308 articles from WEDNESDAY 18.3.2020

New study says 'high temperature and high relative humidity significantly reduce' spread of COVID-19

A transmission electron micrograph of SARS-CoV-2 virus particles, isolated from a patient. The image was captured and color-enhanced at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility in Fort Detrick, Maryland. SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that causes COVID-19. (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH) A team of researchers unveiled the results of a new study last week that looked at how...

Apollo 15 Astronaut Al Worden, Who Circled the Moon, Dies at 88

(CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.) — Apollo 15 astronaut Al Worden, who circled the moon alone in 1971 while his two crewmates test-drove the first lunar rover, has died at age 88, his family said Wednesday. His family said he died in his sleep in Houston. No cause of death was given. “Al was an American hero whose achievements in space and on Earth will never be forgotten., said NASA...

Noises from human activity may threaten New England's freshwater soundscape

Sounds produced by human activities—anthropogenic sounds—account for more than 90 percent of the underwater soundscape in major freshwater habitats of New England. Rodney Rountree of The Fish Listener in Massachusetts, and Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Victoria, and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on March 18, 2020.

Some Ask a Taboo Question: Is America Overreacting to Coronavirus?

As an America desperate to stem the coronavirus outbreak put in place sweeping restrictions last week on every facet of public life, the University of Wyoming economist Linda Thunstrom asked what felt like a taboo question: "Are we overreacting?''It helped that Thunstrom was in her kitchen, drinking coffee with her husband, Jason Shogren, a fellow economist who studies how much...

Research team discovers path to razor-sharp black hole images

Last April, the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) sparked international excitement when it unveiled the first image of a black hole. Today, a team of researchers have published new calculations that predict a striking and intricate substructure within black hole images from extreme gravitational light bending.

Late cretaceous dinosaur-dominated ecosystem

A topic of considerable interest to paleontologists is how dinosaur-dominated ecosystems were structured, how dinosaurs and co-occurring animals were distributed across the landscape, how they interacted with one another, and how these systems compared to ecosystems today. In the Late Cretaceous (~100-66 million years ago), North America was bisected into western and eastern landmasses by a...

Frozen-planet states in exotic helium atoms

Exotic subatomic particles that are like 'normal' particles apart from one, opposite, property—such as the positron, which is like an electron but positively rather than negatively charged—are collectively known as antimatter. Direct studies of collisions between particles of matter and those of antimatter using giant facilities such as those at CERN can advance our understanding of the nature...

Using 'organs-on-a-chip' to model complicated diseases

Biological engineers have created a multitissue model that lets them study the relationships between different organs and the immune system on a microfluidic chip seeded with human cells. With this 'organs-on-a-chip' model, they could explore the role of immune cells in ulcerative colitis and other inflammatory diseases.

Where you live may influence your baby's behavior

Infants from rural families tend to display negative emotions such as anger and frustration more frequently than their urban counterparts, according to a recent study. Babies born in big cities, on the other hand, typically are less fussy and not as bothered by limits set by their caregivers.

Late cretaceous dinosaur-dominated ecosystem

A topic of considerable interest to paleontologists is how dinosaur-dominated ecosystems were structured, how dinosaurs and co-occurring animals were distributed across the landscape, how they interacted with one another, and how these systems compared to ecosystems today.

Shedding light on optimal materials for harvesting sunlight underwater

There may be many overlooked organic and inorganic materials that could be used to harness sunlight underwater and efficiently power autonomous submersible vehicles, report researchers. New research develops guidelines for optimal band gap values at a range of watery depths, demonstrating that various wide-band gap semiconductors, rather than the narrow-band semiconductors used in traditional...

Heatwaves risky for fish

A world-first study using sophisticated genetic analysis techniques have found that some fish are better than others at coping with heatwaves. The study tracks wild fish populations during a severe marine heatwave that killed a third of the Great Barrier Reef corals.

Bacteria cause problems for genetic research

A puzzling modification of DNA that is typical in bacteria does not occur in humans or other mammals. This has been shown in a new study. The study shows that findings from the epigenetic marker 6mdA in animals are probably the result of limitations in technology and bacterial contamination of samples.

A new window into psychosis

A recent study in mice led a team of researchers in Japan to believe that psychosis may be caused by problems with specialized nerve cells deep within the brain, as well as a certain kind of learning behavior. The researchers hope this could provide insight into the emergence of delusions in patients with psychosis or schizophrenia with the aim of finding ways to help them.

Mathematicians develop new theory to explain real-world randomness

Brownian motion describes the random movement of particles in fluids, however, this revolutionary model only works when a fluid is static, or at equilibrium. In real-life, fluids often contain particles that move by themselves, which can cause stirring in the fluid, driving it away from equilibrium. Now researchers have presented a novel theory to explain observed particle movements in these...

New technique 'prints' cells to create diverse biological environments

With the help of photolithography and programmable DNA, researchers have created a new technique that can rapidly 'print' two-dimensional arrays of cells and proteins that mimic a wide variety of cellular environments in the body. This technique could help scientists develop a better understanding of the complex cell-to-cell messaging that dictates a cell's final fate.

Supercomputers unlock reproductive mysteries of viruses and life

Supercomputer simulations support a new mechanism for the budding off of viruses like the coronavirus. ESCRTIII polymer features clear intrinsic twist in molecular dynamics simulations, might play major role in creating three-dimensional buckling of the cell membrane. Related study used simulations to find mechanism for DNA base addition during replication.

Beetles changed their diet during the Cretaceous period

Like a snapshot, amber preserves bygone worlds. Paleontologists have now described four new beetle species in fossilized tree resin from Myanmar, which belong to the Kateretidae family. As well as the about 99 million years old insects, the amber also includes pollen. It seems that the beetles helped the flowering plants to victory, because they contributed to their propagation.