French love letters confiscated by Britain finally read after 265 years

Over 100 letters sent to French sailors by their fiancées, wives, parents and siblings -- but never delivered -- have been opened and studied for the first time since they were written in 1757-8.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/11/231106203004.htm

450-million-year-old organism finds new life in Softbotics

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University's College of Engineering used fossil evidence to engineer a soft robotic replica of pleurocystitids, a marine organism that existed nearly 450 million years ago and is believed to be one of the first echinoderms capable of movement using a muscular stem.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/11/231106202936.htm

Brain implant may enable communication from thoughts alone

A speech prosthetic developed by a collaborative team of Duke neuroscientists,  neurosurgeons, and engineers can translate a person's brain signals into what they're trying to say. The new technology might one day help people unable to talk due to neurological disorders regain the ability to communicate through a brain-computer interface.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/11/231106134844.htm

Crust-forming algae are displacing corals in tropical waters worldwide

Over the past few decades, algae have been slowly edging corals out of their native reefs across the globe by blocking sunlight, wearing the corals down physically, and producing harmful chemicals. But in recent years, a new type of algal threat has surfaced in tropical regions like the Caribbean -- one that spreads quickly and forms a crust on top of coral and sponges, suffocating the organisms underneath and preventing them from regrowing. Marine biologists report that peyssonnelioid alga crusts, or PACs, are expanding quickly across reefs worldwide, killing off corals and transforming entire ecosystems.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/11/231106134815.htm

How salt from the Caribbean affects our climate

Past cold periods such as the Little Ice Age were associated with reduced strength of North Atlantic currents and increased surface salinity in the Caribbean. This was accompanied by disturbances in the distribution of salt to the north leading to longer, stronger cooling phases in the northern hemisphere.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/11/231103170642.htm

Predicting saltwater intrusion into groundwater using Plymouth, Mass. as test case

As the world warms and ice sheets melt, the ocean continually rises. The greater Boston area can expect to see between one and six feet of sea level rise by 2100, according to recent estimates. To find out what this rise might mean for freshwater supplies, a team of hydrogeologists developed an innovative new model that can not only predict saltwater intrusion over the next 75 years, but also pinpoint the main sources of salt contamination today -- road salt and human development.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/11/231102162841.htm

AI should be better understood and managed -- new research warns

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and algorithms can and are being used to radicalize, polarize, and spread racism and political instability, says an academic. An expert argues that AI and algorithms are not just tools deployed by national security agencies to prevent malicious activity online, but can be contributors to polarization, radicalism and political violence -- posing a threat to national security.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/11/231102135100.htm

Hebrew prayer book fills gap in Italian earthquake history

The chance discovery of a note written in a 15th century Hebrew prayer book fills an important gap in the historical Italian earthquake record, offering a brief glimpse of a previously unknown earthquake affecting the Marche region in the central Apennines.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/11/231101180650.htm

In a surprising finding, light can make water evaporate without heat

At the interface of water and air, light can, in certain conditions, bring about evaporation without the need for heat, according to a new study.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/11/231101180644.htm

Where is a sea star's head? Maybe just about everywhere

A new study that combines genetic and molecular techniques helps solve the riddle of sea star (commonly called starfish) body plans, and how sea stars start life with bilateral body symmetry -- just like humans -- but grow up to be adults with fivefold 'pentaradial' symmetry.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/11/231101134930.htm

Mobile phone use may affect semen quality

Does electromagnetic radiation emitted by mobile phones affect semen quality? While various environmental and lifestyle factors have been proposed to explain the decline in semen quality observed over the last fifty years, the role of mobile phones has yet to be demonstrated. A team has now published a major cross-sectional study on the subject. It shows that frequent use of mobile phones is associated with a lower sperm concentration and total sperm count.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/11/231101134831.htm

Risk of viral airborne transmission peaks within 5 seconds of face-to-face encounters

Researchers visualized and measured the flow field of aerosol particles derived from exhaled air and examined the risk of viral exposure during face-to-face encounters, such as while walking, jogging, running, or sprinting. The results showed that the number of aerosol particles during face-to-face encounters peaked within 5 seconds after the encounter and rapidly declined thereafter.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/10/231031111526.htm

Humans are disrupting natural 'salt cycle' on a global scale, new study shows

A new paper revealed that human activities are making Earth's air, soil and freshwater saltier, which could pose an 'existential threat' if current trends continue. Geologic and hydrologic processes bring salts to Earth's surface over time, but human activities such as mining and land development are rapidly accelerating this natural 'salt cycle.'

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/10/231031111505.htm

Microplastics' shape determines how far they travel in the atmosphere

Micron-size microplastic debris can be carried by the jet stream across oceans and continents, and their shape plays a crucial role in how far they travel.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/10/231030194604.htm

Want to achieve your goals? Get angry

While often perceived as a negative emotion, anger can also be a powerful motivator for people to achieve challenging goals in their lives, according to new research.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/10/231030110823.htm

AI can alert urban planners and policymakers to cities' decay

As urbanization advances around the globe, the quality of the urban physical environment will become increasingly critical to human well-being and to sustainable development initiatives. However, measuring and tracking the quality of an urban environment, its evolution and its spatial disparities is difficult due to the amount of on-the-ground data needed to capture these patterns.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/10/231027165919.htm

Youngest children in class with ADHD as likely to keep diagnosis in adulthood as older pupils, find scientists

Youngest children in their class with ADHD are just as likely to keep the diagnosis when enter adulthood as older pupils in their year group. In the past, scientists have questioned the validity of ADHD in younger pupils, arguing they are only diagnosed because they are less mature than their peers. But this study shows that these children are no more likely to lose ADHD diagnosis over time than those born towards the start of the school year.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/10/231026222607.htm

Common chemotherapy drugs don't work like doctors thought, with big implications for drug discovery

A new study suggests that chemotherapy may not be reaching its full potential, in part because researchers and doctors have long misunderstood how some of the most common cancer drugs actually ward off tumors.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/10/231026184337.htm

Controlling waves in magnets with superconductors for the first time

Quantum physicists have shown that it's possible to control and manipulate spin waves on a chip using superconductors for the first time. These tiny waves in magnets may offer an alternative to electronics in the future, interesting for energy-efficient information technology or connecting pieces in a quantum computer, for example. The breakthrough primarily gives physicists new insight into the interaction between magnets and superconductors.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/10/231026171429.htm

Researcher finds proof of menopause in wild chimpanzees

A team of researchers studying the Ngogo community of wild chimpanzees in western Uganda's Kibale National Park for two decades has published a report showing that females in this population can experience menopause and post-reproductive survival.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/10/231026161041.htm