281 articles from TUESDAY 3.12.2019

Women wearing hijabs in news stories may be judged negatively

Women wearing a veil or headscarf in the United States may face harsher social judgement, according to a study by Penn State researchers that found when given the same information in a news story, some people may consider a woman wearing a headscarf to be more likely to have committed a crime.

NASA finds second tropical system develops in Arabian Sea

Tropical Storm 07A has developed in the eastern Arabian Sea, one day after Tropical Storm 06A developed in the western part of the sea. Infrared imagery from an instrument aboard Terra revealed that very high, powerful storms with very cold cloud top temperatures were southwest of the center.

Coral gardeners bring back Jamaica's reefs, piece by piece

Everton Simpson squints at the Caribbean from his motorboat, scanning the dazzling bands of color for hints of what lies beneath. Emerald green indicates sandy bottoms. Sapphire blue lies above seagrass meadows. And deep indigo marks coral reefs. That's where he's headed.

Siting cell towers needs careful planning

The health impacts of radio-frequency radiation (RFR) are still inconclusive, but the data to date warrants more caution in placing cell towers. An engineering team considers the current understanding of health impacts and possible solutions, which indicate a 500-meter (one third of a mile) buffer around schools and hospitals may help reduce risk for vulnerable populations.

Successful instrument guidance through deep and convulted blood vessel networks

A team led by Professor Sylvain Martel at the Polytechnique Montréal Nanorobotics Laboratory has developed a novel approach to tackling one of the biggest challenges of endovascular surgery: how to reach the most difficult-to-access physiological locations. Their solution is a robotic platform that uses the fringe field generated by the superconducting magnet of a clinical magnetic resonance...

NASA's exoplanet-hunting mission catches a natural comet outburst in unprecedented detail

Using data from NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), astronomers at the University of Maryland (UMD), in College Park, Maryland, have captured a clear start-to-finish image sequence of an explosive emission of dust, ice and gases during the close approach of comet 46P/Wirtanen in late 2018. This is the most complete and detailed observation to date of the formation and dissipation...

Highly sensitive epigenomic technology combats disease

Much remains unknown about diseases and the way our bodies respond to them, in part because the human genome is the complete DNA assembly that makes each person unique. A Virginia Tech professor and his team of researchers have created new technology to help in understanding how the human body battles diseases.

Study reveals dynamics of crucial immune system proteins

Of the many marvels of the human immune system, the processing of antigens by the class I proteins of the major histocompatability complex (MHC-I) is among the most mind-boggling. Exactly how these proteins carry out their crucial functions has not been well understood. Now, however, researchers at UC Santa Cruz have worked out the details of key molecular interactions involved in the selection...

Highly sensitive epigenomic technology combats disease

Much remains unknown about diseases and the way our bodies respond to them, in part because the human genome is the complete DNA assembly that makes each person unique. Researchers have created new technology to help in understanding how the human body battles diseases.

How does protein fit in your holiday diet or New Year's resolutions?

While some diets load up on protein and other diets dictate protein sources, it can be hard to know what to consume while managing weight or during weight loss. A new study by nutrition scientists shows that eating more protein daily than what is recommended may benefit only a few - those who are actively losing weight by cutting calories or those strength training to build more lean muscle mass.

How accumulating useful genes helps older yeast fare better in tougher times

Researchers have used yeast to learn more about how satellite (extrachromosomal) DNA circles are formed to carry amplified genes, how the gene duplication is specific to the environmental pressure and the effects of age. Understanding the mechanism of gene duplication and DNA circle formation has relevance to the biology of ageing and the development of drug resistance in cancers cells.

Successful instrument guidance through deep and convoluted blood vessel networks

Researchers have developed a novel approach to tackling one of the biggest challenges of endovascular surgery: how to reach the most difficult-to-access physiological locations. Their solution is a robotic platform that uses the fringe field generated by the superconducting magnet of a clinical MRI scanner to guide medical instruments through deeper and more complex vascular structures. The...

Dynamics of crucial immune system proteins

Of the many marvels of the human immune system, the processing of antigens by the class I proteins of the major histocompatability complex (MHC-I) is among the most mind-boggling. Exactly how these proteins carry out their crucial functions has not been well understood. Now, however, researchers have worked out the details of key molecular interactions involved in the selection and processing of...

How accumulating useful genes helps older yeast fare better in tougher times

Genome amplification, whereby organisms bump up the number of copies of beneficial genes in response to environmental stresses, is implicated in diseases such as cancer and also in ageing. Researchers in the Babraham Institute's Epigenetics research programme have used yeast to learn more about how satellite (extrachromosomal) DNA circles are formed to carry amplified genes, how the gene...

Detecting solar flares, more in real time

Computers can learn to find solar flares and other events in vast streams of solar images and help NOAA forecasters issue timely alerts, according to a new study. The machine-learning technique, developed by scientists at CIRES and NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), searches massive amounts of satellite data to pick out features significant for space weather. Changing...

Detecting solar flares, more in real time

Computers can learn to find flares and other events in vast streams of solar images to help forecasters issue timely alerts, according to a new study. The machine-learning technique searches satellite data for features significant for space weather. Changing conditions on the Sun can affect various technologies on Earth, blocking radio communications, damaging power grids, and diminishing...

Southern Arizona once looked like Tibet

A new study determined that the Earth's crust in southern Arizona was once almost 60 kilometers thick, which is twice as thick as it is today -- and comparable to how thick the crust is in parts of the Himalayas.

Study sheds light on the peculiar 'normal' phase of high-temperature superconductors

Every character has a back story, and so do high-temperature superconductors, which conduct electricity with no loss at much higher temperatures than scientists once thought possible. Recent experiments have probed the normal state more accurately than ever before and discover an abrupt shift in the behavior of electrons in which they suddenly give up their individuality and behave like an...

Mass-producible, centimeter-scale metalens for VR, imaging

Metalenses -- flat surfaces that use nanostructures to focus light -- are poised to revolutionize everything from microscopy to cameras, sensors, and displays. But so far, most of the lenses have been about the size of a piece of glitter. While lenses this size work well for some applications, a larger lens is needed for low-light conditions, such as an imaging system onboard orbital satellites,...

Researchers use genomics to discover potential new treatment for parasite disease

Using innovative RNA sequencing techniques, researchers identified a promising novel treatment for lymphatic filariasis, a disabling parasitic disease that is difficult to treat. The potential new therapy is an experimental cancer drug called JQ1 and targets proteins found prominently in the worm's genome; it appears to effectively kill the adult worms in a laboratory setting, according to the...

Researchers develop a mass-producible, centimeter-scale metalens for VR, imaging

Metalenses—flat surfaces that use nanostructures to focus light—are poised to revolutionize everything from microscopy to cameras, sensors, and displays. But so far, most of the lenses have been about the size of a piece of glitter. While lenses this size work well for some applications, a larger lens is needed for low-light conditions, such as an imaging system onboard orbital satellites, and...

Genomic gymnastics help sorghum plant survive drought

Scorching temperatures and parched earth are no match for the sorghum plant—this cereal crop, native to Africa and Australia, will remain green and productive, even under conditions that would render other plants brown, brittle and barren.

Towards high quality zinc oxide quantum dots for biomedical applications

Nanocrystalline zinc oxide (ZnO) is currently one of the most commonly used semiconductor metal oxide nanomaterials due to its unique catalytic and electro-optical characteristics. The inherent and distinctive physicochemical properties of ZnO nanostructures are dependent on a variety of factors that are determined by the applied synthetic procedure and the character of the resulting...

Characterizing whale vocalization can help map migration

Killer whale pods each have their own set of calls they use to communicate, sometimes referred to as the pod's "dialect." By characterizing an individual pod's calls, researchers can track the pod's seasonal movements, gaining a better understanding of the whales' lives.

Researchers use genomics to discover potential new treatment for parasite disease

Using innovative RNA sequencing techniques, researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) Institute for Genome Sciences identified a promising novel treatment for lymphatic filariasis, a disabling parasitic disease that is difficult to treat. The potential new therapy is an experimental cancer drug called JQ1 and targets proteins found prominently in the worm's genome; it...

Electron correlations in carbon nanostructures

New materials are needed to further reduce the size of electronic components and thus make devices such as laptops and smartphones faster and more efficient. Tiny nanostructures of the novel material graphene are promising in this respect. Graphene consists of a single layer of carbon atoms and, among other things, has a very high electrical conductivity. However, the extreme spatial confinement...

Gigi Pavur Named an AGU Grand Prize Winner for Mapping Landslide Risk in Central America

Gigi Pavur, a 2019 DEVELOP participant and former NASA Headquarters intern, is one of eight grand prize winners of the 2019 American Geophysical Union (AGU) Data Visualization and Storytelling Competition for her DEVELOP team’s landslide susceptibility mapping project. The project helps identify potential landslides in the Dominican Republic and surrounding Caribbean islands in near...

Potentially harmful air contamination near New Bedford Harbor

A new Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) study indicates that the contaminated water of New Bedford Harbor may pose an airborne health hazard for residents living nearby in Acushnet, Dartmouth, Fairhaven, and New Bedford. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) declared the southeastern Massachusetts harbor a Superfund site and has been cleaning up sediment contaminated with...

Gas giant composition not determined by host star

A surprising analysis of the composition of gas giant exoplanets and their host stars shows that there isn't a strong correlation between their compositions when it comes to elements heavier than hydrogen and helium, according to new work led by Carnegie's Johanna Teske and published in the Astronomical Journal. This finding has important implications for our understanding of the planetary...