• Flowers Have Hidden Heat Signals That Attract Pollinating Bees

    It is well understood how flowers use complex color patterns and smells to attract pollinating bees. But now, scientists have discovered that flowers also emit heat to advertise themselves to insects — creating temperature arrays that mimic the color designs of petals.

    On average, heat spots were 4 to 5 degrees Celsius warmer than the rest of the flower, but could be as much as 11 degrees warmer.

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  • Streams Can Be Sensors

    Scientists at Michigan State University have shown that streams can be key health indicators of a region’s landscape, but the way they’re being monitored can be improved.

    New research featured in Ecology Letters showcases how streams can be used as sensors to diagnose a watershed’s sensitivity or resiliency to changes in land use practices, including the long-term use of fertilizers. Using streams as sensors ­– specifically, near the headwaters – can allow scientists, land-use managers and farmers to diagnose which watersheds can be more sustainably developed for food production, said Jay Zarnetske, MSU earth and environmental scientist and co-author of the study.

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  • NASA Finds Heavy Rain in New Tropical Cyclone Hilda

    As Tropical Cyclone Hilda was coming together in the Southern Indian Ocean the GPM satellite analyzed its rainfall from space. 

    On December 26, 2017 at 3:06 a.m. EST (0806 UTC) the Global Precipitation Measurement mission or GPM core observatory satellite flew above northwestern Australia and measured rainfall as Tropical Cyclone Hilda was forming along the coast

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  • A New Strategy for Efficient Hydrogen Production

    A joint research team, affiliated with UNIST has introduced the Hybrid-Solid Electrolysis Cell (Hybrid-SOEC) system with highest reported electrochemical performance in hydrogen production. The proposed system has attracted much attention as a new promising option for the cost-effective and highly-efficient hydrogen production, as it shows excellent performance compared with other water-electrolysis systems.

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  • Utility-scale Solar Installations Can Avoid Using Farmland, Study Says

    Across the U.S., the energy and agricultural industries are battling it out over whether to place solar panels or crops on large stretches of flat, sunny land. Now, a new study finds that developing solar energy arrays on alternative sites like buildings, lakes, and contaminated land would allow California to meet its 2025 electricity demands without sacrificing farmland.

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  • Drinking coffee may lower risk of early death from colorectal cancer

    People with colorectal cancer (CRC) who drank at least four cups of coffee per day after their diagnosis had a significantly lower risk of early death—from either their cancer or any cause—than those who didn’t drink coffee, according to a new study from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

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  • New technique allows rapid screening for new types of solar cells

    The worldwide quest by researchers to find better, more efficient materials for tomorrow’s solar panels is usually slow and painstaking. Researchers typically must produce lab samples — which are often composed of multiple layers of different materials bonded together — for extensive testing.

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  • Origins of photosynthesis in plants dated to 1.25 billion years ago

    The world’s oldest algae fossils are a billion years old, according to a new analysis by earth scientists at McGill University. Based on this finding, the researchers also estimate that the basis for photosynthesis in today’s plants was set in place 1.25 billion years ago.

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  • Can computers help us synthesize new materials?

    Last month, three MIT materials scientists and their colleagues published a paper describing a new artificial-intelligence system that can pore through scientific papers and extract “recipes” for producing particular types of materials.

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  • Study opens window on meltwater from icebergs

    Surface water conditions in Greenland’s fjords and in the northern Atlantic Ocean are dictated by what’s going on deep below the surface next to the massive Greenland Ice Sheet, UO-led research has found.

    Breakaway icebergs, according to research findings appearing online Dec. 4 ahead of publication in the journal Nature Geoscience, are the biggest source of freshwater entering the ocean in key areas around Greenland. And the timing and location of meltwater are important factors that should be included in ocean modeling, report the paper’s six co-authors.

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