287 articles from TUESDAY 9.6.2020

IBM says it is no longer working on face recognition because it’s used for racial profiling

The news: IBM has said the company will stop developing or selling facial recognition software due to concerns the technology is used to promote racism. In a letter to Congress, IBM’s CEO Arvind Krishna said the tech giant opposes any technology used “for mass surveillance, racial profiling, violations of basic human rights and freedoms.” He called for a “national dialogue” on...

Paper-based device provides low-power, long-term method for analyzing sweat

Researchers have constructed a paper-based device as a model of wearables that can collect, transport and analyze sweat in next-generation wearable technology. Using a process known as capillary action, akin to water transport in plants, the device uses evaporation to wick fluid that mimics the features of human sweat to a sensor for up to 10 days or longer.

Down to the bone: Understanding how bone-dissolving cells are generated

Bone-dissolving cells called osteoclasts are derived from a type of immune cells called macrophages. They are necessary for the maintenance and renewal of bones. But the intracellular mechanisms through which macrophages convert to osteoclasts are not fully understood. Recently, scientists have uncovered the role of a protein called Cpeb4 in this process. Their findings suggest potential...

Parasitic fungi keep harmful blue-green algae in check

When a lake is covered with green scums during a warm summer, cyanobacteria -- often called blue-green algae -- are usually involved. Mass development of cyanobacteria is bad for water quality. But cyanobacteria can become sick, when for instance infected by fungal parasites. Researchers found out that these infections do not only kill cyanobacteria, they also make them easier to consume for their...

Examining a snapshot of exploding oxygen

For more than 200 years, we have been using X-rays to look inside matter and progressing to ever smaller structures—from crystals to nanoparticles. Now, within the framework of a larger international collaboration on the X-ray laser European XFEL in Schenefeld near Hamburg, physicists at Goethe University have achieved a qualitative leap forward. Using a new experimental technique, they have...

Team decodes another piece of the histone code puzzle

Inside our cells, DNA is tightly packed and spooled around proteins called histones. Packaging DNA in this way allows large amounts of genetic material to exist inside the cell in a final form called chromatin. Tiny enzymes modify the histones to make sure the genes that are part of the DNA can be accessed and precisely regulated. The result of this is proper gene expression and the production of...

Survival of coronavirus in different cities, on different surfaces

One of the many questions researchers have about COVID-19 is how long the coronavirus causing the disease remains alive after someone infected with it coughs or sneezes. Once the droplets carrying the virus evaporate, the residual virus dies quickly, so the survival and transmission of COVID-19 are directly impacted by how long the droplets remain intact.

Spontaneous formation of nanoscale hollow structures could boost battery storage

An unexpected property of nanometer-scale antimony crystals—the spontaneous formation of hollow structures—could help give the next generation of lithium ion batteries higher energy density without reducing battery lifetime. The reversibly hollowing structures could allow lithium ion batteries to hold more energy and therefore provide more power between charges.

The state of China's climate in 2019: Warmer and wetter, but less loss

The National Climate Center (NCC) of China has just completed a report in which it provides an authoritative assessment of China's climate in 2019 based on the NCC's operational system. More specifically, it gives a summary of China's climate along with all major weather and climate events throughout the year.

Re-trafficking proteins to fight Salmonella infections

When humans get infected by pathogenic bacteria, the body's immune system tries to eliminate the intruders. One way of doing this is by launching an inflammatory response—a cascade of events that includes the expression of protective proteins, the activation of immune cells, and a process of controlled cell death when infected cells can't be saved.

New research network examines conditions for greater food security

As a result of climate change, cereal crops will undoubtedly be exposed to longer and more frequent periods of drought. How well they survive this depends on their interaction with water, nutrients, bacteria, and fungi in the soil. The new research network "RhizoTraits", coordinated by the University of Bayreuth, is now seeking to get to the bottom of the varying resilience of cereal varieties....

How effective are language learning apps?

Now more than ever, people who want to learn a new language turn to their mobile devices for help as language learning applications have become increasingly available. While these apps allow users to study a new language from anywhere at any time, how effective are they?

California's climate refugia: Mapping the stable places

Some landscapes can hold their own against climate change better than others.A studyfrom the University of California, Davis, maps these places, called "climate refugia," where existing vegetation is most likely to buffer the impacts of climate change through the end of the century.