273 articles from MONDAY 28.9.2020
The technology that powers the 2020 campaigns, explained
Campaigns and elections have always been about data—underneath the empathetic promises to fix your problems and fight for your family, it’s a business of metrics. If a campaign is lucky, it will find its way through a wilderness of polling, voter attributes, demographics, turnout, impressions, gerrymandering, and ad buys to connect with voters in a way that moves or even inspires them. Obama,...
Wildfires rip through California wine country, thousands flee homes
Thousands of people were forced to flee their homes in California's Napa Valley Monday as wildfires ripped through the region's world-famous wine country.
Scientists precisely measure total amount of matter in the universe
A top goal in cosmology is to precisely measure the total amount of matter in the universe, a daunting exercise for even the most mathematically proficient. A team led by scientists at the University of California, Riverside, has now done just that.
Ex-lord chief justice: UK parliament must scrutinise Covid rules
Exclusive: Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd joins senior legal figures in calling for MPs to examine emergency legislationCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageLord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, the former lord chief justice of England and Wales, has called for greater parliamentary scrutiny of the government’s emergency coronavirus legislation because vital freedoms are being...
Naked prehistoric monsters: Evidence that prehistoric flying reptiles probably had feathers refuted
The debate about when dinosaurs developed feathers has taken a new turn with a paper refuting earlier claims that feathers were also found on dinosaurs' relatives, the flying reptiles called pterosaurs.
How the brain balances emotion and reason
- ScienceDaily
- 20/9/28 19:31
Navigating through life requires balancing emotion and reason, a feat accomplished by the brain region 'area 32' of the anterior cingulate cortex. The area maintains emotional equilibrium by relaying information between cognitive and emotional brain regions, according to new research.
Naked prehistoric monsters! Evidence that prehistoric flying reptiles probably had feathers refuted
- ScienceDaily
- 20/9/28 19:31
Pterosaur experts have examined the evidence that these creatures had feathers and believe they were in fact bald.
Evolutionary and heritable axes shape our brain
- ScienceDaily
- 20/9/28 19:31
Every region has its place in the brain. However, it has been unclear why brain regions are located where they are. Now, scientists have defined two main axes along which brain regions are genetically organized, stretching from posterior to anterior and inferior to superior in the brain. These axes are mainly shaped by genes and evolution.
Looking at evolution's genealogy from home
- ScienceDaily
- 20/9/28 19:31
Evolution leaves its traces -- in particular -- in genomes. Researchers used '2-n-way' software to determine the relationships between species or individuals and compare any genome of and for anyone.
Another new orca baby born to J pod
Another baby orca has been born to J pod, the Center for Whale Research confirmed Friday morning. It's the second calf born this month for the endangered southern resident orcas that frequent Puget Sound.
Invasive sea lampreys in Great Lakes, and the lake trout they prey on, puzzle scientists
It's a mystery. Invasive sea lamprey, the Great Lakes' biggest predator, primarily feed on lake trout, one of the lakes' most prized sports fish. When trout populations are high, researchers expect to see fewer lamprey-wounded fish, and more of those wounds when lamprey populations are spiking.
Researchers discover a new method to regulate cell plasticity
Cell plasticity is a property by which a cell can take on different and reversible identities. Cell plasticity is also essential for embryo development and for the correct function of the immune system. This property is also crucial in cancer as many cancer cells use it to gain resistance to chemotherapy and invade and colonize distant parts of the body.
Study finds spreading ghost forests on NC coast may contribute to climate change
A new study found the spread of ghost forests across a coastal region of North Carolina may have implications for global warming. Ghost forests are areas where rising seas have killed off freshwater-dependent trees, leaving dead or dying white snags standing in marsh.
Looking at evolution's genealogy from home
Evolution leaves its traces in particular in genomes. Pinpointing its influence is a laborious process—but one in which Dr. Jürgen Schmitz and his team at the University of Münster are at home. Five years ago, the team made public a web app which can compare the genomes of humans and animals and thus help to provide an understanding of evolutionary developments. The Münster researchers are...
Research reveals how wounds heal in 'waves'
Many cells in our bodies are on the move and somehow seem to 'know' where to go. But how do they learn the location of their destination? This question is key to understanding phenomena such as the renewal of cells in our body, the migration of cancer cells, and especially how wounds heal. Edouard Hannezo and his group at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria) in...
Avoiding environmental losses in quantum information systems
New research published in EPJ D has revealed how robust initial states can be prepared in quantum information systems, minimizing any unwanted transitions which lead to losses in quantum information.
Oligomeric materials to enhance water splitting
Researchers from the Llobet group have developed a new molecular material made out of oligomers and used it as a catalyst in water oxidation, achieving unprecedented current densities for molecular catalysts. The paper "Water oxidation electrocatalysis using ruthenium coordination oligomers adsorbed on multiwalled carbon nanotubes," has been published in Nature Chemistry.
China's carbon target moves big economies into radical climate consensus
After a week of far-reaching climate promises measured over decades, four of the world's six largest economies have now proposed ending dates for their carbon emissions.
The cost of drought in Italy
Droughts are, after floods and storms, the costliest natural hazard. The expected increase in the frequency and intensity of drought events due to climate change reinforces the necessity to improve the quality and reliability of information about the economic impacts of droughts and the need for more accurate cost analyses to embed these estimates into the assessment of the costs of climate...
Snakes disembowel and feed on the organs of living toads in a first for science
While the majority of snakes would normally swallow their prey whole, the Small-banded Kukri Snake seems to have evolved a particularly macabre feeding habit that has never before been witnessed in a serpent.
Fungal compound inhibits important group of proteins
Researchers in the group of Jeroen den Hertog, in collaboration with researchers in Leiden, have found that a compound inhibits a group of proteins called BMP receptors. This compound, called cercosporamide, was previously only known to inhibit a different group of proteins. When overactive, BMP receptors can induce several diseases. Studying compounds that may counteract this overactivity may...
Helium, a little atom for big physics
Helium atom precision measurements and calculations have a history of nearly a century. In the 1960s, theorists discovered that the fine-structure split (23P0-23P2) of the 23P energy level of helium is the best atomic system for measuring the fine structure constant α (approximately 1/137), which is the key parameter in the Quantum Electrodynamics (QED) theory. QED is the basic theory describing...
Stable supramolecular structure system to identify activity origin of carbon dioxide electroreduction
N-doped or N-heterocyclic nanostructured electrocatalysts for electrocatalytic CO2 reduction reaction have made important progress in product selectivity. For further development, it is important to identify the exact activity origin of these electrocatalysts. Crystal electrocatalysts with accurate structures can provide a visual research platform for identifying catalytic active sites and...
Suspected bacteria infection kills 12 more Zimbabwe elephants
Twelve more elephants have died in Zimbabwe, taking the total death toll from a suspected bacterial infection outbreak to 34, wildlife authorities said Monday.
Nations commit to reverse nature loss by 2030
Dozens of countries representing more than a quarter of global GDP on Monday released a fresh set of pledges for "urgent and immediate" action to halt nature loss and protect Earth's crucial biodiversity.