Tracking Pacific Northwest woolly dogs
Before being displaced by Europeans, the people of Oregon, Washington and British Columbia had a . The specific techniques and designs , but one of the materials traditionally used is no longer available 鈥� . The Coast Salish that had a long and crimpy undercoat and were sheared like sheep. The uniquely Pacific Northwest breed is believed to have gone extinct early last century.
Now researchers at the , in partnership with members of Coast Salish nations, have pieced together the genetic history of the breed. Their source was a 150-year-old pelt of a woolly dog named 鈥淢utton鈥� that had been donated to the by .
Through genetic analysis, they found the breed became distinct up to 5,000 years ago and have a shared history with other pre-colonial dogs from British Columbia and Newfoundland. The scientists also identified the 28 genes likely responsible for the prized woolly coat.
A variety of factors are thought to have contributed to the extinction of woolly dogs. The disruption of Indigenous cultural traditions through disease and displacement during colonization are high on the list. Without people carefully shepherding the breed, woolly dogs would have mixed with other dogs until their distinct traits were lost.
The paper was published in the journal and can be read .
(Taylor) Swift quake
Back in 2011, running back made a crazy, , helping the team win an NFL playoff game. The hometown crowd鈥檚 reaction to the late-game score was so loud that it registered on a nearby seismograph as a small, localized earthquake. It was dubbed the
Well, do you know what鈥檚 more intense than Beast Quake? A .
According to researchers at and the , Taylor Swift鈥檚 Seattle concert at this past summer produced shaking 2.5 times stronger than the Beast Quake 鈥� the equivalent of a magnitude 2.3 earthquake. Using videos sourced from Swifties at the concert, the were able to determine that the main source of the strong, low rumble was the 70,000-person crowd鈥檚 synchronized jumping and dancing. Dancing and jumping on the same beat produces a stronger signal than the randomized movements of sports鈥� fans cheering for a play.
The researchers also looked at other concerts at Lumen Field last summer and found that the only event to beat out Taylor Swift was the concert. The strongest localized earthquake happened when Seattle rapper came on stage to perform a song.
The results were reported at the December meeting in San Francisco
Making a better electrical wire
Copper is one of the most common metals used in 鈥� it鈥檚 flexible, durable, and relatively cheap. Best of all, electricity flows through copper easily, which makes it really efficient (there鈥檚 less energy loss due to electricity being converted to heat). This because it reduces the amount of electricity we need to generate to power all of the things we use.
Researchers at are trying to make copper even better. They鈥檝e manufactured a copper wire that includes a tiny bit of 鈥� the same stuff that鈥檚 in pencil leads, but flattened so it鈥檚 only one atom thick. The mixture improves the flow of electricity through the wire. It also reduces . Basically the new copper mix transports electricity more efficiently than plain copper as it heats up.
PNNL says electric vehicle motors could operate 1% more efficiently with the new wire. And the innovation could help reduce electricity use across the board if used to deliver power to homes and businesses.
Find out more about their work in the journal Materials and Design .
More sleep = better brain health
More and is coming out linking poor sleep quality to memory and cognitive decline as we age. One theory is that cellular waste products and toxic proteins from our brains. If we don鈥檛 get good sleep, then the plumbing gets clogged, potentially leading to dementia and neurodegenerative conditions (like Alzheimer鈥檚 disease).
Researchers at the , the veterans affairs medical centers in and and are buttressing what we know about the sleep-brain connection. In a 20-year study of more than 800 older adults, they tracked sleep quality and brain function as the subjects aged.
In line with previous research, they found that people who slept less than seven hours per night had more than 3 times higher risk of losing cognitive function.
But they also found something new: people whose sleep duration fluctuated often over time saw a similar increase in risk. This suggests that settling into a healthy and steady sleep regimen in middle age could pay dividends for brain health when you鈥檙e older.
The research can be read in JAMA Network Open .
Maximizing forest carbon sequestration
When first descended on the Pacific Northwest, the motivations were mostly economic. As more and more forests were cut, we started thinking about . In recent decades a third major consideration has entered the fray: to slow human-caused climate change. Trees pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and turn it into wood as they grow.
The best ways to achieve these goals have been a topic of debate. But now have some answers about which logging practices and rotations can help Pacific Northwest forests maximize carbon storage.
Using projections based on data from the , they found that the optimal carbon-storage rotation between clear-cuts depends on how conducive the land is to tree growth. At locations that support fast tree growth, cutting the trees down at 60 years (after doing some light thinning at the 40-year mark) maximized carbon uptake from the atmosphere. But on slower-growth sites, the best option is to wait 80 years while thinning a couple times along the way. In general, you need to wait longer for carbon storage on less productive sites where trees grow more slowly.
Read more details about the findings in the journal Forests .
In this monthly rundown from OPB, 鈥�.鈥� creator Jes Burns features the most interesting, wondrous and hopeful science coming out of the Pacific Northwest.
And remember: Science builds on the science that came before. No one study tells the whole story
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