https://phys.org/ en-us Latest news from University of Nevada, Reno In a few picoseconds (trillionths of a second), a small, thin piece of copper momentarily becomes dense plasma, specifically a state called warm dense matter, warm being a relative term—the metal is nearly 200,000 degrees Fahrenheit. With the short duration of a high-powered laser pulse, copper shifts from a solid state to a plasma state in an instant before it explodes. Understanding the progression of heat in the copper is an exciting breakthrough in physics relevant to the interior of giant planets and laser fusion fuel cores. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-tracking-plasma-picosecond-physicists-ultra.html Plasma Physics Wed, 18 Sep 2024 15:20:14 EDT news645891601 Why do flies buzz around in circles when the air is still? And why does it matter? In a paper published in Current Biology, University of Nevada, Reno Assistant Professor Floris van Breugel and Postdoctoral Researcher S. David Stupski respond to this previously unanswered question. Their answer could hold a key to public safety—specifically, how to better train robotic systems to track chemical leaks. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-fly-behavior-potential-application-robotics.html Plants & Animals Fri, 26 Jul 2024 11:00:01 EDT news641140205 As much of the world prepares for hotter and drier growing seasons as the result of climate change, a research team led by University of Nevada, Reno researchers has identified several varieties of cactus pear that are particularly well-suited to producing biomass for fuels production. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-focuses-cactus-pear-biofuel-production.html Plants & Animals Fri, 21 Jun 2024 06:11:54 EDT news638169094 Powerful new digital mapping tools developed by University of Nevada, Reno researchers hold promise to improve management of rangeland, particularly public lands in the far-flung Western United States. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-vegetation-tools-aids-flexible-rangeland.html Ecology Tue, 04 Jun 2024 13:13:14 EDT news636725591 A multi-agency study, spearheaded by researchers from the University of Nevada, Reno's College of Agriculture, Biotechnology & Natural Resources and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, underscores the impacts of strategic cattle grazing, particularly on restoring the declining population of the greater sage-grouse bird, a keystone species in the Great Basin region. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-strategic-grazing-boost-threatened-sage.html Plants & Animals Fri, 23 Feb 2024 11:08:31 EST news627908903 Researchers at the University of Nevada, Reno have completed one of the most extensive river resilience studies, examining how river ecosystems recover following floods. They developed a novel modeling approach that used data from oxygen sensors placed in rivers to estimate daily growth in aquatic plants and algae. The researchers then modeled the algal and plant biomass in 143 rivers across the contiguous U.S. to quantify what magnitude of flooding disturbs the biomass and how long the rivers take to recover from floods. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-river-resiliency.html Ecology Fri, 16 Feb 2024 09:25:24 EST news627297916 New research led by University of Nevada, Reno Assistant Professor Joanna Blaszczak shows hypoxia in rivers and streams is generally much more prevalent across the globe than previously thought. Hypoxia is low or depleted oxygen levels in surface waters that can be harmful to aquatic species and can in some cases increase production of harmful greenhouse gases from rivers. https://phys.org/news/2023-01-global-hypoxia-rivers-prevalent-previously.html Environment Tue, 24 Jan 2023 04:10:02 EST news593755334 New research from the University of Nevada, Reno, is expected to play an important role in the global battle against airborne mercury pollution, a serious health threat to people and wildlife alike. https://phys.org/news/2023-01-milestone-airborne-mercury.html Environment Thu, 19 Jan 2023 03:47:30 EST news593322434 The adoption of best practice front-of-pack nutrition labeling in more countries of the Americas can help reduce poor-nutrition related non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cardiovascular disease, type-2 diabetes, high blood pressure and some cancers in the region, a recent study led by researchers at the University of Nevada, Reno and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) suggests. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-12-government-implemented-poor-nutrition-diseases.html Health Fri, 02 Dec 2022 02:35:27 EST news589170872 Pinyon-juniper woodlands host unique wildlife and wildlife habitat, as well as areas for hiking and outdoor recreation. They are also part of a web of healthy ecosystems that, together, help to balance water availability, storage and runoff; and prevent erosion. A new study published in Global Ecology and Biogeography and led by University of Nevada, Reno researcher Robert Shriver sheds new light on what is happening in pinyon-juniper woodlands across the West. The research is unique, in that it looks at both tree mortality, as well as recruitment, or new seedlings and saplings, to calculate a "net effect." And, the news isn't necessarily good, particularly in warmer, drier locations. https://phys.org/news/2022-10-pinyon-juniper-tree-species-declining-ranges.html Ecology Thu, 06 Oct 2022 03:45:59 EDT news584246682 Milkweed plants purchased at retail nurseries across the United States were contaminated with pesticides harmful to monarch caterpillars that rely on milkweed, a study led by researchers at the University of Nevada, Reno found. Every plant sampled was contaminated, even those that were labeled friendly to wildlife. https://phys.org/news/2022-09-store-bought-milkweed-expose-monarch-caterpillars.html Plants & Animals Tue, 13 Sep 2022 17:11:11 EDT news582307867 Researchers attempting to help predict how the wildfire hazard will change due to various factors over the next several decades have some good news, and some bad news. Good news is, wildfire occurrence and intensity will likely decrease in several locations in the future. The bad news: decreases may not occur for another 50 years, and wildfire hazard will likely get worse before it gets better. https://phys.org/news/2022-07-complex-wildfires-decline-eventually.html Earth Sciences Wed, 27 Jul 2022 12:40:06 EDT news578144397 Cheatgrass, an invasive annual grass that has invaded Nevada rangelands, is responsible for much of the increasing wildfire danger in the Intermountain West. However, scientists at the University of Nevada, Reno have discovered that fire danger can be reduced through the application of targeted cattle grazing in the dormant growing season by attracting the cattle with stations containing protein feed supplements. https://phys.org/news/2022-06-off-season-cattle-grazing-danger-invasive.html Ecology Thu, 16 Jun 2022 15:12:04 EDT news574611121 Water often falls from the sky and is stored in mountains across the U.S. as snow before it melts and flows down to urban and rural communities. Knowing what factors influence when and how much of that snowmelt ultimately makes it to streams, rivers and reservoirs is crucial for water managers trying to make the most of limited water resources. A new study led by researchers at University of Nevada, Reno and the Desert Research Institute (DRI) published in Environmental Research Letters identifies three major factors that influence snowmelt-driven water supplies and identifies regions where mountain water supplies respond differently to climate change. The study used data from 537 watersheds across the U.S. https://phys.org/news/2022-05-snowmelt.html Environment Thu, 12 May 2022 15:32:04 EDT news571588321 For centuries, understanding the basis for how we detect, process and react to light, sound, temperature, pressure and other environmental signals has been a scientific focus. Science has advanced, and new understanding at the cellular level of ion channels—which are fundamental to these sensations and our bodies' functions—has contributed to important advancements, including the development of new and effective drugs. An indication of the significance of this science and research came with the awarding of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, which honored the discovery of the fundamental ion-channel sensors for temperature and pressure. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-04-nobel-prize-worthy-cold.html Medical research Thu, 07 Apr 2022 17:41:32 EDT news568572089 Could cactus pear become a major crop like soybeans and corn in the near future, and help provide a biofuel source, as well as a sustainable food and forage crop? According to a recently published study, researchers from the University of Nevada, Reno believe the plant, with its high heat tolerance and low water use, may be able to provide fuel and food in places that previously haven't been able to grow much in the way of sustainable crops. https://phys.org/news/2021-03-cactus-pear-drought-tolerant-crop-sustainable.html Other Fri, 05 Mar 2021 16:09:39 EST news534182974 A new research study out of the University of Nevada, Reno's School of Community Health Sciences has just been published by the American Journal of Public Health and addresses state preemption of local sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) taxes, issuing an emerging public health threat. Assistant Professor Eric Crosbie examines commercial determinants of health and public health policy, specifically in industries like tobacco and food and beverage. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-02-sugar-sweetened-beverage-taxes.html Health Tue, 23 Feb 2021 16:06:11 EST news533318762 Freshwater fish reserves are extraordinarily successful at protecting multiple species of fish, a new study of a network of community-based reserves in Thailand has found. https://phys.org/news/2020-11-thailand-benefits-community-based-freshwater-fish.html Ecology Wed, 25 Nov 2020 12:54:34 EST news525531263 Meadows in the Sierra Nevada mountains are critical components of watersheds. In addition to supplying water to over 25 million people in California and Nevada, meadows contain large quantities of carbon belowground. While it has been known for some time that meadows have large quantities of soil carbon, whether meadow soils are gaining or losing carbon has remained unclear. https://phys.org/news/2020-11-quantify-carbon-sierra-nevada-meadow.html Environment Mon, 16 Nov 2020 15:47:48 EST news524764061 Rapid detection of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, in about 30 seconds following the test, has had successful preliminary results in Mano Misra's lab at the University of Nevada, Reno. The test uses a nanotube-based electrochemical biosensor, a similar technology that Misra has used in the past for detecting tuberculosis and colorectal cancer as well as detection of biomarkers for food safety. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-10-covid-rapid-successful-lab-results.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 14 Oct 2020 14:04:33 EDT news521903067 Summit Lake in remote northwest Nevada is home to the only self-sustaining, robust, lake population of Lahontan Cutthroat Trout, North America's largest freshwater native trout species. Research to understand the reasons why this population continues to thrive, where others have not, will be used to protect the fish and its habitat—as well as to apply the knowledge to help restore other Nevada lakes that once had bountiful numbers of the iconic fish that historically reached 60 pounds. https://phys.org/news/2020-07-lahontan-cutthroat-trout-paiute-summit.html Plants & Animals Wed, 22 Jul 2020 16:44:28 EDT news514655062 After several years of experimentation, scientists have engineered thale cress, or Arabidopsis thaliana, to behave like a succulent, improving water-use efficiency, salinity tolerance and reducing the effects of drought. The tissue succulence engineering method devised for this small flowering plant can be used in other plants to improve drought and salinity tolerance with the goal of moving this approach into food and bioenergy crops. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-tissue-drought-salinity-tolerance.html Plants & Animals Tue, 30 Jun 2020 12:31:58 EDT news512739115 A team of scientists led by University of Nevada, Reno's Hiroshi Sawada, an associate professor of the Physics Department, demonstrated that numerical modeling accurately reproduces X-ray images using laser-produced X-rays. The images were obtained using the University's chirped pulse amplification-based 50-Terawatt Leopard laser at their Zebra Pulsed Power Lab. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-scientists-numerical-capability-laser-driven-x-ray.html Plasma Physics Tue, 23 Jun 2020 08:23:49 EDT news512119425 New evidence identifies 64 pesticide residues in milkweed, the main food for monarch butterflies in the west. Milkweed samples from all of the locations studied in California's Central Valley were contaminated with pesticides, sometimes at levels harmful to monarchs and other insects. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-milkweed-food-source-monarch-caterpillars.html Ecology Mon, 08 Jun 2020 16:26:45 EDT news510852396 The forest of the Sierra Nevada mountains is an important resource for the surrounding communities in Nevada and California. Thinning the forest by removing trees by hand or using heavy machinery is one of the few tools available to manage forests. However, finding the best way to thin forests by removing select trees to maximize the forest's benefits for water quantity, water quality, wildfire risk and wildlife habitat remains a challenge for resource managers. The U.S. Forest Service is leading an effort to balance all these challenges in landscape-scale forest restoration planning as part of the Lake Tahoe West Restoration Partnership. https://phys.org/news/2020-05-tool-forest-thinning-sierra-nevada.html Environment Thu, 07 May 2020 15:54:54 EDT news508085689 To better understand the organization of the brain and the perceptual tendencies in humans, a team of four scientists are recording video from four head-mounted cameras—with eyetracking and head movement—and assembling a massive video database with more than 240 hours of first-person video that can be used by researchers everywhere. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-01-neuroscientists-video-dataset-people.html Neuroscience Fri, 24 Jan 2020 15:10:49 EST news499101042 Using a 22-year dataset of plant-caterpillar-parasitoid interactions collected within a patch of protected Costa Rican lowland Caribbean forest, scientists report declines in caterpillar and parasitoid diversity and density that are paralleled by losses in an important ecosystem service: biocontrol of herbivores by parasitoids. https://phys.org/news/2020-01-caterpillar-loss-tropical-forest-linked.html Ecology Wed, 22 Jan 2020 03:03:00 EST news498884575 Chickadees with better learning and memory skills, needed to find numerous food caches, are more likely to survive their first winter, a long-term study of mountain chickadees has found. https://phys.org/news/2019-02-natural-spatial-memory-link-shown.html Plants & Animals Wed, 13 Feb 2019 02:23:20 EST news469246981 Winter snows are accumulating in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, creating the snowpacks that serve as a primary source of water for the western U.S. https://phys.org/news/2019-01-team-years-satellite-imagery.html Environment Wed, 02 Jan 2019 15:10:00 EST news465664193 Monika Gulia-Nuss, assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Nevada, Reno, is working on generating transgenic ticks in her lab, the first of their kind, in order to explore new targets for vector control. Vector control is any strategic method used to limit organisms that spread disease pathogens, such as Lyme disease. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-02-first-ever-transgenic-tick-borne-diseases-lyme.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 28 Feb 2018 15:50:02 EST news439055289