304 articles from MONDAY 21.9.2020

Fightback against rise in Covid cases thrashed out at No 10 summit

Boris Johnson held lengthy meeting with scientists about bringing down UK infection rateCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageDeep into Sunday night, a debate was playing out in the heart of Downing Street. The prime minister had gathered the UK’s most eminent scientists – and was learning that “follow the science” is not as simple as it sounds.After more than a...

Marine sponges inspire the next generation of skyscrapers and bridges

Researchers are using the glassy skeletons of marine sponges as inspiration for the next generation of stronger and taller buildings, longer bridges, and lighter spacecraft. The researchers showed that the diagonally-reinforced square lattice-like skeletal structure of Euplectella aspergillum, a deep-water marine sponge, has a higher strength-to-weight ratio than the traditional lattice designs...

Nanoparticle SARS-CoV-2 model may speed drug discovery for COVID-19

Scientists have developed a new tool that mimics how the virus that causes COVID-19 infects a cell, potentially speeding the search for treatments against the disease. The tool is a fluorescent nanoparticle probe that uses the spike protein on the virus surface to bind to cells and trigger the process that pulls the virus into cells. The probe could be used to rapidly gauge how drugs and compounds...

E. coli bacteria offer path to improving photosynthesis

Cornell University scientists have engineered a key plant enzyme and introduced it in Escherichia coli bacteria in order to create an optimal experimental environment for studying how to speed up photosynthesis, a holy grail for improving crop yields.

40 percent of O'ahu, Hawai'i beaches could be lost by mid-century

The reactive and piecemeal approach historically used to manage beaches in Hawai'i has failed to protect them. If policies are not changed, as much as 40% of all beaches on O'ahu, Hawai'i could be lost before mid-century, according to a new study by researchers in the Coastal Geology Group at the University of Hawai'i (UH) at Mānoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST).

Marine sponges inspire the next generation of skyscrapers and bridges

When we think about sponges, we tend to think of something soft and squishy. But researchers from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) are using the glassy skeletons of marine sponges as inspiration for the next generation of stronger and taller buildings, longer bridges, and lighter spacecraft.

Southern hemisphere could see up to 30% less rain at end of the century

Projections based on climate models for the mid-Pliocene Warm Period (about 3 million years ago) suggest that countries in the tropical and subtropical southern hemisphere, including Brazil, may face longer droughts in the future. Annual rainfall may decrease as much as 30% compared with current levels.

New research shows international support for simple climate policy funding plans

For decades, scientists have urged policymakers to take prompt action to address climate change, but their calls have largely gone unanswered. Now, as wildfires ravage the west and hurricanes batter the Atlantic and Gulf coasts with greater intensity, a new study involving Washington University in St. Louis researchers finds consumers across the United States and in some European countries are...

Donald Trump’s Campaign Crafted a Careful Climate Message. Trump Ignored It

For months, the Trump campaign’s public statements and the President’s prepared remarks have repeated a message on climate change carefully calibrated not to alienate Republicans worried about the health of the planet: regardless of the science, Democratic plans to address the issue are too expensive. Last week, President Trump disregarded his own campaign’s meticulous...