89 articles from MONDAY 5.9.2022

Chilean voters resoundingly reject a new ‘ecological’ constitution

To the dismay of many scientists in Chile, voters resoundingly rejected a draft constitution that would have had major impacts on research, environmental policies, and Indigenous rights. Sixty-two percent of voters said “no” during a referendum yesterday on the new charter, which would have steered the country sharply leftward. “I’m still a bit shocked,” says Olga...

Data from Israel: myocarditis after COVID-19 vaccines remain rare, highest risk in young males

An examination of data of people who received the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in Israel found males 14 to 30 years of age were the most susceptible to myocarditis after a second or third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, however, the overall risk remains relatively low. Among males ages 16 to 19 years, approximately 1 in 15,000 developed myocarditis after a booster dose of the...

Cross-species cell landscape constructed at single-cell level

Thanks to high-throughput single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq), it is possible to construct single-cell transcriptomic atlases at the organic level. For example, cell atlases for vertebrate and invertebrate systems have been successfully generated, such as the Human Cell Landscape (HSC), Mouse Cell Atlas (MCA), Zebrafish Cell Landscape (ZCL) and Drosophila embryo. However, most of these studies...

New U.K. Prime Minister brings worries about research funding and climate measures

The election of Liz Truss as the United Kingdom’s next Prime Minister has stirred unease in the already-troubled U.K. scientific community and concern among environment advocates. Truss, whose election was announced by the Conservative Party today and who previously served as foreign secretary under outgoing leader Boris Johnson, has said little about science. But she has said she wants...

Soil temperature can predict pest spread in crops

A new study from North Carolina State University shows soil temperature can be used to effectively monitor and predict the spread of the corn earworm (Helicoverpa zea), a pest that ravages corn, cotton, soybeans, peppers, tomatoes and other vegetable crops. The ability to better monitor the pest and make predictions about where it will appear could help farmers control the pest more effectively,...

Networking virus detectors that can protect humans from animal pathogens

A biosensor network that can detect airborne viral particles could be put in place on animal farms and livestock markets. With appropriate analysis of the data from these internet-of-things (IoT) devices it might be possible to detect the earliest presence of a putative infectious agent that has undergone zoonosis and so made the leap from animal pathogen to a virus that can cause human disease,...

Training astronauts to be scientists on the moon

Astronauts with their sights on the moon are receiving world-class geology training during the fifth edition of ESA's Pangaea campaign. From choosing landing sites for a future Artemis mission, to designing science operations for the lunar surface, the course challenges space explorers to become field scientists.

Organic thin-film sensors for light-source analysis and anti-counterfeiting applications

In a recent publication in the journal Advanced Materials, a team of physicists and chemists from TU Dresden presents an organic thin-film sensor that describes a completely new way of identifying the wavelength of light and achieves a spectral resolution below one nanometer. As integrated components, the thin-film sensors could eliminate the need for external spectrometers in the future. A patent...

Floodplains improve the water quality of rivers

Riverine floodplains are among the most species-rich ecosystems on earth. Because they form the interface between land and water, they are hotspots of nutrient turnover and biodiversity. Along many rivers, however, numerous floodplains have been cut off from waterways or converted to other uses. At the same time, too many nutrients enter the water, especially nitrogen. Both degrade water quality...

Storms are getting worse. What does that mean for our health?

As adverse weather events like heavy rainfall, subsequent flooding and heat waves grow more severe and increase in frequency, checking the weather forecast means much more than knowing if you need an umbrella: Extreme weather is inextricably linked to our safety and well-being.

Good loser messages support democracy

Citizens sometimes just have to live with political decisions they dislike or think are unfair. But if their preferred party leaders communicate that the decisions have been made properly, the feeling of unfairness can diminish according to research from the University of Gothenburg.

Only South Africa's elite benefits from black economic empowerment—and COVID-19 proved it

More than two decades ago the South African government put in place a policy designed to redress racial imbalances in the country's economy. But, as I suggest in a recent paper, the policy—known as broad-based black economic empowerment)—has been hijacked and repurposed by individuals and factions within the ruling African National Congress (ANC) for the purpose of corruption and...

Researchers succeed in coupling two types of electron-hole pairs

Two-dimensional van der Waals materials have been the focus of work by numerous research groups for some time. Standing just a few atomic layers thick, these structures are produced in the laboratory by combining atom-thick layers of different materials (in a process referred to as "atomic Lego"). Interactions between the stacked layers allow the heterostructures to exhibit properties that the...

Physicists discover new rule for orbital formation in chemical reactions

Squeaky, cloudy or spherical—electron orbitals show where and how electrons move around atomic nuclei and molecules. In modern chemistry and physics, they have proven to be a useful model for quantum mechanical description and prediction of chemical reactions. Only if the orbitals match in space and energy can they be combined—this is what happens when two substances react with each other...

What fossils reveal about hybridization of early humans

Many people living today have a small component of Neanderthal DNA in their genes, suggesting an important role for admixture with archaic human lineages in the evolution of our species. Paleogenetic evidence indicates that hybridization with Neanderthals and other ancient groups occurred multiple times, with our species' history resembling more a network or braided stream than a tree. Clearly the...

Genomic attributes explained by certain life history traits in neoavian birds

Mutations are the raw material of evolution. For example, a single change in an DNA base pair can cause a protein molecule to lose its function, with potentially major effects on the overall organism. However, mutations—and especially the ones that do not have major effects—can also provide a roadmap to determining if there is a pattern in the evolution of genomic attributes such as nucleotide...

Rocketlab sent this engine to space and then retrieved it: A new test shows it's still working fine

Reusable rocket engines have become all the rage lately, even as NASA's continually delayed Artemis I mission attempts to launch with non-reusable technology. Realistically, the only way to significantly lower launch costs is to reuse the engines rather than build them from scratch every time. Another small start-up company, RocketLab, has successfully retested a rocket that has flown in space.

Novel isomeric vinylene-linked covalent organic frameworks developed with distinct photocatalytic properties

Researchers led by Prof. Zahng Tao at the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering (NIMTE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has synthesized two novel vinylene-linked two-dimensional covalent organic frameworks (v-2D-COFs) with isomeric structures via benzobisoxazole-mediated aldol polycondensation, showing distinct photocatalytic properties. The study was published in Journal of...

Did you solve it? A headful of PINs

The solution to today’s puzzleEarlier today I set you this puzzle about PINs, the four-digit passcodes we use for phones and bank accounts. In the comments, many people said that the answer was obvious. These people fell into the trap.xx--x-x-x--x-xx--x-x--xx Continue...

Stem cell-gene therapy shows promise in ALS safety trial

Investigators have developed an investigational therapy using support cells and a protective protein that can be delivered past the blood-brain barrier. This combined stem cell and gene therapy can potentially protect diseased motor neurons in the spinal cord of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a fatal neurological disorder known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease.

What would it take to find life on Venus?

Life on Venus, or the possibility thereof, has been a hot topic as of late. There's also been plenty of controversies, including the (still disputed) discovery of phosphine, a potential biomarker in the atmosphere. The best way to lay that controversy to rest would be to go there and actually take samples, which at the very least, would help constrain the existence of life in Venus' cloud layers....

Super-dense packing of hydrogen molecules on a surface

Hydrogen (H2) is currently discussed as an ideal energy carrier of renewable energies. Hydrogen has the highest gravimetric energy density of all chemical fuels (141 MJ/kg), which is three times higher than gasoline (46 MJ/kg). However, its low volumetric density restricts its widespread use in transportation applications—as current storage options require a lot of space.

Red giant Betelgeuse was yellow some 2,000 years ago

An interdisciplinary team centered around a Jena astrophysicist utilized observations from antiquity to prove that Betelgeuse—the bright red giant star in the upper left of the constellation Orion—was yellow-orange some 2,000 years ago.

Albatrosses from space: Wildlife detectives needed

British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and RSPB are recruiting albatross detectives to help to search for wandering albatrosses in satellite images taken from space in an effort to learn more about how these sentinels of the sea are being impacted by climate change, intensive fishing, and invasive species.

Hubble observes a glittering gathering of stars

This glittering gathering of stars is the globular cluster NGC 6558, and it was captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope's Advanced Camera for Surveys. NGC 6558 is closer to the center of the Milky Way than Earth is, and lies about 23,000 light-years away in the constellation Sagittarius.

Taking down mental health stigma, one step at a time

Studies show having mental illness can affect the chances of someone on probation or parole getting out from under government supervision. To combat this, it's not only important that individuals have access to mental health resources, but also that the officers involved know how and when to use them.