30 articles from SATURDAY 5.10.2019

NASA's Mars 2020 rover tests descent-stage separation

In this picture from Sept. 28, 2019, engineers and technicians working on the assembly and testing of the Mars 2020 spacecraft look on as a crane lifts the rocket-powered descent stage away from the rover. They've just completed a successful separation test at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

Economic impacts of colony collapse disorder

BOZEMAN - The work of a Montana State University professor examining the economic impacts of colony collapse disorder among commercial honeybees was published in the Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists last month.

Next-generation single-photon source for quantum information science

Researchers have built what they believe is 'the world's most efficient single-photon source.' And they are still improving it. With planned upgrades, the apparatus could generate upwards of 30 photons at unprecedented efficiencies. Sources of that caliber are precisely what's needed for optical quantum information applications.

Treating pulmonary embolism: How safe and effective are new devices?

A new scientific statement identifies the risks and benefits of novel interventional devices compared to anticoagulation alone in the treatment of patients with pulmonary embolism. Authors conclude there is little data -- particularly, as it pertains to the treatment of patients with 'intermediate-risk PE' -- that suggests these interventional approaches are more safe and effective than the use of...

Anesthetizing fish may affect research outcomes

Fish use colorful patterns to signal to each other, including advertising for mates and warding off rivals. Studying the relationship between color and behavior sometimes entails anesthetizing and photographing the fish, but anesthetics may alter coloration, influencing the traits researchers are trying to study.

Scientists Solve a Puzzle: What's Really in a Fatberg

LONDON -- When a giant fatberg was discovered in the sewer of a small coastal town in southwestern England last year, the company that manages the pipes was so mystified by the greasy mass of solidified fats and waste materials that it enlisted the help of scientists to discover what it was made of.The grisly results of an autopsy were made public Friday, and they were not pretty, but held some...

FDA Approves New HIV-Prevention Drug, but Not for Women

The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved a new drug, Descovy, for prevention of infection with HIV, only the second drug approved for this purpose.The first, Truvada, has become a mainstay of government efforts to turn back the HIV epidemic. But the FDA approved Descovy for use only in men and transgender women, because its maker, Gilead Sciences, tested it only in those groups.The...

Find a room of your own: top 10 tips for women who want to write

Give up wanting to be liked, live with imposter syndrome and love what you do. Suzanne Moore advises aspring women writersHow does a woman write? This woman is writing on her laptop in bed wearing her lipstick. She looks quite ridiculous. She is wishing the teenagers downstairs would make less noise and will go down periodically to shout at them and to get some biscuits, maybe some cheese, a small...

Scientist Who Discredited Meat Guidelines Didn't Report Past Food Industry Ties

A surprising new study challenged decades of nutrition advice and gave consumers the green light to eat more red and processed meat. But what the study didn't say is that its lead author has past research ties to the meat and food industry.The new report, published this week in the Annals of Internal Medicine, stunned scientists and public health officials because it contradicted long-standing...

Divers fight Senegal's plastic tide

When the sight of plastic bags, bottles and other debris littering the seabed becomes too much, there's just one thing to do: don your diving suit, strap on an air tank and fish out the stuff yourself.

It’s not just Greta Thunberg: why are we ignoring the developing world’s inspiring activists? | Chika Unigwe

Young people in the global south have been tackling the climate crisis for years. They should be celebrated tooRidhima Pandey was just nine years old in 2017 when she filed a lawsuit against the Indian government for failing to take action against climate change. Pandey’s fierce, astounding passion for the environment is not accidental. Her mother is a forestry guard and her father an...

NASA picks 25 space technologies for testing by Blue Origin and other companies

NASA's Flight Opportunities program has selected 25 promising space technologies for testing aboard aircraft, high-altitude balloons and suborbital rocket ships — including Blue Origin's New Shepard spacecraft. Blue Origin, the space venture created by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and headquartered in Kent, Wash., will be involved in testing 11 of the technologies. The company has been...

NASA sets 1st all-female spacewalk after suit flap in spring

The first all-female spacewalk is back on, six months after a suit-sizing flap led to an embarrassing cancellation. NASA announced Friday that the International Space Station's two women will pair up for a spacewalk later this month. Astronauts Christina Koch and the newly arrived Jessica Meir will venture out Oct. 21 to plug in new, upgraded batteries for the solar power...