Dan Sobien (at left), Feras Batarseh (at right), and graduate students tour a water facility. Credit: Noah Frank for Virginia Tech
As drought strains water supplies across much of the United States, Virginia Tech researchers have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) model designed to help policymakers manage growing competition between agriculture and semiconductor manufacturing. Feras Batarseh, associate professor in the Department of Biological Systems Engineering and the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative and the project's lead researcher, said the recent explosion of AI queries via language learning models and the increased need for chip production are increasing pressure on already-strained water systems in many parts of the country.
Local newspapers serve as a vital check on public institutions, including law enforcement, according to new research from the University at Buffalo School of Management. Published in the American Journal of Criminal Justice, the study examines the societal cost of the ongoing decline in local journalism, including its impact on the accountability of local police agencies to the public and the integrity of data reported by law enforcement and related officials, such as medical examiners and coroners.
A team at the Applied Physics Lab is working to understand the complex science behind predicting invisible threats that can quickly cripple electric grid infrastructure on Earth.
Bumblebees may be small, measuring only about an inch long, but they play an enormous role in global agriculture. About one third of the world's food production relies on pollinators such as bees. At the same time, these vital insects face growing pressure from pesticides and other environmental threats.
Representative samples of the modern fauna (left three samples) and the Paleozoic fauna (right four samples). Credit: Sarah Leibovitz
A new Stanford-led study offers the clearest picture yet of how some ocean life survived our planet's biggest mass extinction while most animals did not. About 252 million years ago, 96% of marine species and 70% of land animals died off during the Permian–Triassic extinction event, known as the "Great Dying." Not all branches of the evolutionary tree were affected evenly, however.
A cow in its natural habitat. Terracette morphology. Terracettes are recognized as periodic landscape patterns that exhibit long, contour-following pathways along hillslopes. Each terracette step consists of a flat tread and a sloped riser, with adjacent steps often interconnected by shorter sloped ramps. (A) A diagram illustrating a hillside with major slope angle , featuring terraced steps made of treads and risers. (B) A particularly striking example of terracettes in Wiltshire, England [34].
Steep hillsides and mountainsides in many regions worldwide are often covered in characteristic step-like patterns, also known as terracettes. These repeating landforms have fascinated scientists for more than a century, yet the factors contributing to their formation had not been clearly confirmed until now.
Mount Etna has fascinated geologists for decades. The towering volcano on the Italian island of Sicily is the most active in Europe, erupting several times a year, yet scientists have never fully understood how it formed.
A physicist at the University of Birmingham has created a laboratory "mini universe" that brings scientists a step closer to answering one of the biggest questions in physics: What is time?
Algae oil is increasingly used as a sustainable source of important nutrients, including polyunsaturated fatty acids that support human health and development. One important example is arachidonic acid, or ARA, which is used in nutrition products such as infant formula and functional foods.
Artist's impression of a hot core—a warm cocoon of molecular gas surrounding a newborn star—discovered in a supernova remnant. Blue represents high-energy regions produced by the supernova explosion, while brown indicates the surrounding molecular clouds. Credit: Niigata Universitry
For the first time, astronomers have discovered stellar cocoons rich in complex organic molecules within a supernova remnant. A research team from Niigata University, Gifu University, RIKEN and Kyoto University in Japan used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to observe the remnant of a massive star that exploded about 1,600 years ago.
