Warmer climate may make new mutations more harmful

A warmer global climate can cause mutations to have more severe consequences for the health of organisms through their detrimental effect on protein function. This may have major repercussions on organisms' ability to adapt to, and survive in, the altered habitats of the future. This is shown in a new Uppsala University research study now published in the scientific journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-warmer-climate-mutations.html

Sub-surface imaging technology can expose counterfeit travel documents

New research by the School of Physical Sciences has found that optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging technology can be utilized to distinguish between legitimate and counterfeit travel documents.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-02-sub-surface-imaging-technology-expose-counterfeit.html

Finding rare birds is never a picnic, contrary to popular Patagonia belief

One of birdwatching's most commonly held and colorfully named beliefs, the Patagonia Picnic Table Effect, is more a fun myth than a true phenomenon, Oregon State University research suggests.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-rare-birds-picnic-contrary-popular.html

First images of muon beams

A new technique has taken the first images of muon particle beams. Nagoya University scientists designed the imaging technique with colleagues in Osaka University and KEK, Japan and describe it in the journal Scientific Reports. They plan to use it to assess the quality of these beams, which are being used more and more in advanced imaging applications.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-images-muon.html

A global look at surface soil organic carbon

Healthy soil is paramount to life on Earth. In addition to its importance in agriculture, soil is the foundation for almost every terrestrial ecosystem on Earth. Soil organic carbon (SOC) is frequently used as a gauge of soil health, it plays an important role in terrestrial carbon cycling, and it carries huge implications for climate change adaptation. Understanding these dynamics on a planetary scale will be vital as humanity attempts to feed a growing population under increasing stress from a warming planet.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-global-surface-soil-carbon.html

Nokia and Vodafone showcase record-breaking 100 gigabit fiber broadband

Nokia and Vodafone have announced the successful trial of a new passive optical network (PON) technology capable of delivering speeds up to 100 gigabits per second (Gb/s) on a single wavelength 10 times faster than the most advanced networks available today. This marks the latest industry-first in fiber access for Nokia, following breakthroughs in 10G PON, TWDM-PON, universal PON and 25G PON.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-02-nokia-vodafone-showcase-record-breaking-gigabit.html

South Africa: Rising temperatures will cost up to 20% of per capita GDP

Temperature rise due to climate change has negatively affected labor productivity in recent decades and will keep damaging it, potentially to a higher extent than what has been estimated in the literature up to now. In South Africa, a future scenario with severe climate change will feature a reduction of per capita GDP of up to 20% by the end of the century compared to an idealized future without the impacts of a changing climate.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-south-africa-temperatures-capita-gdp.html

Researchers propose programming to support adolescent mothers in areas of conflict

Adolescent mothers often fall through the cracks of educational programming. This is highly problematic given that globally an estimated 12 million girls between the ages of 15-19, and 777,000 girls under the age of 15, give birth each year. In populations affected by conflict and displacement, adolescent girls have an increased likelihood of becoming mothers due to various factors, such as disruptions to schooling, the loss of family members, poverty, gender-based violence, and poor access to healthcare and sexual and reproductive services and resources. There is a lack of support programs for these young mothers, and a continuing need for educational programming.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-adolescent-mothers-areas-conflict.html

Coral decline—is sunscreen a scapegoat?

Many household products contain ingredients to protect them against sun damage. These UV filters are found in plastics, paints and textiles, as well as personal care products such as sunscreens and moisturizers. UV filters are entering the aquatic environment in rivers, lakes and oceans. Consider for a moment a beach goer swimming in the ocean or rain washing over plastic playground equipment and running into a stormwater drain—either directly or indirectly, UV filters end up making their way to a waterway.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-coral-declineis-sunscreen-scapegoat.html

Double delight: New synthetic transmembrane ion channel can be activated in two ways

Scientists at Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) and University of Tokyo, Japan, have, for the first time, synthesized a novel artificial transmembrane ion channel modeled on a naturally found transmembrane channel involved in neuron signaling—that responds to both chemical and electrical stimuli. Given its overall properties, this artificial channel opens doors to novel fundamental research into cellular transport and signaling, new possibilities in drug development, and the potential for new types of biosensors.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-synthetic-transmembrane-ion-channel-ways.html

Scientists develop method to detect fake news

Social media is increasingly used to spread fake news. The same problem can be found on the capital market—criminals spread fake news about companies in order to manipulate share prices. Researchers at the Universities of Göttingen and Frankfurt and the Jožef Stefan Institute in Ljubljana have developed an approach that can recognize such fake news, even when the news content is repeatedly adapted. The results of the study were published in the Journal of the Association for Information Systems.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-02-scientists-method-fake-news.html

In the Antarctic, a scientist recruits albatrosses to pinpoint illegal fishing boats

Albatross expert Dr. Henri Weimerskirch, of the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), turned his favourite seabirds into spies two years ago by fixing them up with loggers that could detect the radar of illegal fishing vessels. The information from this project, known as OCEAN SENTINEL, has helped governments select which parts of the ocean to patrol. But Dr. Weimerskirch wanted to recruit another, possibly better, species to stealth operations. In late 2020, he returned to the remote Kerguelen Islands, in the southern Indian Ocean, to see if they would cooperate. He told Horizon about his expedition.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-antarctic-scientist-albatrosses-illegal-fishing.html

Neutrons probe molecular behavior of proposed COVID-19 drug candidates

As the scientific community continues researching the novel coronavirus, experts are developing new drugs and repurposing existing ones in hopes of identifying promising candidates for treating symptoms of COVID-19.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-neutrons-probe-molecular-behavior-covid-.html

SpaceX aims to launch 'all-civilian' trip into orbit

SpaceX announced Monday it's aiming to launch this year the first all-civilian mission into Earth's orbit, led by a tech billionaire who plans to raffle off one of the spots aboard the craft.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-spacex-aims-all-civilian-orbit.html

Google deals with trio of US lawsuits over ad prowess

Executives at Google parent company Alphabet will report quarterly earnings on Tuesday, seeking to highlight the internet titan's money-making success while mindful of regulators concerned about the firm's clout.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-02-google-trio-lawsuits-ad-prowess.html

Australia's Perth battles bushfire amid virus lockdown

A wildfire on the fringes of Australia's fourth-largest city Perth has destroyed several homes and forced emergency evacuations, authorities said Tuesday, just days after the west coast city entered a coronavirus lockdown.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-australia-perth-bushfire-virus-lockdown.html

Economic growth has 'devastating cost to nature', review finds

Humanity's unbridled growth in recent decades has come at a "devastating cost to nature" according a wide-ranging international review on the vital economic role played by our living planet.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-economic-growth-devastating-nature.html

Study: Killings surge in 2020; pandemic, protests play roles

Killings rose dramatically across the U.S. last year, and a study released Monday suggests the coronavirus pandemic and racial injustice unrest were factors.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-surge-pandemic-protests-roles.html

Siemens Energy to shed 7,800 jobs in cost-cutting drive

Energy technology company Siemens Energy said Tuesday that it plans to shed 7,800 jobs worldwide by 2025 as part of a drive to cut costs.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-02-siemens-energy-jobs-cost-cutting.html

Google antes up $2.6M to settle pay, job discrimination case

Google will pay $2.6 million to more than 5,500 employees and past job applicants to resolve allegations that the internet giant discriminated against female engineers and Asians in California and Washington state.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-02-google-antes-26m-job-discrimination.html

Google shutters internal Stadia game studio

Google is closing the internal studio tasked with developing games for its Stadia cloud-gaming service, a move that raises questions about the future of the Stadia service itself.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-02-google-shutters-internal-stadia-game.html

As climate warms, summer monsoons to produce less streamflow

In the summer of 2019, Desert Research Institute (DRI) scientist Rosemary Carroll, Ph.D., waited for the arrival of the North American Monsoon, which normally brings a needed dose of summer moisture to the area where she lives in Crested Butte, Colo. - but for the fourth year in a row, the rains never really came.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-climate-summer-monsoons-streamflow.html

Say goodbye to the dots and dashes to enhance optical storage media

Purdue University innovators have created technology aimed at replacing Morse code with colored "digital characters" to modernize optical storage. They are confident the advancement will help with the explosion of remote data storage during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-goodbye-dots-dashes-optical-storage.html