21 articles from SATURDAY 8.10.2022
Placebos expert Kathryn T Hall: ‘The effect can rival painkillers like ibuprofen or even morphine’
The Harvard professor says we need to stop seeing dummy medicines as a novelty and instead make strides to understand them better and harness their powerThe placebo effect occurs when an inert treatment such as a dummy pill, fake injection or sham surgery leads to a real clinical improvement in symptoms. So strong is the effect it can be the bane of clinical trials, which must prove a drug’s...
The magnificent Lake Eyre Basin is threatened by 831 oil and gas wells, and more are planned
The heart-shaped Lake Eyre Basin covers about one-sixth of Australia. It contains one of the few remaining pristine river systems in the world.
Bird flu: Poultry in Norfolk, Suffolk and parts of Essex to be kept indoors
Birds in Norfolk, Suffolk and parts of Essex cannot be outside from Wednesday, amid the UK's largest outbreak.
Nobel prize: physicists share prize for insights into the spooky world of quantum mechanics
The 2022 Nobel prize for physics has been awarded to a trio of scientists for pioneering experiments in quantum mechanics, the theory covering the micro-world of atoms and particles.
'Sea monsters' were real millions of years ago: New fossils tell about their rise and fall
Sixty six million years ago, sea monsters really existed. They were mosasaurs, huge marine lizards that lived at the same time as the last dinosaurs. Growing up to 12 meters long, mosasaurs looked like a Komodo dragon with flippers and a shark-like tail. They were also wildly diverse, evolving dozens of species that filled different niches. Some ate fish and squid, some ate shellfish or ammonites.
Climate tipping points could lock in unstoppable changes to the planet. How close are they?
Continued greenhouse gas emissions risk triggering climate tipping points. These are self-sustaining shifts in the climate system that would lock-in devastating changes, like sea-level rise, even if all emissions ended.
Scientists reach tallest tree ever found in Amazon
After three years of planning, five expeditions and a two-week trek through dense jungle, scientists have reached the tallest tree ever found in the Amazon rainforest, a towering specimen the size of a 25-storey building.
Gray whale population off western U.S. continues to decline
U.S. researchers say the number of gray whales off western North America has continued to fall over the last two years, a decline that resembles previous population swings over the past several decades.
Urban trees rooted in redlining and environmental injustice
A University of Maryland-led team discovered that trees in Baltimore reflect the city's history of institutionalized racism, but also more recent efforts to counter environmental injustice.
Incorporating traditional management techniques to combat effects of ocean acidification
Ocean acidification is a major concern related to climate change, with the oceans currently absorbing around a quarter of the carbon dioxide that is released into the atmosphere. The increased CO 2 that is absorbed by the ocean in turn decreases its pH, making the waters more acidic. These more acidic conditions put marine organisms that create calcium carbonate shells and skeletons at risk.
Hand-washing and mask-wearing: Covid rules we would be wise to keep
With seasonal sickness on the rise, experts say measures we adopted at height of pandemic should become commonplaceAt the height of the pandemic, there was hope that lessons learned from this period would provide the foundations for a healthier society. No longer would snotty commuters swap germs on packed trains; if people were ill, they would stay home – or at least wear masks to protect...
Awake patients can have kidney stones moved, blasted
- ScienceDaily
- 22/10/8 01:06
A new technique which combines the use of two ultrasound technologies may offer an option to move kidney stones out of the ureter with minimal pain and no anesthesia, according to a new feasibility study.