Friday 18 October 2019

Transforming sulphur dioxide from harmful to useful

Scientists have created molecular cages within a polymer to trap harmful sulphur dioxide pollution in order to transform it into useful compounds and reduce waste and emissions.

Mars 2020 unwrapped and ready for testing

In this time-lapse video, taken on Oct. 4, 2019, at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, bunny-suited engineers remove the inner layer of protective antistatic foil on the Mars 2020 rover after the vehicle was relocated from JPL's Spacecraft Assembly Facility to the Simulator Building for testing.

NASA's planetary protection review addresses changing reality of space exploration

NASA released a report Friday with recommendations from the Planetary Protection Independent Review Board (PPIRB) the agency established in response to a recent National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report and a recommendation from the NASA Advisory Council.

Young climate activists in Africa struggle to be heard

As Greta Thunberg and the Extinction Rebellion inspire climate protesters across the globe, young African activists say they still struggle to make themselves heard.

Thunberg brings her climate protest to Canada's oil patch

Teen activist Greta Thunberg rallied with climate change protesters in Canada's oil-rich province of Albert on Friday, as oil workers counter-protested by honking the horns of their big rigs.

Huawei exec: Chinese tech giant wants to be 'transparent'

A top executive of Chinese tech giant Huawei said Friday that the company is prepared to be "open and transparent" as it looks to persuade the U.S. government that it can be trusted and that national security concerns about its technology are unfounded.

Facebook says it will deliver News Corp stories

Facebook on Friday confirmed that some stories from News Corp, publisher of The Wall Street Journal, will be delivered at a new "tab" planned at the leading social network.

New research center aims to make electronics more secure

The University of Cincinnati will lead a new National Science Foundation research center to protect electronics and networked systems from sabotage, hacking or spying.

NASA-NOAA satellite finds overshooting tops, gravity waves in Tropical Storm Nestor

NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite provided night-time and infrared views of developing Tropical Storm Nestor in the Gulf of Mexico and found over-shooting cloud tops and gravity waves. When the satellite passed over the potential tropical depression early on Oct. 18, it was consolidating. Less than 12 hours later, it became a tropical storm.

Wind turbine design and placement can mitigate negative effect on birds

Wind energy is increasingly seen as a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels, as it contributes to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. It is estimated that by 2050, wind turbines will contribute more than 20% of the global electricity supply. However, the rapid expansion of wind farms has raised concerns about the impact of wind turbines on wildlife.

SNAP provides a model for ensuring a right to food

Alleviating food insecurity is often seen as one of the fundamental roles a country should fulfill. In some cases, this is encapsulated into a constitutionally formalized "right to food". In other cases, including the U.S., the right to food isn't formalized, but the U.S. government spends billions of dollars per year to help Americans obtain the food they need.

Land management practices to reduce nitrogen load may be affected by climate changes

Nitrogen from agricultural production is a major cause of pollution in the Mississippi River Basin and contributes to large dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico.

Why respiratory infections are more deadly in those with diabetes

Since the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) first emerged in Saudi Arabia in 2012, there have been more than 2,400 confirmed cases of the infection, resulting in greater than 800 deaths—an alarming fatality rate of 35 percent. For this reason, researchers have been eager to identify any risk factors that contribute to the development of severe or lethal disease. Current clinical evidence points to diabetes as a major risk factor in addition to other comorbidities including kidney disease, heart disease, and lung disease.

UK veterinary profession simply not ready for 'no deal' Brexit

The UK veterinary profession is simply not prepared for a 'No Deal' Brexit, warns the editor of Vet Record.

Croissant making inspires renewable energy solution

The art of croissant making has inspired researchers from Queen Mary University of London to find a solution to a sustainable energy problem.

Newly discovered virus infects bald eagles across America

Researchers have discovered a previously unknown virus infecting nearly a third of America's bald eagle population.

A charging box for Skydio 2 drones could attract business users

Skydio 2 Dock is from the company with the same name, Skydio. The company showed a video of it on Wednesday. They said in the video notes that "We look forward to partnering with our first customers and regulators to roll this product out responsibly. If you believe your drone program could benefit from a Skydio 2 Dock, please get in touch with us."

Research group advances perovskite solar technology for green energy production

In a new research paper published in Nature Energy earlier this month, Professor Michael McGehee and his research team demonstrate how to dramatically improve the stability of tin-containing perovskite material used in stacked solar cells, allowing for up to 30% power conversion efficiency.

How Purdue's aggressive sales of a painkiller blew up in its face

In 2002, Andrew Kolodny, a resident in psychiatry, attended a training session on pain treatment in Philadelphia.

America's endless battle against lethal drug fentanyl

In a windowless hangar at New York's John F. Kennedy airport, dozens of law enforcement officers sift through packages, looking for fentanyl—a drug that is killing Americans every day.

Lunch break lesson: how to reverse an opioid overdose

At a small shop selling handmade jewelry in South Philly, employees are skipping their lunch break for a good cause. They are getting training they all wanted—in how to save someone who has overdosed on opioids.

Deep-sea explorers seek out sunken World War II ships

MIDWAY ATOLL, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (AP)—Deep-sea explorers scouring the world's oceans for sunken World War II ships are honing in on debris fields deep in the Pacific, in an area where one of the most decisive battles of the time took place.

US imposes tariffs on EU goods, targeting Airbus, wine and whisky

The United States imposed tariffs on a record $7.5-billion worth of European Union goods on Friday, despite threats of retaliation, with Airbus, French wine and Scottish whiskies among the high-profile targets.

Confessions of a cannabis farmer: The Vietnamese getting Brits high

Holed up alone in a suburban British house thousands of miles from home, cannabis farmer Cuong Nguyen spent months carefully nurturing his plants, one of thousands of Vietnamese migrants working in the UK's multi-billion dollar weed industry.

Trial set in New York on Exxon's climate statements

Charges that Exxon Mobil misled investors on the financial risks of climate change will be heard in court this month after a New York judge gave the green light for a trial.

'Legal basis' an 'absolute prerequisite' for digital monies like Libra: G7

Facebook's proposed digital currency must have legal and regulatory issues worked out in key economies before it can be put into use, the Group of Seven economies said Thursday.

Longest non-stop flight to take off from New York to Sydney

A plane and its passengers are set to test the mental and physical limits of long-haul aviation when Qantas operates the first direct flight by a commercial airline from New York to Sydney this weekend.

Training social workers in fight against opioids

Nancy Ochoa was 15 years old the first time she used heroin with a group of friends. At 16, four months after the birth of her first child, her occasional drug use had turned into a "necessity."

A new approach to reconstructing protein evolution

There are an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 proteins at work in cells, where they carry out numerable functions, says computational molecular biologist Roman Sloutsky at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. "One of the central questions in all of biochemistry and molecular biology," he adds, is how their precisely-tuned functions are determined.

Cod or haddock? Study looks at 'name bias' and fisheries sustainability

Could you taste the difference between cod and other whitefish, such as haddock or hake, if you didn't know what you were eating? The answer may have implications for supporting local fisheries and food sustainability in New England, says UMass Amherst environmental conservation graduate student Amanda Davis.

Plant-based compound may enable faster, more effective gene therapy

Gene therapy has broadened the treatment possibilities for those with immune system deficiencies and blood-based conditions, such as sickle cell anemia and leukemia. These diseases, which once would require a bone marrow transplant, can now be successfully treated by modifying patients' own blood stem cells to correct the underlying genetic problem.

New study uncovers 'magnetic' memory of European glass eels

A new study led by researchers at the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science and at the Institute of Marine Research in Norway found that European glass eels use their magnetic sense to "imprint" a memory of the direction of water currents in the estuary where they become juveniles. This is the first direct evidence that a species of fish uses its internal magnetic compass to form a memory of current direction.

Health care intervention: Treating high-need, high-cost patients

In crisis and with nowhere else to turn, thousands of patients with complex needs—serious mental and physical health problems and substance use disorders—every year flock to emergency rooms in Harris County, Texas and across the country. Referred to as "high-need, high-cost," these patients have limited ability to take care of themselves, making it challenging for doctors to find effective treatments.

Researcher invents an easy-to-use technique to measure the hydrophobicity of micro- and nanoparticle

The scientific and industrial communities who work with micro- and nanoparticles continue to labor with the challenge of effective particle dispersion. Most particles that disperse in liquids aggregate rapidly, and eventually precipitate, thereby separating from the liquid phase. While it is commonly accepted that the hydrophobicity of particles— how quickly water repels off a surface—determines their dispersion and aggregation potential, there has been no easy-to-use method to quantitatively determine the hydrophobicity of these tiny particles.

Is there evidence of the 'immigrant health paradox' among Arab Americans?

First generation immigrants to the United States from Latin America, South America, and Asia have been shown to have better health outcomes and behaviors than second generation (born in the U.S. to immigrant parents) and third generation (born in the U.S. to U.S.-born parents with immigrant heritage) immigrants—a phenomenon known as the "immigrant health paradox." But in a study led by Boston College Connell School of Nursing Assistant Professor Nadia Abuelezam, little evidence of an immigrant health paradox was found among immigrants from Arabic speaking countries in the Middle East and North Africa.

Increase health benefits of exercise by working out before breakfast

According to a new study, published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, health scientists at the Universities of Bath and Birmingham found that by changing the timing of when you eat and exercise, people can better control their blood sugar levels.