Voters perceive political candidates with a disability as qualified for elected office

Worldwide, over one billion people live with a disability. Historically, they have been discriminated against and stigmatized by society. To improve their rights, they should be included in political decision-making, yet there is a lack of political representatives who are known to have a disability. This under-representation may be due to several factors, including how voters perceive a political candidate with a disability. However, a new study published in Frontiers in Political Science, found for the first time that voters do not apply negative stereotypes when evaluating candidates with a disability. Rather, voters tend to perceive candidates with a disability as capable, honest, and caring.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-01-voters-political-candidates-disability-elected.html

How blood stem cells maintain their lifelong potential for self-renewal

A characteristic feature of all stem cells is their ability to self-renew. But how is this potential maintained throughout life? Scientists at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and the Heidelberg Institute for Stem Cell Technology and Experimental Medicine (HI-STEM) have now discovered in mice that cells in the so-called stem cell niche are responsible for this: Blood vessel cells of the niche produce a factor that stimulates blood stem cells and thus maintains their self-renewal capacity. During aging, production of this factor ceases and blood stem cells begin to age.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-01-blood-stem-cells-lifelong-potential.html

Ancient proteins help track early milk drinking in Africa

Tracking milk drinking in the ancient past is not straightforward. For decades, archaeologists have tried to reconstruct the practice by various indirect methods. They have looked at ancient rock art to identify scenes of animals being milked and at animal bones to reconstruct kill-off patterns that might reflect the use of animals for dairying. More recently, they even used scientific methods to detect traces of dairy fats on ancient pots. But none of these methods can say if a specific individual consumed milk.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-01-ancient-proteins-track-early-africa.html

Genome sequences for two wild tomato ancestors

Tomatoes are one of the most popular types of fresh produce consumed worldwide, as well as being an important ingredient in many manufactured foods.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-01-genome-sequences-wild-tomato-ancestors.html

Philippine forest trees threatened by deforestation and climate change

The tree species in the Dipterocarpaceae family dominate many tropical forest formations in Southeast Asia (see Figure 1). The Philippines is home to more than 50 dipterocarp tree species, of which 25 cannot be found anywhere else on Earth. About 97% of the Philippines' tropical forest have been subjected to logging activities, and are often converted to other land uses such as for agriculture. Hence, many of these important and unique tree species are under severe threat. Apart from this, climate change may further threaten the survival of these tree species as environmental conditions become increasingly inhospitable, driving potential shifts in their population ranges.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-01-philippine-forest-trees-threatened-deforestation.html

Arctic ocean expedition advances climate modeling

As the climate warms and Arctic sea ice retreats, more research vessels and commercial ships are sailing into the Arctic Ocean, but the accuracy and sensitivity of regional weather and marine forecasts for these hazardous waters still lag well behind those of their lower-latitude counterparts, with significant differences between regional models. Direct measurements of atmospheric conditions, such as cloud cover and solar radiation can help to evaluate and improve these models.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-01-arctic-ocean-advances-climate.html

Not obese after all: Captive Asian elephants less fat than average human

When Daniella Chusy, currently at Indiana University, U.S., learned that many captive elephants were thought to be overweight and that their low birth rates suggested that they may be facing a fertility crisis, she began seeing parallels with the obesity crisis humans face currently. But no one had actually measured how much fat captive Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) in zoos carry. "I was interested in discovering whether methods predominantly used in human health research could help us learn more about elephants," says Chusyd at University of Alabama at Birmingham, U.S. (UAB) at the time. She and her colleagues decided to learn about the relationship between the amount of fat the animals carry and their health and they publish their discovery that captive Asian elephants are less fat than the average human in Journal of Experimental Biology.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-01-obese-captive-asian-elephants-fat.html

Genome-editing tool TALEN outperforms CRISPR-Cas9 in tightly packed DNA

Researchers used single-molecule imaging to compare the genome-editing tools CRISPR-Cas9 and TALEN. Their experiments revealed that TALEN is up to five times more efficient than CRISPR-Cas9 in parts of the genome, called heterochromatin, that are densely packed. Fragile X syndrome, sickle cell anemia, beta-thalassemia and other diseases are the result of genetic defects in the heterochromatin.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-01-genome-editing-tool-talen-outperforms-crispr-cas9.html

Carbon-chomping soil bacteria may pose hidden climate risk

Much of the earth's carbon is trapped in soil, and scientists have assumed that potential climate-warming compounds would safely stay there for centuries. But new research from Princeton University shows that carbon molecules can potentially escape the soil much faster than previously thought. The findings suggest a key role for some types of soil bacteria, which can produce enzymes that break down large carbon-based molecules and allow carbon dioxide to escape into the air.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-01-carbon-chomping-soil-bacteria-pose-hidden.html

YouTube Shorts eyes TikTok competition with 3.5 bn daily views in India

YouTube Shorts—the video-sharing website's quick clips meant to compete with TikTok—are racking up 3.5 billion views a day during beta testing in India, the platform's head said Tuesday.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-01-youtube-shorts-eyes-tiktok-competition.html

Volta Trucks set to launch urban electric lorry

Anglo-Swedish startup Volta Trucks will launch its urban electric lorry this year, the group said Wednesday, tapping into keen demand for electrified transport—and increasing bans against high-polluting vehicles.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-01-volta-trucks-urban-electric-lorry.html

The end of offices? New York's business districts face uncertain future

Boarded-up stores, shuttered restaurants and empty office towers: COVID-19 has turned New York's famous business districts into ghost towns, with companies scrambling to come up with ways to entice workers to return post-pandemic.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-01-offices-york-business-districts-uncertain.html

Biden poised to halt fossil fuel leasing on federal land

US President Joe Biden was planning to announce new bans on oil and gas drilling on federal lands Wednesday as part of a raft of actions that take aim at climate change, according to reports and a White House memo.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-01-biden-poised-halt-fossil-fuel.html

Google says North Korea-backed hackers sought cyber research

Google says it believes hackers backed by the North Korean government have been posing as computer security bloggers and using fake accounts on social media while attempting to steal information from researchers in the field.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-01-google-north-korea-backed-hackers-sought.html

Walmart to build more robot-filled warehouses at stores

Walmart is enlisting the help of robots to keep up with a surge in online orders.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-01-walmart-robot-filled-warehouses.html

Indonesian volcano unleashes river of lava in new eruption

Indonesia's most active volcano erupted Wednesday with a river of lava and searing gas clouds flowing 1,500 meters (4,900 feet) down its slopes.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-01-indonesian-volcano-unleashes-river-lava.html

Newly found Fukushima plant contamination may delay cleanup

A draft investigation report into the 2011 Fukushima nuclear meltdown, adopted by Japanese nuclear regulators Wednesday, says it has detected dangerously high levels of radioactive contamination at two of the three reactors, adding to concerns about decommissioning challenges.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-01-newly-fukushima-contamination-cleanup.html

Harpy eagles could be under greater threat than previously thought

Harpy eagles are considered by many to be among the planet's most spectacular birds. They are also among its most elusive, generally avoiding areas disturbed by human activity—therefore already having vanished from portions of its range—and listed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as being 'Near-Threatened'.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-01-harpy-eagles-greater-threat-previously.html

Pace of prehistoric human innovation could be revealed by 'linguistic thermometer'

Multi-disciplinary researchers at The University of Manchester have helped develop a powerful physics-based tool to map the pace of language development and human innovation over thousands of years—even stretching into pre-history before records were kept.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-01-pace-prehistoric-human-revealed-linguistic.html

Children can bypass age verification procedures in popular social media apps

Children of all ages can completely bypass age verification measures to sign-up to the world's most popular social media apps including Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, WhatsApp, Messenger, Skype and Discord by simply lying about their age, researchers at Lero, the Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Software have discovered.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-01-children-bypass-age-verification-procedures.html

Making wheat and peanuts less allergenic

The United States Department of Agriculture identifies a group of "big eight" foods that causes 90% of food allergies. Among these foods are wheat and peanuts.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-01-wheat-peanuts-allergenic.html

Solar material can 'self-heal' imperfections, new research shows

A material that can be used in technologies such as solar power has been found to self-heal, a new study shows.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-01-solar-material-self-heal-imperfections.html

The naming of Tooley crater

Like Einstein, Galileo, and Copernicus, former NASA program manager Craig Tooley now has a place on the Moon named in his honor. Tooley crater is a 7 km crater in a permanently shadowed region of Shoemaker crater near the lunar south pole. The new crater designation is official and can be used in journal articles and other publications.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-01-tooley-crater.html

World's largest opinion survey on climate change: Majority call for wide-ranging action

The results of the Peoples' Climate Vote, the world's biggest ever survey of public opinion on climate change are published today. Covering 50 countries with over half of the world's population, the survey includes over half a million people under the age of 18, a key constituency on climate change that is typically unable to vote yet in regular elections. 

source https://phys.org/news/2021-01-world-largest-opinion-survey-climate.html