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However, fuel cells are held back by sluggish kinetics in a part of the core chemical reaction that limits efficiency. But, researchers from The University of Texas at Austin have discovered new dynamics that could supercharge this reaction using iron-based single-atom catalysts. The Breakthrough The researchers developed a new method to improve the oxygen reduction portion of the chemical reaction in fuel cells, in which O2 molecules are split to create water....

It functions much like a seesaw. Ocean levels drop in the vicinity of where these glacial ice masses melt. They do, however, rise thousands of miles away. This is primarily caused by the lack of a gravitational pull toward the ice sheet, which causes the water to disperse. Since each glacier or ice sheet that is melting has a different effect on sea level, the patterns have come to be known as “sea level fingerprints....

Funding from the National Institutes of Health will enable a Penn State researcher to study whether vitamin D supplementation could help people ward off or reduce symptoms caused by COVID-19. Margherita Cantorna, distinguished professor of molecular immunology and nutrition in the College of Agricultural Sciences, received nearly $241,000 as part of a competitive revision to the final year of an existing NIH grant that supports her research on how vitamin D regulates the immune system in the gastrointestinal tract....

CAPSTONE is no longer in safe mode following an issue in early September that caused the spacecraft to spin. A valve-related issue in one of the spacecraft’s eight thrusters was identified by the team as the most likely cause of the problem. The mission team will design future maneuvers to take into account the affected valve. This includes the two remaining trajectory correction maneuvers scheduled before CAPSTONE’s arrival to orbit at the Moon....

NASA’S Chandra X-ray Observatory has taken deep exposures of two nearby energetic pulsars flying through the Milky Way galaxy. The shape of their X-ray emission suggests there is a geometrical explanation for puzzling differences in behavior shown by some pulsars. Pulsars − rapidly rotating, highly magnetized, neutron stars born in supernova explosions triggered by the collapse of massive stars − were discovered 50 years ago via their pulsed, highly regular, radio emission....

Each century, about two massive stars in our own galaxy explode, producing magnificent supernovae. These stellar explosions send fundamental, uncharged particles called neutrinos streaming our way and generate ripples called gravitational waves in the fabric of space-time. Scientists are waiting for the neutrinos and gravitational waves from about 1,000 supernovae that have already exploded at distant locations in the Milky Way to reach us. Here on Earth, large, sensitive neutrino and gravitational-wave detectors have the ability to detect these respective signals, which will provide information about what happens in the core of collapsing massive stars just before they explode....

Duke University engineers are layering atom-thick lattices of carbon with polymers to create unique materials with a broad range of applications, including artificial muscles. The lattice, known as graphene, is made of pure carbon and appears under magnification like chicken wire. Because of its unique optical, electrical and mechanical properties, graphene is used in electronics, energy storage, composite materials and biomedicine. However, graphene is extremely difficult to handle in that it easily “crumples,” which, depending on circumstances, can be a positive or negative characteristic....

Warmer temperatures linked to climate change are having a big impact on the breeding habits of one of Australia’s most recognizable bird species, according to researchers at The Australian National University (ANU). The study, which has been published in the journal Global Change Biology, looked at the breeding season of superb fairy-wrens living in the Australian National Botanic Gardens in Canberra. The research was led by Dr. Lei Lv, who is visiting ANU from Sun Yat-sen University in China....

The Correlator supercomputer was designed to run one of the world’s most complex ground telescopes. The supercomputer will combine space signals from deep space captured by the radio telescope’s dozens of antennas. ALMA is expected to be completed in March 2013, and is already operating on a limited basis. It will use an array composed of 66 antennas to gather electromagnetic signals from deep space. In order to produce useful images and information, astronomers needed a supercomputer to process the signals and make the array function as a single telescope....

NASA has joined other U.S. and international agencies in hunting for answers. Scientists are investigating potential relationships between the spread of the novel coronavirus and seasonal shifts in humidity, temperature, rainfall, and other environmental variables. They hope their work will clarify the role that weather and climate might play in influencing the spread of the virus. The question confronting infectious disease experts and policymakers is: how will SARS-CoV-2 behave? The most closely related viruses—four other types of spherical, spiked betacoronaviruses—offer a few clues....

The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) today announced confirmation of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) in a Canada lynx at a zoo in Pennsylvania. This is the first Canada lynx confirmed with the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the United States.Samples were taken from the lynx after it showed signs of infection including coughing and lethargy. While USDA has previously announced each new species confirmed with the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the United States, moving forward, these cases will be posted on USDA’s website and a separate announcement will not be issued....

Pandemic-related stress and anxiety may increase auditory and vestibular effects associated with COVID-19. The physiological impacts of COVID-19 seem almost limitless. Complications can range from loss of taste to respiratory distress, with many effects lasting for months. Evidence suggests auditory and vestibular effects should be added to the growing list of symptoms. During the 180th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, which will be held virtually June 8-10, Colleen Le Prell, from the University of Texas at Dallas, will talk about hearing and balance disorders associated with coronavirus infection and how pandemic-related stress and anxiety may aggravate tinnitus symptoms....

Cardiovascular care essential part of post-infection care. An in-depth analysis of federal health data indicates that people who have had COVID-19 are at increased risk of developing cardiovascular complications within the first month to a year after infection. Such complications include disruptive heart rhythms, inflammation of the heart, blood clots, stroke, coronary artery disease, heart attack, heart failure, or even death. Such problems occur even among previously healthy individuals and those who have had mild COVID-19 infections, according to the study, from researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St....

The new findings are described in the journal Science. Most coronavirus vaccine candidates train the human immune system to recognize a key protein on the surface of the SARS-CoV-2 virus called the spike protein in order to fight infection. Researchers designed a new version of this protein that, when expressed in cells, produces up to 10 times more protein than that of an earlier synthetic spike protein already in use in multiple COVID-19 vaccines....

The findings have immediate applications in kakapo conservation management: Low productivity limits population recovery of the kakapo (Strigops habroptilus), with infrequent breeding, high infertility and low hatching success hampering conservation efforts. Kakapo breeding occurs irregularly, synchronized with the mass-fruiting (masting) of certain tree species, particularly the rimu tree (Dacrydium cupressinum), which only occurs every 2-4 years. Conservation strategies for wild-living threatened species such as the kakapo rely on improving survival and productivity to increase population growth....

Weedy rice is a de-domesticated form of rice that infests paddies worldwide and aggressively outcompetes cultivated varieties. A new study led by biologists at Washington University in St. Louis shows that weed populations have evolved multiple times from cultivated rice, and a strikingly high proportion of contemporary Asian weed strains can be traced to a few Green Revolution cultivars that were widely grown in the late 20th century. The scientists believe that a universal process is at work, acting at a genomic and molecular level to allow rapid adaptation to weediness....

In early 2017 scientists announced the discovery of possible desiccation cracks in Gale Crater, which was filled by lakes 3.5 billion years ago. Now, a new study has confirmed that these features are indeed desiccation cracks, and reveals fresh details about Mars’ ancient climate. “We are now confident that these are mudcracks,” explains lead author Nathaniel Stein, a geologist at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Since desiccation mudcracks form only where wet sediment is exposed to air, their position closer to the center of the ancient lake bed rather than the edge also suggests that lake levels rose and fell dramatically over time....

Diamonds have a firm foothold in our lexicon. Their many properties often serve as superlatives for quality, clarity, and hardiness. Aside from the popularity of this rare material in ornamental and decorative use, these precious stones are also highly valued in industry where they are used to cut and polish other hard materials and build radiation detectors. More than a decade ago, a new property was uncovered in diamonds when high concentrations of boron are introduced to it – superconductivity....

According to researchers at Yale, the American Museum of Natural History, and the University of Bonn, birds inherited their egg color from non-avian dinosaur ancestors that laid eggs in fully or partially open nests. The researchers’ findings appear on October 31 in the online edition of the journal Nature. “This completely changes our understanding of how egg colors evolved,” said the study’s lead author, Yale paleontologist Jasmina Wiemann. “For two centuries, ornithologists assumed that egg color appeared in modern birds’ eggs multiple times, independently....

Two years into the pandemic, there is evidence that pregnant women are more vulnerable to the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19. However, little is known about the possible consequences for an unborn child if the mother is infected during pregnancy. The likelihood and impact of a vertical transmission, meaning the passage of the virus from mother to the fetus, remains unclear. “Women infected with SARS-CoV-2 during pregnancy are concerned that the virus may affect the development of their unborn child, as is the case with some other viral infections,” said study senior author Sophia Stöcklein, M....