ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

---

• Aerosol formation in clouds
• Weird earthquake reveals hidden mechanism
• Photosynthesis could be as old as life itself
• Optical fiber could boost power of superconducting quantum computers
• Semiconductor qubits scale in two dimensions
• Rodenticides in the environment pose threats to birds of prey
• Green leafy vegetables essential for muscle strength
• New study finds false memories can be reversed
• Dangerous landfill pollutants ranked in order of toxicity
• A better treatment for sickle cell disease
• How humans develop larger brains than other apes
• Shame of contracting COVID-19 can prevent individuals declaring infection to authorities
• New images reveal magnetic structures near supermassive black hole
• Dow-like index for energy prices might help smooth transition to clean power
• Waste from making purple corn chips yields a natural dye, supplements, kitty litter
• Three common antiviral drugs potentially effective against COVID-19
• Effective Field Theories and the nature of the universe
• Capturing the structure of large molecular complexes
• Scaled, armored or naked: How does the skin of fish evolve?
• E. Coli calculus: Bacteria find the derivative optimally
• Older than expected: Teeth reveal the origin of the tiger shark
• Do you know the way to Berkelium, Californium?
• Automatic trail cameras keep wildlife research going during pandemic
• Clues to start of Earth's supercontinent cycle
• Once-in-a-century UK wildfire threats could happen most years by end of century
• Copper foam as a highly efficient, durable filter for reusable masks and air cleaners
• Extreme temperatures, heat stress and forced migration
• Scientists improve a photosynthetic enzyme by adding fluorophores
• Wafer-thin nanopaper changes from firm to soft at the touch of a button
• Neutrons reveal unpredicted binding between SARS-CoV-2, hepatitis C antiviral drug
• Flu shot associated with fewer, less severe COVID cases, study finds
• Benefit of early vaccination on health care workforce

Aerosol formation in clouds Posted: 24 Mar 2021 11:28 AM PDT Researchers have explored how chemical reactions in clouds can influence the global climate. They found that isoprene, the dominant non-methane organic compound emitted into the atmosphere, can strongly contribute to the formation of organic aerosols in clouds.

Weird earthquake reveals hidden mechanism Posted: 24 Mar 2021 11:28 AM PDT The wrong type of earthquake in an area where there should not have been an earthquake led researchers to uncover the cause for this unexpected strike-slip earthquake -- where two pieces of crust slide past each other on a fault -- in places where subduction zone earthquakes -- one geologic plate slipping beneath another -- are common.

Photosynthesis could be as old as life itself Posted: 24 Mar 2021 11:28 AM PDT Researchers find that the earliest bacteria had the tools to perform a crucial step in photosynthesis, changing how we think life evolved on Earth.

Optical fiber could boost power of superconducting quantum computers Posted: 24 Mar 2021 10:54 AM PDT The secret to building superconducting quantum computers with massive processing power may be an ordinary telecommunications technology - optical fiber. Physicists have measured and controlled a superconducting quantum bit (qubit) using light-conducting fiber instead of metal electrical wires, paving the way to packing a million qubits into a quantum computer rather than just a few thousand.

Semiconductor qubits scale in two dimensions Posted: 24 Mar 2021 10:54 AM PDT The heart of any computer, its central processing unit, is built using semiconductor technology, which is capable of putting billions of transistors onto a single chip. Now, researchers have shown that this technology can be used to build a two-dimensional array of qubits to function as a quantum processor. Their work is a crucial milestone for scalable quantum technology.

Rodenticides in the environment pose threats to birds of prey Posted: 24 Mar 2021 10:54 AM PDT Over the past decades, the increased use of chemicals in many areas led to environmental pollution - of water, soil and also wildlife. In addition to plant protection substances and human and veterinary medical drugs, rodenticides have had toxic effects on wildlife.

Green leafy vegetables essential for muscle strength Posted: 24 Mar 2021 10:23 AM PDT Eating just one cup of leafy green vegetables every day could boost muscle function, according to new research. The study found that people who consumed a nitrate-rich diet, predominantly from vegetables, had significantly better muscle function of their lower limbs.

New study finds false memories can be reversed Posted: 24 Mar 2021 10:23 AM PDT Rich false memories of autobiographical events can be planted - and then reversed, a new article has found.

Dangerous landfill pollutants ranked in order of toxicity Posted: 24 Mar 2021 08:35 AM PDT To help environmental agencies battle the toxic threats posed by landfills, researchers have developed a system that ranks the toxins present in a landfill by order of toxicity and quantity, allowing agencies to create more specific and efficient plans to combat leachate.

A better treatment for sickle cell disease Posted: 24 Mar 2021 08:35 AM PDT Sickle cell disease is the most prevalent inherited blood disorder in the world, affecting 70,000 to 100,000 Americans. However, it is considered an orphan disease, meaning it impacts less than 200,000 people nationally, and is therefore underrepresented in therapeutic research.

How humans develop larger brains than other apes Posted: 24 Mar 2021 08:35 AM PDT A new study is the first to identify how human brains grow much larger, with three times as many neurons, compared with chimpanzee and gorilla brains. The study identified a key molecular switch that can make ape brain organoids grow more like human organoids, and vice versa.

Shame of contracting COVID-19 can prevent individuals declaring infection to authorities Posted: 24 Mar 2021 08:34 AM PDT Feelings of shame and stigmatisation at the idea of contracting COVID-19 are linked to lower compliance of social distancing and the likelihood of reporting infection to authorities and potential contacts in Italy, South Korea and the USA.

New images reveal magnetic structures near supermassive black hole Posted: 24 Mar 2021 08:33 AM PDT The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) has produced a new image showing details of the magnetic fields in the region closest to the supermassive black hole at the core of the galaxy M87. The new work is providing astronomers with important clues about how powerful jets of material can be produced in that region.

Dow-like index for energy prices might help smooth transition to clean power Posted: 24 Mar 2021 08:33 AM PDT Since the early industrial revolution in the mid-1700s, fossil fuels have acquired an ever-growing footprint in energy production. However, the environmental concerns of fossil fuels use and their inevitable depletion have led to a global shift toward renewable energy sources. These transitions, however, raise questions about the best choice of renewables and the impact of investing in these resources on consumer cost.

Waste from making purple corn chips yields a natural dye, supplements, kitty litter Posted: 24 Mar 2021 08:33 AM PDT The more colorful a food, the more nutritious it probably is. For example, purple corn contains compounds associated with a reduced risk of developing diabetes and heart disease. The cobs contain the same compounds but are typically thrown out. Now, researchers report a step-wise biorefinery approach that uses the whole cob, producing a dye and a possible nutraceutical with the pigments, and an animal litter with the left-overs.

Three common antiviral drugs potentially effective against COVID-19 Posted: 24 Mar 2021 08:33 AM PDT Three commonly used antiviral and antimalarial drugs are effective in vitro at preventing replication of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

Effective Field Theories and the nature of the universe Posted: 24 Mar 2021 08:30 AM PDT A lecture by the pioneer of Effective Field Theories (EFTs), Nobel Laureate Steven Weinberg, has been published. This introduces the concept of EFTs, their historical development and their application to other areas of physics.

Capturing the structure of large molecular complexes Posted: 24 Mar 2021 06:47 AM PDT Capturing the structure of large molecular complexes with variable shape is an extremely difficult task. Scientists now have been able to do it - thanks to a new approach regarding an important protein machine.

Scaled, armored or naked: How does the skin of fish evolve? Posted: 24 Mar 2021 06:47 AM PDT Usually scaled, the skin of fish can also be naked or made up of bony plates. Researchers have reconstructed the evolution of the skin structures in fish, going back to the common ancestor, more than 420 million years ago. They found that only fish that had lost their scales were able to develop a bony armor, and that the protective state of their skin influenced their choice of open water or sea floor habitats.

E. Coli calculus: Bacteria find the derivative optimally Posted: 24 Mar 2021 06:47 AM PDT Researchers show that the chemotaxis sensing system that bacteria use to determine the direction of food is optimal for a noisy environment. This work may lead to better treatments for bacterial infections as well as control of biomimetic robots.

Older than expected: Teeth reveal the origin of the tiger shark Posted: 24 Mar 2021 06:47 AM PDT A team of researchers has examined the fossil record of these apex predators and found out that modern tiger sharks are older than previously thought.

Do you know the way to Berkelium, Californium? Posted: 24 Mar 2021 06:47 AM PDT Scientists have demonstrated how to image samples of heavy elements as small as a single nanogram. The new approach will help scientists advance new technologies for medical imaging and cancer therapies.

Automatic trail cameras keep wildlife research going during pandemic Posted: 24 Mar 2021 06:47 AM PDT Researchers are sharing what they've learned about the importance of trail cameras for wildlife conservation and management. As the COVID-19 pandemic has shown, they write, automatic camera traps are good tools for a wide range of environments and research questions.

Clues to start of Earth's supercontinent cycle Posted: 24 Mar 2021 06:47 AM PDT A research has uncovered solid clues about the very beginning of the supercontinent cycle of Earth, finding it was kick-started two billion years ago.

Once-in-a-century UK wildfire threats could happen most years by end of century Posted: 24 Mar 2021 06:47 AM PDT Researchers looked at current frequency of weather conditions in the UK that present 'very high' or 'exceptional' fire danger, and found these conditions could occur hundreds of times more often in some regions by the 2050s and 2080s as temperatures rise and summer rainfall decreases.

Copper foam as a highly efficient, durable filter for reusable masks and air cleaners Posted: 24 Mar 2021 06:47 AM PDT Metal foams are durable, and their small pores and large surface areas suggest they could effectively filter out microbes. Researchers have transformed copper nanowires into metal foams that could be used in facemasks and air filtration systems.

Extreme temperatures, heat stress and forced migration Posted: 24 Mar 2021 06:46 AM PDT Heat extremes will lead to climate-induced waves of migration toward the cooler north.

Scientists improve a photosynthetic enzyme by adding fluorophores Posted: 24 Mar 2021 06:46 AM PDT To realize the full potential of solar energy, scientists must find efficient ways of converting light energy into chemical energy. Scientists have developed a chemically modified variant of a photosynthetic enzyme sourced from a bacterium. Their modifications enabled the enzyme to more efficiently harvest the energy available in light, which is an important advancement in the development of clean solar energy.

Wafer-thin nanopaper changes from firm to soft at the touch of a button Posted: 24 Mar 2021 06:43 AM PDT Materials science likes to take nature and the special properties of living beings that could potentially be transferred to materials as a model. A research team has succeeded in endowing materials with a bioinspired property: Wafer-thin stiff nanopaper instantly becomes soft and elastic at the push of a button.

Neutrons reveal unpredicted binding between SARS-CoV-2, hepatitis C antiviral drug Posted: 23 Mar 2021 02:58 PM PDT Researchers used neutron scattering to investigate the interactions between telaprevir, a drug used to treat hepatitis C viral infection, and the SARS-CoV-2 main protease, the enzyme responsible for enabling the virus to reproduce. Unforeseen changes in the electric charges were discovered in the drug binding site of the protease enzyme that were not predicted by prevailing computer simulations. The research provides key insights for advancing drug design and drug repurposing efforts to treat COVID-19.

Flu shot associated with fewer, less severe COVID cases, study finds Posted: 23 Mar 2021 02:58 PM PDT People who received a flu shot last flu season were significantly less likely to test positive for a COVID-19 infection when the pandemic hit, according to a new study. And those who did test positive for COVID-19 had fewer complications if they received their flu shot.

Benefit of early vaccination on health care workforce Posted: 23 Mar 2021 12:08 PM PDT Vaccinating health care workers resulted in an immediate and notable reduction of positive COVID-19 cases among employees, reducing the number of required isolations and quarantines by more than 90 percent, according to a new study.

You are subscribed to email updates from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States