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Irish Scientists Discover Method to Produce Electricity from Tears

A team of scientists at University of Limerick has discovered that applying pressure to a protein found in egg whites and tears can generate electricity. The researchers from the Bernal Institute observed that crystals of lysozyme, a model protein that is abundant in egg whites of birds as well as in the tears, saliva and milk of mammals can generate electricity when pressed. Their report was published on October 2 in the journal, Applied Physics Letters.

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Los Angeles Is Losing Its Palm Trees

Palm trees have been synonymous with Los Angeles for decades, appearing on everything from tourism ads to movie posters. But now, LA’s iconic trees are dying from a fatal fungus and an invasive beetle, as well as simply from old age, and the city doesn’t have any plans to revive them, according to Los Angeles Times.

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Clearing the air

This past June, Grace Li '17 stepped off a plane in Paris ready to spend her summer tracking down a silent killer. Now Li, her former teammates, and the flock of trained pigeons who also contributed to the project are about to get closer to their goal.

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Annual Southern Sea Otter Survey: Despite Small Population Dip, Species Moves a Step Closer to Recovery

According to data released Friday by the U.S. Geological Survey and partners, the three-year average of the total counts of southern sea otters was down from last year’s high, although it still exceeded the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s delisting threshold for a second straight year.

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Puerto Rico facing disaster of major proportions

A week after Hurricane Maria rolled through Puerto Rico, the island faces a public health crisis with no power and a growing shortage of drinking water and food.

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Bone Marrow Protein May Be Target for Improving Stem Cell Transplants

Bone marrow contains hematopoetic stem cells, the precursors to every blood cell type. These cells spring into action following bone marrow transplants, bone marrow injury and during systemic infection, creating new blood cells, including immune cells, in a process known as hematopoiesis.

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Hunt is over for one of the 'Top 50 Most-Wanted Fungi'

In a step toward bridging the gap between fungal taxonomy and molecular ecology, scientists from several institutions including Los Alamos National Laboratory have characterized a sample of “mystery” fungus collected in North Carolina and found its home in the fungal tree of life.

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Preserving coral reefs needs new technologies

New technological interventions are needed to save coral reefs under climate change.

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NASA Infrared Imagery Shows Wind Shear Affecting Tropical Storm Maria

Tropical Storm Maria is now caught up in the Westerlies and is being affected by wind shear that is elongating the storm. Infrared imagery from NASA’s Aqua satellite revealed that Maria’s strongest storms were east of the tropical cyclone’s center because of westerly wind shear.

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Antarctica: Return of the Weddell Polynya supports Kiel Climate Model

Currently, winter has still a firm grip on Antarctica. At this time of the year, the Weddell Sea usually is covered with a thick layer of sea ice. In spite of the icy temperatures in the region, satellite images depict a large ice-free area in the middle of the ice cover. The area of the hole in the ice is larger than The Netherlands and it fascinates climate and polar researchers worldwide. Scientists from the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel are closely monitoring the developments. “For us this ice-free area is an important new data point which we can use to validate our climate models. Its occurrence after several decades also confirms our previous calculations," says Dr. Torge Martin, meteorologist and climate modeler in the GEOMAR Research Division "Oceans Circulation and Climate Dynamics".

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