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1,137 news posts in Featured news

Featured news

28 Jan 2022

Extremely harsh volcanic lake shows how life might have existed on Mars

By K.E.D. Coan, science writer Fieldwork at Laguna Caliente, Poás volcano, Costa Rica. Credit: Justin Wang Only a few microbes inhabit Earth’s most extreme environments, but they have varied adaptations to do so, reports a new study. Hydrothermal hot springs such as at the Poás volcano in Costa Rica provide an opportunity not only to explore life on Earth, but also to understand how life might have evolved on Mars. A few specialist microbes survive conditions analogous to those of Mars’ early history, reports a new publication in Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences — and this may be thanks to a broad range of adaptations. One of the most hostile habitats on Earth The hydrothermal crater lake Laguna Caliente of the Poás volcano in Costa Rica is one of the most hostile habitats on the planet. The water is ultra-acidic, full of toxic metals and the temperatures range from comfortable to boiling. In addition, recurrent ‘phreatic eruptions’ cause sudden explosions of steam, ash and rock. Despite such deadly eruptions, hydrothermal environments may be where the earliest forms of life began on Earth — and potentially also on Mars, if there ever was life. Beyond discovering how life can survive […]

Featured news

27 Jan 2022

AI breakthrough could revolutionize how we research dinosaur fossils

By Peter Rejcek, science writer Image credit: Natalia van D / Shutterstock.com The use of x-ray computed tomography has greatly improved the ability of paleontologists to study the morphology of dinosaur fossils. Now, thanks to innovations in artificial intelligence, machines may soon be able to tackle the labor-intensive job of  segmentation, a process for classifying similar sections of an image for analysis. Researchers tested different deep neural networks on more than 10,000 CT scans of embryonic skulls with encouraging results. One of the most promising applications of artificial intelligence technologies is the identification of tumors from high-resolution medical imagery. Can the same techniques be used to help paleontologists more quickly analyze similar scans of dinosaur fossils? Researchers reported some of the early answers — and remaining challenges — in a new paper published in Frontiers in Earth Science. Much of what scientists can glean from the fossil record of dinosaurs relies on the morphology of the preserved remains of the animals. To study the interior structure of a specimen generally requires cutting thin sections, effectively destroying the sample in the process. That changed with the introduction of high-resolution scanning technologies like x-ray computed tomography (CT), which basically reconstructs internal structures […]

Featured news

26 Jan 2022

Scientists decode 450 years of boom and crisis in Europe from ages of building timber

By Mischa Dijkstra, Frontiers science writer Roof truss of the Chapelle Saint-Denis in Marmoutier in Alsace, France, from the 16th century. Credit: Willy Tegel Scientists have reconstructed European socio-economic cycles between 1250 and 1699 in unprecedented detail, by using the power of tree rings to reveal the exact age of more than 54,000 pieces of timber from historical buildings. Tracking building activity across the years, estimated from felling year of timber from historical buildings, can yield an unrivaled economic record for premodern Europe. That is the conclusion from a vast study by a consortium of scientists across Europe, published in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. By dating timber from tree rings – to the exact year of felling – from historical buildings, and statistically analyzing the distribution of building years, the authors deduce multiple periods of socio-economic prosperity and downturn between 1250 and 1699, independent from other historical data. Crucially, they show how different European regions were differentially affected, and at different times. When historical records are too scant to reconstruct large-scale demographic and societal changes, environmental measures can be used. For example, numbers of shipwrecks have been used in past research to chart trade intensity, pollen to reconstruct agricultural […]

Featured news

19 Jan 2022

Likely energy source behind first life on Earth found ‘hiding in plain sight’

By Jessica Wimmer and William Martin A deep-sea hydrothermal vent. According to one theory, the first life on Earth arose at vents like these. Credit: NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration (CC BY-SA 2.0) Life on Earth arose roughly four billion years ago. How it arose, and from what energy source, is of interest to everyone, because we humans like to know where we come from. The team of Prof William Martin at the University Düsseldorf’s Institute of Molecular Evolution investigates early evolution. In a recent paper in Frontiers in Microbiology, they argue that the source of energy required at life’s origin has been hiding in plain sight: under the environmental conditions at deep sea hydrothermal vents, hypothesized to have been the sites where life on Earth originated, the central biosynthetic reactions of life do not require an external energy source. Rather, these core metabolic reactions release energy all by themselves as long as H2 and CO2 are in supply. The scientists thus link life’s biochemical beginnings to naturally occurring geochemical reactions. Here, corresponding author Ms Jessica Wimmer and Prof Martin explain their findings for a wider audience. There are many competing theories for how and where life arose. Although the […]

Featured news

01 Jan 2022

University of Vic forms publishing agreement with Frontiers

University of Vic has formed an institutional membership agreement for open access publishing with Frontiers. This institutional agreement means that eligible University of Vic researchers may benefit from a 10% discount under the terms of the CSUC Open Access publishing framework agreement. The university library at University of Vic supports its researchers in making their research more widely available. This agreement will further encourage University of Vic researchers to publish open access, increasing the volume of research openly available. While this reduces costs for the researcher, it also benefits the wider research community and the public at large.   For more information on Frontiers’ institutional agreements please visit our institutional memberships page or contact institutions@frontiersin.org to discuss the possibilities for your own organization.  Information for researchers  To submit your article under this institutional agreement, it is recommended you submit with an email domain affiliated to your institution. When submitting your article, please select University of Vic under the Institutional Agreements menu in the invoice section. Frontiers will then verify your affiliation with the University of Vic Library, and if confirmed, the discounted invoice will be sent to you via the University of Vic invoicing service. For information on whether your article is eligible […]

Featured news

01 Jan 2022

Rovira i Virgili University forms publishing agreement with Frontiers

Rovira i Virgili University has formed an institutional membership agreement for open access publishing with Frontiers. This institutional agreement means that eligible Rovira i Virgili University researchers may publish in any Frontiers journal with a simplified process. Articles may benefit from a 10% membership discount. The university library at Rovira i Virgili University supports its researchers in making their research more widely available. This agreement will further encourage Rovira i Virgili University researchers to publish open access, increasing the volume of research openly available. While this reduces costs for the researcher, it also benefits the wider research community and the public at large. For more information on Frontiers’ institutional agreements please visit our institutional memberships page or contact institutions@frontiersin.org to discuss the possibilities for your own organization.  Information for researchers  If you are a Rovira i Virgili University researcher, please select Rovira i Virgili University in the payment information section (“Frontiers institutional members”) when submitting your article. Frontiers will verify your eligibility with the library and, if confirmed, the APC will be paid by Rovira i Virgili University upon acceptance.   For information on whether your article is eligible under this agreement, or if you require any further details, please visit Accés obert: Acords transformatius […]

Featured news

01 Jan 2022

Autonomous University of Barcelona forms publishing agreement with Frontiers

Autonomous University of Barcelona has formed an institutional membership agreement for open access publishing with Frontiers. This institutional agreement means that eligible Autonomous University of Barcelona researchers may publish in any Frontiers journal at no cost to them and with a simplified process. Articles may benefit from a 10% membership discount. Autonomous University of Barcelona Library Service supports its researchers in making their research more widely available. This agreement will further encourage Autonomous University of Barcelona researchers to publish open access, increasing the volume of research openly available. While this reduces costs for the researcher, it also benefits the wider research community and the public at large. For more information on Frontiers’ institutional agreements please visit our institutional memberships page or contact institutions@frontiersin.org to discuss the possibilities for your own organization. Information for researchers If you are an Autonomous University of Barcelona researcher, please select Autonomous University of Barcelona in the payment information section (“Frontiers institutional members”) when submitting your article. Frontiers will verify your eligibility with the library and, if confirmed, the 10% discount in the APC will be applied. For information on whether your article is eligible under this agreement, or if you require any further details, please visit Autonomous University of […]

Featured news

01 Jan 2022

Open University of Catalonia forms publishing agreement with Frontiers

Open University of Catalonia has formed an institutional membership agreement for open access publishing with Frontiers. This institutional agreement means that eligible Open University of Catalonia researchers may benefit from a 10% discount under the terms of the CSUC Open Access publishing framework agreement. The university library of the Open University of Catalonia supports its researchers in making their research more widely available. This agreement will further encourage Open University of Catalonia researchers to publish open access, increasing the volume of research openly available. While this reduces costs for the researcher, it also benefits the wider research community and the public at large.   For more information on Frontiers’ institutional agreements please visit our institutional memberships page or contact institutions@frontiersin.org to discuss the possibilities for your own organization.  Information for researchers  To submit your article under this institutional agreement, it is recommended you submit with an email domain affiliated to your institution. When submitting your article, please select Open University of Catalonia under the Institutional Agreements menu in the invoice section. Frontiers will then verify your affiliation with the Open University of Catalonia Library, and if confirmed, the discounted invoice will be sent to you via the Open University of Catalonia invoicing service. […]

Featured news

01 Jan 2022

University of Lleida forms publishing agreement with Frontiers

University of Lleida has formed an institutional membership agreement for open access publishing with Frontiers. This institutional agreement means that eligible University of Lleida researchers may publish in any Frontiers journal at no cost to them and with a simplified process. Articles may benefit from a 10% membership discount. The university library University of Lleida supports its researchers in making their research more widely available. This agreement will further encourage University of Lleida researchers to publish open access, increasing the volume of research openly available. While this reduces costs for the researcher, it also benefits the wider research community and the public at large.   For more information on Frontiers’ institutional agreements please visit our institutional memberships page or contact institutions@frontiersin.org to discuss the possibilities for your own organization.  Information for researchers  If you are a University of Lleida researcher, please select University of Lleida in the payment information section (“Frontiers institutional members”) when submitting your article. Frontiers will verify your eligibility with the library and, if confirmed, the APC will be paid by University of Lleida upon acceptance.   For information on whether your article is eligible under this agreement, or if you require any further details, please visit the University of Lleida OA page […]

Featured news

01 Jan 2022

University of Barcelona forms publishing agreement with Frontiers

University of Barcelona has formed an institutional membership agreement for open access publishing with Frontiers. This institutional agreement means that eligible University of Barcelona researchers may benefit from a 10% partnership discount when publishing in any Frontiers journal. The CRAI of the University of Barcelona supports its researchers in making their research more widely available. This agreement will further encourage University of Barcelona researchers to publish open access, increasing the volume of research openly available. While this reduces costs for the researcher, it also benefits the wider research community and the public at large.   For more information on Frontiers’ institutional agreements please visit our institutional memberships page or contact institutions@frontiersin.org to discuss the possibilities for your own organization.  Information for researchers If you are a University of Barcelona researcher, please select University of Barcelona in the payment information section (“Frontiers institutional members”) when submitting your article. Frontiers will verify your eligibility with the library and, if confirmed, the APC discount will be applied to your article upon acceptance. For information on whether your article is eligible under this agreement, or if you require any further details, please send an email to odc@ub.edu.