Researchers decode the structure of the molecular complex that carries detoxifying enzymes in cells to the right place

Peroxisomes are essential, membrane-enclosed vesicles that occur in every cell. An arsenal of enzymes inside them breaks down harmful substances, thereby detoxifying the cells. A team of scientists led by Prof. Dr. Bettina Warscheid from the University of Freiburg, Prof. Dr. Ralf Erdmann from the Ruhr University Bochum and Prof. Dr. Christos Gatsogiannis from the University of Münster has studied the molecular complex that carries the enzymes to where they are needed in the peroxisome. They have been able to cast light on the structure of the complex with great precision and obtain insights into the mechanisms of how it functions. Their results have been published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-decode-molecular-complex-detoxifying-enzymes.html

Wildfire smoke can carry microbes that cause infectious diseases

Wildfire smoke contains microbes, a fact that's often ignored, but one that may have important health repercussions.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-wildfire-microbes-infectious-diseases.html

Beluga whistles and clicks could be silenced by an increasingly noisy Arctic Ocean

Under the sea ice, the Arctic Ocean is one of the quietest places on Earth. But it can be very noisy when the ice is forming and breaking up or during storms and when glaciers are calving.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-beluga-clicks-silenced-increasingly-noisy.html

Open data shows lightning, not arson, was the likely cause of most Victorian bushfires last summer

As last summer's horrific bushfires raged, so too did debate about what caused them. Despite the prolonged drought and ever worsening climate change, some people sought to blame the fires largely on arson.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-lightning-arson-victorian-bushfires-summer.html

Monkeys, like humans, persist at tasks they've already invested in—even when they don't succeed

If you've ever stayed in a relationship too long or stuck with a project that was going nowhere, you're not alone. Humans are generally reluctant to give up on something they've already committed time and effort to. It's called the "sunk costs" phenomenon, where the more resources we sink into an endeavor, the likelier we are to continue—even if we sense it's futile.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-monkeys-humans-persist-tasks-theyve.html

Quantum wells enable record-efficiency two-junction solar cell

Researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the University of New South Wales achieved a new world-record efficiency for two-junction solar cells, creating a cell with two light-absorbing layers that converts 32.9% of sunlight into electricity.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-quantum-wells-enable-record-efficiency-two-junction.html

Transparency about autonomous military systems is critical to acceptance, research says

When it comes to military use of autonomous systems, transparency about them, perceived usefulness and perception of ease of use all contribute to acceptance and adoption by personnel, according to new research at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), a part of the University of Alabama System.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-12-transparency-autonomous-military-critical.html

Say again? AI provides the latest word in clearer audio

If you've been listening to more podcasts while stuck at home this year, you may have noticed a side effect of the uptick in virtual conversations: a decline in audio quality. Interviews conducted by phone or video chat often include background noise, reverberation and distortion.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-12-ai-latest-word-clearer-audio.html

Scientists develop new land surface model including multiple processes and human activities

Human activities, such as urban planning, irrigation and agricultural fertilization, can affect terrestrial carbon, nitrogen and water cycle processes and aquatic ecosystems.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-scientists-surface-multiple-human.html

Three things NASA learned from Mars InSight

NASA's InSight spacecraft touched down Nov. 26, 2018, on Mars to study the planet's deep interior. A little more than one Martian year later, the stationary lander has detected more than 480 quakes and collected the most comprehensive weather data of any surface mission sent to Mars. InSight's probe, which has struggled to dig underground to take the planet's temperature, has made progress, too.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-nasa-mars-insight.html

Effects of crosslinker length on anion exchange membrane fuel cells

Anion exchange membrane fuel cells (AEMFCs), which produce electricity using hydrogen, are considered an alternative to currently used proton exchange membrane fuel cells. However, AEMs have problems with stability in alkaline conditions, which can be overcome by crosslinking. But effects of crosslinker length on AEMFC performance are not well understood. Now, Korean scientists have elucidated such effects for oxygen-containing crosslinkers. Using an optimally long crosslinker, they produced a novel AEMFC with greater performance.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-effects-crosslinker-length-anion-exchange.html

Genetic exchange discovered in anciently asexual rotifers

Evolutionary biologists at Skoltech have discovered recombination in bdelloid rotifers, microscopic freshwater invertebrates characterized by their presumed ancient asexuality. The existence of such anciently asexual groups calls into question the hypothesis that sexual reproduction is indispensable for the long-term evolutionary success of a species. However, the recent study published in Nature Communications provides evidence of recombination and genetic exchange in bdelloids.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-genetic-exchange-anciently-asexual-rotifers.html

Researchers deconstruct ancient Jewish parchment using multiple imaging techniques

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but capturing multiple images of an artifact across the electromagnetic spectrum can tell a rich story about the original creation and degradation of historical objects over time. Researchers recently demonstrated how this was possible using several complementary imaging techniques to non-invasively probe a Jewish parchment scroll. The results were published in the journal Frontiers in Materials.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-deconstruct-ancient-jewish-parchment-multiple.html

Fire-resistant tropical forest on brink of disappearance

A new study led by researchers in the Geography Department at Swansea University reveals the extreme scale of loss and fragmentation of tropical forests, which once covered much of the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-fire-resistant-tropical-forest-brink.html

Cell atlas of tropical disease parasite may hold key to new treatments

The first cell atlas of an important life stage of Schistosoma mansoni, a parasitic worm that poses a risk to hundreds of millions of people each year, has been developed by researchers at the Wellcome Sanger Institute and their collaborators.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-cell-atlas-tropical-disease-parasite.html

Tesla to join elite S&P index, shaking up Wall Street

Tesla is set to join an elite group of companies in a key Wall Street index, a move which gives greater prominence to the high-flying electric carmaker and forces money managers to reshuffle their portfolios.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-12-tesla-elite-sp-index-wall.html

Google says Australian law on paying for news is unworkable

A Google executive said on Friday that a proposed Australian law to make digital platforms pay for news was unworkable and its proposed arbitration model was biased toward media businesses.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-12-google-australian-law-news-unworkable.html

Hack against US is 'grave' threat, cybersecurity agency says

Federal authorities expressed increased alarm Thursday about a long-undetected intrusion into U.S. and other computer systems around the globe that officials suspect was carried out by Russian hackers. The nation's cybersecurity agency warned of a "grave" risk to government and private networks.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-12-hack-grave-threat-cybersecurity-agency.html

China's Alibaba 'dismayed' by Uighur facial-recognition software

Chinese tech giant Alibaba has sought to distance itself from a face-recognition software feature devised by its cloud computing unit that could help users to identify members of the country's Muslim Uighur minority.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-12-china-alibaba-dismayed-uighur-facial-recognition.html

Cyberpunk 2077 pulled from PlayStation Store after bug backlash

Sony is pulling the much-hyped Cyberpunk 2077 from PlayStation stores around the world, the firm said Friday, after a flood of complaints and ridicule over bugs, compatibility issues and even health risks.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-12-cyberpunk-playstation-bug-backlash.html

Two dead as super cyclone levels Fiji villages

Super cyclone Yasa flattened entire villages as it tore through Fiji, aid agencies said Friday, with a baby among two confirmed deaths and rescue workers racing to the worst-hit communities.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-dead-super-cyclone-fiji-villages.html

'Poverty line' concept debunked by new machine learning model

Mathematicians have used machine learning to develop a new model for measuring poverty in different countries that junks old notions of a fixed 'poverty line'.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-poverty-line-concept-debunked-machine.html

The 'crazy beast' that lived among the dinosaurs

New research published today in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology describes a bizarre 66 million-year-old mammal that provides profound new insights into the evolutionary history of mammals from the southern supercontinent Gondwana—recognized today as Africa, South America, Australia, Antarctica, the Indian subcontinent, and the Arabian Peninsula.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-crazy-beast-dinosaurs.html