(St John's College, University of Cambridge) A new study, led by academics at St John's College, University of Cambridge, used semi-artificial photosynthesis to explore new ways to produce and store solar energy. They used natural sunlight to convert water into hydrogen and oxygen using a mixture of biological components and manmade technologies.

(Forschungsverbund Berlin) Femtosecond x-ray experiments in combination with a new theoretical approach establish a direct connection between electric properties in the macroscopic world and electron motions on the time and length scale of atoms. The results open a new route for understanding and tailoring the properties of ferroelectric materials.

(Princeton University) How did civilization begin? Where did the division of labor come from? Do successful societies need strong leaders? Princeton and Rockefeller University researchers tackled those giant questions with some very small research subjects: genetically identical ants (Ooceraea biroi) that can live independently or in groups -- and have no queens. They found that simply increasing group size, even if it does not lead to division of labor, can benefit members of the group.

(ETH Zurich Department of Physics) A study exploring the coupling between heat and particle currents in a gas of strongly interacting atoms highlights the fundamental role of quantum correlations in transport phenomena, breaks the revered Wiedemann-Franz law, and should open up an experimental route to testing novel ideas for thermoelectric devices.

(University of Minnesota) Recent research published in Nature Neuroscience by University of Minnesota Medical School neuroscientist Benjamin Saunders, PhD, uses a Pavlovian model of conditioning to see if turning on a light -- a simple cue -- just before dopamine neurons were activated could motivate action.

(American Society of Agronomy) Plants can't do without phosphorus. But there is often a 'withdrawal limit' on how much phosphorus they can get from the soil. A new study looks at how liming, soil management history and enzymes relate to plants' access to phosphorus.

(Ruhr-University Bochum) Chemists at Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) have developed a new, low-cost catalyst for plastic production. It turns a biorefinery product into a starting material for the synthesis of plastics, which could represent a sustainable alternative to widespread PET. At the same time, the potential energy source hydrogen can also be formed during the reaction.

(SLAS (Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening)) Technologies that are reducing costs and changing the ways in which researchers and clinicians process and use therapeutic cells are showcased in the August 2018 special issue of SLAS Technology.

(DOE/Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory) Article describes simulation of mechanism that eliminates sawtooth instabilities in fusion plasmas.

(Lehigh University) A principal difficulty in designing therapies against viruses lies in the fact that attempts to stop them from entering a cell are also likely to affect normal physiological processes. If studied carefully, it may be possible to design therapies that can block specific virus entry while leaving normal cellular processes intact.

(University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science) Scientists have confirmed for the first time that radical changes of one volcano in southern Japan was the direct result of an erupting volcano 22 kilometers (13.7 miles) away. The observations from the two volcanos -- Aira caldera and Kirishima -- show that the two were connected through a common subterranean magma source in the months leading up to the 2011 eruption of Kirishima.

(University of Hawaii at Manoa) In a paper published this week in the journal Science, scientists have, for the first time, provided evidence for a known blazar, designated TXS 0506+056, as a source of high-energy neutrinos. At 8:54 p.m. on Sept. 22, 2017, the National Science Foundation-supported IceCube neutrino observatory at the South Pole detected a high energy neutrino from a direction near the constellation Orion. Just 44 seconds later an alert went out to the entire astronomical community.

(British Ecological Society) A large-scale study published by researchers from Royal Holloway University of London has drawn together the findings of a decade of agrochemical research to confirm that pesticides used in crop protection have a significant negative impact on the learning and memory abilities of bees.

(University of Houston) Antibiotic resistance is one of the world's most serious threats to public health, forcing the use of medications that are more toxic, more expensive and not always effective. Engineers at the University of Houston are studying whether the use of tiny amounts of antibiotics embedded in corn-based nanoparticles could help both animals and people avoid the problem.

(University of Texas at El Paso) Across the US Southwest, severe drought and land?use change are projected to increase in the future, contributing to more frequent and intense dust storms and eventually dry dust fallout and dust washout from the atmosphere with rain. How will Dust Bowl?like conditions affect raining dust events? We examined rainwater samples at two Texas sites (one arid, Guadalupe Mountains; one humid, Gulf coastal prairie) during 2012, a year of extreme drought and dust in Texas.

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