(Newswise)–The activity of the solid Earth – for example, volcanoes in Java, earthquakes in Japan, etc.- is well understood within the context of the ~50-year-old theory of plate tectonics. This theory posits that Earth’s outer shell (Earth’s “lithosphere”) is subdivided into plates that move relative to each other, concentrating most activity along the boundaries between […]
Anaplasmosis bacterium tinkers with tick’s gene expression to spread to new hosts
(Newswise)–For the first time, scientists have shown that the bacterium that causes the tick-borne disease anaplasmosis interferes with tick gene expression for its survival inside cells and to spread to a new vertebrate host. Girish Neelakanta of Old Dominion University and colleagues report these findings in a study published July 2 in PLOS Genetics. In […]
Scientists see through glass frogs’ translucent camouflage
(Newswise)–Glass frogs are well known for their see-through skin but, until now, the reason for this curious feature has received no experimental attention. A team of scientists from the University of Bristol, McMaster University, and Universidad de Las Américas Quito, sought to establish the ecological importance of glass frog translucency and, in doing so, have […]
NASA-developed ventilator authorized by FDA for emergency use
A new high-pressure ventilator developed by NASA engineers and tailored to treat coronavirus (COVID-19) patients Friday was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use under the FDA’s March 24 ventilator Emergency Use Authorization. Called VITAL (Ventilator Intervention Technology Accessible Locally), the device was developed by engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) […]
UC San Diego to advance stem cell therapies in new space station lab
(Newswise)–A three-year, nearly $5 million award from NASA will allow researchers at the Sanford Stem Cell Clinical Center at UC San Diego Health, Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine and their partners at Space Tango to develop a new integrated space stem cell orbital research laboratory within the International Space Station (ISS) and launch three collaborative […]
Borrowing From Astronomy To Rob The Twinkle From Brain Imagery
Video courtesy of David Kleinfeld, UC San Diego LA JOLLA–For decades, astronomers have solved the problem of removing the “twinkle” from images of stars in the night sky. They use a process called “adaptive optics” (AO) to correct for changes in the density and moisture of air in the atmosphere that scatters the incoming star […]
Department Of Energy Announces $20 Million For Artificial Intelligence Research
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced a total of $20 million in funding for innovative research and development in artificial intelligence (A.I.) and machine learning. DOE’s Office of Electricity has selected eight projects to receive nearly $7 million in total to explore the use of big data, artificial intelligence, and machine learning technologies to improve existing […]
A “Post-Antibiotic World?”
(Newswise)–The products of wastewater treatment have been found to contain trace amounts of antibiotic resistant DNA. These products are often reintroduced to the environment and water supply, potentially resulting in the spread of antibiotic resistance. As such, researchers at the University of Southern California Viterbi School of Engineering have been studying the development of these […]
Amazonian Peatlands May Soon Switch From A Carbon Sink To A Carbon Source
(Newswise)–Until humans can find a way to geoengineer ourselves out of the climate disaster we’ve created, we must rely on natural carbon sinks, such as oceans and forests, to suck carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. These ecosystems are deteriorating at the hand of climate change. Once destroyed, they may not only stop absorbing carbon […]
NASA Sends New Research, Hardware To Space Station On SpaceX Mission
Experiments in forest observation, protein crystal growth and in-space fuel transfer demonstration are heading to the International Space Station following the launch Wednesday of SpaceX’s 16th mission for NASA under the agency’s Commercial Resupply Services contract. The company’s Dragon spacecraft lifted off at 1:16 p.m. EST on a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex […]