SciGlow | All Science News In One Place
SciGlow is a newsletter of science stories from the major research labs. Headlines link to in-depth articles and editorials. SciGlow keeps scientists and others up-to-date on current research.
A new study, published in Royal Society Open Science, sheds light on the origins and evolution of European sign languages. Using phylogenetic network methods to compare dozens of sign languages, the scholars identify five main European sign language lineages that dispersed to other parts of the world beginning in the late 18th century. Natural human languages … Read more
The concept of aromaticity is central to organic chemistry and it is widely used to interpret the structure and reactivity of small molecules. This article shows that global aromaticity can arise in molecular rings as large as proteins. Hückel’s rule was formulated in 1931 by considering molecules with up to 6 π-electrons. A new Oxford’s … Read more
They might not yet speak in complete sentences, but 18-month-olds are savvy when it comes to deciding when and how to try. According to a study from Arizona State University, the University of Washington and University of Toronto that has implications for how people learn, infants do not try things at random or simply mimic … Read more
It’s a resource used in global construction and mined from rivers and coasts across the world. But the humble grain of sand is being depleted by increased and relentless mining. New research published in the journal Nature Sustainability and led by academics at the University of Hull has shown excessive sand mining is causing river … Read more
Australian school students’ poor performance in mathematics could harm the economy and the next generation’s job prospects, according to a University of Queensland researcher. The results from the 2018 OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) reveal that Australian students’ mathematics performance ranked 20 or above on a decreasing scale of one to 26. Professor … Read more
During a chemical reaction, the molecules involved in the reaction gain energy until they reach a “point of no return” known as a transition state. Until now, no one has glimpsed this state, as it lasts for only a few femtoseconds (quadrillionths of a second). However, chemists at MIT, Argonne National Laboratory, and several other … Read more
The remediation of oil field effluents is a global challenge. For example, in the United States, over 15 billion barrels of oil-contaminated wastewater produced each year. Cherukupally and Sun et al. report an innovative surface engineered sponge that combines surface chemistry, pH-responsive surface charge, and multiscale roughness to enhance the surface wetting of the sponge. [rand_post] Their … Read more
Researchers led by engineers at Tufts University have developed a novel, significantly more efficient fabrication method for silk that allows them to heat and mold the material into solid forms for a wide range of applications, including medical devices. The end products have superior strength compared to other materials, have physical properties that can be … Read more
Many of us are familiar with the phenomenon of ‘confirmation bias’, where humans tend to discount information that undermines our past choices and judgments. Published in the Journal Nature Neuroscience, findings from a new study from City, University of London, University College London, and others, investigated a brain area which tracks decision-making information and signals … Read more
Scientists at Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) developed a new methodology that allows researchers to assess the chemical composition and structure of metallic particles with a diameter of only 0.5 to 2 nm. This breakthrough in analytical techniques will enable the development and application of minuscule materials in the fields of electronics, biomedicine, chemistry, … Read more