108 articles from FRIDAY 6.1.2023
FDA approves new antibody to slow Alzheimer’s disease, even as safety concerns linger
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today approved a controversial Alzheimer’s disease treatment for broad use—with caveats. The drug, an antibody called lecanemab, is the first to clearly slow cognitive decline in patients with early-stage disease, fueling excitement in the Alzheimer’s field and hope for patients and families. But its benefits appear modest, and it...
Water, water, everywhere — and maybe here's how to make it drinkable
Bob McDonald's blog: Researchers propose a new idea for harvesting fresh water from ocean air, that could be a boon for for arid coastal...
Why a Ukrainian zoologist risked his life to save 1,000 bats from a bat collider
As the war in Ukraine rages on, zoologist Anton Vlashenko is leading a team working to rescue and shelter thousands of...
Brazilian Amazon deforestation up 150% in Bolsonaro's last month
Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon rose 150 percent in December from the previous year, according to government figures released Friday, a final bleak report for far-right ex-president Jair Bolsonaro in his last month in office.
Maya calendar may be more than 3000 years old, laser mapping reveals
In the western, volcano-ringed highlands of Guatemala, Willy Barreno Minera keeps watch over the skies. As an
ajq’ij
, a daykeeper and spiritual guide, the stars and landscape help him keep track of the 260-day calendar that has ruled the life of his Maya K’iche’ community—an Indigenous group of about 1.6 million people—in Quetzaltenango for generations....
FDA approves breakthrough Alzheimer’s drug Lecanemab
Drug works with the body’s immune system to clear amyloid protein buildup from the brainThe US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Lecanemab, a breakthrough drug to treat Alzheimer’s, that is manufactured by biotechnology companies Biogen and Eisai.The drug is an intravenously administered humanized monoclonal antibody that targets amyloid, the toxic protein in the brain linked to...
Scientists may have found magic ingredient behind ancient Rome’s self-healing concrete
The ancient Roman Empire still makes its presence felt throughout Europe. Bathhouses, aqueducts, and seawalls built more than 2000 years ago are still standing—thanks to a special type of concrete that has proved far more durable than its modern counterpart. Now, researchers say they have figured out why Roman concrete remains so resilient: Quicklime used in the mix may have given the...
133 Days on the Sun
This video chronicles solar activity from Aug. 12 to Dec. 22, 2022, as captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). From its orbit in space around Earth, SDO has steadily imaged the Sun in 4K x 4K resolution for nearly 13 years. This information has enabled countless new discoveries about the workings of our closest star and how it influences the solar system.
With a triad of...
Study reveals average age at conception for men versus women over past 250,000 years
- ScienceDaily
- 23/1/6 20:45
Using a new method based upon comparing DNA mutation rates between parents and offspring, evolutionary biologists have revealed the average age of mothers versus fathers over the past 250,000 years, including the discovery that the age gap is shrinking, with women's average age at conception increasing from 23.2 years to 26.4 years, on average, in the past 5,000 years.
New discovery of sunscreen-like chemicals in fossil plants reveals UV radiation played a part in mass extinction events
- ScienceDaily
- 23/1/6 20:45
New research has uncovered that pollen preserved in 250 million year old rocks contain compounds that function like sunscreen, these are produced by plants to protect them from harmful ultraviolet (UV-B) radiation. The findings suggests that a pulse of UV-B played an important part in the end Permian mass extinction event.
Research team detects additive manufacturing defects in real-time
- ScienceDaily
- 23/1/6 20:45
Researchers can now detect the formation of keyhole pores, one of the most challenging defects common in additive manufacturing, with incredible accuracy.
Study shows gardening may help reduce cancer risk, boost mental health
- ScienceDaily
- 23/1/6 20:45
A randomized, controlled trial of community gardening found that those who started gardening ate more fiber and got more physical activity -- two known ways to reduce risk of cancer and chronic diseases. They also saw their levels of stress and anxiety significantly decrease.
Indigenous territories and protected areas are key to forest conservation in the Brazilian Amazon, study shows
- ScienceDaily
- 23/1/6 20:44
A U.S.-Brazilian study using time series satellite images from 2000 to 2021 reveals the vital role of Indigenous territories and protected areas for forest conservation in the Brazilian Amazon, as well as calls attention to the negative impacts of weakened governmental conservation policies in recent years.
Marine plankton tell the long story of ocean health, and maybe human too
- ScienceDaily
- 23/1/6 20:44
Researchers suggest that rising levels of humanmade chemicals, accumulating in marine plankton, might be used to monitor the impact of human activity on ecosystem health and perhaps study links between ocean pollution and land-based rates of childhood and adult chronic illnesses.
Scientists get fungi to spill their secrets
- ScienceDaily
- 23/1/6 20:44
Using multiplex base-editing, an approach that simultaneously modifies multiple sites in fungal genomes, chemical and biomolecular engineers coax fungi into revealing their best-kept secrets, ramping up the pace of new drug discovery.
Lab lights way to simple chemical synthesis
- ScienceDaily
- 23/1/6 20:44
Scientists have developed a photochemical process to simplify the synthesis of drug and chemical precursors known as diamines.
Lithium-sulfur batteries are one step closer to powering the future
- ScienceDaily
- 23/1/6 20:44
A research team has built and tested a new interlayer to prevent dissolution of the sulfur cathode in lithium-sulfur batteries. This new interlayer increases Li-S cell capacity and maintains it over hundreds of cycles.
Riddle solved: Why was Roman concrete so durable?
- ScienceDaily
- 23/1/6 20:44
An unexpected ancient manufacturing strategy may hold the key to designing concrete that lasts for millennia.
Physicists find that organelles grow in random bursts
Eukaryotic cells—the ones that make up most life as we know it, including all animals, plants and fungi—are highly structured objects.
Artificial intelligence could aid in evaluating parole decisions
Over the last decade, there has been an effort by lawmakers to reduce incarceration in the United States without impacting public safety. This effort includes parole boards making risk-based parole decisions—releasing people assessed to be at low risk of committing a crime after being released.
Compound extreme heat and drought will hit 90% of world population
More than 90% of the world's population is projected to face increased risks from the compound impacts of extreme heat and drought, potentially widening social inequalities as well as undermining the natural world's ability to reduce CO2 emissions in the atmosphere—according to a study from Oxford's School of Geography.
Researchers uncover key codon repeats regulating chilling tolerance in rice
A recent study by Prof. Chong Kang's group from the Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has revealed a novel cold domesticated repair mechanism for DNA damage in rice, providing corresponding elite modules for the improvement of the chilling tolerance trait in rice with the codon repeats at a single site.
Strong solar flare erupts from Sun
The Sun emitted a strong solar flare, peaking at 7:57 p.m. EDT on Jan. 5, 2023. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the Sun constantly, captured an image of the event.
Interfaces play important role in condensate behavior
Before mixing an oil-and-vinegar-based salad dressing, the individual drops of vinegar are easily seen suspended in the oil, each with a perfectly circular boundary that delineates the two liquids. In the same way, our cells contain condensed bundles of proteins and nucleic acids called condensates delineated by clear boundaries. The boundaries are known as interfaces and given that condensates...
Most former SpAds become 'shadow lobbyists' when they leave Whitehall, major new analysis shows
Most former SpAds become 'shadow lobbyists' when they leave Whitehall, major new analysis of the career paths of political special advisors shows.
Could washing our clothes with detergent become a thing of the past?
Could washing our clothes with detergent become a thing of the past? Even though the research is in its early stages, an investigation as to whether washing or cleaning can be done with purified water instead of detergent solution looks promising.
Nanoplastics unexpectedly produce reactive oxidizing species when exposed to light
Plastics are ubiquitous in our society, found in packaging and bottles as well as making up more than 18% of solid waste in landfills. Many of these plastics also make their way into the oceans, where they take up to hundreds of years to break down into pieces that can harm wildlife and the aquatic ecosystem.
‘He will always be stardust’: New Zealanders find connection with space burials
Memorial spaceflights offer people in New Zealand a new way to say goodbye, sending tokens holding their ashes into orbitOn 19 January, Keryn Townsley will be hoping for a clear night sky. Her family will gather at their home in Wellington, New Zealand, to watch a live stream of a rocket launching in the US – a tradition they have observed many times in the past. But this time will be different....
‘Self-healing’ Roman concrete could aid modern construction, study suggests
Research finds secret of durability of buildings such as the Pantheon could be in the techniques used at the timeThey have stood through the fall of an empire, the carnage of great wars and the foundation of a new country. But quite why structures made using Roman concrete are so durable has remained something of a mystery.Now researchers say they have discovered one possible explanation: the...
Sunscreen-like chemicals found in fossil plants reveal UV radiation was involved in mass extinction events
New research has uncovered that pollen preserved in 250 million year old rocks contain compounds that function like sunscreen, these are produced by plants to protect them from harmful ultraviolet (UV-B) radiation. The findings suggests that a pulse of UV-B played an important part in the end Permian mass extinction event.
Study reveals average age at conception for men versus women over past 250,000 years
The length of a specific generation can tell us a lot about the biology and social organization of humans. Now, researchers at Indiana University can determine the average age that women and men had children throughout human evolutionary history with a new method they developed using DNA mutations.
New super I-mode obtained on EAST
A new plasma operation scenario Super I Mode was discovered and demonstrated on the Experiment Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST). The new high-confinement and self-organizing mechanism represents the reliability and advancement of the machine itself but also offers insights into how to better maintain the plasma and its operating stability.
The Pacific Ocean's oxygen-starved 'OMZ' is growing, new research finds
Areas of low-oxygen water stretch for thousands of miles through the world's oceans. The largest of these "oxygen minimum zones" (OMZs) is found along the Pacific coast of North and South America, centered off the coast of Mexico.
International nuclear fusion project may be delayed by years, its head admits
Facility in France still far from being able to show feasibility of generating carbon-free energy despite recent breakthrough in USAn international project in nuclear fusion may face years of delays, its boss has said, weeks after scientists in the United States announced a breakthrough in their own quest for the coveted goal.The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (Iter) project...
International fusion energy project faces delays, says chief
An international project in nuclear fusion may face "years" of delays, its boss has told AFP, weeks after scientists in the United States announced a breakthrough in their own quest for the coveted goal.
US proposes stricter air quality standards for soot
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed stricter standards on Friday for microscopic particles responsible for harmful air pollution.
Marine plankton tell the long story of ocean health, and maybe human too
Using samples from an almost century-old, ongoing survey of marine plankton, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine suggest that rising levels of manmade chemicals found in parts of the world's oceans might be used to monitor the impact of human activity on ecosystem health, and may one day be used to study the connections between ocean pollution and land-based rates...
Indigenous territories and protected areas are key to forest conservation in the Brazilian Amazon, study shows
A study led by researchers with the Center for Earth Observation and Modeling at the University of Oklahoma analyzed time series satellite images from 2000 to 2021, revealing the vital role of Indigenous territories and protected areas in forest conservation in the Brazilian Amazon. The study results, recently published in Nature Sustainability, called attention to the negative impacts of weakened...
Cooling 100 million degree plasma with a hydrogen-neon mixture ice pellet
At ITER—the world's largest experimental fusion reactor, currently under construction in France through international cooperation—the abrupt termination of magnetic confinement of a high temperature plasma through a so-called "disruption" poses a major open issue. As a countermeasure, disruption mitigation techniques, which allow to forcibly cool the plasma when signs of plasma instabilities...
About 50% of soil-available phosphorus comes from mineral fertilizers in agricultural systems worldwide
Plants need phosphorus to grow. Farmers' use of mineral phosphorus fertilizers has greatly increased soil phosphorus fertility and, consequently, crop yields. However, these fertilizers are made from rock phosphate, a non-renewable resource that is patchily distributed across the Earth.
Can the UK's race to space take off?
The first orbital rocket launch from Britain is about to blast off - but it's just the start for the UK's race to space.
Researchers reveal mechanism of fatigue damage by high thermal loads in tungsten composites
The relationship between microstructure evolution and property degradation of two representative second-phase dispersion strengthened tungsten materials after electron beam thermal loading was investigated recently by a collaborated research team from Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (HFIPS), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).
New nanowire sensors are the next step in the Internet of Things
A new miniscule nitrogen dioxide sensor could help protect the environment from vehicle pollutants that cause lung disease and acid rain.
Brand new toolbox for better gender balance in academia
Vivian Anette Lagesen, a professor at NTNU's Department of Interdisciplinary Studies of Culture, has been asked many times what works to achieve gender balance in academia. Her answer is always, "It depends."
Ultrathin vanadium oxychloride demonstrates strong optical anisotropic properties
The optical, electrical and mechanical properties of some materials change depending on the direction or orientation of the material. Depending on how wood is cut, for example, the orientation of the wood grain can result in a stronger or weaker material with different appearances. This same principal applies to ultrathin, two-dimensional (2D) materials with unique properties such as magnetism.
Modern tools reveal the brutality of death by multiple sword blows 700 years ago
A team of researchers from the University of Insubria and the University of Siena, both in Italy, has used modern tools to reconstruct the events that led to the death of a young man approximately 700 hundred years ago, in what is now Italy. In their paper published in Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, the group describes how they used three-dimensional X-ray scans, computed tomography...
Quiet, please: Human noise is interfering with the sex lives of grasshoppers
Grasshoppers have a bad reputation. They're not popular with gardeners And locusts, a type of swarming grasshopper, can do huge damage to vegetation and crops when they're in a feeding frenzy.