Easily observing environmental pollution-causing harmful substances through a mobile phone camera

Easily observing environmental pollution-causing harmful substances through a mobile phone camera

Credit: CC0 Public Domain DGIST’s Physics and Chemistry Professor Park Jin-hee and her research team have developed a technology that allows easy detection of hazardous chemicals. Allowing one to detect harmful substances by analyzing color changes using a mobile phone camera, the technology is expected to be utilized for various purposes, such as the detection … Read more

Gene editing technology reveals molecular mechanisms governing diatom population density signals

Gene editing technology reveals molecular mechanisms governing diatom population density signals

Model of SLC24A-mediated population density perception and regulation mechanism. Credit: IOCAS The intricate dynamics of diatom blooms, influenced by a myriad of external factors and internal signals, continue to fascinate scientists. After recognizing the potential role of density perception and intracellular signaling in dictating these phenomena, researchers have begun to elucidate the molecular basis of … Read more

Canopy soil of old-growth forest fosters unique invertebrate diversity that is vulnerable to human disturbance

Canopy soil of old-growth forest fosters unique invertebrate diversity that is vulnerable to human disturbance

Map of Japan (left) and inset of Yakushima Island showing the Kohanayama research site in natural forests dominated by Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) (right). Credit: Biological Conservation (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110520 Yakushima Island, a world heritage site in Japan, is renowned for its rich biodiversity. The huge Japanese cedar (Yaku-sugi) forests, which are over a thousand … Read more

Researchers reveal impact of brassinosteroid and sugar signal on wheat grain size regulation

Researchers reveal impact of brassinosteroid and sugar signal on wheat grain size regulation

TabHLH489 and TaSnRK1α1 integrating BR and sugar signals to regulate wheat grain length. Credit: Xiao Jun Grain size plays a central role in determining wheat yield, and precise regulation of grain development has emerged as a key strategy for increasing yields in several staple crops such as rice and maize. However, the genetic basis and … Read more

Study identifies protein responsible for gas vesicle clustering in bacteria

Study identifies protein responsible for gas vesicle clustering in bacteria

Simulated configuration of the protein structure. Credit: Rice University Gas vesicles are hollow structures made of protein found in the cells of certain microorganisms, and researchers at Rice University believe they can be programmed for use in biomedical applications. “Inside cells, gas vesicles are packed in a beautiful honeycomb pattern. How this pattern is formed … Read more

A catalyst for converting carbon dioxide, the main cause of global warming, into ethylene using vitamin C

A catalyst for converting carbon dioxide, the main cause of global warming, into ethylene using vitamin C

CO2 capture strategy and surface structures of AA-augmented CuNWs. a Schematic of enhanced CO2-to-*CO conversion and *CO dimerization in cAA-CuNW for high-rate C2H4 production. b Redox of AA and DHA for CO2 capture. c Schematic illustration of surface modification of CuNWs with GQD, AA, and nanoconfined AA on GQDs. An ionomer is coated on the … Read more

Archaeologist’s fieldwork finds movement of crops, animals played a key role in domestication

Archaeologist’s fieldwork finds movement of crops, animals played a key role in domestication

Foxtail millet field in Aohan, Inner Mongolia. The location is close to Xinglonggou, one of the archaeological localities providing evidence of millet cultivation 8,000 years ago. 2023 was the International Year of Millets, as declared by the United Nations. Credit: Xinyi Liu Archaeologist Xinyi Liu at Washington University in St. Louis teamed up with Martin … Read more

In Canada’s Quebec, residents miffed over mining boom

In Canada’s Quebec, residents miffed over mining boom

Residents of the Canadian town of Saint-Elie-de-Caxton are upset with an explosion in mining claims, including under their own homes. Canada’s Quebec province is rich with minerals needed for everything from electric cars to cell phones, but residents living atop the potential windfall are worried their backyards will be dug up—and they won’t get a … Read more

US restores handful of wildlife protections axed by Trump

US restores handful of wildlife protections axed by Trump

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain The US administration of President Joe Biden on Thursday announced further protections for endangered species and their habitats, restoring a set of regulations weakened by Donald Trump. The new rules were touted as evidence of Biden’s commitment to tackling climate change, though some environmental groups said the changes fell short of … Read more

Suppressing boredom at work hurts future productivity, study shows

Suppressing boredom at work hurts future productivity, study shows

Credit: CC0 Public Domain Boredom is more common at work than in any other setting, studies show, and employees are bored at work for more than 10 hours per week on average. Even astronauts and police officers get bored on the job. No occupation is immune. Boredom serves an important purpose—it signals the need to … Read more