Welcome to the “Phys.org: News and Articles on Science” update from Hawaii Science Digest.
Views expressed in this science and technology news summary are those of the reporters and correspondents.
Content provided by Phys.org–an official publication of the Space X Network.
Accessed on 18 February 2019, 1545 UTC.
Source: https://phys.org
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Spotlight Science News
Solid-state catalysis: Fluctuations clear the way
The use of efficient catalytic agents is what makes many technical procedures feasible in the first place. Indeed, synthesis of more than 80 percent of the products generated in the chemical industry requires the input of …
Lithium-air batteries can store energy for cars, houses and industry
Current lithium ion battery technology will probably not be able to handle the coming decades’ huge demand for energy. It is estimated that by 2050, electricity will make up 50 percent of the world’s energy mix. Today, that …
Best of Last Week – NASA heading back to moon, climate shift in North America and impact of processed food on health
Engineered metasurfaces reflect waves in unusual directions
In our daily lives, we can find many examples of manipulation of reflected waves, such as mirrors, or reflective surfaces for sound that improve auditorium acoustics. When a wave impinges on a reflective surface with a certain …
Design principles for peroxidase-mimicking nanozymes
Nanozymes, enzyme-like catalytic nanomaterials, are considered to be the next generation of enzyme mimics because they not only overcome natural enzymes’ intrinsic limitations, but also possess unique properties in comparison …
Sound waves let quantum systems ‘talk’ to one another
Researchers at the University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory have invented an innovative way for different types of quantum technology to “talk” to each other using sound. The study, published Feb. 11 in Nature …
A call for a theoretical framework to address replication crisis facing the psychological sciences
A pair of researchers from the London School of Economics and Political Science and Harvard University has published a Perspective piece in the journal Nature Human Behavior suggesting a possible solution to the replication …
Implementing a practical quantum secure direct communication system
Quantum secure direct communication (QSDC) is an important branch of quantum communication, based on the principles of quantum mechanics for the direct transmission of classified information. While recent proof-of-principle …
Desert ants’ survival strategy emerges from millions of simple interactions
Ants’ frenzied movements may seem aimless and erratic to a casual observer, but closer study reveals that an ant colony’s collective behavior can help it thrive in a harsh environment and may also yield inspiration for robotic …
New device simplifies measurement of fluoride contamination in water
Adding fluoride to water is common practice in a number of countries, including the U.S., Australia, Brazil, Malaysia, India and Vietnam. In low concentrations (below 1.5 mg/L), it can prevent tooth decay and even strengthen …
Antibiotic resistances spread faster than so far thought
By studying fish raised in aquaculture, researchers from the Helmholtz Zentrum München, the University of Copenhagen and the University of Campinas in Brazil have shed new light on the mechanisms by which antibiotic resistance …
Multiple stellar populations detected in the cluster Hodge 6
Looking behind a rare brain disease for clues to treat more common mental disorders
Researchers have reported for the first time the mechanism behind a very rare brain syndrome called disproportionate pontine and cerebellar hypoplasia (MICPCH), which causes microcephaly. Information gleaned from this animal …
Flexible display talk: Smartphone might fold around your wrist
A phone that folds? Smartphone vendors think it can capture imaginations as they work to come up with newer gee-whiz designs to sell phones. This month, there is one foldable phone in the wings that is capturing special attention …
World’s finest gold specimen probed with Los Alamos neutrons
Using neutron characterization techniques a team of scientists have peered inside one of the most unique examples of wire gold, understanding for the first time the specimen’s structure and possible formation process. The …
Linking sensing to signaling during plant immunity
Plant defense against invading pathogens relies upon effective recognition of non-self organisms and a subsequent signaling response characterized by reprogramming of host gene expression and localized cell death to combat …
Indigenous hunters have positive impacts on food webs in desert Australia
Australia has the highest rate of mammal extinction in the world. Resettlement of indigenous communities resulted in the spread of invasive species, the absence of human-set fires, and a general cascade in the interconnected …
Depression reversed in male mice by activating gene that helps excite neurons
Directly activating a gene important to exciting our excitatory neurons and associated with major depression may help turn around classic symptoms like social isolation and loss of interest, at least for males, scientists …
The Lypla1 gene impacts obesity in a sex-specific manner
Susceptibility to obesity, insulin resistance and other cardio-metabolic traits may also be dependent on a person’s sex. An international research team of the University of California (UCLA), Helmholtz Zentrum München, a …
Study shows that glioblastoma patients survive significantly longer with combination chemotherapy
Cancer researchers at the University of Bonn have reported significant progress in the treatment of glioblastoma. About one third of all patients suffer from a particular variant of this most common and aggressive brain tumor. …
Digitalized infinity: Engineers present blockchain technology to verify natural diamonds
Members of the Russian startup Bitcarat.com, graduates of the National University of Science and Technology, have commercialized a unique technology aimed at verifying and tracing natural diamonds. The method is based on …
Predicting sequence from structure
One way to probe intricate biological systems is to block their components from interacting and see what happens. This method allows researchers to better understand cellular processes and functions, augmenting everyday laboratory …
Researchers identify protein that contributes to racial disparities in prostate cancer
Cancer researchers have long known that prostate cancer tends to be more common, more aggressive and more resistant to existing treatments in African-Americans than in Caucasian-Americans, but they’re only beginning to understand …
Physicists pinpoint a simple mechanism that makes bacteria resistant to antibiotics
Physicists at McMaster University have for the first time identified a simple mechanism used by potentially deadly bacteria to fend off antibiotics, a discovery which is providing new insights into how germs adapt and behave …
Energetic particles can bombard exoplanets
TRAPPIST-1 is a system of seven Earth-sized worlds orbiting an ultra-cool dwarf star about 120 light-years away. The star, and hence its system of planets, is thought to be between five-to-ten billion years old, up to twice …
New pathway for cell communication discovered
Small lipid vesicles known as extracellular vesicles are of great interest to cell scientists since it has been discovered that they mediate intercellular communication.
Smoking may limit body’s ability to fight dangerous form of skin cancer
Versatile drug may protect baby from hazards of intraamniotic infections
Dangerous to both mom and baby, infections or inflammations of the tissue or fluids that surround the fetus often result in preterm delivery with a high risk of serious complications for the infant. A prescription drug used …
Meteorite source in asteroid belt not a single debris field
A new study published online in Meteoritics and Planetary Science finds that our most common meteorites, those known as L chondrites, come from at least two different debris fields in the asteroid belt. The belt contains …
First evidence discovered of a gigantic remnant around an exploding star
A San Diego State University astrophysicist has helped discover evidence of a gigantic remnant surrounding an exploding star—a shell of material so huge, it must have been erupting on a regular basis for millions of years.
20 hours ago in Astronomy
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