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Categories: Biology: Botany, Space: Astrophysics
Published Measuring neutrons to reduce nuclear waste



Nuclear power is considered one of the ways to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, but how to deal with nuclear waste products is a concern. Radioactive waste products can be turned into more stable elements, but this process is not yet viable at scale. New research reveals a method to more accurately measure, predict and model a key part of the process to make nuclear waste more stable. This could lead to improved nuclear waste treatment facilities and also to new theories about how some heavier elements in the universe came to be.
Published New nuclei can help shape our understanding of fundamental science on Earth and in the cosmos



In creating five new isotopes, scientists have brought the stars closer to Earth. The isotopes are known as thulium-182, thulium-183, ytterbium-186, ytterbium-187 and lutetium-190.
Published Reforestation programs could threaten vast area of tropical grasslands



New research reveals the scale of inappropriate reforestation projects across Africa. A new study reveals that an area the size of France is threatened by forest restoration initiatives, such as the AFR100 initiative (African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative), due to inappropriate restoration in the form of tree-planting.
Published Researchers shed light on river resiliency to flooding



Researchers have completed one of the most extensive river resilience studies, examining how river ecosystems recover following floods. They developed a novel modeling approach that used data from oxygen sensors placed in rivers to estimate daily growth in aquatic plants and algae. The researchers then modeled the algal and plant biomass in 143 rivers across the contiguous U.S. to quantify what magnitude of flooding disturbs the biomass and how long the rivers take to recover from floods. Increased understanding of rivers' resiliency is important to maintaining healthy rivers, as human actions can affect flood regimes and change the conditions in rivers for other aquatic life that may rely on algae and plants as a food source.
Published Asexual propagation of crop plants gets closer



When the female gametes in plants become fertilized, a signal from the sperm activates cell division, leading to the formation of new plant seeds. This activation can also be deliberately triggered without fertilization, as researchers have shown. Their findings open up new avenues for the asexual propagation of crop plants.
Published A star like a Matryoshka doll: New theory for gravastars



If gravitational condensate stars (or gravastars) actually existed, they would look similar to black holes to a distant observer. Two theoretical physicists have now found a new solution to Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity, according to which gravitational stars could be structured like a Russian matryoshka doll, with one gravastar located inside another.
Published Root microbes may be the secret to a better tasting cup of tea



You'd think the complex flavor in a quality cup of tea would depend mainly on the tea varieties used to make it. But a new study shows that the making of a delicious cup of tea depends on another key ingredient: the collection of microbes found on tea roots. By altering that assemblage, the authors showed that they could make good-quality tea even better.
Published Scientists are unravelling the secrets of red and grey squirrel competition



Researchers have identified significant differences between the diversity of gut bacteria in grey squirrels compared to red squirrels which could hold the key to further understanding the ability of grey squirrels to outcompete red squirrels in the UK.
Published Researchers uncover mechanisms behind enigmatic shapes of nuclei



White blood cells known as neutrophils feature a nucleus that is structured strikingly different than most nuclei. These unique shapes permit neutrophils to travel all over the body to combat invading pathogens. Scientists have now deciphered the shapeshifting puzzle of the neutrophil nucleus.
Published Pesticides to help protect seeds can adversely affect earthworms' health



While pesticides protect crops from hungry animals, pesky insects, or even microbial infections, they also impact other vital organisms, including bees and earthworms. And today, research reveals that worms are affected by the relatively small amounts of chemicals that can leach out of pesticide-treated seeds. Exposure to nonlethal amounts of these insecticides and fungicides resulted in poor weight gain and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) damage in the worms.
Published Controlling root growth direction could help save crops and mitigate climate change



Scientists have determined how the well-known plant hormone ethylene is crucial in controlling the angle at which roots grow. The findings can be used to engineer plants and crops that withstand the environmental stresses of climate change and drought, and perhaps to create plants that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it deep underground to help mitigate climate change.
Published Researchers uncover a key link in legume plant-bacteria symbiosis



Researchers have unveiled a groundbreaking discovery shedding light on the intricate play between legume plants and nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Their study details the crucial role played by phosphorylation in driving the formation of symbiotic organs, known as nodules, on plant roots. The long-term goal is to enable symbiosis in root nodules in important crops such as barley, maize and rice to avoid the use of chemical fertilizers.
Published Foul fumes pose pollinator problems



Scientists have discovered that nighttime air pollution -- coming primarily form car exhaust and power plant emissions -- is responsible for a major drop in nighttime pollinator activity. Nitrate radicals (NO3) in the air degrade the scent chemicals released by a common wildflower, drastically reducing the scent-based cues that its chief pollinators rely on to locate the flower. The findings show how nighttime pollution creates a chain of chemical reactions that degrades scent cues, leaving flowers undetectable by smell. The researchers also determined that pollution likely has worldwide impacts on pollination.
Published Physicists capture the first sounds of heat 'sloshing' in a superfluid



For the first time, physicists have captured direct images of 'second sound,' the movement of heat sloshing back and forth within a superfluid. The results will expand scientists' understanding of heat flow in superconductors and neutron stars.
Published Friend or foe? Ancient partnership between moss and fungi



Researchers have shed new light on the ancient relationship between moss and fungi. They discovered that intricate moss-fungi interactions often depended on a third variable -- the presence of endobacteria within the fungi themselves.
Published Astrophysicists crack the case of 'disappearing' Sulphur in planetary nebulae



Two astrophysicists have finally solved a 20-year-old astrophysical puzzle concerning the lower-than-expected amounts of the element sulphur found in Planetary Nebulae (PNe) in comparison to expectations and measurements of other elements and other types of astrophysical objects. The expected levels of sulphur have long appeared to be 'missing in action'. However, they have now finally reported for duty after hiding in plain sight, as a result of leveraging highly accurate and reliable data.
Published Inexpensive, carbon-neutral biofuels are finally possible



When it comes to making fuel from plants, the first step has always been the hardest -- breaking down the plant matter. A new study finds that introducing a simple, renewable chemical to the pretreatment step can finally make next-generation biofuel production both cost-effective and carbon neutral.
Published Researchers discover key to molecular mystery of how plants respond to changing conditions



A team of researchers recently published a pioneering study that answers a central question in biology: how do organisms rally a wide range of cellular processes when they encounter a change -- either internally or in the external environment -- to thrive in good times or survive the bad times? The research, focused on plants, identifies the interactions between four compounds: pectin, receptor proteins FERONIA and LLG1 and the signal RALF peptide.
Published A long, long time ago in a galaxy not so far away



Employing massive data sets collected through NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers are unearthing clues to conditions existing in the early universe. The team has catalogued the ages of stars in the Wolf--Lundmark--Melotte (WLM) galaxy, constructing the most detailed picture of it yet, according to the researchers. WLM, a neighbor of the Milky Way, is an active center of star formation that includes ancient stars formed 13 billion years ago.
Published Newly discovered carbon monoxide-runaway gap can help identify habitable exoplanets



A carbon monoxide (CO)-runaway gap identified in the atmospheres of Earth-like planets can help expand the search for habitable planets. This gap, identified through atmospheric modeling, is an indicator of a CO-rich atmosphere on Earth-like planets orbiting Sun-like stars. CO is an important compound for the formation of prebiotic organic compounds, which are building blocks for more complex molecules for the formation of life.