鶹Ժ - latest science and technology news stories / en-us 鶹Ժ internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: 鶹Ժics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Wildfire raised local death rate by 67%, shows study on 2023 Hawaiʻi fires New research unveils the true death toll of the deadly August 2023 wildfires which took place in Lāhainā, Maui, Hawaiʻi—and which temporarily made wildfire a leading cause of death in Maui. By comparing death rates over time, the scientists found that two-thirds more people died that August than would have been expected. /news/2025-08-wildfire-local-death-hawaii.html Environment Fri, 22 Aug 2025 00:00:01 EDT news674998776 Scientists develop map of how cells work together to become a brain Studying the process of brain formation illuminates just how much of development is a series of tiny miracles. Only a few weeks after a human egg is fertilized, a sheet of cells called the neural plate widens, stretches and rolls up to create a tube. This delicate dance of cells forms what will become our brain and spinal cord, the basis for our thoughts, feelings and actions. /news/2025-08-scientists-cells-brain.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 21 Aug 2025 15:09:24 EDT news675007754 Zooming in reveals a world of detail: Protein mapping technique reveals inner workings of cells In the past decade, there has been significant interest in studying the expression of our genetic code down to the level of single cells, to identify the functions and activities of any cell through the course of health or disease. /news/2025-08-reveals-world-protein-technique-cells.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 21 Aug 2025 14:00:17 EDT news674909810 Saving the giants of the Australian forest The first time I saw the Ada Tree, I felt tiny. It was October 2015, just days after arriving in Victoria to study mountain ash forests. During a visit to the Central Highlands, we went to see the Ada Tree—one of the largest mountain ash specimens, standing 76 meters tall (equivalent to a 20-story building), with a trunk 5 meters wide. /news/2025-08-giants-australian-forest.html Plants & Animals Ecology Thu, 21 Aug 2025 12:16:21 EDT news674997371 Learning from punishment: Model makes sense of the cognitive processes humans use From toddlers' timeouts to criminals' prison sentences, punishment reinforces social norms, making it known that an offender has done something unacceptable. At least, that is usually the intent—but the strategy can backfire. When a punishment is perceived as too harsh, observers can be left with the impression that an authority figure is motivated by something other than justice. /news/2025-08-cognitive-humans.html Social Sciences Thu, 21 Aug 2025 10:04:57 EDT news674989491 Building a better database to detect designer drugs How do you identify something no one has a test for? Designer drugs replicate the effects of known, illicit drugs but evade law enforcement. The chemical structure variations that help these compounds avoid detection also make them unpredictable in the body—a quality that poses serious health consequences. /news/2025-08-database-drugs.html Analytical Chemistry Wed, 20 Aug 2025 05:00:46 EDT news674725021 Engineers create new class of quantum sensors to detect faint molecular vibrations  A team of Johns Hopkins engineers has developed a new, more powerful method to observe molecular vibrations, an advance that could have far-reaching implications for early disease detection. /news/2025-08-class-quantum-sensors-faint-molecular.html Optics & Photonics Quantum 鶹Ժics Mon, 18 Aug 2025 12:37:13 EDT news674739425 Using sound to remember quantum information 30 times longer While conventional computers store information in the form of bits, fundamental pieces of logic that take a value of either 0 or 1, quantum computers are based on qubits. These can have a state that is simultaneously both 0 and 1. This odd property, a quirk of quantum physics known as superposition, lies at the heart of quantum computing's promise to ultimately solve problems that are intractable for classical computers. /news/2025-08-quantum-longer.html Quantum 鶹Ժics Wed, 13 Aug 2025 12:59:56 EDT news674308789 Two solutions unlock safer RNA therapies for inflammatory diseases Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) are tiny fat bubbles that are used to deliver medicines, genes, and RNA into cells. However, in some cases LNPs can cause harmful inflammation as a result of the process of RNA delivery. /news/2025-08-solutions-safer-rna-therapies-inflammatory.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 11 Aug 2025 14:50:04 EDT news674142601 Researchers test common disinfectants' abilities to fight antibiotic resistance at the genetic level Antimicrobial resistance is a lurking threat in hospitals around the world. As more strains of bacteria and other microbes evolve defenses against available drugs, more patients run the risk of contracting infections that defy treatment. /news/2025-08-common-disinfectants-abilities-antibiotic-resistance.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Mon, 11 Aug 2025 13:08:04 EDT news674136481 Nascent RNA profiling uncovers molecular drivers of cellular differentiation Researchers at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, have documented their use of a new RNA sequencing technology to uncover molecular drivers of cellular differentiation that could lead to better regenerative therapies. /news/2025-08-nascent-rna-profiling-uncovers-molecular.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 08 Aug 2025 09:44:04 EDT news673865041 Researchers overcome long-standing bottleneck in single photon detection with twisted 2D materials The ability to detect single photons (the smallest energy packets constituting electromagnetic radiation) in the infrared range has become a pressing need across numerous fields, from medical imaging and astrophysics to emerging quantum technologies. In observational astronomy, for example, the light from distant celestial objects can be extremely faint and require exceptional sensitivity in the mid-infrared. /news/2025-08-bottleneck-photon-2d-materials.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 07 Aug 2025 14:43:44 EDT news673796618 Diatoms bind uranium inside and out, raising food chain concerns Uranium is found in minerals in the soil, dissolves in mining water and ends up in the fields together with phosphate fertilizer. In Germany, the heavy metal uranium is particularly common in Saxony and Thuringia, although it also occurs in Southern Germany. /news/2025-08-diatoms-uranium-food-chain.html Environment Thu, 07 Aug 2025 10:43:53 EDT news673782228 Most US workers report multiple physical or mental limitations on the job A new study of functional abilities in the U.S. labor market reveals a workforce both vulnerable and resilient, with a large majority of workers reporting multiple limitations even as they fulfill their job duties, according to researchers at Harvard Medical School. /news/2025-08-workers-multiple-physical-mental-limitations.html Social Sciences Economics & Business Tue, 05 Aug 2025 13:00:03 EDT news673617435 Producing sustainable aviation fuel precursors with the furfural reduction reaction Researchers at Tohoku University have come one step closer to finding a sustainable solution that could help us rely less on fossil fuels. Their research shows that when a zinc (Zn) single-atom catalyst is part of an electrochemical reaction called the furfural reduction reaction (FRR), it can selectively produce a precursor to aviation fuels. /news/2025-08-sustainable-aviation-fuel-precursors-furfural.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Tue, 05 Aug 2025 09:45:03 EDT news673605901 Atom-at-a-time technique sheds light on chemistry at the bottom of the periodic table The periodic table is one of the triumphs of science. Even before certain elements had been discovered, this chart could successfully predict their masses, densities, how they would link up with other elements, and a host of other properties. /news/2025-08-atom-technique-chemistry-bottom-periodic.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Mon, 04 Aug 2025 12:14:05 EDT news673528441 Iron Age cauldrons reveal ancient feasting rituals and metalworking expertise Analysis of cauldrons nearly two and a half millennia-old has allowed archaeologists to create a near-perfect replica, providing insight into the skills of Iron Age metalworkers in the process. /news/2025-07-iron-age-cauldrons-reveal-ancient.html Archaeology Thu, 31 Jul 2025 14:22:07 EDT news673190519 Grasses are spendthrifts, forests are budgeters, in a nuanced account of plant water use Even a toddler knows that plants need water. It's perhaps the first thing we learn about these green life-forms. But how plants budget this resource varies considerably. The kapok trees of the Amazon have adopted vastly different strategies than the switchgrass of the American plains. Unfortunately, it's hard to directly measure which ones prevail in different ecosystem types and how they shift under changing conditions. /news/2025-07-grasses-spendthrifts-forests-nuanced-account.html Plants & Animals Ecology Thu, 31 Jul 2025 10:30:05 EDT news673176254 How the brain learns to care: Study shows empathy can be trained When you feel rewarded by someone else's happiness, your brain starts treating them like a favorite. /news/2025-07-brain-empathy.html Social Sciences Tue, 29 Jul 2025 12:26:03 EDT news673010761 From thousands of defects, one magnesium oxide qubit emerges as a quantum contender Used as a versatile material in industry and health care, magnesium oxide may also be a good candidate for quantum technologies. Research led by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory and published in npj Computational Materials reveals a defect in the mineral that could be useful for quantum applications. /news/2025-07-thousands-defects-magnesium-oxide-qubit.html Condensed Matter Quantum 鶹Ժics Tue, 29 Jul 2025 09:26:17 EDT news672999972 Organic molecules show promise for sensitive quantum sensing through color-shifting spins Quantum sensing has transformational potential across many areas of technology and science, most prominently biomedical research. The basic premise is to detect and manipulate the spin state of an electron—magnetic properties of electrons that can be used to store quantum information using light. This capability has previously been limited to highly exotic or expensive materials such as nano-sized diamonds with specific atomic defects. /news/2025-07-molecules-sensitive-quantum-shifting.html Materials Science Tue, 29 Jul 2025 06:59:37 EDT news672991173 What's the lifetime of a Dyson megaswarm? In 2015, astronomer Tabetha Boyajian and colleagues announced the discovery of unusual light fluctuations coming from a star about 1,500 light-years away. It came to be known as "Tabby's star" or "Boyajian's star," and the peculiar alterations in the light transmitted to Earth quickly drew attention. /news/2025-07-lifetime-dyson-megaswarm.html Astronomy Astrobiology Mon, 28 Jul 2025 10:00:04 EDT news672915065 Next-gen tech for at-home use can quickly detect endometriosis biomarker in period blood Almost 200 million people, including children, around the world have endometriosis, a chronic disease in which the lining of the uterus grows outside of the uterus. More severe symptoms, such as extreme pain and potentially infertility, can often be mitigated with early identification and treatment, but no single point-of-care diagnostic test for the disease exists despite the ease of access to the tissue directly implicated. /news/2025-07-gen-tech-home-quickly-endometriosis.html Analytical Chemistry Tue, 22 Jul 2025 16:19:11 EDT news672419944 Research reveals female birdsong may be helpful in finding 'good dads' Female songbirds are more likely to sing when they share parenting responsibilities and live year‐round in stable tropical environments, according to new research by University of the Pacific Professor of Biology Karan Odom. /news/2025-07-reveals-female-birdsong-good-dads.html Plants & Animals Ecology Mon, 21 Jul 2025 15:32:54 EDT news672330769 Curved fault slip captured on CCTV during Myanmar earthquake Dramatic CCTV video of fault slip during a large earthquake in Myanmar thrilled both scientists and casual observers when it was posted to YouTube. But it was on his fifth or sixth viewing, said geophysicist Jesse Kearse, that he spotted something even more exciting. /news/2025-07-fault-captured-cctv-myanmar-earthquake.html Earth Sciences Environment Mon, 21 Jul 2025 09:40:11 EDT news672307653 Historical and current population DNA reveals at least 12 species of rocket frogs, three of which already extinct A group led by University of São Paulo (USP) researchers in Brazil has described a new genus of frogs, Dryadobates, also known as rocket frogs, which was previously considered a single species. The study was published in the Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. /news/2025-07-historical-current-population-dna-reveals.html Plants & Animals Ecology Thu, 17 Jul 2025 12:00:03 EDT news671971990 The first dinosaurs might have been bigger than expected An ancient leg bone uncovered in Africa might provide a step forward in understanding how dinosaurs and their close relatives evolved. /news/2025-07-dinosaurs-bigger.html Paleontology & Fossils Thu, 17 Jul 2025 08:50:10 EDT news671960523 Man's best friend could be the spotted lanternfly's worst enemy A new study led by Virginia Tech found that volunteer dog-handler teams—made up of everyday people and their pets—can effectively detect the elusive egg masses of the spotted lanternfly, an invasive insect that's damaging farms and forests across the eastern and central United States. /news/2025-07-friend-lanternfly-worst-enemy.html Ecology Veterinary medicine Wed, 16 Jul 2025 06:00:01 EDT news671779733 Don't bet on Friday: Research shows financial risk-taking rises at end of work week, without payoff The ancient Roman leader Julius Caesar, in the hands of Shakespeare, was warned to "beware the Ides of March." But 21st century data shows it's the end of the work week, the month and year that financial investors should treat carefully. /news/2025-07-dont-friday-financial-week-payoff.html Social Sciences Economics & Business Tue, 15 Jul 2025 13:50:05 EDT news671806039 Real-time simulation makes understanding nonlinear quantum dynamics much easier Many systems obey simple, linear rules: If you pull twice as hard on a spring, it stretches twice as far. However, when we introduce very large forces or complicated interactions, that linear rule breaks down into a "nonlinear" regime. /news/2025-07-real-simulation-nonlinear-quantum-dynamics.html General 鶹Ժics Quantum 鶹Ժics Thu, 10 Jul 2025 10:15:03 EDT news671361301