Application of novel technologies against carcinogenic fungi mycotoxins

Mycotoxins are a group of low-molecular-weight compounds with a lot of diversity at their structures, which are mainly produced through the secondary metabolism of fungi. They are produced on different types of foods and are considered as hazardous substances for both animal and human health. Their impact on health may be very hard and can be categorized in three forms as mutagenic, carcinogenic, and genotoxic. On the other hand, the contamination of foodstuffs and plant materials, particularly grains, with mycotoxins goes along with intense financial losses. For example, nearly one-third of the total crop value was lost in Hungary in 2014, partly due to the lowered prices owing to the higher toxin contamination and partly because of losses in animal husbandry and extra costs of toxin binders, medication, etc.

The clock is ticking on net-zero, and Australia's farmers must not get a free pass

Political momentum is growing in Australia to cut greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by 2050. On Friday, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg was the latest member of the federal government to throw his weight behind the goal, and over the weekend, Prime Minister Scott Morrison acknowledged "the world is transitioning to a new energy economy."

New computational platform to study biological processes

Agent-based simulations (ABS) are powerful computational tools that help scientists understand complex biological systems. These simulations are an inexpensive and efficient way to quickly test hypotheses about the physiology of cellular tissues, organs, or entire organisms. However, many ABS do not take full advantage of available computational power, and the majority of ABS platforms on the market are designed with a particular use case in mind.

eVoting could increase youth voter turnout in local elections

Introducing eVoting could have a positive effect on increasing voter turnout among young people, a University of Otago study suggests.

New roadmap to better performing solar energy cells

Perovskite solar cells are in many ways already as efficient as conventional crystalline silicon-based solar cells; perovskite has the added benefit of being much more cost-effective than its silicon counterpart. Perovskites are also being introduced in various devices such as light-emitting diodes, lasers, memory devices and much more.

'Bare' super-earths offer clues to evolution of hot atmospheres

A group of astronomers from the Astrobiology Center, the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, the University of Tokyo, and other institutes, discovered two rocky super-Earth exoplanets lacking thick primordial atmospheres in very close orbits around two different red dwarf stars. These planets provide a chance to investigate the evolution of the atmospheres of hot rocky planets.

Closed Facebook groups offer respite for stressed-out women, but running them involves yet more unseen labour

Would you share your most intimate thoughts with strangers?

Why we must reassess the komodo dragon's endangered status

The Indonesian endemic world's largest lizard komodo dragons (Varanus komodoensis) recently entered the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) list of "Endangered" species, marking it as having high risk of extinction.

Full-color LEDs cut down to size

Tiny light-emitting devices that can create all the colors in the rainbow are essential for the next generation of phones and screens.

Stigmatization prevents lessons from the HIV pandemic

The HIV pandemic hit the LGBTQI+ community, people who were already stigmatized, particularly early: This stigmatization prevented the lessons of the HIV pandemic from being adopted by broader parts of society—with consequences for dealing with the COVID 19 pandemic, argue researchers from the School of Public Health at Bielefeld University. In the journal Science, they show how society could learn better from the experiences of stigmatized communities. Their contribution is part of a project at the Research Institute Social Cohesion (FGZ) funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

First reported case of anthrax in wildlife: Infected zebra most likely causes death of 3 cheetahs

Since 2015, scientists of the Leibniz-IZW Cheetah Research Project (CRP) conduct a National Cheetah Survey together with the Namibian Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT). The purpose is to obtain data on cheetah density and distribution across the country. Within this framework, a coalition of three cheetah males was captured in the Namib Desert and one animal equipped with a GPS collar. The recorded location and movement data were regularly downloaded during aerial tracking flights. On one of these flights, on October 5th 2019, the carcass of a collared cheetah—one of the members of the coalition—was located from the aircraft. During the following ground inspection, the other two cheetahs were also found dead. "The GPS data of the collared cheetah revealed that they died within a time window of six hours a few days before we found them," says Ruben Portas, CRP scientist. "Evaluating their most recent movements, we identified a cluster of GPS locations approximately two kilometers away from the location where they were found dead." At this spot the cheetahs spent 20 hours on the day before their death. When visiting this cluster, Portas found the carcass of an adult mountain zebra. The GPS and activity data from the collar suggested that the cheetahs fed on it. Bacillus anthracis, the cause of Anthrax infections, was isolated from buccal and nasal swabs collected from the dead zebra, making it the first confirmed anthrax infection in a wildlife species in the Namib Desert.

Our climate projections for 2500 show an Earth that is alien to humans

There are many reports based on scientific research that talk about the long-term impacts of climate change—such as rising levels of greenhouse gases, temperatures and sea levels—by the year 2100. The Paris Agreement, for example, requires us to limit warming to under 2.0 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by the end of the century.

Urgent action must be taken to save the critically endangered Sumatran rhino

Indonesia manage to conserve two of the world's five rhinoceros species. Both the Javan rhino (Rhinoceros sondaicus) and the Sumatran rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) still exist today, uniquely only in the country.

Not all men's violence prevention programs are effective: Why women's voices need to be included

In the opening panel of the National Summit on Women's Safety 2021, Professor Marcia Langton called for a separate national plan to address violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women.

Galactic panspermia: How far could life spread naturally in a galaxy like the Milky Way?

Can life spread throughout a galaxy like the Milky Way without technological intervention? That question is largely unanswered. A new study is taking a swing at that question by using a simulated galaxy that's similar to the Milky Way. Then they investigated that model to see how organic compounds might move between its star systems.

Political bias on social media emerges from users, not platform

In this era of political polarization, many accuse online social media platforms such as Twitter of liberal bias, intentionally favoring and amplifying liberal content and users while suppressing other political content.

5.7-magnitude quake shakes Philippines' main island: USGS

A strong earthquake hit off the Philippines' main island Monday, but there were no immediate reports of damage, the US Geological Survey and local officials said.

'Back to basics' approach helps unravel new phase of matter

A new phase of matter, thought to be understandable only using quantum physics, can be studied with far simpler classical methods.

Research reveals potential of an overlooked climate change solution

Earlier this month, President Biden urged other countries to join the U.S. and European Union in a commitment to slashing methane emissions. Two new Stanford-led studies could help pave the way by laying out a blueprint for coordinating research on methane removal technologies, and modeling how the approach could have an outsized effect on reducing future peak temperatures.

Finger tracing enhances learning: Evidence for 100-year-old practice used by Montessori

Finger tracing has been used by teachers to help students learn for more than a century. In the early 1900s, education pioneer Montessori encouraged young children to trace over letters of the alphabet made from sandpaper with their index fingers, based on the intuition that a multi-sensory approach (i.e., visual, auditory, tactile, and kinesthetic) to learning would be most effective. In 1912, Montessori noticed that children, after mastering the sequence of tracing a letter with their index finger, "took great pleasure" in closing their eyes and trying to recall it.