291 articles from MONDAY 27.7.2020

NIST expands database that helps identify unknown compounds in milk

Got milk? Most people have seen the famous ads featuring celebrities that highlight the importance of drinking milk for building strong bones. Research shows that milk has other benefits, especially for babies, such as helping them grow and strengthening their immune systems. But scientists still don't understand exactly how milk does these things.

NASA tracks Hanna's soaking path into Mexico

NASA's Aqua satellite provided infrared data on Tropical Depression Hanna while imagery from NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite was used to create an animation showing its movement from Texas to Mexico. Infrared data can reveal the location of powerful storms that generate heavy rainfall and Hanna drenched Texas upon landfall over the weekend of July 25-26.

Pristine environments offer a window to our cloudy past

A new study uses satellite data over the Southern Hemisphere to understand global cloud composition during the industrial revolution. This research tackles one of the largest uncertainties in today's climate models -- the long-term effect of tiny atmospheric particles on climate change.

Controlling streams of liquid metal at room temperature

Researchers from North Carolina State University have demonstrated a technique that allows them to produce streams of liquid metal at room temperature. By applying a low voltage to the liquid metal, the researchers were able to tune its surface tension across at least three orders of magnitude.

Pristine environments offer a window to our cloudy past

A new study uses satellite data over the Southern Hemisphere to understand global cloud composition during the industrial revolution. This research tackles one of the largest uncertainties in today's climate models—the long-term effect of tiny atmospheric particles on climate change.

Grape pips reveal collapse of ancient economy in the grip of plague and climate change

A team of archeologists from Bar-Ilan University and the University of Haifa has discovered new and compelling evidence for a significant economic downturn on the fringe of the Byzantine Empire in the aftermath of a major pandemic in the mid-sixth century CE. The research reconstructs the rise and fall of commercial viticulture in the middle of Israel's arid Negev desert using evidence about life...

Unprecedented look into 'central engine' powering a solar flare

Researchers have presented a new, detailed look inside the 'central engine' of a large solar flare accompanied by a powerful eruption by the Owens Valley Solar Array. The new findings offer the first measurements characterizing the magnetic fields and particles at the heart of the explosion.

Lithium in drinking water linked with lower suicide rates

Naturally occurring lithium in public drinking water may have an anti-suicidal effect - according to a new study. The study collated research from around the world and found that geographical areas with relatively high levels or concentration of lithium in public drinking water had correspondingly lower suicide rates.

Stopping listeria reproduction 'in its tracks'

Listeria contaminations can send food processing facilities into full crisis mode with mass product recalls, federal warnings and even hospitalization or death for people who consume the contaminated products. Researchers have discovered a chemical compound that stops listeria reproduction in both light and dark conditions which could lead to bacterial control in food products.

MicroRNA shows promise for hair regrowth

Researchers have identified a microRNA (miRNA) that could promote hair regeneration. This miRNA -- miR-218-5p -- plays an important role in regulating the pathway involved in follicle regeneration, and could be a candidate for future drug development.

Laser inversion enables multi-materials 3D printing

Selective laser sintering is one of the most widely used processes in additive manufacturing, but it is limited to printing with a single material at a time. Robotics engineers have now developed a new approach to overcome this limitation: By inverting the laser so that it points upwards, they've invented a way to enable SLS to use -- at the same time -- multiple materials.

Water molecules are gold for nanocatalysis

Nanocatalysts made of gold nanoparticles dispersed on metal oxides are very promising for the industrial, selective oxidation of compounds, including alcohols, into valuable chemicals. They show high catalytic activity, particularly in aqueous solution. A team of researchers has been able to explain why: Water molecules play an active role in facilitating the oxygen dissociation needed for the...

Mars 2020 mission to be guided by USGS astrogeology maps

When NASA's Perseverance rover lands on Mars next year, it will be equipped with some of the most precise maps of Mars ever created, courtesy of the USGS Astrogeology Science Center. Not only are the new maps essential for a safe landing on Mars, but they also serve as the foundation upon which the science activities planned for the Mars mission will be built.

Stopping listeria reproduction 'in its tracks'

Listeria contaminations can send food processing facilities into full crisis mode with mass product recalls, federal warnings and even hospitalization or death for people who consume the contaminated products. Destroying the bacterium and stopping its spread can be challenging because of the formation of biofilms, or communities of resistant bacteria that adhere to drains or other surfaces.

New paper squares economic choice with evolutionary survival

If given the chance, a Kenyan herder is likely to keep a mix of goats and camels. It seems like an irrational economic choice because goats reproduce faster and thus offer higher near-term herd growth. But by keeping both goats and camels, the herder lowers the variability in growth from year to year. All of this helps increase the odds of household survival, which is essentially a gamble that...

What do we know about the long-term effects of Covid-19?

There is growing evidence from around the world that some people continue to experience debilitating symptoms of Covid-19 months after contracting the virus. They have been dubbed the ‘long-haulers’. Melissa Davey explains what we know about how patients in Australia who were diagnosed in March and April are recovering more than three months later You can read Melissa Davey’s article about...

The Guardian view on a new normal: holidays abroad, quarantine at home | Editorial

Covid-19 is lingering such that the public believes things are getting better, long after they are going wrongAnother day, another sadly predictable U-turn from the government of Boris Johnson. A few weeks ago ministers were encouraging the public to go abroad for their holidays. They did so without a comprehensive airport testing regime for passengers, unlike in many parts of the world. As...

Researchers produce low-cost hand sanitizer from waste

A Tel Aviv University breakthrough allows, for the first time, a local production of ethanol—and hand sanitizer—based on plant and paper waste, using a novel lignin (a substance found in plants) degradation process. This revolutionary process could significantly reduce production costs and lead to a decrease in the use of edible plant sources, help protect the environment, and reduce the use...

New depth map of the Arctic Ocean

An international team of researchers has published the most detailed submarine map of the Arctic Ocean. The study, by Miquel Canals, José Luis Casamor and David Amblàs from the Consolidated Research Group on Marine Geosciences of the University of Barcelona, has been published in Scientific Data.

Researchers offer unprecedented look into 'central engine' powering a solar flare

In a study published in Nature Astronomy, an international team of researchers has presented a new, detailed look inside the "central engine" of a large solar flare accompanied by a powerful eruption first captured on Sept. 10, 2017 by the Owens Valley Solar Array (EOVSA)—a solar radio telescope facility operated by New Jersey Institute of Technology's (NJIT) Center for Solar-Terrestrial...

European and American maize: Same same, but different

German researchers decoded the European maize genome. In comparison to North American maize lines, they discovered variations that underlie phenotypic differences and may also contribute to the heterosis effect. A better understanding of the effect could impact breeding for higher yields. For cultivation of maize in areas with low yields and for challenges imposed by the climate change these...

A photonic amorphous topological insulator

The current understanding of topological insulators and their classical wave analogs, such as photonic topological insulators, is mainly based on topological band theory. Contrary to this, Scientists in China and Singapore experimentally showed photonic topological insulators based on glass-like amorphous phases, for which the bandstructure is ill-defined. The persistence of topological protection...

Developing a new strategy to selectively deliver therapies to the brain

The Innovation Center of NanoMedicine in Japan announced that a new strategy to specifically target to the brain was discovered in collaboration with the Department of Bioengineering, Graduate School of Engineering, University of Tokyo. The details are published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science issued on July 23.

Vacancy dynamics on CO-covered Pt(111) electrodes

Platinum arguably is the most important electrocatalyst material, not only because it is the best single element catalyst in a variety of important electrocatalytic reactions but also due to its relatively high stability. However, in the corrosive environment of real electrocatalysis systems, such as fuel cells, even platinum can structurally degrade. Moreover, the presence of strongly adsorbing...