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For scientists studying the impacts of space weather, one of the central mysteries of solar flares – the colossal release of magnetic energy in the Sun’s atmosphere that erupts with the force of millions of hydrogen bombs – is the means by which these explosions produce radiation and accelerate particles to nearly the speed of light within seconds.

The huge philanthropic pledge by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife—totaling perhaps $45 billion—reflects the fast-paced emergence of a new Gilded Age of giving. The changes excite many in the charity world, but also raise questions about effectiveness, ethics and the impact on older charities that may not share in any windfall.

Replacing an old incandescent lightbulb with new LED lighting might seem insignificant in reducing energy consumption. It is a simple step, but an effective one that shouldn’t be overlooked, said Yu Wang, an assistant professor of political science, who studies global energy policy and energy efficiency, at Iowa State University.

(Phys.org)—For the first time, physicists have performed an experiment confirming that thermodynamic processes are irreversible in a quantum system—meaning that, even on the quantum level, you can’t put a broken egg back into its shell. The results have implications for understanding thermodynamics in quantum systems and, in turn, designing quantum computers and other quantum information technologies.

Recently, the James Webb Space Telescope’s “pathfinder telescope,” or “Pathfinder” completed its second super-cold optical test that resulted in the first checkout of specialized optical test equipment designed to illuminate the telescope’s optics through to the instrument focal planes, and the procedures used to operate this test equipment.

Considered among the agricultural pests with the greatest economic impact, the tephritid fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) are a serious worldwide problem. Destroying fruit and vegetable production and markets across all major continents, some key species have raised international attention, leading to six years of coordinated multidisciplinary research that will contribute to overcome phytosanitary trade barriers and apply more sustainable pest management strategies such as the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT).

Nitrification plays a key role in Earth’s natural nitrogen cycle and in agriculture. Now an international team of scientists led by Holger Daims and Michael Wagner, microbiologists at the University of Vienna, has discovered microbes that perform complete nitrification on their own: A result contrasting textbook knowledge and a milestone of microbiology