314 articles from THURSDAY 20.2.2020

‘Your Workday Is Easier Thanks to His Revolutionary Ideas.’ Computer Scientist Who Created ‘Copy’ and ‘Paste’ Dies

(NEW YORK) — Larry Tesler, the Silicon Valley pioneer who created the now-ubiquitous computer concepts such as “cut,” “copy” and “paste,” has died. He was 74. He made using computers easier for generations as a proponent and pioneer of what he called “modeless editing.” That meant a user wouldn’t have to use a keyboard to switch between...

Spacewatch: Solar Orbiter sends first data back to Earth

Spacecraft completes first critical stage of mission after successful deployment of boom armThe European Space Agency’s Solar Orbiter has completed the first critical stage of its mission. Launched on 10 February from Cape Canaveral, Florida, the spacecraft has sent back its first readings after the deployment of its 4.4 metre-long boom arm.Made of titanium and carbon fibre, the boom arm points...

Water reuse could be key for future of hydraulic fracturing

Enough water will come from the ground as a byproduct of oil production from unconventional reservoirs during the coming decades to theoretically counter the need to use fresh water for hydraulic fracturing operations in many of the nation's large oil-producing areas. But while other industries, such as agriculture, might want to recycle some of that water for their own needs, water quality issues...

A better pregnancy test for whales

To determine whale pregnancy, researchers have relied on visual cues or hormone tests of blubber collected via darts, but the results were often inconclusive. Research points to a weakness of previous testing and evaluation methods and provides a new hormone testing regime that offers better results.

New drug helps to preserve brain cells for a time after stroke

After 50 years of research and the testing of over 1,000 drugs, there is new hope for preserving brain cells for a time after stroke. Treating acute ischemic stroke patients with an experimental neuroprotective drug, combined with a surgical procedure to remove the clot improves outcomes as shown by clinical trial results.

Physics tool helps track cancer cell diversity

A team took a novel, interdisciplinary approach to analyzing the behavior of breast tumor cells by employing a statistical modeling technique more commonly used in physics and economics. The team was able to demonstrate how the diversity, or heterogeneity, of cancer cells can be influenced by their chemical environment -- namely, by interactions with a specific protein, which leads to tumor...

Water reuse could be key for future of hydraulic fracturing

Enough water will come from the ground as a byproduct of oil production from unconventional reservoirs during the coming decades to theoretically counter the need to use fresh water for hydraulic fracturing operations in many of the nation's large oil-producing areas. While other industries might want to recycle some of that water for their own needs, water quality issues and the potential costs...

A better pregnancy test for whales

It's not easy to do pregnancy tests on whales. You can't just ask a wild ocean animal that's the size of a school bus to pee on a little stick. For decades, the only way scientists could count pregnant females was by sight and best guesses based on visual characteristics. For the last several years, researchers have relied on hormone tests of blubber collected via darts, but the results were often...

Beyond the brim, Sombrero Galaxy's halo suggests turbulent past

Surprising new data from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope suggests the smooth, settled "brim" of the Sombrero galaxy's disk may be concealing a turbulent past. Hubble's sharpness and sensitivity resolves tens of thousands of individual stars in the Sombrero's vast, extended halo, the region beyond a galaxy's central portion, typically made of older stars. These latest observations of the Sombrero are...

Fifty years of data show new changes in bird migration

A growing body of research shows that birds' spring migration has been getting earlier and earlier in recent decades. New research on Black-throated Blue Warblers, a common songbird that migrates from Canada and the eastern US to Central America and back every year, uses fifty years of bird-banding data to add another piece to the puzzle, showing that little-studied fall migration patterns have...

More clues for how the monkeyflower got its spots

The monkeyflower, or Mimulus, though possessing a relatively simple genome is able to produce a stunning array of pigmentation patterns. A team of researchers is one step closer to understanding exactly how this genus of wildflowers is able to achieve such remarkable diversity.

Artificial intelligence yields new antibiotic

Using a machine-learning algorithm, researchers have identified a powerful new antibiotic compound. In laboratory tests, the drug killed many of the world's most problematic disease-causing bacteria, including some strains that are resistant to all known antibiotics. It also cleared infections in two different mouse models.