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376 articles from Yahoo!


FRIDAY 30. OCTOBER 2020


U.S. nursing homes still face COVID-19 test delays; you can wash Halloween candy

Most U.S. nursing homes still cannot get prompt results of COVID-19 tests of staff and residents, researchers reported on Friday in JAMA Internal Medicine. This was true "even among homes in hotspot counties supplied with rapid testing machines from the federal government, which implies that these machines are not helping nursing homes with the rapid turnaround they need," he...

Study: 1 to 2 million tons of US plastic trash go astray

The equivalent of as many as 1,300 plastic grocery bags per person is landing in places such as oceans and roadways, according to a new study of U.S. plastic trash. In 2016 — the last year enough data was available and before several countries cracked down on imports of American waste — the United States generated 46.3 million tons (42 million metric tons) of plastic waste, by far the most in...

Scientists find Madagascar chameleon last seen 100 years ago

Scientists say they have found an elusive chameleon species that was last spotted in Madagascar 100 years ago. Researchers from Madagascar and Germany said Friday that they discovered several living specimens of Voeltzkow’s chameleon during an expedition to the northwest of the African island nation. In a report published in the journal Salamandra, the team led by scientists from the Bavarian...

Studies link COVID-19 deaths to air pollution, raising questions about EPA's 'acceptable risk'

The pandemic is putting America’s air pollution standards to the test as the COVID-19 death toll rises.The U.S. government sets limits on hazardous air pollutants to try to protect public health, but it can be difficult to determine where to draw the line for what is considered “acceptable risk.” Power plants, factories and other pollution sources release hundreds of million pounds of...

BioNTech CEO expects data from late-stage study soon

BioNTech Chief Executive Ugur Sahin expects efficacy results from its late-stage trial of its potential coronavirus vaccine to be available shortly and said the company could file for U.S. approval in mid-November if the data are positive. "We will certainly be smarter in a fortnight," Sahin said in a video interview with regional publisher VRM posted online late on Thursday, adding he expects...


THURSDAY 29. OCTOBER 2020


Asteroid samples tucked into capsule for return to Earth

A NASA spacecraft more than 200 million miles away has tucked asteroid samples into a capsule for return to Earth, after losing some of its precious loot, scientists said Thursday. The Osiris-Rex spacecraft gathered pebbles and other pieces of asteroid Bennu on Oct. 20, briefly touching the surface with its robot arm and sucking up whatever was there. Whatever is left won’t depart Bennu's...

Lab tests show risks of using CRISPR gene editing on embryos

A lab experiment aimed at fixing defective DNA in human embryos shows what can go wrong with this type of gene editing and why leading scientists say it’s too unsafe to try. Columbia University researchers describe their work Thursday in the journal Cell. Several international panels of scientists and ethicists have said it’s too soon to know whether that can be done safely, and the new...

Masks good, ventilation better at cutting COVID risk at indoor events - study

Face masks and limits on numbers are important, but good ventilation technology is the most essential ingredient of all in reducing the risk of the coronavirus spreading at public events indoors, according to a German study. Around 1,500 volunteers with face masks, hand sanitiser and proximity trackers attended an indoor pop-concert in Leipzig in August to assess how the virus spreads in large...

Novartis buys Vedere Bio, whose founders helped blind mice see

Swiss drugmaker Novartis is buying Vedere Bio, hoping gene therapy technology that has helped blind mice to see will produce similar results in people with inherited conditions that cause them to lose their sight. Novartis is paying $150 million upfront for the U.S. biotechnology company, with the remainder in milestone payments for a total of $280 million. Novartis, which ploughed into gene...

Australian scientists find huge new healthy coral reef off northern coast

Australian scientists found a detached coral reef on the Great Barrier Reef that exceeds the height of the Empire State Building and the Eiffel Tower, the Schmidt Ocean Institute said this week, the first such discovery in over 100 years. The "blade like" reef is nearly 500 metres tall and 1.5 kilometres wide, said the institute founded by ex-Google boss Eric Schmidt and his wife Wendy. It lies...

Australian scientists find huge new healthy coral reef off northern coast

Australian scientists found a detached coral reef on the Great Barrier Reef that exceeds the height of the Empire State Building and the Eiffel Tower, the Schmidt Ocean Institute said this week, the first such discovery in over 100 years. The "blade like" reef is nearly 500 metres tall and 1.5 kilometres wide, said the institute founded by ex-Google boss Eric Schmidt and his wife Wendy. It lies...

Novartis buys Vedere Bio, whose founders helped blind mice see

Swiss drugmaker Novartis is buying Vedere Bio, hoping gene therapy technology that has helped blind mice to see will produce similar results in people with inherited conditions that cause them to lose their sight. Novartis is paying $150 million upfront for the U.S. biotechnology company, with the remainder in milestone payments for a total of $280 million. Novartis, which ploughed into gene...


WEDNESDAY 28. OCTOBER 2020


Red coating contaminates SpaceX rockets, delays crew launch

SpaceX’s second astronaut flight is off until mid-November because red lacquer dripped into tiny vent holes in two rocket engines that now must be replaced. SpaceX and NASA officials announced the discovery of the potentially damaging contamination Wednesday. The clogged holes were found after the aborted launch of a GPS satellite on Oct....

As Climate Disasters Pile Up, a Radical Proposal Gains Traction

WASHINGTON -- As the effects of climate change become more devastating, prominent research institutions and government agencies are focusing new money and attention on an idea once dismissed as science fiction: artificially cooling the planet, in the hopes of buying humanity more time to cut greenhouse gas emissions.That strategy, called solar climate intervention or solar geoengineering, entails...

Why men get beer bellies

You don't have to drink beer to get a beer belly. It's all about the way our bodies store up fat and men tend to store visceral fat in their...

With no visitors, Jerusalem citadel undergoes major facelift

The coronavirus pandemic may be keeping tourists away from Jerusalem's ancient citadel, but it has created a rare opportunity for the site to launch a massive restoration and conservation project. In the process, Israeli archaeologists are studying the bastion's medieval past in the hope of learning more about the holy city during the Crusades. The Tower of David, the Old City's iconic fortress,...

Belgium needs plasma to continue COVID-19 studies, Red Cross says

Belgian clinical studies to study the effectiveness of blood plasma for people recovering from COVID-19 are at risk of being suspended because of low plasma stocks, doctors said, prompting a call for more blood donors to come forward. The Belgian Red Cross is supplying plasma to two hospitals, University Hospital Leuven and CHU of Liege, which are leading two clinical studies in the country to...

Saudi Arabia plans $2 billion boost for space programme by 2030

Saudi Arabia is planning an 8 billion riyals ($2.1 billion) boost for its space programme by 2030 under an economic diversification plan that aims to attract foreign investment and create thousands of jobs for young Saudis. The Saudi Space Commission (SSC), set up by a royal decree in late 2018 to stimulate space-related research and industrial activities, has finalised a plan for the government,...

LeoStella takes on assembly role for NorthStar’s space traffic-monitoring satellites

Tukwila, Wash.-based LeoStella will oversee the assembly of the first three satellites for a constellation that’s designed to keep track of space traffic. LeoStella’s new project is part of a bigger contract between Canada’s NorthStar Earth and Space on one hand, and Europe’s Thales Alenia Space on the other. NorthStar says its Skylark satellite constellation will be part of the world’s...


TUESDAY 27. OCTOBER 2020