102 articles from FRIDAY 3.12.2021
UK Covid live: ‘keep calm and carry on’ with Christmas plans, says minister despite high case numbers
Oliver Dowden says people should keep going to pubs and restaurants, claiming the government has taken ‘sufficient’ action against OmicronBooster shots significantly strengthen immunity, trial findsBlack and south Asian people urged to get boosters amid higher deathsHow the NHS could be hit by Covid this winterHow probable is it that Omicron will take hold in UK?Global coronavirus updates –...
Gene edited sex selection may spare animal suffering
A gene editing technique may prevent the slaughter of animals not needed by the livestock industry.
Gene-editing used to create single sex mice litters
Scientists at the Francis Crick Institute, in collaboration with University of Kent, have used gene editing technology to create female-only and male-only mice litters with 100% efficiency.
N.L. wants to double oil production by 2030. But could demand soon dry up?
Demand for Canadian oil exports could evaporate within 15 years, according to a recent study published in Nature...
Tropical storm brewing in Bay of Bengal off Indian coast
Indian authorities issued an alert, shut schools and canceled trains in parts of the country on Friday as rescue teams braced for a tropical storm brewing in the Bay of Bengal.
Physicists exploit space and time symmetries to control quantum materials
Physicists from Exeter and Trondheim have developed a theory describing how space reflection and time reversal symmetries can be exploited, allowing for greater control of transport and correlations within quantum materials.
International Space Station forced to swerve to avoid US space junk
Orbit dropped by 310 metres briefly to avoid collision with fragment from vessel launched in 1994 The International Space Station performed a manoeuvre to swerve from a fragment of a US launch vehicle, the head of Russia’s space agency has said.Dmitry Rogozin, the director general of Roscosmos, said the station’s orbit dropped by 310 metres for almost three minutes to avoid a close encounter...
UN launches 'bodyright' symbol against online violence
The United Nations on Thursday launched a campaign against gender-based violence on the internet, complete with the symbol ⓑ which can be added to social media posts.
Western Canada sees record-high winter temperature
A region in western Canada has notched up a record-high winter temperature, just months after the country sweltered under a historic global heat dome in the summer, boosting global concern about climate change.
Greek-flagged ship caused Brazil mystery 2019 oil slick: police
A mystery oil slick that caused environmental disaster along a vast stretch of Brazilian coastline in 2019 and 2020 was caused by a Greek-flagged vessel, federal police said Thursday after a two-year investigation.
NASA awards $415 mn to fund three commercial space stations
NASA on Thursday awarded three companies hundreds of millions of dollars to develop commercial space stations it hopes will eventually replace the International Space Station, which is due to retire around the end of the decade.
Predictive analytics pays off with complementary investments
The predictive analytics industry is slated to earn more than $273 billion in 2022. Yet, despite the hype over big data and the forecasting power of tools such as statistical modelling and machine learning, not all firms that sink money into them reap benefits, prompting a research team to probe what makes the difference.
Killer whales lingering in newly melted arctic ocean
Killer whales are intelligent, adaptive predators, often teaming up to take down larger prey. Continuous reduction in sea ice in the Arctic Ocean is opening areas to increased killer whale dwelling and predation, potentially creating an ecological imbalance.
Black and south Asian people in UK urged to get jabs to cut higher Covid death rates
Disparity with white people who have lower death rate relative to infection rate suspected to be due to slower vaccine uptakeCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageDoctors have urged unvaccinated Black and south Asian people to get their Covid jabs after new data revealed hospitalisations and deaths are higher in those groups, despite infection rates being lower than in...
Scientists eye gene drive technology to combat malaria
Developments in malaria vaccines and other tools must be combined with increased innovation, experts urge.
Fish farm firm Cermaq Canada fined $500,000 for B.C. diesel spill
A fish farming company has been fined $500,000 for a spill that sent more than 500 litres of diesel pouring into the waters near Campbell River,...
Combined heat and power as a platform for clean energy systems
- ScienceDaily
- 21/12/3 01:11
The state of Georgia could dramatically reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, while creating new jobs and a healthier public, if more of its energy-intensive industries and commercial buildings were to utilize combined heat and power (CHP), according to the latest research.
Wild blue wonder: X-ray beam explores food color protein
- ScienceDaily
- 21/12/3 01:11
A natural food colorant called phycocyanin provides a fun, vivid blue in soft drinks, but it is unstable on grocery shelves. A synchrotron is helping to steady it.
ALS therapy should target brain, not just spine
- ScienceDaily
- 21/12/3 01:11
The brain is indeed a target for treating ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), scientists have discovered. This flips a long-standing belief the disease starts in the spinal motor neurons and any therapy would need to target the spine as the key focus. The new study shows the brain degenerates early in ALS, sends warning signals and shows defects very early in the disease. Degeneration of brain...
Damaged telomeres in the elderly may increase susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2
- ScienceDaily
- 21/12/3 01:11
DNA damage signaling induced by aging telomeres increases the expression of ACE2, the human SARS-CoV-2 cell receptor, scientists report.