199 articles from FRIDAY 23.10.2020

Exploring the source of stars and planets in a laboratory

A new method for verifying a widely held but unproven theoretical explanation of the formation of stars and planets has been proposed by researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL). The method grows from simulation of the Princeton Magnetorotational Instability (MRI) Experiment, a unique laboratory device that aims to demonstrate the MRI process...

Wildfire smoke may help virus spread, mouthwash helps curb it

Large wildfires may be linked to increases in COVID-19 cases and deaths in the San Francisco area, according to a paper in the European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences. Researchers found that between March and September, increases in smoke particles, other wildfire pollutants and carbon monoxide levels corresponded to increases in daily COVID-19 diagnoses and total COVID-19...

Fipronil, a common insecticide, disrupts aquatic communities in the US

The presence of insecticides in streams is increasingly a global concern, yet information on safe concentrations for aquatic ecosystems is sometimes sparse. In a new study led by Colorado State University's Janet Miller and researchers at the United States Geological Survey, the team found a common insecticide, fipronil, and related compounds were more toxic to stream communities than previous...

Elkhorn coral actively fighting off diseases on reef, study finds

As the world enters a next wave of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we are aware now more than ever of the importance of a healthy immune system to protect ourselves from disease. This is not only true for humans but corals too, which are in an ongoing battle to ward off deadly diseases spreading on a reef.

Coastal permafrost more susceptible to climate change than previously thought

If you flew from the sea towards the land in the north slope of Alaska, you would cross from the water, over a narrow beach, and then to the tundra. From the air, that tundra would look like a landscape of room-sized polygonal shapes. Those shapes are the surface manifestations of the ice in the frozen ground below, a solidified earth known as permafrost.

SPOTlight supercharges cell studies

Researchers at Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine have developed a new method to isolate specific cells, and in the process found a more robust fluorescent protein.

The weirdly specific filters campaigns are using to micro-target you

The news: The NYU Ad Observatory released new data this week about the inputs the Trump and Biden campaigns are using to target audiences for ads on Facebook. It’s a jumble of broad and specific characteristics ranging from the extremely wide (“any users between the ages of 18-65”) to particular traits (people with an “interest in Lin-Manuel Miranda”). Campaigns use these...

Discovery of pH-dependent 'switch' in interaction between pair of protein molecules

All biological processes are in some way pH-dependent. Human bodies and those of other organisms need to maintain specific and constant pH regulation in order to function. Changes in pH can have serious biological consequences—or serious benefits, as researchers at the Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology (QIBEBT), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) found.

Seabird response to abrupt climate change 5,000 years ago transformed Falklands ecosystems: study

The Falkland Islands are a South Atlantic refuge for some of the world's most important seabird species, including five species of penguins, Great Shearwaters, and White-chinned Petrels. In recent years, their breeding grounds in the coastal tussac (Poa flabellata) grasslands have come under increasing pressure from sheep grazing and erosion. And unlike other regions of the globe, there has been...

Washington state discovers first 'murder hornet' nest in US

Scientists have discovered the first nest of so-called murder hornets in the United States and plan to wipe it out Saturday to protect native honeybees, officials in Washington state said. After weeks of searching, the agency said it found the nest of Asian giant hornets in Blaine, a city north of Seattle near the Canadian border. The world’s largest hornet at 2 inches (5 centimeters) long,...