177 articles from FRIDAY 31.7.2020

How an EU tax could slash climate emissions far beyond Europe

Last week, European Union leaders approved the most aggressive climate-change plan in history. The eye-catching part was the $600 billion dedicated to green measures, spread across a massive economic recovery package and the seven-year EU budget approved in concert. All of it will be directed toward achieving the previously announced European Green Deal goal of becoming “climate neutral” by...

'Little brain' or cerebellum not so little after all

When we say someone has a quick mind, it may be in part thanks to our expanded cerebellum that distinguishes human brains from those of macaque monkeys, for example.High-res imaging shows the cerebellum is 80% of the area of the cortex, indicating it has grown as human behavior and cognition evolved.

A new chemical analysis upends conventional explanation for global cooling

Scientists have long known the earth cooled dramatically about 13,000 years ago, and the most likely explanation has been that it was caused by a massive object slamming into earth from space or bursting in the atmosphere. But now researchers have reported new evidence for another, more likely explanation - the eruption of a volcano on what is now the European continent, upending thinking about an...

A new synthesis method for three-dimensional nanocarbons

A Nagoya University team has developed a new method of synthesis for three-dimensional nanocarbons, utilizing a catalytic reaction to connect benzene rings and create an eight-membered ring structure. This represents a breakthrough in the synthesis of these nanocarbons, which are expected to be valuable next-generation functional materials.

A rebranding of 'freedom'?

According to recent Gallup polls, socialism is now more popular than capitalism among Democrats and young people, and support for "some form of socialism" among all Americans is at 43% (compared to 25% in 1942). Policies that went unmentioned or were declared out-of-bounds in elections four years ago -- a federal jobs guarantee, single-payer health care, free college, massive tax hikes on the...

DNA metabarcoding detects ecological stress within freshwater species

Metabarcoding allows scientists to extract DNA from the environment, in order to rapidly detect species inhabiting a particular habitat. While the method is a great tool that facilitates conservation activities, few studies have looked into its applicability in monitoring species' populations and their genetic diversity, which could actually be critical to assess negative trends early on. The...

Epilepsy: International researchers propose better seizure classification

A new "mathematical language" to classify seizures in epilepsy could lead to more effective clinical practice, researchers from Europe, the US, Australia and Japan propose in a new publication in eLife. An epilepsy model developed by the Human Brain Project provides the basis for the novel framework, which could also push forward basic understanding of the disease.

ESMO experts: Do not discontinue or delay cancer treatment impacting on overall survival

An ESMO interdisciplinary expert consensus paper on how to manage cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic has been published today in Annals of Oncology, encouraging medical oncologists worldwide not to discontinue or delay any type of anti-cancer treatment that may potentially impact on overall survival. The experts also urge to stop labelling all cancer patients as vulnerable to coronavirus...

ETRI develops eco-friendly color thin-film solar cells

Research on solar cells to secure renewable energy sources are ongoing around the world. The Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) in South Korea succeeded in developing eco-friendly color Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) thin-film solar cells.