255 articles from WEDNESDAY 8.4.2020
Stop covid or save the economy? We can do both
In the first employment report after social distancing measures had taken hold in many US states, the Department of Labor announced that 3.3 million people had filed jobless claims. A week later, in the first week in April, an additional 6.6 million claims came in—almost unfathomable compared with the previous record of 695,000, which was…
Study finds damaged fertilized egg sends signal that helps mother live a longer healthy life
There is plenty of scientific evidence that the health of a mother can impact the health of her child. Now a Northwestern University study flips that relationship around: Researchers have discovered the health of the fertilized embryo determines the functional health of the mother, which has implications for healthy aging, stress resilience and suppression of protein damage.
New information about the transmission of the amphibian pathogen, Bsal
Researchers at the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture's Amphibian Disease Laboratory are working to understand—and hopefully get ahead of—highly contagious pathogens affecting amphibians in Europe and Asia. One of the pathogens of interest is Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans, or Bsal.
Research reveals strongest predictors of menhaden growth in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic
New research suggests that large-scale environmental factors influence the size of one of the ocean's most abundant forage species. Recently, scientists from LSU, NOAA, the University of Southern Mississippi and the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science evaluated large-scale ecosystem dynamics influencing growth of menhaden in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. They found...
Researchers uncover importance of aligning biological clock with day-night cycles
Timing is everything. A fresh example supporting the old saying has been found in connection with the systems regulated by biological clocks.
Police chiefs call on No 10 to tighten UK lockdown
Exclusive: Easter weekend will be major test of compliance, say forces as they encourage public to report breachesCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coveragePolice chiefs want the government to consider toughening coronavirus lockdown restrictions, the Guardian has learned, as they head into the Easter bank holiday weekend with concerns that a growing minority will flout the...
Supermoon brightens night skies around the world
Landmarks and landscapes around the world were illuminated by the brightest moon of the...
Government policies push schools to prioritize creating better test-takers over better people
Personal growth and job skills have taken a backseat to an increased focus on standardized test scores in schools across the nation, according to new University at Buffalo-led research.
Off-the-shelf artificial cardiac patch repairs heart attack damage in rats, pigs
- ScienceDaily
- 20/4/8 21:33
Researchers have developed an 'off-the-shelf' artificial cardiac patch that can deliver cardiac cell-derived healing factors directly to the site of heart attack injury.
X-ray vision through the water window
- ScienceDaily
- 20/4/8 21:24
Physicists have developed the first high-repetition-rate laser source that produces coherent soft x-rays spanning the entire 'water window'. That technological breakthrough should enable a broad range of studies in the biological, chemical and material sciences as well as in physics.
Aligning biological clock with day-night cycles
- ScienceDaily
- 20/4/8 21:24
Scientists studying bacteria have identified the roots of a behavior that is regulated by the circadian clock. The research provides a striking example of the importance of keeping the internal biological clock aligned with the external environment so that key processes occur at the right time of day.
'You're not breaking your children': Experts say more screen time right now is OK
The lure of a phone, television, video game, computer or tablet is already tempting for most kids and teenagers. Factor in the at-home reality of the COVID-19 pandemic and screens can become more of a...
UK scrambles for foreign-made ventilators ahead of coronavirus peak
NHS has 10,000 available but needs 18,000 to deal with rising number of cases Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe NHS is scrambling to get foreign-made ventilators into hospitals, so that there are enough available ahead of the estimated peak in UK coronavirus cases in around seven to 10 days’ time.There are around 10,000 ventilators available to the NHS at present...
What do soap bubbles and butterflies have in common?
- ScienceDaily
- 20/4/8 21:12
A unique butterfly breeding experiment gave researchers an opportunity to study the physical and genetic changes underlying the evolution of structural color, responsible for butterflies' iridescent purples, blues and greens. Using helium ion microscopy, the scientists discovered that a 75% increase in thickness of the chitin lamina of wing scales turned iridescent gold to shiny blue. They showed...
Public policies push schools to prioritize creating better test-takers over better people
- ScienceDaily
- 20/4/8 21:12
Personal growth and job skills have taken a backseat to an increased focus on standardized test scores in schools across the nation, according to new research.
Whether marijuana helps with pain is unclear
- ScienceDaily
- 20/4/8 20:58
Medical marijuana users who say they have high levels of pain are more likely than those with low pain to say they use cannabis three or more times a day, a new study finds. However, daily marijuana users with severe pain also reported their health had become worse in the past year.
Babies in popular low-riding pushchairs are exposed to alarming levels of toxic air pollutants
- ScienceDaily
- 20/4/8 20:58
Parents who are using popular low-riding pushchairs could be exposing their babies to alarming levels of air pollution, finds a new study.
Correlation between MBI and Alzheimer's
- ScienceDaily
- 20/4/8 20:41
New research has found that the presence and severity of mild behavioral impairment (MBI) in cognitively healthy individuals is strongly associated with the presence of amyloid plaques deposits in the brain, a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease.
Origins of Earth's magnetic field remain a mystery
- ScienceDaily
- 20/4/8 20:27
The existence of a magnetic field beyond 3.5 billion years ago is still up for debate.
Drug shows promise in reversing kidney damage caused by lupus
- ScienceDaily
- 20/4/8 20:27
A drug used for cancer therapy has shown promise in reversing kidney damage caused by systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE, or lupus), according to a Yale-led study published April 8 in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
Exploring mechanisms of resistance to HIV in people with sickle cell disease
- ScienceDaily
- 20/4/8 20:27
A new analysis supports prior reports that people with sickle cell disease have lower rates of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, but follow-up cell studies did not reveal a mechanism to explain the reduced risk.
New fossil from Brazil hints at the origins of the mysterious tanystropheid reptiles
- ScienceDaily
- 20/4/8 20:27
A new species of Triassic reptile from Brazil is a close cousin of a mysterious group called tanystropheids.
How months at sea prepared me for lockdown on land
Ten years ago, I ran away to sea. My stepfather, who had aggressive dementia, had been sent to a secure unit. I had a book to write. So once I felt sure enough about my mother’s safety, I departed for 9,288 nautical miles on a container ship, the Maersk Kendal.
Its journey from Europe to Asia would take five weeks, and I would be the only passenger. This was no cruise ship: there would...
Black hole bends light back on itself
You may have heard that nothing escapes the gravitational grasp of a black hole, not even light. This is true in the immediate vicinity of a black hole, but a bit farther out—in disks of material that swirl around some black holes—light can escape. In fact, this is the reason actively growing black holes shine with brilliant X-rays.
Coronavirus UK: 10 telling moments from the past 100 days
After an initially slow reaction to the virus, the UK is now firmly in its grip. Here are key moments so farCoronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage Eighty-three British passengers are flown from Wuhan to RAF Brize Norton and transported to Arrowe Park hospital in Wirral, where they are monitored around the clock for 14 days. One of them later contributes a diary to the...