As wildfire season in the West grows in length and severity, it is taking a toll on the wine industry through the effects of wildfire smoke on the quality of wine grapes. Volatile compounds in the smoke from wildfires can be absorbed by grapes and produce an unpleasant taste known as ‘smoke taint’ in wines…

A team of researchers has developed an effective technology to carry out very accurate, non-invasive groundwater measurements in previously inaccessible areas. Using the new technology, NMR measurements (nuclear magnetic resonance) are now a cheap, fast and, above all, very accurate tool for mapping and characterizing groundwater systems. The new technology sends very much cleaner signals…

Giving flies a choice of foods changes the chemical messaging in their brain that is responsible for coordinating metabolism, shortening their lifespan as a result. While early experiments have shown that calorie restriction can extend lifespan, the current study adds to the growing body of evidence that suggests other diet characteristics besides calories may also…

Research uncovers new information about the role that forest edges play in buffering global impacts of climate change and urbanization. Forests actually store more carbon dioxide than they release, which is great news for us: about 30 percent of carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels are taken in by forests, an effect called the terrestrial…

New research definitively resolves a long-standing discrepancy in the geologic record that pitted studies of marine ice-sheet behavior against those that reconstructed past conditions on land. The research lends additional weight to evidence that the Antarctic Ice Sheet is sensitive to small changes in carbon dioxide levels and that, in the past, large portions of…

Plastic is ubiquitous in people’s lives. Yet, when plastic-containing items have fulfilled their missions, only a small amount is recycled into new products, which are often of lower quality compared to the original material. And, transforming this waste into high-value chemicals requires substantial energy. Now, researchers have combined a ruthenium-carbon catalyst and mild, lower-energy reaction…

New research shows that a bi-national regulation targeting ships entering the Great Lakes since the mid-2000s has been remarkably effective in reducing a large proportion of the invasive species in the world’s largest freshwater ecosystem. «I’m aware of no other documented case in which the invasion rate of a large aquatic system has been suppressed…

The function of an enzyme, critical to most forms of life, has been revealed. A research team, led by the John Innes Centre found that the enzyme DNA topoisomerase VI (topo VI) performs a critical role in removing chromosome tangles that occur in the cell nucleus of plants. This function enables the process of endoreduplication…

Researchers have discovered evidence of ear infections in the skull remains of humans living in the Levant some 15,000 years ago. «Our research seeks to determine the impact of our environment on illnesses in different periods,» says lead author Dr. Hila May of the Department of Anatomy and Anthropology at TAU’s Sackler Faculty of Medicine…

Researchers have developed a standalone device that converts sunlight, carbon dioxide and water into a carbon-neutral fuel, without requiring any additional components or electricity. The device, developed by a team from the University of Cambridge, is a significant step toward achieving artificial photosynthesis — a process mimicking the ability of plants to convert sunlight into…