/ en-us Â鶹ÒùÔº internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Â鶹ÒùÔºics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Strong support for Ukraine means there is "little space" for European politicians to exploit pro-Russia foreign policy messages, a new study shows. Researchers have found widespread backing for Ukraine across the continent, and for policies that help the nation, such as imposing sanctions on Russia. /news/2024-01-strong-european-ukraine-space-exploitation.html Political science Wed, 31 Jan 2024 17:14:03 EST news625943641 The lunar terdiurnal ocean tide has a period of approximately 8.2804 hours, and theoretically has a small amplitude. Its largest equilibrium action term is just 2.56 mm, generally considered to have little impact on shipping or other maritime activities. Thus, it has not received much attention in previous studies, and understanding of the M3 tide's characteristics in various global regions is extremely limited. /news/2023-10-multi-regional-validation-ocean-tide.html Earth Sciences Environment Wed, 11 Oct 2023 16:31:04 EDT news616260662 Faith primary schools are admitting fewer children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) than local authority community primaries, according to new research from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). /news/2023-09-faith-primary-schools-children-special.html Education Sun, 01 Oct 2023 19:00:01 EDT news615197410 New research suggests that owls in Texas have high rates of anticoagulant rodenticides (AR)—blood thinning rat poisons—in their systems. Jennifer Smith, a professor of integrative biology in the UTSA College of Sciences, co-authored a research article published recently in PLOS ONE, the world's first multidisciplinary open access journal. /news/2023-09-texas-owls-positive-rat-poisons.html Plants & Animals Ecology Wed, 13 Sep 2023 12:11:03 EDT news613825861 Much to the chagrin of most managers, the complexity of human psychology does not cease when employees enter the office or log onto Zoom. In fact, complexity seems to be baked into our personality structure. In a widely cited paper, social psychologists Marilynn Brewer & Wendy Gardner theorized not one but three dimensions of identity: individual (who we innately feel we are), relational (how we perceive ourselves as part of a dyad, i.e., in relation to a specific person) and collective (the sense of self we derive from being part of a larger group). /news/2022-12-magic-workplace-pairings.html Economics & Business Tue, 13 Dec 2022 16:30:12 EST news590171404 Like the Roadrunner outwitting Wile E. Coyote, SARS-CoV-2 (the infectious virus responsible for COVID-19) keeps mutating, generating new variants that can slip from the grip of a well-trained immune system or a well-aimed drug or vaccine. /news/2022-09-molecular-makeover-wimpy-antibody-sars-cov-.html Biochemistry Fri, 09 Sep 2022 10:43:14 EDT news581938990 Online social networks (OSN) like Facebook and Twitter have created a space for people to easily express their opinions, which can encourage open dialogue and stimulate plenty of disagreements. Research now reveals that just like in face-to-face relationships, intellectually humble behavior, like admitting when you are wrong, leads to better impression formation online. /news/2022-05-science-spoken-truth-facebook-reputation.html Social Sciences Tue, 03 May 2022 14:04:48 EDT news570805485 Robots are already in space. From landers on the moon to rovers on Mars and more, robots are the perfect candidates for space exploration: they can bear extreme environments while consistently repeating the same tasks in exactly the same way without tiring. Like robots on Earth, they can accomplish both dangerous and mundane jobs, from space walks to polishing a spacecraft's surface. With space missions increasing in number and expanding in scientific scope, requiring more equipment, there's a need for a lightweight robotic arm that can manipulate in environments difficult for humans. /news/2021-12-lightweight-space-robot-precise.html Space Exploration Fri, 03 Dec 2021 13:40:45 EST news557761230 John Schaubroeck, a professor of management at the University of Missouri, believes hiring refugees can boost the economies of host countries. In fact, research has shown that assimilation is easier for refugees who work, making it more likely that they will contribute to their new communities. /news/2021-06-attitude-diversity-contributes-refugees-productive.html Social Sciences Political science Fri, 18 Jun 2021 08:40:01 EDT news543223999 Researchers at Duke University have developed a method that uses machine learning, satellite imagery and weather data to autonomously find hotspots of heavy air pollution, city block by city block. /news/2021-04-ai-local-pollution-hotspots-satellite.html Earth Sciences Environment Thu, 15 Apr 2021 16:55:56 EDT news537724548 Well over 10,000 people in Europe use an assistance dog; think of guide dogs for people with a visual impairment, hearing dogs for people with a hearing impairment, medical response service dogs and psychiatric service dogs. /news/2021-03-paw-hygiene-dogs-hospitals-theyre.html Plants & Animals Veterinary medicine Mon, 08 Mar 2021 10:29:31 EST news534421766 New periodic structures known as moiré lattices can be observed in two-dimensional (2-D) heterostructures containing layers with slightly different lattice vectors, which can in turn support new topological phenomena. It is therefore important to obtain high-resolution imaging of these moiré lattices and superstructures to understand the emerging physics. In a new report now published in Science Advances, Kyunghoon Lee and a team of scientists report the imaging process to view moiré lattices and superstructures in graphene-based samples under ambient conditions using scanning microwave impedance microscopy with ultrahigh-resolution implementation. While the probe tip of the device maintained a gross radius of 100 nm, the research team achieved a spatial resolution better than 5 nm. This setup allowed direct visualization of moiré lattices and the composite super-moiré. The researchers also showed the artificial synthesis of new superstructures arising from the interplay between diverse layers. /news/2020-12-dimensional-heterostructures-layers-slightly-lattice.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Tue, 22 Dec 2020 12:50:02 EST news527862180 In a new report published on Science, Zhenyi Ni and a research team in applied physical sciences, mechanical and materials engineering and computer and energy engineering in the U.S. profiled spatial and energetic distributions of trap states or defects in metal halide perovskite single-crystalline polycrystalline solar cells. The researchers credited the photovoltaic performance of metal halide perovskites (MHPs) to their high optical absorption coefficient, carrier mobility, long charge-diffusion length and small Urbach energy (representing disorder in the system). Theoretical studies have demonstrated the possibility of forming deep charge traps at the material surface due to low formation energy, structural defects and grain boundaries of perovskites to guide the development of passivation techniques (loss of chemical reactivity) in perovskite solar cells. Charge trap states play an important role during the degradation of perovskite solar cells and other devices. Understanding the distribution of trap states in their space and energy can clarify the impact of charge traps (defects) on charge transport in perovskite materials and devices for their optimal performance. /news/2020-03-spatial-energetic-states-metal-halide.html Condensed Matter Mon, 30 Mar 2020 10:23:38 EDT news504782610 Moderate-temperature thermal sources often radiate waste heat as a by-product of mechanical work, chemical or nuclear reactions, or information processing. In a new report in Science, Paul S. Davids and a research team at the Sandia National Laboratory in the U.S., demonstrated the conversion of thermal radiation into electrical power. For this, they used a bipolar grating-coupled complimentary metal-oxide-silicon (CMOS) tunnel diode. Using a two-step photon-assisted tunneling charge pumping mechanism, the team separated the charge carriers in pn junction wells to develop a large, open-circuit voltage across a load. The scientists experimentally showed electrical power generation from a broadband blackbody thermal source with converted power densities of 27 to 61 µW/cm2 for thermal sources between 250 degrees C to 400 degrees C. The demonstrated scalable and efficient conversion of radiated waste heat into electrical power can be used to reduce energy consumption—in order to power electronics and sensors. /news/2020-03-electrical-power-moderate-temperature-radiative-thermal.html General Â鶹ÒùÔºics Tue, 10 Mar 2020 10:11:40 EDT news503053896 The near-term future of Earth is one of a warming planet, as urban expansion and greenhouse gas emissions stoke the effects of climate change. Current climate projections show that in U.S. cities temperatures are expected to rise by 2 to 7 C (3.6 to 12.6 F) by the year 2099. /news/2018-11-reveals-dynamics-climate-urbanization-heat-mitigating.html Environment Mon, 12 Nov 2018 11:00:13 EST news461227442 Want to start an argument at your next dinner party? Utter the words "affirmative action," and then bear down on your salad. The issue is particularly divisive because many people regard it as zero-sum: If your kid gets into that exalted university, mine doesn't. /news/2018-04-sizing-good-affirmative-action.html Economics & Business Wed, 25 Apr 2018 08:16:46 EDT news443862991 With less than 25,000 breeding pairs in existence today, it is an uphill battle for the African Penguin, which calls South Africa home. The 60 percent drop in their population since 2001 has put them on the endangered species list by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. In some South African colonies, the drop in population has been as high as 80 percent. Competition with fisheries, oil spills, climate change, diseases and predators are all contributing factors in their dramatic decline. /news/2017-11-scientists-team-endangered-african-penguins.html Plants & Animals Wed, 15 Nov 2017 09:38:57 EST news429961127 Advanced microphones using microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) are capable of supporting new user interactions with "smart" devices, like chatting with Apple's Siri, or Amazon's Alexa. The key to achieving the high sensitivity desired for these microphones, you might be surprised to learn, is tied to the "admittance" or "compliance" of its membrane components. /news/2017-11-amorphous-metallic-glass-high-sensitivity-mems.html Condensed Matter Wed, 01 Nov 2017 07:53:23 EDT news428741595 Abdominal obesity, or fat that accumulates around one's stomach and abdomen, has long been considered to pose a high health risk in individuals. Hence, measurement of "central obesity"—as it's often called—helps predict propensity to disorders caused by excess weight in the abdominal area. /news/2017-06-obesity-mathematically-abdominal-fat.html Mathematics Tue, 20 Jun 2017 09:24:20 EDT news417169449 Glasses with embedded cameras and smartwatches with stored information seem like regular spy equipment for the likes of James Bond, but for three students applying to medical school in Thailand, they were high-technology cheating devices. /news/2016-05-high-tech-devices-thai-schools.html Other Wed, 11 May 2016 03:55:15 EDT news382157702 8:30 p.m. PDT /news/2015-06-latest-microsoft-augmented-reality-headset.html Consumer & Gadgets Mon, 15 Jun 2015 15:24:23 EDT news353600657 Notorious gangsters Al Capone and Carlo Gambino were famously done in by tax evasion charges. John Gotti, the "Teflon Don" was given up by a confidant. While the criminal masterminds of today are conducting their nefarious business online, the key to taking them down depends on understanding how they organize and where to squeeze them. Researchers from Drexel University's Privacy, Security and Automation Lab are searching for that pressure point by studying the activity of cybercrime forums. Their findings could guide the next generation of "Untouchables." /news/2015-04-formulas-google-klout-facebook-cybercrime.html Computer Sciences Tue, 14 Apr 2015 06:24:42 EDT news348211472 Defending websites from malicious intruder bots is not unlike fighting viruses: neutralize them and they reinvent themselves, finding new ways to penetrate. But IT security designers still hold an advantage over some automated programs masquerading as people. To date, there are human abilities too complex to imitate. /news/2015-04-rage-machines-malicious-bots.html Computer Sciences Mon, 06 Apr 2015 16:36:13 EDT news347556958 If you thought today's young YouTube celebrities have only virtual contact with their fans, think again. They have taken on something new: real life. /news/2015-02-youtube-stars-offline.html Internet Fri, 13 Feb 2015 04:20:01 EST news343021633 Passport issuing officers are no better at identifying if someone is holding a fake passport photo than the average person, new research has revealed. /news/2014-08-passport-reveals-vulnerability-photo-id.html Social Sciences Mon, 18 Aug 2014 14:00:02 EDT news327583902 To evaluate school quality, states require students to take standardized tests; in many cases, passing those tests is necessary to receive a high-school diploma. These high-stakes tests have also been shown to predict students' future educational attainment and adult employment and income. /news/2013-12-scores-cognitive-abilities-dont.html Social Sciences Wed, 11 Dec 2013 10:41:45 EST news305980886 A group of US lawmakers on Wednesday proposed a bill that would make it illegal for employers or schools to require the disclosure of passwords for social networks such as Facebook. /news/2013-02-lawmakers-password-privacy-bill.html Internet Wed, 06 Feb 2013 15:40:40 EST news279387627 (Â鶹ÒùÔº)—Businesses are good for nonprofits, but they are especially good for nonprofits that directly benefit the corporate elite such as art institutes, symphony orchestras and private schools, according to research from the University of Michigan. /news/2012-12-corporations-favor-elite-nonprofits.html Economics & Business Mon, 17 Dec 2012 10:46:34 EST news274963581 They appear as invaders, taking over a neighborhood and erecting tall dwellings seemingly overnight. Offspring and relatives soon follow, and their ensuing racket is not to be spoken of in polite company. /news/2012-10-monk-parakeets-immigrants-york-argentina.html Plants & Animals Wed, 17 Oct 2012 08:36:07 EDT news269681746 (Â鶹ÒùÔº) -- The PHP group, under fire for prematurely pushing out a patch to fix a recently uncovered vulnerability in the language, says it is working on another patch to fix the problem as web site owners scramble to ensure the integrity of their sites. Fortunately, as dire as that sounds, few sites appear to be at risk because the vulnerability only exists for those running in Common Gateway Interface (CGI) mode. /news/2012-05-php-group-vulnerability.html Software Tue, 08 May 2012 08:01:37 EDT news255682883