Browse Articles

Plasmid Variance and Nutrient Regulation of Bioluminescence Genes

Uhler et al. | Dec 09, 2014

Plasmid Variance and Nutrient Regulation of Bioluminescence Genes

Numerous organisms, including the marine bacterium Aliivibrio fischeri, produce light. This bioluminescence is involved in many important symbioses and may one day be an important source of light for humans. In this study, the authors investigated ways to increase bioluminescence production from the model organism E. coli.

Read More...

An Analysis on Exoplanets and How They are Affected by Different Factors in Their Star Systems

Selph et al. | Dec 06, 2018

An Analysis on Exoplanets and How They are Affected by Different Factors in Their Star Systems

In this article, the authors systematically study whether the type of a star is correlated with the number of planets it can support. Their study shows that medium-sized stars are likely to support more than one planet, just like the case in our solar system. They predict that, of the hundreds of planets beyond our solar system, 6% might be habitable. As humans work to travel further and further into space, some of those might truly be suited for human life.

Read More...

Efficacy of electrolytic treatment on degrading microplastics in tap water

Schroder et al. | Apr 23, 2023

Efficacy of electrolytic treatment on degrading microplastics in tap water
Image credit: Imani

Here seeking to identify a method to remove harmful microplastics from water, the authors investigated the viability of using electrolysis to degrade microplastics in tap water. Compared to control samples, they found electrolysis treatment to significantly the number of net microplastics, suggesting that this treatment could potentially implemented into homes or drinking water treatment facilities.

Read More...

Assigning Lightning Seasons to Different Regions in the United States

Hawkins et al. | Sep 07, 2020

Assigning Lightning Seasons to Different Regions in the United States

Climate change is predicted to increase the frequency of severe thunderstorm events in coming years. In this study, the authors hypothesized that (i) the majority of severe thunderstorm events will occur in the summer months in all states examined for all years analyzed, (ii) climate change will cause an unusual number of severe thunderstorm events in winter months in all states, (iii) thundersnow would be observed in Colorado, and (iv.) there would be no difference in the number of severe thunderstorm events between states in any given year examined. They classified lightning seasons in all states observed, with the most severe thunderstorm events occurring in May, June, July, and August. Colorado, New Jersey, Washington, and West Virginia were found to have severe thunderstorm events in the winter, which could be explained by increased winter storms due to climate change (1). Overall, they highlight the importance of quantifying when lightning seasons occur to avoid lightning-related injuries or death.

Read More...

The Impact of Effective Density and Compressive Strength on the Structure of Crumpled Paper Balls

Chu et al. | Nov 19, 2020

The Impact of Effective Density and Compressive Strength on the Structure of Crumpled Paper Balls

Crumpling is the process whereby a sheet of paper undergoes deformation to yield a three-dimensional structure comprising a random network of ridges and facets with variable density. The authors hypothesized that the more times a paper sheet is crumpled, the greater its compressive strength. Their results show a relatively strong linear relationship between the number of times a paper sheet is crumpled and its compressive strength.

Read More...

Modeling Hartree-Fock approximations of the Schrödinger Equation for multielectron atoms from Helium to Xenon using STO-nG basis sets

Gangal et al. | Oct 05, 2023

Modeling Hartree-Fock approximations of the Schrödinger Equation for multielectron atoms from Helium to Xenon using STO-nG basis sets

The energy of an atom is extremely useful in nuclear physics and reaction mechanism pathway determination but is challenging to compute. This work aimed to synthesize regression models for Pople Gaussian expansions of Slater-type Orbitals (STO-nG) atomic energy vs. atomic number scatter plots to allow for easy approximation of atomic energies without using computational chemistry methods. The data indicated that of the regressions, sinusoidal regressions most aptly modeled the scatter plots.

Read More...

A Juxtaposition of Airborne Microplastics and Fiber Contamination in Various Environments

Truong-Phan et al. | Dec 04, 2020

A Juxtaposition of Airborne Microplastics and Fiber Contamination in Various Environments

Microplastics can have detrimental effects on various wildlife, as well as pollute aquatic and atmospheric environments. This study focused on air samples collected from five locations to investigate microplastic concentrations in atmospheric fallout from indoor and outdoor settings, through a process utilizing a hand-held vacuum pump and a rotameter. The authors found that the difference between the average number of microplastic fragments and fibers collected from all locations was not large enough to be statistically significant. The results collected in this study will contribute to knowledge of the prevalence of airborne microplastics.

Read More...

Effect Of SMC On The Growth Of Bean, Cherry Tomato And Roma Tomato Plant

Rao et al. | Sep 12, 2020

Effect Of SMC On The Growth Of Bean, Cherry Tomato And Roma Tomato Plant

Mushroom compost, also called Spent Mushroom Substrate or Spent Mushroom Compost (SMC), is suitable for a variety of plants. Previous research has found that the application of SMC will increase plant growth. However, it is unclear which exact proportions of SMC and soil will maximize tomato and bean plant growth. We showed that the hypothesized growth media with 30% SMC optimizes seed germination, plant height, number of leaves, and survival rate compared to other combinations of growth media. Our research suggests that SMC is a useful alternative for conventional fertilizers.

Read More...

Search Articles

Search articles by title, author name, or tags

Clear all filters

Popular Tags

Browse by school level