by Dr. Kristin Beck, Leibniz-Institut für Ostseeforschung Warnemünde Sampling stations for Baltic cod and flounder in the western (blue) and central (red and yellow) Baltic Sea. Western Baltic Sea stations were located in the Mecklenburg Bay as part of the Belt Sea in 2020. Central Baltic Sea stations were located near Rügen and the south-western … Read more
Europa Clipper is seen in the 25-Foot Space Simulator at JPL in February, before the start of thermal vacuum testing. A battery of tests ensures that the NASA spacecraft can withstand the extreme hot, cold, and airless environment of space. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech In less than six months, NASA is set to launch Europa Clipper on … Read more
(Left) The new dark matter detection proposal looks for frequent interactions between nuclei in a detector and low-energy dark matter that may be present in and around Earth. (Right) A conventional direct detection experiment looks for occasional recoils from dark matter scattering. Credit: Anirban Das, Noah Kurinsky and Rebecca Leane Ever since its discovery, dark … Read more
General equilibrium economy-wide output losses, LGE, obtained from an empirically calibrated and 1,000 synthetic COVID-19 shocks propagating on the aggregated IPN (blue dashed line) and on the FPN (red line, histogram). Credit: PNAS Nexus (2024). DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgae064 How would an armed conflict, an epidemic, or a flood affect the economy? “Being able to assess—perhaps even … Read more
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Social interaction is key to survival and reproductive success in primates, including humans. Optimizing outcomes from these encounters requires a calculated approach to cooperation and competition—knowing whom to trust, whom to avoid, or whom to confront confers an evolutionary advantage. This intricate balancing of reciprocal exchanges, governed by quid pro quo … Read more
The processes through which soil microbes can aid management of desertification. Credit: Islam et al. 2024. Desertification is a significant problem for arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid regions of Earth, whereby grasslands and shrublands become a comparatively barren desert as vegetation disappears over time. This poses an extreme hazard to local ecosystems, as well as … Read more
Saving chocolate: Israel scientist Ellen Graber. Israeli scientist Ellen Graber has spent years researching ways to save chocolate crops from climate change. But with the government slashing spending to fund the war in Gaza, her project is one of hundreds now hanging in the balance. Graber’s research had already been hit by the war—she had … Read more
Acetylene is widely used in across many industries, including the production of resins and plastics like PVC. Realizing an environmentally friendly technique to synthesize it would represent a massive step towards building sustainable societies. Credit: Yuta Suzuki from Doshisha University, Japan Reaching sustainability is one of humanity’s most pressing challenges today—and also one of the … Read more
Tobacco hornworm, ie, final instar caterpillar of the Carolina sphinx moth. Credit: Konstantin Kornev Blood is a remarkable material: it must remain fluid inside blood vessels, yet clot as quickly as possible outside them, to stop bleeding. The chemical cascade that makes this possible is well understood for vertebrate blood. But hemolymph, the equivalent of … Read more
A dwarf species of rock-wallaby, the nabarlek. Credit: Ian Morris, WA Australian rock-wallabies are “little Napoleons” when it comes to compensating for small size, packing much more punch into their bite than larger relatives. Researchers from Flinders University made the discovery while investigating how two dwarf species of rock-wallaby are able to feed themselves on … Read more
