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Increased winter snowmelt threatens western US water resources
More snow is melting during winter across the West, a concerning trend that could impact everything from ski conditions to fire danger and agriculture, according to a new analysis of 40 years of data. Researchers found that since the late 1970s, winter’s boundary with spring has been slowly disappearing, with one-third of 1,065 snow measurement…
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Wetter weather affects composition, numbers of tiny estuarial phytoplankton
Extreme weather events, such as hurricanes and increased precipitation, affect both the amount and the composition of picophytoplankton in the Neuse River Estuary. The work is a first step in determining how a wetter climate may affect the estuarine ecosystem. Picophytoplankton are defined as any phytoplankton measuring less than three micrometers in size. Although well…
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Potato genome decoded
More than 20 years after the first release of the human genome, scientists have for the first time deciphered the highly complex genome of the potato. Their impressive technical feat will accelerate efforts to breed superior varieties. When shopping for potatoes on a market today, buyers may well be going home with a variety that…
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Sun’s solar wind and plasma ‘burps’ created on Earth
A new study by physicists mimicked solar winds in the lab, confirming how they develop and providing an Earth-bound model for the future study of solar physics. A new study by University of Wisconsin-Madison physicists mimicked solar winds in the lab, confirming how they develop and providing an Earth-bound model for the future study of…
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Ancient Mexican city endured for centuries without extremes in wealth and power
An ancient Mexican city, Monte Alban, was the biggest settlement in the region and lasted for more than a thousand years. Some hypotheses for the city’s success are that people were drawn to fertile farmland in the area, or were forced to move there by powerful rulers. This new study challenges those ideas by showing…
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Cardiovascular health similarities between chimpanzees, humans
Doctors like to remind patients not to monkey around with their health, suggesting that a good diet and regular exercise improve longevity. A new study on health in chimpanzees, which are the closest species to humans genetically, showed the benefits in what they eat and how they can travel and climb. When chimpanzees have a…
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Synthetic biologists redesign the way bacteria ‘talk’ to each other
Bioengineers have redesigned how harmless E. coli bacteria »talk» to each other. The new genetic circuit could become a useful new tool for synthetic biologists who, as a field, are looking for ways to better control the bacteria they engineer to perform all sorts of tasks, including drug delivery, bioproduction of valuable compounds, and environmental…
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The ‘one who causes fear’ — new meat-eating predator discovered
Superbly preserved braincase of this new species is an important find — it suggests there was a greater diversity and abundance of abelisaurids late in dinosaurs’ era than previously thought. Around 80 million years ago as tyrannosaurs ruled the Northern Hemisphere, this lookalike was one of 10 currently known species of abelisaurids flourishing in the…
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Antibody treatment prevents inflammation in lungs, nervous system in macaques with SARS-CoV-2, study finds
Monoclonal antibodies protected aged, diabetic rhesus macaque monkeys from disease due to SARS-CoV-2 and reduced signs of inflammation, including in cerebrospinal fluid, according to a new study. The data show that neutralizing antibodies prevent the adverse inflammatory consequences of SARS-CoV-2 infection, the authors said. The results help explain how antibodies, whether induced by vaccines or…
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Magnitude of Great Lisbon Earthquake may have been lower than previous estimates
The magnitude of the Great Lisbon Earthquake event, a historic and devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck Portugal on All Saints’ Day in 1755, may not be as high as previously estimated. In his study published in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, Joao F. B. D. Fonseca at the Universidade de Lisboa…