Quantum magnets. ‘1100 Words’ in Duke Research. April 28, 2022. In her search for new quantum materials, physicist Sara Haravifard spends a lot of time tinkering with crystals. Now her team has uncovered new types of quantum magnets, which could be used in data storage & spintronics.
Data at the speed of light
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Web surfing that feels instantaneous, even though it’s not. Duke Today, April 13, 2022. A speed-of-light internet could bring near real-time connectivity to 120 cities nationwide, without newfangled tech. Here’s how. Picked up by ACM TechNews and SYFY WIRE.
Why 400 scientists are abuzz about the W boson
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Why 400 scientists are abuzz about the W boson. Duke Today, April 7, 2022. Heftier-than-predicted subatomic particle exposes crack in decades-old theory; hints at more waiting to be discovered about the cosmos. Picked up by Nature, Washington Post, The Guardian, BBC, CBS, Science News, IFLScience, New Scientist, Gizmodo, Quanta Magazine, Popular Science, Popular Mechanics, Inverse, VICE, Slate, Scientific American, Barron’s, ABC News, Symmetry Magazine and Ars Technica.
Fueling cell invasion
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Fueling cell invasion. Duke Today, March 22, 2022. From a tiny worm, new clues to how metastatic cancer cells power their deadly spread.
Family boundaries, baboon-style
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Family boundaries, baboon-style. Duke Today, March 7, 2022. Dispersal, discernment help baboons avoid inbreeding, but here’s where their social filter fails. Picked up by The Scientist and Futurity.
Tracking the pulse of our nation’s rivers
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Tracking the pulse of our nation’s rivers, like a Fitbit for streams. Duke Today, Feb. 21, 2022. Scientists are monitoring hundreds of streams across the U.S., to better predict how freshwater vital signs might shift with land development and climate change.
Finding the tipping point for coastal wetlands
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Finding the tipping point for coastal wetlands. Duke Research blog, Jan. 25, 2022. Salt is poisoning the soils past a point of no return for some marsh plants. One North Carolina team is trying to pinpoint the early warning signs.
Modest morning glories
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Modest morning glories. 1100 Words for Duke Research, Dec. 16, 2021. When we think of flowers, most of us picture their colorful petals, or the sweet nectar they offer insects and other pollinators. But some flowers don’t need to look good to get by.
Taking new aim at COVID-19
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Taking new aim at COVID-19. Duke Today, Nov. 26, 2021. The coronavirus’s tangled strands of RNA could offer new ways to treat people who get infected. Picked up by INDY Week and The New York Times.
When the gut’s internal ecosystem goes awry, could an ancient if gross-sounding treatment make it right?
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When the gut’s internal ecosystem goes awry, could an ancient if gross-sounding treatment make it right? Duke Research Blog, Nov. 17, 2021. Lemur researchers make a case for fecal transplants to reduce the side effects of antibiotics.
Art installation celebrates the beauty and whimsy of math
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Art installation celebrates the beauty and whimsy of math. Duke Today, Nov. 11, 2021. On the third floor of Gross Hall lies a whimsical island where the landscape and creatures are not what they seem. The 20-foot-long, 10-foot-wide piece, a mixed-media art installation dubbed “Mathemalchemy,” is the result of a two-year collaboration devoted to the joy and creativity of math.
Tiny microscopic hunters could be a crystal ball for climate change
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Tiny microscopic hunters could be a crystal ball for climate change. Duke Today, Oct. 25, 2021. Simple measurements of these obscure organisms can help predict future CO2 emissions for warming ecosystems, study finds. Picked up by CBS 17.
If endangered primates disappear, so will their parasites. That’s actually a problem.
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If endangered primates disappear, so will their parasites. That’s actually a problem. Duke Today, Sept. 23, 2021. The extinction crisis looming for monkeys, apes and their kin could have even greater ripple effects on the tiny underappreciated species that set up camp in their bodies. Picked up by Science Friday, Syfy Wire and Earth.com.
Helping at-risk girls defy the odds in Kenya
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Duke-founded initiative is helping at-risk girls defy the odds in Kenya. Duke Today, Sept. 14, 2021. As classrooms reopen, one North Carolina-based nonprofit is helping Kenyan girls stay on track amidst the pandemic. Picked up by Bloomberg Businessweek.
The Hobbit’s bite gets a stress test
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The Hobbit’s bite gets a stress test. Duke Today, Aug. 23, 2021. If you’ve ever suffered from a sore jaw that popped or clicked when you chewed gum or crunched hard foods, you may be able to blame it on your extinct ancestors. That’s according to a study of the chewing mechanics of an ancient human relative called Homo floresiensis, which inhabited the Indonesian island of Flores before our species arrived there some 50,000 years ago. Picked up by Archaeology.
Dolphins get 40s flab, too
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Dolphins get 40s flab, too. Duke Today, Aug. 13, 2021. If you feel like your metabolism just isn’t what it used to be, no matter how many hours you spend in the gym, dolphins can relate. A new study finds that bottlenose dolphins burn calories at a lower rate as they get older, just like we do. It’s the first time scientists have measured an age-related metabolic slowdown in another large-bodied species besides humans. Picked up by Earth.com and The Weather Channel.
Metabolism changes with age, just not when you might think
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Metabolism changes with age, just not when you might think. Duke Today, Aug. 12, 2021. Researchers have precisely measured life’s metabolic highs and lows, from birth to old age, and the findings might surprise you. Picked up by the New York Times, The Guardian, Washington Post, NBC News, Huffington Post, Philadelphia Inquirer, WRAL, UPI, Fox News, the Miami Herald, the Raleigh News & Observer, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Seattle Times, Science and BBC.
You can snuggle wolf pups all you want, they still won’t ‘get’ you quite like your dog
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You can snuggle wolf pups all you want, they still won’t ‘get’ you quite like your dog. Duke Today, July 12, 2021. If you feel like your dog gets you in a way that most other animals don’t, you’re right. New research comparing dog puppies to human-reared wolf pups offers some clues to how dogs’ unusual people-reading skills came to be. Picked up by CNN, UPI, Scientific American, Science News, Haaretz Daily, Inverse, Wired, The Miami Herald, MSN, Psychology Today, Business Insider, INDY Week and the Raleigh News & Observer.
In drawers of old bones, new clues to the genomes of lost giants
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In drawers of old bones, new clues to the genomes of lost giants. Duke Research Blog, July 7, 2021. A single jawbone from a gorilla-sized lemur that lived nearly 1,500 years ago in Madagascar is providing some of the best genetic clues yet to the lives of these lost giants.
No one-size-fits-all for plant defenses
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No one-size-fits-all for plant defenses. 1100 Words, Duke Research, June 21, 2021. This butterfly may be happily slurping nectar from a harmless-looking wildflower, but if its caterpillars nibble on the leaves they’re in for a nasty surprise.
Mapping the invisible universe
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Mapping the invisible universe. Duke Today, June 7, 2012. Here’s what millions of galaxies can teach us about dark energy and the ever-expanding cosmos.
Sometimes, even 3-year-olds just want to fit in with the group
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Sometimes, even 3-year-olds just want to fit in with the group. Duke Today, May 27, 2021. What makes preschoolers eat their veggies? Raise their hand? Wait their turn? When it comes to getting kids to behave, by age three the voice of adult authority is no longer the only thing that matters. Picked up by WRAL, U.S. News & World Report and Futurity.
How one of the oldest natural insecticides keeps mosquitoes away
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How one of the oldest natural insecticides keeps mosquitoes away. Duke Today, May 11, 2021. A new study has identified a scent receptor in mosquitoes that helps them sniff out and avoid trace amounts of pyrethrum, a plant extract used for centuries to repel insect pests. These findings could help researchers develop new broad spectrum repellents to keep a variety of mosquito species at bay, and by extension stop them from biting people and spreading disease. Picked up by Scientific American and WRAL-TV.
Warming seas might also look less colorful to some fish. Here’s why that matters.
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Warming seas might also look less colorful to some fish. Here’s why that matters. Duke Today, April 21, 2021. Climate change is driving some fish into cooler, deeper waters. Now they may be faced with another challenge: how to make sense of a world drained of color. Researchers report that even small increases in depth could make it harder for fish to discern the hues they use to find food, friends and family. They are trying to predict which species will be most impacted, and whether they’ll be able to adapt. Picked up by MSN.
Mapping North Carolina’s ghost forests from 430 miles up
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Mapping North Carolina’s ghost forests from 430 miles up. Duke Today, April 5, 2021. Rising seas and inland-surging seawater are leaving behind the debris of dying forests. Now, 35 years of satellite images capture the changes from space. Picked up by the Raleigh News & Observer, The Guardian, WRAL-TV, PBS, other outlets.