Science

A team led by University of Minnesota Twin Cities researchers has invented a groundbreaking catalyst technology that converts renewable materials such as trees and corn into acrylic acid and acrylates, the key chemicals used in paints, coatings and superabsorbent polymers. The new technology is highly efficient and could lead to lower costs for manufacturing renewable … Read more

The next frontier of continuous health monitoring could be skin deep. Biomedical engineers at the University of Cincinnati say interstitial fluid, the watery fluid between and around cells, tissues and organs in the body, could provide an excellent medium for early disease diagnosis or long-term health monitoring. A U.S. National Science Foundation-supported paper published in … Read more

The U.S. National Science Foundation, in partnership with Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, is announcing grants totaling $1.8 million on the U.S. side and $2.3 million on the Australian side to accelerate groundbreaking research in responsible and ethical artificial intelligence solutions to societal challenges, including pandemic preparedness, drought resilience and harmful environmental emissions. Responsible and … Read more

It’s estimated that the information, communication and technology sector accounts for 5% to 9% of total electricity consumption worldwide. If growth continues unabated, computing could demand up to 20% of the world’s power generation by 2030. With power grids already under strain, engineers at the University of Virginia are investigating a system that will allow … Read more

The rapid retreat of Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica appears to be driven by processes under its floating ice shelf that are different than researchers realized. Two papers published in the journal Nature provide a clearer picture of the changes taking place under the glacier, which is the size of Florida and is one of … Read more

A study led by scientists at The University of Texas at Austin is providing a glimpse into dinosaur and bird diversity in Patagonia during the Late Cretaceous, just before the non-avian dinosaurs went extinct. The fossils represent the first record of theropods — a dinosaur group that includes both modern birds and their closest non-avian … Read more

Lizards living in different cities have parallel genomic markers when compared to neighboring forest lizards, according to a new study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The genetic variations linked to urbanization underlie physical differences in the urban lizards, including longer limbs and larger toe pads that show how these lizards have … Read more

Severe storms have greatly impacted the Southeastern United States over the years. In the winter of 2022, there were more than 200 reported tornadoes and 14 fatalities. The human and economic impact of these severe storms cannot be overstated. A key to dealing with storms and minimizing their severity is early forecasting and detection. The … Read more

Although the human body is externally symmetrical on left and right, it has remarkable left and right asymmetries in the shape, size and positioning of many internal organs, including the heart, lungs, liver, stomach and brain. These asymmetries can range from benign to not-so-benign, causing a range of conditions that affect multiple organs. The left-right … Read more

An internal circadian clock controls distinctive concentric rings of flowering in sunflowers, maximizing visits from pollinators, a new study by plant biologists at the University of California, Davis shows. The U.S. National Science Foundation-supported work is published in eLife. A sunflower head is made up of hundreds of tiny florets. Because of the way sunflowers grow, … Read more