190 articles from FRIDAY 8.1.2021

The scramble to archive Capitol insurrection footage before it disappears

As a violent mob incited by President Donald Trump stormed the US Capitol on January 6, halting the procedure in Congress to formally certify Joe Biden as president-elect, a Redditor with the username Adam Lynch began a thread on the subreddit r/DataHoarder—a forum dedicated to saving data that might be erased or deleted. “Archiving videos before potential removal from various websites …”...

Celebrate the Perseverance Rover Landing With NASA’s Student Challenge

Portal origin URL: Celebrate the Perseverance Rover Landing With NASA’s Student ChallengePortal origin nid: 467483Published: Friday, January 8, 2021 - 15:39Featured (stick to top of list): noPortal text teaser: The rover touches down on the Red Planet next month, and students are invited to join the excitement by designing, building, and landing their own Mars mission....

Immune cells discovered in the lungs improve virus defense

Researchers have discovered immune cells resident in the lungs that persist long after a bout of flu. Experiments with mice have shown that these helper cells improve the immune response to reinfection by a different strain of the flu virus. The discovery could yield approaches to developing longer-lasting vaccinations against quickly-mutating viruses.

Unravelling the mystery that makes viruses infectious

Researchers have for the first time identified the way viruses like the poliovirus and the common cold virus 'package up' their genetic code, allowing them to infect cells. The findings open up the possibility that drugs or anti-viral agents can be developed that would stop such infections.

Bacteria can tell the time

Humans have them, so do other animals and plants. Now research reveals that bacteria too have internal clocks that align with the 24-hour cycle of life on Earth.

Scientists discover virus-like particles in Bryozoa

Scientists from Russia, Austria, and the USA have discovered virus-like particles in the bacterial symbionts of Bryozoa—a phylum of colonial aquatic invertebrates—filter-feeders dominating in many bottom ecosystems. The research project was planned and supervised by scientists from St Petersburg University. Some of the virus-like particles resemble red blood cells, while others have a...

Study reveals jellyfish create a 'virtual wall' to enhance performance

New research led by the University of South Florida has uncovered one of the reasons jellyfish have come to be known as the "world's most efficient swimmer." Brad Gemmell, associate professor of integrative biology, found jellyfish produce two vortex rings, which are donut-shaped bodies of fluid underneath their translucent bodies, that spin in opposite directions. They appear as jellyfish squeeze...

Novel RNA factors may help cancer cells thrive

Recent work pinpoints critical changes in an enzyme known as DICER, which create a cascade of effects on this microRNAome. The team identified primary actors circ2082, a circular RNA, and RBM3, an RNA-binding protein, which form a complex with DICER to trap it in the nucleus of glioblastoma cells, therefore disrupting the cytoplasmic microRNAome.

Sir Arnold Wolfendale obituary

Astronomer royal and physicist who greatly advanced understanding of cosmic raysSir Arnold Wolfendale, the 14th astronomer royal, who has died aged 93, did much to advance understanding of cosmic rays, the stream of charged particles from outer space that continuously bombard the Earth’s atmosphere. For this purpose he assembled a strong team at Durham University, making it one of Britain’s...

Jellyfish create a 'virtual wall' to enhance performance

A new discovery finds that jellyfish create a 'ground effect,' similar to how air squeezes between an airplane and ground during take-off, which builds pressure and a force that boosts performance. Never before has it been proven that an animal can create this phenomenon away from a solid boundary, let alone the open ocean.

Chandra observations reveal extraordinary magnetar

In 2020, astronomers added a new member to an exclusive family of exotic objects with the discovery of a magnetar. New observations from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory help support the idea that it is also a pulsar, meaning it emits regular pulses of light.