Young sea lion recovers from shark bite, returns to ocean

A feisty young sea lion is back in the Northern California wild after five weeks of rehabilitation to treat a severe shark bite, domoic acid poisoning and malnutrition.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-young-sea-lion-recovers-shark.html

New AI tool can predict in seconds what a movie will be rated

Movie ratings can determine a movie's appeal to consumers and the size of its potential audience. Thus, they have an impact on a film's bottom line. Typically, humans do the tedious task of manually rating a movie based on viewing the movie and making decisions on the presence of violence, drug abuse and sexual content.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-12-ai-tool-seconds-movie.html

How to help dogs and cats manage separation anxiety when their humans return to work

When one of my co-workers found out about a tiny, orphaned kitten that needed a home a few months ago, he didn't hesitate to adopt it. He says his new companion helped make the months of COVID-19 isolation at home much less stressful.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-dogs-cats-anxiety-humans.html

Crops grown in Bangalore high on toxic heavy metals

Scientists in Bangalore, India have found toxic levels of four heavy metals, chromium, nickel, cadmium and lead, in crops and vegetables grown on soil irrigated with water from six lakes in the city, reports a study published December in Current Science.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-crops-grown-bangalore-high-toxic.html

New supercluster discovered by astronomers

By analyzing the data from the eROSITA Final Equatorial Depth Survey (eFEDS), an international team of astronomers has detected a new supercluster. The newly found structure consists of eight galaxy clusters. The discovery is reported in a paper published December 21 on the arXiv pre-print server.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-supercluster-astronomers.html

Football: 'The wall' can make it harder to save free kicks – new research

In football, free kicks occur when the referee believes a rule has been broken. If central enough and within 30 metres from the goal, the attacking team typically attempts a direct shot on goal. However, the goalkeeper routinely places a "wall" of defensive players in between the ball and the goal to complicate the kicker's task of shooting on target.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-12-football-wall-harder-free.html

What's the best way to boost the economy? Invest in high-voltage transmission lines

When, in the midst of the pandemic, the Economic Society of Australia invited 150 of Australia's keenest young thinkers to come up with "brief, specific and actionable" proposals to improve the economy, amid scores of ideas about improving job matching, changing the tax system, providing non-repayable loans to businesses and accelerating telehealth, two proposals stood out.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-12-boost-economy-invest-high-voltage-transmission.html

Clicks, bonks and dripping taps: listen to the calls of 6 frogs out and about this summer

Frog calls are iconic sounds of summer in Australia. There are more than 240 species native to Australia, almost all of which are found nowhere else on Earth.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-clicks-bonks-frogs-summer.html

To help trudge through the snow, the chang'e-5 recovery team wore powered exoskeletons

Other worlds aren't the only difficult terrain personnel will have to traverse in humanity's exploration of the solar system. There are some parts of our own planet that are inhospitable and hard to travel over. Inner Mongolia, a northern province of China, would certainly classify as one of those areas, especially in winter. But that's exactly the terrain team members from the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASTC) had to traverse on December 16th to retrieve lunar samples from the Chang'e-5 mission. What was even more unique is that they did it with the help of exoskeletons.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-trudge-change-recovery-team-wore.html

Is forearm curvature in the 'Little Foot' Australopithecus natural or pathological?

The 3.67-million-year-old StW 573 ("Little Foot") Australopithecus from Sterkfontein, South Africa, is the most complete skeleton known in the hominin fossil record.  It's discoverers suggested that the significant curvature of its forearm is the result of a fall from a tree during childhood.  They argued this early Australopithecus suffered acute plastic bowing of the forearm—a deformity common in young children after suffering a traumatic fall onto an outstretched hand, as juvenile bones are more elastic than those of adults. 

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-forearm-curvature-foot-australopithecus-natural.html

Ripples in space-time could provide clues to missing components of the universe

There's something a little off about our theory of the universe. Almost everything fits, but there's a fly in the cosmic ointment, a particle of sand in the infinite sandwich. Some scientists think the culprit might be gravity—and that subtle ripples in the fabric of space-time could help us find the missing piece.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-ripples-space-time-clues-components-universe.html

Mallard to go? Dig of Pompeii fast-food place reveals tastes

A fast-food eatery at Pompeii has been excavated, helping to reveal dishes that were popular for the citizens of the ancient Roman city who were partial to eating out.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-mallard-pompeii-fast-food-reveals.html

2020 weather disasters boosted by climate change: report

The ten costliest weather disasters worldwide this year saw insured damages worth $150 billion, topping the figure for 2019 and reflecting a long-term impact of global warming, according to a report Monday.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-weather-disasters-boosted-climate.html

Trump, under pressure, signs $900 bn Covid relief bill

After delaying for nearly a week and under pressure from all sides, US President Donald Trump finally signed a massive $900 billion stimulus bill Sunday, in a long-sought boost for millions of Americans and businesses battered by the coronavirus pandemic.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-trump-pressure-bn-covid-relief.html

Amid pandemic, Pacific islands work to offset food shortages

Coronavirus infections have barely touched many of the remote islands of the Pacific, but the pandemic's fallout has been enormous, disrupting the supply chain that brings crucial food imports and sending prices soaring as tourism wanes.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-pandemic-pacific-islands-offset-food.html