178 articles from MONDAY 2.12.2019
Did you solve it? Smart as a box of frogs
The solutions to today’s puzzles and the results of the Xmas univocalic challengeEarlier today I set you a Christmas challenge (about which more below) and these three puzzles from the Mathigon advent calendar: Continue...
Image of Madagascan snake wins 2019 British Ecological Society photography competition
The Malagasy tree boa is under threat from poaching and fires.
'I thought it was a German shepherd or a husky,' said man who hit, picked up coyote
The man who picked up a young coyote — that is now recovering at the Wildlife Haven Rehabilitation Centre — was "extremely surprised" when a co-worker pointed out that the driver had not hit a big dog like he originally...
This 'fix' for economic theory changes everything from gambles to Ponzi schemes
- ScienceDaily
- 19/12/2 17:30
Whether we decide to take out that insurance policy, buy Bitcoin, or switch jobs, many economic decisions boil down to a fundamental gamble about how to maximize our wealth over time. How we understand these decisions is the subject of a new perspective piece that aims to correct a foundational mistake in economic theory.
Breathing? Thank volcanoes, tectonics and bacteria
- ScienceDaily
- 19/12/2 17:30
A new study suggests Earth's first burst of oxygen was added by a spate of volcanic eruptions brought about by tectonics. In addition to explaining the appearance of significant concentrations of oxygen in the Great Oxidation Event (GOE) 2.5 billion years ago, the theory also accounts for the Lomagundi Event, a puzzling shift in the ratio of carbon isotopes in carbonate minerals that followed the...
New light shed on role iron biology plays in disease
- ScienceDaily
- 19/12/2 17:30
New research shows that the body's system for regulating iron is much more complex than originally thought -- and this has surprising implications in at least three human diseases.
'Clever drugs for slimy bugs' in fight against staph infections
- ScienceDaily
- 19/12/2 17:29
Bacterial biofilms that develop around golden staph infections make treatment difficult and prolonged, but researchers have shown in laboratory work that the hybrid antibiotics they have developed can destroy staph biofilms.
Daughters of women with PCOS face five times greater risk
Polycystic ovary syndrome is believed to affect about one in five women of reproductive age Daughters of women with polycystic ovary syndrome, a common disorder that can cause excessive body hair, acne and fertility problems, are five times more likely than the average woman to develop the condition, a major study has found.Researchers in Sweden examined the medical histories of nearly 30,000...
How Rising Temperatures Due to Climate Change are Shortening Pregnancies
It’s bad enough that adults have made a climatological mess of the world. It’s worse that the mess is having a disproportionate impact on kids—who did nothing to create the problem, but are more susceptible to health issues caused by rising temperatures than adults are. Now, it appears, global warming is doing its damage even further down the human age spectrum. According to a...
Bacterial communities 'hitchhiking' on marine plastic trash
- ScienceDaily
- 19/12/2 16:58
Using an innovative microscopy method, scientists have revealed the structure of the microbial communities coating microplastic trash collected from a variety of ocean sites.
Monkeys inform group members about threats -- following principles of cooperation
- ScienceDaily
- 19/12/2 16:58
Humans are often faced with the choice of investing in the greater good or being selfish and letting others do the work. Animals that live in groups often encounter threats, and informing others could potentially save lives. Researchers show that wild sooty mangabeys, when facing dangerous vipers, do not just call out of fear or to warn their family, but will call when the information about the...
Creating the conditions for a globally just energy transition
- ScienceDaily
- 19/12/2 16:58
How can the energy transition be organized in a globally just way? Will developing countries struggle to transition to clean energy because they lack the financial and technical means?
Global levels of biodiversity could be lower than we think, new study warns
- ScienceDaily
- 19/12/2 16:58
Biodiversity across the globe could be in a worse state than previously thought, as assessments fail to account for long-lasting impact of land change, a new study has warned.
Controlling the optical properties of solids with acoustic waves
- ScienceDaily
- 19/12/2 16:58
Physicists have found that large-amplitude acoustic waves, launched by ultrashort laser pulses, can dynamically manipulate the optical response of semiconductors.
Providing safe, clean water
- ScienceDaily
- 19/12/2 16:58
In many parts of the world, access to clean drinking water is far from certain. Filtration of large volumes of water, however, is slow and impractical. Scientists have now introduced a new water purification method based on magnetic nanoparticles coated with a so-called ''ionic liquid'' that simultaneously remove organic, inorganic, and microbial contaminants, as well as microplastics. The...
Potential solution to overheating mobile phones
- ScienceDaily
- 19/12/2 16:55
Researchers have developed a revolutionary way to encode computational information without using electrical current. As a global first, this could lead to faster technological devices that could efficiently use energy without overheating.
New study reveals high levels of pollution in London Underground
- ScienceDaily
- 19/12/2 16:55
Researchers have carried out the first comprehensive study of fine particles on the London Underground to evaluate the exposure of people traveling on different parts of the network.
New evolutionary insights into the early development of songbirds
- ScienceDaily
- 19/12/2 16:55
An international team has sequenced a chromosome in zebra finches called the germline-restricted chromosome (GRC). This chromosome is only found in germline cells, the cells that hold genetic information which is passed on to the next generation. The researchers found that the GRC is tens of millions of years old and plays a key role in songbird biology, having collected genes used for embryonic...
No kale left behind: A new supple management method to limit perishable waste
- ScienceDaily
- 19/12/2 16:54
Many of us know that sting of disappointment when we realize our fridge contents are seriously past their prime. Imagine that on a much bigger scale, like the nearly $54 billion in perishable retail food lost in the U.S. in 2011. That problem helped compel operations management researchers to devise a method for a timelier and less costly distribution of perishable inventory under simultaneous,...
NASA's plans for the 2020s include landing humans on the moon, detecting quakes on Mars, and defending Earth from deadly asteroids
One year ago, NASA announced it would send astronauts back to the moon. Since then, new spacecraft and telescopes have filled its plans for the...
NASA's plans for the 2020s include landing humans on the moon, detecting quakes on Mars, and defending Earth from deadly asteroids
One year ago, NASA announced it would send astronauts back to the moon. Since then, new spacecraft and telescopes have filled its plans for the...
New Compact Remote Sensor to Image Ionospheric Current's Spatial Structure from Space
This blog post originated in the 2018 Science Mission Directorate Science and Technology Report.
PROJECT
The Microwave Electrojet Magnetogram (MEM)
KEY POINTS
The low SWaP MEM sensor enables cost-effective implementation of future high-impact ionospheric current investigations on resource-limited missions, including CubeSat constellations.
Artist’s depiction of a series of small...
Fighting fruit flies: Aggressive behavior influenced by previous interactions
- ScienceDaily
- 19/12/2 16:21
Aggression doesn't just depend on who you are or who you're interacting with but also depends on your previous interactions, a new fruit fly study has found.
Daylight damage to photovoltaics
- ScienceDaily
- 19/12/2 16:21
A research team has investigated the ways sunlight can degrade the efficiency of newly developed organic photovoltaics over time. This work may assist in the wide commercialization of next-generation solar sheets.
How ancient microbes created massive ore deposits, set stage for early life
- ScienceDaily
- 19/12/2 16:20
Ancestors of modern bacteria cultured from an iron-rich lake in Democratic Republic of Congo could have been key to keeping Earth's dimly lit early climate warm, and in forming the world's largest iron ore deposits billions of years ago.