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....
Key step taken toward cleaner, more sustainable production of hydrogen
- ScienceDaily
- 21/1/8 20:21
Efficiently mass-producing hydrogen from water is closer to becoming a reality thanks to new findings.
Bacteria can tell the time
- ScienceDaily
- 21/1/8 20:21
New research reveals that bacteria have internal clocks that align with the 24-hour cycle of life on Earth.
Immune cells discovered in the lungs improve virus defense
- ScienceDaily
- 21/1/8 20:21
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
- ScienceDaily
- 21/1/8 20:21
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.
Nanoparticle vaccine for COVID-19
- ScienceDaily
- 21/1/8 20:21
Researchers are working to develop a single-dose vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 that could potentially be stored at room temperature.
Botulism breakthrough? Taming botulinum toxin to deliver therapeutics
- ScienceDaily
- 21/1/8 20:21
Currently there's no treatment for botulism once the toxin gets into neurons. This novel treatment neutralized the toxin with a second, modified botulinum toxin that delivered a mini antibody into the cells - reversing paralysis in mice.
More than half of people using cannabis for pain experience multiple withdrawal symptoms
- ScienceDaily
- 21/1/8 20:21
More than half of people who use medical marijuana products to ease pain also experience clusters of multiple withdrawal symptoms when they're between uses, a new study finds. And about 10% of the patients taking part in the study experienced worsening changes to their sleep, mood, mental state, energy and appetite over the next two years as they continued to use cannabis.
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...
Outdoor hockey traditions under shadow of climate change
Experts say climate change is making for shorter, freezing winters and poses a threat to the very existence of the outdoor stick and puck games at the root of...
COP26: Alok Sharma leaves business job to focus on climate role
Business Secretary Alok Sharma becomes full-time president of November's COP26 conference in Glasgow.
Novel RNA factors may help cancer cells thrive
- ScienceDaily
- 21/1/8 19:11
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
- ScienceDaily
- 21/1/8 18:34
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.
Tiny wireless device sheds light on combating obesity
- ScienceDaily
- 21/1/8 18:34
In a new study, researchers have described a medical device that might help with weight loss and requires a simpler operative procedure for implantation.
Indigenous astronomies and 'astro-colonialism'
“Indigenous astronomies speak to a connection to the land and to the people. And that knowledge has been here as long as people have been here," explained Hilding Neilson, who is Mi’kmaw and a professor in the department of astronomy and astrophysics at the University of...
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.
Researchers find horserace-style coverage harms Senate candidates' electoral success on either side
Media coverage that focuses on strategy over issues can harm the electoral success of Senate candidates, according to wide-ranging research gauging news coverage of more than 150 Senate races in the United States in recent years.
Possible explanation for more efficient maize growth
Maize has a significantly higher productivity rate compared with many other crops. The particular leaf anatomy and special form of photosynthesis (referred to as C4) developed during its evolution allow maize to grow considerably faster than comparable plants. As a result, maize needs more efficient transport strategies to distribute the photoassimilates produced during photosynthesis throughout...
How 'Iron Man' bacteria could help protect the environment
When Michigan State University's Gemma Reguera first proposed her new research project to the National Science Foundation, one grant reviewer responded that the idea was not "environmentally relevant."
Chandra X-ray Observatory studies extraordinary magnetar
- ScienceDaily
- 21/1/8 18:01
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.
We hear what we expect to hear
- ScienceDaily
- 21/1/8 18:01
Neuroscientists show that the entire auditory pathway represents sounds according to prior expectations.
More efficient maize growth
- ScienceDaily
- 21/1/8 18:01
Plant researchers have investigated the transport of compounds in maize. They focused on the mechanism used to transport the products of photosynthesis for further distribution in the plant through its phloem loading pathways. They describe how this mechanism has potentially created a special evolutionary advantage for maize.
Single-dose COVID-19 vaccine triggers antibody response in mice
- ScienceDaily
- 21/1/8 18:01
Researchers have developed a nanoparticle vaccine that elicits a virus-neutralizing antibody response in mice after only a single dose.
How 'Iron Man' bacteria could help protect the environment
- ScienceDaily
- 21/1/8 18:01
In a new study, researchers show that microbes are capable of an incredible feat that could help reclaim a valuable natural resource and soak up toxic pollutants.
Scientists develop a cheaper method that might help create fuels from plants
Scientists have figured out a cheaper, more efficient way to conduct a chemical reaction at the heart of many biological processes, which may lead to better ways to create biofuels from plants.
Researchers realize efficient generation of high-dimensional quantum teleportation
In a study published in Physical Review Letters, a team led by academician Guo Guangcan from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has made progress in high dimensional quantum teleportation. The researchers demonstrated the teleportation of high-dimensional states in a three-dimensional six-photon system.
Nanocrystals that eradicate bacterial biofilms
The COVID-19 pandemic is raising fears of new pathogens such as viruses or drug-resistant bacteria. On this note, a Korean research team has recently drawn attention for developing the technology for removing antibiotic-resistant bacteria by controlling the surface texture of nanomaterials.
Researchers develop ultrahigh-performance plasmonic metal-oxide materials
In a study published in Advanced Materials, researchers from Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, the University of Science and Technology of China of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, using an electron-proton co-doping strategy, invented a new metal-like semiconductor material with excellent plasmonic resonance performance. This material achieves a metal-like...
Five ways to make AI a greater force for good in 2021
A year ago, none the wiser about what 2020 would bring, I reflected on the pivotal moment that the AI community was in. The previous year, 2018, had seen a series of high-profile automated failures, like self-driving-car crashes and discriminatory recruiting tools. In 2019, the field responded with more talk of AI ethics than ever before. But talk, I said, was not enough. We needed to take...
'Invisible' stem cells evade natural killer cells using immune 'off-switch'
- ScienceDaily
- 21/1/8 17:11
Scientists have discovered a new way to control the immune system's 'natural killer' (NK) cells, a finding with implications for novel cell therapies and tissue implants that can evade immune rejection. The findings could also be used to enhance the ability of cancer immunotherapies to detect and destroy lurking tumors.
Scientists paint multicolor atlas of the brain
- ScienceDaily
- 21/1/8 17:11
Scientists have engineered a coloring technique, known as NeuroPAL (a Neuronal Polychromatic Atlas of Landmarks), which makes it possible to identify every single neuron in the brain of a worm.
Tasmanian tiger pups found to be extraordinary similar to wolf pups
- ScienceDaily
- 21/1/8 17:10
Researchers find more similarities between the thylacine and wolf.