[Avalanche Research] Cracking the code underlying snowslides
Dangerous snow avalanches require failure of a weak layer buried beneath an overlying cohesive slab of snow. Although this process is mostly understood for some avalanche scenarios, – [Read More] (Source: Editors' Choice)
Source: Editors' Choice - February 15, 2017 Category: Science Authors: Brent Grocholski Tags: Avalanche Research Source Type: research
[Ice Sheets] Cliff driving
Iceberg calving from ice sheets contributes roughly as much to sea level rise as mass loss from melting, but the dynamics of calving are not well enough understood to allow precise – [Read More] (Source: Editors' Choice)
Source: Editors' Choice - February 9, 2017 Category: Science Authors: H. Jesse Smith Tags: Ice Sheets Source Type: research
[Education] Skills to pay the bills?
Circular and pedagogical reform is often occurring in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) departments. How can institutions measure whether these curriculum – [Read More] (Source: Editors' Choice)
Source: Editors' Choice - February 9, 2017 Category: Science Authors: Melissa McCartney Tags: Education Source Type: research
[Inorganic Chemistry] Fluorine frolicking with eight friends
Fluorine plays a supporting role in some of the best-known hypervalent compounds, such as PF5 and SF6. Goesten et al. now suggest that the halogen can – [Read More] (Source: Editors' Choice)
Source: Editors' Choice - February 9, 2017 Category: Science Authors: Jake Yeston Tags: Inorganic Chemistry Source Type: research
[Malnutrition] Child growth sensitivity to rainfall variability
Agricultural production and crop diversity are highly sensitive to climate and local weather variables. To assess the sensitivity of child growth and weight gain to precipitation, Shiveley – [Read More] (Source: Editors' Choice)
Source: Editors' Choice - February 9, 2017 Category: Science Authors: Caroline Ash Tags: Malnutrition Source Type: research
[Influenza] Gluing up hemagglutinin
The morbidity and economic tolls of influenza virus are huge, regardless of its capacity to kill. Vaccines and therapies to control this persistent threat are limited. In structural – [Read More] (Source: Editors' Choice)
Source: Editors' Choice - February 9, 2017 Category: Science Authors: Caroline Ash Tags: Influenza Source Type: research
[Heart Disease] Interfering with bad cholesterol
Over the past few decades, the number of deaths from cardiovascular disease has declined substantially in developed countries. Statins, drugs that lower serum levels of low-density – [Read More] (Source: Editors' Choice)
Source: Editors' Choice - February 9, 2017 Category: Science Authors: Paula A. Kiberstis Tags: Heart Disease Source Type: research
[Regeneration] Regrow like an axolotl
Unlike starfish or fictional superheroes, most vertebrates cannot regrow their limbs. Axolotls are an exception. Owing to the large size of their genomes (32 Gb), Bryant et al. – [Read More] (Source: Editors' Choice)
Source: Editors' Choice - February 8, 2017 Category: Science Authors: Beverly A. Purnell Tags: Regeneration Source Type: research
[Physics] Catching a glimpse of an exotic lattice
We normally think of a crystal lattice as consisting of atoms. At low temperatures and densities, however, electrons are expected to form a crystal of their own—the so-called Wigner c – [Read More] (Source: Editors' Choice)
Source: Editors' Choice - February 2, 2017 Category: Science Authors: Jelena Stajic Tags: Physics Source Type: research
[Asteroseismology] A Neptunian mirror for solar oscillations
The Sun's brightness varies by a tiny amount because of seismic oscillations. The Kepler satellite has detected the same process on other Sun-like stars, which can be used to determine – [Read More] (Source: Editors' Choice)
Source: Editors' Choice - February 2, 2017 Category: Science Authors: Keith T. Smith Tags: Asteroseismology Source Type: research
[Immigration] Want lower crime? Legalize immigrants
Immigrants granted legal status in Italy committed less crime compared with those who were not granted legal status. Applications for legal status are submitted online at particular – [Read More] (Source: Editors' Choice)
Source: Editors' Choice - February 2, 2017 Category: Science Authors: Brad Wible Tags: Immigration Source Type: research
[Neurogenomics] ERVs affect brain gene expression
In mammals, endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) provide genomic sequences that can bind to transcription factors that promote transcription of both the ERVs and nearby host genes. In humans, – [Read More] (Source: Editors' Choice)
Source: Editors' Choice - February 2, 2017 Category: Science Authors: Laura M. Zahn Tags: Neurogenomics Source Type: research
[Blood Vessel Disease] Targeting nitric oxide to treat aneurysm
Aneurysms are the abnormal enlargement of arteries and can lead to death if the artery wall bursts. Oller et al. studied patients with Marfan syndrome, an inherited genetic – [Read More] (Source: Editors' Choice)
Source: Editors' Choice - February 2, 2017 Category: Science Authors: Priscilla Kelly Tags: Blood Vessel Disease Source Type: research
[Cancer] Regulator loop enabling cancer cell growth
It is not easy being a cancer cell, so such cells may need help from factors other than oncogenes that contribute to the cancer cell phenotype. Bublik et al. identify such – [Read More] (Source: Editors' Choice)
Source: Editors' Choice - February 2, 2017 Category: Science Authors: L. Bryan Ray Tags: Cancer Source Type: research
[Paleoanthropology] Interglacial Neanderthal habitats
Despite burgeoning research in Neanderthal archaeology in recent years, much remains to be discovered about their interactions with the paleoenvironment. Using a species distribution – [Read More] (Source: Editors' Choice)
Source: Editors' Choice - February 1, 2017 Category: Science Authors: Andrew M. Sugden Tags: Paleoanthropology Source Type: research
