29 articles from SATURDAY 8.8.2020

Nasa to change 'harmful' and insensitive' planet and galaxy nicknames

Space agency says ‘certain cosmic nicknames are insensitive’ and vows to drop any reference to themNasa has signaled it is joining the social justice movement by changing unofficial and potentially contentious names used by the scientific community for distant cosmic objects and systems such as planets, galaxies and nebulae.In a statement last week, the space agency said that as the...

How Amazon puts misinformation on your reading list | John Naughton

Algorithms routinely come up with ‘recommendations’ for anti-vax ‘bestsellers’ or juices that cure cancerIt’s a truism that we live in a “digital age”. It would be more accurate to say that we live in an algorithmically curated era – that is, a period when many of our choices and perceptions are shaped by machine-learning algorithms that nudge us in directions favoured by those who...

Listen to your migraine to help you feel better – and to learn about yourself

Headaches are telling you something about how your brain works with your body, influencing your behaviour and feelingsWe need pain. It seems contradictory to say it, particularly now that we have so many ways of dealing with it and switching it off. Pain not only tells us something is wrong, it also protects us. If you slam the car door on your hand, it’s going to hurt. You will have damaged the...

The Coronavirus Is New, but Your Immune System Might Still Recognize It

Eight months ago, the new coronavirus was unknown. But to some of our immune cells, the virus was already something of a familiar foe.A flurry of recent studies has revealed that a large proportion of the population -- 20% to 50% of people in some places -- might harbor immunity assassins called T cells that recognize the new coronavirus despite having never encountered it before.These T cells,...

Plants cropping up in lost Michigan lakes where dams failed

Nature is returning to craters left from lakes drained by two dams that failed in May during torrential rain in mid-Michigan. “Shortly after the water receded, you could look out over the exposed bottom lands of the lake and it was like looking at the Sahara Desert,” said Dave Rothman, a board member with the Four Lakes Task Force, which is looking to obtain the four dams as well as the two...

Curious clues in war between bacteria in cystic fibrosis patients

Several different kinds of bacteria can cause lung infections in people with cystic fibrosis. Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which can cause pneumonia, typically infects infants or young children and persists for life, while Burkholderia cepacia complex species only infect teenagers and adults. Although Burkholderia infections are rare, when they do take hold, they are deadly. Now, scientists have...