New Vacuum Solar Telescope reveals acceleration of magnetic reconnection

Magnetic reconnection shows the reconfiguration of magnetic field geometry. It plays an elemental role in the rapid release of magnetic energy and its conversion to other forms of energy in magnetized plasma systems throughout the universe.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-03-vacuum-solar-telescope-reveals-magnetic.html

Perseverance rover's SuperCam science instrument delivers first results

The first readings from the SuperCam instrument aboard NASA's Perseverance rover have arrived on Earth. SuperCam was developed jointly by the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in New Mexico and a consortium of French research laboratories under the auspices of the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES). The instrument delivered data to the French Space Agency's operations center in Toulouse that includes the first audio of laser zaps on another planet.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-03-perseverance-rover-supercam-science-instrument.html

Massive stars in the early universe may have been progenitors of super-massive black holes

Recent observations have shown that there is a supermassive black hole at the center of each galaxy. However, what is the origin of these supermassive black holes? It is still a mystery today. An international research team led by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan and Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics (ASIAA) in Taiwan has predicted an extreme supernova from a supermassive star, possible the progenitor of supermassive black holes. Their calculation suggested that this supernova can be observed by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) that will be launched by the end of 2021.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-03-massive-stars-early-universe-progenitors.html

Researchers home in on the age of the Yangtze River

A new study examining sediments from the Yangtze River sheds new light on the formation of one of the world's great waterways.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-03-home-age-yangtze-river.html

Plant immunity requires two-step detection of invaders

Plants perceive pathogens and activate immunity using two very different types of receptors. Receptors at the cell surface detect pathogen-derived molecules that accumulate outside plant cells, activating pattern-triggered immunity (PTI). PTI is suppressed by pathogen-derived effector proteins, that are injected into host cells to enable pathogen growth, but these effectors can be detected by intracellular receptors, resulting in effector-triggered immunity (ETI). Until now, it has not been clear how the defense mechanisms activated by these two distinct perception mechanisms interact.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-03-immunity-requires-two-step-invaders.html

Robots learn faster with quantum technology

Artificial intelligence is part of our modern life by enabling machines to learn useful processes such as speech recognition and digital personal assistants. A crucial question for practical applications is how fast such intelligent machines can learn. An experiment at the University of Vienna has answered this question, showing that quantum technology enables a speed-up in the learning process. The physicists, in an international collaboration within Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, and the U.S., have achieved this result by using a quantum processor for single photons as a robot. This work, which con-tributes to the advancement of quantum artificial intelligence for future applications, is published in the current issue of the journal Nature.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-03-robots-faster-quantum-technology.html

Classic math problem solved: Computer scientists have developed a superb algorithm for finding the shortest route

One of the most classic algorithmic problems deals with calculating the shortest path between two points. A more complicated variant of the problem is when the route traverses a changing network—whether this be a road network or the internet. For 40 years, researchers have sought an algorithm that provides an optimal solution to this problem. Now, computer scientist Christian Wulff-Nilsen of the University of Copenhagen and two research colleagues have come up with a recipe.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-03-classic-math-problem-scientists-superb.html

Scientists found new way to synthesize chiral tetraarylmethanes

A group of scientists at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) have achieved a catalytic asymmetric synthesis of tetraarylmethanes by chiral phosphoric catalysis. With this process, two libraries of structurally distinct CTAMs were efficiently synthesized with high enantioselectivity. Preliminary biological activity study indicated that these spherical molecules are highly promising anticancer agents.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-03-scientists-chiral-tetraarylmethanes.html

Proteins choreograph the infinitesimal dance of living cells and functional biomaterials

An interdisciplinary research team at Lehigh University has unraveled how functional biomaterials rely upon an interfacial protein layer to transmit signals to living cells concerning their adhesion, proliferation and overall development.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-03-proteins-choreograph-infinitesimal-cells-functional.html

Roblox, after winning over kids, becomes a hit on Wall Street

The Roblox game world that has won over children around the world and became a pandemic hit scored big on Wall Street Wednesday, as newly listed shares surged.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-03-roblox-kids-wall-street.html

Smart windows could reduce the need for energy-hungry air conditioners

Smart windows that control the amount of heat that enters or leaves a building can reduce the need for energy-intensive air conditioning units and help efforts to retrofit Europe's buildings to make them more energy efficient.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-03-smart-windows-energy-hungry-air-conditioners.html

QR codes, health passports: China's tech arsenal against a pandemic

Daily life in China follows a rhythm of digital check-ins, with the QR code—at offices, malls and transport hubs—an integral defence against COVID-19 that helps to track, trace and isolate patients.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-03-qr-codes-health-passports-china.html

Facebook halts project for undersea data cable to Hong Kong

Facebook has decided to halt its efforts to build a trans-Pacific undersea cable that would have connected California and Hong Kong, due to tensions between the United States and China.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-03-facebook-halts-undersea-cable-hong.html

Pandemic crippling nature conservation efforts

The COVID-19 pandemic has not only had devastating effects on humans, it has also heavily impacted efforts to safeguard natural ecosystems and habitats around the globe, conservationists warned Thursday.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-03-pandemic-crippling-nature-efforts.html

Rolls-Royce losses double to £3.2bn in 2020 pandemic

British aircraft engine maker Rolls-Royce said Thursday that net losses more than doubled last year to £3.2 billion, hit by the coronavirus pandemic which forced thousands of company layoffs.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-03-rolls-royce-losses-32bn-pandemic.html

Indonesia's Sinabung volcano unleashes new burst of hot ash

A rumbling volcano on Indonesia's Sumatra island unleashed an avalanche of searing gas clouds flowing down its slopes during eruption on Thursday. No casualties were reported.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-03-indonesia-sinabung-volcano-unleashes-hot.html

How dangerous is the Fukushima nuke plant today?

A decade ago, a massive tsunami crashed into the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Three of its reactors melted down, leaving it looking like a bombed-out factory. Emergency workers risked their lives trying to keep one of history's worst nuclear crises from spiraling out of control.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-03-dangerous-fukushima-nuke-today.html

Hawaii's rains, floods cited as examples of climate change

Heavy rains are part of the winter wet season in Hawaiian Islands. But the downpours triggering flooding that destroyed homes and bridges and set off mass evacuations on multiple islands this week are also an example of the more intense rainstorms officials and climate scientists say are occurring more frequently as the planet warms.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-03-hawaii-cited-examples-climate.html

Mothers in academia address workplace inequalities

As the coronavirus pandemic's grip on the United States stretched from weeks into months, with huge swaths of the American workforce bound to their homes, studies began trickling out revealing that the impact and burden of quarantine was not equally shared. Women—particularly mothers, and especially mothers of color—were bearing the brunt of the pandemic's toll, losing their jobs in greater numbers than men, handling the lion's share of increased housework that quarantine created, and juggling their careers while also taking on the role of teacher to their children struggling to navigate a new remote-school routine.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-03-mothers-academia-workplace-inequalities.html

Elite philanthropy does little to solve problems caused by rising social inequalities

Giving at scale by the super-wealthy has done little to redistribute wealth from rich to poor, helping perpetuate social inequalities rather than remedying them, while paying considerable dividends to donors in the form of privilege and influence in society and politics, new research shows.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-03-elite-philanthropy-problems-social-inequalities.html

Fishers at risk in 'perfect storm'

Stormier weather will increasingly force fishers to choose between their safety and income, researchers say.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-03-fishers-storm.html

Firefly tourism takes flight, sparking wonder and concern

Firefly beetles rank among the world's most charismatic creatures, with luminous courtship displays that have now turned them into a popular attraction for wildlife tourists. In the first comprehensive review of firefly tourism, published in the journal Conservation Science and Practice, an international team of biologists led by a Tufts University researcher, reveal that an estimated 1 million people now travel each year to witness bioluminescent performances starring some two dozen firefly species around the world.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-03-firefly-tourism-flight.html