341 articles from THURSDAY 28.5.2020
Trump responds to Twitter’s fact-check by targeting social-media protections
The news: Two days after Twitter added fact-checking labels to US President Donald Trump’s misleading tweets about mail-in voting, the president has signed an executive order aimed at weakening protections for social-media companies that moderate user content.
Why: Trump has promoted a long-running belief among conservatives that social-media companies are biased against their political...
How bacteria purge toxic metals
- ScienceDaily
- 20/5/28 23:20
Researchers combined genetic engineering, single-molecule tracking and protein quantitation to get a closer look at this mechanism and understand how it functions. The knowledge could lead to the development of more effective antibacterial treatments.
Two bacteria allow spittlebugs to thrive on low-nutrient meals
- ScienceDaily
- 20/5/28 23:20
A new study examines the symbiotic relationship between two types of bacteria and spittlebugs that helps the insect live on very low-nutrient food.
Logging and climate shifts are drastically reducing carbon storage, study says
Illegal logging and the impacts of climate change are altering the world's forests — making trees shorter and younger — and greatly reducing the amount of planet-warming emissions they can suck up and store, researchers warned on...
Montreal breaks May temperature record as heatwave grips Canada
Temperatures in Montreal on Wednesday reached an all-time high for the month of May as a heatwave swept through parts of Canada, Environment Canada said.
Virgin Orbit looks into cause of LauncherOne test failure
Malfunction caused rocket to shut down about five seconds after ignitionThe first launch demonstration of Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit LauncherOne rocket ended in failure this week.The California-based company aims to place small satellites into space using LauncherOne, which is carried under the wing of a converted 747 jumbo-jet aircraft. Continue...
Breaking up is hard to do (especially for sex chromosomes)
As chromosomes go, X and Y make an unlikely pair. The X is large and contains thousands of genes critical for life. The Y, by contrast, is little more than a nub. Its main purpose is to provide the instructions for initiating male development and making sperm. Yet these two very different chromosomes must work together if they are to meet and pair up properly during meiosis—the special form of...
Gold mining with mercury poses health threats for miles downstream
Small-scale gold mining in the Peruvian Amazon poses a health hazard not only to the miners and communities near where mercury is used to extract gold from ore, but also to downstream communities hundreds of kilometers away where people eat mercury-contaminated river fish as part of their diet.
Wildfires can alter Arctic watersheds for 50 years
- ScienceDaily
- 20/5/28 22:11
Climate change has contributed to the increase in the number of wildfires in the Arctic and can dramatically shift stream chemistry. Researchers at the University of New Hampshire have found that some of the aftereffects, like decreased carbon and increased nitrogen, can last up to five decades and could have major implications on vital waterways like the Yenisei River and the Arctic Ocean
Using electrical stimulus to regulate genes
- ScienceDaily
- 20/5/28 22:10
A team of researchers has succeeded in using an electric current to directly control gene expression for the first time. Their work provides the basis for medical implants that can be switched on and off using electronic devices outside the body.
New technology enables fast protein synthesis
- ScienceDaily
- 20/5/28 22:10
Chemists have developed a protocol to rapidly produce protein chains up to 164 amino acids long. The flow-based technology could speed up drug development and allow scientists to design novel protein variants incorporating amino acids that don't occur naturally in cells.
Gold mining with mercury poses health threats for miles downstream
- ScienceDaily
- 20/5/28 22:10
Small-scale gold mining in the Peruvian Amazon poses a health hazard not only to the miners and communities near where mercury is used to extract gold from ore, but also to downstream communities hundreds of kilometers away where people eat mercury-contaminated river fish as part of their diet. Downstream children under 12 with the highest levels of mercury in their bodies were found to have lost...
Global environmental changes leading to shorter, younger trees
- ScienceDaily
- 20/5/28 22:10
Ongoing environmental changes are transforming forests worldwide, resulting in shorter and younger trees. Researchers found that a range of factors, including rising temperatures and carbon dioxide levels, have caused a dramatic decrease in the age and stature of forests.
New 'whirling' state of matter discovered in an element of the periodic table
- ScienceDaily
- 20/5/28 22:10
The strongest permanent magnets today contain a mix of the elements neodymium and iron. However, neodymium on its own does not behave like any known magnet, confounding researchers for more than half a century. Physicists have now shown that neodymium behaves like a so-called 'self-induced spin glass,' meaning that it is composed of a rippled sea of many tiny whirling magnets circulating at...
Configurable circuit technology poised to expand silicon photonic applications
Researchers have developed a new way to build power efficient and programmable integrated switching units on a silicon photonics chip. The new technology is poised to reduce production costs by allowing a generic optical circuit to be fabricated in bulk and then later programmed for specific applications such as communications systems, LIDAR circuits or computing applications.
In planet formation, it's location, location, location
Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope are finding that planets have a tough time forming in the rough-and-tumble central region of the massive, crowded star cluster Westerlund 2. Located 20,000 light-years away, Westerlund 2 is a unique laboratory to study stellar evolutionary processes because it's relatively nearby, quite young, and contains a large stellar population.
Environmental groups moving beyond conservation
Although non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have become powerful voices in world environmental politics, little is known of the global picture of this sector. A new study shows that environmental groups are increasingly focused on advocacy in climate change politics and environmental justice. How they do their work is largely determined by regional disparities in human and financial resources.
International gnomAD Consortium releases its first major studies of human genetic variation
For the last eight years, the Genome Aggregation Database (gnomAD) Consortium (and its predecessor, the Exome Aggregation Consortium, or ExAC), has been working with geneticists around the world to compile and study more than 125,000 exomes and 15,000 whole genomes from populations around the world.
In planet formation, it's location, location, location
- ScienceDaily
- 20/5/28 22:06
Astronomers are finding that planets have a tough time forming in the rough-and-tumble central region of the massive, crowded star cluster Westerlund 2. Located 20,000 light-years away, Westerlund 2 is a unique laboratory to study stellar evolutionary processes because it's relatively nearby, quite young, and contains a large stellar population.
CBD improves arthritis symptoms in dogs
- ScienceDaily
- 20/5/28 22:06
This study shows that in dogs diagnosed with arthritis, CBD treatment significantly improved quality of life as documented by both owner and veterinarian assessments.
Benefits of social networks to disaster response questioned
- ScienceDaily
- 20/5/28 22:05
Faced with a common peril, people delay making decisions that might save lives, fail to alert each other to danger and spread misinformation. Those may sound like behaviors associated with the current pandemic, but they actually surfaced in experiments on how social networks function in emergencies.
Breaking up is hard to do (especially for sex chromosomes)
- ScienceDaily
- 20/5/28 22:05
A team of scientists has discovered how the X and Y chromosomes find one another, break, and recombine during meiosis even though they have little in common.
Heart surgery stalled as COVID-19 spread
- ScienceDaily
- 20/5/28 22:05
Two recent journal articles explore how hospitals worldwide scaled back on heart surgeries as the pandemic hit, and how they can resume those operations in a world still plagued by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Antarctic ice sheets capable of retreating up to 50 meters per day
- ScienceDaily
- 20/5/28 22:05
The ice shelves surrounding the Antarctic coastline retreated at speeds of up to 50 meters per day at the end of the last Ice Age, far more rapid than the satellite-derived retreat rates observed today, new research has found.
Imaging reveals unexpected contractions in the human placenta
- ScienceDaily
- 20/5/28 22:05
High-resolution imaging of the human placenta provides new insights into blood circulation patterns that are crucial for fetal development, according to a new study. These findings improve our understanding of the functioning of this understudied organ, both in healthy pregnancies and in serious medical conditions such as pre-eclampsia.
Researchers identify mechanisms that make skin a protective barrier
- ScienceDaily
- 20/5/28 22:05
A research team has identified one of the mechanisms that establish the skin as a protective barrier, a breakthrough that is critical to understanding and treating common skin conditions including eczema and psoriasis, according to a new study.
Environmental groups moving beyond conservation
- ScienceDaily
- 20/5/28 22:05
Although non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have become powerful voices in world environmental politics, little is known of the global picture of this sector. A new study shows that environmental groups are increasingly focused on advocacy in climate change politics and environmental justice. How they do their work is largely determined by regional disparities in human and financial resources.
Changes in cropping methods, climate decoy pintail ducks into an ecological trap
- ScienceDaily
- 20/5/28 22:05
After a severe drought gripped the Prairie Pothole Region of the U.S. and Canada in the 1980s, populations of almost all dabbling duck species that breed there have recovered. But not northern pintails. Now, a new study suggests why -- they have been caught in an ecological trap.
Combination therapy well-tolerated and highly effective for patients with IDH1-mutated AML
- ScienceDaily
- 20/5/28 22:05
A combination therapy of ivosenidib (IVO) plus venetoclax (VEN) with or without azacitidine (AZA) was found to be effective against a specific genetic subtype of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in a Phase Ib/II trial.
Immune landscape of multiple brain cancers charted
- ScienceDaily
- 20/5/28 22:05
A new study has profiled, in a sweeping comparative analysis, the distinct immune landscapes of tumors that arise in the brain, or gliomas, and those that metastasize to the organ from the lungs, breast and skin.
Survey identifies learning opportunities related to health impacts of climate change
- ScienceDaily
- 20/5/28 22:05
An international survey of Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education (GCCHE) membership found that the majority of members -- health professions schools and programs, including medical, nursing, and public health -- offer learning opportunities related to the health impacts of climate change, yet many also encountered challenges in instituting or developing curricula. The results of the...
An imbalance of electrons in the liver may be a common risk factor for disease
- ScienceDaily
- 20/5/28 22:05
Researchers have uncovered an unexpected connection between an imbalance of electrons in liver cells and many metabolic problems that increase the risk for conditions such as cardiovascular disease and fatty liver disease.
Restoring nerve-muscle communication in ALS
- ScienceDaily
- 20/5/28 22:05
A new study finds that restoring the protein SV2 in a genetic form of ALS can correct abnormalities in transmission and even prevent cells from dying, providing a new target for future therapies.
Smart sponge could clean up oil spills
- ScienceDaily
- 20/5/28 22:05
Researchers have developed a highly porous smart sponge that selectively soaks up oil in water. It can absorb more than 30 times its weight and be reused many dozens of times.
Reintroduction of wolves tied to return of tall willows in Yellowstone National Park
- ScienceDaily
- 20/5/28 22:05
The reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone National Park is tied to the recovery of tall willows in the park, according to a new study.
Configurable circuit technology poised to expand silicon photonic applications
- ScienceDaily
- 20/5/28 22:05
Researchers have developed a new way to build power efficient and programmable integrated switching units on a silicon photonics chip. The new technology is poised to reduce production costs by allowing a generic optical circuit to be fabricated in bulk and then later programmed for specific applications such as communications systems, LIDAR circuits or computing applications.
New Zealand blue whale distribution patterns tied to ocean conditions, prey availability
- ScienceDaily
- 20/5/28 22:05
The researchers who recently discovered a population of blue whales in New Zealand are learning more about the links between the whales, their prey and ocean conditions that are changing as the planet warms.
gnomAD Consortium releases its first major studies of human genetic variation
- ScienceDaily
- 20/5/28 22:05
For the last eight years, the Genome Aggregation Database (gnomAD) Consortium (and its predecessor, the Exome Aggregation Consortium, or ExAC), has been working with geneticists around the world to compile and study more than 125,000 exomes and 15,000 whole genomes from populations around the world. Now, in seven articles, gnomAD Consortium scientists describe their first set of discoveries from...
Autism severity can change substantially during early childhood
- ScienceDaily
- 20/5/28 22:05
A new study found that around 30 percent of young children with autism have less severe autism symptoms at age 6 than they did at age 3, with some children losing their autism diagnoses entirely. It also found that girls tend to show greater reduction and less rise in their autism symptom severity than boys with autism. Children with higher IQs were more likely to show a reduction in their...
Researchers find CBD improves arthritis symptoms in dogs
A team led by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in collaboration with Medterra CBD conducted the first scientific studies to assess the potential therapeutic effects of cannabidiol (CBD) for arthritic pain in dogs, and the results could lead the way to studying its effect in humans. Researchers focused first on these animals because their condition closely mimics the characteristics of...
Researchers find wildfires can alter arctic watersheds for 50 years
Climate change has contributed to the increase in the number of wildfires across the globe especially in the Arctic where forest fires, along with increased permafrost thaw, can dramatically shift stream chemistry and potentially harm both ecosystems and humans. Researchers at the University of New Hampshire have found that some of the aftereffects of a burn, like decreased carbon and increased...
New Zealand blue whale distribution patterns tied to ocean conditions and prey availability
Oregon State University researchers who recently discovered a population of blue whales in New Zealand are learning more about the links between the whales, their prey and ocean conditions that are changing as the planet warms.
COP 26: New date agreed for UN climate summit in Glasgow
The COP26 UN summit, which was postponed due to coronavirus, will now take place between 1 and 12 November 2021.
Johnson blocks top scientists from talking about Cummings
PM gags Vallance and Whitty when they are asked if Cummings breached lockdown Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageBoris Johnson has blocked his two most senior scientific advisers from answering questions on whether his senior aide, Dominic Cummings, broke the lockdown.At No 10’s daily press conference, the prime minister twice prevented questions from journalists who...
Global environmental changes leading to shorter, younger trees
Ongoing environmental changes are transforming forests worldwide, resulting in shorter and younger trees with broad impacts on global ecosystems, scientists say.
New 'whirling' state of matter discovered in an element of the periodic table
The strongest permanent magnets today contain a mix of the elements neodymium and iron. However, neodymium on its own does not behave like any known magnet, confounding researchers for more than a half-century. Physicists at Radboud University and Uppsala University have shown that neodymium behaves like a self-induced spin glass, meaning that it is composed of a rippled sea of many tiny whirling...
New technology enables fast protein synthesis
Many proteins are useful as drugs for disorders such as diabetes, cancer, and arthritis. Synthesizing artificial versions of these proteins is a time-consuming process that requires genetically engineering microbes or other cells to produce the desired protein.
Antarctic ice sheets capable of retreating up to 50 meters per day
The ice shelves surrounding the Antarctic coastline retreated at speeds of up to 50 metres per day at the end of the last Ice Age, far more rapid than the satellite-derived retreat rates observed today, new research has found.