Welcome to the “Phys.org” update from Hawaii Science Digest.
Views expressed in this science and technology news update are those of the reporters and correspondents.
Content supplied by “Phys.org.” This report is an official publication of the Space X Network.
Accessed on 17 January 2020, 2155 UTC.
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Thin-film identification tags for transferring data to touchscreen devices
Today, countless electronic devices have touchscreens, including smart phones, tablets and smart home appliances. Touchscreen interfaces have become some of the most common means for users to communicate with and browse through …
7 HOURS AGO
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What is an endangered species?
What makes for an endangered species classification isn’t always obvious.
25 MINUTES AGO
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Ingestible medical devices can be broken down with light
A variety of medical devices can be inserted into the gastrointestinal tract to treat, diagnose, or monitor GI disorders. Many of these have to be removed …
POLYMERS
2 HOURS AGO
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Walking with atoms—chemical bond making and breaking recorded in action
Ever since it was proposed that atoms are building blocks of the world, scientists have been trying to understand how and why they bond to each other. …
CONDENSED MATTER
2 HOURS AGO
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Study shows human ancestors could have consumed hard plant tissues without damaging their teeth
Go ahead, take a big bite.
EVOLUTION
11 HOURS AGO
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Spider-Man-style robotic graspers defy gravity
Specially designed vacuum suction units allow humans to climb walls. Scientists have developed a suction unit that can be used on rough surfaces, no matter how textured, and that has applications in the development of climbing …
SOFT MATTER
3 HOURS AGO
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Not all of nature’s layered structures are tough as animal shells and antlers, study finds
Nacre—the iridescent part of mollusk shells—is a poster child for biologically inspired design. Despite being made of brittle chalk, the intricately layered microstructure of nacre gives it a remarkable ability to resist …
MATERIALS SCIENCE
3 HOURS AGO
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Scientists measure the evolving energy of a solar flare’s explosive first minutes
Toward the end of 2017, a massive new region of magnetic field erupted on the Sun’s surface next to an existing sunspot. The powerful collision of magnetic energy produced a series of potent solar flares, causing turbulent …
SPACE EXPLORATION
3 HOURS AGO
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A new method for dating ancient earthquakes
Constraining the history of earthquakes produced by bedrock fracturing is important for predicting seismic activity and plate tectonic evolution. In a new study published in the Nature journal Scientific Reports Jan 17, 2020, …
EARTH SCIENCES
4 HOURS AGO
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75
Faking emotions at work does more harm than good
The adage “Fake it until you make it”—the idea that someone can fake a positive attitude to elicit real-life benefits—often backfires when used with co-workers, according to a study led by a University of Arizona researcher.
PSYCHOLOGY & PSYCHIATRY
34 MINUTES AGO
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America’s most widely consumed oil causes genetic changes in the brain
New UC Riverside research shows soybean oil not only leads to obesity and diabetes, but could also affect neurological conditions like autism, Alzheimer’s disease, anxiety, and depression.
HEALTH
10 HOURS AGO
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Reward improves visual perceptual learning—but only after people sleep
Past studies have found that rewarding participants during a visual perceptual task leads to performance gains. However, new research suggests that these performance gains occur only if participants follow up the task with …
PSYCHOLOGY & PSYCHIATRY
3 HOURS AGO
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Neuron found in mice could have implications for effective diet drugs
Ever eaten something, gotten sick and then didn’t want to eat that food again because of how it made you feel? That’s because a signal from the gut to the brain produced that sickness, creating a taste aversion.
NEUROSCIENCE
3 HOURS AGO
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Medical Xpress
Faking emotions at work does more harm than good
US begins airport screenings as SARS-linked virus kills 2 in China
Reward improves visual perceptual learning—but only after people sleep
Researchers uncover new vulnerability in kidney cancer
Real-time flu prediction may be possible using wearable heart rate and sleep tracking devices
Professors create free research-backed games to train your brain
Coronavirus: new disease spreading in Asia revives SARS fears
‘Dialogic praxis’ enhances psychotherapeutic success for youth
Obesity, heart disease, and diabetes may be communicable
Loss of function in key Y-chromosome genes increases cancer risk in men
Lack of self-exams hampers early melanoma identification
Second person dies from SARS-linked virus in China
Mix of stress and air pollution may lead to cognitive difficulties in children
Acute flaccid myelitis features differ in peak, nonpeak years
Tech Xplore
Thin-film identification tags for transferring data to touchscreen devices
AlphaFold makes its mark in predicting protein structures
Small screen tech: First look at new smart contact lens
AI learning technique may illustrate function of reward pathways in the brain
Green is the new black
The paints that eat pollutants and heat homes
‘Invisible computing’ startup unveils smart contact lens
Photoelectrochemical water-splitting efficiency hits 4.5%
Improved brain chip for precision medicine
Patent talk: Mobile device with solar panels
Brain-like network uses disorder to detect order
Britain’s green energy sector brightens: survey data
European carmakers build out charging network for electrics
Hydrogen is blowing up: From science experiment to export industry
Material developed which is heat-insulating and heat-conducting at the same time
Styrofoam or copper—both materials have very different properties with regard to their ability to conduct heat. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (MPI-P) in Mainz and the University of Bayreuth …
MATERIALS SCIENCE
4 HOURS AGO
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162
Why we differ in our ability to fight off gut infections
Τhe ability of the immune system to fight off bacterial, viral and other invading agents in the gut differs between individuals. However, the biological mechanism by which this happens is not well understood, but at least …
GENETICS
7 HOURS AGO
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‘Melting rock’ models predict mechanical origins of earthquakes
Engineers at Duke University have devised a model that can predict the early mechanical behaviors and origins of an earthquake in multiple types of rock. The model provides new insights into unobservable phenomena that take …
EARTH SCIENCES
11 HOURS AGO
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New dog, old tricks? Stray dogs can understand human cues
If you have a dog, hopefully you’re lucky enough to know that they are highly attuned to their owners and can readily understand a wide range of commands and gestures. But are these abilities innate or are they exclusively …
PLANTS & ANIMALS
13 HOURS AGO
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Study traces evolution of acoustic communication
Imagine taking a hike through a forest or a stroll through a zoo and not a sound fills the air, other than the occasional chirp from a cricket. No birds singing, no tigers roaring, no monkeys chattering, and no human voices, …
EVOLUTION
11 HOURS AGO
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AlphaFold makes its mark in predicting protein structures
Players applaud, say words like Whoo, bang plastic knives on the table and enjoy the best weekends with artificial intelligence as the main act, thanks to AI unleashed in games.
XMM-Newton discovers scorching gas in Milky Way’s halo
ESA’s XMM-Newton has discovered that gas lurking within the Milky Way’s halo reaches far hotter temperatures than previously thought and has a different chemical make-up than predicted, challenging our understanding of our …
ASTRONOMY
7 HOURS AGO
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Edible ‘security tag’ to protect drugs from counterfeit
Manufacturing prescription drugs with distinct markings, colors, shapes or packaging isn’t enough to protect them from counterfeiting, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration reports have shown.
ENGINEERING
13 HOURS AGO
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Climate may play a bigger role than deforestation in rainforest biodiversity
“Save the rainforests” is a snappy slogan, but it doesn’t tell the full story of how complicated it is to do just that. Before conservationists can even begin restoring habitats and advocating for laws that protect land from …
PLANTS & ANIMALS
5 HOURS AGO
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Human-caused biodiversity decline started millions of years ago
The human-caused biodiversity decline started much earlier than researchers used to believe. According to a new study published in the scientific journal Ecology Letters the process was not started by our own species but …
EVOLUTION
7 HOURS AGO
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Prosecutors’ race, class bias may not drive criminal justice disparities
America’s prison populations are disproportionately filled with people of color, but prosecutors’ biases toward defendants’ race and class may not be the primary cause for those disparities, new research from the University …
Teens feel the heat of climate change
In 2017, when the drought in Cape Town was at its worst in over a century, aid organisation Gift of the Givers made an urgent call to South Africans to help farmers; suicide rates, amongst both small- and large-scale farmers, …
Edible caterpillars become rare in drought-hit Botswana
Packed with protein and calcium, mopane worms are a delicacy in Botswana, where they are stirred into chunky tomato and peanut stews.
Air France-KLM chief warns carbon taxes could backfire
Air France-KLM chief executive Ben Smith said Friday that imposing carbon taxes on ticket prices could prove counterproductive, hindering efforts by airlines to buy more fuel-efficient planes that could significantly reduce …
NASA water vapor imagery shows Tino’s heavy rain potential over Fiji
When NASA’s Aqua satellite passed over the Southern Pacific Ocean it gathered water vapor data that provided information about the intensity of Tropical Cyclone Tino.
Chemists allow boron atoms to migrate
Organic molecules with atoms of the semi-metal boron are among the most important building blocks for synthesis products that are needed to produce drugs and agricultural chemicals. However, during the usual chemical reactions …
Molecules move faster on a rough terrain
Roughness, the presence of irregularities on a surface, is commonly associated with slower motion and stickiness. This is true at different length scales: at human size (1 meter), it takes longer to walk along a path that …
Hands off our grasslands
In the north eastern Free State, a 60 km green corridor is being created that will link the upper Wilge Protected Environment to the Sneeuwberg.
Internet use reduces study skills in university students
Research conducted at Swansea University and the University of Milan has shown that students who use digital technology excessively are less motivated to engage with their studies, and are more anxious about tests. This effect …
Programmable nests for cells
Using DNA, small silica particles, and carbon nanotubes, researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have developed novel programmable nanocomposites that can be tailored to various applications and programmed …
3-D printing with applications in the pharmaceutical industry
University of Seville researchers, in collaboration with the University of Nottingham, have managed to create the first image of nanoparticles of stabilised gold with biodegradable and biocompatible systems that have been …
Microplastics affect sand crabs’ mortality and reproduction, study finds
Sand crabs, a key species in beach ecosystems, were found to have increased adult mortality and decreased reproductive success when exposed to plastic microfibers, according to a new Portland State University study.
Charge model for calculating the photo-excited states of one-dimensional Mott insulators
Assistant Professor Ohmura Shu and Professor Takahashi Akira of the Nagoya Institute of Technology and others have developed a charge model to describe photo-excited states of one-dimensional Mott insulators under the JST …
Researchers uncover new vulnerability in kidney cancer
A UT Southwestern researcher led a team that identified a new vulnerability in kidney tumors, the 10th most common cause of cancer death in men and women.
ONCOLOGY & CANCER
13 HOURS AGO
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Sanitary care by social ants shapes disease outcome
Sanitary care in ants to fight disease is known to improve the wellbeing of the colony, yet it has been unclear how social disease defense interferes with pathogen competition inside the individual host body. In their recent …
PLANTS & ANIMALS
7 HOURS AGO
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2
Real-time flu prediction may be possible using wearable heart rate and sleep tracking devices
First study to evaluate de-identified data from wearable devices on resting heart rate and sleep finds improved real-time prediction of influenza-like illness in five US states compared to current surveillance methods.
DISEASES, CONDITIONS, SYNDROMES
13 HOURS AGO
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Study quashes controversial vitamin C treatment for sepsis with global trial
In 2017 a paper was published asserting that intravenous vitamin C given to patients with sepsis was literally a life saver. Despite the study only looking at 47 subjects, the results garnered international coverage and the …
MEDICATIONS
5 HOURS AGO
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Research shows real risks associated with cannabis exposure during pregnancy
A new study from researchers at Western University and Queen’s University definitively shows that regular exposure to THC, the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, during pregnancy has significant impact on placental …
MEDICAL RESEARCH
5 HOURS AGO
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188
Mysterious little red jellies: A case of mistaken identity
Little red jellies are commonplace near the deep seafloor in Monterey Bay and around the world. Most of them are small—less than five centimeters (two inches) across—and a ruddy red color, but we know little else about …
PLANTS & ANIMALS
6 HOURS AGO
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We found the genes that allowed plants to colonize land 500 million years ago
The world 500 million years ago looked very different to today. The land was bare, with only bacteria, fungi and algae able to survive on it. Everything else lived in the ocean, but once plants moved onto land, they changed …
PLANTS & ANIMALS
Newly developed screening processes will accelerate carbon capture research
University of Alberta researchers have developed techniques that save a significant amount of time in developing more efficient carbon capture technologies, which may help lower the costs to use the technologies and increase …
MATERIALS SCIENCE
6 HOURS AGO
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20
AI learning technique may illustrate function of reward pathways in the brain
A team of researchers from DeepMind, University College and Harvard University has found that lessons learned in applying learning techniques to AI systems may help explain how reward pathways work in the brain. In their …
Using waste carbon dioxide to separate metals from ores
A combined team of researchers from the University of Lyon and the University of Turin has developed a way to use waste CO2 to separate metals used in products. In their paper published in the journal Nature Chemistry, the …
Transformational innovation needed to reach global forest restoration goals
The U.N. and other international organizations agree that forest restoration is a critical part of the collective global effort to combat climate change, reduce extinctions, and improve the lives of people in rural communities. …
Self-assembled artificial microtubule like LEGO building blocks
Simple LEGO bricks can be assembled to more complicated structures, which can be further associated into a wide variety of complex architectures, from automobiles, rockets, and ships to gigantic castles and amusement parks. …
Sea lions yawn due to anxiety
Researchers have analysed these animals for 14 months, concluding that the frequency of their yawns increases immediately after a social conflict among members of the group.
The war on waste pickers
The man in the tattered shirt, biceps bulging as he pulls an enormous bag of waste behind him on a trolley. The blaring horns as cars slide by, annoyed at the intrusion in their lane. The furtive WhatsApp messages on community …
Why bosses should let employees surf the web at work
If you’re like most workers, you don’t spend 100% of your time at the office doing what you’re supposed to be doing.
Chemist proposes new method for synthesizing precursors for Parkinson’s drugs
A chemist from RUDN University has proposed a new method for the synthesis of secondary propargylamine used to create antidepressants, drugs for Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases, as well as malaria. …
Changing the leopard’s spots
Since wildlife poaching in Africa became a critical conservation issue, Chinese people have been portrayed as ruthless in the apparent pursuit of wildlife body parts. The Africa-China Reporting Project in Wits Journalism …
Researchers testing ability of floating wetlands to survive winter
The grasses are dormant, their brown leaves poking the sky as they float in one of the frigid lily ponds in Lincoln’s Sunken Gardens, the 1.5-acre public garden at 27th Street and Capital Parkway.
The first step in managing plastic waste is measuring it – here’s how we did it for one Caribbean country
Countries around the world throw away millions of tons of plastic trash every year. Finding ways to manage plastic waste is daunting even for wealthy nations, but for smaller and less-developed countries it can be overwhelming.
Battling longer, more intense fire seasons
Fires in Australia have been burning for months. At least 28 people and hundreds of thousands of animals have died, and more than 15 million acres have been destroyed as firefighters work to squelch the blaze. Penn doctoral …
New astronomical instrument on the hunt for exoplanets
At the highest point of the Quinlan mountains, overlooking the Sonoran Desert as it stretches across southern Arizona, NEID (pronounced like “fluid”) recently collected its first observations, known colloquially by astronomers …
We need to modernize how we measure national wealth
I recently tried an experiment. I changed several light bulbs, and since one required a little rewiring, I sent my wife (also known as the majority shareholder) a bill for $110.50 (plus GST). In return, she sent me a bill …
Living yoga for the mind
Plants in the office are not there just to look pretty. They can lead to increased productivity, as well as improved mental health for workers.