141 articles from MONDAY 1.11.2021

Environmental DNA is a reliable way to learn about migration from the ocean twilight zone

The mid-ocean "twilight zone" holds the key to several tantalizing questions about the marine food web and carbon-sequestering capacity of the ocean. But studying this vast and remote area is extremely difficult. Many inhabitants of the twilight zone are easily destroyed during sampling—or are quick to avoid any disturbance—so it's difficult to sample them with traditional nets. Advances in...

Researchers discover predictable behavior in promising material for computer memory

In the last few years, a class of materials called antiferroelectrics has been increasingly studied for its potential applications in modern computer memory devices. Research has shown that antiferroelectric-based memories might have greater energy efficiency and faster read and write speeds than conventional memories, among other appealing attributes. Further, the same compounds that can exhibit...

How conspiracy theorists exploited COVID-19 science

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, conspiracy theorists have exploited the conditional nature of science and questioned the trustworthiness and motives of federal agencies and officials to depict scientists and health authorities as malign actors.

The Guardian view on spooky science: AI needs regulating before it’s too late | Editorial

If by 2052 a computer could match the human brain then we need better ways to build it“Progress in AI is something that will take a while to happen, but [that] doesn’t make it science fiction.” So Stuart Russell, the University of California computing professor, told the Guardian at the weekend. The scientist said researchers had been “spooked” by their own success in the field. Prof...

What’s down there? WHOI study shows environmental DNA is a reliable way to learn about migration from the ocean twilight zone

The mid-ocean 'twilight zone' holds the key to several tantalizing questions about the marine food web and carbon-sequestering capacity of the ocean. But studying this vast and remote area is extremely difficult. Many inhabitants of the twilight zone are easily destroyed during sampling -- or are quick to avoid any disturbance -- so it's difficult to sample them with traditional nets. Advances in...

New test to diagnose aggressive childhood brain tumors

Researchers have developed a new test to more easily diagnose medulloblastoma, the most common malignant childhood brain tumor. The test -- which can distinguish between extremely high-risk medulloblastoma cases that need radiation therapy from those that are lower-risk and do not need radiation -- could help pave the way for personalized treatment options for children suffering from the disease....

Sperm switch swimming patterns to locate egg

A new study reveals how sperm change their swimming patterns to navigate to the egg, shifting from a symmetrical motion that moves the sperm in a straight path to an asymmetrical one that promotes more circular swimming.

Climate change to stir up global agriculture within next decade

New computer simulations predict deep changes in growing conditions affecting the productivity of major crops already within the next 10 years if current global warming trends continue. Maize crop yields are projected to decline by almost a quarter by the end the century, while wheat could potentially see global yield increases of about 17%. Current key breadbasket regions will see severe changes...

Schools Could Help More Kids Get the COVID-19 Vaccine. But History Has Some Warnings

Now that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine for kids aged 5 to 11, the Biden Administration has signaled that it will rely on a “trusted messenger” to get information to parents and provide access to vaccines once they’re approved by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: schools. As part…

Did you solve it? The playful genius of Hungarian puzzles

The solutions to today’s 3D logic puzzlesEarlier today I set you the following “three-dimensional” logic puzzles, a genre thought to have emerged decades ago in Hungary. (For more details about the Hungarian link here’s the story.) The idea is that the solution is mapped out on a three-dimensional grid.1. Date night Continue...