74 articles from MONDAY 2.9.2019

Mystery solved about the machines that move your genes

Fleets of microscopic machines toil away in your cells, carrying out critical biological tasks and keeping you alive. By combining theory and experiment, researchers have discovered the surprising way one of these machines, called the spindle, avoids slowdowns: congestion.

Plant gene discovery could help reduce fertilizer pollution in waterways

Over-fertilization of agricultural fields is a huge environmental problem. Excess phosphorus from fertilized cropland frequently finds its way into nearby rivers and lakes. A resulting boom of aquatic plant growth can cause oxygen levels in the water to plunge, leading to fish die-offs and other harmful effects.

Know the risks about HRT and breast cancer. But don’t panic about them | Joanna Moorhead

As a breast cancer survivor, I understand the grip of fear. But the best thing is to talk to a doctor then make your own choicesIt was hard to avoid the story, late last week: “Breast cancer risk from using HRT is twice what was thought,” it warned. I read it, because as someone who’s experienced breast cancer I’m always interested in the latest news about it.The new research doesn’t...

Europe and US teaming up for asteroid deflection

Asteroid researchers and spacecraft engineers from the US, Europe and around the world will gather in Rome next week to discuss the latest progress in their common goal: an ambitious double-spacecraft mission to deflect an asteroid in space, to prove the technique as a viable method of planetary defense.

Birds in serious decline at Lake Constance

Within 30 years, the bird population around Lake Constance declined with increasing rapidity. While in 1980 around 465,000 breeding pairs were still living in the region, by 2012 the number had fallen to 345,000—a loss of 25 percent. These are the findings of a study carried out by researchers from the Ornithological Working Group at Lake Constance and the Max Planck Institute of Animal...

Skating droplets move in orbits

They look like planets: Two droplets move in orbits on an ice cold fluid surface. They attract each other, and by almost frictionless movement on their own vapour, they skate around each other. It is a fascinating mechanism that could be used for preparing and transporting biological samples with a minimum of contamination. Researchers of the University of Twente have published a study on this...

Flexible working, the neglected congestion-busting solution for our cities

Traffic congestion is one of the most significant challenges facing our cities. Melbourne's population is growing by around 325 people a day and is projected to overtake Sydney's within a decade. Identified as the most congested city in the country, this was a factor in Melbourne losing its seven-year grip on the "world's most livable city" title last year.

A method to simulate strongly correlated phases of quantum gauge theories

Quantum gauge theories are mathematical constructs that are typically used by physicists to describe subatomic particles, their associated wave fields and the interactions between them. The dynamics outlined by these theories are difficult to compute, yet effectively emulating them in the lab could lead to valuable new insight and discoveries.

A new alphabet to write and read quantum messages with very fast particles

Quantum information relies on the possibility of writing messages in a quantum particle and reading them out in a reliable way. If, however, the particle is relativistic, meaning that it moves with velocities close to the speed of light, it is impossible for standard techniques to decode the message unambiguously, and the communication therefore fails.

Making more plastics recyclable

Whether multi-layered food packaging, power cable sheathing or a toothbrush: Many plastic products cannot be recycled. This is the case, for example, when products are made of multiple materials that cannot be separated at all or only insufficiently.

Polarization can happen even when rational people listen to each other

When groups of people disagree, it's easy for one side to blame the other's irrationality for the difference in opinion. But new work from the University of Pennsylvania suggests that humans' limited memory might instead be at fault. The research shows that even when everyone actually listens to each other and thinks rationally, polarization can still occur. Penn researchers Daniel J. Singer,...

Image: Hubble views star nearing its end

This image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows NGC 5307, a planetary nebula that lies about 10,000 light-years from Earth. It can be seen in the constellation Centaurus (the Centaur), which can be seen primarily in the southern hemisphere.