238 articles from TUESDAY 30.6.2020
Man given 'almost zero chance' of Covid-19 survival due to return home
Mal Martin, 58, from Cardiff, spent 11 weeks in intensive care and could still lose fingers due to diseaseCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageA woman allowed to see her husband to say goodbye when told he had “almost zero chance” of surviving coronavirus, said he could shortly be home after more than 11 weeks in intensive care, much of it on a ventilator.Sue Martin,...
Happy Asteroid Day! Why we’re going out to space rocks before they come for us
Today's 112th anniversary of a close brush with a cosmic catastrophe serves as a teachable moment about the perils and prospects posed by near-Earth asteroids. Asteroid Day is timed to commemorate a blast from space that occurred over a Siberian forest back on June 30, 1908. The explosion, thought to have been caused by the breakup of an asteroid or comet, wiped out millions of acres of trees...
UN agency: Source of radioactivity in Nordics still unclear
The U.N. nuclear agency says slightly elevated levels of radioactivity that have been detected in northern Europe pose no risk to human health or to the environment but it's still unclear what the cause was.
Next-generation sequencing to provide precision medicine for rare metabolic disorders
- ScienceDaily
- 20/6/30 19:17
Advances in next-generation-sequencing technology that allow researchers to look at billions of pieces of genetic information are changing the way a disease is diagnosed. Correct identification of changes in the human genetic code responsible for rare metabolic disorders provides scientists and physicians with fact-based guidelines for the treatment.
Smiling in the masked world of COVID-19
With faces covered to help reduce the spread of COVID-19, some of the facial cues that people rely on to connect with others—such as a smile that shows support—are also obscured.
UK 'increasingly likely' to see +40C temperatures: study
Temperatures in Britain could exceed 40 degrees Celsius every three or four years by 2100 if greenhouse gas emissions continue unabated, research published Tuesday has found, as climate change increases the likelihood of scorching heat waves.
Evidence found of Natufian people eating snakes and lizards 15,000 years ago
A trio of researchers at the University of Haifa's Zinman Institute of Archaeology has found evidence of Natufian people eating snakes and lizards approximately 15,000 years ago. In their paper published in the journal Scientific Reports, Ma'ayan Lev, Mina Weinstein-Evron and Reuven Yeshurun describe their study of squamate bones found in caves at the el-Wad Terrace dig site in Israel and what...
It's big, but it's not a 'murder hornet'
Since the release of information about Asian giant hornets, Texas A&M AgriLife entomologists are being inundated with cicada killers and other lookalike insects submitted for identification as a possible "murder hornet," which thus far has only been found in Washington state in the U.S.
Beyond covid-19 lies a new normal—and new opportunities
The covid-19 pandemic has unleashed changes that seemed unthinkable just a few months ago. In February, it seemed unthinkable the entire white-collar workforce of many countries would soon be working solely from home. It seemed unthinkable air travel would plummet by 96%, or millions of migrant workers in India would be forced to undertake a herculean exodus, walking thousands of miles to their...
Russian Arctic sets 'fantastical' heat records: weather chief
The Russian Arctic set record temperatures in June that sparked abnormal tundra fires, the head of Russia's weather service said Tuesday, blaming climate change for the "fantastical" anomalies.
NASA's TESS delivers new insights into an ultrahot world
- ScienceDaily
- 20/6/30 18:51
KELT-9 b is one of the hottest planets known. New measurements from NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) have enabled astronomers to greatly improve their understanding of this bizarre world.
Wild bees depend on the landscape structure
- ScienceDaily
- 20/6/30 18:51
Sowing strips of wildflowers along conventional cereal fields and the increased density of flowers in organic farming encourage bumblebees as well as solitary wild bees and hoverflies. Bumblebee colonies benefit from flower strips along small fields, but in organic farming, they benefit from large fields.
Study asks who's playing 'hard-to-get' and who's attracted by the ploy
- ScienceDaily
- 20/6/30 18:51
New research looks at the psychological underpinnings of making yourself seem more desirable by withholding obvious signs of romantic interest.
Plant tissue engineering improves drought and salinity tolerance
- ScienceDaily
- 20/6/30 18:51
After several years of experimentation, scientists have engineered thale cress, or Arabidopsis thaliana, to behave like a succulent, improving water-use efficiency, salinity tolerance and reducing the effects of drought. The tissue succulence engineering method devised for this small flowering plant can be used in other plants to improve drought and salinity tolerance with the goal of moving this...
To find giant black holes, start with Jupiter
- ScienceDaily
- 20/6/30 18:51
On a quest to find the Universe's largest black holes, researchers identify the center of the solar system within 100 meters.
Light drinking may protect brain function
- ScienceDaily
- 20/6/30 18:51
Light to moderate drinking may preserve brain function in older age, according to a new study.
COVID-19 causes 'hyperactivity' in blood-clotting cells
- ScienceDaily
- 20/6/30 18:51
Changes in blood platelets triggered by COVID-19 could contribute to the onset of heart attacks, strokes, and other serious complications in some patients who have the disease, according to scientists. The researchers found that inflammatory proteins produced during infection significantly alter the function of platelets, making them 'hyperactive' and more prone to form dangerous and potentially...
Glowing dye may aid in eliminating cancer
- ScienceDaily
- 20/6/30 18:51
When a solid cancer is surgically removed, any small piece that is left behind increases the chance of a local recurrence or spread. In a pilot study of dogs with mammary tumors, a disease very similar to human breast cancer, a team found that an injectable dye, which glows under near-infrared light, illuminated cancerous growth in the primary tumor as well as in lymph nodes.
Universal gut microbiome-derived signature predicts cirrhosis
- ScienceDaily
- 20/6/30 18:51
Researchers report that stool microbiomes of NAFLD patients are distinct enough to potentially be used to accurately predict which persons with NAFLD are at greatest risk for having cirrhosis.
Researchers identify multiple molecules that shut down SARS-Cov-2 polymerase reaction
- ScienceDaily
- 20/6/30 18:51
Researchers have identified a library of molecules that shut down the SARS-CoV-2 polymerase reaction, a key step that establishes the potential of these molecules as lead compounds to be further modified for the development of COVID-19 therapeutics. Five of these molecules are already FDA-approved for use in the treatment of other viral infections including HIV/AIDS, cytomegalovirus, and hepatitis...
New stinging ant species could cause problems for Kentuckians
University of Kentucky entomologists want people to be aware of a new stinging pest in the state, the Asian needle ant.
Revealing the magnetic nature of tornadoes in the sun's atmosphere
The first direct measurements of the magnetic field in the chromosphere of the sun by a team including University of Warwick physicists has provided the first observational evidence that huge tornadoes in our sun's atmosphere are produced by swirling magnetic fields.
The psychology of being a better ally in the office – and beyond
In recent interviews, the American soccer player Crystal Dunn expressed the joy and fear she felt when her teammate Megan Rapinoe decided to take a knee against police brutality and racism in 2016. While Dunn wanted to join her teammate she worried "they could rip up [her] contract" and as a result chose not to.
Light from inside the tunnel
Steering and monitoring the light-driven motion of electrons inside matter on the time-scale of a single optical cycle is a key challenge in ultrafast light wave electronics and laser-based material processing. Physicists from the Max Born Institute in Berlin and the University of Rostock have now revealed a so-far overlooked nonlinear optical mechanism that emerges from the light-induced...
Emergence of chirality and structural complexity in single crystals at the molecular and morphological levels
Imagine trying to build a Colosseum-type edifice—including arches, vaults and various protrusions—while abiding by two strict rules: Only one type of brick may be used, and these bricks are required to be placed precisely, one against another, in a symmetrical arrangement. Not even a bit of mismatching is allowed. At best, you would be able to erect a chambered high-rise tower. Nature has...