166 articles from WEDNESDAY 6.10.2021

Literature review: Ten years of research on oil and gas industry's methane and health-damaging air pollutant emissions

Oil and gas emissions vary widely throughout the supply chain, making mitigation of both super-emitters and emissions sources near populations top priorities for public health and climate, according to findings from a literature review by the nonprofit energy science and policy institute Physicians, Scientists, and Engineers (PSE) for Healthy Energy. "Methane and Health-Damaging Air Pollutants...

Massage doesn’t just make muscles feel better, it makes them heal faster and stronger

Massages feel good, but do they actually speed muscle recovery? Turns out, they do. Scientists applied precise, repeated forces to injured mouse leg muscles and found that they recovered stronger and faster than untreated muscles, likely because the compression squeezed inflammation-causing cells out of the muscle tissue. This work offers a non-invasive, drug-free treatment that can help...

Dwarf planet Vesta a window to the early solar system

The dwarf planet Vesta is helping scientists better understand the earliest era in the formation of our solar system. Two recent articles use data from meteorites derived from Vesta to resolve the 'missing mantle problem' and push back our knowledge of the solar system to just a couple of million years after it began to form.

Extinction and origination patterns change after mass extinctions

A sweeping analysis of marine fossils from most of the past half-billion years shows the usual rules of body size evolution change during mass extinctions and their recoveries. The discovery is an early step toward predicting how evolution will play out on the other side of the current extinction crisis.

A study of skull growth and tooth emergence reveals that timing is everything

Paleoanthropologists have wondered how and why humans evolved molars that emerge into the mouth at specific ages and why those ages are so delayed compared to living apes. It is the coordination between facial growth and the mechanics of the chewing muscles that determines not just where but when adult molars emerge. This results in molars coming in only when enough of a 'mechanically safe' space...

A study of skull growth and tooth emergence reveals that timing is everything

Six, 12, and 18. These are the ages that most people get their three adult molars or large chewing teeth towards the back of the mouth. These teeth come in at a much later age than they do in our closest living relative, the chimpanzee, who get those same adult molars at around three, six, and 12 years old. Paleoanthropologists have wondered for a long time how and why humans evolved molars that...

Line and hook fishing techniques in Epipaleolithic Israel

Humans in the Middle East were using complex fishing tools and techniques by 12,000 years ago, according to a study published October 6, 2021 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Antonella Pedergnana of the Archaeological Research Centre and Museum for Human Behavioural Evolution in Mainz, Germany and colleagues.

Tiny bubbles can be future treatment for inflammation

Scientists hope that tiny sacs of material excreted by cells -- so-called extracellular vesicles -- can be used to deliver drugs inside the body. Researchers now show that these nano-bubbles can transport protein drugs that reduce inflammation caused by different diseases. The technique shows promising results in animal models.

Protecting the ozone layer is delivering vast health benefits

An international agreement to protect the ozone layer is expected to prevent 443 million cases of skin cancer and 63 million cataract cases for people born in the United States through the end of this century, according to new research. The research team developed a computer modeling approach that revealed the effect of the Montreal Protocol and subsequent amendments on stratospheric ozone, the...

Sense of purpose associated with better memory

A new study showed a link between an individual's sense of purpose and their ability to recall vivid details. The researchers found that while both a sense of purpose and cognitive function made memories easier to recall, only a sense of purpose bestowed the benefits of vividness and coherence.

What's Up - October 2021

What are some skywatching highlights in October 2021? See several groupings of the Moon, planets, and stars at sunrise and sunset. Then get to know two bright stars that are part of a special group: along with a handful of others, they take turns with Polaris as North Star over thousands of years. Plus, Oct. 16 is International Observe the Moon Night! Details: https://moon.nasa.gov/observe...

Think a census of humans is hard? Try counting their brain cells!

In 2013, the U.S. government began investing $100 million to decipher human brain anatomy in a large collaborative project called the BRAIN Initiative. Researchers built tools and set standards for describing all the cells in the brain. On October 7, 2021 the initiative reached a major milestone, publishing a comprehensive census of cell types in the mouse, monkey, and human primary motor cortex.