212 articles from FRIDAY 21.8.2020
Exclusive: Leading climate action investor group turns focus to Mexico's Pemex
One of the world's leading investor groups pushing for more corporate action on climate change said it has added Mexican state-owned oil company Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex)[PEMX.UL] to its list of targets. Climate Action 100+, whose 450 members manage more than $40 trillion in assets and focus on engaging with companies which produce high levels of greenhouse gas emissions, said it would now look...
Thousands of women say their breast implants are making them sick, but have no diagnosis. Many are opting to remove them anyway.
Breast implant illness is not officially recognized by the medical community, but for many women, the symptoms are very...
Rogue planets could outnumber the stars
An upcoming NASA mission could find that there are more rogue planets—planets that float in space without orbiting a sun—than there are stars in the Milky Way, a new study theorizes.
Energy transition away from coal in China will yield benefits
China is the world's largest producer and consumer of coal. A team of international scientists led by Stony Brook University's Gang He, Ph.D., contend that China needs to transition away from coal to help the world achieve global decarbonization and improve the nation's environmental and human health. They outline steps that can be taken for an albeit difficult, yet just and quicker transition...
Revealed: How billions in EU farming subsidies are being misspent
A unique study has analyzed in detail how EU agricultural subsidies flow down to the local level. The new data show that most income support payments go to intensively farmed regions already above median EU income, while climate-friendly and biodiverse farming regions, as well as poorer regions, are insufficiently funded. Consequently, the majority of payments are going to the regions causing the...
Remdesivir, the only FDA-authorized drug for COVID-19, may not significantly improve outcomes, a study found
Remdesivir is the only drug authorized by the FDA to treat the coronavirus. But a new study shows it may not significantly improve patient...
Ofqual's A-level algorithm: why did it fail to make the grade?
There is a lot we can learn from the algebraic symbols used to determine results in EnglandA university vice-chancellor’s diary of A-level chaosPkj = (1-rj)Ckj + rj(Ckj + qkj - pkj)For such a short string of algebraic symbols, there is a lot we can learn from Ofqual’s grading algorithm (though really it is an equation) – and a lot we can learn about what went wrong. Continue...
A new molecular guardian of intestinal stem cells
- ScienceDaily
- 20/8/21 16:39
Researchers investigated how intestinal stem cells are controlled at the molecular level to remain stem cells or to develop into one of various intestinal cells. By studying mice lacking the protein IRF2, the researchers found a blunted regenerative response and an increased development of immature Paneth cells upon intestinal inflammation and infection. These findings help clarify the molecular...
New insights into lung tissue in COVID-19 disease
- ScienceDaily
- 20/8/21 16:39
Researchers have developed a new three-dimensional imaging technique to visualize tissue damage in severe COVID-19.
Sea-level rise linked to higher water tables along California coast
- ScienceDaily
- 20/8/21 16:39
Researchers modeled the effects of rising sea levels along the California coast. While results varied with local topography, the study indicates an increased threat to populated areas already at risk from rising water tables, and the possibility of flooding in unexpected inland areas.
Spinning black hole powers jet by magnetic flux
- ScienceDaily
- 20/8/21 16:38
A new letter has been found in the mysterious alphabet of black holes.
'Selfies' could be used to detect heart disease
- ScienceDaily
- 20/8/21 16:38
Sending a 'selfie' to the doctor could be a cheap and simple way of detecting heart disease, according to researchers. Their study is the first to show that it's possible to use a deep learning computer algorithm to detect coronary artery disease (CAD) by analyzing four photographs of a person's face.
Skat and poker: More luck than skill?
- ScienceDaily
- 20/8/21 16:38
Chess requires playing ability and strategic thinking; in roulette, chance determines victory or defeat, gain or loss. But what about skat and poker? Are they games of chance or games of skill in game theory? This classification also determines whether play may involve money. Economists have studied this question and developed a rating system similar to the Elo system used for chess.
More than politics or age, psychological disease avoidance linked to preventative behavior, study finds
- ScienceDaily
- 20/8/21 16:38
More than other factors, strong feelings of germ aversion and pathogen disgust are significantly associated with concern about COVID-19 and preventative behavior, according to a new study. The findings are part of a year-long examination of how behavior and social attitudes change, and what factors influence those changes, when people in the United States are faced with the threat of widespread...
A new molecular guardian of intestinal stem cells
Intestinal stem cells hold a fine balance between two potential forms: remaining as stem cells, or developing into intestinal epithelial cells. In a new study, researchers from Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) discovered a novel molecular mechanism that regulates this balance and preserves the stemness of intestinal stem cells—that is, their ability to develop into any intestinal...
A four-state magnetic tunnel junction for novel spintronics applications
A tunnel junction is a device consisting of two conducting layers separated by an insulating layer. Classically, the resistance for driving current across an insulating layer is infinite; however, when the insulating layer is thin (~ 1-2 nanometers), charge carriers may tunnel through the insulating layer, due to their quantum nature. When the conducting layers are magnetic, a magnetic tunnel...
Science foundation discusses funding giant Hawaii telescope
The National Science Foundation has launched an informal outreach to Hawaii about possible funding efforts for the stalled Thirty Meter Telescope project. The effort by the nation’s top funder of basic research could lead to a huge influx of cash for the astronomy project on Mauna Kea with an estimated cost of $2.4 billion, The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported Thursday. The foundation said...
Metal organic framework (MOF) microcrystals for multicolor broadband lasing
Multicolor single-mode polarized microlasers containing an output range from visible light to the near-infrared have significant applications in photonic integration and multimodal chemical sensing or imaging applications. However, such devices are very difficult to realize in practice. In a new report, Huajun He and a research team in physics, materials science and chemistry in Singapore, China...
Reports of domestic violence on the rise during pandemic, study finds
The conditions created by COVID-19—unexpected time at home, unemployment and financial insecurity, anxiety and stress—are the same conditions known to aggravate domestic violence.
They don't wanna live with a cinnamon bear: Colour morph black bear with cubs sparks curiosity, concern
Singer-songwriter writer Neil Young once sang "I wanna live with a cinnamon girl," but while the colour is certainly eye-catching, residents of a Fort St. John neighbourhood don't quite share the same attraction for the cinnamon-coloured black bear that's been dropping around...
Glacier town at risk in next great New Zealand earthquake
Running through the heart of New Zealand's glacier country is the infamous Alpine Fault. The 600 kilometer-long (370 mile) faultline on the boundary of the Eurasian and Pacific tectonic plates beneath the country's South Island produces infrequent but significant earthquakes. In the line of fire is the small town of Franz Josef, just 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the often-visited Franz Josef...
Electron movements in liquid measured in super-slow motion
- ScienceDaily
- 20/8/21 15:49
Electrons are able to move within molecules, for example when they are excited from outside or in the course of a chemical reaction. For the first time, scientists have now succeeded in studying the first few dozen attoseconds of this electron movement in a liquid.
Why babies don't always remember what they have learned
- ScienceDaily
- 20/8/21 15:48
If and how babies recall what they have learned depends on their mood: what they've learned when feeling calm is inaccessible when they're acitive and vice versa. This was shown in a study with 96 children aged nine months.
Self-collected saliva and deep nasal swabs are equally effective for diagnosing COVID-19, study finds
- ScienceDaily
- 20/8/21 15:48
Self-collected saliva and deep nasal swabs collected by healthcare providers are equally effective for detecting SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, according to a new study.
Meet hedge fund managers of avian world
- ScienceDaily
- 20/8/21 15:48
New research finds that brood parasites living in more variable and unpredictable habitats tend to parasitize -- or squat and drop their eggs in -- the nests of a greater variety and number of hosts.