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Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for January 20, 2020:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
Astronomy & Space news
 | BSNIP project releases spectra of more than 200 Type Ia supernovaeThe Berkeley Supernova Ia Program (BSNIP) has released a dataset containing over 600 spectra of 242 Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia). The new data release, available for astronomers worldwide, was presented in a paper published January 9 on the arXiv pre-print repository. |
 | Rough seas delay escape test for SpaceX crew capsuleRough seas prompted SpaceX on Saturday to delay the emergency escape test of its new crew capsule by a day. |
 | SpaceX launches, destroys rocket in astronaut escape testSpaceX completed the last big test of its crew capsule before launching astronauts in the next few months, mimicking an emergency escape shortly after liftoff Sunday. |
 | Heat wave signals the growth of a stellar embryoAn international research team with the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA) participating has detected a propagating heat wave near a massive protostar. It confirms the scenario that such objects grow in bursts. This wave became visible by observing naturally generated microwave lasers, whose spatial arrangement changed unexpectedly rapid. |
 | ESA opens oxygen plant, making air out of moondustESA's technical heart has begun to produce oxygen out of simulated moondust. |
 | First results from the Dark Energy SurveyThe Dark Energy Survey (DES) program uses the patterns of cosmic structure as seen in the spatial distribution of hundreds of millions of galaxies to reveal the nature of "dark energy," the source of cosmic acceleration. Since it began in 2013, DES has mapped over 10 percent of the sky with a digital camera containing 570 million pixels and five optical filters that provide galaxy colors to estimates redshift distances. CfA astronomers are part of a team of over 400 scientists in seven countries working on DES, and last year it released the first set of data. |
 | No astrovans for SpaceX, crews riding to rockets in TeslasAstronauts launched by SpaceX in coming months will ride to their rockets in high fashion. Instead of using a retro-style astrovan, SpaceX crews will travel to the launch pad in Tesla sports cars. |
 | SpaceX in 'perfect' test of Crew Dragon emergency abort systemSpaceX successfully tested its emergency abort system on an unmanned spacecraft moments after launch Sunday, according to a live broadcast of the event, the last major test before it plans to send NASA astronauts to the International Space Station. |
 | A brain transplant for one of Australia's top telescopesOne of Australia's top telescopes will receive an A$2.6 million upgrade to help extend its three-decade record of improving our understanding of the universe. |
 | Spacewalking astronauts wrap up battery improvements (Update)A pair of spacewalking astronauts successfully wrapped up battery improvements outside the International Space Station on Monday, completing a job begun last fall. |
 | Image: The sun in 2019The changing activity of our sun as seen by ESA's Proba-2 satellite in 2019. |
 | Iran says it is preparing for satellite launchIran said Sunday that two newly constructed satellites have passed pre-launch tests and will be transported to the nation's space center for eventual launch, without elaborating. |
Technology news
 | M-Hubo: A wheeled humanoid robot to assist humans with simple daily tasksResearchers worldwide are now training robotic agents to assist humans in a variety of manual tasks, including cooking and moving objects. While many of these robots have achieved promising results, most of them are still unable to complete the tasks assigned to them as quickly as a human being would. |
 | New organic-metal oxide transistors with high operational stabilityMetal oxide thin-film transistors (TFTs), which are built by depositing thin films of an active metal oxide-based semiconducting material on a supporting substrate, have become widely used over the past few years, particularly in organic light-emitting diode displays. Most commercially available devices incorporating these transistors currently rely on metal oxides processed using physical vapor deposition techniques. |
 | Gradient Li-rich oxide cathode particles for batteries with minimum oxygen releaseLithium-rich transition metal oxide (Li1+XM1-XO2) cathodes have potential for use in Li-ion batteries, powering electronic devices and electric vehicles. These cathodes have a high energy density, typically above 900 Wh kg-1, yet they currently also come with significant limitations. |
 | Could your car seat trick brain with walk feels?What's this? The long-time complaint you have of having to sit in cars during long hours in grueling commutes can be dropped, at least in part. Jaguar Land Rover believes that they will give you a way to trick your body into thinking it is walking. |
 | 'Universal memory' research passes new milestonePhysicists at Lancaster University have demonstrated that their invention of a new type of memory device could transform the way computers, smartphones and other gadgets work. |
 | Mapping a path to more equitable housingFor the sixth consecutive year, Carnegie Mellon University's EarthTime platform will help leaders at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, visualize data on global challenges such as climate change, poverty and mental health. |
 | Filipinos turn volcano's ash, plastic trash into bricksAsh spewed by a Philippine volcano is being mixed with plastic waste to make bricks in an inventive response to the country's persistent problems of pollution and frequent natural disasters. |
 | Toyota shifts Tacoma pickup assembly from US to MexicoToyota on Friday said it was moving assembly operations for its popular Tacoma pickups from the United States to Mexico but pledged that no US jobs would be affected. |
 | IT happens: Facebook sorry for Xi Jinping's name gaffeFacebook apologised Saturday for a distasteful mistranslation of Chinese President Xi Jinping's name from Burmese language posts during his much-touted visit to Myanmar. |
 | Qatar signs $470 mn solar dealGas-rich Qatar signed a $470-million deal on Sunday to build its first solar energy plant, capable of meeting up to one-tenth of peak national power demand. |
 | UK looks to offshore wind for green energy transitionBritain, a global leader in offshore wind energy, plans to make the sector one of the pillars of its transition to carbon neutrality in the coming decades. |
 | The Red Cross is teaching Fortnite players to save, not take, livesTeaching online video game players to save lives, not take them—that is the aim of a new product developed in an unusual collaboration between the creators of the wildly popular Fortnite games and the International Committee of the Red Cross. |
 | Google chief urges 'proportionate' AI regulationAs the EU puts the digital revolution at the heart of policymaking it should take a "proportional approach" to regulating artificial intelligence, Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google said Monday. |
 | Nuclear waste could be recycled for diamond battery powerA team of physicists and chemists from the University of Bristol hope to recycle radioactive material directly from a former nuclear power plant in Gloucestershire to generate ultra-long-lasting power sources. |
 | Will an Apple iPhone 12 with 5G finally get you to upgrade?Many of you haven't felt compelled to update your iPhone or other smartphone lately. |
 | France, US agree to extend digital tax row talks: French diplomatEmmanuel Macron and Donald Trump have agreed to extend negotiations on a dispute over a French tax on digital giants to the end of the year, postponing Washington's threat of sanctions against Paris, a French diplomatic source said Monday. |
 | Securing radiological sources on the goRadioactive materials are a critical tool in a number of industrial applications particularly oil and gas drilling and welding. While these sources are safe and well-regulated for their intended use; if lost or stolen the materials could be used by terrorists to make dirty bombs. The Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory developed and licensed a technology system to keep track of and secure radiological material on the road or at job sites. Golden Security Services of Miami, Florida, will produce and deploy the Mobile Source Transit Security, or MSTS system, starting at several sites in Latin America. |
Medicine & Health news
 | New tumor-driving mutations discovered in the under-explored regions of the cancer genomeIn an unprecedented pan-cancer analysis of whole genomes, researchers at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR) have discovered new regions of non-coding DNA that, when altered, may lead to cancer growth and progression. |
 | Dozens of non-oncology drugs can kill cancer cellsDrugs for diabetes, inflammation, alcoholism—and even for treating arthritis in dogs—can also kill cancer cells in the lab, according to a study by scientists at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The researchers systematically analyzed thousands of already developed drug compounds and found nearly 50 that have previously unrecognized anti-cancer activity. The surprising findings, which also revealed novel drug mechanisms and targets, suggest a possible way to accelerate the development of new cancer drugs or repurpose existing drugs to treat cancer. |
 | New technique predicts which melanoma patients are at risk for cancer recurrence, spreadFor most patients, melanoma begins with a small, pigmented spot on their skin that they notice starts to change. Many primary melanomas can be cured by having this lesion removed, but melanoma can also recur and spread; an analysis of the removed lesion can offer some information on the likelihood that the cancer will come back. Today, lesions are analyzed in much the same way that they were 100 years ago. Despite advances in molecular diagnostics for other forms of cancer, analysis of a skin cancer lesion is surprisingly simplistic. The lesion's thickness—patients with thinner melanomas tend to do better—and microscopic features, such as ulcerations, are considered, and a T stage of 1 through 4 is assigned. In a paper published in Nature Cancer, investigators from Brigham and Women's Hospital, in collaboration with international colleagues, present a new, quantitative technique that leverages DNA sequencing to make more sophisticated and accurate predictions about which primary melanomas are likely to recur and spread. |
 | Infants integrate firsthand and social experiences to decide when and how to tryThey might not yet speak in complete sentences, but 18-month-olds are savvy when it comes to deciding when and how to try. |
 | Refining breast cancer classification by multiplexed imagingAn imaging approach developed at UZH enables the study of breast cancer tissue in greater detail. It uses 35 biomarkers to identify the different cell types in breast tumors and its surrounding area compared to the current standard of testing single markers. This increases the precision of tumor analysis and classification—and improves personalized diagnostics for breast cancer patients. |
 | Exercise boosts memory like caffeineBrisk walks—even as short as 20 minutes—can provide your working memory just as much pep as that morning cup of coffee. In fact, that same recent study showed, that exercise may also reduce the negative effects of caffeine withdrawal like headaches, fatigue and crankiness. |
 | Magnetized molecules used to monitor breast cancerA new type of scan that involves magnetising molecules allows doctors to see in real-time which regions of a breast tumour are active, according to research funded by Cancer Research UK and published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences today (Monday). |
 | New research confirms lingering mood benefit of psychedelicsPeople who had recently used psychedelics such as psilocybin report a sustained improvement in mood and feeling closer to others after the high has worn off, shows a new Yale study published the week of Jan. 20 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. |
 | New research could reduce the risk of sudden cardiac deathAround 26 million people worldwide suffer from heart failure, with more than 50 per cent dying suddenly most likely due to the spontaneous onset of a heart rhythm problem, known as an arrhythmia. The link between the electrical signal that triggers the heart cell to contract (action potential) and consequent ability of the heart to pump blood has been known for nearly 40 years but understanding how and why the heart's electrical rhythm becomes disturbed has remained a major research problem. New research has shown that by changing the time course of voltage change early in action potential it is possible to both withhold a potentially lethal electrical disturbance and improve the strength of cardiac contraction in heart failure at the same time. |
 | Scientists shed light on surprising visual development patternsLong before a baby opens its eyes for the first time, the brain is ready to start decoding visual stimuli. |
 | Look what's inside: Full-body movies from EXPLORER scannerPositron Emission Tomography, or PET scanning, a technique for tracing metabolic processes in the body, has been widely applied in clinical diagnosis and research spanning physiology, biochemistry and pharmacology. Now researchers at the University of California, Davis and Fudan University, Shanghai have shown how to use an advanced reconstruction method with an ultrasensitive total-body PET scanner to capture real-time videos of blood flow and heart function. The work paves the way for looking at the function of multiple organs, such as the brain and heart, at the same time. The researchers published their findings Jan. 20 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. |
 | Brush cells in the nose found to secrete proinflammatory lipidsA team of researchers working at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School has found evidence of brush cells in the mouse nose secreting proinflammatory lipids. In their paper published in the journal Science Immunology, the group describes their study of chemical-sensing cells in the noses of mice and what they learned about them. |
 | Isolating the biochemical steps that culminate in pyroptosis during CAR-T treatmentA team of researchers affiliated with several institutions in China has isolated the biochemical steps that culminate in pyroptosis during CAR-T treatment. In their paper published in the journal Science Immunology, the group describes their study of modified immune cells used in treating leukemia and what they found. |
 | China confirms human-to-human transmission as WHO emergency group meets (Update)A SARS-like virus that has spread across China and reached three other Asian nations is contagious between humans, a government expert said Monday, and the World Health Organization announced that a key emergency committee would meet this week to discuss the infections. |
 | Fewer than half of US clinical trials have complied with the law on reporting results, despite new regulationsJanuary 2020 is the third anniversary of the implementation of the new US regulations that require clinical trials to report results within one year of completion (Final Rule of the FDA Amendments Act)—but compliance remains poor, and is not improving, with US Government sponsored trials most likely to breach. |
 | Scurvy is still a thing in CanadaScurvy, the debilitating condition remembered as a disease of pirates, is still found in Canada. |
 | Experts warn over scale of China virus as US airports start screeningThe true scale of the outbreak of a mysterious SARS-like virus in China is likely far bigger than officially reported, scientists have warned, as countries ramp up measures to prevent the disease from spreading. |
US court slashes $8 bn Johnson & Johnson damages over drug side effectA Pennsylvania court on Friday slashed an $8 billion ruling against US pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson, imposed by a jury because the company failed to warn that a psychiatric drug could cause breast growth in men. | |
| China reports 17 new cases of mystery virusChina reported 17 new cases of the mysterious SARS-like virus on Sunday, including three people in serious condition, heightening fears ahead of China's Lunar New Year holiday when hundreds of millions of people move around the country. |
 | People with inadequate access to food 10% to 37% more likely to die prematurelyAdults with food insecurity (i.e., inadequate access to food because of financial constraints) are 10% to 37% more likely to die prematurely from any cause other than cancer compared to food-secure people, found new research in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). |
 | Nearly 9 in 10 parents say teens spend too much time gamingEighty-six percent of parents agree that teens spend too much time gaming, but many may be mistaken about the extent of their own child's video game habits, a new national poll suggests. |
Prolonged breath-holding could help radiotherapy treatment of cardiac arrhythmiasA technique that enables patients suffering from heart conditions to hold their breath safely for over 5 minutes could have potential as part of a new treatment for cardiac arrhythmias, say researchers at the University of Birmingham. | |
 | Premature menopause increases the risk of multiple health problems in your 60sWomen who experience premature menopause are almost three times more likely to develop multiple, chronic medical problems in their 60s compared to women who went through the menopause at the age of 50 or 51. |
 | Racial disparities in drug prescriptions for dementiaDisparities in drug prescribing suggest that black and Asian people with dementia are not receiving the same quality of care as their white peers, according to a new UCL-led study in the UK. |
 | Becoming less active and gaining weight: Downsides of becoming an adultLeaving school and getting a job both lead to a drop in the amount of physical activity, while becoming a mother is linked to increased weight gain, conclude two reviews published today and led by researchers at the University of Cambridge. |
 | China counts sharp rise in coronavirus cases, 2 in BeijingChina reported Monday a sharp rise in the number of people infected with a new coronavirus, including the first cases in the capital. The outbreak coincides with the country's busiest travel period, as millions board trains and planes for the Lunar New Year holidays. |
S. Korea confirms first case of SARS-like virus from ChinaSouth Korea on Monday confirmed its first case of the SARS-like virus that is spreading in China, as concerns mount about a wider outbreak. | |
 | Rapid gene signature test could diagnose serious conditions within two hoursA rapid test to diagnose severe illnesses such as sepsis and meningitis, using personalized gene signatures, is being developed by an international team of scientists. |
 | Big gains in bone marrow transplant survival since mid-2000sA bone marrow transplant can be a lifesaving treatment, but it can come with life-threatening risks. |
 | Air pollution's tiny particles may trigger nonfatal heart attacksA Yale-affiliated scientist finds that even a few hours' exposure to ambient ultrafine particles common in air pollution may potentially trigger a nonfatal heart attack. |
 | New clues in understanding how to prevent food allergies by breastfeedingBreastfeeding mothers may be encouraged to eat eggs to help prevent babies from developing an egg allergy, according to new studies by researchers at The University of Western Australia. |
 | How diarrhea pathogens switch into attack mode at body temperatureMany bacterial pathogens excrete toxins as soon as they have entered the host in order to suppress its immune response. Researchers at Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) have analyzed what happens on the molecular level when the diarrhea pathogen Yersinia pseudotuberculosis switches into attack mode. To this end, they examined so-called RNA thermometers, which signal to the bacteria whether they are in the host. In collaboration with colleagues from the Helmholtz Institute for Infection Research in Braunschweig, they also showed that bacteria with deactivated RNA thermometers can no longer trigger an infection. The journal Plos Pathogens reports about the study. |
 | Using robotics technology to fight breast cancerVincent Groenhuis, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Twente, has spent the past four years working on the fight against breast cancer. Using various prototypes of 3-D-printed biopsy robots, he has been able to develop methods which alleviate the suffering of patients and make breast cancer testing more accurate and efficient. Vincent Groenhuis was awarded his Ph.D. cum laude on 9 January. But for him, the work does not stop here. |
 | Tooth decay in children: Is it time to put the needle and drill away?Nearly half of all British adults and just over one in five Australian adults fear the dentist. Research shows that having dental treatment as a child is a common reason for this fear in adulthood. This is not surprising given that most children's experience of the dentist involves injections followed by drilling. And who can forget the sound of a dentist's drill? |
 | Why many children with autism have oral health problemsThe World Health Organisation estimates that one in 160 children around the world has an autism spectrum disorder. Autism is a condition related to the development of the brain and is usually noticeable by the time a child is three years old. Statistics aren't available for any African country, so researchers like me in South Africa are using international prevalence rates. |
 | Treatment of pain is a challenge in Alzheimer's diseasehe treatment and management of pain in people with Alzheimer's disease (AD) can be a challenge due to problems in communication and uncommon symptoms of pain. Opioid painkillers are widely prescribed, but not without adverse effects. |
 | Walking to school is not enough to prevent obesityMore children are overweight or obese nowadays because they don't get enough exercise, it is often claimed. One of the UK government's goals in the Childhood Obesity Plan is to increase the number of children who walk to school. Walking is certainly healthy, but is it enough to combat childhood obesity? Our latest study suggests it isn't. |
 | No smoking four weeks before operation cuts risks: WHOPatients who stop smoking at least four weeks before an operation significantly reduce the risk of having postsurgical complications because their blood flow improves, according to a study published Monday. |
Chinese travellers unfazed as SARS-like virus spreadsAn outbreak of a mysterious virus has not deterred millions of people in China from packing into crowded trains as they head home for the Lunar New Year—but some are donning masks as a precaution. | |
 | Study links weekend 'eating jet lag' to obesityA new study by the University of Barcelona (UB) concluded that irregularity in eating schedules during the weekend, which the authors call "eating jet lag," could be related to the increase of body mass index (BMI), a formula that measures weight and height to determine whether someone's weight is healthy. |
 | Regional outreach boosts female medical residency recruitmentOutreach to female medical students may improve recruitment into orthopedic surgery resident programs, according to a study recently published in the Journal of Surgical Education. |
 | Stomach virus strikes 170 Yosemite visitors, staffAbout 170 visitors and employees at Yosemite National Park have been hit by gastrointestinal illness, park officials say. |
 | FDA warns of surgical gowns that may not be sterileCertain surgical gowns and surgical packs made by Cardinal Health may not be sterile and should not be used, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Thursday. |
 | Americans lack knowledge about eye healthAmericans' lack of knowledge about eye health may put their vision at risk, according to a survey released by the American Academy of Ophthalmology. |
 | Adolescent and young adult cancer survivors may have an elevated risk of hospitalizationsAdolescent and young adults who survived at least two years after a cancer diagnosis had nearly double the risk of being hospitalized compared with their siblings and unrelated, age-matched people without cancer, according to results published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. |
 | An anti-Lyme disease vaccine for mice could help prevent human infectionsConnecticut researchers are involved in a new and potentially important effort to break the cycle of infections among wild animals and ticks that leads to the transmission of Lyme disease to humans. |
 | Virus screenings to begin at three US airports amid outbreak in ChinaFederal authorities will begin screening airline travelers arriving from Wuhan, China, for signs that they may be infected with a new coronavirus that is spreading in Asia, officials announced Friday. |
 | There's more than one way to age. How are you doing it?Most of us think we know what aging looks and feels like. It announces itself with wrinkled skin and gray, thinning hair. It blurs vision, makes joints creaky, and if not rigorously countered, causes things to sag. |
 | More than two million patients with heart disease report use of marijuanaEven as more states begin to legalize marijuana for medicinal and recreational use and more marijuana products become available for consumption, marijuana's cardiovascular effects are not well understood. In a review article published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, a team led by investigators at Brigham and Women's Hospital reveals that more than 2 million adults with cardiovascular disease report that they have used or are currently using marijuana. Observational studies have linked marijuana use to a range of cardiovascular risks, including stroke, arrhythmia and diseases that make it hard for the heart muscle to pump properly. The investigators encourage physicians to ask their patients about marijuana use, which can interfere with other medications that a cardiology patient might be prescribed. |
Health of poor Brits worse than that of those born a century agoThe self-reported health of poor Brits is worse than that of people born a century ago, suggests a large nationally representative study of more than 200,000 working-age people, published online in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health. | |
 | Combined prenatal smoking and drinking greatly increases SIDS riskChildren born to mothers who both drank and smoked beyond the first trimester of pregnancy have a 12-fold increased risk for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) compared to those unexposed or only exposed in the first trimester of pregnancy, according to a new study supported by the National Institutes of Health. |
 | How the new coronavirus developedA new coronavirus, a mysterious SARS-like disease, has spread around China and three other Asian countries since first emerging in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. |
 | Researchers propose method to diagnose AL-amyloid cardiopathy, a deadly heart diseaseRUDN University physicians have proposed a method for diagnosing the dangerous heart disease AL-amyloid cardiopathy. Until now, doctors could detect it only in the later stages, when treatment is not possible. The results of the study provide effective diagnosis of AL-amyloidosis at an early stage. The results are published in Amyloid. |
 | A new role for neurogenesisThe ability to create new neurons may exist as built-in protection for sensitive brain areas, according to research in mice recently published in JNeurosci. |
Biology news
 | While promoting diseases like cancer, these enzymes also cannibalize each otherLike motley bandits, certain enzymes implicated in cancer and other diseases also annihilate each other. A new study reveals details of their mutual foils in the hopes that these behaviors can be leveraged to fight the enzymes' disease potential. |
 | Male sparrows are less intimidated by the songs of aging rivalsFew singers reach their sunset years with the same voice they had in younger days. Singing sparrows are no different. Duke University-led research reveals that elderly swamp sparrows don't sound quite like they used to—nor do they strike the same fear in other males who may be listening in. |
 | Strongly 'handed' squirrels less good at learningSquirrels that strongly favour their left or right side are less good at learning, new research suggests. |
 | Female chimps with powerful moms are less likely to leave homeIn chimpanzee society, males spend their entire lives in the group where they were born, cooperating to defend their territory, while females tend to move away. But some chimp females seem less willing to cut the apron strings. |
 | How chaperones promote correct shapes of proteins even under denaturing stress conditionsProteins are macromolecules synthesized under the control of DNA and perform almost all functions in our cells. However, they must fold into their unique three-dimensional structures to fulfill their biological activities. Protein folding is an error-prone process, and how it is accomplished successfully is a great question in cell biology, given that misfolded proteins are the primary cause of many neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease. To ensure correct folding and to prevent misfolding, cells express various classes of proteins called molecular chaperones. Molecular chaperones are a protein class that assist proteins in reaching the correct three-dimensional structures and prevent misfolding. Impairment in molecular chaperones has been found to be relevant to neurodegenerative diseases and cancers. Understanding how molecular chaperones assist other proteins has great biological and medical importance. |
 | Disarming bacteria with mucus and phagesMillions of people are treated with antibiotics each year for infections or as a preventative measure. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that at least 2.8 million people are infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria each year, meaning the germs have found ways to overpower antibiotics and continue to grow. Treating antibiotic-resistant infections is costly and time-intensive. Two teams of NIBIB-funded scientists have been working to find alternative solutions to treating bacterial infections, especially antibiotic-resistant bacteria. |
 | Tuberculosis bacteria survive in amoebae found in soilScientists from the University of Surrey and University of Geneva have discovered that the bacterium which causes bovine TB can survive and grow in small, single-celled organisms found in soil and dung. It is believed that originally the bacterium evolved to survive in these single-celled organisms known as amoebae and in time progressed to infect and cause TB in larger animals such as cattle. |
 | Czechs detect bird flu as new Europe outbreak fearedA highly contagious bird flu has been confirmed at a Czech farm, officials said Saturday after a French farm union warned of the risk of a new outbreak in Europe. |
 | Clones help famous elm tree named Herbie live on, for nowA massive elm tree nicknamed Herbie is long gone, but it is going to live on, thanks to cloned trees that are being made available to the public. |
 | On the edge between science and art: Historical biodiversity data from Japanese 'gyotaku'Historical biodiversity data is being obtained from museum specimens, literature, classic monographs and old photographs, yet those sources can be damaged, lost or not completely adequate. That brings us to the need of finding additional, even if non-traditional, sources. |
 | Climate change pushing Australia's platypus towards extinction: researchersProlonged drought and other effects of climate change are pushing Australia's unique platypus population towards extinction, scientists warned in a study published Monday. |
 | Threatened species hit hard by Australia's bushfiresAustralia's bushfires have burned more than half the known habitat of 100 threatened plants and animals, including 32 critically endangered species, the government said Monday. |
 | Australia fires 'devastating habitats' of endangered speciesAustralia's bushfires and other climate change effects are devastating the habitats of critically endangered species and driving the native platypus towards extinction, according to surveys highlighting the country's vulnerability to rising temperatures. |
 | Australia's threatened bats need protection from white-nose syndromeWe already know how deadly this summer's fires have been for mammals, birds, and reptiles across Australia. But beyond this bushfire season, many of those same species—including our bats, which make up around a quarter of all Australian mammal species—are facing another devastating threat to their survival. |
 | 6 million hectares of threatened species habitat up in smokeMore than one billion mammals, birds, and reptiles across eastern Australia are estimated to have been affected by the current fire catastrophe. |
 | Jumbo undertaking: Elephant milk under the microscopeOn a recent sunny day at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, a team of specialized zookeepers collected breast milk samples from two female elephants nursing their 1-year-old calves. Unlike the mechanical breast pumps used by human mothers, or the machines employed by dairy cow farmers, the process requires hands-on expertise. It's something of a mammoth effort: Success depends a lot upon how the elephant mothers, called dams, are feeling that day. |
 | Not bot, not beast: Scientists create first ever living, programmable organismA remarkable combination of artificial intelligence (AI) and biology has produced the world's first "living robots". |
 | Altruism in bacteria: Colonies divide the workBacteria found in soil specialize in the colony by division of labor. Some of the bacteria produce antibiotics, even when it comes at the expense of their individual reproduction success, to defend their colony against competitors. |
 | Can ecosystems recover from dramatic losses of biodiversity?The sheer scale and intensity of the Australian bushfire crisis have led to apocalyptic scenes making the front pages of newspapers the world over. An estimated 10 million hectares (100,000 sq km) of land have burned since 1 July 2019. At least 28 people have died. And over a billion animals are estimated to have been killed to date. Of course, the actual toll will be much higher if major animal groups, such as insects, are included in these estimates. |
 | Scientists were stumped when seabirds started dying. Now they have answersIn the fall of 2015, two years into a heatwave in the Pacific Ocean colloquially known as "the Blob," an unusually large influx of common murres, a small northern seabird, began to wash ashore. |
 | Researchers solve protein structures to fight asthmaBiophysicists from the MIPT Center for Molecular Mechanisms of Aging and Age-Related Diseases have teamed up with colleagues from Canada, the U.S., Japan, France, and Germany to shed light on the structure and functioning mechanism of the CysLT receptors, which regulate inflammatory responses associated with allergic disorders. Their findings are reported in Nature Communications. |
 | Online campaign to save malnourished lions at Sudan parkOnline calls grew Sunday to help save five "malnourished and sick" African lions held at a park in Sudan's capital, with some demanding the creatures be shifted to a better habitat. |
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