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A Florida-based marine research team has developed a unique formal process and modeling framework to help manage South Florida’s economically important coastal marine environments. The MARES project (Marine and Estuarine Goal Setting), led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies (CIMAS) based at the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, successfully integrated both ecosystem science and societal benefits into a marine ecosystem support tool to help improve decision-making by natural resource managers.

(Phys.org) —Long hours of nighttime driving can cause eyestrain because while our vision adapts to the surrounding darkness, the sudden stabs of brightness from streetlamps can be irritating, distracting and even painful. Even as LED technology has transformed the lighting industry, bringing the promise of more energy-efficient road illumination, some fear that the new lights could cause even more troublesome, unsafe glare.

As government agencies recommend greater consumption of seafood for its health benefits, a new analysis led by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future urges medical and public health professionals to consider the environmental and health impact of seafood sourcing, particularly aquaculture, or the farming of fish, shellfish and crustaceans.

(Phys.org) —A geochemical analysis of prehistoric stone artifacts has revealed that Tonga was once the hub of a Pacific trading empire as large as 500,000 square kilometers. In a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Geoffrey Clarke of Australian National University and his team analyzed Tongan stone artifacts and found that two-thirds of them came from outside Tonga, one from as far as 2,500 kilometers away

When a massive star dies, it can collapse under its own gravity with such force that it produces a supernova, leaving behind an extremely dense remnant consisting almost entirely of neutrons—a neutron star. Some neutron stars, known as magnetars, possess powerful magnetic fields, which are stronger than any other known magnetism in the Universe.

(Phys.org) —Cholera against cholera: a novel inhibitor prevents the cholera toxin from binding to carbohydrates found on the surface of intestinal cells. An international team of researchers has described their elegant concept in the journal Angewandte Chemie: The protein scaffold of the inhibitor is based on an inactive cholera toxin

(Phys.org) —Researchers have developed a way for superconducting quantum chips to talk to each other over large distances through an optical fibre, allowing quantum entanglement or teleportation – both key steps towards building a truly global quantum internet via a quantum repeater.

Researchers have developed a microfluidic technique for fabricating a new class of metal-organic framework (MOF) membranes inside hollow polymer fibers that are just a few hundred microns in diameter. The new fabrication process, believed to be the first to grow MOF membranes inside hollow fibers, could potentially change the way large-scale energy-intensive chemical separations are done.

(Phys.org) —A recent article, appearing in the Journal of Urban Economics, authored by Penn State faculty member Brent Ambrose, Smeal Professor of Risk Management in the Smeal College of Business, and former doctoral student Moussa Diop examines the effects of subprime mortgage lending on the multifamily renting market. They found that subprime lending had a significant effect on rental defaults, which affected rental rates and property valuations.

Oculus has announced (via its website) that the first batch of preordered prototype Dev Kit 2s has left the company’s manufacturing facilities and are en route to distribution centers—they will begin shipping to people that preordered them starting July 14. Those in line to receive a kit will be sent a notification email—unfortunately for those that placed their orders later rather than earlier, the first batch will only be 10,000 units, thus, they will have to continue waiting—preorders were made for over 45,000 units