High-speed onion mist: Cutting technique and blade sharpness affect droplet spray, study shows
A new discovery about how cutting onions ejects pungent aerosols up to two-thirds of a meter into the air has led to practical advice for reducing the spray: Cut onions slowly with a sharpened blade or coat an onion in oil before cutting. ⌘ Read more
The world’s chemical pollution: Current state of research
Two authors from ETH Zurich and RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau have concluded that the rapid production and distribution of chemicals in the environment means that regulatory risk assessment can no longer keep pace with their ever-increasing numbers. ⌘ Read more
Boosting work engagement through a simple smartphone diary
Work engagement is a positive and persistent state of mind related to one’s work. It is characterized by high energy and mental resilience (vigor), enthusiasm and involvement (dedication), and complete concentration in the task at hand (absorption). Engaged workers are not merely more productive; they are more likely to be proactive, creative, and less susceptible to burnout. Most importantly, work engagement has been consistently … ⌘ Read more
Hiring in high-growth firms: Exploring the timing of organizational changes
High-growth firms (HGFs) refer to businesses that achieve rapid growth in terms of employees or revenue. Based on the established definition, HGFs are businesses with at least 10 employees and annual growth rates of 20% or more, observed over a period of three years. This three-year span is considered the high-growth (HG) period of the company. Even though this growth is often short-lived and difficult to sustain, it plays … ⌘ Read more
Ancient Patagonian hunter-gatherers took care of their injured and disabled, study finds
In a study published in the International Journal of Paleopathology, Dr. Victoria Romano and her colleagues analyzed the bones of 189 hunter-gatherers who lived during the Late Holocene (~4000 to 250 BP) in Patagonia. ⌘ Read more
DNA nanospring that measures cellular motor power could yield improved disease diagnosis
Cells all require the transport of materials to maintain their function. In nerve cells, a tiny motor made of protein called KIF1A is responsible for that. Mutations in this protein can lead to neurological disorders, including difficulties in walking, intellectual impairment and nerve degradation. It’s known that mutations in KIF1A also result in weakened motor performance, but this has been difficult to meas … ⌘ Read more
Waste management workers have gone from hero to zero in the public’s eyes since the pandemic, UK research says
Dustmen and road sweepers have gone from hero to zero in the public’s eyes since the end of the COVID pandemic, new research says. ⌘ Read more
Lake Tahoe algae experiment suggests seasonal shifts ahead
As the climate warms and nutrient inputs shift, algal communities in cool, clear mountain lakes like Lake Tahoe will likely experience seasonal changes, according to a study from the University of California, Davis, published in Water Resources Research. ⌘ Read more
Mysterious signs on Teotihuacan murals may reveal an early form of Uto-Aztecan language
More than two millennia ago, Teotihuacan was a thriving metropolis in central Mexico with up to 125,000 inhabitants. The city had gigantic pyramids and was a cultural center in Mesoamerica at the time. ⌘ Read more
Chemists create red fluorescent dyes that may enable clearer biomedical imaging
MIT chemists have designed a new type of fluorescent molecule that they hope could be used for applications such as generating clearer images of tumors. ⌘ Read more
Wheat diversity discovery could provide an urgently-needed solution to global food security
Wheat has a very large and complex genome. Researchers have found that different varieties can use their genes in different ways. By studying RNA—the molecules that carry out instructions from DNA—researchers can see which genes are active and when. By mapping this gene activity for the first time, researchers are able to accelerate international wheat breeding programs, developing new varieties of … ⌘ Read more
How marine heat waves reshape ocean food webs and slow deep sea carbon transport
New research shows that marine heat waves can reshape ocean food webs, which in turn can slow the transport of carbon to the deep sea and hamper the ocean’s ability to buffer against climate change. ⌘ Read more
Rocket test proves bacteria survive space launch and re-entry unharmed
A world-first study has proven microbes essential for human health can survive the extreme forces of space launch. The study has been published in npj Microgravity. ⌘ Read more
Order from disordered proteins: Physics-based algorithm designs biomolecules with custom properties
In synthetic and structural biology, advances in artificial intelligence have led to an explosion of designing new proteins with specific functions, from antibodies to blood clotting agents, by using computers to accurately predict the 3D structure of any given amino acid sequence. ⌘ Read more
Americans, Canadians unite in battling ‘eating machine’ carp
Finally, something to unite President Donald Trump, his Democratic opponents and the Canadians he’s threatening to annex: a ferociously hungry carp. ⌘ Read more
How to grow a giant pumpkin, with help from science
The pumpkin in Tony Scott’s backyard weighs almost as much as a small car. ⌘ Read more
Egypt reopens Amenhotep III’s tomb after over 20 years of renovation
Egypt on Saturday opened a tomb of a pharaoh for visitors after more than two decades of renovation in the southern city of Luxor, as it prepares for the official opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo. ⌘ Read more
Strange ‘rogue’ planet spotted guzzling matter like a star
A mysterious “rogue” planet has been observed gobbling six billion tons of gas and dust a second—an unprecedented rate that blurs the line between planets and stars, astronomers said Thursday. ⌘ Read more
Repetitive negative thinking mediates relationship between self-esteem and burnout in students, study finds
When people are highly stressed for prolonged periods of time, they can sometimes experience a state known as burnout, characterized by pronounced emotional, mental and physical exhaustion. The stressors leading to burnout could be personal, such as family conflicts or the end of a relationship, as well as academic or professional, such as studying a lot for exams or working long … ⌘ Read more
Undergrad students deploy applications to geosynchronous satellite 22,236 miles above Earth
For many college students, satellites are faint dots crossing the sky on clear nights. These objects are background details from science fiction to reality, like GPS, satellite radio, and WiFi. ⌘ Read more
Australia’s new food security strategy: What’s on the table, and what’s missing?
In 2023, a parliamentary inquiry into food security was held in Australia. This involves the government asking for public and expert advice on key issues to make better decisions. ⌘ Read more
From the chicken archive, 2017.
Not mine, these were more or less free roaming chickens. Farmers didn’t use some of their fields for a while and allowed some other farmer to let the birds live there in the meantime.
Saturday Citations: Bird news: Vultures as curators and a newly discovered interspecies warning call
This week, researchers reported that mild dietary stress supports healthy aging. Engineers created artificial neurons that can communicate directly with living cells. And dark energy observations suggest that the universe could end in a “big crunch” at 33 billion years old. ⌘ Read more
Migrated away from Micro.blog ⌘ Read more
That Manton guy is so incredible dull, not even funny: https://www.manton.org/2025/10/03/apparently-there-was-some-drama.html
Molecular coating cleans up noisy quantum light
Quantum technologies demand perfection: one photon at a time, every time, all with the same energy. Even tiny deviations in the number or energy of photons can derail devices, threatening the performance of quantum computers that someday could make up a quantum internet. ⌘ Read more
Computational tool helps forecast volcano slope collapses and tsunamis
For people living near volcanoes, danger goes well beyond lava flows and clouds of ash. Some explosive eruptions can lead to dramatic collapses of the sides of a volcano, like those at Mount St. Helens, Washington, and Anak Krakatau, Indonesia. The latter triggered tsunamis blamed for most deaths from its historic eruptions in 1883. ⌘ Read more
First wolf-dog hybrid confirmed in Greece
A prominent Greek wildlife group on Friday said it had confirmed the first case of a wolf-dog hybrid in the north of the country. ⌘ Read more
Accelerated Gulf of Maine warming may pose a serious threat to American lobsters
The Gulf of Maine is warming faster than 99% of the world’s oceans, raising concerns for its $2 billion-a-year American lobster fishery. Scientists at William & Mary’s Batten School & VIMS have been studying the impacts of ocean acidification and warming on lobster reproduction, and the results of their most recent research suggest the rising temperatures pose the greatest risk. ⌘ Read more
Why some human GII.4 noroviruses are better than others at infecting cells
Human noroviruses, GII.4 strains in particular, are the chief drivers of acute viral gastroenteritis around the world, a condition for which there are no vaccines or antivirals. Understanding how these viruses enter cells in the gut, a first step toward developing an infection, can lead to effective therapeutics. ⌘ Read more
Energy harvesters surpass Carnot efficiency using non-thermal electron states
Harnessing quantum states that avoid thermalization enables energy harvesters to surpass traditional thermodynamic limits such as Carnot efficiency, report researchers from Japan. The team developed a new approach using a non-thermal Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid to convert waste heat into electricity with higher efficiency than conventional approaches. These findings pave the way for more sustainable low-power elect … ⌘ Read more
Novel method for controlling Faraday rotation in conductive polymers
Researchers at the University of Tsukuba have developed a novel method for controlling the optical rotation of conductive polymer polythiophene in a magnetic field at low voltage. This method combines the “Faraday rotation” phenomenon, in which a polarizing plane rotates in response to a magnetic field, with the electrochemical oxidation and reduction of conductive polymers. ⌘ Read more
Ultra-thin sodium films offer low-cost alternative to gold and silver in optical technologies
From solar panels to next-generation medical devices, many emerging technologies rely on materials that can manipulate light with extreme precision. These materials—called plasmonic materials—are typically made from expensive metals like gold or silver. But what if a cheaper, more abundant metal could do the job just as well or better? ⌘ Read more
Neolithic Chinese culture artifacts show systematic human bone modification
In a recent study by Dr. Sawada and his colleagues published in Scientific Reports, 183 human bones were surveyed, of which 52 were found to be worked human bones, all of which belong to the Neolithic Liangzhu culture. ⌘ Read more
New telescope cuts through space noise in hunt for distant Earth-like worlds
EU researchers are developing powerful new telescopes to help uncover Earth-like planets around distant stars and advance the search for extraterrestrial life. ⌘ Read more
Millions of buildings at risk from sea level rise, analysis finds
Sea level rise could put more than 100 million buildings across the Global South at risk of regular flooding if fossil fuel emissions are not curbed quickly, according to a new McGill-led study published in npj Urban Sustainability. ⌘ Read more
Gap-controlled infrared method enables analysis of molecular interfaces
A novel spectroscopic method developed at Institute of Science Tokyo, Japan, enables highly sensitive analysis of molecules at material interfaces, using a combination of conventional ATR-IR, precise gap-control and advanced data processing. The technique offers a low-cost alternative to conventional interfacial spectroscopy and has potential applications in material sciences, nanotechnology, and biological sciences. ⌘ Read more
Researchers demonstrate substrate design principles for scalable superconducting quantum materials
Silicides—alloys of silicon and metals long used in microelectronics—are now being explored again for quantum hardware. But their use faces a critical challenge: achieving phase purity, since some silicide phases are superconducting while others are not. ⌘ Read more
Making yogurt with ants revives a creative fermentation process
Researchers recreated a nearly forgotten yogurt recipe that once was common across the Balkans and Turkey—using ants. Reporting in iScience on October 3, the team shows that bacteria, acids, and enzymes in ants can kickstart the fermentation process that turns milk into yogurt. The work highlights how traditional practices can inspire new approaches to food science and even add creativity to the dinner table. ⌘ Read more
Natural barriers in northern Sweden’s rivers challenge downstream assumptions
Rivers in northern Sweden do not always become wider or richer in species further downstream. Natural barriers shape the flow and stop plants from spreading, new research from Umeå University shows. The study is published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment. ⌘ Read more