NASA's Kepler spacecraft has spotted a planet that alternately runs late and
early in its orbit because a second, "invisible" world is tugging on it.
This is the first definite detection of a previously unknown planet using
this method.

The post Invisible world “spotted” tugging on visible planet by Kepler spacecraft appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Smithsonian Anthropologist Bruce Smith shares the origins of some favorite Thanksgiving foods.

The post Smithsonian Anthropologist Bruce Smith talks turkey…squash, potatoes and corn appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Suzan Murray, chief veterinary medical officer at the Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park, recently returned from Hanoi, where she led a team of scientists training pathologists from Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam to better sample, recognize and detect wildlife diseases in hopes of preventing emerging pandemic disease.

The post Q&A: National Zoo veterinarian Suzan Murray is working to halt pandemic disease in hotspots around the world appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

There is little doubt that human activity is affecting planet Earth, but just how much? And is it all negative? Rick Potts is the director […]

The post Smithsonian anthropologist Rick Potts answers questions about the Anthropocene appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Hot spots of mercury pollution in aquatic sediments and soils can contaminate local food webs and threaten ecosystems, but cleaning them up can be expensive […]

The post Toxicity of mercury hot spots can be reduced with application of activated carbon, researchers discover appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The majority of stars in our galaxy come in pairs. In particular, the most massive stars usually have a companion. These fraternal twins tend to […]

The post Mismatched Twin Stars Spotted in the Delivery Room appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The center of our Milky Way galaxy is a mysterious place. Not only is it thousands of light-years away, it’s also cloaked in so much […]

The post RADIO TELESCOPES COULD SPOT STARS HIDDEN IN THE GALACTIC CENTER appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

NASA’s InSight probe, scheduled to land on the surface of Mars in November 2018, will be boring. Boring a hole, that is. It will drill […]

The post ISO: a boring Martian landing spot for NASA’s InSight probe appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Javad Fahanik-babaei, Bahareh Rezaee, Maryam Nazari, Nihad Torabi, Reza Saghiri, Remy Sauve, and Afsaneh Eliassi

We have determined the electropharmacological properties of a new potassium channel from brain mitochondrial membrane by planar lipid bilayer method. Our results showed the presence of a channel with a conductance of 150 pS at potentials between 0 and –60 mV in 200 cis/50 trans mM KCl solutions.

The channel was voltage-independent, with an open probability value ~0.6 at different voltages. ATP did not affect current amplitude and Po at positive and negative voltages. Notably, adding iberiotoxin, charybdotoxin, lidocaine, and margatoxin had no effect on the channel behavior. Similarly, no changes were observed by decreasing the cis-pH to 6. Interestingly, the channel was inhibited by adding sodium in a dose dependent manner. Our results also indicated a significant increase in mitochondrial complex IV activity and membrane potential and decrease in complex I activity and mitochondrial ROS production in the presence of sodium ions.

We propose that inhibition of mitochondrial K⁺ transport by Na ions on K⁺ channel opening may be important for cell protection and ATP synthesis.

For the first time researchers from the Smithsonian, South Dakota State University and the University of Nebraska described the immature stages of the switchgrass moth, first collected in Denver in 1910.

The post Potential biofuel pest, the switchgrass moth, under renewed scrutiny of entomologists appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

They’ve got no roots or veins and grow in hanging pendants or tightly packed mats attached to stones, soil and wood. Called by some “the […]

The post Mosses have strong potential to acclimate to global warming, study indicates appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last few years, you’ve doubtless caught at least a passing reference to the plight of the […]

The post Discovery: Rising CO2 depletes pollen’s nutritional potency, bees suffer appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Marijuanas active components are potentially effective in treating pain, nausea, the anorexia of AIDS wasting, and other symptoms, and should be tested rigorously in clinical trials.

The vast majority of healthy people adequately meet their daily hydration needs by letting thirst be their guide, says the newest report on nutrient recommendations from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies.

The numerous technical and operational breakdowns that contributed to the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion and spill from the Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico suggest the lack of a suitable approach for managing the inherent risks.

In an August 18 letter, the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement informed the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine that it should cease all work on a study of the potential health risks for people living near surface coal mine sites in Central Appalachia.

A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine examines evidence on whether providing permanent supportive housing (PSH) – a combination of stable housing and supportive services -- to individuals who are experiencing homelessness improves their health.

A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine reviews current evidence and updates intake recommendations known as the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) for sodium and potassium that were established in 2005.

In light of the present situation in the U.S., we believe that it is essential to explore a wide range of options for treating the increasing numbers of very ill patients with COVID-19 respiratory illness.

A new rapid expert consultation from a standing committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine responds to questions from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) regarding survival of the COVID-19 virus in relation to temperature and humidity and potential for seasonal reduction and resurgence of cases.

Ron Struthers of Struthers' Resource Stock Report details the value proposition of Bam Bam Resources and its flagship prospect.

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File photo: Customers enter a Home Depot store on May 21, 2013 in El Cerrito, Calif.; Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The Home Depot says it has eliminated malware from its U.S. and Canadian networks that affected 56 million unique payment cards between April and September.

The Atlanta-based home improvement retailer said Thursday it has also completed a "major" payment security project that provides enhanced encryption of customers' payment data in the company's U.S. stores.

Home Depot also is confirming its sales-growth estimates for the fiscal year and expects to earn $4.54 per share in fiscal 2014, up 2 cents from its prior guidance.

Ron Struthers of Struthers' Research Report takes a look at the investment thesis for Ridgestone Mining.

Ron Struthers of Struthers' Resource Stock Report details the value proposition of Bam Bam Resources and its flagship prospect.

A rendering of he new stadium and complex to be built near the Forum in Inglewood was released by the Hollywood Park Land Company, Kroenke Group and Stockbridge Capital Group earlier this month.; Credit: Courtesy Hollywood Park Land Company

A measure that would allow an 80,000-seat NFL-caliber stadium to be built in Inglewood could be on that city’s ballot by this summer after developers submitted almost three times as many signatures than needed for a voter initiative.

“22,216 signatures were submitted to the city clerk today,” said Gerard McCallum, project manager with the Hollywood Park Land Company. “It was unbelievable. The response was more than we could have ever anticipated.”

Normally, before construction can begin on any project there has to be an environmental review, but that can take a long time and time is something in short supply for St. Louis Rams Owner Stan Kroenke and his plan to move the team to L.A.

“We would be going through another three year project process, and the current construction wouldn’t allow that,” said McCallum, referring to the redevelopment of 238 acres of the old Hollywood Park site that was permitted in 2009.

“If we were going to make any modifications, it would have to be approved this year,” said McCallum.

To speed things up, developers decided to bring the stadium project directly to Inglewood voters, which required 8,000 signatures.

Once the signatures are verified, Inglewood’s City Council will consider the measure, then developers hope a special election would take place before the start of the next NFL season.

McCallum says construction would begin whether the Rams or any other team decides to move here, though on Monday Kroenke made another move suggesting a return of the NFL to Los Angeles could be closer than it has been at any point during the last two decades, though not until after the 2015 season. From The St Louis Post-Dispatch:

Rams management sent a letter to regional officials on Monday afternoon. The letter said the team was converting its 30-year lease to an “annual tenancy,” effective April 1 and, “in the absence of intervening events,” extending through March 31, 2016.

The notice, which has long been expected, does two things:

• It allows owner Stan Kroenke to pull the team out of St. Louis as soon as 2016, because the Rams lease will now expire at the end of every season. The original lease was to expire in 2025.
• It also legally binds the Rams to play at the Edward Jones Dome next fall — a point on which many here were uncertain.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

The seemingly insatiable demand among people and businesses alike helps reveal a rash of privacy and security issues facing the platform

The post Zoom’s privacy and security woes in the spotlight appeared first on WeLiveSecurity

Sharks aggregate in ‘hotspots’ in the North Atlantic Ocean and are at risk from overfishing by longliner vessels that target the same areas for fishing, a recent study has concluded. Researchers found that the shark and fishing-fleet ranges overlapped by 80% in the North Atlantic and call for international regulation of shark catches to protect at-risk shark populations.

A new study has described how agricultural management of the British potato crop has changed over time to reduce several serious threats to food security. It is crucial that an EU plant health policy framework continues to build on these successes to protect against new diseases emerging from expanding global trade and a changing climate.

Crane fly larvae cause considerable damage to agricultural crops and young trees throughout Europe. New research has demonstrated that certain strains of fungi have significant potential to control crane fly infestations, thus reducing the use of chemical insecticides and enabling more environmentally-friendly strategies for pest control.

Wind turbine noise can be detected at low levels, even when it is heard alongside motorway traffic noise, a study finds. It is possible for louder motorways to drown out turbine noise, however. The participants in this listening experiment could easily detect wind turbine noise, but only once they knew it was present in recordings of environmental noise.

Upland peat soils provide a substantial carbon sink if managed properly, according to new research. A study of a peatland area in the UK indicated that it could potentially store approximately 160,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.

Biomass is increasingly used to make biofuels and generate electricity and is seen as a valuable source of renewable energy. A recent study has assessed the key factors relating to the sustainability of bioenergy production and suggests global biomass could potentially meet up to one third of the projected global energy demand in 2050.

The risk of contamination of ground and surface waters and leakage of methane emissions remain key concerns associated with shale gas projects, according to a recent assessment. This is particularly the case if monitoring and regulatory systems are not rigorously enforced. In addition, investment in shale gas could divert resources needed to develop a low-carbon economy, suggest the report’s authors.

A recent study has highlighted the potential of one form of solar power, Concentrating Solar Power (CSP), to make a significant contribution to meeting future electricity demands from renewable sources in Europe.

Denmark aims to develop an energy system based only on renewable energy sources by 2050. Energy saving buildings are an essential part of this plan, according to new research, which investigates how excess heat production from net zero energy buildings (NZEBs) can benefit district heating systems and reduce reliance on combustible fuels.

Marine biodiversity conservation in the north-east Atlantic needs a combination of more adaptable management strategies and international co-operation, a new study says. This is required to deal with a potential increase in marine conservation hotspots under climate change.

There is a large potential to improve the global efficiency of energy, land and phosphorus use, finds new research which modelled the effects of four worldwide scenarios between 2010 and 2050. An ‘ambitious resource strategy’ could moderate the increases in energy use (+25% globally instead of +80% in the baseline scenario), phosphorus use (+9% instead of +40%) and arable land (-9% globally, instead of + 4%).

Since the industrial revolution, the ocean has absorbed increased levels of carbon dioxide, leading to the ocean’s pH becoming more acidic. Effects of these pH changes on marine and estuarine biota is the focus of much research effort worldwide and the authors of this study focus on the larval habitat-choice process of a commercially important tropical marine fish species, Lates calcarifer, barramundi.

New research has identified major drivers of food waste around the world. For example, in developing countries a lack of refrigeration technology is a major driver of food waste, and in the developed world low prices and increased choice encourage wasteful behaviour from consumers. Experts predict that drivers such as these will continue to increase food waste.

Europe produces around 450 million tonnes of construction and demolition waste every year, representing a quarter of all waste materials. A recent study of construction and demolition waste suggests that, with the right policies in place, there are good opportunities to ensure sustainable practices through re-use and recycling.

Over a third of all food waste in Sweden is avoidable, according to new research. If such waste minimisation were achieved, there would be less potential for biogas production, but the researchers suggest that this does not represent a compromise because it is currently performed on only a very small amount of waste food.

A new method of processing food waste into fertiliser has been outlined in a recent study. The process uses a digester system with microorganisms to break down organic waste into fertiliser. The resultant fertiliser was used in a low-energy greenhouse to produce a range of food crops. The method is a potential way to utilise food waste and reduce the energy consumption of food production as part of a circular economy.

Between 13% and 16% of waste electric and electronic equipment (WEEE), furniture and leisure goods disposed of at household waste collection centres are in excellent working condition and could be easily be prepared for re-use, finds a new study from Bavaria, Germany. Improvements to waste collection, storage and treatment practices to prevent damage to disposed items could free up a further 13%-29% of these waste streams for re-use. Notably, weatherproof storage for WEEE at collection points could have prevented up to 86% of the damage endured by the studied items.

The EU-27 have committed to a strategic goal of developing an innovative economy based on biotechnology and renewable resources — a so-called ‘bioeconomy’. To achieve this, however, the EU must successfully mobilise resources such as residual biomass — or waste products from organic matter resources. A new study1 has quantified the potential of key residual biomass streams in the EU-27. The results show that residual biomass has a theoretical energy potential equivalent to the annual energy consumption of Italy and Belgium combined, with straw and forestry residues comprising the two most productive potential sources. The findings also reveal specific opportunities for regions including Paris (France) and Jaen (south-central Spain).

Researchers have shown that graphene paper can be used to construct flexible and rechargeable batteries, which may even perform better than non-flexible batteries. These might be used in a range of portable, bendable and rollable devices and could also help develop new energy generation technology, such as flexible solar cells.

Aeration technologies designed to help landfill waste break down faster need to be refined in order to reduce pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and the long-term costs associated with landfill. This is according to a recent review of landfill aeration, which outlines some of the different systems currently available and highlights the need for better monitoring and sharing of data.

Compared with traditional remediation techniques used to remediate brownfield sites, supporters of phytoremediation argue that it is cheaper and more environmentally-friendly. A new analysis has reviewed its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, and suggests it is well suited to cleaning up sites with low to medium levels of contamination.

A new review examines the potential uses and scientific, technical and manufacturing problems facing ‘van der Waals heterostructures’ - an emerging science which uses building block-like nanomaterials. Van der Waals heterostructures are nanomaterials built by layering different materials, each one atom thick, on top of each other, to create materials with unique properties and uses.