Science

This project aims to test new ways to make sustainable building materials from waste.

Bizarre ‘mind-controlling’ parasitic worm lacks genes found in every known animal: Our world is full of bizarre and intriguing creatures. One of the strangest, though, is the hairworm, a parasitic worm known as a “mind control worm” in some circles. These parasitic worms are found all over the world, and they look similar to thin strands of spaghetti, usually measuring a couple of inches long. However, their bodies and genes hint at the parasitic lifestyle that they live.
https://bgr.com/science/bizarre-mind-controlling-parasitic-worm-lacks-genes-found-in-every-known-animal/

#science #biology #parasite #hairworm #mindcontrol

Exxon Mobil, a new player in the hunt for U.S. lithium, is planning to build one of the world’s largest lithium processing facilities not far from Magnolia, with a capacity to produce 75,000 to 100,000 metric tons of lithium a year, according to people familiar with the matter.

Ecologists in Ukraine are reintroducing kulans and other species to the steppes to help recover the war-ravaged ecoystem. It’s worked before—at Chernobyl.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/1916423

This insightful blog post seems to refer to this article. I hope the article is an isolated case. Although it's undeniable that scientific illiteracy is spreading.

Biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) is important to sustain nitrogen fertility of paddy soil and rice yield, while could be affected by nitrogen fertilization. Iron-reducing bacteria, Anaeromyxobacter and Geobacter, are newly found diazotrophic bacteria predominant in paddy soil. Experimental field of this study is a long-term (35 years) nitrogen fertilized (6.0 g N/m2/year) and unfertilized paddy field, where ca. 70% of rice yield was obtained yearly in nitrogen unfertilized plot (443 ± 37 g/m2) compared to fertilized plot (642 ± 64 g/m2). Effects of long-term nitrogen fertilization/unfertilization on soil properties related to BNF were investigated with special reference to diazotrophic iron-reducing bacteria. Soil chemical/biochemical properties, soil nitrogen-fixing activity, and community composition of diazotrophic bacteria were similar between nitrogen fertilized and unfertilized plot soils. In both plot soils, Anaeromyxobacter and Geobacter were the most predominant diazotrophs. Their nifD transcripts were detected at similar level, while those of other general diazotrophs were under detection limit. It was concluded that long-term use/unuse of nitrogen fertilizer in this field did not affect the predominance and nitrogen-fixing activity of diazotrophic iron-reducing bacteria, composition of other general diazotrophs, and the resulting soil nitrogen-fixing activity. BNF, primarily driven by diazotrophic iron-reducing bacteria, might significantly contribute to sustain soil nitrogen fertility and rice yield in both plot soils. Appropriate soil management to maintain BNF, including diazotrophic iron-reducing bacteria, will be important for sustainable soil nitrogen fertility and rice production.

Around 2,000 penguins wash up dead on Uruguay coast: Around 2,000 penguins have appeared dead on the coast of eastern Uruguay in the last 10 days, and the cause, which does not appear to be avian influenza, remains a mystery, authorities said.
https://phys.org/news/2023-07-penguins-dead-uruguay-coast.html

#science #mystery #penguindeath #Uruguay #ecology #biology

Nearly 500 regions of the human genome appear to directly impact your dietary intake by affecting perception of flavours and food preferences

The gray whale population along the West Coast showed another year of declines, according to the latest estimates, but scientists say there are some positive signs for the formerly endangered whales.

The International Seabed Authority's member nations on Friday agreed on a two-year roadmap for the adoption of deep sea mining regulations, despite conservationists' calls for a moratorium on mineral extraction they say would avert marine threats.

Sick of hearing about record heat? Scientists say those numbers paint the story of a warming world: With a summer of extreme weather records dominating the news, meteorologists and scientists say records like these give a glimpse of the big picture: a warming planet caused by climate change. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-sick-scientists-story-world.html

#earth #environment #climatechange #howaboutthisheat #science

I would like to do some basic science experiences to help kids get more interested in science. If there any good youtube or websites to help me with ideas?

What Life in Barbie’s Dazzlingly Pink World Would Do to Her Brain—And Yours: The Barbie movie’s plastic pink world might not be that fantastic in real life.
https://archive.is/JtFSn

#science #movies #barbie #barbiemovie #neuroscience

Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements suggest hours-long precursors to many large earthquakes

Conspiracy theories are the new pandemic infecting public life: Millions of people, from all walks of life, have come to believe aspects of the QAnon conspiracy theory. Prevention is our only hope, says James Ball. James Ball is the author of The Other Pandemic: How QAnon contaminated the world
https://archive.is/DGKiV

#pandemic #conspiracy #conspiracytheory #news #editoral #socialmedia #science

A University of Southern Mississippi (USM) graduate and one of her former professors have collaborated on a project they hope will change the way researchers look at contamination along the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Flexible spheres of the biomolecule chitosan, made from shrimp waste, can be used for catalysts that generate hydrogen gas from borohydride salts. In a paper in Green Chemistry, a research team at the University of Amsterdam (UvA) shows how the spheres can "breathe out" hydrogen bubbles without breaking. This is an important step towards practical and safe hydrogen storage and release units.

Paleontologists discover two new sabertooth cat species: The terrifying and fascinating saber toothed cats that once roamed the earth from California to China may have two new species to add to their family tree. https://www.popsci.com/environment/two-new-sabertooth-cat-species/

#paleontology #PlioceneEpoch #sabertooth #popsci #iScience

#science

The DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) spacecraft impact on asteroid Dimorphos happened on September 26, 2022. Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope continue following the aftermath of the cosmic collision. A surprise is the discovery of several dozen boulders lifted off the asteroid after the smashup. In Hubble pictures they look like a swarm of bees very slowly moving away from the asteroid. This might mean that smacking an Earth-approaching asteroid might result in a cluster of threatening boulders heading in our direction.

Dinosaurs survived one mass extinction, but then their luck ran out: Life was good for the 'terrible lizards' before that fateful asteroid hit. https://www.popsci.com/science/dinosaurs-survived-mass-extinction/

#dinosaurs #extinction #science

A new tool uses facial recognition technology to identify individual whales and dolphins in the wild across 24 species. The research was led by University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) Ph.D. student Philip Patton and published in Methods in Ecology and Evolution.

Yeast has been used for thousands of years in the production of beer and wine and for adding fluff and flavor to bread. They are nature's tiny factories that can feed on sugars found in fruit and grains and other nutrients—and from that menu produce alcohol for beverages, and carbon dioxide to make bread rise.

Main article: "The potential failure of a Viasat broadband satellite could result in a massive claim and a “huge hit” for the space insurance sector, one insurer warns." Quote in the closing paragraph opens some intriguing questions.

Annually, between July 17 and August 24, the Perseid meteor shower puts on one of the brightest cosmic events of the year.

An energy company called Fervo says it has achieved a breakthrough in geothermal technology.