307 articles from TUESDAY 19.5.2020

The possibilities of now

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Venezuela in bid to force Bank of England to transfer $1bn of gold

Legal claim launched to help fund Covid-19 response in South American countryCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageVenezuela’s central bank has made a legal claim to try to force the Bank of England to hand over £930m ($1.13bn) of gold so the government of Nicolás Maduro can fund its coronavirus response, according to the document submitted in a London court.The claim...

Protein shapes matter in Alzheimer's research

Even a small change may cause long-term consequences. For amyloid beta peptides, a major hallmark of Alzheimer's disease, a common chemical modification at a particular location on the molecule has a butterfly effect that leads to protein misfolding, aggregation and cellular toxicity.

Study suggests aggressive carbon taxation could help US meet targets in Paris agreement

Nearly all the countries of the world ratified the Paris Agreement in 2016. The accord aims to limit the increase of the world's temperature to less than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial temperatures. To do this, global greenhouse gas emissions would have to decrease roughly 25% below 2010 levels by 2030 and reach almost zero by 2070. As one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases, the...

NASA-NOAA satellite sees Amphan's eye obscured

Early on May 18, 2020, Tropical Cyclone Amphan was a Category 5 storm in the Northern Indian Ocean. On May 19, satellite data from NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite revealed that the storm has weakened and the eye was covered by high clouds.

Ribs evolved for movement first, then co-opted for breathing

When early tetrapods transitioned from water to land the way they breathed air underwent an evolutionary revolution. Fish use muscles in their head to pump water over their gills. The first land animals utilized a similar technique—modern frogs still use their head and throat to force air into their lungs. Then another major transformation in vertebrate evolution took place that shifted...

Ribs evolved for movement first, then co-opted for breathing

A major transformation in vertebrate evolution took place when breathing shifted from being driven by head and throat muscles -- like in fish and frogs -- to the torso -- like in reptiles and mammals. But what caused the shift? A new study posits that the intermediate step was locomotion. When lizards walk, they bend side-to-side. The ribs and vertebrae are crucial to this movement, and the...

Annie Glenn, Famed Astronaut’s Widow, Dies of Coronavirus Complications at Age 100

(COLUMBUS, Ohio) — Annie Glenn, wife of the late astronaut and U.S. Sen. John Glenn who overcame a childhood stutter to become an advocate for others with speech disorders, died Tuesday of complications from COVID-19. She was 100. Glenn died at a nursing home near St. Paul, Minnesota, where she’d moved in recent years to be near her daughter, said Hank Wilson, a spokesman for the...

Observing the freely behaving brain in action

Scientists working at Caesar have developed a small head-mounted microscope that allows access to the inner workings of the brain. The new system enables measurement of activity from neuronal populations located in the deep cortical layer with single-cell resolution, in an animal that is freely behaving.

Aggressive carbon taxation could help US meet targets in Paris agreement

A new study looked at US tax policy as it relates to carbon dioxide (CO2), from 2015 through 2030. The study found only limited short-term opportunities for decarbonization (reducing greenhouse gas emissions) outside the electricity sector. The result is substantial CO2 tax revenue. The findings shed light on future tax policy decisions.

New rules streamline procedures for licensing commercial space imaging systems

The Commerce Department has released a new set of rules aimed at making the procedure for licensing Earth-imaging satellite systems more in tune with what's technically possible and commercially available on the global market. The regulatory streamlining effort was one of the initiatives sparked by Space Policy Directive 2 back in 2018. The need for such streamlining came to the fore earlier...

Subcellular chatter regulates longevity

As people get older, they often feel less energetic, mobile or active. This may be due in part to a decline in mitochondria, the tiny powerhouses inside of our cells, which provide energy and regulate metabolism. In fact, mitochondria decline with age not only in humans, but in many species. Why they do so is not well understood. Scientists set out to understand how mitochondrial function is...

Algorithmic autos

Connected and automated vehicles use technology such as sensors, cameras and advanced control algorithms to adjust their operation to changing conditions with little or no input from drivers. A research group optimized vehicle dynamics and powertrain operation using connectivity and automation, while developing and testing a control framework that reduced travel time and energy use in a connected...

Rapid screening method targets fatty acids in yeast; Key to sustainable bioproducts

Scientists engineering valuable microbes for renewable fuels and bioproducts have developed an efficient way to identify the most promising varieties. Researchers have developed a high-throughput screening technique to rapidly profile medium-chain fatty acids produced in yeast -- part of a larger group of free fatty acids that are key components in essential nutrients, soaps, industrial chemicals,...

Combined production of fish and vegetables can be profitable

When it comes to future food production, the combined farming of fish and vegetables through aquaponics is currently a hotly debated topic. But how realistic is the idea? Researchers have just published an extensive profitability analysis of a facility that already produces fish and vegetables on a large scale. The result: aquaponics may have both environmental and cost benefits -- if produced...

Galactic cosmic rays now available for study on Earth, thanks to NASA

To better understand and mitigate the health risks faced by astronauts from exposure to space radiation, we ideally need to be able to test the effects of Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCRs) here on Earth under laboratory conditions. An article publishing on May 19, 2020 in the open access journal PLOS Biology from Lisa Simonsen and colleagues at the NASA Langley Research Center, USA, describes how NASA...

A new $12 billion US chip plant sounds like a win for Trump. Not quite.

On Friday, May 15, the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, announced that it will build a $12 billion plant in Arizona, to open by 2024. It expects the facility to employ roughly 1,600 people and indirectly generate thousands of other jobs. At first blush, the announcement looks like a victory for the Trump administration, which has been...