How pulse oxytometer works and how it discriminates ...

How a Popular Medical Device Encodes Racial Bias

To picture what’s happening inside a pulse ox—as health care providers call it—start by thinking about what’s happening inside your body. Blood saturated with oxygen is bright crimson thanks to iron-containing hemoglobin, which picks up the gas molecules from your lungs to deliver them to your organs. In the absence of oxygen, the same hemoglobin dims to a cold purple-red. The oximeter detects this chromatic chemistry by shining two lights—one infrared, one red—through your finger and sensing how much comes through on the other side. Oxygen-saturated hemoglobin absorbs more infrared light and also allows more red light to pass through than its deoxygenated counterpart. Adjusting for certain technicalities using your pulse, the device reads out the color of your blood several times a second.

To “see” your blood, though, the light must pass through your skin. This should give us pause, since a range of technologies based on color sensing are known to reproduce racial bias. Photographic film calibrated for white skin, for example, often created distorted images of nonwhite people until its built-in assumptions started to be acknowledged and reworked in the 1970s; traces of racial biases remain in photography still today. Similar disparities have surfaced around several health devices, including Fitbits. How had designers managed to avoid such problems in the case of the oximeter, I wondered? As I dug deeper, I couldn’t find any record that the problem ever was fully fixed. Most oximeters on the market today were initially calibrated primarily for light skin, and they still often reproduce subtle errors for nonwhite people.

https://bostonreview.net/science-nature-race/amy-moran-thomas-how-p...

How Our Exhalations Help Spread Pathogens Such as SARS-CoV-2

Digital content on track to equal half Earth's mass by 2245

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-digital-content-track-equal-earth.htm...

Storing energy in red bricks

Red bricks—some of the world's cheapest and most familiar building materials—can be converted into energy storage units that can be charged to hold electricity, like a battery, according to new research

https://techxplore.com/news/2020-08-energy-red-bricks.html?utm_sour...

How boundaries become bridges in evolution

There's a paradox within the theory of evolution: The life forms that exist today are here because they were able to change when past environments disappeared. Yet, organisms evolve to fit into specific environmental niches.

Ever-increasing specialization and precision should be an evolutionary dead end, but that is not the case. How the ability to fit precisely into a current setting is reconciled with the ability to change is the most fundamental question in evolutionary biology. There are two general possible solutions, according to researchers. First, the mechanisms that enable organisms to fit well into their current environment and the mechanisms that enable change in adaptations are distinct—the latter are suppressed as organisms fit better and better into their current setting and activated only when the environment changes. The second is that the mechanisms that make organisms fit into current environments are themselves modified during evolution.

Distinguishing between these possibilities is challenging because in evolutionary biology we necessarily study processes that occurred in the past, the events that we missed. So, instead, we infer what we missed from comparisons of species that exist today. Although this approach can tell us how well the current organisms fit into their current environment, it cannot tell us how they got here."

Ultimately, the first scenario was supported by the researchers' work. The mechanisms that make organisms locally fit and those responsible for change are distinct and occur sequentially in evolution.

 Ahva L. Potticary et al, Turning induced plasticity into refined adaptations during range expansion, Nature Communications (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-16938-7

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-boundaries-bridges-evolution.html?utm...

Enzyme discovered in the gut could lead to new disease biomarker

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-enzyme-gut-disease-biomarker.html?utm...

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Immunotherapy-resistant cancers eliminated in mouse study

Immunotherapy has revolutionized cancer treatment by stimulating the patient's own immune system to attack cancer cells, yielding remarkably quick and complete remission in some cases. But such drugs work for less than a quarter of patients because tumors are notoriously adept at evading immune assault.

A new study in mice by researchers  has shown that the effects of a standard immunotherapy drug can be enhanced by blocking the protein TREM2, resulting in complete elimination of tumors. The findings, which are published Aug. 11 in the journal Cell, point to a potential new way to unlock the power of immunotherapy for more cancer patients.

Cell (2020). DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2020.07.013

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-08-immunotherapy-resistant-canc...

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 Using physics to improve root canal efficiency

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-physics-root-canal-efficiency.html?ut...

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Research exposes new vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-exposes-vulnerability-sars-cov-.html?...

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 Making masks and PPE with hydrophilic surfaces, could reduce infection risk

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-masks-ppe-hydrophilic-surfaces-infect...

**Malaria discovery could expedite antiviral treatment for COVID-19

A new study  outlines a strategy that could save years of drug discovery research and millions of dollars in drug development by repurposing existing treatments designed for other diseases such as cancer.The study, published in Nature Communications, demonstrated that the parasites that cause malaria are heavily dependent on enzymes in red blood cells where the parasites hide and proliferate.It also revealed that drugs developed for cancer, and which inactivate these human enzymes, known as protein kinases, are highly effective in killing the parasite and represent an alternative to drugs that target the parasite itself.These host enzymes are in many instances the same as those activated in cancer cells, so we can now jump on the back of existing cancer drug discovery and look to repurpose a drug that is already available or close to completion of the drug development process 

 Analysis of erythrocyte signalling pathways during Plasmodium falciparum infection identifies targets for host-directed antimalarial intervention, Nature Communications (2020).  DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-17829-7
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-08-malaria-discovery-antiviral-...  

Scientists create compact particle accelerators that drive electron beams nearer speed of light

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-scientists-compact-particle-electron-...

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**  X-rays indicate that water can behave like a liquid crystal

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-x-rays-liquid-crystal.html?utm_source...

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** Ultraviolet communication to transform Army networks

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-ultraviolet-army-networks.html?utm_so...

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Laser beams reflected between Earth and moon boost science

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-laser-earth-moon-boost-science.html?u...

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** Researchers identify a protein that may help SARS-CoV-2 spread rapidly through cells

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-protein-sars-cov-rapidly-cells.html?u...

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** How Breastfeeding Protects Mothers

Breastfeeding reduces type 2 diabetes risk by boosting beta cells.

https://www.the-scientist.com/infographics/infographic-how-breastfe...

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Male Flies’ Y Chromosome May Contribute to Earlier Deaths

As male Drosophila grow old, selfish genetic elements that are abundant on the Y chromosome become more active, which appears to reduce longevity.

https://www.the-scientist.com/the-literature/male-flies-y-chromosom...

How airplanes counteract St. Elmo's Fire during thunderstorms -1

At the height of a thunderstorm, the tips of cell towers, telephone poles, and other tall, electrically conductive structures can spontaneously emit a flash of blue light. This electric glow, known as a corona discharge, is produced when the air surrounding a conductive object is briefly ionized by an electrically charged environment.

For centuries, sailors observed corona discharges at the tips of ship masts during storms at sea. They coined the phenomenon St. Elmo's fire, after the patron saint of sailors.

Scientists have found that a corona discharge can strengthen in windy conditions, glowing more brightly as the wind further electrifies the air. This wind-induced intensification has been observed mostly in electrically grounded structures, such as trees and towers. Now aerospace engineers at MIT have found that wind has an opposite effect on ungrounded objects, such as airplanes and some wind turbine blades.

In some of the last experiments performed in MIT's Wright Brothers Wind Tunnel before it was dismantled in 2019, the researchers exposed an electrically ungrounded model of an airplane wing to increasingly strong wind gusts. They found that the stronger the wind, the weaker the corona discharge, and the dimmer the glow that was produced.

Within a storm cloud, friction can build up to produce extra electrons, creating an electric field that can reach all the way to the ground. If that field is strong enough, it can break apart surrounding air molecules, turning neutral air into a charged gas, or plasma. This process most often occurs around sharp, conductive objects such as cell towers and wing tips, as these pointed structures tend to concentrate the electric field in a way that electrons are pulled from surrounding air molecules toward the pointed structures, leaving behind a veil of positively charged plasma immediately around the sharp object.

Once a plasma has formed, the molecules within it can begin to glow via the process of corona discharge, where excess electrons in the electric field ping-pong against the molecules, knocking them into excited states. In order to come down from those excited states, the molecules emit a photon of energy, at a wavelength that, for oxygen and nitrogen, corresponds to the characteristic blueish glow of St. Elmo's fire.

How airplanes counteract St. Elmo's Fire during thunderstorms -2

In previous laboratory experiments, scientists found that this glow, and the energy of a corona discharge, can strengthen in the presence of wind. A strong gust can essentially blow away the positively charged ions, that were locally shielding the electric field and reducing its effect—making it easier for electrons to trigger a stronger, brighter glow.

More here: 

These experiments were mostly carried out with electrically grounded structures, and the MIT team wondered whether wind would have the same strengthening effect on a corona discharge that was produced around a sharp, ungrounded object, such as an airplane wing.

To test this idea, they fabricated a simple wing structure out of wood and wrapped the wing in foil to make it electrically conductive. Rather than try to produce an ambient electric field similar to what would be generated in a thunderstorm, the team studied an alternative configuration in which the corona discharge was generated in a metal wire running parallel to the length of the wing, and connecting a small high-voltage power source between wire and wing. They fastened the wing to a pedestal made from an insulating material that, because of its nonconductive nature, essentially made the wing itself electrically suspended, or ungrounded.

C. Guerra‐Garcia et al. Corona Discharge in Wind for Electrically Isolated Electrodes, Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres (2020). DOI: 10.1029/2020JD032908

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-airplanes-counteract-st-elmo-thunders...

Why Landing With A Tailwind Increases Your Risk Of An Accident

https://www.boldmethod.com/learn-to-fly/maneuvers/why-landing-with-...

1 in 10 women are affected by endometriosis. So why does it take so long to diagnose?

Endometriosis is a debilitating, chronic condition that affects 1 in 10 women worldwide. It occurs when tissue which has similar properties to the womb lining, ends up in the body and attaches to organs, forming a patch of tissue called a lesion.

The condition can cause chronic pelvic pain, bowel and bladder dysfunction, and pain during sex. Painful symptoms can often make it hard for women to work or study, which has long-term socioeconomic impacts.

https://theconversation.com/1-in-10-women-are-affected-by-endometri...

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New guidance on brain death could ease debate over when life ends

This clarity may help identify when the brain has stopped working, completely and irrevocably

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/new-guidance-brain-death-debate...

Climate explained: why does geothermal electricity count as renewable?

https://theconversation.com/climate-explained-why-does-geothermal-e...

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Quantum researchers create an error-correcting cat

physicists have developed an error-correcting cat—a new device that combines the Schrödinger's cat concept of superposition (a physical system existing in two states at once) with the ability to fix some of the trickiest errors in a quantum computation.

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-quantum-error-correcting-cat.html?utm...

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I am facing this problem too!

The pandemic is putting a strain on internet speeds. Here's what you can do for the best connection

https://techxplore.com/news/2020-08-pandemic-strain-internet.html?u...

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Chemists discover way to make new nitrogen products 'out of thin air'

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-chemists-nitrogen-products-thin-air.h...

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From cave art to climate chaos: how a new carbon dating timeline is changing our view of history

https://theconversation.com/from-cave-art-to-climate-chaos-how-a-ne...

Painting Eyes on The Butts of Cattle Can Protect Them From Lions, Research Shows

https://www.sciencealert.com/lions-are-less-likely-to-attack-cattle...

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Scientists reveal long-term cumulative effects of frequent green tides in coastal oceans

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-scientists-reveal-long-term-cumulativ...

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New robotic system remotely controls ventilators in COVID-19 patient rooms

https://techxplore.com/news/2020-08-robotic-remotely-ventilators-co...

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Chemists expand genetic code of E. coli to produce 21st amino acid, giving it new abilities

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-chemists-genetic-code-coli-21st.html?...

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Eggshell-based surgical material for skull injuries:

A bioactive polymer-ceramic composite for fixing implants and restoring bone defects in the skull was developed by an international group of materials scientists .  An innovative composition of the material based on eggshell-derived bioceramic provides increased strength and biointegration of implants.

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-eggshell-based-surgical-material-skul...

Restoring degraded tropical forests generates big carbon gains

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-degraded-tropical-forests-big-carbon....

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** Hubble finds that Betelgeuse's mysterious dimming is due to a traumatic outburst

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-hubble-betelgeuse-mysterious-dimming-...

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** Bird and reptile tears aren't so different from human tears

Bird and reptile tears aren't so unlike our own, shows a new study in Frontiers in Veterinary Science. But the differences could provide insights into better ophthalmic treatments for humans and animals, as well as a clues into the evolution of tears across different species.

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-bird-reptile-human.html?utm_source=nw...

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Scientists discover way to make quantum states last 10,000 times longer

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-scientists-quantum-states-longer.html...

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** Researchers use supercomputer to gain insights into hepatitis B

Researchers at the University of Delaware, using supercomputing resources and collaborating with scientists at Indiana University, have gained new understanding of the virus that causes hepatitis B and the "spiky ball" that encloses the virus's genetic blueprint.

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Sustainable nylon production made possible by bacteria discovery

Nylon manufacture could be revolutionized by the discovery that bacteria can make a key chemical involved in the process, without emitting harmful greenhouse gases.

Bacterial enzymes 'hijacked' to create complex molecules normally made by plants

Chemists at Scripps Research have efficiently created three families of complex, oxygen-containing molecules that are normally obtainable only from plants.

These molecules, called terpenes, are potential starting points for new drugs and other high-value products—marking an important development for multiple industries. In addition, the new approach could allow chemists to build many other classes of compounds.

The chemistry feat is detailed in the Aug. 13 edition of the journal Science.

The key to this new method of making molecules is the harnessing, or hijacking, of natural enzymes—from bacteria, in this case—to assist in complex chemical transformations that have been impractical or impossible with synthetic chemistry techniques alone.

Natural enzymes that help build molecules in cells usually perform only one or two highly specific tasks. But the Scripps Research team showed that natural enzymes, even without modification, can be made to perform a wider range of tasks. We think that in general, enzymes are a mostly untapped resource for solving problems in chemical synthesis. Enzymes tend to have some degree of promiscuous activity, in terms of their ability to spur chemical reactions  beyond their primary task, and scientists  were able to take advantage of that here.

Enzymes help build molecules in all plant, animal and microbial species. Inspired by their efficiency in constructing highly complex molecules, chemists for more than half a century have used enzymes in the lab to help build valuable compounds, including drug compounds—but usually these compounds are the same molecules the enzymes help build in nature.

Harnessing natural enzymes in a broader way, according to their basic biochemical activity, is a new strategy with vast potential. Our view now is that whenever we want to synthesize a complex molecule, the solution probably already exists among nature's enzymes—we just have to know how to find the enzymes that will work. The team succeeded in making nine terpenes known to be produced in Isodon, a family of flowering plants related to mint. The complex compounds belong to three terpene families with related chemical structures: ent-kauranes, ent-atisanes, and ent-trachylobanes. Members of these terpene families have a wide range of biological activities including the suppression of inflammation and tumor growth.

"Divergent synthesis of complex diterpenes through a hybrid oxidative approach" Science (2020). science.sciencemag.org/cgi/doi … 1126/science.abb8271

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-bacterial-enzymes-hijacked-complex-mo...

Recalling memories from a third-person perspective changes how our brain processes them

 recalling memories from an observer-like perspective—instead of through your own eyes—leads to greater interaction between the anterior hippocampus and the posterior medial network.

"These findings contribute to a growing body of research that show that retrieving memories is an active process that can bias and even distort our memories.

Adopting an observer-like perspective involves viewing the past in a novel way, which requires greater interaction among brain regions that support our ability to recall the details of a memory and to recreate mental images in our mind's eye."

Adopting an observer-like perspective may also serve a therapeutic purpose, explained St Jacques. "This may be an effective way of dealing with troubling memories by viewing the past from a distance and reducing the intensity of the emotions we feel."

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-08-recalling-memories-third-per...

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Why more heatwaves endanger our health and ability to work

As the Earth warms, heatwaves are expected to occur more often, with sharper intensity and for longer periods. Rising temperatures adversely affect worker productivity and human health, but for policymakers to take substantive action for heat adaptation, and meet what researchers see as a life-saving Paris climate agreement, making an economic case is key.

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Revealing the structure of the mysterious blue whirling flame

A team of researchers working at the University of Maryland has uncovered the structure of the mysterious blue whirling flame. In their paper published in the journal Science Advances, the group describes using computer simulations to determine the structure of the unique type of flame.

The hidden math of bacterial behavior

As modern medical science has become increasingly aware of the positive role that bacteria and other microorganisms can play in our health, a mystery has emerged: How is it that beneficial microbial communities can sometimes "flip" into a harmful state that is stubbornly resistant to treatment?

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Pandemic Conspiracies And Rumours Have Killed Over 800 People, Study Shows

"Infodemic" – an oversupply of information, carrying with it fake news, rumours, and conspiracy theories that put people in harm's way. Bad ideas and poor advice, shared amongst friends, family, and total strangers alike.

In a new study, an international team of infectious disease researchers scoured social media and news websites to monitor how COVID-19 misinformation was circulating on online platforms.

In total, they identified over 2,300 reports of COVID-19-related rumours, stigma, and conspiracy theories, communicated in 25 languages from 87 different countries.

None of this misinformation is helpful – even if it's intended to be – and much of it is harmful. In some cases, it's lethal, leading to preventable death and injury on a truly tragic scale.

"For example, a popular myth that consumption of highly concentrated alcohol could disinfect the body and kill the virus was circulating in different parts of the world," the authors write in their study.

"Following this misinformation, approximately 800 people have died, whereas 5,876 have been hospitalised and 60 have developed complete blindness after drinking methanol as a cure of coronavirus."

https://www.sciencealert.com/covid-19-rumours-have-killed-800-peopl...

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How a protein stops cells from attacking their own DNA

Viruses multiply by injecting their DNA into a host cell. Once it enters the intracellular fluid, this foreign material triggers a defense mechanism known as the cGAS-STING pathway. The protein cyclic GMP-AMP Synthase (cGAS), which is also found inside the fluid, binds to the invading DNA to create a new molecule. This, in turn, binds to another protein called Stimulator of Interferon Genes (STING), which induces an inflammatory immune response.

We Finally Know The Chemical That Triggers Locust Swarms. Now to Use It Against Them

A single locust is just bigger than a paper clip.

But when these solitary critters attract others into a growing swarm, billions of locusts wind up flying together, forming a moving carpet that can block out the sun and strip the landscape of plants and crops.

Giant swarms like this have devastated large swaths of crops in Africa and Asia since January, threatening food supplies for millions.

But until now, scientists weren't sure what causes the insects to come together and abandon their solitary lifestyles. 

A study published Wednesday in the journal Nature pinpointed the trigger: Migratory locusts respond to a pheromone called 4-vinylanisole (4VA).

4VA is specific to that one type of locust, but the finding could offer a way to control many devastating swarms, including those wreaking global havoc this year. The study authors suggest using 4VA to corral locusts into areas in which they can then be killed en masse with pesticides.

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The migratory locust is the most widely distributed locust species on the planet.

Like all locust species, these insects can follow one of two paths as they mature: some become solitary creatures, while others gather together in a cohesive mass. Locusts can also transition from solitary to gregarious creatures at any point during their life cycle.

Scientists had long thought this change in lifestyle might be prompted by a pheromone put out by other locusts. Yet until the discovery of 4VA, they hadn't figured out what that chemical klaxon was.

This study has found the long-anticipated but never-before-described aggregation pheromone that is responsible for bringing solitary locusts together and turning them into gregarious, dangerous swarming locusts

The study authors found that 4VA was equally attractive to male and female migratory locusts, as well as juveniles and adults.

Their results also showed that as the density of a locust swarm grew, the amount of 4VA in the air "increased markedly," Voss wrote. That could explain why swarms, once they start, gather more and more solitary locusts over time.

Additionally, the researchers found that once four or five solitary locusts crowd out together, they begin to produce and emit 4VA.

As a substance, 4VA would smell sweet to humans. he discovery of 4VA could facilitate a more surgical approach to fighting swarms: The study authors suggest deploying a synthetic version of the scent to lure locusts into traps where they can be killed. 

Another option, they wrote, might be to figure out ways to stop locusts from detecting 4VA at all.

Locusts detect the pheromone via their antennae; the molecules attach to an olfactory receptor. So the researchers genetically engineered locusts to lack that receptor, and found that the mutant locusts were less attracted to 4VA than their wild counterparts.

Based on those findings, the authors think "anti-VA" chemicals could be developed to obstruct the locusts' olfactory process.

"Such molecules could be widely deployed to prevent locust aggregation, in effect making the locusts blind to their own scent," 

https://www.sciencealert.com/researchers-have-finally-worked-out-th...

Nanoparticles to immunize plants against heat stress

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-nanoparticles-immunize-stress.html?ut...

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Researchers capture footage of fluid behaving like a solid

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-capture-footage-fluid-solid.html?utm_...

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Space bricks for lunar habitation

In what could be a significant step forward in space exploration, a team of researchers from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has developed a sustainable process for making brick-like structures on the moon. It exploits lunar soil, and uses bacteria and guar beans to consolidate the soil into possible load-bearing structures. These 'space bricks' could eventually be used to assemble structures for habitation on the moon's surface.

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-space-bricks-lunar-habitation.html?ut...

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Coronavirus Found on Food Packaging, but Likely of Little Concern

Spacecraft Uncover Mystery Behind Auroral Beads

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-aurora-mysteries-nasa-themis-mission....

Forensic research proves that textile fibres can be transferred between clothing in the absence of contact

Breakthrough forensic research at Northumbria University, Newcastle, has revealed for the first time that textile fibers can, under certain circumstances, be transferred between clothing in the absence of contact.

This new forensic discovery has not been demonstrated before and could have a major implication for fiber evidence in certain criminal cases.

Researchers within Northumbria University's Department of Applied Sciences have proved that contactless transfer of fibers between garments can be possible through airborne travel.

Because it has largely been assumed that fiber transfer only occurs when two surfaces touch, it is generally accepted in a case that two surfaces have, at some point, been in contact with each other. However, researchers at Northumbria University have revealed that under certain conditions, this is not necessarily always the case.

when people travel on elevators this can happen.

It not only proved that textile fibers can transfer between garments in the absence of contact, but they can do so in relatively high numbers."

In this study, the potential of fiber transfer between different items of sheddable clothing through airborne travel has been assessed for small, compact and semi-enclosed spaces, such as elevators.

The results of this study demonstrate that when certain strict conditions are met (i.e. time, sheddability of garment, proximity and confined space), airborne transfer of fibers can occur in forensic scenarios, and that these could be in potentially significant numbers for fiber types, such as cotton and polyester.

The results of this study define a set of circumstances that can be used as a baseline to evaluate the likelihood of an alleged activity being conducive to contactless transfer. What is equally, if not more, important, is how that fiber was transferred from one surface to another," he said. "This research shows that airborne transfer is viable in a number of case scenarios despite previous beliefs and could explain the presence of fibers on a variety of surfaces.

 A study on contactless airborne transfer of textile fibers between different garments in small compact semi-enclosed spaces, Forensic Science International (2020).

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-forensic-textile-fibres-absence-conta...

Tree ferns are older than dinosaurs. And that's not even the most interesting thing about them

tree ferns are ferns, but they are not really trees. To be a tree, a plant must be woody (undergo secondary plant growth, which thickens stems and roots) and grow to a height of at least three meters when mature. While tree ferns can have single, thick trunk-like stems and can grow to a height of more than 15 meters, they are never woody.

They're also incredibly hardy—tree ferns are often the first plants to show signs of recovery in the early weeks after bushfires. The unfurling of an almost iridescent green tree fern fiddlehead amid the somber black of the bushfire ash is almost symbolic of the potential for bushfire recovery.

Tree ferns are generally slow growing, at rates of just 25-50 millimeters height increase per year. This means the tall individuals you might spot in a mature forest may be several centuries old.

However, in the right environment they can grow faster, so guessing their real age can be tricky, especially if they're growing outside their usual forest environment.

As a plant group, tree ferns are ancient, dating back hundreds of millions of years and pre-dating dinosaurs.

They existed on earth long before the flowering or cone-bearing plants evolved, and were a significant element of the earth's flora during the Carboniferous period 300-360 million years ago, when conditions for plant growth were near ideal. This explains why ferns don't reproduce by flowers, fruits or cones, but by more primitive spores.

In fact, fossilized tree ferns and their relatives called the fern allies laid down during the carboniferous then have provided much of the earth's fossil fuels dating from that period. And tree ferns were a great food source, with Indigenous people once eating the pulp that occurs in the center of the tree fern stem either raw or roasted as a starch.

The way tree ferns grow is quite complex. That's because growth, even of the roots, originates from part of the apex of the stem. If this crown is damaged, then the fern can die.

At the right time of the year, the new fronds unfurl in the crown from a coil called a fiddlehead. The stem of the tree fern is made up of all of the retained leaf bases of the fronds from previous years.

The stems are very fibrous and quite strong, which means they tend to retain moisture. And this is one of the reasons why the stems of tree ferns don't easily burn in bushfires—even when they're dry or dead.

https://theconversation.com/tree-ferns-are-older-than-dinosaurs-and...

Mitochondria May Hold Keys to Anxiety and Mental Health

Climate change could put tropical plant germination at risk: Study

https://news.mongabay.com/2020/08/climate-change-could-put-tropical...

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https://theconversation.com/how-to-talk-to-someone-who-doesnt-wear-...

How to talk to someone who doesn’t wear a mask, and actually change their mind

Scientists Create a Material That Makes Salty Water Safe to Drink in Minutes

https://www.sciencealert.com/new-material-makes-seawater-drinkable-...

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https://iheartcats.com/ask-a-vet-why-does-my-cat-sharpen-his-claws/

Ask A Vet: Why Does My Cat Sharpen His Claws?

A chemical message for others

A visible mark

Scientists just found something new in our mouths

• Researchers have discovered a new type of taste cell that can detect the full rank of taste stimuli.
• The cells are different from the previously known taste bud cells in that they have multiple pathways to send signals to the brain, regardless of the type of taste stimuli.
• The research was conducted using mouse models.

A subset of broadly responsive Type III taste cells contribute to the detection of bitter, sweet and umami stimuli

https://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/article?id=10.1371/journal.p...

https://bgr.com/2020/08/15/science-news-taste-buds/

Entire cities could fit inside the moon's monstrous lava tubes
https://www.livescience.com/lava-tubes-mars-and-moon-habitable.html

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New guidance on brain death could ease debate over when life ends

This clarity may help identify when the brain has stopped working, completely and irrevocably

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/new-guidance-brain-death-debate...

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Placebos Can Lower Emotional Distress, Even When People Know They're Taking Placebos

https://www.sciencealert.com/placebos-can-lower-emotional-distress-...

Study: Scientists Are Using Too Many Acronyms, Here Are The Top 10

https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2020/08/16/study-scientists-a...

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https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-08-exploring-social-affects-fem...

Exploring how social touch affects communication between female animals

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First ever observation of 'time crystals' interacting

For the first time ever, scientists have witnessed the interaction of a new phase of matter known as "time crystals".

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-crystals-interacting.html?utm_source=...

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How climate change could expose new epidemics

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-climate-expose-epidemics.html?utm_sou...

Discovery promising for millions at risk from antibiotic resistance

New hope for approximately 700,000 people who die each year from antibiotic resistant infections, with researchers discovering how bacteria share antibiotic-resistance genes.

Antibiotic resistant bacteria, in particular emerging 'superbugs', could lead to around 10 million deaths globally by 2050.

"The diminishing pool of effective antibiotics makes these infections a major threat to human helath, so it's critical we understand the exact mechanics of how antibiotic resistance spreads between different bacteria.

In this study, scientists examined plasmids—self-replicating DNA molecules—which are one of the major drivers for the rapid spread of antibiotic resistance genes between bacteria. Many plasmids carry 10 to 15 antibiotic resistance-causing genes, and when they transfer from one bacterial cell to another, two important things happen.

Firstly, the plasmid is copied so that it is retained by both the donor and recipient cell, and secondly all antibiotic resistance genes are transferred together, meaning that resistance to multiple antibiotics can be transferred and acquired simultaneously.

The study used a powerful genetic screening system to identify all of the components required for the transfer of an important type of antibiotic resistance plasmid from one bacterial cell to another.

This investigation discovered genes encoding the 'syringe' component. 

That is the mechanism through which plasmid DNA is mobilized, as well as a novel controlling element essential for regulation of the transfer process."

The team also investigated the crystal structure of this controlling element, and revealed how it binds to DNA and activates transcription of other genes involved in the transfer.

This deeper understanding would open the door to solutions for this ever-growing health crisis.

Preventing the transfer of plasmids between bacteria has been a major challenge in reducing the spread of antibiotic resistance genes.

By looking at the molecular mechanics, we can start to develop effective solutions for stopping these genes in their tracks.

Source: Comprehensive analysis of IncC plasmid conjugation identifies a crucial role for the transcriptional regulator AcaB, Nature Microbiology (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41564-020-0775-0 , www.nature.com/articles/s41564-020-0775-0

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-discovery-millions-antibiotic-resista...

Micro- and nanoplastics detectable in human tissues

Plastic pollution of land, water and air is a global problem. Even when plastic bags or water bottles break down to the point at which they are no longer an eyesore, tiny fragments can still contaminate the environment. Animals and humans can ingest the particles, with uncertain health consequences. Now, scientists report that they are among the first to examine micro- and nanoplastics in human organs and tissues.

There's evidence that plastic is making its way into our bodies, but very few studies have looked for it there. And at this point, we don't know whether this plastic is just a nuisance or whether it represents a human health hazard.

Scientists define microplastics as plastic fragments less than 5 mm, or about 0.2 inches, in diameter. Nanoplastics are even smaller, with diameters less than 0.001 mm. Research in wildlife and animal models has linked micro- and nanoplastic exposure to infertility, inflammation and cancer, but health outcomes in people are currently unknown. Previous studies have shown that plastics can pass through the human gastrointestinal tract, but Rolsky and Varun Kelkar, who is also presenting the research at the meeting, wondered if the tiny particles accumulate in human organs. 

To find out, the researchers collaborated with Diego Mastroeni, Ph.D., to obtain samples from a large repository of brain and body tissues that was established to study neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's. The 47 samples were taken from lungs, liver, spleen and kidneys—four organs likely to be exposed to, filter or collect microplastics. The team developed a procedure to extract plastics from the samples and analyze them by μ-Raman spectrometry. The researchers also created a computer program that converted information on plastic particle count into units of mass and surface area. They plan to share the tool online so that other researchers can report their results in a standardized manner. "This shared resource will help build a plastic exposure database so that we can compare exposures in organs and groups of people over time and geographic space," Halden says.

The method allows the researchers to detect dozens of types of plastic components within human tissues, including polycarbonate (PC), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyethylene (PE). When paired with a previously developed mass spectrometry assay, plastic contamination was detected in every sample. Bisphenol A (BPA), still used in many food containers despite health concerns, was found in all 47 human samples.

To the researchers' knowledge, their study is the first to examine micro- and nanoplastic occurrence in human organs from individuals with a known history of environmental exposure. "The tissue donors provided detailed information on their lifestyle, diet and occupational exposures," Halden says. "Because these donors have such well-defined histories, our study provides the first clues on potential micro- and nanoplastic exposure sources and routes."

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-micro-nanoplastics-human-tissues.html...

Shock to bacteria activates nature's electrical grid

The ocean floor and the ground beneath our feet are riddled with tiny nanowires—1/100,000th the width of a human hair—created by billions of bacteria that can generate electric currents from organic waste. In new research published Aug. 17 in the journal Nature Chemical Biology, Yale researchers describe how this hidden power grid could be activated with a short jolt of electric field.

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-bacteria-nature-electrical-grid.html?...

Scientists develop new method to create super stable X-rays

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-scientists-method-super-stable-x-rays...

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Scientists use photons as threads to weave novel forms of matter

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-scientists-photons-threads.html?utm_s...

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Major quantum computational breakthrough is shaking up physics and maths

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-major-quantum-breakthrough-physics-ma...

Climate science related research reports:

Ocean microbes could interact with pollution to influence climate

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-ocean-microbes-interact-pollution-cli...

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Study finds that air pollution is a driver of residential electrici...

A study conducted by Associate Professor Alberto Salvo from the Department of Economics at the National University of Singapore (NUS) Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences revealed that households respond to ambient air pollution by increasing electricity consumption, which in turn increases the carbon emissions that are co-produced in supplying the electricity. The study, set in Singapore, revealed that better air quality will bring about climate co-benefits—in reducing electricity generation via lower household demand, and thus mitigating carbon emissions.

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Raising livestock: An answer to crop residue burning

Livestock can help South Asian countries address crop residue burning, which has health and environmental impacts.

Survey finds science fiction one of many factors impacting views of AI technology

https://techxplore.com/news/2020-08-survey-science-fiction-factors-...

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How dangerous are burning electric cars?

https://techxplore.com/news/2020-08-dangerous-electric-cars.html?ut...

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**Research Culture: Changing how we evaluate research is difficult, but not impossible

https://elifesciences.org/articles/58654?utm_source=content_alert&a...

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** Coronavirus: the pandemic is changing our brains – here are the remedies

https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-the-pandemic-is-changing-ou...

https://theconversation.com/research-shows-coronavirus-thrives-in-d...

Research shows coronavirus thrives in dry air

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Here’s why we crave food even when we’re not hungry

https://theconversation.com/heres-why-we-crave-food-even-when-were-...

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** 

This Twist on Schrödinger's Cat Paradox Has Major Implications for Quantum Theory

A laboratory demonstration of the classic “Wigner’s friend” thought experiment could overturn cherished assumptions about reality

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Every Single Seafood Sample Tested in This Microplastics Study Was Polluted

https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-don-t-even-have-to-try-that...

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https://nypost.com/2017/08/21/trendy-copper-water-bottles-can-make-...

Trendy copper water bottles can make you sick

Red Sprites and Blue Jets Explained - New Discovery!

https://www.sciencealert.com/otherworldly-jellyfish-sprite-lightnin...
If you've ever looked up during a thunderstorm and glimpsed a red jellyfish sitting high in the sky, you weren't hallucinating.

These tentacle-like spurts of red lightning are called sprites. They're ultrafast bursts of electricity that crackle through the upper regions of the atmosphere – between 37 and 50 miles (60 and 80 kilometres) up in the sky – and move towards space, according to the European Space Agency.
The phenomenon is a rare sighting: It lasts just tenths of a second and can be hard to see from the ground since it's generally obscured by storm clouds.

Exploding stars may have caused mass extinction on Earth, study shows

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-stars-mass-extinction-earth.html?utm_...

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Desire to be in a group leads to harsher judgment of others: study

The desire to be part of a group is what makes some of us more likely to discriminate against people outside our groups, even in non-political settings.

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-desire-group-harsher-judgment.html?ut...

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Unearthing evidence for the origins of plate tectonics

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-unearthing-evidence-plate-tectonics.h...

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Fake COVID-19 testing kits and lockdown puppy scams: how to protect yourself from fraud in a pandemic

https://theconversation.com/fake-covid-19-testing-kits-and-lockdown...

How turning back the clock in aging fat cells can be a remedy for lifestyle diseases

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-clock-aging-fat-cells-remedy.html?utm...

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New quantum paradox reveals contradiction between widely held beliefs

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-quantum-paradox-reveals-contradiction...

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Scientists slow and steer light with resonant nanoantennas

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-scientists-resonant-nanoantennas.html...

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Humid air can extend lifetime of virus-laden aerosol droplets

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-humid-air-lifetime-virus-laden-aeroso...

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In a first, astronomers spotted a space rock turning into a comet

The process won’t be complete until 2063

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/space-rock-comet-centaur-astron...

Is body weight affected by when you eat? Here’s what science knows so far

https://theconversation.com/is-body-weight-affected-by-when-you-eat...

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Characteristics that Give Viruses Pandemic Potential

Why Lizards Don't Run Marathons

Most lizards can't breathe and run at the same time

Carrier's constraint - Wikipedia

**Medical / Biology News

Study finds clues to aging in 'junk' DNA

A new study, published on June 5 in Aging Cell, found that a portion of noncoding genetic material, called repetitive element transcripts, might be an important biomarker of the aging process.

Thomas J. LaRocca et al. Repetitive elements as a transcriptomic marker of aging: Evidence in multiple datasets and models, Aging Cell (2020). DOI: 10.1111/acel.13167

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-clues-aging-junk-dna.html?utm_source=...

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**Using microbes to clean up toxic electronic waste

Astronomy:

Mystery gas discovered near center of Milky Way

An international team of researchers have discovered a dense, cold gas that's been shot out from the center of the Milky Way "like bullets"

When you drive out a lot of mass, you're losing some of the material that could be used to form stars, and if you lose enough of it, the galaxy can't form stars at all anymore.

"So, to be able to see hints of the Milky Way losing this star forming gas is kind of exciting—it makes you wonder what's going to happen next!

there's not only hot gas coming from the center of our galaxy, but also cold and very dense gas.

"This cold gas is much heavier, so moves around less easily.

Cold gas in the Milky Way's nuclear wind, Nature (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2595-z , www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2595-z

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-mystery-gas-center-milky.html?utm_sou...

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Kepler's supernova remnant: Debris from stellar explosion not slowed after 400 years

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-kepler-supernova-remnant-debris-stell...

Zebra stripes and their role in dazzling flies

The mystery of why zebras have their characteristic stripes has perplexed researchers for several years. many popular theories such as their use as camouflage from predators, a cooling mechanism through the formation of convection currents and a role in social interactions have been discredited. Stripes acting to confuse predators is another common explanation, but it too is flawed when looking at the scientific data. Instead, mounting evidence suggests that it is parasitic flies that are confounded by the zebra's distinctive patterning.

scientists have now provided significant depth to this hypothesis by narrowing down the possible mechanism.

Previously, the same researchers had shown that blood-sucking horseflies would approach horses in striped rugs as often as plain rugs, but then failed to land or slow down when they got close.

Essentially, stripes dazzled the flies, forcing them to collide with the skin or fly away altogether. In their new study they explored a potential mechanism explaining how the stripes lead to this outcome: the aperture effect.

**Pumice arrives delivering 'vitamin boost' to the reef

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-pumice-vitamin-boost-reef.html?utm_so...

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Tech news:

Forget credit cards—now you can pay with your face

https://techxplore.com/news/2020-08-credit-cardsnow.html?utm_source...

Newly Identified Social Trait Could Explain Why Some People Are Particularly Tribal

Having strong, biased opinions may say more about your own individual way of behaving in group situations than it does about your level of identification with the values or ideals of any particular group, new research suggests.

This behavioural trait – which researchers call 'groupiness' – could mean that individuals will consistently demonstrate 'groupy' behaviour across different kinds of social situations, with their thoughts and actions influenced by simply being in a group setting, whereas 'non-groupy' people aren't affected in the same way.

"It's not the political group that matters, it's whether an individual just generally seems to like being in a group," says economist and lead researcher Rachel Kranton from Duke University.

"Some people are 'groupy' – they join a political party, for example. And if you put those people in any arbitrary setting, they'll act in a more biased way than somebody who has the same political opinions, but doesn't join a political party."

https://www.sciencealert.com/experiment-identifies-new-kind-of-soci...

Doctors Used a Poop Transplant to Cure a Man Whose Gut Was Making Him Drunk

A rare syndrome in which the human gut brews its own alcohol has been successfully treated with a poop transplant when nothing else was working, marking the first such case in medical literature.

Known as auto-brewery syndrome (ABS), this extraordinary condition can leave patients feeling downright intoxicated, even if they haven't had a single thing to drink.

ABS is caused by microorganisms - usually fungi - in the gut feasting on recently-eaten carbohydrates to produce their own brew of alcohol.

Most of us have these fermenting microbes in small quantities, but in ABS the microbe populations and therefore the fermentation can grow out of control. This can sometimes occur after a course of antibiotics throws the gut balance off.

Initially, this is what brought a 47-year-old man to the hospital in Belgium. Since finishing a dose of antibiotics, he had been experiencing unexplained moments of inebriation. And it had been going on for two months. 

The patient told doctors he hadn't consumed a drink in four days, and yet upon further testing, his blood ethanol levels were more than 17 times what's considered normal, or twice the legal limit in the United States.

Doctors diagnosed him with gut fermentation syndrome, or ABS, and prescribed oral anti-fungals and a low-carb diet. But it only helped a little. Even an increased dose of the high-potency anti-fungal medication amphotericin taken for four weeks appeared unsuccessful: The patient still felt inebriated and his wife reported she could smell the alcohol on his breath.

In recent years, poop transplants have been proposed as a promising new way to re-balance gut microbiota among certain groups of people. That said, they appear to only work against some infections, and there are potentially life-threatening risks that need to be taken into consideration.

However, the man was willing to try it, and the sample was voluntarily donated by his 22-year-old daughter. Luckily, the poop transplant worked wonderfully. Nearly three years later, the patient still remains free of ABS symptoms, and his blood ethanol levels have returned to normal.

https://www.sciencealert.com/a-poop-transplant-fixed-a-particularly...

Bacteria can defuse dangerous chemical in Rassaic River

Study suggests pollutant's toxicity could be decreased

Bacteria that can help defuse highly toxic dioxin in sediments in the Passaic River - a Superfund hazardous waste site - could eventually aid cleanup efforts at other dioxin-contaminated sites around the world, according to scientists.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/08/200819110915.htm

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Scaling Up Spider Silk Production Researchers in Japan have produced artificial spider silk using photosynthetic bacteria, opening the possibility of mass produced spider silk.

https://www.asianscientist.com/2020/08/in-the-lab/spider-silk-photo...

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How Organelles Talk To Each Other Using a new technique to observe inter-organelle communication in live cells, researchers have identified the proteins that form signaling hubs known as mitochondria-associated membranes.

Yes MAM: How Organelles Talk To Each Other

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** A Closer Look Into Viral Dark Matter Taking a metagenomics approach, researchers in Japan have identified phage-derived enzymes that could potentially treat an imbalance of gut bacteria.

https://www.asianscientist.com/2020/08/in-the-lab/phage-derived-dys...

Scientists invent new sensing eye mask: a new, lightweight eye mask that can unobtrusively capture pulse, eye movement and sleep signals when worn in an everyday environment.

being able to track pulse and eye movement in a single wearable device will enable a host of sleep and psycho-social studies, in addition to improving the accuracy and usability of gaming and virtual reality headsets.

You will find the full research paper here: Matter (2020). DOI: 10.1016/j.matt.2020.07.030

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-scientists-eye-mask.html?utm_source=n...

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Study of ancient Mayan facial expressions suggests some are universal

Researchers have found evidence that suggests some human facial expressions are universal across cultures. In this new effort, the researchers sought to get around the problem of biases and other problems with an experiment in which modern-day English-speaking people identified the emotions being expressed by people in ancient Mayan art.

The researchers found that MTurk workers were mostly in agreement regarding which facial expressions correlated to which labels, which they claim shows that such facial expressions are universal across cultures—and in this case, across time.

Research paper: Alan S. Cowen et al. Universal facial expressions uncovered in art of the ancient Americas: A computational approach, Science Advances (2020). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abb1005

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-ancient-mayan-facial-universal.html?u...