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 global assessment shows that human impacts have greatly reduced plant-fungus symbioses, which play a key role in sequestering carbon in soils. Restoring these ecosystems could be one strategy to slow climate change. Human-induced transformations of Earth’s ecosystems have strongly affected distribution patterns of plant-fungus symbioses known as mycorrhiza. These changes have greatly reduced … Read more
“Elite”, high-earning political lobbyists are more likely to overstate their achievements, a new study shows. Political influencers who have a smaller salary and work in specialist areas or for public interest groups are less overconfident – or even underestimate their success, according to the research. This suggests overconfidence can help lobbyists make connections with important … Read more
Young, low-income women in Canada are less likely to use more effective methods of birth control like the pill, and more likely to use no contraception or condoms only, according to new UBC research. The findings, published today in CMAJ Open, suggest that young, low-income women may not be able to afford accessing the full … Read more
CO2 utilisation has the potential to operate at large scale and at low cost, meaning it could form part of a viable new global industry. If done correctly, using CO2 to create valuable products could help offset the cost of reducing emissions or removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, say a team led by researchers … Read more
Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI and ETH Zurich have developed a micromachine that can perform different actions. First nanomagnets in the components of the microrobots are magnetically programmed and then the various movements are controlled by magnetic fields. Such machines, which are only a few tens of micrometres across, could be used, for … Read more
The best of science, entrepreneurship and politics is required to avoid ‘turning the clock back on immunisation’, argue a group of global health experts in a new Nature Review. Authored by scientists from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), the World Health Organization (WHO), the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, … Read more
Thinking about sex and gender would help scientists improve their research, a new article published today argues. Writing in a special 150th anniversary edition of Nature, five experts say these factors are too often ignored. They say incorporating sex (the biological attribute distinguishing females, males or intersex/hermaphrodite individuals) and gender (psychological, social and cultural factors affecting … Read more
Using the first new method in half a century for measuring the size of the proton via electron scattering, the PRad collaboration has produced a new value for the proton’s radius in an experiment conducted at the Department of Energy’s Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. The result, recently published in the journal Nature, is one of the … Read more
Plants can help spruce up a home or office space, but claims about their ability to improve the air quality are vastly overstated, according to research out of Drexel University. A closer look at decades of research suggesting that potted plants can improve the air in homes and offices reveals that natural ventilation far outpaces … Read more
Scientists from The Australian National University (ANU) have shown that ice melt from Antarctica drives rapid and high sea-level rise, offering a forewarning of what to expect under human-driven climate change. The researchers examined historical and new data from the ‘last interglacial’, which took place 125,000 to 118,000 years ago and saw sea levels rise … Read more