Welcome to the “Phys.org-Spotlight Science News” update from Hawaii Science Digest.
Views expressed in this science and technology news summary are those of the reporters and correspondents.
Content supplied by “Phys.org”, an official publication of the Space X Network.
Accessed on 10 March 2020, 0025 UTC.
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Study of hunter-gatherer community shows that how humans rest may affect their risk for heart disease
Standing desks are so passé. It’s time for squatting desks.
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195
Stone-age ‘likes’: Study establishes eggshell beads exchanged over 30,000 years
A clump of grass grows on an outcrop of shale 33,000 years ago. An ostrich pecks at the grass, and atoms taken up from the shale and into the grass become part of the eggshell the ostrich lays.
5 HOURS AGO
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132
Protecting DNA origami for anti-cancer drug delivery
Scientists have designed and synthesized chains of molecules with a precise sequence and length to efficiently protect 3-D DNA nanostructures from structural …
BIO & MEDICINE
5 HOURS AGO
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77
Underrepresented college students benefit more from ‘active learning’ techniques in STEM
Students from different backgrounds in the United States enter college with equal interest in STEM fields—science, technology, engineering and mathematics. …
SOCIAL SCIENCES
5 HOURS AGO
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34
Study achieves a new record fiber QKD transmission distance of over 509 km
The sending-or-not-sending twin-field (SNS-TF) protocol has so far proved to be a highly promising strategy for achieving high rates over long distances …
New type of pulsating star discovered
A star that pulsates on just one side has been discovered in the Milky Way about 1500 light years from Earth. It is the first of its kind to be found and scientists expect to find many more similar systems as technology to …
ASTRONOMY
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Male size advantage drives evolution of sex change in reef fish
Some species of fish, notably parrotfish and wrasses living on coral reefs, change their biological sex as they age, beginning life as females and later becoming functionally male. New work from the University of California, …
PLANTS & ANIMALS
3 HOURS AGO
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31
‘Strange’ glimpse into neutron stars and symmetry violation
New results from precision particle detectors at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) offer a fresh glimpse of the particle interactions that take place in the cores of neutron stars and give nuclear physicists a new …
GENERAL PHYSICS
8 HOURS AGO
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477
Groovy key to nanotubes in 2-D
Ultrathin carbon nanotubes crystals could have wonderous uses, like converting waste heat into electricity with near-perfect efficiency, and Rice University engineers have taken a big step toward that goal.
NANOPHYSICS
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Study reveals collective dynamics of active matter systems
Flocks of starlings that produce dazzling patterns across the sky are natural examples of active matter—groups of individual agents coming together to create collective dynamics. In a study featured on the cover of the …
GENERAL PHYSICS
2 HOURS AGO
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PedestriANS: A bipedal robot that adapts its walking style in response to environmental changes
Humans are generally able to adapt their walking style based on the environment they are moving in, for instance, speeding up if the consistency of the ground below their feet allows it, slowing down when the floor is slippery, …
Our brains are powerful—but secretive—forecasters of video virality
When Stanford University neuroscientist Brian Knutson tracked his smartphone usage, he was shocked to learn that he spent twice as much time on his phone as he had anticipated.
PSYCHOLOGY & PSYCHIATRY
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New study on COVID-19 estimates 5.1 days for incubation period
An analysis of publicly available data on infections from the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, that causes the respiratory illness COVID-19 yielded an estimate of 5.1 days for the median disease incubation period, according to …
DISEASES, CONDITIONS, SYNDROMES
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162
Multiphysics Simulation User Stories
Learn how engineers in a variety of industries are using multiphysics simulation for innovative product design in this free eBook. Get instant access here.
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Medical Xpress
New study on COVID-19 estimates 5.1 days for incubation period
66-year study finds tall, slim girls are at greater risk of endometriosis
Glucose acts as a double edged sword on longevity factor SIRT1
Our brains are powerful—but secretive—forecasters of video virality
Prostate cancer ‘fingerprint’ detected in blood sample
Scientists identify new target for Parkinson’s therapies
Microscopic STAR particles offer new potential treatment for skin diseases
Researchers identify factors essential for chronic hepatitis B infection
Brain-doping produced by your own body
‘Primitive’ stem cells shown to regenerate blood vessels in the eye
A close look at how the coronavirus binds to cells in the lungs
Second HIV patient reportedly ‘cured’
Is a ‘universal’ flu vaccine on the horizon?
Study: Women’s hormonal cycles do not affect preferences for men’s behavior
Researchers identify mechanisms of MYH9-related blood disease
Spending on experiences versus possessions advances more immediate happiness
Gratitude interventions don’t help with depression, anxiety: study
Tech Xplore
Ultrathin organic solar cell is efficient and durable
Water splitting advance holds promise for affordable renewable energy
DirecTV’s days are numbered
Researchers introduce new algorithm to reduce machine learning time
Innovative method improves safety in lithium-sulfur batteries
Charge batteries through skin with permanent implantable device concept
Enabling battery-powered silicon chips to work faster and longer
Nine years on, state of the clean-up at Fukushima’s nuclear plant
High-quality extended reality in easy-to-use and inexpensive devices
Fukushima hotspots make headlines before Olympics, but what’s the risk?
Discovery points to origin of mysterious ultraviolet radiation
Billions of lightyears away, gigantic clouds of hydrogen gas produce a special kind of radiation, a type of ultraviolet light known as Lyman-alpha emissions. The enormous clouds emitting the light are Lyman-alpha blobs (LABs). …
ASTRONOMY
2 HOURS AGO
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129
Researchers establish new viable CRISPR-Cas12b system for plant genome engineering
In a new publication in Nature Plants, assistant professor of Plant Science at the University of Maryland Yiping Qi has established a new CRISPR genome engineering system as viable in plants for the first time: CRISPR-Cas12b. …
BIOTECHNOLOGY
8 HOURS AGO
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136
Astronomers pinpoint rare binary brown dwarf
Astronomers working on ‘first light’ results from a newly commissioned telescope in Chile made a chance discovery that led to the identification of a rare eclipsing binary brown dwarf system.
ASTRONOMY
8 HOURS AGO
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68
Strong signals show how proteins come and go
A novel system to amplify gene expression signals could be a game-changer for scientists who study the regulatory processes in cells that are central to all life.
BIOCHEMISTRY
8 HOURS AGO
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38
Ancient shell shows days were half-hour shorter 70 million years ago
Earth turned faster at the end of the time of the dinosaurs than it does today, rotating 372 times a year, compared to the current 365, according to a new study of fossil mollusk shells from the late Cretaceous. This means …
EARTH SCIENCES
6 HOURS AGO
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Collaborating with a team of rivals can resolve conflict—and advance science
Five social scientists holed up in an Amsterdam hotel for a week with the goal of reaching a scientific consensus on how people form stereotypes. Remarkably, they were encouraged by the fact that none of them actually agreed …
SOCIAL SCIENCES
5 HOURS AGO
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Ultrathin organic solar cell is efficient and durable
Scientists from the RIKEN, in collaboration with international partners, have succeeded in creating an ultrathin organic solar cell that is both highly efficient and durable. Using a simple post-annealing process, they created …
ELECTRONICS & SEMICONDUCTORS
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Glucose acts as a double edged sword on longevity factor SIRT1
Feeding and fasting cycles exert control over metabolism and energy utilization. Aberrations are known to cause metabolic diseases, liver dysfunctions and accelerated aging. Expression and activity of the anti-aging factor …
MEDICAL RESEARCH
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Additive manufacturing of cellulose-based materials with continuous, multidirectional stiffness gradients
Functionally graded materials (FGM) allow diverse applications in multidisciplinary fields from biomedicine to architecture. However, their fabrication can be tedious relative to gradient continuity, interfacial bending and …
Robots that admit mistakes foster better conversation in humans
Three people and a robot form a team playing a game. The robot makes a mistake, costing the team a round. Like any good teammate, it acknowledges the error.
ROBOTICS
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Bulb size matters: Uncovering the evolution of the plant kingdom’s doomsday preppers
Botanist Cody Coyotee Howard compares bulbs to living bunkers. With an underground stockpile of resources, bulbs can hunker down during disasters and spring up faster than other plants when conditions turn balmy.
Climate variations may impact the base of the food web along the California coast
In a recent study published in Marine Ecology Progress Series, researchers at California Polytechnic State University revealed that in addition to seasonal changes in winds and ocean temperatures, natural climate cycles greatly …
Tax incentives for businesses could contribute to the decline of the middle class
A corporation announces its seeking bids from local governments to build a new warehouse or move its headquarters.
Hyperspectral imaging and artificial intelligence combine to augment detection of methane leaks
Though not as prevalent in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, methane is a far more potent greenhouse gas. Occurring naturally as well as being manmade, methane is much shorter-lived than CO2, but it is fast acting and 20 …
Climate change at Mount Rainier to increase ‘mismatch’ between visitors, wildflowers
Spring is coming, and with it comes the promise of warmer weather, longer days and renewed life.
Food prices after a hard Brexit could increase by GBP50 per week
A hard Brexit could result in a family of four seeing their food prices increase to up to £50.98 per week researchers at the University of Warwick have found. If we leave with a deal the increase could be as little as £5.80 …
Cute monkeys perceived as safer, but in reality dominant animals get closer to humans
People say they are more willing to approach cute-looking monkeys in the wild, but in reality end up getting closer to dominant monkeys they believe could pose more risk, according to new research.
Coronavirus should give us hope that we are able to tackle the climate crisis
Coronavirus has disrupted everyday life throughout the world through travel bans, flight restrictions and the cancellation of sporting and cultural events.
How technology can combat the rising tide of fake science
Science gets a lot of respect these days. Unfortunately, it’s also getting a lot of competition from misinformation. Seven in 10 Americans think the benefits from science outweigh the harms, and nine in 10 think science and …
What MH17 has taught us about international disaster investigations
For the Dutch Safety Board (DSB), the investigation into the MH17 plane crash was unprecedented in scope. It wasn’t easy, but it provided valuable lessons for international disaster investigations, says Sanneke Kuipers, a …
Wearable devices powered by body motion using stretchable carbon nanotube thin films
A transparent, stretchable triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) with area up to 12 cm x 12 cm and power output 8 Watts per square metre, has been realized by Nagoya University researchers using a carbon nanotube thin film (CNT …
Machine-learning technology to track odd events among LHC data
Nowadays, artificial neural networks have an impact on many areas of our day-to-day lives. They are used for a wide variety of complex tasks, such as driving cars, performing speech recognition (for example, Siri, Cortana, …
Linguistics lessons for police ‘could catch more Dark Web paedophiles’
A new book shows how police forces can use forensic linguistics techniques to infiltrate online networks of child sex offenders to bring them to justice and protect potential victims.
With the coronavirus outbreak, it matters how you get your news
A team of communication and journalism researchers recently published a study about sources of information and vaccination intention in the Atlantic Journal of Communication. The team included Carolyn A. Lin, a professor …
A new method to improve tropical cyclone intensity forecasts
In numerical weather forecasting research, how to improve short-term forecasts of tropical cyclone intensity is a challenging problem that has long plagued meteorologists and operational forecasters, despite that meteorologists …
Microbes play important role in soil’s nitrogen cycle
Under our feet, in the soil, is a wealth of microbial activity. Just like humans have different metabolisms and food choices, so do those microbes. In fact, microbes play an important role in making nutrients available to …
Astronomers identify nearly 3,000 candidate stars of a nearby star-forming galaxy
Using the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) and NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, astronomers have conducted photometric observations of a nearby star-forming galaxy known as NGC 6822. They have identified nearly 3,000 …
Indian Ocean phenomenon spells climate trouble for Australia
New international research has found a worrying change in the Indian Ocean’s surface temperatures that puts southeast Australia on course for increasingly hot and dry conditions.
EARTH SCIENCES
7 HOURS AGO
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How new data can make ecological forecasts as good as weather forecasts
When El Nino approaches, driven by warm Pacific Ocean waters, we’ve come to expect both drenching seasonal rains in the southern U.S. and drought in the Amazon. Those opposite extremes have huge effects on society and are …
ECOLOGY
7 HOURS AGO
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18
Researchers map protein motion
Cornell structural biologists took a new approach to using a classic method of X-ray analysis to capture something the conventional method had never accounted for: the collective motion of proteins. And they did so by creating …
BIOCHEMISTRY
7 HOURS AGO
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20
Research on soldier ants reveals that evolution can go in reverse
Turtle ant soldiers look like real-life creatures straight out of a Japanese anime film. These tree-dwelling insects scuttle to and fro sporting shiny, adorably oversized heads, which they use to block the entrances of their …
PLANTS & ANIMALS
2 HOURS AGO
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35
Advanced optical imaging technique may lead to structure-guided drug design
A Clemson University College of Science researcher, together with a team of researchers primarily at Heinrich Heine University in Germany, developed and demonstrated new optical imaging methods to monitor a single molecule …
MOLECULAR & COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY
7 HOURS AGO
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54
‘Deceptively simple’ process could boost plastics recycling
Plastics are a victim of their own success, so inexpensive, easy to use and versatile that the world is awash in plastic waste. Now researchers from the University of Houston have reported a new method of producing polyolefins—made …
MATERIALS SCIENCE
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Powering the future with revolutionary lithium extraction technique
An international research team has pioneered and patented a new filtration technique that could one day slash lithium extraction times and change the way the future is powered.
MATERIALS SCIENCE
8 HOURS AGO
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How a virus forms its symmetric shells
Viruses—small disease-causing parasites that can infect all types of life forms—have been well studied, but many mysteries linger. One such mystery is how a spherical virus circumvents energy barriers to form symmetric …
BIO & MEDICINE
2 HOURS AGO
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Bacteria potentially involved in the development of type 2 diabetes
Bacteria may be involved in the development of type 2 diabetes, according to a study published today in Nature Metabolism by researchers from Université Laval, the Québec Heart and Lung Institute (IUCPQ), and McMaster University.
HEALTH
8 HOURS AGO
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Until next time,
Russ Roberts
