Sci-Tech news

• Why a COVID-19 Vaccine Is Key For Returning to Normalcy

  04-11-2020 23:45 via feedproxy.google.com
  Dozens of vaccines are in the works, with many already in clinical trials. Experts say that an effective vaccine is the safest way to reach herd immunity.
  
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• Ride-hailing, delivery giants win fight against labor law

  04-11-2020 22:37 via abcnews.go.com
  App-based companies like Uber, Lyft and Doordash have dodged a potentially devastating blow to their industry by carving out an exemption from a California law that required them to classify their drivers as employees instead of contractors
  
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• 20 Things You Didn't Know About Glaciers

  04-11-2020 22:30 via feedproxy.google.com
  These huge masses of ice flow like rivers, and one once hid a Cold War-era city.
  
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• Near-atomic 'maps' reveal structure for maintaining pH balance in cells

  04-11-2020 22:12
  
  For the first time, scientists have visualized a new class of molecular gates that maintain pH balance within brain cells, a critical function that keeps cells alive and helps prevent stroke and other brain injuries.
  
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• Massive iceberg threatens remote penguin sanctuary 

  04-11-2020 22:10
  
  The world's biggest iceberg is on a collision course with a remote South Atlantic island that is home to thousands of penguins and seals, and could impede their ability to gather food, scientists told AFP Wednesday.
  
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• US formally exits Paris pact aiming to curb climate change

  04-11-2020 21:59
  
  The United States on Wednesday formally left the triggered by his administration a year ago, further isolates Washington in the world but has no immediate impact on international efforts to curb global warming.
  
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• Paper addresses fieldwork safety for minority scientists

  04-11-2020 21:56
  
  Scientists and graduate students with minority identities who conduct fieldwork report being stalked, followed, sexually assaulted, harassed, threatened, having guns pulled on them and police called on them.
  
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• Study finds environmentally-friendly' tableware harms marine animals

  04-11-2020 21:50
  A new Tel Aviv University study compares the effects of two types of disposable dishes on the marine environment—regular plastic disposable dishes and more expensive bioplastic disposable dishes certified by various international organizations—and determines that the bioplastic dishes had a similar effect on marine animals as regular plastic dishes. Moreover, the study finds that bioplastic does not degrade rapidly in the marine environment.
  
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• Elon Musk: Tesla was month away from bankruptcy

  04-11-2020 20:22 via rss.cnn.com
  
  Tesla has become the most valuable and (by some measures) the most profitable automaker in the world, But a short while ago it nearly toppled into bankruptcy.
  
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• Will Carbon Labels on Our Food Turn us Into Climatarians?

  04-11-2020 20:13 via feedproxy.google.com
  Restaurants, retailers and brands are adding carbon footprint labels to food products. Is this a useful tool in curbing environmental impact, or just a marketing gimmick?   
  
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• Violent encounters between gorillas slow population growth rate

  04-11-2020 20:00
  As wildlife populations decline around the globe, understanding the natural and human-induced factors that influence their growth is critical for determining the risk of population declines and developing effective conservation strategies.
  
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• Sea-level rise will have complex consequences: study

  04-11-2020 20:00
  Rising sea levels will affect coasts and human societies in complex and unpredictable ways, according to a new study that examined 12,000 years in which a large island became a cluster of smaller ones.
  
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• Nanomotors controlled with laser light

  04-11-2020 20:00
  
  Researchers from the Institute of Industrial Science, the University of Tokyo (UTokyo-IIS) have designed novel linear nanomotors that can be moved in controlled directions using light. This work opens the way for new microfluidics, including lab-on-a-chip systems with optically actuated pumps and valves.
  
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• Local cooking preferences drove acceptance of new crop staples in prehistoric China

  04-11-2020 20:00
  The food preparation preferences of Chinese cooks—such as the technological choice to boil or steam grains, instead of grinding or processing them into flour—had continental-scale consequences for the adoption of new crops in prehistoric China, according to research from Washington University in St. Louis.
  
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• Identifying communities at risk for impacts of extreme heat

  04-11-2020 20:00
  
  An analysis of ways to measure a community's vulnerability to climate change suggests that California's current method may leave some at-risk communities behind in efforts to reduce health impacts of extreme heat. Lynée Turek-Hankins of Stanford University (now currently at the University of Miami) and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on November 4, 2020.
  
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• Early big-game hunters of the Americas were female, researchers suggest

  04-11-2020 20:00
  
  For centuries, historians and scientists mostly agreed that when early human groups sought food, men hunted and women gathered. However, a 9,000-year-old female hunter burial in the Andes Mountains of South America reveals a different story, according to new research conducted at the University of California, Davis.
  
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• DNA in seawater can reveal fish diversity in the deep ocean

  04-11-2020 20:00
  
  A new study demonstrates the effectiveness of a novel method for using DNA in seawater samples to determine which fish species are present in a given part of the deep sea. A team of scientists from eDNAtec Inc. and colleagues from Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Memorial University present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on November 4.
  
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• Bronze Age travel routes revealed using pioneering research method

  04-11-2020 20:00
  
  Archaeologists from the University of Sydney have reconstructed the ancient seasonal migration routes of Bronze Age herders in Xinjiang, north-western China.
  
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• Why Big Tech may be hoping for a Joe Biden presidency

  04-11-2020 19:48 via rss.cnn.com
  
  The giants of Silicon Valley -- like other big US firms —benefited from corporate tax cuts implemented under President Donald Trump. In many cases, smaller tax payments helped to boost profits. However, not all of Trump's policies and actions during his first term played well with Big Tech.
  
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• By God's Bones: Bad Words in the Middle Ages Were Nothing Like Today’s

  04-11-2020 19:25 via feedproxy.google.com
  By today’s standards, people in the Middle Ages had potty mouths. But researchers say the act of swearing has actually changed a lot over the years.
  
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• Commentary: The Golden State treescape wasn't made to last

  04-11-2020 19:00
  Earthquakes and fires compete as metaphors for contemporary California. While we await the Big One, fire keeps winning the competition. The year 2020, like 2018 before, is the worst on record—until the next worst fire year. When will the burning end? That's the wrong question. Better to ask: How can Californians learn to live with the absence of an ending?
  
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• Smaller earthquakes 'with ambition' produce the most ground shaking

  04-11-2020 18:55
  An earthquake of magnitude 8.0 or larger will almost always cause strong shaking, but a new study suggests that smaller earthquakes—those around magnitude 5.5 or so—are the cause of most occurrences of strong shaking at a 60-kilometer (37-mile) distance.
  
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• Effective government saves lives in cyclones, other disasters

  04-11-2020 18:55
  In 2008, Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 people in Myanmar. It was a powerful category 3 or 4 storm at landfall, but tropical storms with similar wind speeds that year resulted in far fewer fatalities in other countries.
  
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• FAST helps reveal the origin of fast radio bursts

  04-11-2020 18:53
  
  Researchers from Beijing Normal University, Peking University and National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC) found that there is weak correlation between fast radio bursts (FRBs) and soft gamma-ray repeater J1935+2145 (SGRs). The study was published in Nature on Nov. 4.
  
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• Better monitoring for open-cast mines

  04-11-2020 18:47
  When it comes to safety in open-cast mining, soil stability is one of the most critical factors. Settlement of the ground or slipping of slopes poses a great risk to buildings and people. Now Mahdi Motagh from the German Research Centre for Geosciences GFZ, in cooperation with Chinese scientists, has evaluated data from the Sentinel 1 mission of the European Union's Copernicus program and thus demonstrated new possibilities for monitoring mining areas. The three researchers used a special radar
  
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• Scientists generate realistic storm turbulence in the laboratory

  04-11-2020 18:45
  Turbulence is an omnipresent phenomenon—and one of the great mysteries of physics. A research team from the University of Oldenburg in Germany has now succeeded in generating realistic storm turbulence in the wind tunnel of the Center for Wind Energy Research (ForWind).
  
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• Ripples in the pond of magnetic field reconnection

  04-11-2020 18:45
  The majority of the visible matter in the Universe consists of charged particles or plasmas which may develop magnetic field reconnection (MR) at the places where the magnetic field direction exhibits abrupt change. Through the MR the magnetic field energy may effectively be transferred into the kinetic and thermal energies of plasmas, resulting in many explosive plasma phenomena occurring on the Sun, planetary and pulsar magnetospheres, and even blackholes.
  
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• What We Know About Election Results in California - The New York Times

  04-11-2020 18:39 via news.google.com
  
  What We Know About Election Results in California  The New York TimesWhat election day 2020 looked like across the U.S.  Los Angeles TimesNew Jersey Election Results  The New York TimesWhat’s So Great About High Voter Turnout?  The Wall Street JournalEditorial: Early voter turnout makes history as America makes itself heard  Chicago TribuneView Full Coverage on Google News
  
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• The Dow is on pace for its strongest post–Election Day rally in 120 years - MarketWatch

  04-11-2020 18:28 via news.google.com
  The Dow is on pace for its strongest post–Election Day rally in 120 years  MarketWatchUS STOCKS-Wall St on course for sharp gains as election hangs in balance  ReutersStock market predicts Trump will defeat Biden  Fox BusinessStocks get Trumped then dumped, but you ain’t seen nothing yet, America  RTDow rallies 700 points amid tight election race, tech rally pushes Nasdaq up 4%  CNBCView Full Coverage on Google News
  
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• Source -- San Francisco 49ers shut facility after WR Kendrick Bourne tests positive for COVID-19 - ESPN

  04-11-2020 18:18 via news.google.com
  Source -- San Francisco 49ers shut facility after WR Kendrick Bourne tests positive for COVID-19  ESPNEnd of an error: 49ers waive Dante Pettis  San Francisco Chronicle49ers confirm positive test, closure of facility  NBC Sports - NFLPackers place RB Jamaal Williams, LB Kamal Martin on COVID-19 list  Madison.comJimmy Garoppolo in process of gathering multiple opinions before deciding on ankle surgery  ESPNView Full Coverage on Google News
  
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• Joe Biden picks up 2nd District electoral vote; Trump wins the four other Nebraska votes - Omaha World-Herald

  04-11-2020 18:05 via news.google.com
  Joe Biden picks up 2nd District electoral vote; Trump wins the four other Nebraska votes  Omaha World-HeraldHighlights and analysis from Election Day 2020  NBC NewsDollar gains as big fiscal spending bets unwound  CNBCWhat we know about the election results — and what we don't  The Week MagazineLet's be patient as the votes are counted – otherwise we play into Trump's hands  The GuardianView Full Coverage on Google News
  
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• When Academics And Modelers Give Wrong Advice To Governments

  04-11-2020 17:58 via technocracy.news
  
  Governments around the world are being sold deadly advice from scientists and academics who know nothing about the real world. Like California, Australia has experienced devastating wildfires that are the direct result of mismanagement. ⁃ TN EditorExperienced land and fire managers from eight community groups across Australia have jointly written to the Prime Minister urging the restoration of healthy and safe rural landscapes. The grass-roots organisations represent more than 6,000 member
  
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• Iceberg floats toward South Georgia, puts wildlife at risk

  04-11-2020 17:52 via abcnews.go.com
  
  A giant iceberg the size of the U.S. state of Delaware is floating toward the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia, raising fears it could indirectly endanger young wildlife
  
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• Military acknowledges taking cyber action against Russia, Iran prior to election

  04-11-2020 17:48 via nbcnews.com
  
  Polls closed without a major public cyberattack. A U.S. official warned, however, "There's still a lot of time left on the clock."
  
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• Patrick Mahomes splits $100,000 bill with Chiefs to open up Arrowhead Stadium for voters - Fox News

  04-11-2020 17:46 via news.google.com
  Patrick Mahomes splits $100,000 bill with Chiefs to open up Arrowhead Stadium for voters  Fox NewsPatrick Mahomes helped pay to turn the Chiefs' Arrowhead Stadium into an election day polling station  msnNOWChiefs' Patrick Mahomes split cost of opening Arrowhead Stadium as polling place  Sporting NewsMic’d-up Patrick Mahomes praised Chiefs fans for social distancing from Tyreek Hill  Kansas City StarVoters cast ballots at Arrowhead Stadium for the fi
  
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• Vienna attack: Austria admits failing to act on Slovak warning on gunman - BBC News

  04-11-2020 17:41 via news.google.com
  
  Vienna attack: Austria admits failing to act on Slovak warning on gunman  BBC NewsFour people 'killed in cold blood' in Vienna during night of terror  CNNPolice investigate if Vienna attacker was part of wider network  The GuardianThe Guardian view on the Vienna attack: refusing division  The GuardianSlovak police warned Austria that Vienna terrorist Kujtim Fejzulai tried to buy ammo  New York Post View Full Coverage on Google News
  
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• She got into politics after the Ferguson protests. She just became the first Black woman to represent Missouri in Congress - CNN

  04-11-2020 17:37 via news.google.com
  She got into politics after the Ferguson protests. She just became the first Black woman to represent Missouri in Congress  CNNBLM activist Cori Bush wins in Missouri, becomes state's first black congresswoman  Fox NewsCori Bush makes history, Ann Wagner keeps her seat with their wins election night  FOX 2 St. LouisCori Bush, a Black progressive, wins Missouri seat in Congress  Vox.comBlack Lives Matter activist Cori Bush becomes Missouri's first Black con
  
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• Flash of luck: Astronomers find cosmic radio burst source

  04-11-2020 17:30
  A flash of luck helped astronomers solve a cosmic mystery: What causes powerful but fleeting radio bursts that zip and zigzag through the universe?
  
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• When plants attack: Parasitic plants use ethylene as a host invasion signal

  04-11-2020 17:28
  Mutants that reveal the secrets of how plants attack? No, it's not a scene from a science fiction movie, but you could be forgiven for thinking that. Instead, it's a scene from real life:
  
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• Study provides first evidence of a relationship between a bird's gut and its brain

  04-11-2020 17:28
  Despite extensive support for relationships between the gut microbiome and the brain (the "microbiota-gut-brain axis") in humans and rodents, little is known about these relationships in other animals, leaving questions about this system's generality.
  
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• Luminescent wood could light up homes of the future

  04-11-2020 17:21
  The right indoor lighting can help set the mood, from a soft romantic glow to bright, stimulating colors. But some materials used for lighting, such as plastics, are not eco-friendly. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Nano have developed a bio-based, luminescent, water-resistant wood film that could someday be used as cover panels for lamps, displays and laser devices.
  
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• New multicomponent reaction frontiers

  04-11-2020 17:19
  The synthesis of complex molecules such as drugs, requires a process that sometimes involves several phases that increase its cost and restrict access to the product. Now, a team at the University of Barcelona has designed a new methodological approach that combines multicomponent reactions with domino type processes—continuous transformations on a single compound—to ease the synthesis of high structural complex molecules.
  
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• Scientists grow carbon nanotube forest much longer than any other

  04-11-2020 17:14
  Today, a multitude of industries, including optics, electronics, water purification, and drug delivery, innovate at an unprecedented scale with nanometer-wide rolls of honeycomb-shaped graphite sheets called carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Features such as light weight, convenient structure, immense mechanical strength, superior thermal and electrical conductivities, and stability put CNTs a notch above other material alternatives. However, to supply their rising industrial demand, their production mus
  
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• Palantir Seeks To Become ‘Central Operating System For All U.S. Defense Programs’

  04-11-2020 17:14 via technocracy.news
  
  When Google abandoned Project Maven in 2018 over ethical concerns, it was snapped up by Palantir. It’s CEO is a self-avowed progressive socialist, but said he would not sell the AI surveillance software to adversaries of the U.S.
  Project Maven is an AI system used by the military to dominate its enemies. Google was caught working with China as well as the U.S. and to ‘save face’, it sold the project to Planatir. Technocrats of a feather, flock together. ⁃ TN EditorDenver-
  
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• A one hundred thousand-fold enhancement in the nonlinearity of silicon

  04-11-2020 17:12
  A team of researchers led by Osaka University and National Taiwan University created a system of nanoscale silicon resonators that can act as logic gates for light pulses. This work may lead to the next generation of silicon-based computer processors that bridge the gap between electronic and optical signals.
  
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• Warner Bros. Apologizes After ‘The Witches’ Sparks Backlash From People With Disabilities - Variety

  04-11-2020 17:11 via news.google.com
  Warner Bros. Apologizes After ‘The Witches’ Sparks Backlash From People With Disabilities  Variety'Witches' backlash grows among the disability community: 'Please do better'  Yahoo Entertainment‘The Witches’ Remake Receives Backlash From Disability Community; Warner Bros Says It “Regrets Any Offense Caused”  DeadlineThe Witches: Backlash over film's portrayal of limb impairments  BBC NewsWarner Bros. Apologizes to Disabi
  
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• Microbial space travel on a molecular scale

  04-11-2020 17:11
  Since the dawn of space exploration, humankind has been fascinated by survival of terrestrial life in outer space. Outer space is a hostile environment for any form of life, but some extraordinarily resistant microorganisms can survive. Such extremophiles may migrate between planets and distribute life across the Universe, underlying the panspermia hypothesis or interplanetary transfer of life.
  
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• Coral larvae movement is paused in reaction to darkness

  04-11-2020 17:11
  Light is essential for the growth of reef-building corals. This is because corals grow by using the photosynthetic products of the algae living inside their cells as a source of nutrients. Therefore, the light environment of coral habitats are important for their survival.
  
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• The Best PC Gifts - Holiday Gift Guide 2020 - IGN

  04-11-2020 17:00 via news.google.com
  
  The Best PC Gifts - Holiday Gift Guide 2020  IGNIntroducing Engadget’s 2020 holiday gift guide  EngadgetView Full Coverage on Google News
  
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• 'Monster tumors' could offer new glimpse at human development

  04-11-2020 17:00
  Finding just the right model to study human development—from the early embryonic stage onward—has been a challenge for scientists over the last decade. Now, bioengineers at the University of California San Diego have homed in on an unusual candidate: teratomas.
  
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