270 articles from TUESDAY 21.7.2020

Mike Pompeo attacks WHO in private meeting during UK visit

US secretary of state said the World Health Organization was responsible for Britons who had died from Covid-19The US secretary of state Mike Pompeo launched an extraordinary attack on the World Health Organization during a private meeting in the UK, accusing it of being in the pocket of China and responsible for “dead Britons” who passed away during the pandemic.Pompeo told those present that...

Lab-made virus mimics COVID-19 virus

Researchers have created a virus in the lab that infects cells and interacts with antibodies just like the COVID-19 virus, but lacks the ability to cause severe disease. This safer virus makes it possible for scientists who do not have access to high-level biosafety facilities to join the effort to find drugs or vaccines for COVID-19.

A developmental clock with a checkpoint function

The group of Helge Grosshans characterized the "C. elegans oscillator", over 3,700 genes that are rhythmically expressed during the larval development of C. elegans. They demonstrated the coupling of the oscillator with molting and got insights into how it is wired. Their findings suggest that the oscillator functions as a developmental clock with a developmental checkpoint function.

Tropical Storm Douglas organizing in NASA infrared imagery

Tropical Depression 8E developed on July 20 and quickly organized into a tropical storm. Infrared NASA satellite imagery revealed that Tropical Storm Douglas contained strong storms and showed banding of thunderstorms around its center.Tropical Depression 8E formed about 905 miles (1,460 km) southwest of the southern tip of Baja California, Mexico by 11 a.m. EDT on July 20. Within 12 hours, 8E had...

Spider monkeys use groups to develop knowledge of their environment, study finds

The wild spider monkeys living in a protected area near Punta Laguna, Mexico, collectively figure out good ways to divide up and conquer the forest. These monkeys live in a special type of society called a "fission-fusion" society. The group breaks up into little teams to find food—called, "foraging" in the world of ecology—but there is no "gym teacher" or "popular kid" picking teams. Rather,...

The rise of anti-Asian hate crime during the COVID-19 pandemic

Under the Hate Crime Statistic Act, hate crimes are defined as "crimes that manifest evidence of prejudice based on race, gender and gender identity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or ethnicity." Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, the United States has seen a surge of Asian Americans reporting racially motivated hate crimes. Earlier this month, University of Colorado Denver...

New cosmic magnetic field structures discovered in galaxy NGC 4217

Spiral galaxies such as our Milky Way can have sprawling magnetic fields. There are various theories about their formation, but so far the process is not well understood. An international research team has now analyzed the magnetic field of the Milky Way-like galaxy NGC 4217 in detail on the basis of radio astronomical observations and has discovered as yet unknown magnetic field structures. The...

UK must ramp up coronavirus efforts to avoid second wave, scientists warn

Senior scientists say it is ‘critical’ Britain improves capacity to spot and contain outbreaks before winterCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageBritain must ramp up its capacity to spot and contain coronavirus outbreaks if it is to avoid a potentially devastating second wave of infections this winter, senior scientists have warned.The next two months are...

Ultra-small, parasitic bacteria found in groundwater, moose... and you

Inside your mouth right now, there is a group of bacteria whose closest relatives can also be found in the belly of a moose, in dogs, cats, and dolphins, and in groundwater deep under the Earth's surface. In a stunning discovery, scientists have found that these organisms have adapted to these incredibly diverse environments—without radically changing their genomes.

How viruses and bacteria balance each other in the gut microbiome

The adage 'all things in moderation' applies not to just to food and drink, but also to the legions of bacteria inside our guts helping us digest that food and drink. It turns out the rule may also extend to the lesser understood bacteriophages, which are viruses that infect the bacteria living inside us.

A survey on optical memory and optical RAM technologies

Over the past decades, 'storing light' has appeared as a rather controversial concept, given that a photon's inherent nature hinders its spatial confinement. The first research efforts in demonstrating optical memory functionality started as a fascinating experimental exercise, and two decades later the remarkable achievements of integrated optical memories and optical random access memories...

Topological photonics in fractal lattices

Topological insulators are a new phase of matter unique for their insulating bulk and perfectly conducting edges. They have been at the forefront of condensed matter physics for the past decade, and more recently inspired the emergence of topological phases in many classical-wave systems, such as photonics and acoustics. To date, all studies of topological insulators have explored systems in...

Synthetic dimensions enable a new way to construct higher-order topological insulators

Topological insulators have been an exciting field of research with fundamental interest as well as practical applications such as robust transport of electrons and light, and topological quantum computing. The hallmark of such conventional topological insulators is the presence of conducting boundary modes which have one dimension lower than the insulating bulk system that hosts them—for...

New detection method turns silicon cameras into mid-infrared detectors

The MIR range of the electromagnetic spectrum, which roughly covers light in the wavelength regime between 3 to 10 micrometers, coincides with the energies of fundamental molecular vibrations. Utilizing this light for the purpose of imaging can produce stills with chemical specificity, i.e. images with contrast derived from the chemical composition of the sample. Unfortunately, detecting MIR light...

Temporal aiming with temporal metamaterials

Tailoring and manipulating electromagnetic wave propagation has been of great interest within the scientific community for many decades. In this context, wave propagation has been engineered by properly introducing spatial inhomogeneities along the path where the wave is traveling. Antennas and communications systems in general have greatly benefited from this wave-matter control. For instance, if...

Twitter data reveals global communication network

Twitter mentions show distinct community structure patterns resulting from communication preferences of individuals affected by physical distance between users and commonalities, such as shared language and history. While previous investigations have identified patterns using other data, such as mobile phone usage and Facebook friend connections, research now looks at the collective effect of...