Category Archives: Science

Research Preview: Nature Magazine – April 27, 2023

Volume 616 Issue 7958

nature Magazine – April 20, 2023 issue:

Massive mosquito factory in Brazil aims to halt dengue

Facility will produce up to five billion bacteria-infected mosquitoes per year

A WMP staff member releases Wolbachia mosquitoes in Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro
A World Mosquito Program (WMP) staff member releases Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes in Niterói, Brazil.Credit: WMP Brasil.

The non-profit World Mosquito Program (WMP) has announced that it will release modified mosquitoes in many of Brazil’s urban areas over the next 10 years, with the aim of protecting up to 70 million people from diseases such as dengue. Researchers have tested the release of this type of mosquito — which carries a Wolbachia bacterium that stops the insect from transmitting viruses — in select cities in countries such as Australia, Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia and Vietnam. But this will be the first time that the technology is dispersed nationwide.

Rewilding the planet

An archipelago constructed of sand and mud is bringing new life to a dead lake but can this bold experiment have a lasting impact

Studies: Alcohol Abuse Increases Chronic Pain

Scripps Research (April 21, 2023) – Chronic alcohol consumption may make people more sensitive to pain through two different molecular mechanisms—one driven by alcohol intake and one by alcohol withdrawal. That is one new conclusion by scientists at Scripps Research on the complex links between alcohol and pain.

The research, published in the British Journal of Pharmacology on April 12, 2023, also suggests potential new drug targets for treating alcohol-associated chronic pain and hypersensitivity.

“There is an urgent need to better understand the two-way street between chronic pain and alcohol dependence,” says senior author Marisa Roberto, PhD, the Schimmel Family Chair of Molecular Medicine, and a professor of neuroscience at Scripps Research. “Pain is both a widespread symptom in patients suffering from alcohol dependence, as well as a reason why people are driven to drink again.”

Alcohol use disorder (AUD), which encompasses the conditions commonly called alcohol abuse, alcohol dependence and alcohol addiction, affects 29.5 million people in the U.S. according to the 2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health.  Over time, AUD can trigger the development of numerous chronic diseases, including heart disease, stroke, liver disease and some cancers.

READ MORE AT SCRIPPS RESEARCH

Research Preview: Science Magazine – April 21, 2023

Science | AAAS

Science Magazine – April 21, 2023 issue:

“It’s just mind boggling.” More than 19,000 undersea volcanoes discovered

Sonar mapping image of underwater seamounts including 4776-meter-tall Pao Pao Seamount
The 4776-meter-tall Pao Pao Seamount (right) in the South Pacific Ocean has been mapped by sonar. Many others haven’t.

New seamount maps could aid in studies of ecology, plate tectonics, and ocean mixing

Sleeping deep

Although northern elephant seals do sleep on land, like the one pictured here in California, they can also sleep while diving to 300 meters underwater.PHOTO: RACHEL HOLSER, NMFS 23188

Sleep is essential, but not all mammals live in environments where long periods of time asleep are possible. Marine mammals encounter especially challenging conditions for sleep when they are at sea. 

Research Preview: Nature Magazine – April 20, 2023

Volume 616 Issue 7957, 20 April 2023

nature Magazine – April 20, 2023 issue: Although currently there is no known threat to Earth from asteroids, strategies to protect the planet from a collision are being explored. On 26 September 2022, NASA and the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory successfully tested one such approach: the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft was deliberately crashed into Dimorphos, a moon orbiting the small asteroid Didymos, resulting in a change in the moon’s orbit.

Is Africa’s Great Green Wall project withering?

The plan to re-green a 7,000-kilometre swathe south of the Sahara is at risk of losing its pan-African vision and ambition.

A glacier’s catastrophic collapse is linked to global warming

Eleven hikers died after weeks of unusually warm weather led to melting of the Marmolada Glacier in the Alps.

Sunshine is transformed into green hydrogen on an ambitious scale

Prototype facility smashes record for converting solar power to hydrogen for its technology category.

Science Review: Scientific American – May 2023 Issue

Scientific American – May 2023 - Free PDF Magazine download

Scientific American – May 2023 Issue:

Synthetic Morphology Lets Scientists Create New Life-Forms

Synthetic Morphology Lets Scientists Create New Life-Forms

The emerging field of synthetic morphology bends boundaries between natural and artificial life

The Six Moons Most Likely to Host Life in Our Solar System

The Six Moons Most Likely to Host Life in Our Solar System

Vast quantities of liquid water may exist on moons of Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune, making life possible there, too

How Much Does ‘Nothing’ Weigh?

How Much Does 'Nothing' Weigh?

The Archimedes experiment will weigh the void of empty space to help solve a big cosmic puzzle

Research Preview: Science Magazine – April 14, 2023

Current Issue Cover

Science Magazine – April 7, 2023 issue: Anchoring radiocarbon dates to cosmic events, why hibernating bears don’t get blood clots, and kicking off a book series on sex, gender, and science.

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Reproductive medicine

Since ancient times, humans have been trying to exercise control over their reproductive decisions, whether to avoid undesired pregnancy or to improve their chances of conceiving. In addition, the risks of pregnancy and childbirth have always been a major challenge.

Droughts are coming on faster

Higher global temperatures are increasing the frequency of flash droughts

Book Reviews: ‘On The Origin Of Time – Stephen Hawking’s Final Theory’

nature Magazine Science Book Reviews – April 2023

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On the Origin of Time

Like his mentor and colleague Stephen Hawking, Thomas Hertog has never shied away from being ambitious in theorizing about the universe. This sweeping book provides an accessible overview of both what we know about cosmology, and some audacious ideas for moving into the unknown. It is an introduction to Hawking’s final theory, but also a glimpse into even grander theories yet to come.

Professor Sean Carroll, author of The Biggest Ideas in the Universe

Research Preview: Nature Magazine – April 13, 2023

Volume 616 Issue 7956

nature Magazine – April 13, 2023 issue: Octopuses use chemotactile receptors (CRs) in the suckers on their arms to ‘taste by touch’ as they explore their sea-floor environment. These proteins evolved from neurotransmitter receptors to allow octopuses to detect poorly soluble natural products on contact.

World’s biggest butterfly is low on genetic diversity

Ornithoptera alexandrae, Queen Alexandra's birdwing butterfly.
Rare beauty: the Queen Alexandra’s birdwing can have a wingspan of more than 28 centimetres. Credit: Alamy

An endangered butterfly, found only in Papua New Guinea, has had a small population for a million years.

Three ways to solve the plastics pollution crisis

Man walks through a canal which is blocked by piles of plastic waste and food waste dumped, Bangladesh, Dhaka.
A canal blocked by waste, including discarded plastic, in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Credit: Ahmed Salahuddin/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

Researchers are studying how more-sophisticated policies, smarter recycling and new materials could stem the tide of waste.

Research: New Scientist Magazine – April 15, 2023

New Scientist | Science news, articles, and features

New Scientist Magazine April 15, 2023 issue:

How do we know that therapy works, and which kind is best for you?

How do we know that therapy works, and which kind is best for you?

Psychotherapy has never been more available and yet, with so many options, it can be hard to know where to start. Thankfully, researchers are getting to grips with what really works and why

The Power of Language review: What speaking many languages can do

Physicist David Wolpert on how to study concepts beyond imagination