Wintering bird communities track climate change faster than breeding communities in Europe and North America

A study recently completed in Europe and North America indicates that the composition of wintering and breeding bird communities changes in line with global warming. However, wintering bird communities are considerably faster at tracking the changing climate compared to breeding communities.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-wintering-bird-track-climate-faster.html

Reduced nickel content and improved stability and performance in ceramic fuel cells

A research team in Korea has developed a ceramic fuel cell that offers both stability and high performance while reducing the required amount of catalyst by a factor of 20. The application range for ceramic fuel cells, which have so far only been used for large-scale power generation due to the difficulties associated with frequent start-ups, can be expected to expand to new fields, such as electric vehicles, robots, and drones.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-nickel-content-stability-ceramic-fuel.html

Epic Games files EU antitrust complaint against Apple

Epic Games said Wednesday it filed an antitrust complaint against Apple with European Union regulators, opening a new front in its war with the tech giant over app store payments.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-02-epic-games-eu-antitrust-complaint.html

Russian cargo ship docks at International Space Station

An unmanned Russian cargo ship docked at the International Space Station Wednesday with a load of supplies.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-russian-cargo-ship-docks-international.html

Daimler partners with Amazon on self-driving trucks

German automobile giant Daimler, the world leader in heavy-goods vehicles, said Wednesday that it had enlisted Amazon to help with its testing of Level 4 self-driving trucks.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-02-daimler-partners-amazon-self-driving-trucks.html

Greece races to restore power grid as cold snap recedes

Crews in Greece on Wednesday raced to restore power to tens of thousands of homes as a severe cold front receded after bringing heavy snowfall and gale-force winds that left three dead.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-greece-power-grid-cold-snap.html

Italy fines Facebook 7 mn euros over data protection

Italy's antitrust regulator announced Wednesday a new fine of 7.0 million euros ($8.45 million) against Facebook for misleading conduct on data protection.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-02-italy-fines-facebook-mn-euros.html

Cambodia sets up China-style internet firewall

Cambodia's government moved to exert near-total control over the country's online life Wednesday, setting up a national internet gateway which activists say will stifle freedom of expression and block content via a China-style firewall.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-02-cambodia-china-style-internet-firewall.html

Ford to spend $1B to switch German factory to electric cars

Ford says it will spend $1 billion to modernize its Cologne, Germany, manufacturing center, converting it into a European electric vehicle factory.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-02-ford-1b-german-factory-electric.html

A new, clearer insight into Earth's hidden crystals

Geologists have developed a new theory about the state of Earth billions of years ago after examining the very old rocks formed in the Earth's mantle below the continents.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-clearer-insight-earth-hidden-crystals.html

Airbus looks to A321 XLR to exit virus crisis

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit aircraft manufacturers hard but Airbus is already looking towards a new plane to help drive its recovery and get a leg up on rival Boeing.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-02-airbus-a321-xlr-exit-virus.html

Scientists and indigenous people unite to save Colombian condor

Rosendo Quira silently shakes a medicinal plant to attract a condor to the bait. The bird of prey glides through the clouds over Colombia towards a mountain pass some 3,200 meters above the sea.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-scientists-indigenous-people-colombian-condor.html

Australia news media 'large and small' discuss Google deals

Google was quickly negotiating generous deals with big and small Australian media companies to pay for news as the Parliament considers forcing digital giants into such agreements, a minister said on Wednesday.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-02-australia-news-media-large-small.html

China steps up online controls with new rule for bloggers

Ma Xiaolin frequently wrote about current affairs on one of China's leading microblogging sites, where he has 2 million followers. But recently, he said in a post, the Weibo site called and asked him not to post original content on topics ranging from politics to economic and military issues.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-02-china-online-bloggers.html

Explainer: Topsy-turvy weather comes from polar vortex

It's as if the world has been turned upside-down, or at least its weather. You can blame the increasingly familiar polar vortex, which has brought a taste of the Arctic to places where winter often requires no more than a jacket.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-topsy-turvy-weather-polar-vortex.html

Plastic recycling results in rare metals being found in children's toys and food packaging

Some of the planet's rarest metals—used in the manufacture of smartphones and other electrical equipment—are increasingly being found in everyday consumer plastics, according to new research.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-plastic-recycling-results-rare-metals.html

The market advantage of a feminine brand name

Researchers from University of Calgary, University of Montana, HEC Paris, and University of Cincinnati published a new paper in the Journal of Marketing that explores the linguistic aspects of a name that can influence brand perceptions without people even realizing it.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-advantage-feminine-brand.html

Electricity source determines benefits of electrifying China's vehicles

Each year an estimated 1.2 million Chinese citizens die prematurely due to poor air quality. And public health consequences are particularly dire during extreme air quality events, such as infamous "Airpocalypse" winter haze episodes.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-electricity-source-benefits-electrifying-china.html

CT scans of Egyptian mummy reveal new details about the death of a pivotal pharaoh

Modern medical technology is helping scholars tell a more nuanced story about the fate of an ancient king whose violent death indirectly led to the reunification of Egypt in the 16th century BC. The research was published in Frontiers in Medicine.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-ct-scans-egyptian-mummy-reveal.html

Breeding better seeds: Healthy food for more people

Your morning cereal or oatmeal. The bread on your sandwich. The corn chips for your snack, and the cookies for dessert. Not one would be possible with the humblest of ingredients: the seed.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-seeds-healthy-food-people.html

Tourists could be spreading the virus causing COVID-19 to wild mountain gorillas by taking selfies with the animals

Tourists could be spreading the virus causing COVID-19 to wild mountain gorillas by taking selfies with the animals without following precautions. Researchers from Oxford Brookes University examined nearly 1,000 Instagram posts and found most gorilla trekking tourists were close enough to the animals, without face masks on, to make transmission of viruses and diseases possible.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-tourists-virus-covid-wild-mountain.html

Helping behavior may mitigate academic risk for children from low-income neighborhoods

Children raised in neighborhoods with low socio-economic status are at risk for low academic achievement. A new longitudinal study followed young children from such neighborhoods from birth until age seven to explore whether children's capacity to act kindly or generously towards others (prosocial behavior) - including peers, teachers, and family—is linked to their ability to perform well in school. The study showed that prosocial behavior may mitigate academic risk across early childhood.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-behavior-mitigate-academic-children-low-income.html