Newswise: SciNews

Sounding rocket test helps design components for new weapon system

Sandia National Laboratories — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 21:10:26 EST

A sounding rocket flight test is giving engineers at Sandia National Laboratories real-world reentry vibration data they can use to improve modeling and help drive nonnuclear component designs for the W93.

Argonne Takes AI on the Road

Argonne National Laboratory — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 21:10:22 EST

Argonne's AI Roadshow brings cutting-edge artificial intelligence research to everyday community spaces, making science accessible, exciting and relevant to all.

Metaverse Lab-XR: Virtual Lab Builds Diagnostic and Teamwork Skills for Medical Technology Students

Chulalongkorn University — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 08:55:10 EST

A Chula Medical Technology lecturer has developed Metaverse Lab-XR, an innovative virtual laboratory that allows students to practice lab procedures and develop the soft skills needed for real-world work in hospitals, preparing them to become skilled and knowledgeable medical technologists.

Reporter Boot Camps, In-Person Visits, and Science Comms Training Programs: A Newswise Best Practices Webinar

Newswise — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 08:30:52 EST

Discussion panel on best practices for reporter boot camps, in-person visits, and science communications training programs.

UMD's Anil Gupta Pushes Back on Bill Gates' AI Job‑Loss Warnings

University of Maryland, Robert H. Smith School of Business — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 08:30:50 EST

Strategy professor Anil Gupta counters Bill Gates' warnings of imminent AI-driven job losses, citing strong labor market data, rising entry-level opportunities, and flawed token tax economics, and arguing that a shorter workweek is the most realistic long term adjustment.

FAU Receives $400,000 NSF Grant to Advance STEM Workforce Readiness

Florida Atlantic University — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 08:30:32 EST

The three-year project will explore how industry-informed research, entrepreneurship training and early engagement can better prepare undergraduates for careers in biotechnology and the life sciences. Students will gain access to research, internships, industry experiences and AI-enabled learning while expanding workforce opportunities, particularly for transfer and first-generation students. The project also will identify practices to strengthen career readiness and develop approaches that can be adapted by institutions nationwide.

Why Water Security Is the Next Frontier of Cyber Warfare, According to Expert

Virginia Tech — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 08:30:07 EST

In modern warfare and national defense, physical conflicts are increasingly preceded by silent cyberattacks on vital resource networks. Most recently, cyber intrusions struck water and wastewater utilities across at least seven U.S. states, prompting federal investigations into potential Iranian involvement amidst heightened U.

Wildfire Losses Have Lasting Economic Consequences for Homeowners

University of California San Diego — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 08:00:00 EST

new National Bureau of Economic Research working paper from the University of California San Diego shows that wildfire damage can have long-term economic consequences for households, resulting in income losses, relocation of residents as well as slow rebuilding for several years after a fire.

Supramolecular Polymer Networks Get a Dual-Host Boost for Better Toughness

Chinese Academy of Sciences — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 07:15:51 EST

Researchers have developed a new class of dynamic polymer materials that seamlessly combine high mechanical strength with the ability to self-heal. By ingeniously integrating two different types of non-covalent interactions--or host-guest recognitions--within a single network, the team has created a material that overcomes the traditional trade-off between rigidity and flexibility. This innovative approach not only enhances the material's overall toughness and stiffness but also preserves its dynamic properties, such as stimuli-responsiveness and self-healing capabilities, marking a significant step forward in the design of advanced, sustainable materials.

A Hidden Susceptibility Switch May Help Potatoes Fight Late Blight

Chinese Academy of Sciences — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 07:15:34 EST

Potato late blight remains one of agriculture's most destructive diseases, largely because its causal pathogen can repeatedly outpace conventional resistance breeding. New research identifies a host-side weakness that may be turned into a defense advantage: the potato susceptibility gene REDUCED WALL ACETYLATION 2 (StRWA2). The study shows that StRWA2 does not simply affect the cell wall, as related proteins often do. Instead, the StRWA2 protein helps dismantle immune receptors that normally detect Phytophthora infestans. By recruiting the E3 ubiquitin ligase StSNIPER2, it promotes the ubiquitination and degradation of nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat (NLR) proteins. Silencing StRWA2 strengthened resistance without visible growth penalties, offering a new route for late blight control.

Case Western Reserve University leads U.S. Department of Energy project to unlock domestic production of critical rare-earth metals

Case Western Reserve University — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 06:00:35 EST

The team is tasked with taking specimens from domestically found minerals that contain small quantities of heavy rare-earth metals and finding ways to extract dysprosium and terbium. These metals, in particular, are indispensable for making some of the strongest permanent magnets used in defense applications.

Resolving spatial mismatches unlocks six billion tons of China's climate gains from retired EV batteries by 2050

Chinese Academy of Sciences — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 02:15:53 EST

Retired electric vehicle batteries in China hold immense potential to cut greenhouse gas emissions and save costs--but where they retire and where they are needed rarely align. A new study reveals that this spatial mismatch could lock up six billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in climate benefits between 2020 and 2050. By shifting from conventional metallurgical recycling to higher value pathways--such as power storage applications and direct recycling--and by building efficient interprovincial transport networks, these stranded gains can be unlocked, delivering nearly four thousand billion yuan in cumulative cost savings.

Scientists Capture First Molecular-Level Images of Water Reorganization During a Reaction Crucial for Life

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 02:15:34 EST

New X-ray approach reveals how charge and surrounding water reorganize during a fundamental chemical reaction

Apple Hormone Signal Opens a Route to Alkaline-Salt Resilience

Chinese Academy of Sciences — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 02:10:34 EST

Alkaline-salt soils can quietly weaken apple production by damaging roots, disrupting redox balance, and limiting plant growth before yield losses become visible. New research shows how apple seedlings use strigolactones (SLs), a group of plant hormones, to build tolerance to this stress. The study identifies a regulatory pathway in which SL signaling promotes degradation of the MdD53 repressor, releases the bHLH transcription factor MdbHLH1, and allows it to activate the alkali-tolerance gene MdAT1. By promoting hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) efflux, lowering reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation, and reducing membrane injury, this pathway gives researchers a clearer molecular route for strengthening apple resilience.

How Apples Build Better Roots: A Lipid-Auxin Partnership Uncovered

Chinese Academy of Sciences — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 02:10:06 EST

Root elongation is a critical adaptive trait that enables plants to respond to soil conditions, yet woody fruit trees like apple suffer from naturally low root density--typically one tenth to one twentieth that of annual crops--limiting nutrient uptake, stress tolerance and productivity. A new study reveals that very long chain fatty acids (VLCFAs) and auxin work together through a previously unknown regulatory module to promote root elongation and lateral root formation in apple. This discovery refines the conventional view of auxin as the sole regulator of root development and uncovers a synergistic network that integrates hormonal signalling with metabolic control.

One Transcription Factor Coordinates Scent and Color in Sweet Osmanthus

Chinese Academy of Sciences — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 01:55:14 EST

A single transcription factor may help explain how sweet osmanthus produces the layered floral fragrance that makes the plant valuable in food, cosmetics and perfumery. Researchers identified OfWRKY48 as a central regulator linking two major scent-producing routes in Osmanthus fragrans: the methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) pathway that supplies monoterpenes such as linalool, and carotenoid metabolism that generates fragrant ionones. By coordinating genes in both pathways, OfWRKY48 increased linalool, linalool oxides and apocarotenoid volatiles while also shifting carotenoid use away from petal pigmentation. The work reveals how one regulatory factor can reshape both scent composition and flower color, offering a potential molecular target for breeding horticultural crops with tailored aroma traits.

A Single Gene Change Turns Susceptible Peas Into Fusarium Wilt Fighters

Chinese Academy of Sciences — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 01:50:01 EST

Pea production worldwide faces a serious threat from Fusarium wilt, a soilborne fungal disease that can destroy entire crops. Now, researchers have identified a new resistance gene, PsFwC9, that protects peas against this pathogen. The discovery provides a crucial genetic tool for breeding more resilient pea varieties and offers fresh insights into how plants defend themselves against vascular diseases.

Deep-Learning Model Maps Disease-Related Targets of Human Metabolites

Chinese Academy of Sciences — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 01:35:59 EST

A research team has developed DeepETD, an attention-based deep-learning model that predicts protein targets of endogenous metabolites by matching their disease associations, cellular phenotypes, and subcellular locations. The model achieved a validation accuracy of 82.49% and an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC-ROC) of 0.8470, outperforming several conventional machine-learning and deep-learning approaches. It also guided the experimental identification of three metabolite-protein interactions. By combining DeepETD with a freely accessible database covering 3,382 human endogenous metabolites, the work provides a practical resource for investigating metabolite functions, identifying disease-associated targets, and supporting phenotype-driven drug discovery and precision medicine.

New Chemical Probe Maps Stress-Responsive Protein Networks Beyond DNA Repair

Chinese Academy of Sciences — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 01:30:10 EST

A research team has developed a photo-clickable, chain-terminating nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide analogue, PCCT-NAD+, that enables systematic mapping of proteins interacting with poly(ADP-ribose), or PAR. When applied to cells exposed to oxidative stress, the platform identified 1,576 proteins with altered enrichment in the PAR-associated interactome, revealing particularly strong involvement of translation, ribosome organization, and protein quality-control pathways. The findings broaden the established view of PARylation as primarily a DNA-repair mechanism, suggesting that it also helps coordinate protein synthesis and turnover during cellular stress.

Connecting the Power of the Stars to Geometry: PPPL Tests an Innovative Fusion System Concept That Could Change the World

Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 01:20:44 EST

In the world of fusion energy, scientists and engineers study the fourth state of matter known as plasma in an effort to design and build a new type of power plant. Relying on the heat produ

KRICT Makes Non-Recyclable Flame-Retardant EV Composites Recyclable

National Research Council of Science and Technology — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 00:00:11 EST

Korean researchers have developed, for the first time, a recyclable flame-retardant composite that overcomes a fundamental limitation of conventional flame-retardant composites, which cannot be recycled once cured, while maintaining excellent flame resistance. A research team led by Dr. Jin Chul Kim, Dr. Ji-Eun Jeong, and Dr. Young-Jae Jin at the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT) has developed a self-reinforced composite (SRC) fabrication technology that simultaneously achieves improved processability, flame retardancy, and recyclability simply by adding a low-cost, low-molecular-weight polyolefin additive.

A Never-Before-Seen Picture of Eagle Migrations

University of Utah — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 21:45:36 EST

Research led by a University of Utah undergraduate visualizes eagle flight tracks along the East Asia-East Africa Flyway. The study maps satellite tracking data for two eagles banded in Turkey, revealing routes used to reach wintering habitat in Africa and breeding habitat in Russia.

Some Assembly Required, with Machine Learning

Washington University in St. Louis — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 21:35:56 EST

Scientists know the machine learning models can make predictions based on the vast reams of data it is trained on, but can it take it a step further and massively scale up testing out those predictions? Researchers at WashU are testing that idea for chemical compound and polymer discovery.

Utah Ranges May Store a Billion Tons of Hidden Ice

University of Utah — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 21:30:16 EST

Study by University of Utah geoscientists creates 3D map of a hidden 'rock glacier' in the Wasatch Mountains, one of more than 800 in Utah. The team used their novel method of measuring these features to estimate the world's 50,000 rock glaciers hold 48 cubic kilometers of water.

Harnessing the Power of Light and Statistics to Improve Handling of Chemicals and Nuclear Material

Department of Energy, Office of Science — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 21:25:52 EST

In this study, scientists developed new techniques to analyze chemical solutions in complex environments such as nuclear facilities. The research team developed an approach to improve predictive machine learning models that draw information from real-life spectroscopy data.