253 articles from FRIDAY 5.6.2020

PFAS present throughout the Yadkin-Pee Dee river food chain

Researchers from North Carolina State University have found per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in every step of the Yadkin-Pee Dee River food chain, even though the river does not have a known industrial input of these compounds. The study examined the entire aquatic ecosystem for PFAS compounds and identified strong links between ecosystem groups that lead to biomagnification, the process...

New discovery advances optical microscopy

New Illinois ECE research is advancing the field of optical microscopy, giving the field a critical new tool to solve challenging problems across many fields of science and engineering including semiconductor wafer inspection, nanoparticle sensing, material characterization, biosensing, virus counting, and microfluidic monitoring.

Astronomers have found a planet like Earth orbiting a star like the sun

Three thousand light-years from Earth sits Kepler 160, a sun-like star that’s already thought to have three planets in its system. Now researchers think they’ve found a fourth. Planet KOI-456.04, as it’s called, appears similar to Earth in size and orbit, raising new hopes we’ve found perhaps the best candidate yet for a habitable exoplanet that resembles our home world. The new findings...

Don’t panic: Huge, headline-grabbing asteroid has no chance of hitting us anytime soon

The bad news is that an asteroid of city-killing proportions is heading in our direction, but the good news is that it'll miss us on Saturday night by 3.2 million miles. The space rock, known as 2002 NN4, generated enough scary headlines that NASA felt compelled to put out a reassuring note today. "There is no danger the asteroid will hit the Earth," NASA said. The asteroid has been...

Retracted studies may have damaged public trust in science, top researchers fear

Retractions by two of the world’s leading journals could do lasting harm in an environment where many already distrust scientistsPublic trust in science may have been shaken by the publication of academic papers based on false data in leading medical journals, according to world-renowned infectious disease doctors and former advisers to the World Health Organization.The director of Australia’s...

WHO advises public to wear face masks when unable to distance

Over-60s should use medical-grade masks and all others three-layer fabric ones, health body saysCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coveragePeople over 60 or with health issues should wear a medical-grade mask when they are out and cannot socially distance, according to new guidance from the World Health Organization, while all others should wear a three-layer fabric mask.The...