In a recent study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, geophysicist D. Sarah Stamps and her team at the Geodesy and Tectonophysics Lab explored the processes behind the East African Rift System using 3D thermomechanical modeling. Stamps compared the different deformation styles of a rifting continent with playing with Silly Putty, stating
According to a new scientific study conducted by the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ICTA-UAB), extractive and industrial development projects pose a severe threat to the fundamental rights of Indigenous Peoples. The study, which quantifies the negative impacts of these activities on the lifeways, lands, and rights of
Chemists at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) in collaboration with K. Barry Sharpless, a two-time Nobel laureate, have developed a new chemical transformation they call phosphorus fluoride exchange (PFEx). The new technique snaps together chemical building blocks to form new molecules, leading to a vast array of complex molecules that can be explored. This
Researchers at the University of Helsinki and from the United States have found a new small molecule that can inhibit cells from producing cytokine proteins that promote inflammation. Cytokines are responsible for the onset of diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. By inhibiting a target protein called Sec61, the researchers were able to alleviate arthritis symptoms
The Parker Solar Probe, a solar probe that made a dangerous plunge into the Sun’s corona, has now traced the wind that blows from the Sun’s surface back to its source. The probe made a record-breaking approach of 8.5 million kilometers (5.3 million miles) to the Sun in November 2021, which allowed the detection of
Photosynthesis, a process that enables plants and other organisms to convert sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide into oxygen and energy in the form of sugar, is an integral part of Earth’s functioning. It is a process that is 2.3 billion years old and is responsible for the existence of life on our planet. However, as
Researchers at the University of Bristol have developed a new device made from a simple sponge that can help robots grasp objects more delicately, by mimicking the nuanced touch, or variable stiffness, of a human hand. The device can be used to improve the load capacity of soft robots or reduce damage on hard robots.
Researchers at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) have developed smart digital image sensors with visual perception capabilities. The team, led by Dayanand Kumar and Nazek El-Atab, used the Nobel Prize-winning technology of charge-coupled device (CCD) image sensors to create light-sensitive memory devices that can be programmed optically and erased electrically. What
The Denali Fault System is a 1,200-mile-long fault that runs in an upward arc from southwestern Alaska and the Bering Sea into western Canada’s Yukon Territory and British Columbia. The active strike-slip fault system, which runs through Denali National Park and Preserve, is responsible for the formation of the Alaska Range. In 2002, the Denali
Coal ash is known to cause air pollution, which is harmful to both the environment and human health. However, the ash left over from burning coal can also be hazardous. Duke Energy had long stored a liquified form of coal ash in 36 large ponds across the Carolinas. However, in 2014, a spill at its
Researchers at Rice University have discovered a natural cycle that repeats every 150 days in the north-south oscillation of atmospheric pressure patterns that drive the movement of the Southern Hemisphere’s prevailing westerly winds and the Antarctic jet stream. The cycle, known as an “internally generated periodicity,” was found to influence the variability of the hemisphere-scale
According to a new study published in Nature Communications, the Arctic Ocean’s ice cap will disappear in summer as soon as the 2030s, a decade earlier than previously thought. The report concludes that even capping global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius in line with the Paris climate treaty will not prevent the north pole’s vast
Secretly held documents from DuPont and 3M, two of the most prominent manufacturers of ‘forever chemicals,’ reveal that company leaders knew of the harmful health effects of some per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) long before they informed the public. In internal research, two of their most popular chemicals, called PFOS and PFOA, were found to
In 1923, Fritz Pregl was awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry for his contributions to quantitative microanalysis, which became a crucial tool to determine the elements present in a sample or compound. This technique has been widely adopted in the field of chemistry to determine the identity and purity of a chemical. However, the long-accepted
Quantum mechanics is a complex field that is difficult to visualize. However, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have developed a new illustration technique that displays quantum features in an easy-to-read diagram called a coherence map. Using this technique, the researchers were able to study the quantum mechanisms that underlay photosynthesis, the process by
