technical updates

See what's up in the night sky for October 2019, including stargazing events and the moon's phases, in this Space.com gallery courtesy of Starry Night Software. from Space.com https://ift.tt/2urdmcT

Destruction of the forests can be swift. Regrowth is much, much slower. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2oQx0kB

A team led by biologists have identified the ways in which herbicide-resistant strains of the invasive common waterhemp weed have emerged in fields of soy and corn in southwestern Ontario. The resistance, first detected in 2010, spread thanks to two mechanisms: either pollen and seeds of resistant plants were physically dispersed by wind, water and other means, or resistance appeared through the spontaneous emergence of mutations that then spread. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2njjdlR

When concerns are expressed about distrust in science, they often focus on whether the public trusts research findings. A new study, however, explores a different dimension of trust. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2mx7O1C

Scientists and engineers worked with state and local agencies to develop and test a long-lasting, environmentally benign fire-retarding material. If used on high-risk areas, the simple, affordable treatment could dramatically cut the number of fires that occur each year. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2n5evs5

Researchers show how bacteria transmit motion from an inner motor to an outer tail through a flexible joint in the flagellum known as the hook. This finding could help in the fight against deadly bacterial infections. By better understanding how bacteria move, researchers may be able to improve disease prevention strategies. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2oOr7UU

Scientists have demonstrated a way to isolate and grow targeted bacteria using genomic data, making strides toward resolving the grand challenge of uncultivated microbial 'dark matter' in which the vast majority of microorganisms remain unstudied in the laboratory. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2oQ5js3

Women who experience complications such as preterm births and preeclampsia during their first pregnancy are nearly twice more likely than women without complications to develop high blood pressure later in life -- some as quickly as 3 years later, according to a new study of more than 4,000 women. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2oOmpGH

Faced with extreme weather events and unprecedented environmental change, animals and plants are scrambling to catch up -- with mixed results. A new model helps to predict the types of changes that could drive a given species to extinction. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2n7qC85

Rising ocean temperatures have long been linked to negative impacts for marine life, but a team has recently found that the long-term outlook for many marine species is much more complex -- and possibly bleaker -- than scientists previously believed. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2o5AZJG

US cities could see a decline in mortality rates and an improved economy through midcentury if federal and local governments maintain stringent air pollution policies and diminish concentrations of diesel freight truck exhaust, according to new research. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2o5z7AE

Santa Barbara County residents love their coastline, from the small-town beaches of Carpinteria to Santa Barbara's waterfront to camping hotspots like Jalama Beach and dramatic Guadalupe Dunes. But drastic changes are in store in coming decades as temperatures and sea levels rise, bringing massive impacts to local ecology and human systems. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2mrsmsc

Contrary to previous advice, five new systematic reviews suggest that most people can continue to eat red and processed meat as they do now. The major studies have found cutting back has little impact on health. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2nYMp1M

A small genetic study identified a protein linked to many genetic variants that affect heart function. Researchers are expanding the model to other organ systems and at larger scales to create a broader understanding of genes and proteins involved. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2n4evsl

The study shows that for those participants who do not have a history of heart disease or stroke that a simple cardiac risk score -- a summary measure of factors such as blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, abdominal fat, and dietary factors -- is associated with MRI-detected pre-clinical cerebrovascular disease like carotid artery plaque and silent strokes. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2nYCZ6r

New research found that oncogene SET/TAF1, which was found to be a proto-oncogene of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), contributes to proper chromosome partitioning as a tension sensor. Additionally, abnormal SET protein disrupts tension sensor system at the centromere, leading to missegregation of the chromosomes and thereby cancer. These findings may lead to a discovery for a new kind of leukemia treatment. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2mUWCMA

The hypothetical Planet Nine, assumed to be lurking somewhere in the outskirts of our solar system, may not be a planet at all. A new study, published September 24 on the arXiv pre-print server, suggests that the mysterious and still undiscovered object might be a primodial black hole. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2nXbwSj

In a rare instance of environmental success, the United Nations has just announced it believes the damage to the Earth's protective ozone layer will be fully restored by the year 2050. This stands in stark contrast to the increasing alarm over the climate emergency, caused by an increasing greenhouse effect. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2nNkHot

A team of researchers from Brookhaven National Laboratory and the University of Kansas has developed a theory to explain why there is so much more matter than antimatter in the universe. They have written a paper describing their theory and have posted it on the arXiv preprint server. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2oBzy5R

To keep global heating below 2°C, the world's appetite for meat must change. This will mean reducing meat consumption in most developed countries and limiting the increase in developing countries. But how do you convince people to break the habit of a lifetime? from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2nVAH7K

X-rays could be tuned to deliver a more effective punch that destroys cancer cells and not harm the body. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2nUlm7u

Around 66m years ago, a giant asteroid struck the Earth, causing the extinction of the dinosaurs, ammonites, and many other species. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2oD7lf7

As a new crop of students enter university, the sense of hope and promise is tangible. While students are at an exciting developmental stage, as a researcher and practising clinical consultant to university student health services, I know that for some students the associated stress and new pressures will become overwhelming. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2oD4iDH

Crime prevention initiatives targeting sexual violence are by no means new. But as technology advances and costs decrease, we are seeing an abundance of digital and technological strategies emerge. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2mlB1fS

A team of scientists have revealed that after the devastation caused by a mass extinction event on Earth 66 million years ago, the plankton at the base of the ocean ecosystem were disrupted for nearly two million years. It then took a further eight million years for global species numbers to fully recover. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2mh4Qy2

A new psychological study published by University of Otago researchers has addressed centuries-old questions about how and why supernatural beings are worshiped. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2oCyyyr

Hydrogen, the most abundant element in the universe, packs a powerful punch. And because it contains no carbon, it produces only water when used as a fuel. But on Earth, hydrogen most often exists in combination with other elements, which means it needs to be extracted. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2n4yxmq

Each summer, the University of Chicago welcomes high school students from around the world for a unique course on paleontology, which culminates with two weeks of fieldwork spent hunting for fossils. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2nQLX5D

The hot outer layer of the sun, the corona, has a temperature of over a million degrees Kelvin, much more than the surface temperature of the Sun which is only about 5500 degrees Kelvin. Moreover, the corona is very active and ejects a wind of charged particles at a rate equivalent to about one-millionth of the moon's mass each year. Some of these particles bombard the Earth, producing auroral glows and occasionally disrupting global communications. There are two important, longstanding, and related questions about the corona that astronomers are working to answer: how is it heated to temperatures that are so much hotter than the surface? And how does the corona produce the wind? from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2nR2PsP

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers have designed a new class of 3-D-printed lattice structures that combine lightweight and high stiffness, despite breaking a rule previously thought to be required to exhibit such properties. One of the new structures additionally displays perfectly uniform response to forces in all directions. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2oC0dQ3

An element called gadolinium delivered into cancer cells releases killer electrons when hit by specially tuned X-rays. The approach, published in the journal Scientific Reports, could pave the way towards a new cancer radiation therapy. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2nT1sty

Recently, we had the first picture of a black hole. Now, NASA has a new visualization showing how these immense objects work. from Space.com https://ift.tt/2n3eq8a

Obviously, some chain of unfortunate events led to the ejection of 'Oumuamua from its home system. But what could possibly cause such a catastrophe? from Space.com https://ift.tt/2ozCz6I

Is it a wave, or is it a particle? This seems like a very simple question — except when it isn't. And it isn't in one of the most important aspects of our universe: the subatomic world. from Space.com https://ift.tt/2mki6lC

A community garden occupies a diminutive dirt lot in Phoenix. Rows of raised garden beds offer up basil, watermelons and corn, making this patch of land an agricultural oasis in a desert city of 1.5 million people. In fact, this little garden is contributing in various ways to the city's environmental sustainability goals set by the city council in 2016. The goals consider matters such as transportation, water stewardship, air quality and food. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2n25RKL

A Waseda University-led research uncovered the molecular mechanism of how a particular cancer-causing oncogene could trigger an onset of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2nSZg5C

How do weapons inspectors verify that a nuclear bomb has been dismantled? An unsettling answer is: They don't, for the most part. When countries sign arms reduction pacts, they do not typically grant inspectors complete access to their nuclear technologies, for fear of giving away military secrets. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2mcuHXS

All technology and innovation have a science base but to get there requires patience, as the journey from curiosity-driven basic research to a world-changing technology can take six months or 50 years, a panel of Nobel and Kavli prize laureates has said. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2owZbVp

Researchers have found that steps measured through a step tracker worn on the wrist can be used to estimate exercise capacity and determine the health status of patients, rather than the standardized 6-minute walk distance test, which is usually conducted in a clinical setting. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2m6wuxB

“The critical breakthrough that’s needed for us to become a space-faring civilisation is to make space travel like air travel,” said Elon Musk, chief executive of electric carmaker Tesla Inc. from The Hindu - Science https://ift.tt/2mIUBTA

The minor planet is located between Mars and Jupiter, and was found on November 11, 2006 from The Hindu - Science https://ift.tt/2ooQkoR

Look! Up in the sky... from Space.com https://ift.tt/2m2BMu0

Physicists have proposed that a trio of particles called Higgs bosons could be responsible for the mysterious vanishing act of antimatter in the universe. from Space.com https://ift.tt/2nBU4mk

Lighthouse bursts of gamma rays emanate from one of the fastest-spinning stars in the galaxy. from Space.com https://ift.tt/2nBzNNM

A special class of water-rich asteroids would make great targets for asteroid mining. from Space.com https://ift.tt/2m9p3G8

SpaceX's quest to help humanity colonize Mars isn't interfering with the company's contracted work closer to home, Elon Musk said. from Space.com https://ift.tt/2ogtW0x

A brutal Indonesian forest fire season that left Southeast Asia choking in smog has renewed scrutiny of major palm oil and paper companies, with activists accusing them of breaking promises to halt logging. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2oiJscs

Forest fires raging across Indonesia have sent air quality levels across Southeast Asia plummeting as they belch out emissions that aggravate global warming. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2m1T0aW

At Kostas Mouhtaridis' silk factory in Soufli, the non-stop "clunk-click" of the weaving machinery is a loud but welcome sound. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2oksf2n

Elon Musk has unveiled a SpaceX spacecraft designed to carry a crew and cargo to the moon, Mars or anywhere else in the solar system and land back on Earth perpendicularly. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2oiIVHu

NASA’s planet-hunting telescope used for detection from The Hindu - Science https://ift.tt/2mMg39Y

The architecture is the best path toward a self-sustaining city on Mars, Musk stressed. from Space.com https://ift.tt/2o8zdar

Elon Musk founded SpaceX primarily to help humanity settle Mars, and here's a look at how he plans to do it — a giant rocket called Super Heavy and a 100-passenger vehicle called Starship. from Space.com https://ift.tt/2k7jeqJ

Viktor Radermacher says his job is to give the world an idea of what long-extinct species looked like from The Hindu - Science https://ift.tt/2mxb6C9

Here are our picks for the most amazing space photos of the week. from Space.com https://ift.tt/2tedITD

These are the top space stories this week from Space.com. from Space.com https://ift.tt/2sd6VvC

Tonight (Sept. 28) Elon Musk will provide an update about SpaceX's new Starship and Super Heavy rocket, and you can watch him announce the news live online. from Space.com https://ift.tt/2mCES8n

Wildlife officials found three more dead wild elephants in central Sri Lanka Saturday, raising the number believed to have been poisoned by angry villagers to seven. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2msya4Y

Researchers at the Centre for Nano Science and Engineering at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, have developed a technique to trap an from The Hindu - Science https://ift.tt/2oaa1k9

Degraded forest areas studied in Anamalai Hills recovered significantly in terms of numbers of trees and species from The Hindu - Science https://ift.tt/2nxTlT1

The longer the lecture the more were the nodding-off events per lecture from The Hindu - Science https://ift.tt/2lRokck

Lack of essential nutrients and increasing salinity were main reasons for decline from The Hindu - Science https://ift.tt/2mCTftf

Indian adolescents’ performance in maths, reading, vocabulary was affected, a study finds from The Hindu - Science https://ift.tt/2o9hyzz

Researchers are developing a technique for imaging mammalian gene expression with ultrasound by combining human bacteria and virus DNA. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2nrSCTs

Soundscapes may influence the evolution of tightly co-evolved host-parasitoid relationships. Both traffic noise and natural ocean noise were found to inhibit parasitoid Ormia fly orientation to sound, which affects reproduction of the fly and survival of the cricket host. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2o7jR6b

A new analysis of Kotzebue Sound fish has found that mercury levels in a variety of its subsistence species are safe for unrestricted consumption. The study tested 297 subsistence-caught fish. The average mercury levels for each of the eight species were at levels considered safe by the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2mreCOn

The volume of water used during a wash cycle, rather than the spinning action of the washing machine, is the key factor in the release of plastic microfibres from clothes. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2o2WA5e

A new blood test in development has shown ability to screen for numerous types of cancer with a high degree of accuracy, a trial of the test shows. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2nwYPxl

For the first time ever, investigators have identified a washing machine as a reservoir of multidrug-resistant pathogens. The pathogens, a single clone of Klebsiella oxytoca, were transmitted repeatedly to newborns in a neonatal intensive care unit at a children's hospital. The transmission was stopped only when the washing machine was removed from the hospital. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2o8n4m1

A Japanese cargo ship successfully reached to the International Space Station Saturday (Sept. 28) carrying 4 tons of supplies, including new batteries for the outpost's solar power grid. from Space.com https://ift.tt/2nwsKpn

It has always seemed to me that the ancient skywatchers had an incredible imagination. from Space.com https://ift.tt/2nmdqvD

The KATRIN experiment has turned up a new, more-precise-than-ever measurement for the barely-detectable neutrino mass. from Space.com https://ift.tt/2mCbqzp

The moon's South Pole-Aitken basin is one of the largest craters in the solar system, and a new study debunks the most popular explanation for its formation. from Space.com https://ift.tt/2mCbizV

Elon Musk will unveil the updated design of SpaceX's Mars-colonization architecture tonight (Sept. 28) around 7 or 8 p.m. EDT, during a presentation at the company's South Texas facilities. from Space.com https://ift.tt/2nvVO0f

In Slovenia's dramatically beautiful Karst region, six astronauts have been put through their paces for future missions—not in a flashy futuristic space centre but deep underground in the area's network of cold, dark and muddy caves. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2nv6hcj

Anger is brewing on the Big Island of Hawaii over plans to build a giant telescope on a dormant volcano that is highly sacred to the region's native population. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2lSIfI3

NASA is inviting people around the world to submit their names online, so as to etch them on to a microchip that will be sent to Mars. The microchip w from The Hindu - Science https://ift.tt/2lKvbUS

Ariane 6, Europe's next-generation launch vehicle, has passed another key development milestone. Its Vulcain 2.1 liquid-fueled engine has now completed its qualification testing, which means combined tests can now begin. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2lDFGJN

An experiment shows that one of the basic units of life—nucleobases—could have originated within giant gas clouds interspersed between the stars. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2nNdwg6

Researchers have built a new tool to study molecules using a laser, a crystal and light detectors. This new technology will reveal the structures of molecules with increased detail and specificity. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2mjWwxB

Using the Subaru, Keck and Gemini Telescopes, an international team of astronomers has discovered a collection of 12 galaxies that existed about 13.0 billion years ago. This is the earliest protocluster ever found. One of the 12 galaxies is a giant object, known as Himiko, which was discovered a decade ago by the Subaru Telescope and named for a mythological queen in ancient Japan. This discovery suggests that large structures such as protoclusters already existed when the universe was only about 800 million years old, 6 percent of its present age. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2lDB06H

This mysterious matter was predicted from Einstein's theory of special relativity, but physicists can't seem to find it! from Space.com https://ift.tt/2nOs1jL

Astronomers are only now getting the hang of spotting interstellar objects, space debris that fled another solar system to swing through ours. from Space.com https://ift.tt/2lDp44T

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige is going to develop a Star Wars movie as part of Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy's plans for a new wave of Star Wars projects. from Space.com https://ift.tt/2m6xQIY

New research reveals that the way viruses were perceived in terms of their architecture will need to be retooled, because they are actually structured in many more patterns than previously understood. The findings could have significant impact on how they are classified, our understanding of how they form, evolve and infect hosts, and strategies to identify ways to design vaccines to target them. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2ncda20

Coral reefs around the world are under increasing stress due to a combination of local and global factors. As such, long-term investigation is becoming increasingly important to understanding ecosystem responses. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2ndwIDd

NEW YORK Researchers have found that positive social relationships, support and acceptance help shape the development of self-esteem in people. "For the first time, we have a systematic answer to a key question in the field of self-esteem research: Whether and to what extent a person's social relationships influence his or her self-esteem development, and vice versa, and at what ages," said study author Michelle A. Harris from the University of Texas. "The answer to what age groups are across the life span," Harris said. For the study, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, researchers analysed 52 studies involving more than 47,000 participants (54 per cent female) looking at either the effect of self-esteem on social relationships overtime or the reverse effect.  The studies, all published between 1992 and 2016, included multiple countries like 30 samples from the US, four from Switzerland, three from Germany, two each from Australi...

WASHINGTON In a first, researchers watched a supermassive black hole—weighing about 6 million times the Sun's mass—shred a star apart in a cosmic cataclysm called a tidal disruption event.  The discovery made using NASA's planet-hunting Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS)—with follow-up observations by NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, and other facilitiesproduced the most detailed look of the star-destroying event. NASA said that tidal disruptions are incredibly rare, occurring once every 10,000 to 100,000 years in a galaxy the size of our own Milky Way, with only 40 such events observed so far. "TESS data let us see exactly when this destructive event, named ASASSN-19bt, started to get brighter, which we've never been able to do before," said Thomas Holoien, lead author of the study from the Carnegie Observatories in California. "Because we identified the tidal disruption quickly with the ground-based All-Sky Automated Survey for Supe...

Hazzaa al-Mansoori will make history as the first Arab on the International Space Station. Mansoori belongs to the United Arab Emirates. He tweeted be from The Hindu - Science https://ift.tt/2lZjolX

NASA releases images of Vikram’s targeted landing site captured by its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. from The Hindu - Science https://ift.tt/2n4OAA6

Making wine in the Nordic countries is far from the glamour associated with Europe's famed wine chateaux: here the sun is fickle, the season is short and diehard aficionados work up more sweat than wine but climate change is helping boost harvests. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2nKEGUZ

A team of University of Colorado Boulder anthropologists is out to change the way that scientists study old bones damage-free. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2nHbrlH

A quasi-particle that travels along the interface of a metal and dielectric material may be the solution to problems caused by shrinking electronic components, according to an international team of engineers. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2nKzVL7

In two highly anticipated reports about the economic impacts of MGM Springfield, University of Massachusetts Amherst researchers found that the resort-casino's construction was felt in every corner of the Commonwealth, and its development has been part of the strengthening housing and real estate markets of Greater Springfield. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2n3d39g

A quasi-particle that travels along the interface of a metal and dielectric material may be the solution to problems caused by shrinking electronic components, according to an international team of engineers. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2n3pZfa

Anthropologists are out to change the way that scientists study old bones damage-free. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2mbhPkS

Neurotoxocarosis (NT) occurs in humans when larvae of the Toxocara roundworm migrate into the central nervous system. That infection is accompanied by a complex molecular signaling cascade, including changes to anti-inflammatory lipid molecules, researchers now report. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2n26jsf

Scientists prove a well-known model of material behavior applies to high-temperature superconductors, giving them a new tool for understanding how these materials conduct electricity with no loss. Simulations suggest we might be able to toggle superconductivity on and off in certain materials by tweaking their chemistry so electrons hop from atom to atom in a particular pattern - as if hopping to the atom diagonally across the street rather than to the one next door. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2lA9OFU

The Global Program to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis delivers mass drug administration to 500 million people each year, and adverse events are common following treatment. Now, researchers have reported that certain changes in gene expression are associated with these adverse events. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2nGLYZM

The first cell atlas of the human kidney's immune system has been created after scientists mapped nearly 70,000 individual kidney cells from early life and adults. Researchers generated the atlas and used it to map immune cells in the kidney. This shows for the first time how the kidney's immune system develops during early life, and strengthens after birth and as we mature into adults, with implications for tackling kidney disease and transplant rejection. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2mdvDeH

Darker male giraffes have been found to be more solitary and less social than their lighter-colored counterparts, according to new research from The University of Queensland. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2lZMlhk

Loaded with research equipment and international scientists, the RV Polarstern icebreaker is steaming towards the central Arctic, searching for the perfect parking spot next to an ice floe. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2mSxRAd

When someone lashes out in an argument, are they doing so to strategically end the conflict? Or are they simply acting rashly, without considering the consequences? from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2mPtmGC

The effects of climate change already observed by scientists in recent decades include a doubling in the rate of ocean warming since 1993, increased frequency and intensity of marine heat waves, growing acidification and loss of oxygen in surface waters, changes in marine ecosystems, shrinking ice sheets and glaciers, accelerating sea level rise, and increased flooding and other hazards for coastal communities. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2lY8ywq

Western Australia's famous 3.5-billion-year-old stromatolites contain microbial remains of some of the earliest life on Earth, UNSW scientists have found. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2lWlQJG

Hidden deep in a basement at Stanford stands a 10-meter-tall tube, wrapped in a metal cage and draped in wires. A barrier separates it from the main room, beyond which the cylinder spans three stories to an apparatus holding ultra-cold atoms ready to shoot upward. Tables stocked with lasers to fire at the atoms—and analyze how they respond to forces such as gravity—fill the rest of the laboratory. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2mVmKXi

A team of Stanford University researchers are on a mission to identify dark matter once and for all. But first, they'll need to build the world's most sensitive radio. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2mSBLsH

Governments that impose taxes on carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions can benefit from a cleaner, more climate-friendly environment and a revenue stream that can be tapped to lower other taxes and create jobs. But environmental taxes may also exact an excessive financial burden on low-income households, which spend a much greater fraction of their budgets than richer households do on heating oil, natural gas, and electricity. This concern has limited the use of green taxes in Spain, where emissions are taxed at levels far below average for the European Union, which seeks to lower emissions across the continent to fulfill its 2015 Paris Agreement climate pledge. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2m0mYw3

While whales and dolphins spend their entire life in the ocean, these air-breathing mammals actually evolved from terrestrial species. The transition from land to water in the ancestors of modern whales and dolphins about 50 million years ago was accompanied by profound anatomical, physiological, and behavioral adaptations that facilitated life in water. However, which changes in the DNA underlie these adaptations remains incompletely understood. To reveal them, researchers at the Max Planck Institutes of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics and for the Physics of Complex Systems as well as the Center for Systems Biology Dresden systematically searched for genes that were lost in the ancestor of today's whales and dolphins. The research team discovered 85 gene losses, some of which likely helped whales to thrive in their new habitat. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2mVlHGQ

For the first time, scientists in Bremen were able to observe bacteria forming pearl chains that protrude from the cell surface. These pearl chains serve to better absorb and store substances from the environment. The researchers now present their results in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2lYOR7z

If life evolved the same way elsewhere in the cosmos as it did on our planet, could we find it by the technological traces such civilizations might leave behind? from Space.com https://ift.tt/2lMbbS5

A rare trio of supermassive black holes has been caught in the act of coming together. from Space.com https://ift.tt/2mP0tdF

Landing on the moon takes only minutes, but analyzing that process afterward takes much longer. from Space.com https://ift.tt/2mP0bn5

Scientists have confirmed for the first time that bacteria can change form to avoid being detected by antibiotics in the human body. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2ljr6qH

Fossil animal droppings, charcoal from ancient fires and bone fragments litter the ground of one of the world's most important human evolution sites, new research reveals. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2lVDeOH

LONDON A new object from interstellar space has been found within the solar system, only the second such discovery of its kind, according to the International Astronomical Union (IAU). The object, given the name 2I/Borisov by the IAU, offers a tantalising glimpse beyond the solar system, and raises some puzzling questions, IAU said in a statement. On August 30 this year, amateur astronomer Gennady Borisov from MARGO observatory, Crimea, discovered the object with a comet-like appearance. The object has a condensed coma, and more recently a short tail has been observed, IAU said. Borisov made this discovery with a 0.65-metre telescope he built himself, according to IAU. After a week of observations by amateur and professional astronomers all over the world, the IAU Minor Planet Center was able to compute a preliminary orbit, which suggested this object was Interstellar—only the second such object known to have passed through the solar system. The orbit is now sufficiently well kn...

More than two million wild animals, including jaguars, pumas and llamas, have perished in weeks of wildfires that devastated huge swaths of Bolivian forest and grassland, environmental experts said Wednesday. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2mMHVdS