BIFs are layers of sediment that are rich in iron and date to the Precambrian. Theories suggest that they are resulted from the interplay of microbial metabolisms that involved the biogeochemical cycling of iron and organic matter (OM). However, BIFs found on Earth today are depleted in OM. The new study examines whether or not the depletion of OM could be the result of the oxidation of this material during the process of iron reduction....

Health behaviors and emotional stressors can alter the body’s ability to develop an immune response to vaccines, including—potentially—the new COVID-19 vaccines. Simple interventions, including exercising and getting a good night’s sleep in the 24 hours before vaccination, may maximize the vaccine’s initial effectiveness. Decades of research show that depression, stress, loneliness, and poor health behaviors can weaken the body’s immune system and lower the effectiveness of certain vaccines. A new report accepted for publication in Perspectives on Psychological Science suggests that the same may be true for the new COVID-19 vaccines that are in development and the early stages of global distribution....

In the past, doctors routinely tested for potential bacterial culprits using stool samples in labs. An isolate would then be sent to local, state or federal officials, who would have the DNA tested to determine the exact strain. This information was entered into the PulseNet system, which allows health officials to see if samples from newly diagnosed patients matched the ones in the database. This could help in determining the source of contamination....

Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have made major discoveries that could lead to new treatments for lung disorders in premature babies. In a mouse study, the team located key molecules that switch on stress pathways in preterm lung disorders, and also found that when parts of these pathways were blocked with a pain drug, lung damage was prevented or reversed. The findings are published online ahead of print in the March issue of American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology....

Windows contribute to energy demand in residential homes because they let heat escape; coverings can improve insulation. In a study, researchers compared the performance of three single-cell and two cell-in-cell-construction cellular shades with that of generic horizontal venetian blinds. The shades were installed from December to March for two heating seasons over windows in adjacent, identical second-floor rooms in a home in the Southeast United States. “The room with the cellular shades achieved up to 24% heating energy savings,” ORNL’s Mahabir Bhandari said....

Zeroing in on specific brain regions when studying drug and alcohol abuse simplifies research but may leave out important insights. In fact, the landscape of the entire brain reorganizes during withdrawal, potentially hindering communication between regions, according to new research in mice published in eNeuro. Kimbrough et al. administered psychostimulant drugs to mice (cocaine, methamphetamine, or nicotine) for one week then measured their neuronal activity during withdrawal. For all three drugs, the withdrawal brain state displayed increased functional connectivity — a measure of synchronized activity and communication between brain regions —compared to the control brain state....

Transgender men often undergo medical procedures to adjust their bodies to their male gender identity. These medical interventions can affect fertility. Some transgender men, therefore, choose not to undergo these treatments, postpone them or, even, to temporarily stop them. Allowing them to retain the possibility of becoming pregnant. Lack of Environment Understanding Registrar Jojanneke van Amesfoort and gynecologist Norah van Mello, together with colleagues from Amsterdam UMC, conducted research into the experiences of transgender and gender-diverse individuals....

While the COVID-19 virus pandemic is forcing everybody to stay at home, we bring you these beautiful views from space of the Dutch tulip fields coming into bloom. Captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission on April 5, April 10, April 15 and April 20, 2020, this sequence of images shows how the fields change from browns and greens to an array of vibrant colors. Lasting just a few weeks, the beauty of these colors normally attracts millions of visitors from all over the world....

Additionally, the new research study also discovered that major impact events on Earth were not stand-alone events, but were accompanied by a series of smaller impacts. These findings shed new light on asteroid dynamics in the inner solar system, including the probability of potentially devastating Earth-bound asteroids. Led by Curtin University, the international research team studied microscopic glass beads aged up to two billion years old that were discovered in lunar soil that was brought back to Earth in December 2020 as part of the Chinese National Space Agency’s Chang’e-5 Lunar mission....

Contemporary electronic components, which are traditionally based on silicon semiconductor technology, can be switched on or off within picoseconds (i.e. 10-12 seconds). Standard mobile phones and computers work at maximum frequencies of several gigahertz (1 GHz = 109 Hz) while individual transistors can approach one terahertz (1 THz = 1012 Hz). Further increasing the speed at which electronic switching devices can be opened or closed using the standard technology has since proven a challenge....

Year after year, the explosive growth of computing power relies on manufacturers’ ability to fit more and more components into the same amount of space on a silicon chip. That progress, however, is now approaching the limits of the laws of physics, and new materials are being explored as potential replacements for the silicon semiconductors long at the heart of the computer industry. New materials may also enable entirely new paradigms for individual chip components and their overall design....

A new system devised by MIT engineers could provide a low-cost source of drinking water for parched cities around the world while also cutting power plant operating costs. About 39 percent of all the fresh water withdrawn from rivers, lakes, and reservoirs in the U.S. is earmarked for the cooling needs of electric power plants that use fossil fuels or nuclear power, and much of that water ends up floating away in clouds of vapor....

The current situation has reminded many of the SARS outbreak of 2003, which spread from China to as far as Toronto and killed 916 people. The most recent coronavirus seems to be emerging slower than SARS and to date, only six cases have been reported. Two of the infections were fatal. There is a growing concern that the virus could start spreading from person to person, fanning out to infect more people around the globe....

The scientists presented their findings at a meeting of the Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB) in San Francisco. Biomedical researchers have been investigating the links between epigenetics and human health for a while, but evolutionary biologists are just starting to tackle it. Ecological epigenetics face a lot of challenges because the genomes of wild animals and plants have not been sequenced, meaning that scientists can’t pinpoint which genes have been modified....

There are few places in Ethiopia—or the world—quite like the Harenna Forest. Spread across the southern slopes of the Bale Mountains, it is the second-largest stand of moist tropical forest in Ethiopia and the largest cloud forest in the country. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this natural-color image of the forest on February 5, 2021. The forest grows in highland areas at elevations of 1400 to 3200 meters (4,600 to 10,500 feet) above sea level....

A sophisticated telecommunications satellite that can be completely repurposed while in space has launched. Developed under an ESA Partnership Project with satellite operator Eutelsat and prime manufacturer Airbus, Eutelsat Quantum has pioneered a new generation of satellites with the European space industry. The flexible software-defined satellite – which will be used by governments and in mobility and data markets – was launched on board an Ariane 5 on July 30, 2021, from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana....

The pathways that are involved in setting the brain up for addiction, according to researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago, are also linked to the highs that come with drinking, such as euphoria and anxiolysis, a state of relaxed but awake sedation. “This suggests that when the brain experiences the anti-anxiety effects of alcohol and the mood lift — the relaxation and the buzz — it is also being primed for alcohol use disorder,” said the study’s senior author Subhash Pandey, the Joseph A....

Evidence of recent volcanic activity on Mars shows that eruptions could have taken place in the past 50,000 years, according to new study by researchers at the University of Arizona’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory and the Planetary Science Institute. Most volcanism on the Red Planet occurred between 3 and 4 billion years ago, with smaller eruptions in isolated locations continuing perhaps as recently as 3 million years ago. But, until now, there was no evidence to indicate Mars could still be volcanically active....

It’s hard to see how a common house sparrow and a Tyrannosaurus Rex might have anything in common. One is a bird that weighs less than an ounce, the other a dinosaur that was the size of a school bus and tipped the scales at more than eight tons. For all the differences, though, scientists now say that those two are more closely related than many believed. A new study led by Harvard scientists shows that birds are, essentially, living dinosaurs, with skulls that are remarkably similar to those of their juvenile ancestors....

A new study reveals that asteroid impact sites in the ocean may possess a crucial link in explaining the formation of the essential molecules for life. The study discovered the emergence of amino acids that serve as the building blocks for proteins — demonstrating the role of meteorites in bringing life’s molecules to earth, and potentially Mars. There are two explanations for the origins of life’s building molecules: extraterrestrial delivery, such as via meteorites; and endogenous formation....