276 articles from MONDAY 22.6.2020

Massive prehistoric circle near Stonehenge

Archaeologists have discovered a major new prehistoric monument only a short distance away from Stonehenge. Fieldwork and analysis have revealed evidence for 20 or more massive, prehistoric shafts, measuring more than 10 metres in diameter and 5 metres deep. These shafts form a circle more than 2 kilometres in diameter and enclose an area greater than 3 square kilometres around the Durrington...

Scientists home in on pairs of atoms that boost a catalyst's activity

Replacing the expensive metals that break down exhaust gases in catalytic converters with cheaper, more effective materials is a top priority for scientists, for both economic and environmental reasons. Catalysts are required to perform chemical reactions that would otherwise not happen, such as converting polluting gases from automotive exhaust into clean compounds that can be released into the...

Research in land plants shows nanoplastics accumulating in tissues

As concern grows among environmentalists and consumers about micro- and nanoplastics in the oceans and in seafood, they are increasingly studied in marine environments, say Baoshan Xing at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and colleagues in China. But "little is known about the behavior of nanoplastics in terrestrial environments, especially agricultural soils," they add.

New class of precision medicine strips cancer of its DNA defenses

A new precision medicine targeting cancer's ability to repair its DNA has shown promising results in the first clinical trial of the drug class. The new study, designed to test the drug's safety, found that half of patients given the new drug either alone or with platinum chemotherapy saw their cancer stop growing, and two patients saw their tumours shrink or disappear completely.

US beekeepers reported lower winter losses but abnormally high summer losses

Beekeepers across the United States lost 43.7% of their managed honey bee colonies from April 2019 to April 2020, according to preliminary results of the 14th annual nationwide survey conducted by the nonprofit Bee Informed Partnership (BIP). These losses mark the second highest loss rate the survey has recorded since it began in 2006 (4.7 percentage points higher than the average annual loss rate...