From Italy and the World

CNN  —  The decision by Germany, the United States, and others to send main battle tanks to Ukraine has gone further than many thought realistic just months ago. Western nations, showcasing unity and wanting to head off a renewed Russian offensive, have cast aside fears that more advanced weaponry risked…

One solution to this frustratingly common scenario is to retrace your steps. This can be done by physically moving through the space where you suspect your elusive keychain is hiding or, as explored in recent research in Psychological Science, scanning your memory to find them. Humans structure memories of these…

As of 2022, 17 car manufacturers have announced plans to use or are currently using LiDAR sensors across 21 different models. However, there are a few things that need to be solved before this technology can be used widespread. LiDAR, which stands for light detection and ranging, is the use…

If a scientist wanted to forecast ocean currents to understand how pollution travels after an oil spill, she could use a common approach that looks at currents traveling between 10 and 200 kilometers. Or, she could choose a newer model that also includes shorter currents. This might be more accurate,…

A study by scientists at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and Earthjustice found that most children in the United States use makeup and body products that may contain carcinogens and other toxic chemicals. Results are published in the peer-reviewed International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. The…

In a new breakthrough, researchers at the University of Copenhagen, in collaboration with Ruhr University Bochum, have solved a problem that has caused quantum researchers headaches for years. The researchers can now control two quantum light sources rather than one. Trivial as it may seem to those uninitiated in quantum,…

Innovative research has uncovered the secret of how plants make limonoids, a family of valuable organic chemicals which include bee-friendly insecticides and have potential as anti-cancer drugs. The research team, a collaboration between the John Innes Centre and Stanford University, used ground-breaking methods to reveal the biosynthetic pathway of these…

Earth’s potassium arrived by meteoritic delivery service finds new research led by Carnegie’s Nicole Nie and Da Wang. Their work, published in Science, shows that some primitive meteorites contain a different mix of potassium isotopes than those found in other, more-chemically processed meteorites. These results can help elucidate the processes…

CNN  —  Sayfullo Saipov was found guilty of murder by a federal jury for using a rented truck to fatally strike eight people on a New York City bike path on Halloween Day in 2017. Jurors deliberated about six hours over two days in the case involving the deadliest terrorist…

CNN  —  The Swedish government was complicit in the burning of the Quran at a protest in Stockholm last weekend, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu reportedly said Thursday. Increased tensions between the two countries come at a time when Sweden is relying on Turkey to support its bid for membership…

CNN  —  All five former Memphis police officers who were fired for their actions during the arrest of Tyre Nichols earlier this month have been charged with murder, according to Shelby County court records. Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Justin Smith, Emmit Martin, and Desmond Mills Jr. have each been charged…

Tyre Nichols (Courtesy Ben Crump and Nichols Family) Nearly three weeks ago, Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, was hospitalized after a traffic stop in Memphis that resulted in a violent arrest and subsequent death of a driver. Here’s what we know about the timeline of the incident, investigations from authorities and…

Nanotechnology researchers at The University of Texas at Dallas have made novel carbon nanotube yarns that convert mechanical movement into electricity more effectively than other material-based energy harvesters. In a study published Jan. 26 in Nature Energy, UT Dallas researchers and their collaborators describe improvements to high-tech yarns they invented…

An artificial intelligence program may enable the first simple production of customizable proteins called zinc fingers to treat diseases by turning genes on and off. The researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and the University of Toronto who designed the tool say it promises to accelerate the development of…

Treating cancer with combinations of drugs can be more effective than using a single drug. However, figuring out the optimal combination of drugs, and making sure that all of the drugs reach the right place, can be challenging. To help address those challenges, MIT chemists have designed a bottlebrush-shaped nanoparticle…

A University of Queensland-led study has shown that expanding global seaweed farming could go a long way to addressing the planet’s food security, biodiversity loss and climate change challenges. PhD Candidate Scott Spillias, from UQ’s School of Earth and Environmental Science, said seaweed offered a sustainable alternative to land-based agricultural…

Undernourished coastal communities in the tropics — where children’s growth can be stunted by a lack of micronutrients — can get the vitamins and minerals they need from sustainable small-scale octopus fisheries, say researchers. Research led by Cambridge scientists, and published today in Nature Food, shows that tropical small-scale octopus…

Starting with the emergence of quantum mechanics, the world of physics has been divided between classical and quantum physics. Classical physics deals with the motions of objects we typically see every day in the macroscopic world, while quantum physics explains the exotic behaviors of elementary particles in the microscopic world.…

Scientists have discovered the first gamma-ray eclipses from a special type of binary star system using data from NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. These so-called spider systems each contain a pulsar — the superdense, rapidly rotating remains of a star that exploded in a supernova — that slowly erodes its…

The mint family of herbs, which includes sage, rosemary, basil, and even woody plants like teak, offers an invigorating jolt to our senses of smell and taste. Michigan State University researchers have found that these plants have diversified their specialized natural characteristics through the evolution of their chemistry, which could…

Human brain atlases can be used by medical professionals to track normative trends over time and to pinpoint crucial aspects of early brain development. With these atlases, they are able to see what typical structural and functional development looks like, making it easier for them to spot the symptoms of…

As lithium-ion batteries have become a ubiquitous part of our lives through their use in consumer electronics, automobiles and electricity storage facilities, researchers have been working to improve their power, efficiency and longevity. As detailed in a paper published today in Nature Materials, scientists at the University of California, Irvine…

Two novel research studies from Cedars-Sinai move the needle on predicting two important heart conditions — sudden cardiac arrest, which is often fatal, and increased coronary artery calcium, a marker of coronary artery disease that can lead to a heart attack. The studies were led by investigators in the Smidt…

Fathers exposed to chemicals in plastics can affect the metabolic health of their offspring for two generations, a University of California, Riverside, mouse study reports. Plastics, which are now ubiquitous, contain endocrine disrupting chemicals, or EDCs, that have been linked to increased risk of many chronic diseases; parental exposure to…

Scientists have created an AI system capable of generating artificial enzymes from scratch. In laboratory tests, some of these enzymes worked as well as those found in nature, even when their artificially generated amino acid sequences diverged significantly from any known natural protein. The experiment demonstrates that natural language processing,…

CNN  —  Three people received medical treatment during filming for a real-life “Squid Game” show, Netflix has confirmed, but the streaming giant denied that anyone suffered “serious injury.” Netflix announced last year that it was launching “Squid Game: The Challenge” as a reality competition series based on its smash-hit drama…

A transporter which some bacteria use to recycle fragments of their cell wall has been discovered by researchers at Umeå university, Sweden. They found that the transporter controls resistance to certain kinds of cell-wall targeting antibiotics. The transporter that Professor Felipe Cava and PhD student Michael Gilmore at Umeå university…

By using artificial human skin, a research group from the University of Copenhagen have managed to block invasive growth in a skin cancer model. The study has been published in Science Signaling and looks at what actually happens when a cell turns into a cancer cell. “We have been studying…

In an observational feat of high precision, scientists used a new technique with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to capture the shadows of starlight cast by the thin rings of Chariklo. Chariklo is an icy, small body, but the largest of the known Centaur population, located more than 2 billion…