182 articles from FRIDAY 9.4.2021

Hubble takes a spiral snapshot

The luminous heart of the galaxy M61 dominates this image, framed by its winding spiral arms threaded with dark tendrils of dust. As well as the usual bright bands of stars, the spiral arms of M61 are studded with ruby-red patches of light. Tell-tale signs of recent star formation, these glowing regions lead to M61's classification as a starburst galaxy.

NASA's Mars Helicopter to make first flight attempt Sunday

NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter is two days away from making humanity's first attempt at powered, controlled flight of an aircraft on another planet. If all proceeds as planned, the 4-pound (1.8-kg) rotorcraft is expected to take off from Mars' Jezero Crater Sunday, April 11, at 12:30 p.m. local Mars solar time (10:54 p.m. EDT), hovering 10 feet (3 meters) above the surface for up to 30 seconds....

Current climate model simulations overestimate future sea-level rise

The melting rate of the Antarctic ice sheet is mainly controlled by the increase of ocean temperatures surrounding Antarctica. Using a new, higher-resolution climate model simulation, scientists from Utrecht University found a much slower ocean temperature increase compared to current simulations with a coarser resolution. Consequently, the projected sea-level rise in 100 years is about 25% lower...

Exploration of ocean currents beneath the 'Doomsday Glacier'

For the first time, researchers have been able to obtain data from underneath Thwaites Glacier, also known as the "Doomsday Glacier." They find that the supply of warm water to the glacier is larger than previously thought, triggering concerns of faster melting and accelerating ice flow.

Carbon dioxide mitigation on Earth and magnesium civilization on Mars

Excessive CO2 emissions are a major cause of climate change, and hence reducing the CO2 levels in the Earth's atmosphere is key to limiting adverse environmental effects. Rather than just capture and store CO2, it would be desirable to use it as carbon feedstock for fuel production to achieve the target of "net-zero-emissions energy systems." The capture and conversion of CO2 (from fuel gas or...

Using genetics, researchers identify potential drugs for early treatment of COVID-19

A new study using human genetics suggests researchers should prioritize clinical trials of drugs that target two proteins to manage COVID-19 in its early stages. Based on their analyses, the researchers call for prioritizing clinical trials of drugs targeting the proteins IFNAR2 and ACE2. The goal is to identify existing drugs, either FDA-approved or in clinical development for other conditions,...

Optically active defects improve carbon nanotubes

The properties of carbon-based nanomaterials can be altered and engineered through the deliberate introduction of certain structural 'imperfections'. The challenge, however, is to control the number and type of these defects. Chemists and materials scientists have now demonstrated a new reaction pathway that enables such control for carbon nanotubes. It results in specific optically active sp3...

El helicóptero de Marte de la NASA intentará realizar su primer vuelo el domingo

Portal origin URL: El helicóptero de Marte de la NASA intentará realizar su primer vuelo el domingoPortal origin nid: 470005Published: Friday, April 9, 2021 - 12:30Featured (stick to top of list): noPortal text teaser: El helicóptero Ingenuity Mars de la NASA está a dos días de llevar a cabo el primer intento de la humanidad de realizar un vuelo controlado y con motor...

The Guardian view on particle physics: have we got the model wrong? | Editorial

Experiments suggest that the subatomic world may be much more complex than we thoughtTo find out how the universe truly works, scientists have for decades worked on the standard model of particle physics. When the Higgs boson was found at the Large Hadron Collider almost a decade ago, it was supposed to be the final piece in the jigsaw at the smallest, subatomic scale. Yet this week came the news...

NASA’s Mars Helicopter to Make First Flight Attempt Sunday

Portal origin URL: NASA’s Mars Helicopter to Make First Flight Attempt SundayPortal origin nid: 470003Published: Friday, April 9, 2021 - 11:56Featured (stick to top of list): noPortal text teaser: NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter is two days away from making humanity’s first attempt at powered, controlled flight of an aircraft on another planet.Portal...

Abrupt ice age climate changes behaved like cascading dominoes

Throughout the last ice age, the climate changed repeatedly and rapidly during so-called Dansgaard-Oeschger events, where Greenland temperatures rose between 5 and 16 degrees Celsius in decades. When certain parts of the climate system changed, other parts of the climate system followed like a series of dominos toppling in succession. Today, sea-ice extent is being rapidly reduced, and it is...

Masculine traits linked to better parenting for some dads

In some men, having traditional masculine characteristics such as competitiveness and adventurousness was linked to being better fathers to infants, a new study found. But the men in this study - highly educated and from dual-earner couples - combined those stereotypically masculine traits with the belief that they should be nurturing, highly involved fathers.

Metabolic changes in fat tissue in obesity associated with adverse health effects

A twin study indicates that the machinery responsible for energy handling in fat tissue is working poorly in obesity. In the study, a clear reduction was seen in the activity of mitochondrial genes in obesity in fat tissue, while similar genome-level change in muscle mitochondria was minor. A link with adverse health effects was identified in the mitochondria of fat tissue only.

A sulfosugar from green vegetables promotes the growth of important gut bacteria

A team of scientists has analyzed how microbes in the gut process the plant-based, sulfur-containing sugar sulfoquinovose. Their study discovered that specialized bacteria cooperate in the utilization of the sulfosugar, producing hydrogen sulfide. This gas has disparate effects on human health: at low concentrations, it has an anti-inflammatory effect, while increased amounts of hydrogen sulfide...

High index surfaces-exposed nanodendrites as ORR electrocatalyst

Alloying is a general and efficient strategy to boost the catalytic activity of Pt catalysts toward oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) through electronic and geometric effects. Besides, high-index surfaces (HISs) of Pt also exhibit superior ORR activity, mainly originated from low-coordinated step or kink atoms. Thus, a combination of the alloying and HISs would be a promising method to further...

Satellites monitor Mount Etna's unpredictable behavior

Italy's Mount Etna, Europe's most active volcano, has recently been on explosive form, with 17 eruptions in less than three months. Instruments onboard three different satellites orbiting Earth have acquired imagery of the eruptions—revealing the intensity of the lava-fountaining eruptive episodes, known as paroxysms.

New research shows how courts often resist abuse allegations

A new four-part HBO series, "Allen v. Farrow," documents the accusations of sexual abuse against film director Woody Allen and the aftermath. The documentary calls on the expertise of Joan S. Meier, a professor of law at George Washington University Law School. In the docuseries Meier comments on strategies of disinformation used by abusers, and references her research focusing on a particularly...