Monday 17 June 2019

Dinoflagellate plankton glow so that their predators won't eat them

Some dinoflagellate plankton species are bioluminescent, with a remarkable ability to produce light to make themselves and the water they swim in glow. Now, researchers reporting in Current Biology on June 17 have found that for one dinoflagellate species (Lingulodinium polyedra), this bioluminescence is also a defense mechanism that helps them ward off the copepod grazers that would like to eat them.

* This article was originally published here

Do video games drive obesity?

A chubby teen lolling on the sofa for hours on end, the game controller in one hand, a bag of crisps at his side and a bottle of coke on the coffee table. This is the mental picture many people have of the typical gamer. Along with this goes the widespread notion that frequent gaming contributes to obesity. Is this justified?

* This article was originally published here

Cold weather increases the risk of fatal opioid overdoses

Cold weather snaps are followed by a marked increase in fatal opioid overdoses, a new study finds.

* This article was originally published here

Researchers identify strategies to help bystanders prevent sexual violence against women

Young men can successfully intervene in peer groups to prevent sexual violence against women if they appeal to a shared sense of morality, according to a study led by a Georgia State University psychology researcher.

* This article was originally published here

Boeing says 'sorry' for Max crashes, seeks renewed trust

Boeing executives apologized Monday to airlines and families of victims of 737 Max crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia, as the U.S. plane maker struggles to regain the trust of regulators, pilots and the global traveling public.

* This article was originally published here

Light energy and biomass can be converted to diesel fuel and hydrogen

A research group led by Professor Wang Feng at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences recently developed a method to produce diesel fuel and hydrogen by exploiting light energy (solar energy or artificial light energy) and biomass-derived feedstocks. Their findings were published in Nature Energy.

* This article was originally published here