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437 news posts in Life sciences

Life sciences

06 Jan 2017

Dynamical Systems new specialty section

Dynamical Systems is a new specialty section available through the community-driven open-access journal Frontiers in Applied Mathematics and Statistics. Led by Specialty Chief Editor Axel Hutt , senior researcher at the German Weather Service in Offenbach, Germany, the primary objective of this section is to provide a channel of communication among mathematicians, applied scientists and practitioners interested in the theory, methods and applications of dynamical systems and their use to model the time evolution of real systems. The goal is to bring together, in one open-access journal, high quality papers on every aspect of this multidisciplinary field of sciences. We bring particular emphasis on qualitative and global analysis of nonlinear dynamical systems and related phenomena, with applications in physics, biology, engineering, social sciences, among others. The editors consider that a qualitative theory of dynamical systems, with the related concepts of stability, bifurcations, attractors, is nowadays more and more widely used for the description, prediction and control of real world processes. With this in mind, they define the scope of section as to provide a focus and catalyst for the dissemination and cross-fertilization of new ideas, principles, methodologies and techniques in the framework of the theory of dynamical systems, across a broad interdisciplinary front. […]

Life sciences

01 Dec 2016

Researching one of the most disruptive volcanoes to forecast future eruptions

Researchers turn to specific volcanoes such as Etna in Sicily to gain insight into volcanic and non-volcanic activities of the Earth. By Fiona Boni, Science Writer A professor at the University of Roma Tre, Valerio Acocella focuses his research on understanding what triggers eruptions and what causes the propagation of the magma to the earth’s surface. He has a special interest in advancing what we know about the structure and pre-eruptive behaviour of the most disruptive type of volcanoes, known as calderas. These are large volcanic depressions formed when a magma chamber is emptied by a volcanic eruption. “Knowledge and prevention are the essential ingredients to mitigate risks,” says Acocella. “Understanding how calderas work is important when forecasting volcanic activity, and also in forecasting large eruptions.” Using similar mechanisms that have been used in studying calderas, Acocella and his team are now also trying to understand and forecast eruptions in composite volcanoes, such as Etna, using a combination of tools.   “Volcano Etna has had some interesting eruptions in the last decades. In close collaboration with colleague Marco Neri (INGV Catania), we have been researching how this volcano works along with other processes that are really aren’t strictly volcanic, such as the instability of the volcano flank,” he explains. Based on […]

Life sciences

11 Nov 2016

Taking stock of charcoal in the world’s soil

Forest fires hit the headlines all too regularly – in fact, fire affects about 4.64 million km2 of biomass per year, an area almost three times the size of Alaska. But after the fire something remains – stable carbon. This is the dark, charcoal-like form of carbon that’s left on the soil when vegetation is burned. It is not much of a pollutant though – it plays a role in both climate and soil science, because of its ability to absorb sunlight and store nutrients needed for plant growth.

Life sciences

10 Nov 2016

A brief history of neutrinos: from past problems to future challenges

By Claudio Bogazzi, Frontiers Frontiers in Physics recently launched a new Research Topic, titled “The Physics associated with Neutrino Masses”. This topic was conceived by three physicists from different institutes: Dr. Aristizabal, Santa Maria University (Chile), Dr. Deppisch, University College of London (UK) and Dr. Merle, Max Planck Institute for Physics (Germany). The idea behind it is to provide a platform for broad discussion about phenomenological and theoretical aspects of neutrino masses and their implications. This topic focuses on one of the biggest challenges the physics community is currently facing. Neutrinos are subatomic particles with a mass so small and so hard to detect that even Wolfgang Pauli, the brilliant physicist who in the 1930s first postulated their existence, announced: “I have done a terrible thing, I have postulated a particle that cannot be detected”. To give you an idea, stop reading for just one second, and look at the palm of your hand. Did you notice anything? No? Well, you probably haven’t felt anything but about 1012 (a trillion!) neutrinos passed through your hand in that time. No wonder that Pauli was so pessimistic about their detection. Fortunately, Pauli was wrong. In 1955, two American physicists, Frederick Reines and Clyde […]

Life sciences

04 Nov 2016

The Dialogue Between Forensic Scientists, Statisticians and Lawyers

By Elliott Williams, Frontiers For forensic science, technology that assists in the analysis of complex and crucial evidence, such as DNA evidence, has seen rapid advancements, with ever more sensitive tests being introduced. Statistical interpretation of such complicated results has not been as swift. There exists now a lack of communication which spans all levels of those handling and presenting crucial evidence. Statisticians develop software with little input from the forensic scientist user, who does not have the possibility to discuss the intricacies of the results with the court. And in some cases, doesn’t know how the software “black box” generated its data. This is the long needed discussion Sue Pope (Principal Forensic Services) and Alex Biedermann (University of Lausanne) hope their topic, will spark between the statisticians developing analytical methods, the scientists who apply them, and the lawyers presenting the life changing results to the court. We spoke to them to find out more about this important and inter-disciplinary topic “The Dialogue Between Forensic Scientists, Statisticians and Lawyers about Complex Scientific Issues for Court.” Could you briefly give us some background on your Research Topic’s theme? As a working forensic scientist, I have become increasingly aware of the variety […]