From Phys.org
-
Artificial intelligence helps scientists engineer plants to fight climate change
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has declared that removing carbon from the atmosphere is now essential to fighting climate change and limiting global temperature rise. To support these efforts, Salk Institute scientists are harnessing plants' natural ability to draw carbon dioxide out of the air by optimizing their root systems to store more carbon for a longer period of time.
-
Startup financing gender gaps greater in societies where women are more empowered: Study
Commercial bankers provide capital to fund the operations and growth of businesses. However, as these lenders evaluate entrepreneurs who apply for loans, gender bias leads to women being denied more often than their male counterparts.
-
Shoreline model predicts long-term future of storm protection and sea-level rise
Researchers in North Carolina have created a simulation model to analyze how coastal management activities meant to protect barrier islands from sea-level rise can disrupt the natural processes that are keeping barrier islands above water.
-
Balancing AI and physics: Toward a learnable climate model
Artificial intelligence (AI) is bringing notable changes to atmospheric science, particularly with the introduction of large AI weather models like Pangu-Weather and GraphCast. However, alongside these advancements, questions have arisen about the alignment of these models with fundamental physics principles.
-
Pushing the limits of sub-kilowatt electric propulsion technology for space mission concepts
NASA has developed an advanced propulsion technology to facilitate future planetary exploration missions using small spacecraft. Not only will this technology enable new types of planetary science missions, one of NASA's commercial partners is already preparing to use it for another purpose—to extend the lifetimes of spacecraft that are already in orbit.
-
Uncovering the diversity of Micropsalliota: Seven new species and one newly recorded species in southern China
Species of Micropsalliota (Basidiomycota, Agaricomycetes, Agaricales, Agaricaceae) are mainly distributed in tropical and /or subtropical regions. These fungi are saprophytic in general and can decompose lignin and cellulose, and thus have significant value in ecosystems. Research on the Micropsalliota has a long history of more than one hundred years. However, the molecular phylogenetic study on this genus is very limited and the phylogenetic relationships of species within this genus remain...
-
AI tool recognizes serious ocular disease in horses
Colloquially known as moon blindness, equine recurrent uveitis (ERU) is an inflammatory ocular disease in horses, which can lead to blindness or loss of the affected eye. It is one of the most common eye diseases in horses and has a major economic impact. Correct and swift diagnosis is very important to minimize lasting damage.
-
Computer game helps students get better at detecting fake news
A computer game helped upper secondary school students become better at distinguishing between reliable and misleading news. This is shown by a study conducted by researchers at Uppsala University and elsewhere.
-
Ultrasensitive photonic crystal detects single particles down to 50 nanometers
Using an ultrasensitive photonic crystal, TU/e researchers were able to detect single particles down to 50 nanometers in diameter. The new research has just been published in the journal Optica.
-
A NASA rover has reached a promising place to search for fossilized life on Mars
While we go about our daily lives on Earth, a nuclear-powered robot the size of a small car is trundling around Mars looking for fossils. Unlike its predecessor Curiosity, NASA's Perseverance rover is explicitly intended to "search for potential evidence of past life", according to the official mission objectives.
-
Virtual reality can motivate people to donate to refugee crises regardless of politics
Political conservatives who watched a documentary on Syrian refugees with a virtual reality headset had far more sympathy for the people depicted in the film than those who viewed the same film on a two-dimensional computer screen.
-
Scientists map soil RNA to fungal genomes to understand forest ecosystems
If a tree falls in the forest—whether or not anyone registers the sound—one thing is for sure: there are lots of fungi around. Within a forest's soil, hundreds of species decompose debris, mobilize nutrients from that decay, and deliver those nutrients to tree roots and soil. These fungi help shape a forest's ecology. They store carbon and cycle key nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus.