Introduction of stricter drink drive limit has had 'no effect' in reducing accidents in Scotland

The introduction of a tougher drink drive limit in Scotland over six years ago has had 'no effect' at reducing drink driving or alcohol related collisions say the authors of a new academic study.

Two-stream network proposed for thermal and visible images fusion

Student Liu Luolin from the Xi'an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics (XIOPM) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has proposed a two-stream end-to-end model named TSFNet for thermal and visible image fusion. The results were published in Neurocomputing.

Ethnicity as a changeable concept alters outlook on society

Ethnicity often plays a prominent role in debates at every level of Dutch society. But what exactly is ethnicity, and is it as set in stone as we believe? Research conducted by Radboud University's Robbert Rademakers and André van Hoorn has shown that, during their lifetime, millions of people across the world will assume a different ethnicity. Their research will now be featured in the Journal of Development Economics. "Ethnicity is not a fixed biological fact, but a concept that is interpreted differently by everyone."

Survey: Diversity deficit in US tech workforce

From the 2021 ASU+GSV Summit, WILEY, a global leader in research and education, today announced its Diversity in Tech: 2021 U.S. Report following a survey of more than 2,000 early career tech workers and 270 business leaders. The report verifies the pace of progress is too slow in addressing the lack of diversity in U.S. technology-focused jobs and reveals insights that underscore the challenges companies must address to build more diverse workforces. Key findings include that nearly 70% of U.S. businesses identify a lack of diversity in their workforces, while the same percentage of young tech workers feel a lack of inclusion and belonging in company culture.

Locations of Riemann zeros accurately measured

The Riemann hypothesis raised in 1859 is one of the six unsolved Millennium problems, and its proof greatly facilitate the understanding of the distribution laws of prime numbers. For a long time, there has been a growing academic focus on the non-trivial zeros of the Riemann zeta function. This enables physicists to reproduce prime numbers and inspires them to discover the essence of Riemann hypothesis with a feasible quantum approach.

An interactive gravitational-wave detector model designed to educate at museums and fairs

Observations of gravitational waves in space have sparked public interest in space technology and an interactive exhibit modeled on a real-life gravitational-wave detector is helping to explain this new field of science.

Passing clouds cause some marine animals to make mini-migrations during the day

Every evening, small fish and microscopic animals called zooplankton journey to the ocean surface, where they feast on microscopic plants under the moonlight before returning to the depths at dawn. With data collected during the EXport Processes in the Ocean from Remote Sensing (EXPORTS) field campaign in 2018 to the Northeastern Pacific Ocean, scientists have now shown that some zooplankton living in the twilight zone of the ocean at depths of greater than 300 meters swim up and down also in response to shifts in light due to cloud cover.

Unique new insect-killing tobacco plant discovered

Curtin University researchers have identified seven new species of wild tobacco growing in Western Australia and the Northern Territory, including the first of this plant type found to kill insects, which was discovered in northern Western Australia.

Ways to improve magpie goose management on mango farms

Research from Charles Darwin University (CDU) has identified ways to improve management of magpie geese to better assist mango growers as the Northern Territory goes into mango season.

A pathway to stable, high-activity catalysts from gold nanoclusters

Catalysts are ubiquitous, whether in the form of an enzyme in the body that digests food or the catalytic converter in the car that breaks down pollutants. Catalysts play an important role in making chemical reactions more efficient. Recently, atomically precise metal nanoclusters (NCs) that can accelerate various thermal, electrochemical, and photochemical reactions have been used to design useful catalysts. These NCs are tiny particles (less than 2 nanometers) whose properties can be modified by changing their atomic composition. Metal NCs have received considerable attention, with scientists trying to find various ways of synthesizing NCs with unique functions.

Tiny bubbles: Treating asthma with gene-silencing nanocapsules

Steroid-based inhalers deliver life-saving medication for millions of asthma sufferers, providing relief and the ability to simply breathe. Unfortunately, inhalers do not work for all patients, and with rates on the rise for a disease that leads to hundreds of thousands of deaths world-wide each year, new asthma treatments and strategies are needed.

Researchers show that orangutans do not need to be taught how to use a hammer

Using an object to crack nuts is considered one of the most complex tool-using behaviors in the animal kingdom. So far, only chimpanzees, capuchins and macaques have been observed cracking nuts with such tools in the wild. In a new study, Dr. Elisa Bandini and Dr. Claudio Tennie from Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology at the University of Tübingen investigated whether other primate species such as orangutans also crack nuts with tools and how the animals can learn to do so. Of twelve orangutans living in zoos, four spontaneously and successfully used the proffered wooden hammers for this purpose even though they were not able to copy the behavior from others. The study is published in the American Journal of Primatology.

Five new species of Australian trapdoor spider that took scientists a century to tell apart

After a century of scientific confusion, we can now officially add five new species to Australia's long list of trapdoor spiders—secretive, burrowing relatives of tarantulas.

Extracurricular activities for children in China have limited practicality

In the United States, parents commonly enroll their children in extracurricular activities with the goal of helping them enhance their personal and academic achievements. However, according to researchers at Penn State and Shandong Normal University in China, investing resources in extracurricular activities is not an effective strategy for Chinese families due to an educational system that favors high-stakes college entrance exams over the development of interpersonal skills.

Small towns need big focus on resilience

With heatwaves, bushfires, and floods, small towns and their surrounding communities have confronted a combination of successive disasters fuelled by climate change. And it's predicted to only get worse.

Alginic acid improves artificial bones

New research shows that mixing low viscosity alginic acid with calcium phosphate cement (CPC), a material commonly used as a bone replacement, confers three functional improvements: shorter setting time, increased compressive strength, and acquisition of porosity.

Extremophiles: Resilient microorganisms that help us understand our past and future

In the infamous words of Jurassic Park consultant Dr. Ian Malcolm, "life finds a way". In the depths of the ocean, in volcanic springs, under four meters of ice: almost anywhere scientists can think of to look for life on Earth, we have found it.

Populistist parties use parliamentary instruments differently

Populist parties in national parliaments have a different style of working from their colleagues in other parties. They often vote against Cabinet proposals, but do not ask more questions about Cabinet activities. This is the finding of Leiden research in different European countries.

Skull birth defect detailed in cell-by-cell description

Contrary to the popular song, the neck bone is actually connected to one of 22 separate head bones that make up the human skull. These plate-like bones intersect at specialized joints called sutures, which normally allow the skull to expand as the brain grows, but are absent in children with a birth defect called craniosynostosis. A new study in Nature Communications presents a detailed cellular atlas of the developing coronal suture, the one most commonly fused as a consequence of single gene mutations. The study brought together scientists from the laboratories of Gage Crump, Robert Maxson, and Amy Merrill at USC, and the laboratories of Andrew Wilkie and Stephen Twigg at the University of Oxford.

New technique identifies proteins in the living brain

For the first time, researchers have developed a successful approach for identifying proteins inside different types of neurons in the brain of a living animal.

Pacific Northwest braces for another multiday heat wave

People in the Pacific Northwest braced for another major, multiday heat wave starting Wednesday, just over a month after record-shattering hot weather killed hundreds of the region's most vulnerable when temperatures soared to 116 degrees Fahrenheit (47 Celsius).

Parched Mendocino, California, implores guests to save water

Tourists flock by the thousands to the coastal town of Mendocino for its Victorian homes and cliff trails, but visitors this summer are also finding public portable toilets and signs on picket fences pleading: "Severe drought. Please conserve water."

Space station supplies launched with a pizza delivery for 7

Northrop Grumman's latest space station delivery includes pizza for seven.