Close to five million smuggled seahorses worth an estimated CAD$29 million were seized by authorities over a 10-year span, according to a new study that warns the scale of the trade is far larger than current data suggest. Published today in Conservation Biology, the study analyzed online seizure records from…
A UC Riverside-led study has found that a smartphone app that tracks household water use and alerts users to leaks or excessive consumption offers a promising tool for helping California water agencies meet state-mandated conservation goals. Led by Mehdi Nemati, an assistant professor of public policy at UCR, the study…
Researchers have found that central body fat, especially around the abdomen, is more strongly linked to psoriasis risk than total body fat, particularly in women. This link between central fat and psoriasis remained consistent regardless of genetic predisposition, indicating that abdominal fat is an independent risk factor.The study in the…
A research team led by Prof. Si-Young Choi from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Department of Semiconductor Engineering at POSTECH (Pohang University of Science and Technology) has discovered ferroelectric phenomena occurring at a subatomic scale in the natural mineral Brownmillerite, in collaboration with Prof. Jae-Kwang Lee’s…
What’s the best thing on my phone? The Merlin Bird ID app. It listens and tells you (with reasonable accuracy) what birds are around you. Recently I heard someone singing who I didn’t immediately recognize, but I thought sounded fluty and musical, like a thrush. Merlin agreed: Swainson’s thrush, a…
Learning to play music by ear is challenging for most musicians, but research from a team at the University of Waterloo may help musicians-in-training find the right notes. The Waterloo team analyzed a range of YouTube videos that focused on learning music by ear and identified four simple ways music…
A pioneering method to simulate how microscopic particles move through the air could boost efforts to combat air pollution, a study suggests. Tiny particles found in exhaust fumes, wildfire smoke and other forms of airborne pollution are linked with serious health conditions such as stroke, heart disease and cancer, but…
A new study reveals the biological secret to the Zika virus’s infectious success: Zika uses host cells’ own “self-care” system of clearing away useless molecules to suppress the host proteins that the virus has employed to get into those cells in the first place. While these cell surface proteins are…
We are thrilled to announce that David Robert Grimes and Mariana Ribeiro will join the Retraction Watch team as Sleuths in Residence starting June 1. Earlier this year we announced the Sleuth in Residence Program, an opportunity for active sleuths to have a secure and paid position while working closely…
The immune system is regulated by a body clock and is more active during the day, scientists at Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland have discovered. A breakthrough study, led by scientists at Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland, has uncovered how daylight can boost the immune system’s ability to…