291 articles from MONDAY 5.10.2020
Canada suspends exports of military drone technology to Turkey
The federal government is suspending the export of sophisticated Canadian drone technology to Turkey while Ottawa investigates claims that it is being used by the Azerbaijani military against Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh, Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said...
'Like a fishing net,' nanonet collapses to trap drug molecules
- ScienceDaily
- 20/10/5 23:08
Researchers have discovered a new, rapid method for fabricating nanoparticles from a simple, self-assembling polymer, which present new possibilities for diverse applications, including water purification, diagnostics and rapidly generating vaccine formulations.
Turning diamond into metal
- ScienceDaily
- 20/10/5 23:08
Researchers have discovered a way to tweak tiny needles of diamond in a controlled way to transform their electronic properties, dialing them from insulating, through semiconducting, all the way to highly conductive, or metallic. This can be induced dynamically and reversed at will, with no degradation of the diamond material.
Trans-Neptunian object Arrokoth: Flattening of a snowman
- ScienceDaily
- 20/10/5 23:08
The trans-Neptunian object Arrokoth, also known as Ultima Thule, which NASA's space probe New Horizons passed on New Year's Day 2019, may have changed its shape significantly in the first 100 million years since its formation. Researchers now suggest that the current shape of Arrokoth could be of evolutionary origin due to volatile outgassing.
Scientists find evidence of exotic state of matter in candidate material for quantum computers
- ScienceDaily
- 20/10/5 23:08
Using a novel technique, scientists have found evidence for a quantum spin liquid, a state of matter that is promising as a building block for the quantum computers of tomorrow.
How malaria parasites withstand a fever's heat
- ScienceDaily
- 20/10/5 23:08
The parasites that cause 200 million cases of malaria each year can withstand feverish temperatures that make their human hosts miserable. Now, a team is beginning to understand how they do it. The researchers have identified a lipid-protein combo that springs into action to gird the parasite's innards against heat shock. Understanding how malaria protects its cells against heat and other...
Excess folic acid during pregnancy harms brain development of mice
- ScienceDaily
- 20/10/5 23:08
A study of pregnant mice found high levels of folic acid were associated with significant changes in brain development of offspring.
Advancing multiprincipal alloys
- ScienceDaily
- 20/10/5 23:08
The most significant advances in human civilization are marked by the progression of the materials that humans use. The Stone Age gave way to the Bronze Age, which in turn gave way to the Iron Age. New materials disrupt the technologies of the time, improving life and the human condition.
What's Up - September 2020
What are some skywatching highlights in September 2020? Spot the Moon together with Mars and Venus, along with the flickering star Fomalhaut, which had itself a planet...until it didn't!
News Article Type: Homepage ArticlesPublished: Monday, October 5, 2020 -...
How malaria parasites withstand a fever's heat
Even when a person suffering from malaria is burning up with fever and too sick to function, the tiny blood-eating parasites lurking inside them continue to flourish, relentlessly growing and multiplying as they gobble up the host's red blood cells.
NASA imagery reveals Tropical Storm Chan-hom's skewed structure
NASA's Terra satellite obtained visible imagery of Tropical Storm Chan-hom as it continued moving though the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. The imagery revealed that the center of circulation was exposed and its strongest storms were south of the center.
'Murder hornets' invading U.S. are about to enter 'slaughter phase'
Just when you think Asian giant hornets' reputation couldn't get any worse, they're about to enter the "slaughter phase" when they attack in force, decapitate their victims and prey upon the brood for days.
Racial bias worse in police killings of older, mentally ill, unarmed men
The widely reported deaths of Michael Brown and Philando Castile reflect a grim truth in this country: According to data collected by The Washington Post, around 1,000 people are shot and killed by the police in the U.S. each year, and Black men are more than twice as likely to be victims as white men.
Corn farmers can apply a fungicide just once to protect against foliar diseases
Foliar diseases, such as gray leaf spot, northern corn leaf blight, and southern rust, were estimated to cause annual losses ranging from 19,029 to 244,149 metric tons from 2012 to 2015 in Kentucky. To mitigate these damages, farmers have turned to foliar fungicides. However, as plant pathologist Carl Bradley explains, "Kentucky corn farmers had questions about the best timing to apply a foliar...
Women, workers of color filling most 'high-hazard/low-reward' jobs in Washington
When exploring data on Washington workers during the pandemic—demographics, working conditions, wages and benefits, and risks of exposure to disease—the authors of a new report found that women hold two-thirds of the jobs in the harshest category of work.
NASA gages Tropical Storm Delta's strength in infrared
NASA's Aqua satellite analyzed Tropical Storm Delta in infrared imagery as it moved through the Caribbean Sea. The imagery provided cloud top temperatures to identify the strongest areas within the storm.
Scientists find evidence of exotic state of matter in candidate material for quantum computers
Using a novel technique, scientists working at the Florida State University-headquartered National High Magnetic Field Laboratory have found evidence for a quantum spin liquid, a state of matter that is promising as a building block for the quantum computers of tomorrow.
3 scientists win Nobel physics prize for black hole finds
Three scientists won this year’s Nobel Prize in physics Tuesday for advancing our understanding of black holes, the all-consuming monsters that lurk in the darkest parts of the universe. Briton Roger Penrose received half of this year’s prize “for the discovery that black hole formation is a robust prediction of the general theory of relativity," the Nobel Committee said. German Reinhard...
Normally an insulator, diamond becomes a metallic conductor when subjected to large strain in a new theoretical model
Long known as the hardest of all natural materials, diamonds are also exceptional thermal conductors and electrical insulators. Now, researchers have discovered a way to tweak tiny needles of diamond in a controlled way to transform their electronic properties, dialing them from insulating, through semiconducting, all the way to highly conductive, or metallic. This can be induced dynamically and...
Using physics to map the chaos of movement in living organisms
The behavior of living organisms might obey the same mathematical laws as physical phenomena, such as weather and the motion of planets, says new research from the Biological Physics Theory Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST).
Lego-like assembly of zeolitic membranes improves carbon capture
Zeolites are porous minerals that occur both naturally but also are being synthesized artificially. Because they are stable and durable, zeolites are used for chemical catalysis, purification of gases and liquids, and even in medical applications such as drug delivery and blood-clotting powders, e.g. the QuickClot trauma bandages used in the US military.
Revealing secret of lithium-rich stars by monitoring their heartbeats
Lithium is an ancient element that is almost as old as the universe itself. Though one of the building blocks of our present-day universe, lithium's presence in many celestial bodies often conflicts with predictions of classic theories.
Preserved dune fields offer insights into Martian history
The discovery of Martian dune fields largely preserved in the rock record for up to a billion years offers new insights on past climatic conditions on Mars.
It took several million years for Arrokothn to acquire its bizarre, pancake-flat shape
The trans-Neptunian object Arrokoth, also known as Ultima Thule, which NASA's space probe New Horizons passed on New Year's Day 2019, may have changed its shape significantly in the first 100 million years since its formation. In today's issue of the journal Nature Astronomy, researchers led by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) suggest...
NASA's TESS creates a cosmic vista of the northern sky
NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has discovered 74 exoplanets, or worlds beyond our solar system. Astronomers are sifting through some 1,200 additional exoplanet candidates, where potential new worlds await confirmation. More than 600 of these candidates lie in the northern sky.
Drug companies are recruiting Black Americans to participate in COVID-19 vaccine trials, trying to break down decades of mistrust
Black Americans have been affected by the coronavirus at a disproportionate rate, but many have been wary to participate in vaccine...
For red abalone, resisting ocean acidification starts with mom
Red abalone mothers from California's North Coast give their offspring an energy boost when they're born that helps them better withstand ocean acidification compared to their captive, farmed counterparts, according to a study from the Bodega Marine Laboratory at the University of California, Davis.
Disproportionate extinction of South American mammals when Americas collided evident today
When the Isthmus of Panama rose from the sea to connect North and South America millions of years ago, mammals could cross the bridge in both directions. But the result of this massive migration—a large proportion of mammals with North American origins in South America, but not the other way around—has long puzzled paleontologists. To explore the origins of this drastic asymmetry, researchers...
Groundwater depletion in US High Plains leads to bleak outlook for grain production
The depletion of groundwater sources in parts of the United States High Plains is so severe that peak grain production in some states has already been passed, according to new research.
Snakes reveal the origin of skin colours
The skin color of vertebrates depends on chromatophores—cells found in the superficial layers of the epidermis. A team of specialists in genetic determinism and color evolution in reptiles from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) is studying the wide variety of colors sported by different individuals within the corn snake species. The research, published in the journal PNAS, demonstrates that the...
Safe resumption of research is important, feasible
- ScienceDaily
- 20/10/5 20:46
At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, just as public institutions and businesses closed, research programs performing human participant research (HPR) also largely ceased operations. Now, universities and healthcare organizations conducting HPR are considering reopening.
Preliminary results of two large immune therapy studies show promise in advanced cervical cancer
- ScienceDaily
- 20/10/5 20:46
Preliminary results from two independent, phase II clinical trials investigating a new PD-1 (programmed cell death protein 1)-based immune therapy for metastatic cervical cancer suggest potential new treatment options for a disease that currently has limited effective options and disproportionately impacts younger women.
Exposure to vitamin D in the womb might minimize risk of high blood pressure for children born to mothers with preeclampsia
- ScienceDaily
- 20/10/5 20:46
Children appear to be at greater risk of having high blood pressure when their mothers had the high blood pressure condition called preeclampsia during pregnancy -- but this adverse association may be reduced or even eliminated for children who were exposed to higher levels of vitamin D in the womb.
New quantum computing algorithm skips past time limits imposed by decoherence
A new algorithm that fast forwards simulations could bring greater use ability to current and near-term quantum computers, opening the way for applications to run past strict time limits that hamper many quantum calculations.
How long does the preschool advantage last?
Children who attend preschool enter kindergarten with greater skills than those who don't, but that advantage is nearly halved by the end of the year as their counterparts quickly begin to catch up, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.
Air stable intrinsically stretchable color-conversion layers for stretchable displays
The development of a stretchable display that can be bent, stretched, and attached to the skin as a free-standing film appeared in science fiction films is expected to be one step closer. The research team led by Prof. Tae-Woo Lee from Seoul National University announced on the 29th that they have successfully achieved a stretchable color conversion layer (SCCL) using perovskite nanocrystals...
On the trail of causes of radiation events during space flight
Scientists have made significant progress in understanding the sources of radiation events that could impact human space-flight operations. Relativistic electron precipitation (REP) events are instances when high energy electrons move through areas of space at significant fractions of the speed of light. These REP events may pose challenges to human spaceflight, specifically during extravehicular...
Dog brains do not prefer faces
- ScienceDaily
- 20/10/5 20:08
Even though dogs gaze into man's eyes, dog brains may not process faces as human brains do. A new study suggests that the canine visual system is organized differently: the face network found in primates may not extend to all mammals.
Letter from leading researchers urges terminology update, shift in COVID-19 guidance
- ScienceDaily
- 20/10/5 20:08
Experts with leading research institutions across the United States are urging that researchers across disciplines must converge to deliver clear public health guidance about how SARS-CoV-2 is spread in the air.
New algorithm could unleash the power of quantum computers
- ScienceDaily
- 20/10/5 20:08
A new algorithm that fast forwards simulations could bring greater use ability to current and near-term quantum computers, opening the way for applications to run past strict time limits that hamper many quantum calculations.