297 articles from WEDNESDAY 26.8.2020

Damage from whopper hurricanes rising for many reasons

A destructive storm is rising from warm waters. America and the world are getting more frequent and bigger multibillion dollar tropical catastrophes like Hurricane Laura, which is menacing the U.S. Gulf Coast, because of a combination of increased coastal development, natural climate cycles, reductions in air pollution and man-made climate change, experts say. It's a mess at least partially of...

Interventions stem antibiotic prescribing rates in telemedicine

Two different interventions both worked to significantly reduce the rate of inappropriate antibiotic prescriptions made by physicians in a telemedicine practice, a new study shows. The finding could offer a new way to stem the growing problem of antibiotic resistance, particularly as telemedicine grows due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Fires 'poisoning air' in Amazon: study

Rampant fires in the Amazon are "poisoning the air" of the world's biggest rainforest, causing a sharp rise in respiratory emergencies in a region already hit hard by COVID-19, said a study published Wednesday.

How low did it go? Scientists calculate Earth's Ice Age temperatures

Guided by ocean plankton fossils and climate models, scientists have calculated just how cold it got on Earth during the depths of the last Ice Age, when immense ice sheets covered large parts of North America, South America, Europe and Asia. The average global temperature during the period known as the Last Glacial Maximum from roughly 23,000 to 19,000 years ago was about 46 degrees Fahrenheit...

New observations of black hole devouring a star reveal rapid disk formation

When a star passes too close to a supermassive black hole, tidal forces tear it apart, producing a bright flare of radiation as material from the star falls into the black hole. Astronomers study the light from these 'tidal disruption events' (TDEs) for clues to the feeding behavior of the supermassive black holes lurking at the centers of galaxies, and new observations help resolve crucial...

Researchers unravel two mysteries of COVID-19

In one study, researchers have identified six molecules that can be used as biomarkers to predict how severely ill a patient will become. In another study, they reveal a new mechanism causing blood clots in COVID-19 patients and potential ways to treat them.

Tethering together type 2 diabetes drugs increases efficacy of combination therapy

Biomedical engineers have shown that the effectiveness of a two-pronged type 2 diabetes treatment increases when the drugs are linked by a heat-sensitive tether rather than concurrently administered. The combination molecule forms a gel-like depot under the skin that slowly releases the drug. These findings suggest that this approach to combination drug design could be applied to disease therapies...

18 whales die in Mauritius stranding

Eighteen melon-headed whales washed up on the shores of Mauritius on Wednesday, the country's fisheries minister said, dismissing any link to a devastating oil spill earlier this month.

Laura strengthens into 'extremely dangerous' Category 4

Laura strengthened Wednesday into a menacing Category 4 hurricane, raising fears of a 20-foot storm surge that forecasters said would be "unsurvivable" and capable of sinking entire communities. Authorities implored coastal residents of Texas and Louisiana to evacuate and worried that not enough had fled.

Study of Asia's hillstream loaches reveals keys to fish family's land-walking abilities

In a study published in the Journal of Morphology, a team of researchers from New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), Florida Museum of Natural History, Louisiana State University and Thailand's Maejo University have successfully pieced together the ancestral relationships that make up the family tree of hillstream loaches (Balitoridae), detailing for the first time a range of unusual pelvic...

Testing traps to control lovely but destructive lionfish

The quest is on for a better way to kill beautiful but brutally destructive lionfish than shooting them one by one with spearguns. One is a lobster trap with an entry too skinny for legal lobsters. “We don’t think we’ll ever eliminate them but if we can get them under control maybe we can get our ecosystem back,” said Thomas R. Matthews, research administrator for Florida’s Fish and...

Key immune system protein discovered in plants

A new study has discovered the key calcium channel responsible for closing plant pores as an immune response to pathogen exposure. The findings are a major step toward understanding the defense mechanisms plants use to resist infection, which could eventually lead to healthier, more resistant and more productive crops.

Cosmic rays could pose a problem for future quantum computers

Quantum computing has the potential to handle complex problems at hyper-fast speeds. What makes this possible is the way it exploits qubits—typically subatomic particles such as electrons—that use quantum properties to represent numerous combinations beyond the 0 or 1 of conventional bits. When pairs of qubits are “entangled,” they can change each other’s state...

New neural network differentiates Middle and Late Stone Age toolkits

The change from Middle Stone Age (MSA) to Later Stone Age (LSA) marks a major cultural change amongst our hunter-gatherer ancestors, but distinguishing between these two industrial complexes is not straightforward. New researc demonstrates how machine learning can provide a valuable tool for archaeologists, and can identify what differentiates the MSA and LSA.

Why flat-faced dogs remain popular despite health problems

Owners of bulldogs, French bulldogs and pugs are highly likely to want to own their breed again in the future, and to recommend their breed to other owners, according to a new study. The development of breed loyalty toward these so-called brachycephalic (flat-faced) dogs may lead to their continued proliferation and popularity, despite their substantial health risks.

Catching genes from chlamydiae allowed complex life to live without oxygen

An international team of researchers has discovered a new group of Chlamydiae—Anoxychlamydiales—living under the ocean floor without oxygen. These Chlamydiae have genes that allow them to survive without oxygen while making hydrogen gas. The researchers found that our single-cell ancestors 'caught' these hydrogen-producing genes from ancient Chlamydiae up to two-billion years ago—an event...

Why flat-faced dogs remain popular despite health problems

Owners of bulldogs, French bulldogs and pugs are highly likely to want to own their breed again in the future, and to recommend their breed to other owners, according to a study published August 26, 2020 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Rowena Packer of the Royal Veterinary College, UK, and colleagues. The development of breed loyalty toward these so-called brachycephalic (flat-faced) dogs...