The Australian wildfires in 2019 and 2020 were historic for how far and fast they spread, and for how long and powerfully they burned. All told, the devastating “Black Summer” fires blazed across more than 43 million acres of land, and extinguished or displaced nearly 3 billion animals. The fires also injected over 1 million […]

The US government has ended its controversial China Initiative, amid growing criticism that it constitutes racial profiling of researchers, and harms US scientific enterprise. The cancellation comes after many of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) criminal cases brought against academic researchers under this programme have been dismissed. It’s unclear how the decision will impact pending […]

In a move criticised by employers and professional bodies, the academic qualification that used to come with completing an apprenticeship in England has been quietly removed. Without a qualification, chemistry apprentices could find it difficult to progress to advanced programmes or find employment. In 2020, the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (Ifate) revised the […]

Theoretical research examining the electric field within the energy-making enzyme ATP synthase alludes to it having a much higher enzymatic efficiency than reported in textbooks.1 Calculations of the enzyme’s molecular electrostatic potential showed changes in the electric field that constructively assist with proton movement alongside ATP formation, showing that the enzyme works over and above […]

When a space rock survives the turbulent passage through Earth’s atmosphere and strikes the surface, it generates shockwaves that can compress and transform minerals in the planet’s crust. Since these changes depend on the pressure produced upon impact, experts can use features in Earth’s minerals to learn about the meteorite’s life story, from the moment […]

The most successful computer ever to come out of the UK celebrates its tenth anniversary this year. Which is a more brutal environment – a large factory or a child’s bedroom? And what does one have to do with the other? When Eben Upton, co-founder of Raspberry Pi and a University of Cambridge alumnus, was thinking about […]

A molecule that skin tissue produces after injury appears to accelerate hair growth, suggesting a potential new target to reverse hair loss, researchers at Duke University School of Medicine report. In a study appearing online Feb. 24 in the journal Stem Cell Reports, the researchers describe a unique role for a molecule called thymic stromal […]

Several FDA-approved drugs — including for type 2 diabetes, hepatitis C and HIV — significantly reduce the ability of the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 to replicate in human cells, according to new research led by scientists at Penn State. Specifically, the team found that these drugs inhibit certain viral enzymes, called proteases, that are essential […]

Unvaccinated students had eight times the incidence of COVID-19 infection compared to vaccinated students in a North Carolina independent school, according to a study by the ABC Science Collaborative appearing online Feb. 22 in the journal Pediatrics. Researchers analyzed COVID-19 data from more than 1,100 students in grades 6-12 from Aug. 1-Nov. 12, 2021. During the study period, […]

A diet high in fat and low in carbohydrates and protein, known as a ketogenic diet, may help reduce the severity of alcohol withdrawal symptoms in people being treated for alcohol use disorder (AUD), according to a new study led by researchers at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and the National […]