recent study led by Justin Valliere, assistant professor in the UC ...

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, anti-Chinese sentiment in the United States was high, as working-class laborers in the country viewed Chinese workers as a threat. Prior research has found that during that period, approximately 400,000 Chinese migrants came to the U.S., many of whom went to California to build the Transcontinental Railroad. Following the project's completion, competition for jobs grew tougher, and passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 banned Chinese laborers from immigrating to the U.S. But ...

A new study published in Atmospheric Environment by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill analyzed space and time trends for fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in the continental United States to track the progress of regulatory actions by federal, state and local authorities aimed at curbing air pollution. The team found that while the annual average concentration for PM2.5 had been significantly reduced, its chemical composition had changed during the study period of 2006 to 2020. Their analysis suggests targeted strategies to reduce specific pollutants for different regions ...

For Immediate Release: Thursday, February 15, 2024, 3:00pm U.S. Eastern Time Media Contact: Kara Flynn, 202.257.8424, press@ashg.org ROCKVILLE, MD - The American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) is excited to announce the selection of Amanda Perl as the organization’s next Chief Executive Officer. Perl has served in numerous association leadership positions with deep experience in strategic planning, membership, publishing, communications, and society operations, as well as meetings and conferences. “ASHG is delighted to welcome Amanda, a seasoned association executive, to the team,” said ASHG President Bruce D. Gelb, MD. “We are confident ...

“[...] accelerated aging and Alzheimer’s disease are closely related, and this study confirmed that GV1001 has multiple anti-aging effects.” BUFFALO, NY- February 15, 2024 – A new research paper was published on the cover of Aging (listed by MEDLINE/PubMed as "Aging (Albany NY)" and "Aging-US" by Web of Science) Volume 16, Issue 3, entitled, “GV1001 reduces neurodegeneration and prolongs lifespan in 3xTg-AD mouse model through anti-aging effects.” GV1001, which mimics the activity of human telomerase reverse transcriptase, protects neural cells from amyloid beta (Aβ) toxicity and other stressors through ...

MIAMI, FL – February 15, 2024 – A study co-led by researchers at Miami Cancer Institute, part of Baptist Health South Florida, found that ablative stereotactic magnetic resonance (MR)-guided adaptive radiation therapy may improve local control (LC) and overall survival (OS) in patients with borderline resectable (BRPC) and locally advanced pancreas cancer (LAPC). Long-term outcomes from the Phase 2 SMART trial demonstrate encouraging OS and limited toxicity as published recently in Radiotherapy & Oncology (“The Green Journal”). “Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is a leading cause of cancer death. Surgery is the only known ...

One of the grand challenges for materials science is the design and discovery of new materials that address global priorities such as Net Zero. In a paper published in the journal Science, researchers at the University of Liverpool have discovered a solid material that rapidly conducts lithium ions. Such lithium electrolytes are essential components in the rechargeable batteries that power electric vehicles and many electronic devices. Consisting of non-toxic earth-abundant elements, the new material has high ...

Why do Serengeti zebra, wildebeest, and gazelle – all sharing limited food resources – follow the same migratory routes, one after another, in a body-size dependent way? This longstanding question has now been evaluated by researchers who used novel data to show how a balance of species interactions and ecological factors regulate this process. They say competition pushes zebra ahead of the wildebeest, and wildebeest then eat plants in a way that facilitates development of newer growth the trailing gazelle like. “Our results highlight a balance between facilitative and competitive forces,” the authors say. Large seasonal migrations are a ...

Oxygenation in the tropical North Pacific Ocean increased during a warm climatic interval that occurred roughly 56 million years ago, despite high global temperatures, according to a new study. Its findings offer insights into how modern tropical oceans may respond to ongoing anthropogenic climate warming. The availability and distribution of dissolved oxygen in Earth’s oceans play a fundamental role in supporting marine ecosystems and marine life. However, oxygen in the global oceans is declining in response to anthropogenic warming. Although these trends writ large are predicted to continue, the future of oxygen in the highly productive ...

Cresomycin – a novel synthetic molecule – demonstrates remarkably robust efficacy against multiple, evolutionary divergent forms of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), researchers report. The emergence and widespread distribution of bacteria broadly resistant to approved antibiotics raises serious global public health concerns. Given the growing rate of deaths attributable to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) worldwide, it’s evident the pace of discovery and development of antibiotics effective against AMR has not kept up with the need. Many small ...

For his work in furthering the understanding of how the human immune system senses dangerous invading pathogens, Bingxu Li has received the 2024 Michelson Philanthropies & Science Prize for Immunology. Li’s prize-winning essay investigates the role that Stimulator of Interferon Genes, or STING, plays in including multiple distinct defenses against viruses, bacteria, and tumors and in orchestrating myriad downstream responses upon activation – resolving a significant mystery in the field of innate immunity. The sensing and clearance of invading pathogens ...

Scientists have observed so-called 'roaming' chemical reactions, those that at certain points move away from the lowest minimum energy 'path of least resistance', in highly excited energy states for the first time.   Chemical reactions are supposed to occur along their minimum energy paths. In recent years, so-called roaming reactions that stray far from this path have begun to be observed, but only for chemical species in their ground state or, at most, their first excited state. However, researchers have now observed a roaming reaction even in highly excited energy states. The researchers ...

Researchers at Michigan State University and the Carnegie Institution for Science have developed a model that connects microscopic biology to macroscopic ecology, which could deepen our understanding of nature’s laws and create new opportunities in ecosystem management. Reporting in the journal Science on Feb. 16, the team showed how microscopic relationships in plankton — such as between an organism’s size and nutrient consumption — scales up to predictably affect food webs. “Using data that other researchers have measured at the microscale about these organisms, our model can predict what’s happening at the scale of whole ecosystems,” said Jonas ...

RICHLAND, Wash.—In an experiment akin to stop-motion photography, scientists have isolated the energetic movement of an electron while “freezing” the motion of the much larger atom it orbits in a sample of liquid water. The findings, reported today in the journal Science, provide a new window into the electronic structure of molecules in the liquid phase on a timescale previously unattainable with X-rays. The new technique reveals the immediate electronic response when a target is hit with an X-ray, an important step in understanding the effects of radiation exposure on objects and people. “The chemical reactions induced by radiation ...

A new antibiotic created by Harvard researchers overcomes antimicrobial resistance mechanisms that have rendered many modern drugs ineffective and are driving a global public health crisis. A team led by Andrew Myers, Amory Houghton Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, reports in Science that their synthetic compound, cresomycin, kills many strains of drug-resistant bacteria, including Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. “While we don’t yet know whether cresomycin and drugs like it are safe ...

CAMBRIDGE, MA — A simple technique that uses small amounts of energy could boost the efficiency of some key chemical processing reactions, by up to a factor of 100,000, MIT researchers report. These reactions are at the heart of petrochemical processing, pharmaceutical manufacturing, and many other industrial chemical processes. The surprising findings are reported today in the journal Science, in a paper by MIT graduate student Karl Westendorff, professors Yogesh Surendranath and Yuriy Roman-Leshkov, and two others. “The results are really striking,” says Surendranath, a professor of chemistry ...

The natural ends of chromosomes appear alarmingly like broken DNA, much as a snapped spaghetti strand is difficult to distinguish from its intact counterparts. Yet every cell in our bodies must have a way of differentiating between the two because the best way to protect the healthy end of a chromosome also happens to be the worst way to repair damaged DNA.   Consider the enzyme telomerase, which is responsible for maintaining protective telomeres at the natural ends of chromosomes. Were telomerase to seal off a broken strand of DNA with a telomere, it would prevent further repair of that break and delete essential genes. Now, a new study in Science describes how cells avoid ...

Upending the prevailing theory of how and why multi-species mass-migration patterns occur in Serengeti National Park, researchers from Wake Forest University have confirmed that the millions-strong wildebeest population pushes zebra herds along in competition for the most nutrient-dense grasses. The study resulting from this research, “Interplay of competition and facilitation in grazing succession by migrant Serengeti herbivores,” appears today in the peer-reviewed journal Science. For decades, biologists have believed the major grazing ...

The University of Texas at Dallas’ wind energy research programs have expanded rapidly in recent years, with labs, offices and facilities spread out on campus. In 2020 UT Dallas formed the Wind Energy Center, called UTD Wind, to bring its wind energy programs under one virtual umbrella. Now, a new initiative will give UTD Wind a physical headquarters for the first time with additional labs, meeting areas and office space. The project also includes additional equipment for wind energy research and education. UT Dallas has received $1.6 million through the federal Consolidated Appropriations Act to support the expansion, which will bring most of the center’s ...

•    Eleven scholarships worth £10k each for MSc Applied AI  •    They are funded by the Office for Students (OfS) •    Aimed at graduates without a science, tech, engineering or maths degree. Aston University is offering more opportunities to graduates who want a career in artificial intelligence (AI) but don’t have a science, technology, engineering or maths degree. The scholarships are offered due to increased funding from the Office for Students (OfS). Each award is worth £10,000 and will be awarded to students enrolling ...

Africa's forested areas – an estimated 14 % of the global forest area – are continuing to decline at an increasing rate – mostly because of human activities to convert forest land for economic purposes. As natural forests are important CO2 and biodiversity reservoirs, this development has a significant impact on climate change and effects the integrity of nature. To intervene in a targeted manner in the interests of climate protection and biodiversity, there has been a lack of sufficiently good data and detailed knowledge ...

Diverse research is more impactful in the business management field, with female influence growing stronger in the past decade, finds a new study from the University of Surrey.   The study analysed all articles published in the last 10 years (January 2012 to December 2022) in the influential Journal of Management Studies.   The empirical analysis examined three key aspects of teams’ diversity:   Internationality (how international is mix of authors),   Interdisciplinarity (how many different fields of study they come from),   Gender ...

Irvine, Calif., Feb. 15, 2024 – Throughout human history, technologies have been used to make peoples’ lives richer and more comfortable, but they have also contributed to a global crisis threatening Earth’s climate, ecosystems and even our own survival. Researchers at the University of California, Irvine, the University of Kansas and Oregon State University have suggested that industrial civilization’s best way forward may entail embracing further technological advancements but doing so with greater awareness of their potential drawbacks.   In a paper titled “Scientists’ Warning on Technology,” published recently in the Journal of Cleaner ...

– By Julie Bobyock Wetlands are Earth’s largest natural source of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that is about 30 times more powerful than carbon dioxide at warming the atmosphere. A research team from the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) analyzed wetland methane emissions data across the entire Boreal-Arctic region and found that these emissions have increased approximately nine percent since 2002.  Livestock and fossil fuel production are well studied for their role in releasing tons of methane per year into the atmosphere. Although more uncertain, quantifying natural wetlands emissions is important to predicting climate ...