128 articles from MONDAY 18.10.2021

New active agent against parasites

Researchers have identified a chemical compound that may be suitable as an active agent against several different unicellular parasites. Among these are the pathogens that cause malaria and toxoplasmosis. The point of attack for this promising substance is the protein tubulin: It helps cells divide and therefore is essential for the multiplication of the parasites.

Putting honeybee hives on solar parks could boost the value of UK agriculture

The value of UK agriculture could be boosted by millions of pounds a year if thousands of honeybee hives were deployed on solar parks across the country, a new study reveals. However, scientists caution that the benefits of managing solar parks for wild pollinators over honeybees should be prioritized where appropriate and should be assessed on a site by site basis.

Solar energy can be cheap and reliable across China by 2060

How much will solar power really cost in China in the coming decades, including the challenges its inherent variability poses to the grid? Researchers have found that solar energy could provide 43.2% of China's electricity demands in 2060 at less than two-and-a-half U.S. cents per kilowatt-hour.

US formally removes Colorado River fish's endangered status

The humpback chub, a rare fish found only in the Colorado River basin, has been brought back from the brink of extinction after decades of protection, though work must continue to ensure its survival, federal authorities said Monday in reclassifying the species from endangered to threatened status.

Long-term exposure to toxins in operating rooms could increase COPD risk

Disinfectants and surgical smoke -- the gaseous by-product produced by heat-generating surgical instruments -- are among the hazardous chemicals to which physicians, nurses, and other hospital staff are exposed in operating rooms (OR) during electrosurgery and laser procedures. Long-time exposure to these chemicals in the OR may significantly increase one's risk of developing chronic obstructive...

How marsh grass protects shorelines

Marsh plants can play a major role in mitigating coastal damage as sea levels rise and storm surges increase. A new study provides greater detail about how these protective benefits work under real-world conditions shaped by waves and currents.

Powerful new technique allows scientists to study how proteins change shape inside cells

Understanding how proteins bend, twist, and shape-shift as they go about their work in cells is enormously important for understanding normal biology and diseases. But a deep understanding of protein dynamics has generally been elusive due to the lack of good imaging methods of proteins at work. Now, for the first time, scientists at the UNC School of Medicine have invented a method that could...

NASA Selects Gamma-ray Telescope to Chart Milky Way Evolution

Portal origin URL: NASA Selects Gamma-ray Telescope to Chart Milky Way EvolutionPortal origin nid: 474745Published: Monday, October 18, 2021 - 15:08Featured (stick to top of list): noPortal text teaser: NASA has selected a new space telescope proposal that will study the recent history of star birth, star death, and the formation of chemical elements in the Milky...

Breakthrough proof clears path for quantum AI

Convolutional neural networks running on quantum computers have generated significant buzz for their potential to analyze quantum data better than classical computers can. While a fundamental solvability problem known as "barren plateaus" has limited the application of these neural networks for large data sets, new research overcomes that Achilles heel with a rigorous proof that guarantees...

Hear sounds captured from Mars by NASA's Perseverance rover

Thanks to two microphones aboard NASA's Perseverance rover, the mission has recorded nearly five hours of Martian wind gusts, rover wheels crunching over gravel, and motors whirring as the spacecraft moves its arm. These sounds allow scientists and engineers to experience the Red Planet in new ways—and everyone is invited to listen in.

Famed gorilla dies at 35 in Congo park

A veteran gorilla descended from a celebrated forebear immortalised on a banknote has been found dead near a national park in the Demoratic Republic of Congo, the protected reserve announced on Monday.