179 articles from WEDNESDAY 26.1.2022
Spotify removes Neil Young music in feud over Joe Rogan’s false Covid claims
Musician condemned spread of misinformation on platform’s top podcast: ‘They can have Rogan or Young’The music streaming platform Spotify is in the process of removing Neil Young’s music after the company refused to take down Joe Rogan’s podcast amid the musician’s objections that it spread vaccine misinformation.Rogan has been described by the New York Times as “one of the most...
NIF: US lab takes further step towards nuclear fusion goal
US physicists confirm that they have achieved a stage in nuclear fusion called "burning plasma".
Current anti-COVID pills work well against omicron, but antibody drugs are less effective, study finds
- ScienceDaily
- 22/1/26 23:06
The drugs behind the new pills to treat COVID-19 remain very effective against the omicron variant of the virus in lab tests, according to a new study. However, lab tests also showed that the available antibody therapies -- typically given intravenously in hospitals -- are substantially less effective against omicron than against earlier variants of the virus.
New data on COVID-19 lung transplants
- ScienceDaily
- 22/1/26 23:06
A new analysis of lung transplantations performed nationally in the U.S. shows significant help for patients with severe, irreversible lung damage from COVID-19.
Mix-and-match trial finds additional dose of COVID-19 vaccine safe, immunogenic
- ScienceDaily
- 22/1/26 23:06
In adults who had previously received a full regimen of any of three COVID-19 vaccines granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) or approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), an additional booster dose of any of these vaccines was safe and prompted an immune response, according to preliminary clinical trial results.
Ground-breaking study reveals dynamics of DNA replication ‘licensing’
- ScienceDaily
- 22/1/26 22:55
A new study has illuminated an important process that occurs during cell division and is a likely source of DNA damage under some circumstances, including cancer.
Flavonoids may reduce mortality risk for people with Parkinson’s Disease
- ScienceDaily
- 22/1/26 22:55
People with Parkinson's Disease who eat more flavonoids -- compounds found in richly colored foods like berries, cocoa and red wine -- may have a lower mortality risk than those who don't, according to a new study.
Omicron genetics and early transmission patterns are characterized in new study
- ScienceDaily
- 22/1/26 22:55
The Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 diverged from previous SARS-CoV-2 variants as a result of adaptive evolution, in which beneficial mutations are passed on to future generations through natural selection, rather than through recombination between previous variants, according to researchers.
Starting physical activity three days post-concussion is safe, has better outcomes, study suggests
- ScienceDaily
- 22/1/26 22:55
Resuming non-contact physical activity 72 hours after a concussion is safe, and may also reduce symptoms and the risk of delayed recovery, suggests the first and largest real-world, randomized clinical trial on the topic to be conducted with children and youth aged 10 to 18.
Fossil snail shells offer new tool for analyzing ancient ocean chemistry
- ScienceDaily
- 22/1/26 22:55
A collection of fossil shells from marine snails and clams is challenging a theory that says the world's deadliest mass extinction was accompanied by severe ocean acidification. The study is the first to use shells from fossilized mollusks to investigate ocean chemistry, demonstrating a new tool that scientists can use to study the conditions of the planet's deep past.
Getting in gear: Researchers create a slow light device with high optical quality
- ScienceDaily
- 22/1/26 22:55
Researchers have created a gear-shaped photonic crystal microring that increases the strength of light-matter interactions without sacrificing optical quality. The result is an on-chip microresonator with an optical quality factor 50 times better than the previous record in slow light devices that could improve microresonators used in a range of photonics applications, including sensing and...
Scientists identify promising transmission chain-breaker in the fight against malaria
- ScienceDaily
- 22/1/26 22:55
Blocking a key protein found in Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes -- the principal vector for malaria transmission to humans in Africa -- could thwart infection with malaria parasites and thus prevent them from transmitting the parasites to humans, according to a new study.
Change of heart? It may affect thinking and memory skills in middle age
- ScienceDaily
- 22/1/26 22:55
Subtle changes in the structure and the diastolic function of a person's heart between early adulthood and middle age may be associated with a decline in thinking and memory skills.
Fossil snail shells offer new tool for analyzing ancient ocean chemistry
A collection of fossil shells from marine snails and clams is challenging a theory that says the world's deadliest mass extinction was accompanied by severe ocean acidification.
Culture plays role in children's acceptance of gender-diverse peers
Shown four images of hypothetical peers—a boy playing with cars and trucks, a girl playing with cars and trucks, a boy playing with a Barbie and dollhouse, and a girl playing with a Barbie and dollhouse—children from Thailand and China were then asked a simple question: Would you want to be their friend?
X-rays will make plant diets of the future more tasty
Imagine taking your favorite treat—a Mars bar or cream puff—and beaming it with X-rays to map out what makes it so delicious. Then, picture being able to transfer some of those magnificent qualities and tastes to healthier, more sustainable products.
Getting in gear: Researchers create a slow light device with high optical quality
Researchers including a postdoc at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have created a gear-shaped photonic crystal microring that increases the strength of light-matter interactions without sacrificing optical quality. The result is an on-chip microresonator with an optical quality factor 50 times better than the previous record in slow light devices that could improve microresonators used in...
NASA Greenland mission completes six years of mapping unknown terrain
To learn how ocean water is melting glaciers, NASA's Oceans Melting Greenland mission extensively surveyed the coastline of the world's largest island.
Elon Musk SpaceX rocket on collision course with moon
Astronomers say that a rocket in space since 2015 is hurtling towards the moon where it will explode.
Will the COVID-19 pandemic make waste management more uncontrollable?
The outbreak of COVID-19 has changed our lifestyle, and even the environment around us, such as the reduction of carbon dioxide and nitrogen dioxide emissions and the alleviation of water pollution. A more obvious change is that the production of waste related to pandemic prevention has increased significantly. For example, the main component of disposable masks we use every day is plastic fiber....
When light loses symmetry, it can hold particles
Optical tweezers use light to immobilize microscopic particles as small as a single atom in 3D space. The basic principle behind optical tweezers is the momentum transfer between light and the object being held. Analogous to the water pushing on a dam that blocks the stream, light pushes onto and attracts objects that make the light bend. This so-called optical force can be designed to point to a...
The James Webb Space Telescope Is in Position—And Now We Wait
The James Webb Space Telescope traveled nearly 1.6 million km (1 million mi.) to reach a destination that, in some ways, is nowhere at all. On Jan. 24, just shy of one month after its Christmas Day launch, the $10 billion observatory arrived at a spot in space known as L2—where the gravity of the sun and the Earth effectively cancel each other out, allowing the spacecraft to circle an...
Three, two, one: astronomers predict SpaceX space junk will hit the Moon
A chunk of a SpaceX rocket that blasted off seven years ago and was abandoned in space after completing its mission will crash into the Moon in March, experts say.
Breakthrough measurements of vibrating atoms in nanostructures ushers in new class of technology
Vanderbilt researchers Sokrates Pantelides and Joshua Caldwell are part of an international collaboration that has demonstrated a new way to manipulate and measure subtle atomic vibrations in nanomaterials. This breakthrough could make it possible to develop customized functionalities to improve on and build new technologies.
Learning loss must be recovered to avoid long-term damage to children's wellbeing and productivity, new report says
School closures have caused large and persistent damage to children's learning and well-being, the cost of which will be felt for decades to come, according to a new report launched today by the Global Education Evidence Advisory Panel (GEEAP), co-hosted by the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, UNICEF Office of Research-Innocenti, and the World Bank.
Universal sex differences appear in adolescents' career aspirations, study finds
A new analysis by David Geary at the University of Missouri and Gijsbert Stoet at the University of Essex in the United Kingdom finds career aspirations from nearly 500,000 adolescents shows consistent sex differences across 80 nations, suggesting biologically-influenced preferences can play a role in gender segregation in the workplace later in life. The researchers also found a tendency for...
Groundbreaking study reveals dynamics of DNA replication 'licensing'
A new study from scientists at the UNC School of Medicine has illuminated an important process that occurs during cell division and is a likely source of DNA damage under some circumstances, including cancer.
Scientific hardware, experiments return to Earth on SpaceX CRS-24 Dragon
A retired microscope and samples from studies on colloids and cellular signaling are among the cargo returning from the International Space Stationaboard the 24th SpaceX commercial resupply services mission. The Dragon craft, which arrived at the station Dec. 22, 2021, was scheduled to undock Jan. 22 with splashdown the next afternoon off the coast of Florida.
Nanoparticle-formulated drug combination is effective in medulloblastoma, a pediatric brain tumor
- ScienceDaily
- 22/1/26 20:42
Researchers have demonstrated that a novel combination of two drugs that act as targeted inhibitors, delivered in a nanoparticle formulation, extend the survival of mice with medulloblastoma. The research team believes this laboratory success could be translated into a less toxic treatment for medulloblastoma, the most common malignant pediatric brain tumor.
Farther or faster? Both improve distance running performance
- ScienceDaily
- 22/1/26 20:42
A study compared two-week blocks of low-intensity training and high-intensity interval training in terms of performance and recovery. Both methods can improve endurance performance in recreational athletes after already two weeks when the training load is increased significantly from what the individual is accustomed to.
Physical activity protects against type 2 diabetes by modifying metabolism
- ScienceDaily
- 22/1/26 20:42
Regular physical activity significantly changes the body's metabolite profile, and many of these changes are associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, a new study shows. The study population included more than 7,000 men who were followed up for eight years. Men in the highest physical activity category had a 39% lower risk of type 2 diabetes than men who were physically inactive.
Using nanodiamonds as sensors just got easier
- ScienceDaily
- 22/1/26 20:42
Researchers adapt excited state lifetime thermometry to extract temperatures of nanoscale materials from light emitted by nitrogen vacancy centers in individual nanodiamonds. The approach is less complicated, more accurate and safer for sensitive materials or biological tissues than OMDR.
Ancient ice reveals mysterious solar storm
- ScienceDaily
- 22/1/26 20:42
Through analysis of ice cores from Greenland and Antarctica, a research team has found evidence of an extreme solar storm that occurred about 9,200 years ago. What puzzles the researchers is that the storm took place during one of the sun's more quiet phases -- during which it is generally believed our planet is less exposed to such events.
Automated insulin delivery for young children with diabetes via Android app
- ScienceDaily
- 22/1/26 20:41
Families with young children who have type 1 diabetes use insulin pumps that require a lot of effort to operate. Scientists have shown in a clinical trial that automated insulin delivery is safe and effective even at the age of one to seven years.
Updrafts crucial: Clouds in the southern hemisphere more precisely understood
- ScienceDaily
- 22/1/26 20:41
Clouds in the southern hemisphere reflect more sunlight than those in the northern hemisphere. The reason is a more frequent occurrence of liquid water droplets, which results from an interplay between updrafts and a cleaner environment.
Scientists use GPS to track baboon troop's movement in urban spaces for the first time
- ScienceDaily
- 22/1/26 20:41
In a unique study, researchers have used GPS collars to study the collective behaviour of a troop of baboons living on the outskirts of the City of Cape Town.
23,000 years ago, humans in Israel enjoyed a new bounty of food options
- ScienceDaily
- 22/1/26 20:40
As climate shifted 23,000 years ago, humans in Israel experienced a new abundance of food, according to a new study.
Suitable growing regions for coffee, cashews, and avocados predicted to shift as Earth warms
- ScienceDaily
- 22/1/26 20:40
A new analysis predicts that, as climate change progresses, the most suitable regions for growing coffee arabica, cashews, and avocados will decline in some of the main countries that produce these crops.
Scientists regrow frog’s lost leg
- ScienceDaily
- 22/1/26 20:40
Scientists have triggered long-term growth of legs in adult frogs, which are naturally unable to regenerate limbs. The frogs regrew a lost leg over months, triggered by just 24 hour exposure to a five-drug cocktail held under a bioreactor. The new legs were functional enough to enable sensation and locomotion.
Bristol team chase down advantage in quantum race
- ScienceDaily
- 22/1/26 20:39
Quantum researchers have dramatically reduced the time to simulate an optical quantum computer, with a speedup of around one billion over previous approaches.
Robot performs first laparoscopic surgery without human help
- ScienceDaily
- 22/1/26 20:39
A robot has performed laparoscopic surgery on the soft tissue of a pig without the guiding hand of a human -- a significant step in robotics toward fully automated surgery on humans.
Scientists develop COVID-19 testing lab in a backpack
- ScienceDaily
- 22/1/26 20:39
Researchers have created a simple COVID-19 testing lab that fits into a backpack providing a cheap and effective solution for low income or remote areas.
Binary black hole spin behavior revealed using novel techniques
Research done at Cornell University has uncovered from gravitation wave data the first potential signs of spin-orbit resonances in binary black holes, a step toward understanding the mechanisms of supernovas and other big questions in astrophysics.
Frog regrows amputated leg after drug treatment
Nearly complete limb develops over 18 months, raising exciting possibilities for human patientsA frog has regrown a lost leg after being treated with a cocktail of drugs in a significant advance for regenerative medicine.The African clawed frog, which is naturally unable to regenerate its limbs, was treated with the drugs for just 24 hours and this prompted an 18-month period of regrowth of a...
New method for making microparticles could accelerate drug development, production of new cell strains
UCLA scientists have devised a method for producing intricately shaped hydrogel microparticles at a rate of more than 40 million per hour—at least 10 times faster than the current standard approach.