28 articles from SATURDAY 12.10.2019

New design strategy can help improve layered superconducting materials

Scientists have created a new layered superconducting material with a conducting layer made of bismuth, silver, tin, sulfur and selenium. The conducting layer features four distinct sublayers; by introducing more elements, they were able to achieve unparalleled customizability and a higher ''critical temperature'' below which superconductivity is observed, a key objective of superconductor...

Climate rebels open new fronts across capital as protests escalate

Activists block trade at Billingsgate fish market and target headquarters of energy company Shell to ‘raise awareness’Climate protesters on Saturday intensified efforts to disrupt life in London, and targeted sites including Billingsgate fish market and Shell’s headquarters. They said police took at least 28 of their supporters into custody. That number means that more than 1,200 Extinction...

Who Would Firebomb a Homeless Encampment?

LOS ANGELES -- The incendiary device came shooting toward the homeless encampment without words or warning. Arthur Garza, 29, heard a pop against his tent, then saw the object, which he described as a "mortar" or "firecracker," bounce into the street and explode."It was like shooting stars everywhere," Garza said.In a matter of minutes, flames were climbing the...

Airline Food Waste Is a Problem. Can Banana Leaves Be Part of the Solution?

From disposable headphones and plastic cutlery to food scraps and toilet waste, the average airline passenger leaves behind over 3 pounds of garbage, according to one estimate. To get travelers and airlines thinking -- and talking -- about that rather large pile of trash, a British design firm has refashioned the economy meal tray, replacing plastic with renewable materials such as coffee grounds,...

My tears as a junior doctor were a ‘flaw’ that, in psychiatry, became my greatest strength

I burnt out as a GP but in mental health I could take time with patients and, at last, make a difference“If you’re going to reject me, then reject me,” I said. I was deep in the bowels of Leicester University, being interviewed for a place at medical school. I was 35, a fact the learned professor interviewing me returned to again and again. How would I cope with the workload? Would the four...

New evidence shows how asteroid dust cloud may have sparked new life on Earth 470m years ago

Isotope found in seabed sediment points to clash of solar bodies near Mars, study suggestsAstronomers have discovered intriguing evidence that an asteroid break-up blanketed Earth with dust millions of years ago. The event dramatically cooled the planet and triggered an ice age that was followed by major increases in numbers of new animal species.The work, led by Birger Schmitz of Lund University...

New evidence shows how asteroid dust cloud may have sparked new life on Earth 470m years ago

Isotope found in seabed sediment points to clash of solar bodies near Mars, study suggests. Astronomers have discovered intriguing evidence that an asteroid break-up blanketed Earth with dust millions of years ago. The event dramatically cooled the planet and triggered an ice age that was followed by major increases in numbers of new animal species. The work, led by Birger Schmitz of Lund...

Black holes stunt growth of dwarf galaxies

Astronomers at the University of California, Riverside, have discovered that powerful winds driven by supermassive black holes in the centers of dwarf galaxies have a significant impact on the evolution of these galaxies by suppressing star formation.

'If they don't do it, we will': Greta Thunberg rallies climate strikers for long haul

At rally in Denver, Swedish activist again scolds leaders for ignoring science Young people must be prepared to strike for a long time for action on climate change and not back down, the Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has told a rally in Denver.Thunberg said she and fellow youth activists would not beg those in power to act because she expected leaders to keep ignoring them. Continue...

Flesh-eating ulcer's spread to new part of Australia worries infectious disease experts

Three cases of disease have emerged south of its usual catchment area in far-north QueenslandThe spread of a severe tissue-destroying ulcer once rare in Australia to a new geographic area in Queensland has infectious disease experts worried.The Buruli ulcer, also known as the Bairnsdale ulcer or Daintree ulcer, is an infection that eventually leads to an eruption of painful skin ulcers that fail...

NASA confirms Boeing’s latest timetable for Starliner space taxi’s final tests

NASA confirmed today that Boeing is scheduled to conduct the next high-profile test of its CST-100 Starliner space capsule in a little more than three weeks. The target data for Starliner's pad abort test is set for Nov. 4 at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, NASA said. That's in line with the plan that Boeing executive John Mulholland laid out earlier this week at a New Mexico...