132 articles from MONDAY 9.9.2019

Lack of reporting on phosphorus supply chain dangerous for global food security

Our global food production system uses 53 million tonnes of phosphate fertilizers annually, processed from 270 million tonnes of mined phosphate rock. Estimates show up to 90% phosphate loss from mine to fork. A considerable part of this loss is phosphate pollution in water, some of which creates "dead zones," areas where little or no marine life can survive. With an increase in food demand by 60%...

Hard as a diamond? Scientists predict new forms of superhard carbon

Superhard materials can slice, drill and polish other objects. Now, science is opening the door to the development of new materials with these seductive qualities. Researchers have used computational techniques to identify 43 previously unknown forms of carbon that are thought to be stable and superhard -- including several predicted to be slightly harder than or nearly as hard as diamonds.

How brain rhythms organize our visual perception

Imagine that you are watching a crowded hang-gliding competition, keeping track of a red and orange glider's skillful movements. Our brain uses separate circuits to achieve such outstanding tracking ability, one specialized to process color information and the other specialized for processing directions of motion. A team of scientists now discovered that the brain's specialized color and motion...

Making and controlling crystals of light

Optical microresonators convert laser light into ultrashort pulses travelling around the resonator's circumference. These pulses, called "dissipative Kerr solitons," can propagate in the microresonator maintaining their shape.

China Sky Eye, the world's largest single-dish radio telescope, is now fully operational

China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope, known as FAST, is the world's most sensitive listening device. The single-dish radio telescope is made of 4,450 individual panels that scan the sky, detecting the universe's whispers and shouts. It's cradled in a natural Earth depression the size of 30 soccer fields. It has more than twice the collecting area of the world's previous...

The fast and the curious: Fitter adults have fitter brains

In a large study, scientists have shown that physical fitness is associated with better brain structure and brain functioning in young adults. This opens the possibility that increasing fitness levels may lead to improved cognitive ability, such as memory and problem solving, as well as improved structural changes in the brain.

Bias against single people affects their cancer treatment

New research reveals the dangerous bias that's been buried in the fine print of academic and medical journals for more than 30 years. Unmarried patients with cancer are less likely to get potentially life-saving surgery or radiotherapy than their married counterparts, as medical providers may rely on stereotypes that discount sources of social support other than a current spouse.

High-fat diets affect your brain, not just your physical appearance

Much research has pointed to how an unhealthy diet correlates to obesity, but has not explored how diet can bring about neurological changes in the brain. A recent study has discovered that high-fat diets contribute to irregularities in the hypothalamus region of the brain, which regulates body weight homeostasis and metabolism.

Researchers unearth 'new' extinction

A team of scientists has concluded that earth experienced a previously underestimated severe mass-extinction event, which occurred about 260 million years ago, raising the total of major mass extinctions in the geologic record to six.