331 articles from THURSDAY 7.5.2020

Facebook and YouTube are rushing to delete “Plandemic,” a conspiracy-laden video

The news: A 25-minute clip of an upcoming documentary featuring a well-known anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist was viewed millions of times this week on social media, before Facebook and YouTube pledged to remove copies of it from their platforms. On Thursday, Facebook told reporters that the documentary violated its policies by promoting the potentially harmful claim that wearing a mask can make...

Insect Experts Say People Should Calm Down About the Threat of ‘Murder Hornets’

Insect experts say people should calm down about the big bug with the nickname “murder hornet” — unless you are a beekeeper or a honeybee. The Asian giant hornets found in Washington state that grabbed headlines this week aren’t big killers of humans, although it does happen on rare occasions. But the world’s largest hornets do decapitate entire hives of honeybees,...

Prediction tool shows how forest thinning may increase Sierra Nevada snowpack

Thinning the Sierra Nevada forest by removing trees by hand or using heavy machinery is one of the few tools available to manage forests. However, finding the best way to thin forests by removing select trees to maximize the forest's benefits for water quantity, water quality, wildfire risk and wildlife habitat remains a challenge for resource managers.

Physicists shed light on the nanoscale dynamics of spin thermalization

In physics, thermalization, or the trend of sub-systems within a whole to gain a common temperature, is typically the norm. There are situations, however, where thermalization is slowed down or virtually suppressed; examples are when considering the dynamics of electron and nuclear spins in solids. Understanding why this happens and how it can be controlled is presently at the center of a broad...

Research helps expand genome sequencing of marine mammals

Researchers will soon have access to the full genomic sequences for 23 marine mammal species preserved by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), thanks to an ongoing collaboration between NIST and a scientific consortium called the DNA Zoo.

Prediction tool shows how forest thinning may increase Sierra Nevada snowpack

The forest of the Sierra Nevada mountains is an important resource for the surrounding communities in Nevada and California. Thinning the forest by removing trees by hand or using heavy machinery is one of the few tools available to manage forests. However, finding the best way to thin forests by removing select trees to maximize the forest's benefits for water quantity, water quality, wildfire...

What's Up - May 2020

What astronomy highlights can you see in the sky in May 2020? Venus, Sirius and the Milky Way. With so many of us staying home these days, here's a look into the sky at dusk and dawn with an eye toward the vast stretches of wide open space right above our heads. News Article Type: Homepage ArticlesPublished: Thursday, May 7, 2020 -...

No complaint or refund demand over 400,000 unusable NHS gowns

Turkish firm contradicts Downing Street assurances about PPE fiascoCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageTurkish officials and the company at the centre of the decision by the NHS to impound 400,000 unusable protective gowns have claimed they are yet to receive a complaint or demand for a refund from the health service.Their statements seemingly contradicted assurances made...

Telescopes and Spacecraft Join Forces to Probe Deep into Jupiter's Atmosphere

Portal origin URL: Telescopes and Spacecraft Join Forces to Probe Deep into Jupiter's AtmospherePortal origin nid: 460545Published: Thursday, May 7, 2020 - 15:00Featured (stick to top of list): noPortal text teaser: NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and the ground-based Gemini Observatory in Hawaii have teamed up with the Juno spacecraft to probe the mightiest storms in...

Covid-19 found in semen of infected men, say Chinese doctors

Study based on small number of patients opens up chance of sexual transmissionCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageChinese researchers who tested the sperm of men infected with Covid-19 found a minority had the new coronavirus in their semen, opening up a small chance the disease could be sexually transmitted, scientists have said.A study by doctors at China’s Shangqiu...

Laser loop couples quantum systems over a distance

For the first time, researchers have succeeded in creating strong coupling between quantum systems over a greater distance. They accomplished this with a novel method in which a laser loop connects the systems, enabling nearly lossless exchange of information and strong interaction between them. The physicists reported that the new method opens up new possibilities in quantum networks and quantum...

India is forcing people to use its covid app, unlike any other democracy

The world has never seen anything quite like Aarogya Setu. Two months ago, India’s app for coronavirus contact tracing didn’t exist; now it has nearly 100 million users. Prime Minister Narendra Modi boosted it on release by urging every one of the country’s 1.3 billion people to download it, and the result was that within two weeks of launch it became the fastest app ever to reach 50 million...

A flood of coronavirus apps are tracking us. Now it’s time to keep track of them.

As the covid-19 pandemic rages, technologists everywhere have been rushing to build apps, services, and systems for contact tracing: identifying and notifying all those who come in contact with a carrier. Some are lightweight and temporary, while others are pervasive and invasive: China’s system, for example, sucks up data including citizens’ identity, location, and even online payment...