31 articles from SUNDAY 13.9.2020

Starwatch: Polaris – centre point of the northern sky

How to find the pole star, not the brightest star in the sky, but the closest to the pole – for nowThis week, take the opportunity to identify Polaris, the north star. From many northern latitudes, the constellation of Ursa Major, the Great Bear, never sets and it can act as a pointer. The brightest, most recognisable part of that constellation, is the asterism known as the Plough. Finding the...

When methane-eating microbes eat ammonia instead

As a side effect of their metabolism, microorganisms living on methane can also convert ammonia. In the process, they produce nitric oxide (NO), a central molecule in the global nitrogen cycle. Scientists now discovered the enzyme that produces NO, closing an important gap in our understanding of how methanotrophs deal with rising environmental ammonia concentrations.

Covid tests sent to Italy and Germany as UK labs are overwhelmed

Leaked documents reveal backlog of 185,000 swabs and tests sent abroad for processingCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe government’s coronavirus testing programme is dealing with a backlog of 185,000 swabs, with tests being sent to Italy and Germany as local labs are overwhelmed.Not even a week after the government was forced to apologise for continuing delays to...

Groups turn to hotels to shelter fire evacuees amid virus

Fearing one disaster will feed another, relief groups are putting some people who fled their homes during West Coast wildfires into hotels to reduce the spread of the coronavirus, stringing up shower curtains to separate people in group shelters and delivering box lunches instead of setting up buffets. Large disaster response organizations like the American Red Cross are still operating some...

When the Otters Vanished, Everything Else Started to Crumble

In 1970, Jim Estes made his first trek up to Alaska's Aleutian Islands. He was greeted by an ocean filled with furry faces.Everywhere the young biologist looked, there were sea otters -- lollygagging on kelp beds, shelling sea urchins, exchanging their signature squeals. Back then, crowds of these charismatic creatures shrouded the sprawling archipelago, congregating in "rafts and...

Black scientists highlight racism in the lab and the field

University of Washington ecologist Christopher Schell is studying how coronavirus shutdowns have affected wildlife in Seattle and other cities. “I wear the nerdiest glasses I have and often a jacket that has my college logo, so that people don’t mistake me for what they think is a thug or hooligan,” said Schell, who is African American. Tanisha Williams, a botanist at Bucknell University,...

'Superfungus' threatens last Panamanian golden frogs

Cocooned from the outside world, some 200 critically endangered golden frogs are living a sheltered existence in Panama, protected from a devastating fungus that threatens to wipe out a third of the country's amphibian species—a situation scientists describe as "critical."

Smoke chokes West Coast as wildfire deaths keep climbing

Wildfire smoke that posed a health hazard to millions choked the West Coast on Saturday as firefighters battled deadly blazes that obliterated some towns and displaced tens of thousands of people, the latest in a series of calamities this year.

How to make your own luck and turn a mistake into the best thing ever

Seeing meaning in the unexpected can help turn mistakes into opportunities, says researcher Dr Christian BuschDr Christian Busch has had a lucky life. He narrowly escaped a catastrophic car accident at the age of 18. The car was wrecked but he walked away without a scratch. It was just the wake-up call he needed. “I turned my life around. Before that I’d been a reckless teenager who lived in...

Fears grow for care homes as coronavirus cases rise across UK

Government urges care providers to take action to stop spread of virus among residentsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageConcerns are growing over an increase in Covid-19 cases in care homes in England, prompting the government to send an alert to care providers to highlight the rising rates and to call for action.The letter, sent on Friday, urges care bosses to “take...

‘We’ve learned how we need to act’: Spain braces for second wave of Covid

Despite a big rise in infections, particularly among younger people, there is no sense of panic on the streets around MadridCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageAn hour or so before lunch on Thursday, Ángela Falcón stepped out of the church of Our Lady of the Assumption and on to the hot and busy streets of Parla.“I’m scared and I very seldom come out but when I do,...

Should mother's milk be produced in the lab?

Human milk grown from mammary cells could liberate breastfeeding women – but it’s a controversial sellOne of the saddest things about being diagnosed with breast cancer a few years ago (it was fortunately treatable) was having to stop breastfeeding my 10-month-old baby. Unceremoniously she was shunted on to an early diet of pure solid food, which I reasoned was probably just as nutritious as...

Killer whales launch ‘orchestrated’ attacks on sailing boats

From the Strait of Gibraltar to Galicia, orcas have been harassing yachts, damaging vessels and injuring crewScientists have been left baffled by incidents of orcas ramming sailing boats along the Spanish and Portuguese coasts.In the last two months, from southern to northern Spain, sailors have sent distress calls after worrying encounters. Two boats lost part of their rudders, at least one crew...

I was infected with coronavirus in March, six months on I’m still unwell

Charlie Russell, 27, is one of an estimated 600,000 people with post-Covid illness, a condition that may give an insight into MECoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageIt’s day 182 after being infected by Covid-19, and Charlie Russell is not doing the things that other 27-year-olds are doing.He’s not running 5km three times a week like he used to. He’s not going to the...

Baby heartbeat reveals the stress of having a depressed or anxious mother

Scientists have shown that the babies of mothers dealing with anxiety or depression exhibit physiologically stronger signs of stress than babies of healthy mothers, when given a standard stress test. These babies show a significantly increased heart rate, which researchers fear may lead to imprinted emotional stresses as the child grows up