193 articles from FRIDAY 11.9.2020

Covid test devices rushed onto Australian market less accurate than claimed – review

Doherty Institute says the eight devices for rapid testing shouldn’t be used in acute stages of the illnessRapid Covid-19 testing devices rushed onto the Australian market are far less accurate than their manufacturers have claimed, and the expert leading a government-initiated review says they should not be used to detect acute cases.In the early stages of the pandemic, the federal government...

Carbon-rich exoplanets may be made of diamonds

As missions like NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, TESS and Kepler continue to provide insights into the properties of exoplanets (planets around other stars), scientists are increasingly able to piece together what these planets look like, what they are made of, and if they could be habitable or even inhabited.

California's Air Quality Is Poor. Here's How to Protect Yourself.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Jennifer Krasner's 4-year-old daughter had been coughing for days. Krasner and her family live 20 minutes north of San Francisco, in Mill Valley, California, not close to any fire but wreathed in smoke nonetheless, with her house and car dusted with ash."I had to get her tested for COVID because she's been coughing so much," she said Thursday, "but it turned...

Sex differences in health and disease

Researchers have reviewed current research into patterns of sex differences in gene expression across the genome, and highlights sampling biases in the human populations included in such studies.

Quantum thermometer using nanodiamonds senses a 'fever' in tiny worms C. elegans

Measuring the temperature of objects at a nanometer-scale has been a long challenge, especially in living biological samples, because of the lack of precise and reliable nanothermometers. An international team of researchers has realized a quantum technology to probe temperature on a nanometer-scale, and have observed a 'fever' in tiny nematode worms under pharmacological treatment. This...

Using laser to cool polyatomic molecule

Researchers describe using a novel method combining cryogenic technology and direct laser light to cool the nonlinear polyatomic molecule calcium monomethoxide (CaOCH3) to just above absolute zero.

Cuttlebone's microstructure sits at a 'sweet spot'

A professor has a lesson in one of his mechanical engineering courses on how brittle materials like calcium carbonate behave under stress. In it, he takes a piece of chalk composed of the compound and snaps it in half to show his students the edge of one of the broken pieces. The break is blunt and straight.

Antibody test developed for COVID-19 that is sensitive, specific and scalable

An antibody test for the virus that causes COVID-19 is more accurate and can handle a much larger number of donor samples at lower overall cost than standard antibody tests currently in use. In the near term, the test can be used to accurately identify the best donors for convalescent plasma therapy and measure how well candidate vaccines and other therapies elicit an immune response.

COVID-19 ventilator patients can have permanent nerve damage

Severely ill COVID-19 patients on ventilators are placed in a prone (face down) position because it's easier for them to breathe and reduces mortality. But that life-saving position can also cause permanent nerve damage in these vulnerable patients, reports a new study. Scientists believe the nerve damage is the result of reduced blood flow and inflammation. Other non-COVID-19 patients on...