153 articles from WEDNESDAY 11.9.2019

Long before other fish, ancient sharks found an alternative way to feed

Researchers from the University of Chicago have used tools developed to explore 3-D movements and mechanics of modern-day fish jaws to analyze a fossil fish for the first time. Combined with CT imaging technology able to capture images of the fossil while it is still encased in rock, the results reveal that the 335-million-year-old shark had sophisticated jaws capable of the kind of suction...

Public support for gene drives in agriculture tied to limits

The first national survey inquiring about American attitudes toward agricultural gene drives—genetic modification techniques that can be used to "drive" a genetic trait or characteristic through a given insect pest population to help commercial crop production by squelching harmful pest effects—shows more support for systems that are limited in scope and aimed at non-native insects.

Students make neutrons dance beneath UC Berkeley campus

In an underground vault enclosed by six-foot concrete walls and accessed by a rolling, 25-ton concrete-and-steel door, University of California, Berkeley, students are making neutrons dance to a new tune: one better suited to producing isotopes required for geological dating, police forensics, hospital diagnosis and treatment.

After leading Mars rover missions, Steve Squyres joins Blue Origin as chief scientist

Just months after closing out the 15-year-long Opportunity rover mission on Mars, Cornell University astronomer Steve Squyres is taking advantage of a new opportunity: the post of chief scientist at Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin space venture. Today Blue Origin confirmed that Squyres, 63, will be joining the company, which is headquartered in Kent, Wash. Squyres has been involved...

Water discovered for first time in atmosphere of habitable exoplanet

Water has been discovered for the first time in the atmosphere of an exoplanet with Earth-like temperatures that could support life as we know it, scientists revealed Wednesday. Eight times the mass of Earth and twice as big, K2-18b orbits in its star's "habitable zone" at a distance -- neither too far nor too close -- where water can exist in liquid form, they reported in the journal Nature...

Early humans used tiny, flint 'surgical' tools to butcher elephants

The Acheulian culture endured in the Levant for over a million years during the Lower Paleolithic period (1.4 million to 400,000 years ago). Its use of bifaces or large cutting tools like hand axes and cleavers is considered a hallmark of its sophistication—or, some researchers would argue, the lack thereof.

NASA’s Hubble Finds Water Vapor on Habitable-Zone Exoplanet for 1st Time

Portal origin URL: NASA’s Hubble Finds Water Vapor on Habitable-Zone Exoplanet for 1st TimePortal origin nid: 451609Published: Wednesday, September 11, 2019 - 13:05Featured (stick to top of list): noPortal text teaser: With data from the Hubble Space Telescope, water vapor has been detected in the atmosphere of a super-Earth with habitable temperatures.Portal...

Malaria could be felled by an Antarctic sea sponge

The frigid waters of the Antarctic may yield a treatment for a deadly disease that affects populations in some of the hottest places on earth. Current medications for that scourge -- malaria -- are becoming less effective as drug resistance spreads. But researchers report that a peptide they isolated from an Antarctic sponge shows promise as a lead for new therapies.

Half-a-billion-year-old tiny predator unveils the rise of scorpions and spiders

Two palaeontologists working on the world-renowned Burgess Shale have revealed a new species, called Mollisonia plenovenatrix, which is presented as the oldest chelicerate. This discovery places the origin of this vast group of animals -- of over 115,000 species, including horseshoe crabs, scorpions and spiders -- to a time more than 500 million years ago.

CAR T-cell therapy may be harnessed to treat heart disease

CAR T-cell therapy, a rapidly emerging form of immunotherapy using patients' own cells to treat certain types of cancers, may be a viable treatment option for another life-threatening condition: heart disease. Researchers at Penn Medicine used genetically modified T cells to target and remove activated fibroblasts that contribute to the development of cardiac fibrosis -- a scarring process found...

Dynamic reorganization of brain circuit with post-stroke rehabilitation

Researchers have revealed an interaction between cortico-brainstem pathways during training-induced recovery in stroke model rats. The researchers demonstrated that the rapid compensatory recruitment of the cortex-to-brainstem pathways occurred when other responsible motor circuits failed to function. This dynamic recruitment of the cortex-to-brainstem pathways is a key factor for functional...

How Generation Z Is Embracing Bold Action in the Face of Climate Crisis

Of all the dire forecasts she’s heard about the climate crisis, there is one that Arielle Martinez Cohen can’t get out of her mind. The report, from an Australian think tank, projected that if nothing is done, civilization could collapse by 2050. “I will be 49 in that year,” says the 17-year-old activist. “It makes...

Why This Earth-Like Planet is a Big Step Forward in the Search for Life

If planets were products their price would be tumbling. Little more than a generation ago, we knew of only eight planets in all the universe—the ones within our own solar system. Only two of them, Earth and Mars, were plausibly capable of supporting life and only one of those definitely does. Planetary demand far exceeded supply. Now, however, the market has been flooded. Thanks to...

Water found on most habitable known world beyond solar system

But humans would not fare well on planet K2-18b despite wispy clouds and huge red sunA faraway planet in the constellation of Leo has been named the most habitable known world beyond the solar system after astronomers detected water vapour in its atmosphere.It is the first time a planet in its star’s “Goldilocks zone” – where the temperature is neither too hot nor too cold for liquid water...

Half-a-billion-year-old tiny predator unveils the rise of scorpions and spiders

Two palaeontologists working on the world-renowned Burgess Shale have revealed a new species, called Mollisonia plenovenatrix, which is presented as the oldest chelicerate. This discovery places the origin of this vast group of animals—of over 115,000 species, including horseshoe crabs, scorpions and spiders—to a time more than 500 million years ago. The findings are published in the...