27 articles from SATURDAY 17.4.2021
Tinnitus helpline reports a surge in calls since start of the coronavirus pandemic
Scientists are concerned virus or medication used for treating Covid-19 is causing ear damageCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageMore people are complaining of developing tinnitus for the first time or have found their symptoms have worsened since the start of the pandemic, according to scientists and other leading experts who specialise in the condition.The British...
Walking or running in nature with a therapist is helping people heal
Outdoor therapy can help people to become reflective and their body language while moving gives clues to their feelingsCovid has transformed the way many of us work and that includes the people who look after our mental health. For much of lockdown, psychotherapists, counsellors, psychologists and psychiatrists have all had to venture into the world of online therapy, tackling their clients’...
B.C. farmer takes mushroom experiment to the woods of West Kootenay
A Kaslo, B.C., mushroom farmer has been given the green light to launch a project to cultivate oyster mushrooms on rotting logs and stumps along a popular...
AI ethicist Kate Darling: ‘Robots can be our partners’
The MIT researcher says that for humans to flourish we must move beyond thinking of robots as potential future competitorsDr Kate Darling is a research specialist in human-robot interaction, robot ethics and intellectual property theory and policy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab. In her new book, The New Breed, she argues that we would be better prepared for the future...
Lack of charging stations in B.C. condos impeding use and purchase of electric vehicles
A Metro Vancouver report found that, although adoption of electric vehicles is key for the region to reduce its carbon emissions, there currently isn't enough infrastructure in multi-residential buildings to support drivers to charge them at...
NASA’s NICER Probes the Squeezability of Neutron Stars
Portal origin URL: NASA’s NICER Probes the Squeezability of Neutron StarsPortal origin nid: 470204Published: Saturday, April 17, 2021 - 11:00Featured (stick to top of list): noPortal text teaser: Matter in the hearts of neutron stars – dense remnants of exploded massive stars – takes the most extreme form we can measure. Now, thanks to data from NASA’s NICER, an...
Award-winning teen birdwatcher launches mobile game in which players explore birding hotspots
Coquitlam, B.C., resident Adam Dhalla, 15, is a past recipient of the American Birding Association's Young Birder of the Year award and his new game, Find the Birds, is available...
Climate Change Is the Biggest Story on Earth. So Why Can’t Hollywood Make Good TV Shows and Movies About It?
Last summer, I wrote a short story entitled Rat Island, set in a post-pandemic United States. In it, the rule of law and social order have broken down, with mobs roaming the streets of Los Angeles. A wealthy group of people stand on top of a skyscraper, waiting for the helicopter that will whisk them away, but the crowd storms the building, desperate to board. In the fall of 2020 my agent...
Add India to UK travel ban list to stop Covid variant, urges scientist
Indian coronavirus variant has potential to ‘scupper’ lockdown easing, says professor of immunologyCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageIndia should be placed on the UK’s “red list” for travel after the discovery of a new coronavirus variant, according to a leading scientist.Prof Danny Altmann, from Imperial College London, said it was “mystifying” and...
Once again, volcanic Caribbean island looks to recovery
A group of nervous fish sellers got very close to La Soufrière, the volcano on the Caribbean island of St. Vincent, on the morning of May 7, 1902.
Two Russian cosmonauts, NASA astronaut return from ISS
Two Russian cosmonauts and a NASA astronaut touched down Saturday on the steppe of Kazakhstan following a half-year mission on the International Space Station, footage broadcast by the Russian space agency showed.
Wilhelm Reich: the strange, prescient sexologist who sought to set us free
He believed orgasms could be a healing force and coined the term ‘sexual revolution’. Reich’s understanding of the body is vital in our age of protests and patriarchy, writes Olivia LaingThere are certain people who speak directly into their moment, and others who leave a message for history to decipher, whose work gains in relevance or whose life becomes uncannily meaningful decades after...
To win the next election, the Conservatives need to be taken seriously on climate change
Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole's new climate change plan amounts to a tricky balancing act. Will it attract enough swing voters to make up for any potential losses from a voter base inclined to oppose carbon...
Pandemic made 2020 ‘the year of the quiet ocean’, say scientists
Human-generated sounds faded substantially at height of Covid lockdown, studies showCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe Covid-19 lockdown has produced the quietest year for the world’s oceans in recent memory, according to a group of scientists working on a global map of underwater soundscapes.Noise pollution from ship engines, trawling activities, oil platforms,...
Nasa picks Elon Musk’s SpaceX to build spacecraft to return humans to moon
Space agency breaks with tradition by awarding $2.9bn contract to single company in ‘big step’ for moon-to-Mars strategyNasa has chosen SpaceX to build the next-generation spacecraft that will return humans to the moon, further strengthening Elon Musk’s grip on the burgeoning public-private space industry.The $2.9bn contract to build the lunar lander that will spearhead the Artemis program,...
Heart patients advised to move more to avoid heart attacks and strokes
Elevated blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes increase the risk of heart disease. But a large study today reveals that in people with these conditions, increasing activity levels is associated with a reduced likelihood of heart events and mortality. The research is presented at ESC Preventive Cardiology 2021, an online scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).
New amphibious centipede species discovered in Okinawa and Taiwan
Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University and Hosei University have discovered a new species of large, tropical centipede of genus Scolopendra in Okinawa and Taiwan. It is only the third amphibious centipede identified in the world, and is the largest in the region, 20 cm long and nearly 2 cm thick. It is also the first new centipede to be identified in Japan in 143 years, testament to the...
Scientists find Galapagos volcano could help forecast future eruptions
The Galápagos Islands have played a historic role since Charles Darwin's visit onboard the HMS Beagle in 1835. Today, a team of scientists, including from the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, studied a large eruption in the archipelago to get new insights into how volcanoes behave and could help forecast future events.
Study finds humans are directly influencing wind and weather over North Atlantic
A new study led by scientists at the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science provides evidence that humans are influencing wind and weather patterns across the eastern United States and western Europe by releasing CO2 and other pollutants into Earth's atmosphere.
Simulations reveal how dominant SARS-CoV-2 strain binds to host, succumbs to antibodies
- ScienceDaily
- 21/4/17 01:49
The dominant G-form spike protein 'puts its head up' more frequently to latch on to receptors, but that makes it more vulnerable to neutralization.
Scientists may detect signs of extraterrestrial life in the next 5 to 10 years
- ScienceDaily
- 21/4/17 01:49
Research shows that a new telescope could detect a potential signature of life on other planets in as little as 60 hours.
Unconventional takes on pandemics and nuclear defense could protect humanity from catastrophic failure
- ScienceDaily
- 21/4/17 01:49
From engineered pandemics to city-toppling cyber attacks to nuclear annihilation, life on Earth could radically change, and soon.
Nasa chooses SpaceX to build Moon lander
SpaceX will build a lander that the US space agency will use to return humans to the Moon this decade.