A brief look at some of the newest discoveries in the scientific world that you may have missed. Brought to you by the Utah State University College of Science.
Breathing Earth
Earth's carbon is stored in plants and animals, the atmosphere and the soil. And there's more carbon in soil than in plants, animals and the atmosphere combined. Soil microbial respiration, that is carbon dioxide release, plays a key role in global carbon cycling, says USU ecologist Bonnie Waring. She's created synthetic soil to study how long carbon remains in the soil and how much of it returns to the atmosphere. Her findings will aid prediction of how climate change affects soil and influences the carbon cycle.
App For That
USU researchers say stereotypes about computer scientists contribute to under representation of women in the field. From teen computer science camps they've conducted for the past six years, the researchers observed parental support and mentoring by slightly older peers boosts girls' interest. Encouragement by fathers in particular influences their daughter's success in computer science. Increasing the number of women and minority computer scientists is important the researchers say because everyone uses computers.
Awesome Science
USU physicist Mike Taylor is leading a NASA funded effort to study air glow in the Earth's atmosphere. Air glow is colorful bands of light produced when atoms and molecules in the atmosphere absorb radiation and release photons. Taylor will use an instrument built by USU’s Space Dynamics Lab and mounted on the International Space Station to study air glow, space weather and their impact on Earth. Having the ability to make direct observations of these phenomena will help scientists better understand if they affect vital satellite communications and navigation systems.
Spider Farming
Lightweight, strong, elastic and biocompatible, spider silk is an ideal material for medicine and industry. But farming spiders is impractical. USU scientists are using CRISPR technology to harness the spinning efficiency of silkworms to produce high quality synthetic spider silk. CRISPR, which occurs naturally in bacteria, allows precise placement of spider DNA into silkworms.
Bugs On Alfalfa
Alfalfa is one of Utah's most important crops, but it's also widely found in non-cultivated areas such as roadsides and hiking trails. Through a citizen science project, volunteers of all ages are helping USU biologists track sightings of butterflies, ants and bees on alfalfa and farm fields and in the wild. Data collected will aid the scientists ' study of evolution and changes in biodiversity. The researchers say getting the community involved in the study helps people understand the many ecosystem services like pollination of crops that nature provides.
The New Black
USU physics student Christian Lange says listening to music is the best when it's in a quiet setting. The same is true when measuring light he says. The most accurate measurements can be made when it's as dark as possible. Lange and faculty member TC Chen are creating ultra black surfaces, the blackest of black, by growing densely packed carbon nanotube forests. Incredibly thin 10,000 of these tubes lined up side by side are about as thick as a single human hair. The researchers hypothesized that by varying the heights of the tubes they can create an even darker surface. This ability could allow for greater visual measurement precision for future optical devices.
Utah Really Is The Beehive State
Utah's nickname is the Beehive State. And the moniker couldn't be more apt say USU entomologists. One out of every four bee species in the United States are found in Utah. The arid western state is home to more bee species than most states in the nation. About half of those species live within the original boundaries of the newly reduced grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument making that site a hotspot for bee diversity. The researchers say pollinators should be considered in land use and management decisions as national monument boundaries change.
EggStravaganza
What does figuring out how to drop an egg from a high place and having it land intact teach young scholars? A lot say USU physicists. At the annual USU Physics Day event at Utah's Lagoon amusement park, participants craft containers to protect eggs launched from the gondola style Skyride to a ground target. Deciding how to cushion the fall and land the egg accurately from a moving vehicle tests the teens budding physics skills. From this activity students learn about gravity, acceleration, force and momentum.
Catching Stars
Mathematics student Olivia Brock is studying astrolabes-- ancient instruments rooted in antiquity that traverse math, religion, science, history and art. Early England commoners and forerunners of the sextant astrolabes were developed in Islamic civilizations in the 9th and 10th centuries. Initially used to determine time and direction for ritual prayer, astrolabes became tools for astronomy, astrology and navigation. In the pre-satellite and GPS world, the instruments laid the groundwork for intrepid global exploration. Brock says many astrolabes were intricate works of art while others as time progressed lost their beauty and were more utilitarian.
Dirty Snow Pack
As the Great Salt Lake dries and Salt Lake City's growing population uses more energy, particulate pollution blowing across Utah's Wasatch Front is increasing. USU chemists are studying how these contaminants are dispersed through air and water as well as where they're landing, including mountain snowpack. Researchers say contaminants spread over long distances and become a concern if they don't degrade. Some contaminants are toxic and accumulate in animal and human tissues.
Charge It
Among the challenges of meeting the energy demands of portable devices, electric vehicles and alternative energy storage is creating safer, more affordable and more effective batteries. USU chemists are developing emerging aqua organic redox flow battery technology to meet these needs. The technology addresses such challenges as unstable grid energy from solar and wind sources, along with frequent charging and discharging.
Taking Pains
Periaqueductal gray is a partially uncharted region of the brain. USU biologist Erin Bobeck and her students are investigating a newly identified G protein-coupled receptor in this area of the brain called a GPR 171. The receptors role, they say, appears to be enhancing the pain reducing effects of the brain's opioid receptors. Their findings could help efforts to develop safer alternatives to highly addictive opioid drug therapies.
Ghost Guns
What happens when technology outpaces ethics? USU statistician Tori Bowden is investigating how emerging technological developments such as artificial intelligence, gene editing and cybersecurity raised big social questions. Take firearms made with 3D printed parts, she says, built at home without serial numbers and discarded after use, they're difficult to trace. Bowden says effects, such as advancements, fuel the need for better data.
Thinking Plants
Leaves of plants feature stomata, tiny pores covering the leaf surface. These stomata continually open to take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen and water vapor and close to prevent too much water loss. USU scientists Keith Mott, a biologist, and David Peak, a physicist have long studied how plants solve the central challenge of adjusting stone metal apertures at just the right time for just the right amount of time to reach optimal balance. An amazing aspect of this process the scientists say is how stomata react and work together without a central processing unit.
Windows To The Earth
Hot springs are windows to fluid-rock interactions deep within the earth, says USU geochemist Dennis Newell. Studying the springs’ chemical composition yields clues about the thermal waters’ origins, he says. The water may be ‘young,’ having recently fallen as precipitation from the sky. Or it could have been stored in underground aquifers for tens of thousands of years. Chemical analysis reveals the water’s ‘fingerprint;’ a history of where it came from and where it’s been.
Mind The Peruvian Gap
USU geochemist Dennis Newell and students are studying the Peruvian Gap, an area of Peru that lacks volcanic activity. Newell says a likely cause is side effects of flat-slab subduction of the Nazca Plate beneath South America that’s shut off access to the hot mantle far below the earth’s surface. The region’s relatively young Andes Mountains provide a snapshot of how the much older American West’s Rocky Mountains developed.
Bundle Of Energy
Today’s electronics demand safer, more compact and less expensive batteries. USU chemist Leo Liu and students are studying magnesium batteries, which offer these advantages and may someday replace lithium-ion batteries. A challenge is unreliable performance, which Liu says, is caused by impurities in the battery’s electrolyte. He and his team discovered adding magnesium powder remedies this obstacle and yields improved performance.
Up, Up And Away
Can helium bond with other elements to form a stable compound? If you’re on Earth, the answer is ‘no.’ But all bets are off if you journey to the center of the Earth or venture to Jupiter or Saturn. USU chemists Alex Boldyrev and Ivan Popov are among a team that demonstrated helium, under high pressure, bonds with sodium to form a stable compound. Our understanding of chemistry has to expand beyond the confines of our planet, Boldyrev says.
Food On Mars, Food On Earth
Can earthlings live on Mars? They can if they develop self-sufficiency, say USU scientists Lance Seefeldt and Bruce Bugbee. The Aggie researchers are among a NASA team developing the necessary technology to provide Mars pioneers with survival tools. The USU researchers’ challenge includes using light to initiate nitrogen fixation and thus, enable growth of plants, as well as raising those plants in a closed system using recycled water.
Anti-oxidants-Broken Hearts: Aggies Probe the Biochemistry of Cardiovascular Disease
Antioxidants are oft-mentioned ingredients in health foods, but why are they needed? USU biochemists Joanie Hevel and Yalemi Morales say, while humans depend on oxygen for survival, the life-saving element takes a toll on our bodies. During normal metabolism, free radicals and oxidants form, which causes oxidative stress. Enzymes are affected by this condition, which may contribute to heart disease, cancer and other ailments.
Balancing Bugs
USU entomologist Diane Alston says biorational approaches to integrated pest management are viable alternatives to harmful pesticides. Such approaches use a combination of insect growth regulation, conservation of biological agents and application of microbial insecticides, as well as insect attractants and repellents, to affect insects' communication systems.
Bees-Single Moms to Commune Dwellers
When we think of bees, images of a busy hive inhabited by an imposing queen bee and her specialized minions come to mind. But not all bees live in cooperative harmony, says USU biologist Karen Kapheim. Some are lone rangers. Kapheim and colleagues from around the world study genetic changes associated with bee evolution. A key feature of increased sociality, they say, is a species’ increased capacity to regulate genes in individuals.
Blotched Lizzard-Small Lizard Offers Insight on Large Changes
The common side-blotched lizard, which can survive up to seven years, is found throughout the deserts of the western United States and Mexico. USU ecologist Susannah French is exploring environmental effects on the reptile, which grows up to six inches in length. The lizard is very territorial and has variable life-spans across its range, she says, which enables researchers to track individuals. French is investigating whether environmental changes, including those caused by human disturbances, resulting in modifications to the lizards’ stress responsiveness, reproductive success and immune function.
Dark-eyed Juncos-Early Bird Gets the Worm
Common North American sparrows called dark-eyed juncos assert their superiority early, says USU ornithologist Kimberly Sullivan. Short-term benefits may accrue to young birds that attain high dominance status early, she says, because juvenile birds that socially dominate their peers are more likely to be successful and efficient foragers, which helps them avoid predators. In addition, the assertive birds tend to be of a healthier weight and have higher oxygen-carrying capacity. These benefits make them more likely to survive harsh winters and become prolific breeders.
Evolution-Evolution Not Always Advancement
Many wrongly assume that evolution implies progression toward something better, says USU biologist Paul Wolf. Evolution by natural selection is a mechanical process, he says, that simply favors organisms better suited to a particular environment at a particular time. Wolf says evolution does not predict the future. His lab uses a wide array of tools of high tech tools to study plant evolutionary biology, spanning population genetics to deep phylogeny.
Forebulge Collapse-Nation’s Capital is Sinking; Safety Measures Needed Now
Within the next century, Washington, D.C. could drop by half a foot, making it increasingly vulnerable to rising sea levels. USU geologist Tammy Rittenour says the subsidence is caused by “forebulge collapse.” This geological phenomenon was initiated by glacial advance and build-up of a North American ice sheet some 20,000 years ago. The sinkage is worsened by climate change, she says, and safety measures are needed now.
Genes-Are Genes Why We Can't Fit in Jeans?
USU researcher Tim Gilbertson says certain fats activate receptors in our bodies that make sweet and salty foods taste better. This may account for our love of potato chips and chocolate. Craving and storing fat was critical for our Paleolithic ancestors’ survival but creates a formidable health challenge in our current era of plentiful food and leisure. Gilbertson says our current obesity epidemic is fueling an increase in such modern-day scourges as diabetes, heart disease and cancer.
Ice Age-Sub-Zero Heroes: Ice Age Fostered New Species
When discussing how one species evolved into two or more distinct species, scientists often surmise the uplift of mountains, which split populations of plants and animals, was a contributing factor. Not so fast, says USU entomologist James Pitts. You might expect this of desert species, where the terrain is typically isolated by mountain ranges. But for some organisms, he says, evidence points to glaciations that occurred during the Ice Age. A foremost scholar of wasps known as ‘velvet ants,” Pitts compared molecular data from modern-day ants with data.
Lyme Disease-Ticked Off: Lyme Disease-Carrying Ticks in Utah
The bad news is Lyme disease can be a debilitating, hard-to-diagnose illness. The good news is your likelihood of contracting the bacterial infection in Utah is low. USU scientists conducted an exhaustive, statewide tick survey, found very few tick species capable of transmitting the bacteria and none infected. They caution this doesn’t mean Lyme disease-carrying ticks don’t exist in our state. Utahns should continue to check for ticks when recreating outdoors.
Math-Do the Math, Do the Time
In 1915, a bereaved British vicar spied a newspaper report of a new bride drowning in a bathtub that was eerily similar to the demise of his beloved daughter. The victim’s groom was his former son-in-law. The resulting murder trial led to an English common law rule of evidence called the Doctrine of Chances. USU mathematicians Ryan Wallentine and David Brown are investigating this rule, which explores the unlikelihood a defendant would repeatedly and innocently be involved in similar, suspicious circumstances. They say this rule could aid sexual assault convictions.
Math-Math’s a Marathon, Not a Sprint
USU mathematician Nathan Geer understands the challenges his students face as they tackle new math skills because he, himself, has worked on certain math problems for years. Geer says students get discouraged because they can’t solve problems immediately. ‘Getting stuck,’ he explains, is part of the learning process. To make math more accessible, Geer is developing three-to-five minute podcasts to acquaint students with new vocabulary and orient them to new material prior to class lectures. His goal is to help students more quickly grasp core messages and make math learning less intimidating.
Nitrogen-Challenging Limits: USU Biochemists Aid Grasp of Life-Critical Enzyme
We live in a sea of nitrogen, yet our bodies can’t access this life-critical compound from the air. Instead, we get nitrogen from protein in our food. The century-old Häber-Bosch process of nitrogen fixation and fertilizer production revolutionized agriculture but carries a heavy carbon footprint. USU biochemist Lance Seefeldt and his students are investigating greener alternatives that could, once again, revolutionize food and energy production ions.
Small World-Small World, Big Health Challenges
To address the frightening public health concern of increasingly frequent, drug-resistant pathogens, USU Uintah Basin biology professor Lianna Etchberger and her students are on the hunt for new antibiotics. The students collect soil samples and antibiotic-producing microbes in the Vernal area and upload their findings to a central database of samples from around the world. Their efforts contribute to a global effort to combat disease.
Snakes-Snakes Vault Past Newts in Deadly Evolutionary Arms Race
Adventurous diners of pufferfish know the food’s intoxicating tingle comes from tetrodotoxin, a potent neurotoxin that’s deadly beyond small doses. North American garter snakes have evolved an amazing resistance to the lethal substance, which is found in one of their favorite meals, the California newt. USU biologist Butch Brodie and his students are investigating the genetic basis for this example of co-evolution. They’re exploring the genetic basis of adaptation and the molecular processes that lead to evolutionary changes.
Spider Silk- ‘Watershed’ Breakthrough in Spider Silk Production
Synthetic spider silk holds promise as a leading biomaterial of the future with its unrivaled combination of strength and elasticity. USU biologists are conquering two major hurdles to its affordable, commercial-scale production. The first is development of transgenic bacteria; that is, bacteria with the spider silk protein gene, to produce plentiful quantities. The second is the discovery that water provides a safe solvent to craft usable forms of the protein into fibers, gels, coatings and adhesives for a wide variety of uses. In the future, watch for synthetic ligaments, tendons and skins, as well as safer airbags and lighter body armor.
Up, Up And Away
Can helium bond with other elements to form a stable compound? If you’re on Earth, the answer is ‘no.’ But all bets are off if you journey to the center of the Earth or venture to Jupiter or Saturn. USU chemists Alex Boldyrev and Ivan Popov are among a team that demonstrated helium, under high pressure, bonds with sodium to form a stable compound. Our understanding of chemistry has to expand beyond the confines of our planet, Boldyrev says.
Venomous Frogs-Lethal Headers: USU Biologist Aids Discovery of Venomous Frogs
USU biologist Butch Brodie is among a team of scientists who’ve identified the first known venomous frogs. Brodie says “venomous”, where an organism uses a delivery mechanism, such as fangs, to inject a toxin, is not the same as poisonous, where toxins must be inhaled or ingested. The venomous frogs, found in Brazil, use sharp spines poking from their skulls to ‘head-butt’ predators and inject deadly venom.
Wasatch Fault-Technology to Unlock Utah’s Ancient Past
What caused Utah’s Wasatch Fault? USU geologist Alexis Ault is using a scanning electron microscope on rock samples to find answers. Heat imparts a signature, she says, much like a fingerprint, on a rock’s surface. The signature gives evidence of heat generated by earthquakes over more than a million years. Ault is reconstructing the fault’s history which, she says, will help scientists understand the modern earthquake cycle.
Water Splitting-Splitting the Difference
Electrolysis of water, known as “water splitting,” is the chemical reaction in which water is separated into oxygen and hydrogen. Efficient and cost-effective water splitting remains the Holy Grail for widespread, affordable energy production from sustainable energy inputs such as solar and wind. Known catalysts produce either oxygen or hydrogen, but not both. With support from a Governor’s Energy Leadership Scholars Grant, USU chemist Yujie Sun and students are advancing knowledge of bifunctional catalysts that can simultaneously and cost-effectively produce both oxygen and hydrogen.
Windows To The Earth
Hot springs are windows to fluid-rock interactions deep within the earth, says USU geochemist Dennis Newell. Studying the springs’ chemical composition yields clues about the thermal waters’ origins, he says. The water may be ‘young,’ having recently fallen as precipitation from the sky. Or it could have been stored in underground aquifers for tens of thousands of years. Chemical analysis reveals the water’s ‘fingerprint;’ a history of where it came from and where it’s been.
Mimicry
This is Science by the Slice. Mimicry is a form of defense in which an animal evolves a close resemblance to another species in appearance, actions, or sound to evade predators. USU biologists Joe Wilson, James Pitts, and colleagues have identified multiple species of velvet ants, a type of wasp, which forms North America’s largest known Malarian mimicry complex. Known as cow-killers because of their powerful sting, the wasps feature bright colors to warn predators to stay away.
Medical Implants
This is Science by the Slice. Life-threatening infection is an ominous hazard hanging over every invasive medical procedure. USU biologist Randy Lewis and students are investigating the use of medical implants made from synthetic spider silk to reduce infection risk. The researchers say silk-based gels, adhesives, and coatings made from spider protein and water don’t cause an immune response or inflammation. They are also strong and moisture resistant.
Doctrine of Chances
This is Science by the Slice. In 1915, a bereaved British vicar spied a newspaper report of a new bride drowning in a bathtub that was eerily similar to the demise of his beloved daughter. The victim’s groom was his former son-in-law. The resulting murder trial led to an English common law rule of evidence called the Doctrine of Chances. USU mathematicians Ryan Wallentine and David Brown are investigating this rule which explores the unlikelihood a defendant would repeatedly and innocently be involved in similar suspicious circumstances. They say this rule could aid sexual assault convictions.
Cobalt Blue Cluster
This is Science by the Slice. USU chemists Yvonne Popav and Alex Boldyrev are among a multi-university team that observed a three-dimensional, cobalt, boron, molecular cluster that sets a new coordination record in chemistry. The complex consists of two boron rings connected to a central cobalt atom via 16 bonds, the highest coordination number of atoms ever observed for an atom. The findings advance knowledge for designing boron-based nano-materials.
Carbon Capture
This is Science by the Slice. Effective man-made carbon capture and storage may be possible in underground reservoirs, say USU geologists. Jim Evans and Elizabeth Petrie studied natural sequestration in Utah’s San Rafael Swell. Though capturing carbon is a challenge, they say geochemical reactions occurring in natural storage sites may provide insights into developing ways to contain environmentally harmful emissions.
Don’t ‘Bee’ Alarmed
Because many bees nest in stems, twigs and crevasses, they’re adept stowaways. For this reason, customs officials monitor entry of non‐native bee species, inadvertently shipped with imported produce and products, with vigilance. USU and USDA entomologists have developed the new, online Exotic Bee ID guide to help officials intercept invasive species that could harm native bees.
Carbon Monoxide: Friend or Foe?
Because carbon monoxide can be lethal, we equip our homes with monitors and take care not to idle cars in enclosed spaces. But USU scientists say the deadly gas, in small quantities, could save our lives. Aggie chemists are developing tiny molecules that could release carbon monoxide in specific doses, at specific times, at specific locations in the body to reduce inflammation, promote healing and fight cancer.
Power in Numbers
USU biologist Will Pearse is using data from the National Science Foundation’s massive National Ecology Observatory Network to look into the future. With information collected from the coast‐to‐coast network, known as ‘NEON,” Pearse will use evolutionary history to address practical ecological challenges, including wildfire, pest beetle outbreaks in forests and insect‐borne diseases.
Bark Worse than Bite?
That pointy thing sticking out of a bee or wasp? It’s technically known as a “sting,” even though most of us call it a “stinger.” Technicalities aside, USU entomologists report the length of a sting may indicate how badly it will hurt. In a study of 14 families of wasps, ants and bees, Aggie scientists found the longer the sting, the worse the pain, but the lower the toxicity. Insects with short stings may carry more venom.
The Intriguing Remnants of Lake Bonneville
Many Utahns have heard of Lake Bonneville, but not as many know about the unique imprint it left on northern Utah and southern Idaho. The ancient Pleistocene lake, of which the Great Salt Lake is a remnant, covered nearly 32,000 square miles at its peak. In the new, online video “Geological Highlights of Cache Valley,” USU geologists describe the region’s geology, including ‘bathtub rings’ left by the huge body of water.
Likely Site of California’s Next ‘Big One’
In 1905, the Colorado River, swollen with heavy rainfall and snowmelt, surged into a dry lake bed along California’s San Andreas Fault and formed the Salton Sea. USU geologist Susanne Jänecke says the flood’s sediment obscured a critical portion of the fault zone. She and colleagues documented the segment, known as “Durmid Ladder,’ which, she says, is the likely site of the region’s next major earthquake.
Dead in the Water
A device the U.S. Navy is developing with USU biologists conjures images you’d expect in a James Bond thriller. Aggie scientists are sharing expertise they’ve developed in producing synthetic spider silk to help the Navy manufacture synthetic slime from hagfish proteins. Slime from the eel‐like creature greatly expands in seawater. Combined with spider silk, it will wrap relentlessly around boat propellers, effectively foiling smugglers, pirates or terrorists.
Repurposed Radio Telescope
USU undergrad physicists use cast-off equipment to build an on-campus radio telescope to map the Milky Way Galaxy. Using a repurposed dome brought to Utah State in the 1970s and a recycled satellite dish from Utah Public Radio, researchers are measuring radio waves from celestial objects. The observatory provides a teaching lab for new students to learn how to collect, read and analyze data.
