325 articles from TUESDAY 18.8.2020

OCT-based technique captures subtle details of photoreceptor function

Researchers have developed a new instrument that has, for the first time, measured tiny light-evoked deformations in individual rods and cones in a living human eye. The new approach could one day improve detection of retinal diseases such as age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness in people over 55 worldwide.

Songbirds, like people, sing better after warming up

If you've ever been woken up before sunrise by the chirping of birds outside your window, you may have wondered: why do birds sing so loud, so early in the morning? The cacophony is mostly males, whose songs are meant to impress potential mates and rivals. Researchers say there may be a good reason why birds are most vocal at first light. By singing early and often, birds perform better during the...

Citizen Scientists Discover Dozens of New Cosmic Neighbors in NASA Data

We’ve never met some of the Sun’s closest neighbors until now. In a new study, astronomers report the discovery of 95 objects known as brown dwarfs, many within a few dozen light-years of the Sun. They’re well outside the solar system, so don’t experience heat from the Sun, but still inhabit a region astronomers consider our cosmic neighborhood. This collection represents some of the...

Plantwatch: how a miraculous moss keeps cool in the Mojave desert

Sheltering under translucent quartz stones shields the moss from heat, cold, drought and intense ultraviolet raysA small moss growing in the Mojave desert in California uses a remarkable protection from the desert sun – it shelters under translucent quartz stones. It is a miniature greenhouse that shields the moss from heat, cold, drought and intense ultraviolet rays.The desert gets extremely...

Machine learning unearths signature of slow-slip quake origins in seismic data

Combing through historical seismic data, researchers using a machine learning model have unearthed distinct statistical features marking the formative stage of slow-slip ruptures in the earth's crust months before tremor or GPS data detected a slip in the tectonic plates. Given the similarity between slow-slip events and classic earthquakes, these distinct signatures may help geophysicists...

Cold-weather accounts for almost all temperature-related deaths

With the number of extreme weather days rising around the globe in recent years due to global warming, it is no surprise that there has been an upward trend in hospital visits and admissions for injuries caused by high heat over the last several years. But cold temperatures are responsible for almost all temperature-related deaths, according to a new study published in the journal Environmental...

Exploding stars may have caused mass extinction on Earth, study shows

Imagine reading by the light of an exploded star, brighter than a full moon—it might be fun to think about, but this scene is the prelude to a disaster when the radiation devastates life as we know it. Killer cosmic rays from nearby supernovae could be the culprit behind at least one mass extinction event, researchers said, and finding certain radioactive isotopes in Earth's rock record could...

Using a public restroom? Mask up!

Think you don't need to worry about COVID-19 while using a public restroom? A group of researchers from Yangzhou University in China recently reported that flushing public restroom toilets can release clouds of virus-laden aerosols for you to potentially inhale.

Concordia student maps global primate habitat endangered by climate change

Stewart began looking at the effects of climate change on primate habitats with spatial data from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5, which estimates regional and seasonal temperature change per unit of CO2 emission, and range data of 426 separate primate species and subspecies, courtesy of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Using these figures, she was able to...

Horse skeletons provide clues to preventing racehorse injuries

In an anatomical comparison of the third metacarpal, or cannon bone, among Thoroughbred racehorses, American Quarter Horses and feral Assateague Island ponies, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers have found that fostering adaptations in these bones through training might help horses better endure the extreme conditions of racing and prevent serious, often life-ending injuries on the track.

Under pressure, nontoxic salt-based propellant performs well

In smaller spacecraft such as CubeSat satellites, a salt-based monopropellant is showing promise. It can be used both in high-thrust chemical propulsion for fast time-sensitive maneuvers, and electric mode for slow maneuvers, such as orbit maintenance. Now, researchers have more knowledge about how it performs under pressure to inform rocket design.

Cold-weather accounts for almost all temperature-related deaths

With the number of extreme weather days rising around the globe in recent years due to global warming, it is no surprise that there has been an upward trend in hospital visits and admissions for injuries caused by high heat over the last several years. But cold temperatures are responsible for almost all temperature-related deaths, according to a new study.

Surprising coral spawning features revealed

When stony corals have their renowned mass spawning events, in sync with the moon's cycle, colonies simultaneously release an underwater 'cloud' of sperm and eggs for fertilization. But how do the sperm and eggs survive several hours as plankton, given threats from predators, microbes and stresses such as warming waters? A team has discovered some surprising features in coral sperm and eggs...

Bird skull evolution slowed after the extinction of the dinosaurs

From emus to woodpeckers, modern birds show remarkable diversity in skull shape and size, often hypothesized to be the result of a sudden hastening of evolution following the mass extinction that killed their non-avian dinosaur cousins at the end of the Cretaceous 66 million years ago. But this is not the case according to a new study.

Cool new worlds found in our cosmic backyard

How complete is our census of the Sun's closest neighbors? Astronomers and a team of data-sleuthing volunteers participating in Backyard Worlds: Planet 9, a citizen science project, have discovered roughly 100 cool worlds near the Sun -- objects more massive than planets but lighter than stars, known as brown dwarfs. Several of these newly discovered worlds are among the very coolest known, with a...

Using a public restroom? Mask up!

Researchers report that flushing public restroom toilets can release clouds of virus-laden aerosols for you to potentially inhale. After running additional computer simulations, they've concluded that flushing urinals does likewise.

Study maps the roots of global mangrove loss

Using high-resolution data, researchers have created the first map of the causes of change in global mangrove habitats between 2000 and 2016 - a valuable tool to aid conservation efforts for these vital coastline defenders.

Naming guides how 12-month-old infants encode and remember objects

Even for infants just beginning to speak their first words, the way an object is named guides infants' encoding, representation and memory for that object, according to new research. Encoding objects in memory and recalling them later is fundamental to human cognition and emerges in infancy. Evidence from a new recognition memory task reveals that as they encode objects, infants are sensitive to a...

Exploding stars may have caused mass extinction on Earth, study shows

Imagine reading by the light of an exploded star, brighter than a full moon. It might be fun to think about, but this scene is the prelude to a disaster when the radiation devastates life as we know it. Killer cosmic rays from nearby supernovae could be the culprit behind at least one mass extinction event, researchers said, and finding certain radioactive isotopes in Earth's rock record could...

The Guardian view on scrapping Public Health England: not just wrong, but highly risky | Editorial

The government’s desire to pass the buck could put more lives in dangerThe decision to scrap Public Health England in the middle of a pandemic that has claimed 65,000 British lives is cynical and wrong. Few will be persuaded by the attempts of the health secretary, Matt Hancock, to portray it as turning a crisis into an opportunity.The opportunity here is purportedly to better serve the public...

Bird skull evolution slowed after the extinction of the dinosaurs

From emus to woodpeckers, modern birds show remarkable diversity in skull shape and size, often hypothesized to be the result of a sudden hastening of evolution following the mass extinction that killed their non-avian dinosaur cousins at the end of the Cretaceous 66 million years ago. But this is not the case according to a study by Ryan Nicholas Felice at University College London, publishing...

More eggs harvested from last 2 northern white rhinos

An international team of scientists said they successfully extracted eggs from the last two remaining northern white rhinos, a step on the way to possibly saving the subspecies from extinction. Ten eggs were harvested from the female rhinos at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya. The harvested eggs — the third round to be taken from the two females since August 2019 - were immediately flown to...

Here’s how to keep California’s grid from buckling under the heat

California’s electricity system is buckling under the strains of a blistering heat wave that may have established the highest temperature ever reliably recorded. As residents cranked up air conditioning en masse to keep cool, the state’s primary grid operator ordered a series of rolling blackouts that have left millions without power in recent days, at least briefly. These were...

Study maps the roots of global mangrove loss

Using high-resolution data from the joint NASA-U.S. Geological Survey Landsat program, researchers have created the first map of the causes of change in global mangrove habitats between 2000 and 2016—a valuable tool to aid conservation efforts for these vital coastline defenders.

Calculating hadrons using supercomputers

Hadrons are elusive superstars of the subatomic world, making up almost all visible matter, and British theoretical physicist Antoni Woss has worked diligently with colleagues at the U.S. Department of Energy's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility to get to know them better.