Cornell engineers have developed a "digital twin" framework that creates a real-time virtual representation of urban carbon dioxide conditions, providing a tool that could help city planners monitor emissions, identify hotspots and evaluate potential interventions before implementing them in the real world.
Offshore wind farms are a key pillar of the energy transition. The European Union plans to expand offshore wind capacity in the North Sea by 2050. A new study by the Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon indicates that a very extensive expansion could influence regional precipitation patterns: While precipitation over the sea could increase, it could decrease in coastal regions.
If you're not a bird person, you may not be able to distinguish between the different sounds birds make. Birdsong—the courting and territorial vocalization of songbirds—has been studied for decades, but less is understood about bird chatter, or the other chirps made by all flock members throughout the day. Now, we have new insights into the meanings of their chatter, thanks to Julie Elie, an associate project scientist in Berkeley's Department of Neuroscience.
Scientists have redefined how the key blood-clotting protein fibrinogen behaves when it contacts air, overturning two decades of scientific consensus on wound healing. It is the culmination of more than a decade of international collaboration by Dr. Richard Campbell of The University of Manchester, Professor Juan Ruso of the University of Santiago de Compostela in Spain and Dr. Natalia Hassan of the Metropolitan Technological University in Chile.
Slash, aka Saul Hudson, is probably best known as the guitarist for Guns N' Roses. But there's more to Slash than his music. He's also a lifelong reptile lover and an avid supporter of zoos and museums. And now, he's the namesake of the newly discovered Lielaphis slashi: Slash's groundsnake.
All living things have a fleet of tiny copy machines that turn instructions from DNA into RNA molecules responsible for helping build proteins that keep organisms alive. One of those nanoscale machines, called eukaryotic RNA polymerase II, performs a crucial early step required by nearly every biological process. It makes messages, copying and carrying instructions from the cell nucleus to make proteins.
Low concentrations of caustic soda (sodium hydroxide, NaOH) are more efficient than high doses for preparing organic waste for biogas production. This finding increases methane production, reduces reagent consumption and, consequently, diminishes process costs and minimizes the risk of inhibiting the microorganisms responsible for the process.
Researchers from the MPIK in Heidelberg used an atomic gas as a time-dependent lens to shape and spectrally manipulate intense high-frequency laser pulses. This gas-based optical element could pave the way toward better XUV- and X-ray pulse control for applications such as chemical reaction steering, quantum computing, and advanced spectroscopy methods for fundamental science. The paper is published in the journal Science Advances.
As nations race to restore ecosystems and curb climate change, research has shown that letting nature do the work is a cost-effective, viable solution. A study from the University of Queensland and the University of Newcastle found that natural forest regeneration delivered substantial carbon and biodiversity benefits and could be up to 96% cheaper than traditional tree-planting programs. The work is published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution.
Inside every cell, thousands of proteins must reach the right place at the right time. Helping coordinate this complex logistics network are centriolar satellites—tiny, membraneless organelles that play important roles in protein trafficking, cell division and the formation of cilia.
