25 articles from SATURDAY 17.10.2020

Digital 'health passport' trials under way to aid reopening of borders

CommonPass aims to create common standard proving a traveller is Covid-free or vaccinatedCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageA new digital “health passport” is to be piloted by a small number of passengers flying from the UK to the US for the first time next week under plans for a global framework for Covid-safe air travel.The CommonPass system, backed by the World...

Curing the incurable: teaching an old drug new tricks to fight ovarian cancer

The winning essay in the Max Perutz science writing award 2020 was written by Sarah Taylor from the MRC Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine at the University of Edinburgh In May, PhD students who are funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC) were invited to enter the Max Perutz science writing award 2020 and to tell the general public “why your research matters”. From the many...

NHS using drones to deliver coronavirus kit between hospitals

Trials in Essex using GPS-enabled remote-controlled aircraft to carry blood tests and PPECoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageAn NHS drone is being used to courier Covid-19 samples, blood tests and personal protective equipment between hospitals in England.It is hoped that the trials, backed by a £1.3m grant from the UK Space Agency, can establish a network of air...

Engineers' report bolsters proposed Mississippi pump project

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Friday published a draft of a new environmental impact statement that supports a proposal for massive pumps to drain floodwaters from parts of the rural Mississippi Delta—a reversal of a previous federal report that said the project would hurt wetlands.

'Classified knots': Researchers create optical framed knots to encode information

In a world first, researchers from the University of Ottawa in collaboration with Israeli scientists have been able to create optical framed knots in the laboratory that could potentially be applied in modern technologies. Their work opens the door to new methods of distributing secret cryptographic keys—used to encrypt and decrypt data, ensure secure communication and protect private...

Coronavirus live news: Austrian foreign minister tests positive; Victoria reports just one new case

Alexander Schallenberg might have caught it at EU meeting; calls to ease restrictions in Australian state of Victoria; UK accuses Russia of trying to disrupt vaccine researchCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverage 8.17am BST In the US, the White House quietly told Tennessee early this week that “a statewide mask mandate must be implemented” to curb its growing spread of...

The tardigrade in the ice hole: how extreme life finds a way in the Arctic

Tiny organisms nicknamed water bears offer clues about possible alien life but the changing climate means their habitat faces an uncertain futureAs we make our way across Greenland’s ice sheets, I look around. We’re surrounded by numerous tiny black holes, some only a few centimeters in diameter, others up to 4-8in (10-20cm) wide. As we advance, we notice that more and more holes are magically...

Covid reinfections 'to be expected' as virus spreads, say government scientists

Reports suggest timeframe between recovery and reinfection ‘relatively short’ for those who contracted virus twice Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageGovernment science advisers have warned that reinfections with Covid-19 are “to be expected” as the virus spreads, based on what is known about people’s immunity to other coronaviruses that cause the common...

Echo from the past makes rice paddies a good home for wetland plants

Tokyo, Japan - Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University studied the biodiversity of wetland plants over time in rice paddies in the Tone River basin, Japan. They found that paddies which were more likely to have been wetland before agricultural use retained more wetland plant species. On the other hand, land consolidation and agricultural abandonment were both found to negatively impact...

Oncotarget: Induction of phenotypic changes in HER2-postive breast cancer cells

The cover for issue 30 of Oncotarget features Figure 4, "RNAseq results demonstrating differences between normal, cancer, and redirected cells," by Frank-Kamenetskii, et al. which reported that the influence of breast cancer cells on normal cells of the microenvironment, such as fibroblasts and macrophages, has been heavily studied but the influence of normal epithelial cells on breast cancer...

Results from host-reduce-polytech-ACS trial reported at TCT Connect

A randomized clinical trial found that drug-eluting stents (DES) with durable polymers are non-inferior to DES with biodegradable polymers in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Findings were reported today at TCT Connect, the 32nd annual scientific symposium of the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF). TCT is the world's premier educational meeting specializing in interventional...

Results from the cobra-reduce trial reported at TCT Connect

For patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) that also require oral anticoagulation, treatment with a nanotechnology polymer-coated stent plus 14-day dual anti-platelet therapy (DAPT) did not reduce bleeding or establish non-inferior outcomes for thrombotic events compared with a drug-eluting stent (DES) and standard three or six-month DAPT therapy.

Results from the optimize trial reported at TCT Connect

The OPTIMIZE randomized trial comparing a novel, low-profile drug-eluting stent (DES) facilitating transradial access (TR) and direct stenting (DS) to existing DES did not establish non-inferiority of the new stent based on the prespecified study statistical analysis plan, likely due to the definition of periprocedural target vessel myocardial infarction (TVMI) coupled with a large proportion of...

Art imitates life at Plastic Bag Store pop-up in New York

The pop-up art installation in the heart of Times Square is meant to raise environmental awareness, coinciding with New York State's ban on all plastic carryout bags. "There are humorous and satirical takes on everyday products that highlight the amount of waste that we're using, and the environmental problems related," said Brooklyn artist and creator of The Plastic Bag Store, Robin Frohardt....

OceanGate gets set for dives to Titanic while overcoming the complications of COVID-19

Everett, Wash.-based OceanGate is getting ready to send explorers down to survey the wreck of the Titanic in its own custom-made submersible, but sometimes coping with the coronavirus pandemic can seem as challenging as diving 12,500 feet beneath the Atlantic Ocean’s surface. For example, there was the time OceanGate had to retrieve carbon-fiber material that was held up at NASA’s Marshall...

BlackRock's Fink 'pretty bearish' on emerging markets

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said on Friday he believes emerging markets are on a downward slide as he sees strong macro trends weighing on the asset class. "I am pretty bearish on the emerging world," Fink said at an online event hosted by the Institute of International Finance. "When we talk about climate change, and we think that's a big issue and a reallocation of capital," Fink said, "part of...