[…] The clouds around Japan’s Mount Fuji and Mount Oyama contain concerning levels of the tiny plastic bits, and highlight how the pollution can be spread long distances, contaminating the planet’s crops and water via “plastic rainfall”. The plastic was so concentrated in the samples researchers collected that it is thought to be causing clouds Read more about Microplastics detected in clouds hanging atop two Japanese mountains[…]

When contemplating the emissions from road vehicles, our first thought is often about the various gases coming out of the tailpipe. However, new research shows that we should be more concerned with the harmful particles that are shed from tires and brakes. Scientists have a good understanding of engine emissions, which typically consist of unburnt Read more about Tire and brake Dust Makes Up the Majority of Ocean Microplastics[…]

Researchers at the University of California San Diego have figured out a way to turn everyday earbuds into high-tech gadgets that can record electrical activity inside the brain. The 3D screen-printed, flexible sensors are not only able to detect electrophysiological activity coming from the brain but they can also harvest sweat. Yes, sweat. More specifically, Read more about Researchers developed 3D-printed sensors that can record brain activity on earbuds[…]

The ability to regrow your own teeth could be just around the corner. A team of scientists, led by a Japanese pharmaceutical startup, are getting set to start human trials on a new drug that has successfully grown new teeth in animal test subjects. Toregem Biopharma is slated to begin clinical trials in July of Read more about World’s 1st drug to regrow teeth enters clinical trials[…]

Since 1999, Slashdot has been covering the annual Ig Nobel prize ceremonies — which honor real scientific research into strange or surprising subjects. “Each winner (or winning team) has done something that makes people LAUGH, then THINK,” explains the ceremony web page, promising that “a gaggle of genuine, genuinely bemused Nobel laureates handed the Ig Read more about ‘Laugh then Think’: Strange Research Honored at 33rd Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony[…]

Though a cornerstone of thermodynamics, entropy remains one of the most vexing concepts to teach budding physicists in the classroom. As a result, many people oversimplify the concept as the amount of disorder in the universe, neglecting its underlying quantitative nature.   In The Physics Teacher, researcher T. Ryan Rogers designed a hand-held model to Read more about Grasping entropy: Teachers and students investigate thermodynamics through a hands-on model[…]

[…] A study published last month in the journal Environmental Pollution outlines how paper cups can leach toxic materials into the surrounding environment. This is because paper cups are often coated in a layer of polylactic acid, otherwise known as PLA. It’s a bioplastic and is touted as a biodegradable alternative to traditional plastic. However, Read more about Paper Cups Are Bad for the Environment Too, Study Finds[…]

[…] Researchers at the University of Rhode Island exposed mice to different levels of microplastics via their drinking water to research the impacts on behaviors and how the plastics build up in their bodies. Researchers observed that the microplastics accumulated in the tissue of multiple organs, including those outside of the digestive systems of the Read more about Microplastics Tied to Behavioral Changes in Mice, Study Finds[…]

A two-year human trial conducted by James Cook University (JCU) has concluded, demonstrating positive results using low-dose human hookworm therapy to treat chronic conditions, particularly in relation to type 2 diabetes. New Atlas reports: [O]f the 24 participants who received worms, when offered a dewormer at the end of the second year of the trial, Read more about Hookworms Successfully Prevent Type 2 Diabetes In Human Trial[…]

Once tooth decay has set in, all a dentist can do is fill the gap with an artificial plug — a filling. But in a paper published in Cell, Hannele Ruohola-Baker, a stem-cell biologist at the University of Washington, and her colleagues offer a possible alternative. Economist: Stem cells are those that have the capacity Read more about Scientists Want To Fix Tooth Decay With Stem Cells[…]

[…] Knowing the wave function of such a quantum system is a challenging task—this is also known as quantum state tomography or quantum tomography in short. With the standard approaches (based on the so-called projective operations), a full tomography requires large number of measurements that rapidly increases with the system’s complexity (dimensionality). Previous experiments conducted Read more about Visualizing the mysterious dance: Quantum entanglement of photons captured in real-time[…]

[…] a new study published on Monday in the journal Nature Medicine. The gene therapy was tested on macaque monkeys over 12 months, revealing promising results. […] At the beginning of the study, the monkeys were gradually given alcohol until an addiction was established. Then, they began self-regulating their own intake at an amount equating Read more about Study gets monkeys drunk for 12 months and doing 9 drinks a day. Injects dopamine inhibitors and discovers they don’t want to do much of anything any more.[…]

[…] researchers are now waking up to another factor, one that could be filed under the category of unintended consequences: disappearing clouds known as ship tracks. Regulations imposed in 2020 by the United Nations’s International Maritime Organization (IMO) have cut ships’ sulfur pollution by more than 80% and improved air quality worldwide. The reduction has Read more about ‘We’re changing the clouds.’ An unintended test of geoengineering is fueling record ocean warmth[…]

A new study reports conclusive evidence for the breakdown of standard gravity in the low acceleration limit from a verifiable analysis of the orbital motions of long-period, widely separated, binary stars, usually referred to as wide binaries in astronomy and astrophysics. The study carried out by Kyu-Hyun Chae, professor of physics and astronomy at Sejong Read more about Gravity Changes how it works at low acceleration shown by observations of widely seperated binary stars[…]

A team from the University of Chicago has announced the first evidence for “quantum superchemistry”—a phenomenon where particles in the same quantum state undergo collective accelerated reactions. The effect had been predicted, but never observed in the laboratory. […] Chin’s group is experienced with herding atoms into quantum states, but molecules are larger and much Read more about Scientists observe first evidence of ‘quantum superchemistry’ in the laboratory[…]

Scientists have combined two light wavelengths to deactivate a bacterium that is invulnerable to some of the world’s most widely used antibiotics, giving hope that the regime could be adapted as a potential disinfectant treatment. Under the guidance of project leader Dr. Gale Brightwell, scientists at New Zealand’s AgResearch demonstrated the novel antimicrobial efficiency of Read more about Dual wavelengths of light shown to be effective against antibiotic-resistant superbug bacterium[…]

The team at NASA made three animations, all showing the carbon dioxide levels throughout the year 2021. Each one shows four major contributors: fossil fuels, burning biomass, land ecosystems, and the oceans. In the view showing North and South America, we can see the results of plants absorbing the gas via photosynthesis and then releasing Read more about Animation Shows What the World Would Look Like If You Could See Carbon Dioxide Emissions[…]

A new study examining the effects of planting a wildflower meadow in the historic grounds of King’s College, Cambridge, has demonstrated its benefits to local biodiversity and climate change mitigation.   The study, led by King’s Research Fellow Dr. Cicely Marshall, found that establishing the meadow had made a considerable impact to the wildlife value Read more about Establishing a wildflower meadow bolstered biodiversity and reduced greenhouse gas emissions, study finds[…]