28 articles from SUNDAY 20.12.2020
The Guardian view on a new Covid strain: a more stringent lockdown beckons | Editorial
A mutant virus cannot wholly explain why the UK is in this mess or distract from the other failures that have led us hereThe lockdown in the south-east of England may be the shape of things to come. Sixteen million people are under new severe tier 4 restrictions and there are suggestions that these tougher new rules could be in place for months. Many more across the country have seen their plans...
Plants can be larks or night owls just like us
- ScienceDaily
- 20/12/20 16:39
Plants have the same variation in body clocks as that found in humans, according to new research that explores the genes governing circadian rhythms in plants.
All about my father: chef Ravinder Bhogal on her distant dad
My father was exiled from my emotional life – and it was only when he was dying that I started to understand whyMy father was my first love. It wasn’t a romantic love, of course, but all the ache of love was in it. He was handsome, charming and dangerous. It was more than just a minor crush – it was a fatal, all-consuming yearning for his affection that engulfed me like a slow, devastating...
The most exciting scientific breakthroughs of 2020, chosen by scientists
The response to Covid-19 has been momentous but discoveries in AI, diet, conservation, space and beyond, show the power of science to improve the world post-pandemicIn 2020 the race to space changed gear. The May launch of the SpaceX vehicle Crew Dragon was the first time a private vehicle had delivered astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). It was deeply impressive, but also...
Early humans may have survived the harsh winters by hibernating
Seasonal damage in bone fossils in Spain suggests Neanderthals and their predecessors followed the same strategy as cave bearsBears do it. Bats do it. Even European hedgehogs do it. And now it turns out that early human beings may also have been at it. They hibernated, according to fossil experts.Evidence from bones found at one of the world’s most important fossil sites suggests that our...
Genetically engineered trees could help fight climate change — here's how
While there is controversy over genetic engineering, some scientists say it could also help fight climate change by creating trees that grow bigger, faster and would be better at pulling carbon from the...
We need even tougher curbs to fight this new coronavirus strain
The virus is likely to have spread more widely than the south-east of England, so the lockdown is likely to expandCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageWhile the country has obsessed over the Christmas restrictions over the last few weeks the real story lay elsewhere, it transpires. A new strain of the coronavirus emerged a couple of months ago, probably somewhere in the...
The Observer view on Boris Johnson’s Christmas U-turn | Observer editorial
The prime minister made the right decision in the face of rising infections, but he left it far too late‘We don’t want to cancel Christmas… I think that would be inhuman,” the prime minister said just last Wednesday in response to calls from scientific experts to reduce the relaxation of social restrictions allowing households to mix over Christmas.Four days later, he was forced to...
A community-level intervention reduces alcohol-related crashes
- EurekAlert
- 20/12/20 06:00
New research from the Prevention Research Center of the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation shows that a community-level alcohol intervention in California resulted in a 17% reduction in alcohol-involved crashes among drivers aged 15-30.
COVID-19: avoiding hospital caused heart disease death rise
- EurekAlert
- 20/12/20 06:00
Lower rates of hospital attendance for urgent heart problems during the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic may have contributed to avoidable deaths in England, finds a new study led by UCL researchers.
Getting into shape pre-surgery to aid recovery for older patients - study
- EurekAlert
- 20/12/20 06:00
Older adults about to undergo elective surgery should undertake a sustained programme of targeted exercise beforehand to counteract the muscle-wasting effects of bedrest, new research suggests.
Goldilocks and the three quantum dots: Just right for peak solar panel performance
- EurekAlert
- 20/12/20 06:00
Maximizing the efficiency of renewable energy technology is dependent on creating nanoparticles with ideal dimensions and density, new simulations have shown.
How cancers hurt themselves to hurt immune cells more
- EurekAlert
- 20/12/20 06:00
A study of melanoma cells explains a puzzling response they exhibit to ward off T cell attacks.
Medical oddity reveals unheard-of 'immunity gene' mutations and new way to screen them
- EurekAlert
- 20/12/20 06:00
Researchers baffled by an infant's rare encephalitis case unusual in children found unheard-of mutations and a new way to examine the 'immunity gene.'
Modeling rainfall drop by drop
- EurekAlert
- 20/12/20 06:00
A high-frequency model developed using data from new high-precision rain gauges gives fresh insight into the dynamics of rain and runoff events.
Performance breakthrough by topological-insulator into a waveguide-resonator system
- EurekAlert
- 20/12/20 06:00
Topological insulator (TI), a major discovery in condensed matter physics since this century, has now been introduced into waveguide-resonator systems. Along with basic similarities with classical ones, a TI enhanced system shows great advantages. A recent research in Nanjing University boosted the confidence of using the concepts of TI for practical device performance and functionalities, with...
Protecting against atherosclerosis at the molecular level
- EurekAlert
- 20/12/20 06:00
Researchers from the University of Tsukuba identified a novel mechanism by which CREB3L3 protects against atherosclerosis. By studying the absence or overexpression of the protein in mice prone to develop atherosclerosis, the researchers demonstrated that the absence of CREB3L3 exacerbates the formation of atherosclerosis, whereby the overexpression protects against atherosclerosis. At the...
Scientists solve 'flea mystery'
- EurekAlert
- 20/12/20 06:00
Researchers from the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIGPAS) and the University of Bristol in the UK solved the 'Flea Mystery.'
Socioeconomic background linked to survival after having a cardiac arrest in hospital
- EurekAlert
- 20/12/20 06:00
Hospital in-patients from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are less likely to receive prompt cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) after their hearts stop beating and less likely to survive than patients from higher socioeconomic backgrounds. These are the findings of a new study in over 24,000 patients in Sweden, published in the European Heart Journal.
Study resolves the position of fleas on the tree of life
- EurekAlert
- 20/12/20 06:00
A study of more than 1,400 protein-coding genes of fleas has resolved one of the longest standing mysteries in the evolution of insects, reordering their placement in the tree of life and pinpointing who their closest relatives are.
Study sheds new light on how the brain distinguishes speech from noise
- EurekAlert
- 20/12/20 06:00
For the first time, researchers have provided physiological evidence that a pervasive neuromodulation system - a group of neurons that regulate the functioning of more specialized neurons - strongly influences sound processing in an important auditory region of the brain. The neuromodulator, acetylcholine, may even help the main auditory brain circuitry distinguish speech from noise.
Joe Biden says 'no time to waste' as climate team unveiled
The US president-elect says the team will lead his "ambitious plan" to combat climate change.