136 articles from WEDNESDAY 1.2.2023

Could a popular COVID-19 antiviral supercharge the pandemic?

A widely used COVID-19 drug may be driving the appearance of new SARS-CoV-2 variants, sparking concerns it could prolong and even reinvigorate the pandemic. The drug, molnupiravir, produced by Merck & Co., is designed to kill the virus by inducing mutations in the viral genome. A survey of viral genomes reported in a new preprint, however, suggests some people treated with the drug...

Pit find in Germany reveals how Neanderthals hunted huge elephants

125,000-year-old bones of 70 animals – each about three times the size of today’s Asian elephants – discovered near HalleNeanderthals may have lived in larger groups than previously believed, hunting massive elephants that were up to three times bigger than those of today, according to a new study.The researchers reached their conclusions, published in the journal Science Advances on...

Getting ready for the next 'big' quake in Missouri's New Madrid Seismic Zone

There are hundreds of minor earthquakes each year in Missouri's New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ), but most of them are too small for people living in the area to feel. While several major earthquakes—magnitude 7.0 or greater—occurred between 1811-1812 in the NMSZ, none have happened since then, creating a knowledge gap in earthquake preparedness among people now residing in that area of...

Drilling campaign reaches a depth of 808 meters in the Antarctic ice sheet

In Antarctica, the second drilling campaign of the Beyond EPICA—Oldest Ice project, at the remote field site Little Dome C, has been successfully completed. This project is an unprecedented challenge for paleoclimatology studies and its goal is to go back 1.5 million years in time to reconstruct past temperatures and greenhouse gas concentrations through the analysis of an ice core extracted...

Quails could be the unknown reservoir of Tuscany and Sicilian viruses

Quails could be the unknown reservoir of the Toscana virus (TOSV) and the Sandfly Fever Sicilian virus (SFSV), mosquito-borne pathogens that can infect domestic animals and also cause disease in humans. This conclusion is drawn from a study published in the journal Frontiers in Microbiology, and led by Jordi Serra-Cobo, professor at the Faculty of Biology and the Biodiversity Research Institute...

Wildfires are increasingly burning California's snowy landscapes, colliding with winter droughts to shrink snowpack

The early pandemic years overlapped with some of California's worst wildfires on record, creating haunting, orange-tinted skies and wide swaths of burned landscape. Some of the impacts of these fires are well known, including drastic declines in air quality, and now a new study shows how these wildfires combined with midwinter drought conditions to accelerate snowmelt.

A new strategy for microbial nutrient acquisition in reduced oxygen environments

Mangroves have been recognized globally as one of the most carbon (C) rich ecosystems although they only occupy about 0.1% of the Earth's land surface. Mangroves are regarded as an important C sink due to their waterlogged conditions, high sedimentation rates, high primary productivity, unique root structures, and anoxic soils resulting in low C decomposition rates. In recent decades, nitrogen (N)...

Three new nautilus species described from the Coral Sea and South Pacific

Nautiloids were once quite plentiful throughout the oceans, based upon the fossil record. Today, they are represented by just a handful of species, including the newly described Nautilus vitiensis of Fiji, Nautilus samoaensis of American Samoa, and Nautilus vanuatuensis of Vanuatu. These descriptions highlight the concept of allopatric speciation, or biogeographic isolation, where populations are...

Sierra Nevada snowpack hits highest level in nearly 30 years

The statewide Sierra Nevada snowpack—the source of nearly one-third of California's water supply—is at its highest level since 1995, boosting hopes that an end to the drought is near, but also raising concerns that a few warm spring storms could melt it too early and trigger major flooding.

Feather mite species associated with Laysan albatross discovered in Japan

Phoebastria immutabilis, commonly known as the Laysan albatross, is a large seabird native to the North Pacific Ocean. Owing to the decrease in their population size, this species has been listed as "Near Threatened" in the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Laysan albatrosses, like other birds, have a symbiotic relationship with feather mites, a species of highly...

Not blaming women is key to increasing their presence in tech professions, says researcher

Women account for only 34% of graduates in the EU in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The percentage is even lower in the STEM fields that are not directly related to care. The fact is that girls are systematically discouraged from studying these disciplines throughout their education, which limits their opportunities for access to these fields as adults.

Curious comet's rare close approach

Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) today makes its closest approach to Earth before likely leaving our solar system forever. At billions of years old and not seen since Neanderthals roamed, the green comet continues to intrigue as it grows an apparent third tail and unexpectedly—but intriguingly—failed to wow scientists when observed in X-ray light.

Vikings brought their animals to England, research suggests

Experts find evidence at Derbyshire cremation site of horses and dogs originating from the Baltic ShieldWhen the Vikings arrived in England they didn’t just bring their helmets, axes and beards –they also brought their horses and dogs, research suggests.Experts studying cremated remains associated with the Viking great army that invaded England in AD865, say they have found evidence of...

Dogs' average age at cancer diagnosis is associated with size, sex, breed

A new analysis has determined median ages of cancer diagnosis for dogs with different characteristics, providing support for the establishment of cancer screening guidelines that vary according to breed or weight. Jill Rafalko of PetDx in La Jolla, California, and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS ONE.

Neanderthals lived in groups big enough to eat giant elephants

On the muddy shores of a lake in east-central Germany, Neanderthals gathered some 125,000 years ago to butcher massive elephants. With sharp stone tools, they harvested up to 4 tons of flesh from each animal, according to a new study that is casting these ancient human relatives in a new light. The degree of organization required to carry out the butchery—and the sheer quantity of food...

Researcher takes another step toward discovering how a brain molecule could halt MS

A researcher is one step closer to demonstrating the potential of a brain molecule called fractalkine to halt and even reverse the effects of multiple sclerosis and other neurodegenerative diseases. Researchers injected fractalkine into mice with chemically induced MS. They found the treatment increased the number of new oligodendrocytes -- vital brain and spinal cord cells that produce myelin in...

Amplified search for new forces

In the search for new forces and interactions beyond the Standard Model, an international team of researchers has now taken a good step forward. The researchers are using an amplification technique based on nuclear magnetic resonance. They use their experimental setup to study a particular exotic interaction between spins: a parity-violating interaction mediated by a new hypothetical exchange...

Learning with all your senses: Multimodal enrichment as the optimal learning strategy of the future

Neuroscientists have compiled extensive interdisciplinary findings from neuroscience, psychology, computer modelling and education on the topic of 'learning' in a recent review article. The results of the interdisciplinary review reveal the mechanisms the brain uses to achieve improved learning outcome by combining multiple senses or movements in learning. This kind of learning outcome applies to...

Discovery of a circovirus involved in human hepatitis

Scientists have identified a previously unknown species of circovirus, provisionally named human circovirus 1 (HCirV-1). Circoviruses are a family of small, highly resistant DNA viruses that were initially identified in 1974 in various animal species, where they can cause respiratory, renal, dermatological and reproductive problems. HCirV-1 is a novel virus that is distant from known animal...

Protected areas fail to safeguard more than 75% of global insect species

Insects play crucial roles in almost every ecosystem -- they pollinate more than 80% of plants and are a major source of food for thousands of vertebrate species -- but insect populations are collapsing around the globe, and they continue to be overlooked by conservation efforts. Protected areas can safeguard threatened species but only if these threatened species actually live within the areas we...