255 articles from WEDNESDAY 8.4.2020

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...

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...

X-ray vision through the water window

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

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.

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?

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...

Whether marijuana helps with pain is unclear

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.

Correlation between MBI and Alzheimer's

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.

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...