140 articles from TUESDAY 31.8.2021

How to keep the power on during hurricanes and heat waves and fires and …

Global warming is underscoring the point, again and again and again, that the infrastructure in the US was built for the climate conditions of the past. Hurricane Ida, turbocharged by unusually warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico, plunged New Orleans into darkness after reportedly knocking out all eight of the transmission lines into the city. That and other damage to the power system left...

This rainbow-making tech could help autonomous vehicles read signs

A new study explains the science behind microscale concave interfaces (MCI) -- structures that reflect light to produce beautiful and potentially useful optical phenomena. Future applications of these effects could include aiding autonomous vehicles in recognizing traffic signs, researchers say. Multiple images, including of a sign created using the material, are available.

Dark Energy Camera captures detailed view of striking peculiar galaxy

A spectacular portrait of the galaxy Centaurus A has been captured by astronomers using the Dark Energy Camera mounted on the Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. This galaxy's peculiar appearance—cloaked in dark tendrils of dust—stems from a past interaction with another galaxy, and its size and proximity to Earth make it one of the...

Animal rights groups sue to stop Wisconsin wolf hunt

A coalition of animal rights groups filed a lawsuit Tuesday to stop Wisconsin's wolf hunt this fall and invalidate a state law mandating annual hunts, arguing the statutes don't give wildlife officials any leeway to consider population estimates.

Lack of non-English languages in STEM publications hurts diversity

With today's existing translation tools to overcome language barriers, global collaboration should be no major feat for researchers. Yet throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, articles published in Chinese journals focusing on critical aspects of the disease were often never cited by English journals. As a result, U.S. academics wasted precious time performing research thereby replicating already...

Ferroelectrics everywhere?

A new family of materials that could result in improved digital information storage and uses less energy may be possible thanks to a team of researchers who demonstrated ferroelectricity in magnesium-substituted zinc oxide.

Australian health authorities warn against mixing Covid vaccine types

Concerns raised that some people may be cancelling their second AstraZeneca dose hoping to obtain a shot of Pfizer insteadFollow our Covid live blog for the latest updatesHotspots: NSW; Vic; QldVaccine rollout tracker; get our free news app; get our morning email briefingThe evidence is strongest for receiving two doses of the same Covid-19 vaccine, rather than mixing different types, medical...