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.
The mammal tree of life is a real leaner. Some branches are weighed down with thousands of species – we’re looking at you, rodents and bats – while others hold just a few species. Now we may have a better idea why. In a new study published in the journal PLOS Biology, researchers at Yale University … Read more
With 2019 on pace as one of the warmest years on record, a major new study from the University of California, Davis, reveals how rapidly the Arctic is warming and examines global consequences of continued polar warming. The study, published today in the journal Science Advances reports that the Arctic has warmed by 0.75 degrees C in … Read more
The ancient Romans relied on long-distance timber trading to construct their empire, according to a study published December 4, 2019 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Mauro Bernabei from the National Research Council, Italy, and colleagues. The timber requirements of ancient Rome were immense and complex, with different types of trees from various locations around the … Read more
The first evidence of a giant planet orbiting a dead white dwarf star has been found in the form of a disc of gas formed from its evaporating atmosphere. The Neptune-like planet orbits a star a quarter of its size about once every ten days, leaving a comet-like tail of gas comprised of hydrogen, oxygen … Read more
A year ago, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe flew closer to the sun than any satellite in history, collecting a spectacular trove of data from the very edge of the sun’s million-degree corona. Now, that data has allowed solar physicists to map the source of a major component of the solar wind that continually peppers Earth’s … Read more
Chaperone proteins in human cells dynamically interact with the protein α-Synuclein, which is strongly associated with Parkinson’s disease. A disturbed relationship to these “bodyguards” leads to cell damage and the formation of Lewy bodies typical for Parkinson’s disease. The findings by researchers from the University of Basel’s Biozentrum have been published in Nature. Parkinson’s disease … Read more
National Park Service scientists analyzed nearly 1 million 10-second audio recording samples from national parks across the country and discovered a small increase in bird sound detection when an aircraft sound is also detected. On average, across all parks monitored, the odds of hearing a bird sound increases by 2% when aircraft sound is detected … Read more
Atom music is a fun new way to explore the atomic world via musical synthesis techniques. Atoms absorb and release energy in the form of photons that we perceive as different colors – think northern lights. These colors can be passed through a grating or prism that reveals the atom’s individual spectrum as a set … Read more
Conditioning is a method made famous by Ivan Pavlov’s experiments with dogs. Pavlov trained a dog by ringing a bell every time the dog was fed. The dog learned to associate the bell with food, and then drooled when it heard the bell ring, even if it didn’t see anything to eat. In an earlier … Read more
Long considered pests by forest managers, deer and elk can help Douglas-fir seedlings thrive under certain vegetation management conditions, a five-year study by Oregon State University shows. The research, published today in the Journal of Applied Ecology, is important because global demand for forest products continues to rise and because wildlife conservation is often viewed as … Read more