Adolescents experiencing social isolation or loneliness are at increased risk of developing mental health problems, highlighting the need for preventive interventions before these challenges worsen. However, relatively few psychoeducational programs specifically address isolation and loneliness among adolescents, with most existing interventions focusing on individualized support.
A new genetic analysis of hundreds of cacao trees representing traditional Amazonian varieties grown on farms across Peru has revealed four previously unidentified, genetically distinct groups. Lambert Motilal, with colleagues from the Cocoa Research Center, The University of the West Indies, and Martha S. Calderon and Danilo E. Bustamante, with their colleagues from the Universidad Nacional Toribio Rodríguez de Mendoza, partnered to explore Peru's untapped cacao diversity.
Researchers in the Texas A&M University J. Mike Walker '66 Department of Mechanical Engineering have developed a new method for producing graphene oxide, a high-value carbon nanomaterial used in batteries, electronics and advanced manufacturing.
A major new resource that provides one of the most comprehensive pictures yet of what people are eating around the world has been introduced in a new study by a UCL and University of Oxford researcher.
Before the oldest dinosaur, before animals or even plants had expanded onto dry land, ancient relatives of starfish called crinoids, resembling stalked sea flowers, were among the first creatures to flourish in Earth's earliest coral reefs more than 450 million years ago. The study of fossilized crinoids helps scientists understand how these animals evolved and offers rare insight into the origins of complex life.
Scale in the universe is hard to understand from a purely human perspective. Many times, the math just doesn't sit well with our brains, which evolved to capture and process data about the world around us rather than grok the complexities of stellar dynamics and galaxy mergers. But every once in a while, astronomers find something that, if we can wrap our heads around the numbers, gives a sense of just how big the universe is.
A new study published in the journal Alpine Entomology has found that alpine butterflies in the Swiss National Park are closely matching the pace of local warming in their range shift to higher elevations.
Past psychology studies have consistently highlighted the importance of social bonds for survival, showing that enduring relationships are linked with a longer life expectancy, a more resilient immune system, better cardiovascular health and a lower risk of psychiatric conditions. In addition, they showed that being raised by two parents plays an important role in development, as it is often associated with better emotional regulation, cognitive performance and social competence in adulthood.
Beneath forests, grasslands and wetlands lies a hidden underground network of fungi known as mycorrhizal networks, sometimes nicknamed the "wood-wide web." These fungi live in partnership with plant roots, helping plants absorb nutrients from the soil in exchange for carbon compounds produced through photosynthesis. These fungal connections can also link different neighboring plant species.
The summers of 2021 and 2022 were tough seasons for Colorado's Blue Mesa Reservoir. A severe drought gripped much of the western U.S., prompting emergency water releases that brought the reservoir to its lowest level since 1984. Marinas and boat ramps closed, remnants of a ghost town emerged from the muck, and parts of the reservoir turned greenish and swirled with toxic cyanobacteria blooms.
