323 articles from TUESDAY 29.9.2020

New fire containment research addresses risk and safety

As 2020 has shown, wildfire frequency, size and severity is threatening communities and natural resources across the western U.S. As a result, there is a high demand for decision-making to mitigate risk, improve firefighter safety and increase fire containment efficiency.

Moderna COVID-19 vaccine appears safe, shows signs of working in older adults: study

Results from an early safety study of Moderna Inc's coronavirus vaccine candidate in older adults showed that it produced virus-neutralizing antibodies at levels similar to those seen in younger adults, with side effects roughly on par with high-dose flu shots, researchers said on Tuesday. The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, offers a more complete picture of the...

'I'll sleep when I'm dead': The sleep-deprived masculinity stereotype

In the United States, the average American sleeps less than the minimum seven hours of sleep per night recommended by the Center for Disease Control, and nearly half of Americans report negative consequences from insufficient sleep. This problem appears to be especially prevalent in men, who report getting significantly less sleep, on average, than women.

World Bank announces $12bn plan for poor countries to buy Covid vaccines

Initiative aims to ensure low-income countries are not frozen out by rich nationsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe World Bank has announced plans for a $12bn (£9.3bn) initiative that will allow poor countries to purchase Covid-19 vaccines to treat up to 2 billion people as soon as effective drugs become available.In an attempt to ensure that low-income countries...

Microcomb-injected, pulsed lasers as variable microwave gears

Low-noise microwave signals are of critical importance in numerous applications such as high-speed telecommunication and ultrafast data processing. Conventionally, such signals are generated with bulky and delicate microwave oscillators that are not suitable for out-of-door applications. But recently, physicists have been exploring a possible alternative: high-quality microwave generation using...

Students used their mobile phones for over 8 hours a day during lockdown

A recent study published by researchers from the University of Seville shows that university students make excessive use of their mobile phones. The study relates the number of hours that young people spend sitting down, their level of physical activity and state of mind when using a mobile phone. Students with lower levels of physical activity used their mobile phones almost three times more than...

Using drones to better predict urban flooding

The University of Luxembourg and the start-up RSS-Hydro are working together to optimize the prediction of flooding in Burange in the south of Luxembourg. Supported by the City of Dudelange, the project aims at building a unique and precise urban terrain model with the help of drones, aerial and satellite images to feed state-of-the art flood models.

New research provides clues on optimizing cell defenses when viruses attack

Researchers studying interferons, immune response proteins released naturally by human cells when viruses are detected, have uncovered new details on the mechanisms underlying cell defenses. They describe the intricate, time-dependent regulatory mechanisms that human cells use to control the duration and strength of antiviral responses triggered by interferon. Based on these findings, researchers...

Shifts in butterfly mating preferences

In their efforts to identify the genetic basis for differences in mate choice that keep two co-existing species of butterfly separate, evolutionary biologists at LMU have identified five candidate genes that are associated with divergence in visual mating preferences.

Applying human-centered design to voting places

As the United States prepares for November's general election, almost every step of the voting process is being revamped and reevaluated to ensure that COVID-19 will not spread in local communities when millions of Americans cast their ballot in the fall.

Battling harmful insects by understanding their sense of smell

In NTNU's Dragvoll laboratory in Trondheim, researchers keep different things in the closet than most of us do. Jars of moths stand in rows. The insects are actually pretty cute, but the Norwegian name for them suggests that they may be a little annoying: "Pest phage fly" is not exactly a name you give to a friend.

Understanding the secretive networks used to move money offshore

In 2016, the world's largest ever data leak dubbed "The Panama Papers" exposed a scandal, uncovering a vast global network of people—including celebrities and world leaders, who used offshore tax havens, anonymous transactions through intermediaries and shell corporations to hide their wealth, grow their fortunes and avoid taxes.

NASA's infrared view of typhoon Kujira

NASA's Terra satellite used infrared light to identify strongest storms and coldest cloud top temperatures in Typhoon Kujira as it tracked through the northwestern Pacific Ocean.

Titan's lakes can stratify like those on Earth

Lakes on Saturn's moon Titan, composed of methane, ethane, and nitrogen rather than water, experience density driven stratification, forming layers similar to lakes on Earth. However, whereas lakes on Earth stratify in response to temperature, Titan's lakes stratify solely due to the strange chemical interactions between its surface liquids and atmosphere, says a paper by Planetary Science...

Studies Begin to Untangle Obesity's Role in COVID-19

In early April, Edna McCloud woke up to find her hands tied to her hospital bed.She had spent the past four days on a ventilator in a hospital in St. Louis County, Missouri, thrashing and kicking under sedation as she battled a severe case of COVID-19."They told me, 'You were a real fighter down there,'" recalled McCloud, a 68-year-old African American retiree with a history of...

Space station air leak forces middle-of-night crew wakeup

A small air leak at the International Space Station finally has been traced to the Russian side, following a middle-of-the-night search by astronauts. NASA said Tuesday that the two Russians and one American on board were awakened late Monday to hurriedly seal hatches between compartments and search for the ongoing leak, which appeared to be getting worse. It turns out instead of the leak...

Search for New Worlds at Home With NASA’s Planet Patrol Project

Help NASA find exoplanets, worlds beyond our solar system, through a newly launched website called Planet Patrol. This citizen science platform allows members of the public to collaborate with professional astronomers as they sort through a stockpile of star-studded images collected by NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). “Automated methods of processing TESS data...

Redefining drought in the U.S. Corn Belt

As the climate trends warmer and drier, global food security increasingly hinges on crops' ability to withstand drought. But are scientists and producers focusing on the right metric when measuring crop-relevant drought? Not exactly, according to new research from University of Illinois scientists, who urge the scientific community to redefine the term.