Cracking the pear genome: How students helped unlock a new tool for the pear industry
Pears are big business in the Pacific Northwest US. But did you know that traditional pear breeding has remained largely unchanged for centuries?
Pears are big business in the Pacific Northwest US. But did you know that traditional pear breeding has remained largely unchanged for centuries?
Metal halide perovskites have become well-deserved "star" materials among a variety of semiconductors owing to their excellent optoelectronic properties, such as high photoluminescence (PL) quantum yield (QY), high absorption coefficient, tunable bandgaps, long carrier diffusion lengths, and high defect tolerance, attracting enormous attention from both academia and industry.
Liquid crystal monomers (LCMs) are synthetic organic chemicals used in manufacturing liquid crystal displays (LCDs) present in numerous digital electronic devices. As the use of digital electronics, such as computers and smartphones, becomes increasingly prevalent, concerns over LCM exposure have risen to prominence as a public health issue. However, research into the occurrence of LCMs in human and environmental matrices remains limited.
By design, synthetic molecules typically have specific jobs to prevent or accelerate reactions between other molecules. To help control more complicated reactions, researchers may harness spare space in one molecule to synthesize another chemical structure. The host-guest assembly can better induce the specific desired reaction than either component individually—if the scientists designing the assembly get it right.
In non-Hermitian systems, two or more eigenvalues and eigenstates of a resonant system coalesce at Exceptional points (EPs). Dynamic encircling of EPs has received significant interest in recent years, as it leads to highly nontrivial phenomena, such as chiral transmission, in which the final state of the system depends on the encircling handedness.
A study published in the Journal of Geographical Sciences reveals a novel method for reconstructing historical warm season temperatures in North China. Utilizing the blue intensity (BI) of tree rings of Picea meyeri, researchers have developed a 281-year chronology, offering unprecedented insights into the region's climatic past.
Global warming, the long-term warming of Earth's overall temperature, has greatly accelerated in the last 100 years due to human factors such as the burning of fossil fuels. Along with this trend, certain atmospheric phenomena have also changed, such as typhoons and other types of disastrous weather becoming more intense than before and bringing about more serious impacts.
When it comes to laying eggs, tree frogs have some unusual habits. Instead of always laying their eggs on tree branches where they usually live, they often lay their eggs on the ground. But why would a tree frog do this, especially when it puts its eggs at risk from predators such as snakes?
The Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) has researched parents' support behavior in relation to school grades. The study shows that low-income families support their children equally regardless of grades, while parents from higher-income groups tend to give more support to children with lower grades.
Chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) are synthesized membrane proteins that enable lymphocytes to recognize and respond to the specific antigens of target cells. Despite the impressive efficacy of CAR-T cell therapy in treating B-cell lymphoma or leukemia, the expensive and complex manufacturing process has hindered its widespread clinical application.
An international team has revealed a surprising universal propensity of forming stable hybrid compounds under high pressures.
Alkenes represent one of the most abundant classes of organic molecules, which are available in bulk quantities from petroleum and renewable resources, with various utilization in agrochemistry, pharmacy, and organic materials. Typically, the transformation of alkenes by cleavage of both the σ bond and π bond underpins a range of industrial processes and provides methods for the reconstruction of hydrocarbon framework.
Long-wavelength infrared (LWIR) imaging holds critical significance across many applications, from consumer electronics to defense and national security. It finds applications in night vision, remote sensing, and long-range imaging. However, the conventional refractive lenses employed in these imaging systems are bulky and heavy, which is undesirable for almost all applications. Compounding this issue is the fact that many LWIR refractive lenses are crafted from expensive and limited-supply materials, such as germanium.
Modern methods of internet-based communication such as online gaming and video calls are helping RAF servicepeople stay connected to their families when serving away from home—but challenges still remain, according to new research by Anglia Ruskin University (ARU).
Over the past four decades, Southwest China has been a major carbon sink, significantly mitigating anthropogenic CO2 emissions. However, recent severe droughts, especially from 2009 to 2013 and in 2022, have drastically reduced its carbon absorption capacity by affecting vegetation and biomass. This illustrates the region's susceptibility to climate-induced stressors, emphasizing the critical need for protective measures against environmental fluctuations.
Surface water (SW) is crucial for life, ecosystems, and human activities, serving many functions from climate regulation to supporting biodiversity and agriculture. It's highly dynamic, influenced by climate change, land use alterations, and human interventions such as dam construction, making its monitoring essential for effective management and conservation.
In the face of rapid urbanization, China has embarked on an impressive journey of urban greening, transforming the environmental narrative from degradation to sustainability. The collaboration between the University of Copenhagen and the Chinese Academy of Sciences has yielded groundbreaking insights through satellite analysis of the evolution of greenness in over 974 cities from 2000 to 2020.
UBC researchers believe a group of killer whales observed hunting marine mammals including sperm whales, as well as a sea turtle, in the open ocean off California and Oregon could be a new population.
Humanity's failure to reduce planet-heating carbon pollution—at record levels in 2023—has thrust once-marginal options for capping or reducing CO2 in the atmosphere to center stage.
Fluidic force microscopy (FluidFM) combines the sensitivity of atomic force microscopy with microfluidics' capabilities, necessitating precise calibration of its cantilevers for reliable data. Traditional methods, however, struggle with the unique internal structure of FluidFM cantilevers, leading to inaccuracies.
Eclipse-themed beer. Jewelry and ornaments. And doughnuts that capture the sun's disappearing act with the help of buttercream frosting.
By infusing a virtual fruit fly with artificial intelligence, Janelia and Google DeepMind, scientists have created a computerized insect that can walk and fly just like the real thing.
With Europe's new Ariane 6 rocket now at its spaceport in French Guiana, the passengers it will launch to space are getting ready to be added to the top of the tall new rocket. Ariane 6 will launch several satellites, deployers and experiments from space agencies, companies, research institutes, universities and young professionals on its first flight.
In patent law, invention is a two-step process: the inventor first develops a complete mental picture of the invention, then physically makes the invention or describes it in sufficient detail for an artisan to make it. Both steps must take place, in that order, for a creation to qualify as an invention.
A new robot will be taking flight soon to test its ability to support biological and physical science experiments in microgravity. As one of NASA's 2023 TechFlights selections, this compact robot will have a chance to fly on a commercial suborbital flight to see just how well it can perform in a space environment.