181 articles from THURSDAY 12.8.2021
After Eta and Iota, NASA helps prep Central America for future storms
Shortly after Category 4 Hurricane Iota began to drench Central America on Nov. 16, 2020, Claudia Herrera watched from a helicopter as ruinous flood water inundated entire neighborhoods of La Lima, in Honduras' Valley of Sula. In just three days, the catastrophic rainfall of Iota had flooded Ramon Villeda Morales International Airport in La Lima, as well as schools, healthcare centers, and other...
Induced-fit adsorbent for acetylene
We often say that a substrate fits into its enzyme like a key in a lock, but this metaphor is imperfect. Substrate binding can also change the lock (the structure of the enzyme) to induce a perfect fit. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, an international team of researchers has now introduced a non-biological, crystalline material that demonstrates induced-fit binding behavior when it highly...
Humans behind extinction of hundreds of bird species over the last 50,000 years
A new study from Tel Aviv University and the Weizmann Institute revealed that over the last 20,000-50,000 years, birds have undergone a major extinction event, inflicted chiefly by humans, which caused the disappearance of about 10 to 20 percent of all avian species. The vast majority of the extinct species shared several features: they were large, they lived on islands, and many of them were...
New semiconductor device possibilities using black phosphorous
Stress and strain, applied in just the right manner, can sometimes produce amazing results.
Spektr-RG spacecraft detects its first tidal disruption events
Using the eROSITA telescope onboard the Spektr-RG (SRG) spacecraft, astronomers have detected 13 new tidal disruption events (TDEs). This is the first time when Spektr-RG identifies such events. The discovery is reported in a paper published August 5 on the arXiv pre-print server.
Greenhouse gas emissions must peak within 4 years, says leaked UN report
Group of scientists release draft IPCC report as they fear it will be watered down by governmentsGlobal greenhouse gas emissions must peak in the next four years, coal and gas-fired power plants must close in the next decade and lifestyle and behavioural changes will be needed to avoid climate breakdown, according to the leaked draft of a report from the world’s leading authority on climate...
Analysis can predict individual differences in cardiovascular responses to altered gravity
With recent forays into space travel by business moguls like Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson, visiting the edge of space has never been more within the grasp of commercial travel. However, at these altitudes, passengers experience weightlessness, or more generally, altered gravity, that can affect the body's normal physiology.
Dendrimers: The tiny tentacles shown to evade our immune response
Tiny synthetic particles known as dendrimers avoid detection by our immune system and could help develop a new way to deliver drugs into the body without triggering a reaction.
Emotion affects how you assess risk: Why it's hard to be objective about pandemic precautions
People tend to overestimate or underestimate risk. The pandemic brings this into stark relief. Picture someone wearing an N95 mask while walking their dog through a deserted park. Contrast that with someone entering a crowded bar maskless in an area with high coronavirus transmission rates.
A personal dosimeter is in your first aid kit
When proper precautions are taken, radioactive substances are extremely safe to use. But what if they leak into the environment in an uncontrolled manner? Then it becomes crucial to find out the dose of radiation people may have absorbed. Unfortunately, the average person does not possess a radiation dosimeter. The Institute of Nuclear Physics PAS has a new solution to this problem—and it can be...
Female scientists set back by the pandemic may never make up lost time
During the COVID-19 quarantines, scientists, like most professionals, took their work home.
Study: Drought is rising in Europe
A new study from the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (CZU), Faculty of Environmental Sciences, has found that the rise of compound warm-season droughts in Europe is a dynamic, developing phenomenon.
During Close Pass, Solar Orbiter Captures Venus’ Glare
Portal origin URL: During Close Pass, Solar Orbiter Captures Venus’ GlarePortal origin nid: 473208Published: Thursday, August 12, 2021 - 09:30Featured (stick to top of list): noPortal text teaser: On Aug. 9, 2021, ESA/NASA’s Solar Orbiter spacecraft passed within 4,967 miles (7,995 kilometers) of the surface of planet Venus. In the days leading up to the approach, the...
Batters move their heads to keep their eyes on the ball
- ScienceDaily
- 21/8/12 15:27
Researchers are revisiting an age-old question in baseball: Do batters actually keep their eye on the ball? A review of the few film- and lab-based studies on the subject suggests that yes, indeed, batters' eyes are watching the pitched ball. But they're moving their heads, and not their eyes, to direct their gaze.
For psoriasis, targeting skin protein may help control inflammation
- ScienceDaily
- 21/8/12 15:27
Results from a new study reveal that targeting interferon kappa, a protein made by skin cells, may reduce the severity of psoriasis. Researchers say the findings will bring physicians one step closer to optimizing treatments for patients with the autoimmune disease.
A fast, accurate system for quickly solving stubborn RNA structures from pond scum, the SARS-CoV-2 virus and more
- ScienceDaily
- 21/8/12 15:27
Scientists used a new system to zoom in on an iconic RNA catalyst and a piece of viral RNA that's a potential target for COVID-19 treatments.
Wildfire smoke may lead to less rain in the western US
- ScienceDaily
- 21/8/12 15:27
As wildfires and heatwaves stress the western United States, concern over drought is rising: Dry landscapes burn more readily, and rain can help quell fires already raging. But wildfire smoke may keep that essential rain from falling.
Discovery raises possibility of new medication for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s
- ScienceDaily
- 21/8/12 15:27
Researchers have for the first time demonstrated it's possible to use a synthetic thyroid hormone to regulate a gene implicated in neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and multiple sclerosis.
New technique illuminates DNA helix
- ScienceDaily
- 21/8/12 15:27
Researchers have identified a new way to measure DNA torsional stiffness -- how much resistance the helix offers when twisted -- information that can potentially shed light on how cells work.
Silica nanostructure with chemo-enzymatic compartmentalization
- ScienceDaily
- 21/8/12 15:27
A research team has recently synthesized a chemo-enzymatic nanostructure that can selectively synthesize one enantiomer while acting like an artificial organelle in the cell.
Skin cells from frontotemporal dementia patients may prove useful in revealing disease mechanisms and in biomarker and drug research
- ScienceDaily
- 21/8/12 15:27
A new study suggests that skin fibroblasts from frontotemporal dementia patients may be useful in investigating underlying disease mechanisms as well as in biomarker and drug research.
UK charity shops go online to plug Covid spending gap
Number of items sold via internet surges by 151% between February and JulyCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageCharity shops, the stalwart of many British high streets, are turning to selling online as they try to plug the large gap in funding caused by the Covid pandemic.The number of items sold online by charities soared by 151% in the six months between February and...
A century after the Appalachian Trail was proposed, millions hike it every year seeking 'the breath of a real life'
The Appalachian Trail, North America's most famous hiking route, stretches over 2,189 mountainous miles (3,520 kilometers) from Georgia to Maine. In any given year, some 3 million people hike on it, including more than 3,000 "thru-hikers" who go the entire distance, either in one stretch or in segments over multiple years.
More intense and more frequent floods and droughts in the future
Extreme climate events like the ones experienced by many regions around the world this summer are threatening to become more frequent and more devastating in the future. This applies to flooding as well as heatwaves and droughts, which in turn can lead to devastating forest fires. This is the conclusion reached by more than 200 scientists from 66 countries, including several researchers from the...