193 articles from WEDNESDAY 20.4.2022

African dust crosses the Atlantic

A beautiful sunset over the Atlantic off the Florida coast, or an orangey glow in the Texas sky at dusk may be caused by dust from West Africa, according to researchers who are looking at the paths of particulate matter in the skies over the Sahara desert and the semi-arid Sahel.

African dust crosses the Atlantic

A beautiful sunset over the Atlantic off the Florida coast, or an orangey glow in the Texas sky at dusk may be caused by dust from West Africa, according to researchers who are looking at the paths of particulate matter in the skies over the Sahara desert and the semi-arid Sahel.

Making a game of it: Contests help new moms increase their steps

Fun and games could be a solution to serious problems like preeclampsia and hypertension among pregnant people and holds promise for significant progress, according to a new study. Researchers found that gamification—broadly defined as the use of specially engineered games to stimulate learning and behavioral change—could generate greater levels of exercise in postpartum individuals who...

Therapeutic target for aggressive blood cancer

Researchers have found that the KLF4 gene is reprogrammed at the onset of acute promyelocytic leukaemia (APL), an aggressive type of blood cancer that is responsible for 5-15% of all types of leukemia. Overexpressing KLF4 suppressed the self-renewal traits of cancerous cells and reversed the effects caused by the actions of oncofusion events that cause the disease. The findings pave the way for...

The moon, where no satnav has gone before

The test version of a unique satellite navigation receiver has been delivered for integration testing on the Lunar Pathfinder spacecraft. The NaviMoon satnav receiver is designed to perform the farthest ever positioning fix from Earth, employing signals that will be millions of times fainter than those used by our smartphones or cars.

New accelerator at Fermilab approved for construction start

The U.S. Department of Energy has formally approved the start of full construction for the PIP-II project, an essential upgrade to the accelerator complex at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. The heart of the project is a powerful new superconducting linear accelerator that will enable the world's most intense high-energy neutrino beam.

In noisy situations, your words and gestures help you to be understood

Communication seems natural to us, but there are plenty of situations where background noise makes it hard for us to understand each other. In those moments, gesturing can come in handy, particularly if conversations in your native language are taking place in the background. This has been shown in research by psycholinguist Veerle Wilms in cooperation with Susanne Brouwer and Linda Drijvers....

Sun releases moderate and strong solar flares

The Sun emitted two solar flares on April 19, 2022, one moderate peaking at 9:35 p.m. EST and one strong peaking at 11:57 p.m. EST. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the Sun constantly, captured an image of both events.

Helping prevent transmission of HIV from mother to child during breastfeeding

The antibody function known as antibody dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) and the ADCC sensitivity of HIV strains may influence the transmission of HIV from mother to child during breastfeeding. These data imply that enhancing ADCC, through a vaccine, for example, may not be sufficient to prevent transmission because chronically infected individuals can harbor ADCC-resistant strains. The...

Women's earnings drop after childbirth, study finds

When U.S. couples have their first child, mothers' earnings still drop substantially relative to fathers', and new research demonstrates the stubborn, decades-old pattern isn't changing despite broad increases in other aspects of gender equality.