The Arctic, Earth's icy crown, is experiencing a climate crisis like no other. It's heating up at a furious pace -- four times faster than the rest of our planet. Researchers are pulling back the curtain on the reduction of sunlight reflectivity, or albedo, which is supercharging the Arctic's warming.
The rules of statistical physics address the uncertainty about the state of a system that arises when that system interacts with its environment. But they've long missed another kind. In a new paper, researchers argue that uncertainty in the thermodynamic parameters themselves -- built into equations that govern the energetic behavior of the system -- may also influence the outcome of an experiment.
New research has precisely dated some of the oldest fossils of complex multicellular life in the world, helping to track a pivotal moment in the history of Earth when the seas began teeming with new lifeforms -- after four billion years of containing only single-celled microbes.
The use of the antipsychotic drugs quetiapine and haloperidol is associated with an increased risk of ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death (SCD) caused by drug-induced QT prolongation, reports a new study. Caution is advised to manage cardiac risks in patients prescribed these medications, the authors of the study and an accompanying editorial say.
Three decades of data have informed a new Nebraska-led study that shows how the depletion of groundwater -- the same that many farmers rely on for irrigation -- can threaten food production amid drought and drier climes. The study found that, due in part to the challenges of extracting groundwater, an aquifer's depletion can curb crop yields even when it appears saturated enough to continue meeting the demands of irrigation.
Researchers have developed a platform that combines automated experiments with AI to predict how chemicals will react with one another, which could accelerate the design process for new drugs.
Textbook models will need to be re-drawn after a team of researchers found that water molecules at the surface of salt water are organised differently than previously thought.
New findings debunk previous wisdom that solid-state qubits need to be super dilute in an ultra-clean material to achieve long lifetimes. Instead, cram lots of rare-earth ions into a crystal and some will form pairs that act as highly coherent qubits, a new paper shows.
New research has cracked a vital process in the creation of a unique rock type from the Moon. The discovery explains its signature composition and very presence on the lunar surface at all, unraveling a mystery which has long-eluded scientists.
In organic optoelectronic devices, the control of molecular deposition on thin films is important for optimal surface arrangement and device performance. In a recent study, researchers developed a new method for achieving stable deposition on thin films effectively. They also developed a tool to track real-time potential changes on the surface. These findings are expected to aid the improvement of organic devices, such as organic light-emitting diodes, in terms of efficacy and durability.
The trials of the ChAdOx1 NipahB vaccine, consisting of 51 people aged 18 to 55, will be led by the Oxford Vaccine Group
Global surgery focuses on equitable access to emergency and essential surgery. It encompasses a range of challenges including inaccessibility, disease burden, and economic burden
Using artificial intelligence to scan surgery patients' medical records for signs of risky drinking might help spot those whose alcohol use raises their risk of problems during and after an operation, a new study suggests. The AI record scan tested in the study could help surgery teams know in advance which patients might need more education about such risks, or treatment to help them reduce their drinking or stop drinking for a period of time before and after surgery.
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease, in which the immune system that normally protects the body from invading microbes turns against the body's own cells. Researchers studied four patients from two families who developed symptoms of SLE in the first years of life. As familial occurrence of SLE in young children is highly unusual, the team searched for a primary genetic cause and found a mutation in the UNC93B1 gene in all affected family members.
Identification of genes under recent selection provides insights into the molecular mechanisms of human-related adaptation in Candida pathogens. The study reveals both known and novel genetic variants associated with drug resistance, offering potential targets for improved antifungal therapies.
New research for the first time reveals the function of a little-understood junction between cells in the brain that could have important treatment implications for conditions ranging from multiple sclerosis to Alzheimer's disease, to a type of brain cancer known as glioma. Neuroscientists focused on the synapse connecting neurons to a non-neuronal cell, known as oligodendrocyte precursor cells. OPCs can differentiate into oligodendrocytes, which produce a sheath around nerves known as myelin. Myelin is the protective sheath covering each nerve cell's axon -- the threadlike portion of a cell that transmits electrical signals between cells.
Astronomers have discovered a planet closer and younger than any other Earth-sized world yet identified. It's a remarkably hot world whose proximity to our own planet and to a star like our sun mark it as a unique opportunity to study how planets evolve.
Having more frequent urinary incontinence and leakage amounts is associated with higher odds of disability, according to researchers.
Individuals with obesity are more likely to have monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS), a benign blood condition that often precedes multiple myeloma, according to new research.
Earth's average surface temperature in 2023 was the warmest on record, according to an analysis by NASA. Global temperatures last year were around 2.1 degrees Fahrenheit (1.2 degrees Celsius) above the average for NASA's baseline period (1951-1980), scientists from NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York reported.
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