153 articles from WEDNESDAY 11.9.2019
Cost savings from same-day long-acting reversible contraception
- ScienceDaily
- 19/9/11 20:27
According to a new study, providing adolescents seeking birth control the ability to obtain a long-acting reversible contraceptive on the same day as their clinic visit could lead to significant cost savings for insurance providers.
Scientists succeed in creating 2 embryos of near-extinct northern white rhino
An international consortium of scientists and conservationists has announced that they succeeded in creating two embryos of the near-extinct northern white rhino, a milestone in assisted reproduction that may be a pivotal turning point in the fate of the...
Long before other fish, ancient sharks found an alternative way to feed
Researchers from the University of Chicago have used tools developed to explore 3-D movements and mechanics of modern-day fish jaws to analyze a fossil fish for the first time. Combined with CT imaging technology able to capture images of the fossil while it is still encased in rock, the results reveal that the 335-million-year-old shark had sophisticated jaws capable of the kind of suction...
Scientists solve lingering mystery of poorly understood frog
An international team of scientists, led by researchers at McMaster University, has solved a centuries-old mystery of 'Fraser's Clawed Frog', an unusual and elusive species found in West Africa.
Soils could be affected by climate change, impacting water and food
Coasts, oceans, ecosystems, weather and human health all face impacts from climate change, and now valuable soils may also be affected.
Public support for gene drives in agriculture tied to limits
The first national survey inquiring about American attitudes toward agricultural gene drives—genetic modification techniques that can be used to "drive" a genetic trait or characteristic through a given insect pest population to help commercial crop production by squelching harmful pest effects—shows more support for systems that are limited in scope and aimed at non-native insects.
Students make neutrons dance beneath UC Berkeley campus
In an underground vault enclosed by six-foot concrete walls and accessed by a rolling, 25-ton concrete-and-steel door, University of California, Berkeley, students are making neutrons dance to a new tune: one better suited to producing isotopes required for geological dating, police forensics, hospital diagnosis and treatment.
After leading Mars rover missions, Steve Squyres joins Blue Origin as chief scientist
Just months after closing out the 15-year-long Opportunity rover mission on Mars, Cornell University astronomer Steve Squyres is taking advantage of a new opportunity: the post of chief scientist at Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin space venture. Today Blue Origin confirmed that Squyres, 63, will be joining the company, which is headquartered in Kent, Wash. Squyres has been involved...
Water discovered for first time in atmosphere of habitable exoplanet
Water has been discovered for the first time in the atmosphere of an exoplanet with Earth-like temperatures that could support life as we know it, scientists revealed Wednesday. Eight times the mass of Earth and twice as big, K2-18b orbits in its star's "habitable zone" at a distance -- neither too far nor too close -- where water can exist in liquid form, they reported in the journal Nature...
Invasion of the Japanese stiltgrass: WVU biologist targets plant that wreaks havoc
To the casual observer, Japanese stiltgrass appears as a harmless, leafy green plant that blends into the majestic scenery of your weekend hike through the woods.
Early humans used tiny, flint 'surgical' tools to butcher elephants
The Acheulian culture endured in the Levant for over a million years during the Lower Paleolithic period (1.4 million to 400,000 years ago). Its use of bifaces or large cutting tools like hand axes and cleavers is considered a hallmark of its sophistication—or, some researchers would argue, the lack thereof.
NASA’s Hubble Finds Water Vapor on Habitable-Zone Exoplanet for 1st Time
Portal origin URL: NASA’s Hubble Finds Water Vapor on Habitable-Zone Exoplanet for 1st TimePortal origin nid: 451609Published: Wednesday, September 11, 2019 - 13:05Featured (stick to top of list): noPortal text teaser: With data from the Hubble Space Telescope, water vapor has been detected in the atmosphere of a super-Earth with habitable temperatures.Portal...
Malaria could be felled by an Antarctic sea sponge
- ScienceDaily
- 19/9/11 19:04
The frigid waters of the Antarctic may yield a treatment for a deadly disease that affects populations in some of the hottest places on earth. Current medications for that scourge -- malaria -- are becoming less effective as drug resistance spreads. But researchers report that a peptide they isolated from an Antarctic sponge shows promise as a lead for new therapies.
Early humans used tiny, flint 'surgical' tools to butcher elephants
- ScienceDaily
- 19/9/11 19:04
A new study reveals that the early humans known as Acheulians crafted tiny flint tools out of recycled larger discarded instruments as part of a comprehensive animal-butchery tool kit.
Corn one step closer to bacterial leaf streak resistance
Bacterial leaf streak, a foliar disease in corn, has only been in the United States for a handful of years, but Tiffany Jamann says it's a major problem in the Western Corn Belt.
Half-a-billion-year-old tiny predator unveils the rise of scorpions and spiders
- ScienceDaily
- 19/9/11 19:04
Two palaeontologists working on the world-renowned Burgess Shale have revealed a new species, called Mollisonia plenovenatrix, which is presented as the oldest chelicerate. This discovery places the origin of this vast group of animals -- of over 115,000 species, including horseshoe crabs, scorpions and spiders -- to a time more than 500 million years ago.
CAR T-cell therapy may be harnessed to treat heart disease
- ScienceDaily
- 19/9/11 19:03
CAR T-cell therapy, a rapidly emerging form of immunotherapy using patients' own cells to treat certain types of cancers, may be a viable treatment option for another life-threatening condition: heart disease. Researchers at Penn Medicine used genetically modified T cells to target and remove activated fibroblasts that contribute to the development of cardiac fibrosis -- a scarring process found...
Dynamic reorganization of brain circuit with post-stroke rehabilitation
- ScienceDaily
- 19/9/11 19:03
Researchers have revealed an interaction between cortico-brainstem pathways during training-induced recovery in stroke model rats. The researchers demonstrated that the rapid compensatory recruitment of the cortex-to-brainstem pathways occurred when other responsible motor circuits failed to function. This dynamic recruitment of the cortex-to-brainstem pathways is a key factor for functional...
Water vapor has been spotted on a “habitable zone” planet 110 light-years away
It’s the first time scientists have made this discovery for a planet whose distance from its star means it could theoretically have liquid water on its surface.
How Generation Z Is Embracing Bold Action in the Face of Climate Crisis
Of all the dire forecasts she’s heard about the climate crisis, there is one that Arielle Martinez Cohen can’t get out of her mind. The report, from an Australian think tank, projected that if nothing is done, civilization could collapse by 2050. “I will be 49 in that year,” says the 17-year-old activist. “It makes...
Why This Earth-Like Planet is a Big Step Forward in the Search for Life
If planets were products their price would be tumbling. Little more than a generation ago, we knew of only eight planets in all the universe—the ones within our own solar system. Only two of them, Earth and Mars, were plausibly capable of supporting life and only one of those definitely does. Planetary demand far exceeded supply.
Now, however, the market has been flooded. Thanks to...
Meet the artificial embryos being called “uncanny” and “spectacular”
Researchers are getting close to manufacturing viable human embryos from stem cells. They say there needs to be a law against turning them into people.
Water found for first time on potentially habitable planet
Astronomers discover water in the atmosphere of a "habitable" planet orbiting a distant star.
Water found on most habitable known world beyond solar system
But humans would not fare well on planet K2-18b despite wispy clouds and huge red sunA faraway planet in the constellation of Leo has been named the most habitable known world beyond the solar system after astronomers detected water vapour in its atmosphere.It is the first time a planet in its star’s “Goldilocks zone” – where the temperature is neither too hot nor too cold for liquid water...
Half-a-billion-year-old tiny predator unveils the rise of scorpions and spiders
Two palaeontologists working on the world-renowned Burgess Shale have revealed a new species, called Mollisonia plenovenatrix, which is presented as the oldest chelicerate. This discovery places the origin of this vast group of animals—of over 115,000 species, including horseshoe crabs, scorpions and spiders—to a time more than 500 million years ago. The findings are published in the...