290 articles from MONDAY 9.11.2020
Republicans spent millions on last-minute voting ads on Facebook
On midnight of October 26, Facebook stopped accepting all new advertisements about “social issues, elections or politics in the US.” The intention was to prevent Facebook from being overwhelmed by a blitz of last minute ads that would require fact-checking, and to limit the ability of political groups to sow confusion or violence. Advertisers were…
Blue Origin and Aerojet get in on NASA partnerships for new space technologies
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture and Aerojet Rocketdyne’s operation in Redmond, Wash., are among 17 companies that have struck deals with NASA to develop new technologies for space missions. The 20 collaborative projects are part of a program managed by NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate. The selected projects will be governed by unfunded Space Act Agreements. No...
Amazon fires cause Brazil's CO2 emissions to jump amid pandemic
Forest fires have sent carbon dioxide emissions soaring in Brazil over the past two years, undermining efforts by the government of President Jair Bolsonaro to restore the country's environmental credentials.
Groups fight to keep gray wolf protections for most of US
Wildlife advocates and environmental groups have announced that they are challenging the removal of federal protections for gray wolves across most of the U.S.
Highly effective vaccine, new warning signs, disrupted heart rhythm
An experimental COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SA appears to be more than 90% effective, based on data analyzed midway through a gold-standard clinical trial, the companies announced on Monday. Pfizer said researchers had analyzed 94 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in trial participants and found the vast majority of the infections were in volunteers in the placebo group. BioNTech's...
Researchers decode thermal conductivity with light
Groundbreaking science is often the result of true collaboration, with researchers in a variety of fields, viewpoints and experiences coming together in a unique way. One such effort by Clemson University researchers has led to a discovery that could change the way the science of thermoelectrics moves forward.
Social media can influence stock returns, finance professor says
Twitter's impact is not limited to news, sports and political opinions.
Study finds surprising diversity in early child care
- ScienceDaily
- 20/11/9 21:22
A new study of kindergarteners in one Midwestern state identified seven different pathways the children took in their early education and care before arriving at school. The researchers were surprised by the diverse experiences that kids brought with them to kindergarten: While some received care only in their home or mainly in a child care center, others switched back and forth between different...
Researchers use 'big data' approach to identify melatonin as possible COVID-19 treatment
- ScienceDaily
- 20/11/9 21:22
A new study suggests that melatonin, a hormone that regulates the sleep-wake cycle and is commonly used as an over-the-counter sleep aid, may be a viable treatment option for COVID-19.
Female banded mongooses lead battle for chance to find mates
When families of banded mongooses prepare to fight, they form battle lines. “Then they bunch up into writhing balls, chaotic and fast-moving, and you hear high-pitched screeches,” said Michael Cant, a biologist at the University of Exeter who has been studying the species in Uganda for 25 years. “We call it mongoose...
You drive like a girl: Study shows gender bias in perceptions of ride-sharing performance
Gender discrimination continues to plague organizations, and "gig economy" businesses, which have thrived over the last decade, are not immune, according to new research from the University of Notre Dame.
Female banded mongooses lead battle for chance to find mates
When families of banded mongooses prepare to fight, they form battle lines.
A better understanding of coral skeleton growth suggests ways to restore reefs
Coral reefs are vibrant communities that host a quarter of all species in the ocean and are indirectly crucial to the survival of the rest. But they are slowly dying—some estimates say 30 to 50 percent of reefs have been lost—due to climate change.
Nuclear war could take a big bite out of the world's seafood
A new study reveals the damage that a nuclear war might take on wild-caught seafood around the world, from salmon and tuna to the shrimp in shrimp cocktails.
Gene editing study finds gene for heat tolerance in corals
An international research project has used gene-editing technology to examine the heat tolerance of Great Barrier Reef coral with the results set to guide efforts in combatting the effects of climate change.
In a warming world, Cape Town's 'Day Zero' drought won't be an anomaly
Today, the lakes around Cape Town are brimming with water, but it was only a few years ago that South Africa's second-most populous city made global headlines as a multi-year drought depleted its reservoirs, impacting millions of people. That kind of extreme event may become the norm, researchers now warn.
Study finds surprising diversity in early child care
A new study of kindergarteners in one Midwestern state identified seven different pathways the children took in their early education and care before arriving at school.
New study defines life cycle of a destructive plant pathogen 142 years after its discovery
Found in more than 60 countries, cruciferous clubroot disease is one of the most destructive plant diseases, causing so-called tumors on the roots of Brassicaceae crops and resulting in huge yield losses annually. The causal agent of this disease, Plasmodiophora brassicae, was first discovered by Russian biologist M. S. Woronin in 1878. Despite this early discovery, the life history of the...
A second cable fails at NSF's Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico
A main cable that supports the Arecibo Observatory broke Friday at 7:39 p.m. Puerto Rico time.
‘A great day for humanity’ – and not bad for the stock market either | Nils Pratley
We mustn’t get carried away but the strong reaction to the Pfizer-BioNTec trial results makes sense“A great day for science and humanity,” said the Pfizer chief executive, Albert Bourla. It was a decent one for stock markets too. The FTSE 100 index rose almost 5% as the US firm and its German partner, BioNTech, reported promising initial results from their Covid vaccine trial.There is an...
New black hole merger simulations could help power next-gen gravitational wave detectors
- ScienceDaily
- 20/11/9 20:34
Scientists have developed new simulations of black holes with widely varying masses merging that could help power the next generation of gravitational wave detectors.
Pfizer's promising COVID-19 vaccine won't save Christmas, or even Easter and Passover, experts say
Pfizer said in a press release that its experimental vaccine is 90% effective at preventing COVID-19, a step toward slowing the spread of the...
Pfizer, BioNTech initial vaccine results impress, but scientists remain cautious
Scientists on Monday said initial trial results for Pfizer Inc and BioNTech's coronavirus vaccine far outpaced their expectations for protection against a completely new disease, but that many questions remain unanswered. The drugmakers said their vaccine was more than 90 percent effective at preventing COVID-19, based on data from the first 94 people in the trial to become infected with the...
Biden calls for major investments into carbon removal tech
President-elect Joe Biden wasted little time setting a new tone on climate change.
On Sunday, one day after major outlets called the presidential election for the former vice president, the Biden-Harris transition team released documents laying out the incoming administration’s early priorities, including a blueprint for “tackling the climate crisis.”
Most of the details were drawn...
Japanese increasingly single, disinterested in dating: study
In Japan, the proportion of the population who are single has increased dramatically in the past three decades. In 2015, one in four women and one in three men in their 30s were single, and half of the singles say they are not interested in heterosexual relationships. Public health experts at the University of Tokyo found that those who are disinterested in relationships are more likely to have...
Taking action for the common good
In 1979, a federally commissioned study led by meteorology pioneer and MIT professor Jule Charney helped alert the world to the processes driving global warming—at the time, a looming but not yet imminent threat. Today, climate change is no longer a challenge for some distant future; it is a present and accelerating crisis requiring swift, far-reaching action. There is room and reason for every...
Covid testing, MIT style
MELANIE GONICK
Seniors arriving on campus for the fall term headed to MIT’s custom-designed covid testing trailer, which lets caregivers swab noses using gloves protruding through height-adjustable panels. On August 31, MIT Medical administered over 2,700 tests—more than many states did that day—and topped that with a record 4,979 tests on September 14. Of the 22,176 tests given at MIT...
Global analysis of forest management shows local communities often lose out
- ScienceDaily
- 20/11/9 19:24
Maintaining forest cover is an important natural climate solution, but new research shows that too often, communities lose out when local forest management is formalized.
Fossil feces hows fishy lunches from 200 million years ago
- ScienceDaily
- 20/11/9 19:24
A new study of coprolites, fossil feces, shows the detail of food webs in the ancient shallow seas around Bristol in south-west England. One hungry fish ate part of the head of another fish before snipping off the tail of a passing reptile.
3D model shows bacterial motor in action
- ScienceDaily
- 20/11/9 19:24
Scientists have constructed a high-resolution 3D model that shows what happens when a bacterial motor switches directions.
Menstrual cycle length and body temperature change with age and seasons
- ScienceDaily
- 20/11/9 19:24
Researchers using Big Data have shown that the average length of the menstrual cycle in Japanese women peaks at 23 years with a trough at 45. Body temperature was consistent for the follicular phase of the cycle, but the average during the luteal phase peaks and stabilizes in the thirties, declining after 42. These findings replace outdated statistics and are relevant for research into female...
Genetic disposition protects immune system from aging
- ScienceDaily
- 20/11/9 19:24
A genetic disposition that plays a role in the development of the heart in the embryo also appears to play a key role in the human immune system.
First brown dwarf discovered by radio observations confirmed
- ScienceDaily
- 20/11/9 19:24
New research has led to the first direct discovery of a cold brown dwarf from its radio wavelength emission. Along with paving the way for future brown dwarf discoveries, this result is an important step towards applying radio astronomy to the exciting field of exoplanets.
Antiferromagnets are suitable for dissipationless nanoelectronics, contrary to current theories
Sometimes combinations of different things produce effects that no one expects, such as when completely new properties appear that the two combined parts do not have on their own. Dr. Libor Šmejkal from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) found such an unexpected property: He combined antiferromagnetic substances with non-magnetic atoms and found that, contrary to the current doctrine, a...
Half-billion-year-old microfossils may yield new knowledge of animal origins
When and how did the first animals appear? Science has long sought an answer to this question. Uppsala University researchers and colleagues in Denmark have now jointly found, in Greenland, embryo-like microfossils up to 570 million years old, revealing that organisms of this type were dispersed throughout the world. The study is published in Communications Biology.
Yin and Yang: Two signaling molecules control growth and behavior in bacteria
Bacteria are considered to be true experts in survival. Their rapid adaptive response to changing environmental conditions is based, among other things, on two competing signaling molecules. As the 'Yin and Yang' of metabolic control they decide on the lifestyle of bacteria, as reported by researchers from the University of Basel. The new findings also play a role in the context of bacterial...
Remote learning adds pressure for teachers who work second shift as mothers
The transition to remote learning coupled with an unequal distribution of second-shift responsibilities has placed teachers who are also mothers under immense stress, according to new University at Buffalo research.
Researchers find key to piercing harmful bacteria's armor
Bacteria are single-celled organisms that are essential to human health, both in our environment and inside our own bodies. However, certain bacterial species can make us sick.
Ecological theory provides insights on pesticide use in agriculture
As agriculture in the United States evolves, it's becoming more intensive and less complex. That means larger fields, more cropland and less crop diversity with fewer crops in rotation.
Trees set sixth-graders up for success
The transition to middle school is undeniably tough for many sixth-graders, even in the best of times. Mounting academic demands, along with changes in peer dynamics and the onset of puberty, result in a predictable and sometimes irreversible slump in academic performance.