technical updates

Scientists may have found a cause for the sudden onset of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in some children, they report. Pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders, or PANDAS, were first proposed in the 1990s. Thought to be triggered by streptococcal infections, they account for an unknown portion of youth OCD cases. But the biology underpinning this disorder has baffled scientists. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3d8olxg

Feral and pet cats are responsible for a huge part of Australia's shameful mammal extinction record. Small and medium-sized ground-dwelling mammals are most susceptible. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3d9dd37

China was pressed Tuesday to show more transparency over its dam operations on the Mekong River, months after downstream water levels hit record lows and threatened millions of livelihoods. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3e9S5Lp

The world's largest atom smasher has "given birth" to a set of four ultraheavy particles — called top quarks. from Space.com https://ift.tt/2Y8YgtL

For the past few years, the possibility of a new (and big!) planet hanging around in the far outer solar system has tantalized scientists and the public alike. Is "Planet Nine" out there or not? from Space.com https://ift.tt/2N1G1jp

China's Chang'e 4 mission is back in action for its 19th lunar day of activity on the far side of the moon, with the Yutu 2 rover set to scope out a new crater. from Space.com https://ift.tt/3fuUIrr

Antoine Champreux, a Ph.D. student in the Global Ecology Lab at Flinders University, has cataloged the discovery of the new fern-like plant species as part of an international effort to examine the Australian fossil in greater detail. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2B7HRfX