134 articles from TUESDAY 1.11.2022

Unusual malaria outbreak tied to invasive mosquito

Scientists have linked an invasive mosquito to an unusual outbreak of malaria in Ethiopia. Anopheles stephensi , native to southern Asia, was first identified in Africa a decade ago in the Republic of Djibouti, which borders Ethiopia. It has since spread to at least four other countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Now, amid lingering questions about whether the insect’s...

It’s electric! Technique could clean up mining of valuable rare earth elements

Electric cars, wind turbines, and LED lighting all help keep the environment clean, but making them can be a dirty business. The high-performance magnets in motors and generators and the glowing phosphors in LEDs and flat screens all depend on substances called rare earth elements (REEs). And capturing REEs from the clay deposits in which many are found requires leaching agents that...

3,300 hidden fungi coat soybean plants: New research explains significance

Septoria brown spot may be the common cold of soybean diseases, but that doesn't mean it's entirely benign. The ubiquitous fungal disease can cause 10 to 27% yield loss, according to University of Illinois research. For many farmers, the obvious response is to fight back with fungicide, but a new U of I study shows Septoria can actually increase after fungicide application.

Ian ruins man-made reefs, brings algae bloom to Florida

Hurricane Ian not only ravaged southwest Florida on land but was destructive underwater as well. It destroyed man-made reefs and brought along red tide, the harmful algae blooms that kill fish and birds, according to marine researchers who returned last week from a six-day cruise organized by the Florida Institute of Oceanography.

‘Huge relief’ in Brazilian scientific community after Lula’s win

“A huge relief!” That’s how Luiz Davidovich, a physicist at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro’s main campus and former president of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences, describes his feelings early Sunday evening when it became clear Brazilian voters had ousted populist far-right President Jair Bolsonaro and given his left-wing rival, former President Luiz Inácio...

Trade and migration will affect how states and countries adapt to climate change

When people talk about adapting to climate change, they often refer to innovations—a new crop variety that can withstand more extreme heat or building underwater pumps to cool coral reefs. But Gary Lyn, an assistant professor who specializes in international trade and economic geography at Iowa State University, says trade, migration and job options will also affect how individual states and...

Harnessing the building blocks of polymer recycling

Polymers are lightweight, durable, and easily processed into fabricated parts, features that promoted polymers to become the most relevant class of engineering materials by volume. However, recycling polymers is a challenge that materials scientists have been researching for decades.

More than one way to build a black bird: The quirks of remote island evolution

When it comes to the biological imperatives of survival and reproduction, nature often finds a way—sometimes more than one way. For a species of flycatcher in the remote Solomon Islands, scientists have so far found at least two genetic pathways leading to the same physical outcome: all-black feathers. This change was no random accident. It was a result of nature specifically selecting for this...

More than one way to build a black bird

For a species of flycatcher in the remote Solomon Islands, scientists have so far found at least two genetic pathways leading to the same physical outcome: all-black feathers. This change was no random accident. It was a result of nature specifically selecting for this trait.

A new method for studying ribosome function

Scientists report a method for stable attachment of peptides to tRNAs, which has allowed them to gain new fundamental insights into ribosome function by determining the atomic-level structures of ribosomes and the shapes that peptides take inside the ribosome.

Reducing childhood poverty could cut criminal convictions by almost a quarter, study shows

A significant reduction in childhood poverty could cut criminal convictions by almost a quarter, according to a study conducted in Brazil. An article on the study is published in Scientific Reports. The researchers used an innovative approach involving an analysis of 22 risk factors that affect human development and interviews with 1,905 children at two points—a first interview to form a...

Huge ‘planet killer’ asteroid discovered – and it’s heading our way

With a diameter of 1 to 2km, space rock named 2022 AP7 crosses our orbit but has ‘no chance’ of hitting EarthAstronomers say they have discovered the largest planet killer-sized asteroid in eight years, and that the huge space rock will cross Earth’s orbit.The asteroid, named 2022 AP7, was reported by researchers looking for space rocks within the orbits of Earth and Venus. Continue...

The Guardian view on Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover: the unfulfilled promises pile up | Editorial

The world’s richest man promises more than he has delivered. His social network purchase is likely to go the same wayElon Musk is a fan of the science fiction writer Isaac Asimov. When his spacecraft company SpaceX successfully sent its Falcon Heavy rocket payload into orbit around the sun in 2018, the cargo included a digital copy of the author’s classic work: the Foundation trilogy. One of...