The Fitness Products Blog.: 2020

Tuesday 3 November 2020

China's Ant Group facing regulatory pressure ahead of record IPO

Fintech giant Ant Group is facing growing Chinese pressure over potential risks in its online lending business, with co-founder Jack Ma and other executives summoned to an unusual meeting with regulators just ahead of its record-breaking IPO this week.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-11-china-ant-group-regulatory-pressure.html

Tunisian startup 3-D prints solar-powered bionic hands

A Tunisian startup is developing a 3-D-printed bionic hand, hoping the affordable and solar-powered prosthetic will help amputees and other disabled people across Africa.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-11-tunisian-startup-d-solar-powered-bionic.html

Not forever: world's biggest pink diamond mine closes

The world's largest pink diamond mine has shut its doors after exhausting its reserves of the expensive gems, global mining giant Rio Tinto said Tuesday.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-11-world-biggest-pink-diamond.html

Cat 4 Hurricane Eta threatens flooding in Central America

Hurricane Eta erupted quickly into a potentially catastrophic major hurricane Monday as it headed for Central America, where forecasters warned of massive flooding and landslides across a vulnerable region.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-11-cat-hurricane-eta-threatens-central.html

Walmart abandons shelf-scanning robots, lets humans do work

Walmart is laying off the robots it had deployed in about 500 stores to keep tabs on what's on and not on the shelves.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-11-walmart-abandons-shelf-scanning-robots-humans.html

Lizard skull fossil is new and 'perplexing' extinct species

In 2017, while browsing the fossil collections of Yale's Peabody Museum of Natural History, University of Texas at Austin graduate student Simon Scarpetta came across a small lizard skull, just under an inch long.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-11-lizard-skull-fossil-perplexing-extinct.html

Two centuries of Monarch butterflies show evolution of wing length

North America's beloved Monarch butterflies are known for their annual, multi-generation migrations in which individual insects can fly for thousands of miles. But Monarchs have also settled in some locations where their favorite food plants grow year round, so they no longer need to migrate.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-11-centuries-monarch-butterflies-evolution-wing.html

Self-watering soil could transform farming

A new type of soil created by engineers at The University of Texas at Austin can pull water from the air and distribute it to plants, potentially expanding the map of farmable land around the globe to previously inhospitable places and reducing water use in agriculture at a time of growing droughts.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-11-self-watering-soil-farming.html

Biologists shed light on mystery of how microbes evolve and affect hosts

The era of COVID-19 and the need to constantly wash one's hands and sanitize things have brought microbes to new levels of scrutiny, particularly for their impact on an individual's health.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-11-biologists-mystery-microbes-evolve-affect.html

New protein nanobioreactor designed to improve sustainable bioenergy production

Researchers at the University of Liverpool have unlocked new possibilities for the future development of sustainable, clean bioenergy. The study, published in Nature Communications, shows how bacterial protein 'cages' can be reprogrammed as nanoscale bioreactors for hydrogen production.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-11-protein-nanobioreactor-sustainable-bioenergy-production.html

Short-term moisture removal can eliminate downy mildew of spinach

Downy mildew is the biggest threat to spinach production around the world. While the pathogen has a short life cycle (approximately a week), it can produce millions of spores during the spinach growing season. Overhead sprinkler irrigation systems and dew formation on cool nights leads to more moisture, which enables these spores to infect the spinach.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-11-short-term-moisture-downy-mildew-spinach.html

Monday 2 November 2020

Scientists pinpoint possible reasons for successful cross-species viral spread

Infectious disease emergence is often the result of a pathogen entering a new host species, as highlighted by COVID-19. However, most cross-species transmissions fail to establish in the newly- infected species.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-11-scientists-successful-cross-species-viral.html

Building European cities with wood would sequester and store half of cement industry's current carbon emissions

Buildings create a whopping one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions—that's about 10 times more than air traffic worldwide. In Europe alone, about 190 million square meters of housing space are built each year, mainly in the cities, and the amount is growing quickly at the rate of nearly 1% a year.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-11-european-cities-wood-sequester-cement.html

Next-gen astronomical survey makes its first observations toward a new understanding of the cosmos

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey's fifth generation collected its very first observations of the cosmos at 1:47 a.m. on October 24, 2020. This groundbreaking all-sky survey will bolster our understanding of the formation and evolution of galaxies—including our own Milky Way—and the supermassive black holes that lurk at their centers.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-11-next-gen-astronomical-survey-cosmos.html

Researchers achieve fused silica with high damage threshold by combing chemical etching and laser polishing

Laser damage in fused silica, particularly ultraviolet laser damage, is still a key problem limiting the development of high-power laser systems. The traditional processing method of fused silica goes through the processes of grinding and chemical mechanical polishing (CMP). This method is time-consuming to achieve an ultra-smooth surface, and is easy to cause surface and sub-surface defects, resulting in a significant reduction in the surface damage threshold of the fused silica.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-11-fused-silica-high-threshold-chemical.html

The efficiency of migratory birds' flight formations

Migratory birds flying south provide an impressive example of cooperative behavior that saves power and energy. In the past, it was impossible for scientists to study this phenomenon in a natural environment. Researchers who guided young northern bald ibises to their wintering grounds have now succeeded for the first time in obtaining a comprehensive data set. A better understanding of this behavior is also of fundamental importance in respect of climate change.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-11-efficiency-migratory-birds-flight-formations.html

Team develops cost-efficient and high-resolution multi-spectral camera

A team of researchers at the Chair of Multimedia Communications and Signal Processing at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) has developed an intelligent camera that achieves not only high spatial and temporal but also spectral resolution. The camera has a wide range of applications that can improve environmental protection and resource conservation measures as well as autonomous driving or modern agriculture. The findings of the research have been publishedas an open access publication.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-11-team-cost-efficient-high-resolution-multi-spectral-camera.html

Researchers discover mechanism that allows non-coding RNA to amplify protein production

Scientists from an international group led by the RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences and Yokohama City University have discovered that a pair of proteins play a key role in allowing an important type of functional non-coding RNA, known as SINEUPs, to act to promote their target messenger RNA. SINEUPs are a recently discovered type of RNA that work specifically to amplify the production of proteins by messenger RNAs, and hence could be important for developing therapeutics for diseases where a certain protein is insufficiently synthesized.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-11-mechanism-non-coding-rna-amplify-protein.html

Analysis of a Martian meteorite reveals evidence of water 4.4 billion years ago

A meteorite that originated on Mars billions of years ago reveals details of ancient impact events on the red planet. Certain minerals from the Martian crust in the meteorite are oxidized, suggesting the presence of water during the impact that created the meteorite. The finding helps to fill some gaps in knowledge about the role of water in planet formation.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-11-analysis-martian-meteorite-reveals-evidence.html

Saturday 31 October 2020

New evidence our neighborhood in space is stuffed with hydrogen

Only the two Voyager spacecraft have ever been there, and it took than more than 30 years of supersonic travel. It lies well past the orbit of Pluto, through the rocky Kuiper belt, and on for four times that distance. This realm, marked only by an invisible magnetic boundary, is where Sun-dominated space ends: the closest reaches of interstellar space.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-evidence-neighborhood-space-stuffed-hydrogen.html

US judge sets up fresh roadblock in Trump bid to ban TikTok

A US federal judge on Friday issued an injunction temporarily blocking an executive order by President Donald Trump aimed at banning TikTok, throwing up a legal roadblock ahead of a November 12 deadline.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-fresh-roadblock-trump-tiktok.html

Philippines evacuates nearly 1 million as Typhoon Goni nears

Nearly a million people in the Philippines were evacuated from their homes Saturday as the most powerful typhoon of the year so far barrelled towards the country, with authorities warning of "destructive" winds and flooding.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-philippines-evacuate-typhoon-goni-nears.html

Sri Lanka returns illegal waste to Britain after court order

Sri Lanka has started shipping 242 containers of hazardous waste, including body parts from mortuaries, back to Britain after a two year court battle by an environment watchdog, officials said Saturday.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-sri-lanka-illegal-britain-court.html

US jury tells Apple to pay $503 mn in patent case

A jury in Texas on Friday decided that Apple should pay $503 million for infringing virtual private network technology patented by software security firm VirnetX.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-jury-apple-mn-patent-case.html

Experts see substantial danger to democratic stability around 2020 election

On the eve of the November 3 election, Bright Line Watch—the political science research project of faculty at the University of Rochester, the University of Chicago, and Dartmouth College—finds that experts are concerned about substantial risks to the legitimacy of the election, including potential problems in the casting and counting of votes, the Electoral College, and in the resolution of electoral disputes.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-experts-substantial-danger-democratic-stability.html

Friday 30 October 2020

Twitter shares sink as user growth slows

Twitter shares tumbled Thursday after the messaging platform's quarterly update showed a slowdown in user growth.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-twitter-user-growth.html

Facebook quarterly profit jumps despite ad boycott

Facebook's profit jumped in the recently-ended quarter as the leading social network benefitted from a rebounding online ad market despite a boycott, the company reported Thursday.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-facebook-quarterly-profit-ad-boycott.html

Apple iPhone sales tumble, trimming profit

Apple shares were sent reeling Thursday on word of a steep drop in sales of iPhones, which are at the heart of the tech titan's money-making engine.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-apple-iphone-sales-trimming-profit.html

Big Tech delivers strong profits amid pandemic, political scrutiny

Big Tech powerhouses Thursday delivered robust quarterly earnings reports, leveraging the needs of pandemic-hit consumers amid heightened scrutiny of their economic power.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-big-tech-strong-profits-pandemic.html

Australia bushfire inquiry warns 'compounding disasters' to come

Australians should be ready for "compounding" overlapping crises as they face more frequent, costly and severe climate change-worsened disasters, an inquiry into the nation's recent historic bushfires warned Friday.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-australia-bushfire-inquiry-compounding-disasters.html

JetBlue is the latest airline to retreat from blocking seats

The days of airlines blocking seats to make passengers feel safer about flying during the pandemic are coming closer to an end.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-jetblue-latest-airline-retreat-blocking.html

FBI warns ransomware assault threatens US health care system

Federal agencies warned that cybercriminals could hobbled all 250 U.S. facilities of the hospital chain Universal Health Services, forcing doctors and nurses to rely on paper and pencil for record-keeping and slowing lab work. Employees described chaotic conditions impeding patient care, including mounting emergency room waits and the failure of wireless vital-signs monitoring equipment.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-fbi-ransomware-assault-threatens-health.html

Thursday 29 October 2020

Black hole 'family portrait' is most detailed to date

An international research collaboration including Northwestern University astronomers has produced the most detailed family portrait of black holes to date, offering new clues as to how black holes form. An intense analysis of the most recent gravitational-wave data available led to the rich portrait as well as multiple tests of Einstein's theory of general relativity. (The theory passed each test.)

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-black-hole-family-portrait-date.html

Ford shares jump after strong 3Q profits

Ford reported a big jump in third-quarter profits Wednesday, pointing to strong sales in North America where large vehicles commanded generous prices amid tight inventories.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-ford-strong-3q-profits.html

Doubts about safety of Flint's water 6 years after crisis

Authorities say Flint's water meets federal safety guidelines, outperforming comparable cities. Residents remain unconvinced.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-safety-flint-years-crisis.html

Giant metallic 'steed' traverses Iceland's threatened glacier

Instead of a slow slog on snowshoes, a giant bus sweeps passengers at up to 60 kilometres an hour across Iceland's second largest glacier, which scientists predict will likely be nearly gone by the end of the century.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-giant-metallic-steed-traverses-iceland.html

Hurricane Zeta slams into Louisiana coast

Hurricane Zeta barreled through the southern United States as a Category 2 storm Wednesday, bringing dangerous winds and surging ocean waves as New Orleans residents were left without power.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-hurricane-zeta-slams-louisiana-coast.html

US authorities warn of 'imminent' cyber threat to hospitals

US security authorities warned Wednesday of an "imminent cybercrime threat" to hospitals and healthcare providers, urging them to increase their protection.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-authorities-imminent-cyber-threat-hospitals.html

Samsung Electronics Q3 net profit leaps after Huawei boost

Samsung Electronics' net profit jumped by almost half in the third quarter, it reported Thursday, as the South Korean giant's mobile and chip businesses were boosted by US sanctions against Chinese rival Huawei.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-samsung-electronicsq3-net-profit-huawei.html

Red coating contaminates SpaceX rockets, delays crew launch

SpaceX's second astronaut flight is off until mid-November because red lacquer dripped into tiny vent holes in two rocket engines that now must be replaced.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-red-coating-contaminates-spacex-rockets.html

Male fin whales surprise scientists by swapping songs

Until now, scientists believed the male fin whale sings just one song pattern, which is unique to the males in his particular group—but new research has blown this theory out of the water. The study, published in Frontiers in Marine Science, suggests that these endangered deep-sea giants actually sing multiple different songs, which may spread to different parts of the ocean through migrating individuals. Understanding the complexity of fin whale song provides new insights into how their populations move and change over time, helping efforts to better protect and manage the world's second largest mammal.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-male-fin-whales-scientists-swapping.html

Wednesday 28 October 2020

Zeta takes aim at a hurricane-weary Gulf Coast

Louisiana braced Wednesday for what is expected to be its third hurricane strike this year as Zeta, the 27th named storm of a historically busy Atlantic hurricane season, headed toward an expected landfall south of New Orleans.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-zeta-aim-hurricane-weary-gulf-coast.html

Sony first-half net profit doubles, forecast revised up

Japan's Sony on Wednesday reported net profit doubled in the April-September period and revised up its full-year net profit forecast, citing growth in key sectors—including gaming—and financial factors.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-sony-first-half-net-profit.html

US senators to quiz Big Tech CEOs on legal protections

Tech platform CEOs on Tuesday defended a US law making them immune from liability for third-party content ahead of a hearing where senators are expected to rebuke the Silicon Valley firms over their handling of social media.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-senators-quiz-big-tech-ceos.html

Europe to send modules, astronauts to NASA moon station

The European Space Agency says it has agreed to provide several modules for NASA's planned outpost around the moon, in return for a chance to send European astronauts to the lunar orbiter.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-europe-modules-astronauts-nasa-moon.html

Here's why Ant Group is about to shatter IPO records

Stella Su, who lives and works in Shanghai, has used an ATM only once in the past year. Instead of cash, in recent years she has done almost all her business using the digital wallet Alipay –- shopping in a mall, buying stuff online or transferring money to friends.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-ant-group-shatter-ipo.html

How computer scientists and marketers can create a better CX with AI

Researchers from Erasmus University, The Ohio State University, York University, and London Business School published a new paper in the Journal of Marketing that examines the tension between AI's benefits and costs and then offers recommendations to guide managers and scholars investigating these challenges.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-scientists-cx-ai.html

Reforestation plans in Africa could go awry

The state of mature ecosystems must be taken into account before launching massive reforestation plans in sub-Saharan Africa, according to geo-ecologist Julie Aleman, a visiting researcher in the geography department of Université de Montréal.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-reforestation-africa-awry.html

Coral researchers find link between bacterial genus and disease susceptibility

Corals that appear healthy are more prone to getting sick when they're home to too many parasitic bacteria, new research at Oregon State University shows.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-coral-link-bacterial-genus-disease.html

Mountain gorillas are good neighbours—up to a point

Mountain gorilla groups are friendly to familiar neighbours—provided they stay out of "core" parts of their territory—new research shows.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-mountain-gorillas-good-neighboursup.html

Tuesday 27 October 2020

Facebook content moderators call for better treatment

As Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg prepares to be grilled by a Senate committee about the handling of politically-charged posts, content moderators are insisting that properly valuing their work is key.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-facebook-content-moderators-treatment.html

NASA to launch delicate stowing of OSIRIS-REx asteroid samples

NASA's robotic spacecraft OSIRIS-REx is set to begin on Tuesday a delicate operation to store the precious particles it scooped up from the asteroid Bennu, but which were leaking into space when a flap got wedged open.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-nasa-delicate-stowing-osiris-rex-asteroid.html

Second-hand site Vinted happy to scare clothing retailers

With more than 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion) in sales last year on its platform and a new acquisition under its belt, second-hand clothes innovator Vinted believes it is starting to scare fashion retailers—for the good of the planet.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-second-hand-site-vinted-happy-retailers.html

With new tools, Facebook aims to avoid election fiasco repeat

Facebook is leveraging its vast resources to help protect the 2020 election against the kind of massive manipulation and disinformation efforts that the platform failed to act on in 2016.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-tools-facebook-aims-election-fiasco.html

3-D printing the first ever biomimetic tongue surface

Scientists have created synthetic soft surfaces with tongue-like textures for the first time using 3-D printing, opening new possibilities for testing oral processing properties of food, nutritional technologies, pharmaceutics and dry mouth therapies.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-d-biomimetic-tongue-surface.html

Phytoplasma effector proteins devastate host plants through molecular mimicry

Phytoplasma are a type of bacteria that live within the cells and cause devastating diseases with damaging effects. For example, in many cases plants infected with phytoplasma are no longer able to develop flowers. These plants have actually been described as "zombies," since they allow the reproduction of phytoplasma but are unable to reproduce themselves anymore. A group of biologists based at Friedrich Schiller University and the Fritz Lipmann Institute in Germany are working to help better understand exactly how phytoplasma cells bring about the so-called zombification of plants.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-phytoplasma-effector-proteins-devastate-host.html

Vampire bats social distance when they get sick

A new paper in Behavioral Ecology, published by Oxford University Press, finds that wild vampire bats that are sick spend less time near others from their community, which slows how quickly a disease will spread. The research team had previously seen this behavior in the lab, and used a field experiment to confirm it in the wild.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-vampire-social-distance-sick.html

Sunday 25 October 2020

Big week for Big Tech as earnings, hearings loom

Big Tech is bracing for a tumultuous week marked by quarterly results likely to show resilience despite the pandemic, and fresh attacks from lawmakers ahead of the November 3 election.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-big-week-tech-loom.html

Saturday 24 October 2020

Asteroid samples escaping from jammed NASA spacecraft

A NASA spacecraft is stuffed with so much asteroid rubble from this week's grab that it's jammed open and precious particles are drifting away in space, scientists said Friday.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-asteroid-samples-nasa-spacecraft.html

South America ravaged by unprecedented drought and fires

Under stress from a historic drought, large swathes of forest and wetlands in central South America known for their exceptional biodiversity have been ravaged by devastating fires.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-south-america-ravaged-unprecedented-drought.html

Galapagos sees record rise in penguins, flightless cormorants

The population of Galapagos penguins and flightless cormorants, two species endemic to the islands, has seen a record increase, study results released Friday showed.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-galapagos-penguins-flightless-cormorants.html

Friday 23 October 2020

Big data firm Palantir working with US on vaccine effort

Big data company Palantir is working with US health officials on a project to track the production and distribution of future COVID-19 vaccines.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-big-firm-palantir-vaccine-effort.html

Intel shares tumble as pandemic hits results

Computer chipmaker Intel saw shares slide Thursday after reporting weak sales for its data center and internet of things operations that overshadowed improvement in the personal computer market.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-intel-pandemic-results.html

Ultimate absentee ballot: US astronaut votes from space station

At least she didn't have to wait in line.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-ultimate-absentee-ballot-astronaut-votes.html

Hong Kong needs tougher laws to tackle wildlife crime say researchers

Hong Kong is thriving as a transnational wildlife smuggling hub because its laws are not strong enough to tackle organised crime running the lucrative trade, researchers said Friday.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-hong-kong-tougher-laws-tackle.html

Rust Belt upstart Lordstown Motors set to make Nasdaq debut

Could a new Tesla-like upstart be the savior of a once-mighty Ohio steel region ravaged by deindustrialization?

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-rust-belt-upstart-lordstown-motors.html

Huawei sales up, but growth slows under virus, US pressure

Chinese tech giant Huawei, one of the biggest makers of smartphones and switching equipment, said Friday its revenue rose 9.9% in the first nine months of this year, but growth decelerated in the face of U.S. sanctions and the coronavirus pandemic.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-huawei-sales-growth-virus-pressure.html

Tesla 'full self-driving' vehicles can't drive themselves

Earlier this week, Tesla sent out its "full self-driving" software to a small group of owners who will test it on public roads. But buried on its website is a disclaimer that the $8,000 system doesn't make the vehicles autonomous and drivers still have to supervise it.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-tesla-full-self-driving-vehicles.html

Thursday 22 October 2020

Wildfires can cause dangerous debris flows

Wildfires don't stop being dangerous after the flames go out. Even one modest rainfall after a fire can cause a deadly landslide, according to new UC Riverside research.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-wildfires-dangerous-debris.html

Grafting with epigenetically-modified rootstock yields surprise

Novel grafted plants—consisting of rootstock epigenetically modified to "believe" it has been under stress—joined to an unmodified scion, or above-ground shoot, give rise to progeny that are more vigorous, productive and resilient than the parental plants.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-grafting-epigenetically-modified-rootstock-yields.html

Airbnb partners with ex-Apple design star Jony Ive

Airbnb has hired former Apple design chief Jony Ive to work on showcasing the homesharing platform's forthcoming products, it announced Wednesday.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-airbnb-partners-ex-apple-star-jony.html

Short-video app Quibi shutting down just months after launch

Short-video app Quibi said it is shutting down just six months after its early April launch, having struggled to find customers.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-short-video-app-quibi-months.html

NASA spacecraft sent asteroid rubble flying in sample grab

NASA's Osiris-Rex spacecraft crushed rocks and sent rubble flying as it briefly touched an asteroid, a strong indication that samples were collected for return to Earth, officials said Wednesday.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-nasa-spacecraft-asteroid-rubble-sample.html

Tesla posts net profit for fifth straight quarter

Tesla charged through a summertime auto industry sales slump in the U.S. to post stronger-than-expected net earnings for the third quarter.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-tesla-net-profit-straight-quarter.html

In Dubai, oil-rich UAE sees a new wonder: A coal power plant

A new wonder is rising in the southern desert of Dubai against the backdrop of Persian Gulf beaches, but it's not another skyscraper to grace the futuristic sheikhdom. Instead, it's one of mankind's oldest power sources gaining its own space on the oil-rich Arabian Peninsula—a coal-fired power plant.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-dubai-oil-rich-uae-coal-power.html

Trio who lived on space station return to Earth safely

A trio of space travelers safely returned to Earth on Thursday after a six-month mission on the International Space Station.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-trio-space-station-earth-safely.html

New approach could lead to designed plastics with specific properties

Imagine a plastic bag that can carry home your groceries, then quickly degrade, without harming the environment. Or a super-strong, lightweight plastic for airplanes, rockets, and satellites that can replace traditional structural metals in aerospace technologies.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-approach-plastics-specific-properties.html

Wednesday 21 October 2020

Ice loss likely to continue in Antarctica

A new international study led by Monash University climate scientists has revealed that ice loss in Antarctica persisted for many centuries after it was initiated and is expected to continue.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-ice-loss-antarctica.html

Tuesday 20 October 2020

To grow or not to grow: How do plants know when the environment is suitable for growth and when it is not?

Plants use photosynthesis to convert sunlight, water and carbon dioxide to the sugars they need to grow and that ultimately feed our planet. Water is also essential for transporting nutrients from the soil and for providing rigidity to the tissues (turgor) so the plant can remain upright. Lack of water leads to drought and ultimately to plant death. Being such an essential factor, plants have developed mechanisms to monitor water availability in the soil and to communicate this information to distant tissues to induce appropriate adaptive responses. When water is scarce, the phytohormone abscisic acid is produced, inducing a very rapid closure of the pores in the leaves (stomata) to prevent water loss through transpiration. In addition, growth of most organs stops, so that resources can instead be used in protective measures. Until now how the lack of water resulted in growth arrest remained largely unknown.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-environment-suitable-growth.html

Early adolescence central to gender inequality in Asia-Pacific

Early adolescence is where gender inequalities most markedly emerge according to new research led by Burnet Institute and funded by UNICEF.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-early-adolescence-central-gender-inequality.html

Energy scavenging nanogenerator finds power all around us

Imagine a mobile phone charger that doesn't need a wireless or mains power source. Or a pacemaker with inbuilt organic energy sources within the human body.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-energy-scavenging-nanogenerator-power.html

Upgrades yield increased cryogenic power at Large Hadron Collider

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is one of the coldest places on Earth. The 1.9 K (-271.3 °C) operating temperature of its main magnets is even lower than the 2.7 K (-270.5 °C) of outer space. To get the LHC to this temperature, 120 tons of liquid helium flow around a closed circuit in the veins of the accelerator.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-yield-cryogenic-power-large-hadron.html

Q&A: What touching an asteroid can teach us

The University of Arizona-led OSIRIS-REx mission will make NASA's first attempt at collecting a sample from an asteroid on Oct. 20. The sample, which will be returned to Earth in 2023, has the potential to shed light on the origins of life and the solar system.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-qa-asteroid.html

New combustion models improve efficiency and accuracy

Researchers at Princeton University have developed a new model that will allow engineers to accurately predict the characteristics of combustion processes with far less computing power than previously needed. The new model breaks a long-standing trade-off between models that are efficient but narrowly useful and models that are more general but computationally expensive.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-combustion-efficiency-accuracy.html

Mathematical model to objectively analyzes the appeal of games

Games and the very act of playing have been around since before the cradle of human civilization. However, games have constantly evolved over time, with various rule sets and modes of play falling in and out of favor throughout history. In turn, this implies that people at different times enjoyed different aspects of each game, which may constitute a vivid reflection of the cultural tendencies of each era. Unfortunately, the attractiveness of games is tied to human psychology, and finding objective evidence in topics related to the realm of the human mind is a difficult task. Could there possibly be a way to quantify universal characteristics of games so as to put them under rigorous mathematical analysis?

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-mathematical-appeal-games.html

New method can help industry choose the best location for production

Despite the recent trend toward increased sustainability and the development of new sustainable ways of working, there is more to do when it comes to decisions about manufacturing and location. Today's fragmented supply chains, with suppliers at several levels and different production sites, have led to reduced traceability and difficulties in ensuring the supply chain's economic, environmental, and social sustainability.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-method-industry-production.html

Asian Americans more affected by pandemic-related unemployment than any other racial group

While the lockdown associated with COVID-19 has negatively affected people from all walks of life, one U.S. minority group is bearing the brunt of unemployment.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-asian-americans-affected-pandemic-related-unemployment.html

Experts: Artificial intelligence provides students more individualized teaching

There is constant discussion of using artificial intelligence and learning analytics to support teaching. New digital methods, platforms and tools are being introduced more and more, and the opportunities created by the development of artificial intelligence are to be harnessed to enhance teaching and provide students with increasingly individualized teaching. Jiri Lallimo (Project Manager, Teacher Services), Ville Kivimäki (Expert, Dean's Unit, School of Engineering), Thomas Bergström (Expert, IT Services) and Juha Martikainen (Systems Specialist, IT Services) from Aalto University have been studying the issue.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-experts-artificial-intelligence-students-individualized.html

Novel medical imaging approach unlocks potential for improved diagnoses and interventions

Researchers from Helmholtz Zentrum München and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), jointly developed new imaging tools to allow non-invasive imaging of distinct structures, like blood vessels, in multicolor and in real-time. The new imaging system is based on an approach widely used in other industries and allows the monitoring of multiple parameters (multiplexing)—a technical challenge which could disrupt future clinical imaging applications.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-medical-imaging-approach-potential-interventions.html

Highly selective membranes: Researchers discover how water can affect its own filtration

Membranes with microscopic pores are useful for water filtration. The effect of pore size on water filtration is well-understood, as is the role of ions, charged atoms that interact with the membrane. For the first time, researchers have successfully described the impact water molecules have on other water molecules and on ions as part of the filtration mechanism. The researchers detail a feedback system between water molecules that opens up new design possibilities for highly selective membranes. Applications could include virus filters.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-highly-membranes-affect-filtration.html

London Heathrow unveils rapid pre-flight virus tests

London's Heathrow airport on Tuesday began to roll out paid-for rapid coronavirus testing, with results in one hour, as it seeks to boost demand decimated by the deadly pandemic.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-london-heathrow-unveils-rapid-pre-flight.html

NATO to set up new space center amid China, Russia concerns

To a few of the locals, the top-secret, fenced-off installation on the hill is known as "the radar station." Some folks claim to have seen mysterious Russians in the area. Over the years, rumors have swirled that it might be a base for U.S. nuclear warheads.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-nato-space-center-china-russia.html

Monday 19 October 2020

New theory on the origin of dark matter

A recent study from the University of Melbourne proposes a new theory for the origin of dark matter, helping experimentalists in Australia and abroad in the search for the mysterious new matter.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-theory-dark.html

Researchers discover how a small molecule is the key to HIV forming capsules

A group of University of Chicago scientists announced a groundbreaking study that explores the role of a small molecule, called IP6, in building the HIV-1 virus capsid.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-small-molecule-key-hiv-capsules.html

Researcher uncovers evidence of earliest known dairy production in India

In the fertile river valley along the border of modern-day India and Pakistan, the Indus Valley Civilization built some of the largest cities in the ancient world. Feeding such a large population would have been a significant challenge. New research from Kalyan Sekhar Chakraborty reveals one of the ways the civilization was able to sustain so many people. The postdoctoral researcher at the University of Toronto Mississauga has shown that dairy was being produced as far back as 2500 BCE. It is the earliest known dairy production in India, and could have helped produce the type of food surplus needed for trade.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-uncovers-evidence-earliest-dairy-production.html

Coral time machines reveal ancient carbon dioxide burps

The fossilized remains of ancient deep-sea corals may act as time machines providing new insights into the effect the ocean has on rising CO2 levels, according to research carried out by the Universities of St Andrews, Bristol and Nanjing.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-coral-machines-reveal-ancient-carbon.html

Messier 85 has a peculiar globular cluster system, study finds

Astronomers have conducted a study of stellar population and kinematics of globular clusters (GCs) in the galaxy Messier 85, and found that this galaxy hosts a peculiar globular cluster system. The finding is reported in a paper published October 6 on the arXiv pre-print repository.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-messier-peculiar-globular-cluster.html

Researchers create a new 'green' engine for lorries

Researchers from the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV) have designed a new engine to decrease the environmental impact of the most common type of lorries that travel on European roads—those that weigh between 18 and 25 tons. From their laboratories at the CMT-Thermal Engines of the UPV, they propose a new configuration that unites all the benefits of hybrid and dual-fuel combustion engines.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-green-lorries.html

High-confidence approach for artificial intelligence-based models

They call it artificial intelligence—not because the intelligence is somehow fake. It's real intelligence, but it's still made by humans. That means AI—a power tool that can add speed, efficiency, insight and accuracy to a researcher's work—has many limitations.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-high-confidence-approach-artificial-intelligence-based.html

Researchers develop small animal PET scanner with high spatial resolution and high sensitivity

Positron emission tomography (PET) is an important tool for studying the animal model of human diseases and the development of new drugs and new therapies.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-small-animal-pet-scanner-high.html

Earth observation instruments pass review

As part of the atmospheric environment monitoring satellite (DQ-1) programs, the Environmental Trace Gas Monitoring Instrument (EMI-II) and Particulate Observing Scanning Polarization (POSP) passed the delivery acceptance review on science island of Hefei, Anhui province last month.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-earth-instruments.html

Researchers develop magnetically switchable mechano-chemotherapy to overcome tumor drug resistance

Prof. Wu Aiguo's team at the Cixi Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering (NIMTE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) developed a novel therapeutic method termed mechano-chemotherapy, which can efficiently overcome tumor drug resistance. The study was published in Nano Today.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-magnetically-switchable-mechano-chemotherapy-tumor-drug.html

Sunday 18 October 2020

Amid e-commerce boom, anti-Amazon Shopify takes flight

The pandemic has forced businesses worldwide to pivot online to survive, and many have turned to Shopify, a Canadian company that has emerged as a thriving alternative to Amazon.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-e-commerce-boom-anti-amazon-shopify-flight.html

Contractors or employees? Uber drivers split ahead of California vote

Ahead of a referendum that could upend the whole gig economy, Uber driver Karim Benkanoun says his relationship with the rideshare giant must stop being a one-way street.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-contractors-employees-uber-drivers-california.html

Singapore's world-first face scan plan sparks privacy fears

Singapore will become the world's first country to use facial verification in its national ID scheme, but privacy advocates are alarmed by what they say is an intrusive system vulnerable to abuse.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-singapore-world-first-scan-privacy.html

Airlines face tough winter as hoped-for pick-up fails to materialise

Airlines face a long, hard winter after a much hoped for rebound from the coronavirus crisis failed to materialise, prompting savage cost cutting programmes and fresh calls for government support.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-airlines-tough-winter-hoped-for-pick-up.html

China passes export law protecting national security, covering tech

China has passed a new law restricting sensitive exports to protect national security, a move that adds to policy tools it could wield against the US as tensions—especially in technology—continue to rise.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-china-export-law-national-tech.html

Saturday 17 October 2020

Engineers' report bolsters proposed Mississippi pump project

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Friday published a draft of a new environmental impact statement that supports a proposal for massive pumps to drain floodwaters from parts of the rural Mississippi Delta—a reversal of a previous federal report that said the project would hurt wetlands.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-bolsters-mississippi.html

'Classified knots': Researchers create optical framed knots to encode information

In a world first, researchers from the University of Ottawa in collaboration with Israeli scientists have been able to create optical framed knots in the laboratory that could potentially be applied in modern technologies. Their work opens the door to new methods of distributing secret cryptographic keys—used to encrypt and decrypt data, ensure secure communication and protect private information. The group recently published their findings in Nature Communications.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-optical-encode.html

Friday 16 October 2020

Supergene discovery leads to new knowledge of fire ants

A unique study conducted by University of Georgia entomologists led to the discovery of a distinctive supergene in fire ant colonies that determines whether young queen ants will leave their birth colony to start their own new colony or if they will join one with multiple queens.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-supergene-discovery-knowledge-ants.html

Researchers find diverse communities comprise bacterial mats threatening coral reefs

Researchers are learning more about the brightly colored bacterial mats threatening the ecological health of coral reefs worldwide. In new research released this month, a Florida State University team revealed that these mats are more complex than scientists previously knew, opening the door for many questions about how to best protect reef ecosystems in the future.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-diverse-comprise-bacterial-mats-threatening.html

More US Adults want the government to have a bigger role in improving peoples' lives than before the pandemic

The share of U.S. adults who support an active government role in society increased by more than 40 percent during the initial pandemic response—up from 24 percent in September 2019 to 34 percent in April 2020—according to a new national public opinion survey conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Johns Hopkins University SNF Agora Institute.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-adults-bigger-role-peoples-pandemic.html

History shows that societies collapse when leaders undermine social contracts

All good things must come to an end. Whether societies are ruled by ruthless dictators or more well-meaning representatives, they fall apart in time, with different degrees of severity. In a new paper, anthropologists examined a broad, global sample of 30 pre-modern societies. They found that when "good" governments—ones that provided goods and services for their people and did not starkly concentrate wealth and power—fell apart, they broke down more intensely than collapsing despotic regimes. And the researchers found a common thread in the collapse of good governments: leaders who undermined and broke from upholding core societal principles, morals, and ideals.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-history-societies-collapse-leaders-undermine.html

Supergiant star Betelgeuse smaller, closer than first thought

It may be another 100,000 years until the giant red star Betelgeuse dies in a fiery explosion, according to a new study by an international team of researchers.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-supergiant-star-betelgeuse-smaller-closer.html

Tuesday 13 October 2020

Machine learning model helps characterize compounds for drug discovery

Tandem mass spectrometry is a powerful analytical tool used to characterize complex mixtures in drug discovery and other fields.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-machine-characterize-compounds-drug-discovery.html

Scientists shed new light on viruses' role in coral bleaching

Scientists at Oregon State University have shown that viral infection is involved in coral bleaching—the breakdown of the symbiotic relationship between corals and the algae they rely on for energy.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-scientists-viruses-role-coral.html

The Great Barrier Reef has lost half its corals

A new study of the Great Barrier Reef shows populations of its small, medium and large corals have all declined in the past three decades.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-great-barrier-reef-lost-corals.html

Monday 12 October 2020

Hunting for unicorns: Japan start-ups see hope on horizon

Hampered by cautious investors and a rigid corporate culture, Japan has produced just a handful of major start-ups. But there are signs that could be changing, industry insiders say.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-unicorns-japan-start-ups-horizon.html

Microsoft targets malware vendor Trickbot amid US election fears

Microsoft said Monday it had taken down malware vendor Trickbot in an effort to thwart attempts to meddle with the upcoming US presidential election.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-microsoft-malware-vendor-trickbot-election.html

Disney revamps itself to emphasize streaming

Disney announced Monday a reorganization of its media and entertainment business that aims to further boost its streaming service, which has boomed during the coronavirus pandemic.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-disney-reorg-bolster-company-focus.html

Virus crisis an opportunity to reshape climate reponse: IEA

Only massive investment in clean energy can help overcome the economic crisis caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic while setting the world on a path to meeting its objectives to slow climate change, the International Energy Agency said Tuesday.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-virus-crisis-opportunity-reshape-climate.html

Sunday 11 October 2020

Campaigns sidestep Cambridge Analytica crackdown with new methods

"Your early vote has not been recorded," one text message said, with a link for more information.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-campaigns-sidestep-cambridge-analytica-crackdown.html

5G iPhone expected to star at Apple event

Apple is expected on Tuesday to unveil a keenly anticipated iPhone 12 line-up starring models tuned to super-fast new 5G telecom networks in an update considered vital to the company's fortunes.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-5g-iphone-star-apple-event.html

Airline industry official defends response to pandemic

The airline industry has been shaken to its core by the pandemic, pushing some foreign carriers into bankruptcy and driving a few small U.S. ones out of business.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-airline-industry-defends-response-pandemic.html

Saturday 10 October 2020

Hurricane Delta roars ashore on storm-battered US southern coast

Hurricane Delta has made landfall on the Louisiana coast, packing ferocious winds and a "life-threatening" storm surge—and driving out residents still rebuilding from a devastating storm less than two months ago.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-hurricane-delta-roars-ashore-storm-battered.html

Hurricane Delta roars ashore on storm-battered US southern coast

Friday 9 October 2020

Experts: Warming makes Delta, other storms power up faster

Hurricane Delta, gaining strength as it bears down on the U.S. Gulf Coast, is the latest and nastiest in a recent flurry of rapidly intensifying Atlantic hurricanes that scientists largely blame on global warming.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-experts-delta-storms-power-faster.html

Thursday 8 October 2020

Symptoms of COVID-19 are a poor marker of infection, new UK population study shows

86% of UK residents who tested positive for COVID-19 during lockdown did not have the specific virus symptoms (cough, and/or fever, and/or loss of taste/smell), finds a new study by UCL researchers. The authors say a more widespread testing programme is needed to catch 'silent' transmission and reduce future outbreaks.

Sunday 12 July 2020

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source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/nail-care-manicure-and-pedicure/36w-220v-uv-ozone-double-sterilization-disinfection-lamp-living-room-toilet-1

Thursday 2 July 2020

Surge in domestic child abuse during pandemic, reports specialist UK children's hospital

There has been a surge in domestic child abuse during the coronavirus pandemic, suggests the experience of one specialist UK children's hospital, reported in Archives of Disease in Childhood.