399 articles from THURSDAY 8.10.2020

Scientists peer inside an asteroid

New findings from NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission suggest that the interior of the asteroid Bennu could be weaker and less dense than its outer layers--like a crème-filled chocolate egg flying though space.

Scientists reconstruct beetles from the Cretaceous

An international research team led by the University of Bonn (Germany) and Palacky University (Czech Republic) has examined four newly found specimens of the Mysteriomorphidae beetle using computer tomography and has been able to reconstruct them. The results allow to draw conclusions about the evolution of the species during the Cretaceous period. The study has been published in the journal...

Siberian scientists identified the most promising Russian forest products

A team of scientists from Siberian Federal University evaluated the competitiveness of Russian forest industry products by analyzing international trade data from different regions of the country and comparing it to the data from other markets. The study was published in the Forest Policy and Economics journal and supported by the Russian Science Foundation (project no. 19-18-00145).

Signals from distant stars connect optical atomic clocks across Earth for the first time

Using radio telescopes observing distant stars, scientists have connected optical atomic clocks on different continents. The results were published in the scientific journal Nature Physics by an international collaboration between 33 astronomers and clock experts at the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT, Japan), the Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica...

Silk fibers improve bioink for 3D-printed artificial tissues and organs

Researchers from Osaka University processed silk fibers into a versatile component of bioink for 3D cell printing technology. Printed objects retain their shape better than those produced without the silk additive, and the cells are not further damaged. This development will help advance regenerative medicine and drug discovery, and potentially reinvigorate the silk industry.

Simple solutions reduce court no-shows and subsequent arrest warrants

For low-level offenses in New York City, text nudges and a redesigned summons form decreased court no-show rates by about 20% and led to 30,000 fewer arrest warrants over three years, according to research from criminologist Aurélie Ouss of the University of Pennsylvania. 'Lack of awareness is likely a barrier that explains some criminal justice failures, and these can have really big...

Stress-free gel

Researchers at The University of Tokyo studied a new mechanism of gelation using colloidal particles. By delaying the formation of gel networks after rigid-cluster formation, the final structure had less mechanical stress, leading to new gel production methods.

Study finds fungal disease of snakes in 19 states, Puerto Rico

In a collaborative effort between scientists and personnel on military bases in 31 states in the continental U.S. and Puerto Rico, researchers surveyed for an infection caused by an emerging fungal pathogen that afflicts snakes. The effort found infected snakes on military bases in 19 states and Puerto Rico, demonstrating that the fungus is more widely distributed than was previously known. The...

Study shows similar antibody response to key SARS-CoV-2 'spike' protein in COVID-19

New research published in Diabetologia (the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes [EASD]) shows that antibody responses to related to the key 'spike' protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus are similar in COVID-19 patients with and without diabetes, boosting hopes that vaccines involving this same protein will have a high chance of being as effective in vulnerable patients with...

Survey shows broad bipartisan support for a stronger focus on science

A recent survey commissioned by Research!America on behalf of a working group formed to assess America's commitment to science shows overwhelming support for science across political parties. A strong majority of Americans agree that "the COVID-19 pandemic is a disruptive event and requires urgent refocusing of America's commitment to science."

SwRI scientists study the rugged surface of near-Earth asteroid Bennu

As the days count down to NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft's Touch-And-Go asteroid sample collection attempt, Southwest Research Institute scientists have helped determine what the spacecraft can expect to return from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu's surface. Three papers published online by Science on Oct. 8 discuss the color, reflectivity, age, composition, origin and distribution of materials that...

Terahertz zaps alter gene activity in stem cells

Terahertz light pulses change gene expression in stem cells, report researchers from Kyoto University's Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS) and Tokai University in Japan in the journal Optics Letters. The findings come thanks to a new tool, with implications for stem cell research and regenerative therapy development.

The black hole always chirps twice: New clues deciphering the shape of black holes

A team of gravitational-wave scientists led by the ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav) reveal that when two black holes collide and merge, the remnant black hole 'chirps' not once, but multiple times, emitting gravitational waves--intense ripples in the fabric space and time--that inform us about its shape. Today the study has been published in Communications Physics...

The CNIO reprograms CRISPR system in mice to eliminate tumor cells without affecting healthy cells

CNIO researchers destroyed Ewing's sarcoma and chronic myeloid leukaemia tumor cells by using CRISPR to cut out the fusion genes that cause them. For the first time, fusion genes have been selectively and efficiently removed using CRISPR. These genes are attracting a great deal of interest from the research community because they are unique to the tumor cell and are therefore excellent targets for...

The Marangoni Effect can be used to obtain freshwater from the sea

A study conducted at the Politecnico di Torino, in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and published in the journal Energy and Environmental Science, presents a solar desalination device capable of spontaneously removing the accumulated salt. In the future, this discovery could lead to the development of sustainable desalination systems with stable efficiencies over...

There's a gene for detecting that fishy smell, olfactory GWAS shows

Some people carry a mutation in a particular gene that makes the smell of fish less intense, reports a paper publishing October 8 in the journal Current Biology. The study, which is the largest genome-wide association study (GWAS) of olfactory genes in humans involving a sniff test and looked at over 9,000 people from Iceland, also shows that people vary in their ability to discern the smell of...