People had a rollercoaster 2020, says new study on Twitter messages

For Rutgers University–Camden researchers, the messages are clear: 2020 was quite the emotional rollercoaster in New Jersey.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-people-rollercoaster-twitter-messages.html

Parsing routes to aquifer recharge along mountain fronts

In many semiarid and arid regions around the world, groundwater drawn from basin-fill aquifers sustains local agriculture and large cities. Such aquifers are typically replenished by high-elevation precipitation and snowmelt along encircling mountain fronts via several pathways. These pathways include infiltration from streams, diffuse subsurface flow from the mountains to the basin, and focused subsurface flow along features like faults. Distinguishing among these various means of mountain front recharge is necessary to effectively manage aquifers' limited water supplies, but it can be challenging because the waters moving through different paths can be difficult to sample and often have similar chemical fingerprints.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-parsing-routes-aquifer-recharge-mountain.html

Documenting a decade of cost declines for photovoltaic systems

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL's) U.S. Solar Photovoltaic System and Energy Storage Cost Benchmark: Q1 2020 is now available, documenting a decade of cost reductions in solar and battery storage installations across utility, commercial, and residential sectors. NREL's cost benchmarking applies a bottom-up methodology that captures variation in system design and regional costs, helping to identify future research and development directions that could further reduce costs.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-02-documenting-decade-declines-photovoltaic.html

Rare congenital malformation caused by epigenetic mechanism in previously mysterious genome sequences

An international team of researchers discovered a rare genetic disease characterized by severe malformations of the limbs. As the scientists describe in the journal Nature, the condition is caused by a newly identified epigenetic mechanism involving sequences of the genome with previously unknown function. This process could also explain the cause of other congenital diseases.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-rare-congenital-malformation-epigenetic-mechanism.html

A new quantum switch for electronics

A Russian physicist and his international colleagues studied a quantum point contact (QCP) between two conductors with external oscillating fields applied to the contact. They found that, for some types of contacts, an increase in the oscillation frequency above a critical value reduced the current to zero—a promising mechanism that can help create nanoelectronics components. This research supported by the Russian Science Foundation (RSF) was published in the Physical Review B journal.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-quantum-electronics.html

Tiny microorganisms in the Southern Ocean affect how the rest of the world's seas respond to carbon

In the ocean that surrounds Antarctica, deep water wells up to the surface, carrying nutrients and other dissolved materials needed by light-loving ocean life. One of these materials is calcium carbonate, which, when dissolved, raises seawater alkalinity and helps the ocean respond to increasing carbon dioxide levels. Ocean currents carry this alkalinity-enriched water northward—unless tiny organisms intercept it and trap the alkalinity in the Southern Ocean.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-tiny-microorganisms-southern-ocean-affect.html

Ceramic chips inside meteorites hint at wild days of the early solar system

Anew analysis of ceramic chips embedded in meteorites suggests the formation of our solar system was not as quiet and orderly as we once thought.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-ceramic-chips-meteorites-hint-wild.html

Evaluating environmental predictors of western U.S. wildfires

As the western United States becomes hotter and drier, wildfires in the region are becoming more frequent and severe. In addition to causing acute, local impacts on people and property, the fires can adversely affect the respiratory health of the millions of people who inhale tiny smoke particles that drift downwind. But understanding what drives wildfire activity from year to year across this diverse region and how these factors could change in the future has been difficult to ascertain.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-environmental-predictors-western-wildfires.html

Biosensors monitor plant well-being in real time

Researchers at Linköping University, Sweden, have developed biosensors that make it possible to monitor sugar levels in real time deep in the plant tissues—something that has previously been impossible. The information from the sensors may help agriculture to adapt production as the world faces climate change. The results have been published in the scientific journal iScience.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-biosensors-well-being-real.html

Bringing bad proteins back into the fold

A study led by UT Southwestern has identified a mechanism that controls the activity of proteins known as chaperones, which guide proteins to fold into the right shapes. The findings, published online today in Nature Communications, could shed light on hundreds of degenerative and neurodegenerative diseases caused by protein misfolding, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Huntington's, potentially leading to new treatments for these devastating conditions.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-bad-proteins.html

Common pipistrelle bats attracted to wind turbines

One of the most abundant bats in Europe may be attracted to wind turbines, a new study shows.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-common-pipistrelle-turbines.html

Uber posts big loss as pandemic clobbers ridesharing, despite delivery offset

Uber on Wednesday reported another hefty loss in the final three months of 2020, though the company's food delivery operations partly offset the hit taken from the decline in ridesharing during the pandemic.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-02-uber-big-loss-pandemic-clobbers.html

India chides Twitter for not complying with blocking orders

India has chided Twitter for not complying with its orders to remove certain accounts and content, warning the social media platform that it "must respect" Indian laws "irrespective of Twitter's own rules and guidelines."

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-02-india-chides-twitter-complying-blocking.html

Mars mission inspires growing fan base back in China

Cui Tingting dyed her hair Mars red for the arrival of China's spacecraft at the planet known in Chinese as the Fire Star.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-mars-mission-fan-base-china.html

Undersea 7.7 quake in South Pacific sets off small tsunami

Small tsunami waves were detected in South Pacific islands after an undersea earthquake early Thursday morning.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-undersea-quake-south-pacific-small.html

Clubhouse: the wildly popular audio chat app

Clubhouse, the invitation-only audio chat app, exploded in popularity during the coronavirus pandemic when people could not get together in person—but now the once niche platform has far higher goals.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-02-clubhouse-wildly-popular-audio-chat.html

Sawfish face global extinction unless overfishing is curbed

Sawfish have disappeared from half of the world's coastal waters and the distinctive shark-like rays face complete extinction due to overfishing, according to a new study by Simon Fraser University researchers, published in Science Advances.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-sawfish-global-extinction-overfishing-curbed.html

Nanoparticle gel unites oil and water in manufacturing-friendly approach

Oil and water may not mix, but adding the right nanoparticles to the recipe can convert these two immiscible fluids into an exotic gel with uses ranging from batteries to water filters to tint-changing smart windows. A new approach to creating this unusual class of soft materials could carry them out of the laboratory and into the marketplace.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-nanoparticle-gel-oil-manufacturing-friendly-approach.html

Why portraying humans as healthy machines can backfire

Researchers from University of Amsterdam and Stanford University published a new paper in the Journal of Marketing that examines explores how human-as-machine representations affect consumers—specifically their eating behavior and health.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-portraying-humans-healthy-machines-backfire.html

'Left behind' adolescent women must be prioritised within sustainable development agenda

The needs of millions of overlooked, 'left behind' adolescent women must become a more significant priority within international efforts to end poverty by 2030, a UK Government-commissioned report is urging.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-left-adolescent-women-prioritised-sustainable.html

Family ties explain mysterious social life of coral gobies

The strange social structure of tiny fish called emerald coral gobies may be explained by family loyalty, new research shows.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-family-ties-mysterious-social-life.html

New turntable-like catalytic reactor promises more sustainable chemical manufacturing

A new catalytic reactor that can create chemical compounds more quickly, cheaply and in a more sustainable way has won funding from Innovate UK.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-turntable-like-catalytic-reactor-sustainable-chemical.html