ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft collects significant amount of asteroid
• Stars and planets grow up together as siblings
• Seabird response to abrupt climate change 5,000 years ago transformed Falklands ecosystems
• SPOTlight supercharges cell studies
• Protective shield: Membrane-attached protein protects bacteria and chloroplasts from stress
• Not all cats are grey in the dark!
• COVID-19 a double blow for chronic disease patients
• Happiness and the evolution of brain size
• Marine biology: Sponges as biomonitors of micropollution
• War on plastic is distracting from more urgent threats to environment, experts warn
• Extreme events in quantum cascade lasers
• Clovis people: Narrow window of tool-making
• Fish exposed to even small amounts of estrogen produce fewer males
• A new technique predicts how earthquakes would affect a city's hospitals
• 34% of older adults in the US are prescribed potentially inappropriate drugs
• Charging electric cars up to 90% in 6 minutes
• Timekeeping theory combines quantum clocks and Einstein's relativity
• Aspirin use reduces risk of death in hospitalized COVID-19 patients
• Gut hormone blocks brain cell formation and is linked to Parkinson's dementia
• DNA in fringe-lipped bat feces reveals unexpected eating habits
• Tracer molecule may improve imaging tests for brain injury
• Details about broadly neutralizing antibodies provide insights for universal flu vaccine
• Soil fungi act like a support network for trees
• 'Spooky' similarity in how brains and computers see
• Technology shines the light on ovarian cancer treatments

NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft collects significant amount of asteroid Posted: 23 Oct 2020 06:44 PM PDT Two days after touching down on asteroid Bennu, NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission team received on Thursday, Oct. 22, images that confirm the spacecraft has collected more than enough material to meet one of its main mission requirements -- acquiring at least 2 ounces (60 grams) of the asteroid's surface material.

Stars and planets grow up together as siblings Posted: 23 Oct 2020 04:10 PM PDT ALMA shows rings around the still-growing proto-star IRS 63.

Seabird response to abrupt climate change 5,000 years ago transformed Falklands ecosystems Posted: 23 Oct 2020 11:10 AM PDT A 14,000-year paleoecological reconstruction of the sub-Antarctic islands has found that seabird establishment occurred during a period of regional cooling 5,000 years ago. Their populations, in turn, shifted the Falkland Islands ecosystems through the deposit of high concentrations of guano that helped nourish tussac, produce peat and increase the incidence of fire.

SPOTlight supercharges cell studies Posted: 23 Oct 2020 11:10 AM PDT Researchers develop a new method to isolate specific cells, and in the process find a more robust fluorescent protein.

Protective shield: Membrane-attached protein protects bacteria and chloroplasts from stress Posted: 23 Oct 2020 10:53 AM PDT Stress is present everywhere, even bacteria and plant cells have to cope with it. They express various specific stress proteins, but how exactly this line of defense works is often not clear. A group of scientists has now discovered a protective mechanism in cyanobacteria as well as in chloroplasts of plant cells.

Not all cats are grey in the dark! Posted: 23 Oct 2020 09:31 AM PDT Using two mode-locked femtosecond lasers and a single photon counting detector, scientists have recorded broad spectra with close to one hundred thousand colors in almost complete darkness.

COVID-19 a double blow for chronic disease patients Posted: 23 Oct 2020 09:31 AM PDT The COVID-19 pandemic has escalated into a 'syndemic' for people with chronic illnesses, a new study analyzing data from low and middle-income countries shows.

Happiness and the evolution of brain size Posted: 23 Oct 2020 09:31 AM PDT Serotonin can act as a growth factor for the stem cells in the fetal human brain that determine brain size.

Marine biology: Sponges as biomonitors of micropollution Posted: 23 Oct 2020 09:31 AM PDT Sponges are filter feeders that live on particulate matter -- but they can also ingest microscopic fragments of plastics and other pollutants of anthropogenic origin. They can therefore serve as useful bioindicators of the health of marine ecosystems.

War on plastic is distracting from more urgent threats to environment, experts warn Posted: 23 Oct 2020 09:31 AM PDT A team of leading environmental experts have warned that the current war on plastic is detracting from the bigger threats to the environment.

Extreme events in quantum cascade lasers Posted: 23 Oct 2020 09:31 AM PDT Based on a quantum cascade laser (QCL) emitting mid-infrared light, the researchers developed a basic optical neuron system operating 10,000× faster than biological neurons.

Clovis people: Narrow window of tool-making Posted: 23 Oct 2020 09:31 AM PDT There is much debate surrounding the age of the Clovis -- a prehistoric culture named for stone tools found near Clovis, New Mexico in the early 1930s -- who once occupied North America during the end of the last Ice Age. New testing of bones and artifacts show that Clovis tools were made only during a brief, 300-year period from 13,050 to 12,750 years ago.

Fish exposed to even small amounts of estrogen produce fewer males Posted: 23 Oct 2020 09:31 AM PDT A biologist conducted experiments with North American freshwater fish called least killifish. She found that fish exposed to estrogen in concentrations of 5 nanograms per liter in controlled lab conditions had fewer males and produced fewer offspring. Scientists have found estrogen at as much as 16 times that concentration in streams adjacent to sewage treatment plants.

A new technique predicts how earthquakes would affect a city's hospitals Posted: 23 Oct 2020 06:58 AM PDT An international research team has developed a methodology to help disaster preparedness officials in large cities make contingency plans on a region-wide basis to make sure that emergency responders can get patients to the hospital facilities that are likeliest to remain in commission after a quake.

34% of older adults in the US are prescribed potentially inappropriate drugs Posted: 23 Oct 2020 06:58 AM PDT The prescription of potentially inappropriate medications to older adults is linked to increased hospitalizations, and it costs patients, on average, more than $450 per year, according to a new study.

Charging electric cars up to 90% in 6 minutes Posted: 23 Oct 2020 06:58 AM PDT POSTECH Professor Byoungwoo Kang's research team uncovers a new Li-ion battery electrode material that can achieve high-energy density and high power capability per volume without reducing particle size.

Timekeeping theory combines quantum clocks and Einstein's relativity Posted: 23 Oct 2020 05:20 AM PDT Cool research story with connections to atomic clocks, Einstein and quantum mechanics. The research shows the 'spooky' interference that can impact even the most sophisticated clocks.

Aspirin use reduces risk of death in hospitalized COVID-19 patients Posted: 22 Oct 2020 04:56 PM PDT Hospitalized COVID-19 patients who were taking a daily low-dose aspirin to protect against cardiovascular disease had a significantly lower risk of complications and death compared to those who were not taking aspirin, according to a new study.

Gut hormone blocks brain cell formation and is linked to Parkinson's dementia Posted: 22 Oct 2020 03:38 PM PDT A gut hormone, ghrelin, is a key regulator of new nerve cells in the adult brain, a research team has discovered. It could help pave the way for new drugs to treat dementia in patients with Parkinson's Disease.

DNA in fringe-lipped bat feces reveals unexpected eating habits Posted: 22 Oct 2020 02:02 PM PDT By examining the guano of the fringe-lipped bat (Trachops cirrhosus), biologists encountered surprising results about its eating habits and foraging abilities.

Tracer molecule may improve imaging tests for brain injury Posted: 22 Oct 2020 09:55 AM PDT Researchers have validated a new radiolabeled molecule that can be used with imaging tests to accurately detect and characterize brain injury.

Details about broadly neutralizing antibodies provide insights for universal flu vaccine Posted: 22 Oct 2020 09:55 AM PDT New research from an immunology team may shed light on the challenges of developing a universal flu vaccine that would provide long-lasting and broad protection against influenza viruses.

Soil fungi act like a support network for trees Posted: 22 Oct 2020 09:31 AM PDT New research is first to show that growth rate of adult trees is linked to fungal networks colonizing their roots.

'Spooky' similarity in how brains and computers see Posted: 22 Oct 2020 08:26 AM PDT The brain detects 3D shape fragments (bumps, hollows, shafts, spheres) in the beginning stages of object vision - a newly discovered strategy of natural intelligence that researchers also found in artificial intelligence networks trained to recognize visual objects.

Technology shines the light on ovarian cancer treatments Posted: 22 Oct 2020 05:33 AM PDT A scientist and entrepreneur is working to use simple LED light to help determine if certain chemotherapy options will work for specific patients.

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