282 articles from THURSDAY 5.3.2020

Preventing spread of SARS coronavirus-2 in humans

Viruses must enter cells of the human body to cause disease. Infection biologists from the German Primate Center, together with colleagues at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, have investigated how the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 penetrates cells. They have identified a cellular enzyme that is essential for viral entry into lung cells: the protease TMPRSS2. A clinically proven drug...

Public health leaders call for coordinated communication response to COVID-19

On Thursday in the National Academy of Medicine's Perspectives, public health leaders including CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy Distinguished Lecturer Scott Ratzan, MD called for informed and active public policy leadership to employ strategically coordinated health communication and outreach on COVID-19 and other emerging global health threats.

Rivers: how they contribute to better understand the Mediterranean Sea dynamics

A new study lead by the CMCC Foundation will provide key information to support and improve the operational ocean forecasts released by Copernicus, develop climate scenarios, and in the future support the design of nature-based solutions to improve environmental resilience and reduce hydro-meteorological risks in Europe. Insights and perspectives from a study on Ocean Modelling lead by the CMCC...

Scientists monitored brains replaying memories in real time

In a study of epilepsy patients, researchers at the National Institutes of Health monitored the electrical activity of thousands of individual brain cells, called neurons, as patients took memory tests. They found that the firing patterns of the cells that occurred when patients learned a word pair were replayed fractions of a second before they successfully remembered the pair.

Scientists say it is time to save the Red Sea's coral reef

An international group of researchers led by Karine Kleinhaus, M.D., of the Stony Brook University School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS), calls upon UNESCO to declare the Red Sea's 4,000 km of coral reef as a Marine World Heritage Site and recommends additional measures critical for the reef's survival. the study is published in Frontiers in Marine Sciences.

Self-driving car trajectory tracking gets closer to human-driver ideal

Have you taken an Uber ride and disagreed with the 'fastest' route that the GPS app suggested because you or the driver know a 'better' way? For society to truly embrace self-driving cars, the experience of passengers must feel just as comfortable as any trip with a human driver to get there. This is an extremely difficult computational challenge, but researchers are getting us a little bit...

Skoltech scientists break Google's quantum algorithm

In the near term, Google has devised new quantum enhanced algorithms that operate in the presence of realistic noise. The so called quantum approximate optimisation algorithm, or QAOA for short, is the cornerstone of a modern drive towards noise-tolerant quantum enhanced algorithm development. The all-Skoltech team led by Prof. Jacob Biamonte discovered and quantified what appears to be a...

Solving a mystery in 126 dimensions

One of the fundamental mysteries of chemistry has been solved by Australian scientists - and the result may have implications for future designs of solar cells, organic light-emitting diodes and other next gen technologies.

Study: Organic molecules discovered by Curiosity Rover consistent with early life on Mars

Organic compounds called thiophenes are found on Earth in coal, crude oil and oddly enough, in white truffles, the mushroom beloved by epicureans and wild pigs. Thiophenes were also recently discovered on Mars, and Washington State University astrobiologist Dirk Schulze-Makuch thinks their presence would be consistent with the presence of early life on Mars. This study explores some of the...