US virus deaths surpass 450K; daily toll is stubbornly high

Coronavirus deaths in the United States surpassed 450,000 on Thursday, and daily deaths remain stubbornly high at more than 3,000 a day, despite falling infections and the arrival of multiple vaccines.

Surface effect of electrodes revealed by operando surface science methodology

Surface and interface play critical roles in energy storage devices, thus calling for in-situ/operando methods to probe the electrified surface/interface. However, the commonly used in-situ/operando characterization techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray spectroscopy and topography, and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) are based on the structural, electronic and chemical information in bulk region of the electrodes or electrolytes.

Imaging the first moments of a body plan emerging in the embryo

Egg cells start out as round blobs. After fertilization, they begin transforming into people, dogs, fish, or other animals by orienting head to tail, back to belly, and left to right. Exactly what sets these body orientation directions has been guessed at but not seen. Now researchers at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) have imaged the very beginning of this cellular rearrangement, and their findings help answer a fundamental question.

Experimental vaccine blunts the deadliest of synthetic opioids

As the opioid epidemic raged on with an even greater force during COVID-19, the Scripps Research laboratory of chemist Kim Janda, Ph.D., has been working on new therapeutic interventions that may be able to prevent the bulk of deaths from opioid overdose.

Deforestation is stressing mammals out

Lots of us are feeling pretty anxious about the destruction of the natural world. It turns out, humans aren't the only ones stressing out—by analyzing hormones that accumulate in fur, researchers found that rodents and marsupials living in smaller patches of South America's Atlantic Forest are under more stress than ones living in more intact forests.

Ocean surface slicks are pelagic nurseries for diverse fishes

To survive the open ocean, tiny fish larvae, freshly hatched from eggs, must find food, avoid predators, and navigate ocean currents to their adult habitats. But what the larvae of most marine species experience during these great ocean odysseys has long been a mystery, until now.

Can I take painkillers before or after a COVID-19 vaccine?

Can I take painkillers before or after a COVID-19 vaccine?

American Airlines warns of as many as 13,000 layoffs

American Airlines will notify 13,000 workers that they could be laid off due to the prolonged industry downturn if the Covid-19 situation doesn't improve and US government aid is not extended, the carrier said Wednesday.

Canada probe concludes Clearview AI breached privacy laws

US facial recognition technology firm Clearview AI illegally conducted mass surveillance in breach of Canadians' privacy rights, Canada's privacy commissioner said Wednesday following an investigation.

Brazil aims to buy 30 mn Sputnik V, Covaxin shots

The Brazilian government announced Wednesday it was negotiating the purchase of 30 million coronavirus vaccine doses from Russia and India, after regulators made it easier for the treatments to win emergency-use authorizations.

Parler social network fires chief exec John Matze: report

Parler has fired the chief executive from the ultraconservative-leaning social network embroiled in controversy stemming from the deadly attack on the US Capitol, Fox News reported Wednesday.

Firefighters hold off bushfire near Australia's Perth

A mammoth effort by Australian firefighters saved homes from an out-of-control bushfire near Perth overnight, authorities said Thursday, but warned strong winds and rough terrain posed an ongoing challenge.

'Eye of the storm': Diverse east London grapples with virus

Taxicab driver Gary Nerden knows colleagues who got seriously ill from COVID-19. He knows the area of east London where he lives and works has among the highest infection rates in the whole of England. But since he can't afford not to work, he drives around picking up strangers for up to 12 hours a day, relying on a flimsy plastic screen to keep him safe.

Australian leader has 'constructive' talk with Google boss

The Australian prime minister said he had a "constructive" meeting on Thursday with the head of Google after the tech giant threatened to remove its search engine from Australia over plans to make digital platforms pay for news.

5 challenges awaiting Amazon's new CEO

In 1995, few could imagine that the modest online bookstore built by Jeff Bezos would turn into a $1.7 trillion behemoth that sells everything from diapers to sofas, produces movies, owns a grocery chain and provides cloud computing services to businesses all over the globe.

Britain to test mixing and matching of COVID-19 vaccines

British scientists are starting a study Thursday to find out if it's OK to mix and match COVID-19 vaccines.

Wisconsin mother meets baby delivered during COVID-19 coma

Nearly three months after Kelsey Townsend gave birth to her fourth child, the 32-year-old Wisconsin woman was finally face to face with her.

Mexico reports 1,707 deaths, no date for Sputnik vaccine

Mexico reported a near-record 1,707 confirmed coronavirus deaths Wednesday, as the country runs out of vaccines.

Cancer patients not receiving life-saving heart attack treatment

Emergency heart attack treatment is effective in patients with cancer, yet many do not receive it. That's the finding of a study published on World Cancer Day in European Heart Journal—Acute Cardiovascular Care, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).1 This was the first study to compare the rates of primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in heart attack patients with and without cancer, and to examine the comparative effectiveness and safety of treatment.

California's rainy season starting nearly a month later than it did 60 years ago

The start of California's annual rainy season has been pushed back from November to December, prolonging the state's increasingly destructive wildfire season by nearly a month, according to new research. The study cannot confirm the shift is connected to climate change, but the results are consistent with climate models that predict drier autumns for California in a warming climate, according to the authors.

How does pain experienced in everyday life impact memory?

How do the normal pains of everyday life, such as headaches and backaches, influence our ability to think? Recent studies suggest that healthy individuals in pain also show deficits in working memory, or the cognitive process of holding and manipulating information over short periods of time. Prior research suggests that pain-related impairments in working memory depend on an individual's level of emotional distress. Yet the specific brain and psychological factors underlying the role of emotional distress in contributing to this relationship are not well understood.

Politicians must be held to account for mishandling the pandemic

Politicians around the world must be held to account for mishandling the COVID-19 pandemic, argues a senior editor at The BMJ today.

Dynamic 3-D printing process features a light-driven twist

The speed of light has come to 3-D printing. Northwestern University engineers have developed a new method that uses light to improve 3-D printing speed and precision while also, in combination with a high-precision robot arm, providing the freedom to move, rotate or dilate each layer as the structure is being built.

Study links brain cells to depression

A new study further highlighting a potential physiological cause of clinical depression could guide future treatment options for this serious mental health disorder. Published in Frontiers in Psychiatry, researchers show differences between the cellular composition of the brain in depressed adults who died by suicide and non-psychiatric individuals who died suddenly by other means.