98 articles from WEDNESDAY 2.10.2019

Top NOAA Weather Scientist Who Tracked Ocean Conditions Drowns in Rough Seas

(DUCK, N.C.) — A top weather forecasting official, who oversaw the government’s prediction centers that track ocean, hurricane and even space conditions, has died in rough seas on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. William Lapenta, 58, died Monday after lifeguards pulled him from the surf off the coastal town of Duck, local officials said. The National Weather Service had issued a...

US sizzles in rare autumn heat wave

A freakish heat wave is making early autumn feel like the dog days of summer in much of the southern and eastern US, with forecasters predicting Wednesday that temperatures could get close to triple digits.

Tunable optical chip paves way for new quantum devices

Researchers have created a silicon carbide (SiC) photonic integrated chip that can be thermally tuned by applying an electric signal. The approach could one day be used to create a large range of reconfigurable devices such as phase-shifters and tunable optical couplers needed for networking applications and quantum information processing.

Study: Carbon emissions soar as tourism reaches new heights

A researcher at The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) is examining how the flight routes people take to get to tourist destinations impact the amount of pollution in the air in a newly published study he coauthored in the Annals of Tourism Research.

Microscopic evidence sheds light on the disappearance of the world's largest mammals

Understanding the causes and consequences of Late Quaternary megafaunal extinctions is increasingly important in a world of growing human populations and climate change. A new review, led by scholars at the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum and the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, highlights the role that cutting-edge scientific methods can play in broadening the discussions about...

Researchers identify mechanism controlling DNA repair

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), is the macromolecule that holds all hereditary and genetic information. Continuously under assault, alterations and damage to DNA can lead to many different health issues, including cancer. DNA is highly regulated within cells, where multiple mechanisms are at play to repair and protect its integrity. Scientists are still investigating these mechanisms to fully...

Novel material with strong action against fungi and tumors developed

A new material with antifungal and antitumor properties has been developed by researchers at the Center for Development of Functional Materials (CDMF), one of the Research, Innovation and Dissemination Centers (RIDCs) supported by São Paulo Research Foundation—FAPESP. CDMF is hosted by the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar) in São Paulo State, Brazil.

Fossil fish provides new insights into the evolution

An international research team led by Giuseppe Marramà from the Institute of Paleontology at the University of Vienna discovered a new and well-preserved fossil stingray with an exceptional anatomy, which greatly differs from living species. The find provides new insights into the evolution of these animals and sheds light on the recovery of marine ecosystems after the mass extinction occurred 66...

Why some greens turn brown in historical paintings

Enticed by the brilliant green hues of copper acetate and copper resinate, some painters in the Renaissance period incorporated these pigments into their masterpieces. However, by the 18th century, most artists had abandoned the colors because of their tendency to darken with time. Now, researchers reporting in ACS' journal Inorganic Chemistry have uncovered the chemistry behind the copper...

North American seismic networks can contribute to nuclear security

The International Monitoring System is the top global seismic network for monitoring nuclear weapon tests around the world. To expand the system's detection capabilities, however, international monitors should seek out the data, methods and expertise of smaller regional seismic networks.

Reaffirming the value of international collaborations

Scientific collaborations across the globe are an important part of modern research. However, political and economic strife between governments, such as current tensions between the U.S. and China, can threaten these vital connections, according to an article in Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society.

French citizens' panel to advise on climate crisis strategies

Body of 150 non-experts to explore ways, over four months, of cutting carbon emissions by 40% before 2030A group of 150 citizens, selected as a sample of non-working people in France, including pensioners and factory workers, will this week begin advising Emmanuel Macron on how the country can cut carbon emissions to tackle the climate crisis.The panel was chosen by selecting people, aged from 16...

Diabetes drug offers hope of new treatment for multiple sclerosis

Trial using rats showed the drug metformin repaired nerve damage caused by the diseaseScientists have raised hopes of a new treatment for multiple sclerosis after animal studies showed a common diabetes drug can repair nerve damage caused by the disease.The effect of the drug was so striking that doctors in Cambridge are now planning a clinical trial of MS patients next year. Continue...

Neutrino produced in a cosmic collider far away

The neutrino event IceCube 170922A, detected at the IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the South Pole, appears to originate from the distant active galaxy TXS 0506+056, at a light travel distance of 3.8 billion light years. TXS 0506+056 is one of many active galaxies and it remained a mystery why and how only this particular galaxy generated neutrinos so far.

Scientists hope to breed sheep that emit less greenhouse gases

Initiative aims to improve the animals’ feeding efficiency and reduce methane emissionsScientists are working to breed sheep that produce less greenhouse gases in order to reduce their impact on the environment.The Grass to Gas initiative will combine international scientific and industry expertise to measure two major factors affecting the environmental consequences of the livestock – feed...

Technology provides insight into the hunting behavior of white sharks

White sharks are top predators in the marine environment, but unlike their terrestrial counterparts, very little is known about their predatory activity underwater, with current knowledge limited to surface predation events. Now, a team of international scientists has used video- and data-logging technology to shed new light on predator-prey interactions of these mighty sea creatures.

Can we peek at Schrodinger's cat without disturbing it?

Quantum physics is difficult and explaining it even more so. Associate Professor Holger F. Hofmann from Hiroshima University and Kartik Patekar from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay have tried to solve one of the biggest puzzles in quantum physics: how to measure the quantum system without changing it?

New approach to pain treatment in diseases of the pancreas

One of the worst symptoms associated with inflammation or cancer of the pancreas is severe chronic pain. Pancreatic pain is difficult to treat, because many painkillers prove ineffective in pancreatic patients. In a recent study, medical researchers discovered the cause of this phenomenon for the first time: a particular neuroenzyme in the body is present in the nerves of the organ in high...

Ultra-fast optical way to extract critical information from quantum materials

Topological insulators are quantum materials, which, due to their exotic electronic structure, on surfaces and edges conduct electric current like metal, while acting as an insulator in bulk. Scientists have now demonstrated how to tell apart topological materials from their regular -- trivial -- counterparts within a millionth of a billionth of a second by probing it with ultra-fast laser light.

Structural color printing of 3D microscale objects by shrinking photonic crystals

Researchers have developed a 'coloring-by-shrinking' method to print arbitrary 3D microscopic objects exhibiting structural colors. The design consisted of woodpile photonic crystals with varying lattice constants as the 3D building blocks. These structures remain colorless until they are heat treated, causing them to shrink and manifest color, a result of their lattice constants shrinking down...

Technology provides insight into how white sharks hunt

White sharks are top predators in the marine environment, but unlike their terrestrial counterparts, very little is known about their predatory activity underwater, with current knowledge limited to surface predation events. Now, a team of international scientists has used video- and data-logging technology to shed new light on predator-prey interactions of these mighty sea creatures.

Researchers create new viral vector for improved gene therapy in sickle cell disease

Researchers have developed a new and improved viral vector -- a virus-based vehicle that delivers therapeutic genes -- for use in gene therapy for sickle cell disease. In advanced lab tests using animal models, the new vector was up to 10 times more efficient at incorporating corrective genes into bone marrow stem cells than the conventional vectors currently used, and it had a carrying capacity...

Chair yoga more effective than music therapy in older adults with advanced dementia

Researchers assessed the ability of older adults with advanced dementia to participate in non-pharmacological interventions and compared chair yoga with chair-based exercise and music therapy. Results showed that participants with moderate-to-severe dementia could safely adhere to non-pharmacological interventions; more than 97 percent fully engaged in each session. The chair yoga group reported a...