The idea was so far-fetched it seemed like science fiction: create an observatory out of a one cubic kilometer block of ice in Antarctica to track ghostly particles called neutrinos that pass through the Earth. But speaking to Benedickt Riedel, global computing manager at the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, it makes perfect sense. "Constructing a comparable observatory anywhere else would be astronomically expensive," Riedel explained. "Antarctica ice is a great optical material and allows us to sense neutrinos as nowhere else." Neutrinos are neutral subatomic particles with a mass close to zero that can pass through solid materials at near the speed of light, rarely reacting with normal matter. They were first detected in the 1950s in experiments that operated ...

Scientists using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have found evidence that a planet orbiting a distant star may have lost its atmosphere but gained a second one through volcanic activity. The planet, GJ 1132 b, is hypothesized to have begun as a gaseous world with a thick hydrogen blanket of atmosphere. Starting out at several times the diameter of Earth, this so-called "sub-Neptune" is believed to have quickly lost its primordial hydrogen and helium atmosphere due to the intense radiation of the hot, young star it orbits. In a short period of time, such a planet would be stripped down to a bare core about the size of Earth. That's when things got interesting. To the surprise of astronomers, Hubble observed an ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Ten days after receiving a second dose of a messenger RNA, or mRNA, vaccine for COVID-19, patients without COVID-19 symptoms are far less likely to test positive and unknowingly spread COVID-19, compared to patients who have not been vaccinated for COVID-19. The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna messenger RNA vaccines for COVID-19 are authorized for emergency use in the U.S. With two doses of a messenger RNA COVID-19 vaccine, people with no symptoms showed an 80% lower adjusted risk of testing positive for COVID-19 after their last dose. Those are the findings of a Mayo Clinic study of vaccinated patients. These finding appear in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases. The authors say these findings underscore ...

A study conducted by researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) - in collaboration with several other universities - indicates that breastfeeding women with COVID-19 do not transmit the SARS-CoV-2 virus through their milk, but do confer milk-borne antibodies that are able to neutralize the virus. The study, "Characterization of SARS-CoV-2 RNA, antibodies, and neutralizing capacity in milk produced by women with COVID-19," published on February 9 in the journal mBio - analyzed 37 milk samples submitted by 18 women diagnosed with COVID-19. None of the milk samples were found to contain ...

Fast radio burst (FRB) is a kind of mysterious radio flashes lasting only a few thousandths of a second. Confirmed to be the cosmological origin in 2016, FRB has the potential to provide insights into a wide range of astrophysical problems. Dr. NIU Chenhui from the team led by Dr. LI Di and Dr. ZHU Weiwei from National Astronomical Observatories of Chinese Academy of Sciences discovered three new FRBs with high dispersion measure from the massive data of the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST). Their findings were published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters on March 3. The discovery indicated that these three FRBs happened billions of years ago when the ...

Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is common and concerning, but few therapeutic options exist for pregnant mothers who receive this diagnosis. IUGR is a condition in which a baby in the womb is measuring small for its gestational age, often because of issues with the placenta, resulting in compromised or insufficient transfer of oxygen and nutrients to the growing fetus. The developing fetal brain is particularly vulnerable to these effects. One out of every 10 babies is diagnosed with IUGR, and infants with IUGR are at increased risk of death and neurodevelopmental impairment. ...

Biologists from RUDN University suggested adding a marjoram-based supplement to the diet of common carp to support the growth of the fish and improve their resistance to bacterial infections. The results of the study were published in the Fish & Shellfish Immunology journal. Cyprinus carpio is a type of large omnivore fish that grows 35-40 cm long in three to five years. 4 mln tons of carps were bred in aquacultural farms in 2010. Such farms protect natural populations of Cyprinus carpio while at the same time satisfying the market demand. However, as farmers strive for higher productivity, aquacultural farms become more and more crowded which leads to the lack of nutrients and harms the health of the fish. A team of veterinarians ...

CABI scientist Dr Arne Witt has shared his expertise on invasive alien plant species as part of a new paper which argues that healthy ecosystems are vital in reducing the risk of future pandemics - such as coronaviruses (including COVID-19) - that threaten human health. The paper - 'Land use-induced spillover: priority actions for protected and conserved area managers' - is published as part of a special issue by the journal PARKS entitled 'COVID-19 and Protected Areas: Essential Reading for a World Haunted by a Pandemic.' Lead author Dr Jamie K. Reaser - along with a team of researchers from institutions including the African Wildlife Foundation, the University ...

Exposure to SARS-Co-V2, the virus that causes COVID-19, can put otherwise healthy children and adolescents at risk for Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C), a rare but possibly life-threatening pediatric condition that can cause severe inflammation in organs like the heart, brain, lungs, kidneys and gastrointestinal system. Diagnosing and treating MIS-C -- which has affected 2,600 children since May 2020 and is known to occur in children who have tested positive for SARS-Co-V2 or been exposed to someone with COVID-19 -- is difficult because respiratory and gastrointestinal symptoms can be similar to severe COVID-19. Other features of MIS-C are very similar to Kawasaki disease, which causes inflammation ...

Rare earth elements are the gold of the 21st century: rare and highly prized all over the world. Most known and economically viable sources of rare earths are located in China, where more than 80 percent of them are refined. This has resulted in a near monopoly situation, with China dominating international trade, particularly in heavy rare earths. Geologists and materials scientists at FAU have now discovered a new way of finding new and previously unknown deposits of rare earths, or rare earth metals, worldwide. They have published the findings of their study in the journal Geology. Rare earth metals are irreplaceable for manufacturing advanced high-tech industrial products due to their luminescent and ...

Conservationists who apply wing tags for identifying Cape Vultures--a species of African vulture that is vulnerable to extinction--are putting the birds' lives further at risk, a new movement ecology study has shown. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Germany and VulPro NPC in South Africa have demonstrated that Cape Vultures fitted with tags on their wings travelled shorter distances and flew slower than those fitted with bands around their legs. The research emphasises the importance of investigating the effects that tagging methods can have on the behaviour and conservation of species, prompting a shift towards the ...

New scientific techniques are revealing the intricate role that proteins play in photosynthesis. Despite being discovered almost 300 years ago, photosynthesis still holds many unanswered questions for science, particularly the way that proteins organise themselves to convert sunlight into chemical energy and at the same time, protect plants from too much sunlight. Now a collaboration between researchers at the University of Leeds and Kobe University in Japan is developing a novel approach to the investigation of photosynthesis. Using hybrid membranes that mimic natural plant membranes and advanced microscopes, they are opening photosynthesis to nanoscale investigation - the study of life at less than one billionth ...

In snowy plovers, females have overcome traditional family stereotypes. They often abandon the family to begin a clutch with a new partner whereas the males continue to care for their young until they are independent. An international team led by scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Seewiesen, Germany, has now investigated the decision-making process that determines the duration of parental care by females. They found that offspring desertion often occurs either under poor environmental conditions, when chicks die despite being cared for by both parents, ...

To highlight tumours in the body for cancer diagnosis, doctors can use tiny optical probes (nanoprobes) that light up when they attach to tumours. These nanoprobes allow doctors to detect the location, shape and size of cancers in the body. Most nanoprobes are fluorescent; they absorb light of a specific colour, like blue and then emit back light of a different colour, like green. However, as tissues of the human body can emit light as well, distinguishing the nanoprobe light from the background light can be tough and could lead to the wrong interpretation. Now, researchers at Imperial College London have developed new nanoprobes, named bioharmonophores and patented at Imperial, ...

About 1.8 million envenoming snakebites occur around the world annually, killing about 94,000 people. In tropical areas, especially in Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, snakebites are considered a major cause of death, especially among farmers who encounter snakes in their fields. In response, the World Health Organization has launched a strategic plan to reduce snakebites by 50% by 2030. An important basis for attaining this goal is expanding relevant scientific research. An international research group, including researchers from Tel Aviv University, has recently created an innovative simulation model for predicting snakebites, based on an improved ...

A rare disease first identified in 2020 is much more common than first thought, say researchers at the University of Leeds investigating its origins. VEXAS syndrome is a serious inflammatory condition which develops in men over 50, causing them to become very sick and fatigued, and can be fatal. It was originally thought to be rare, but a new study has identified genetic mutations which indicate that the disease is actually much more common. The researchers developed a genetic test to identify patients who may have the disease, and now want to screen more people showing symptoms to understand exactly how common it is. VEXAS syndrome causes unexplained fevers, painful skin rashes and affects the bone ...

The conditions on Earth are ideal for life. Most places on our planet are neither too hot nor too cold and offer liquid water. These and other requirements for life, however, delicately depend on the right composition of the atmosphere. Too little or too much of certain gases - like carbon dioxide - and Earth could become a ball of ice or turn into a pressure cooker. When scientists look for potentially habitable planets, a key component is therefore their atmosphere. Sometimes, that atmosphere is primitive and largely consists of the gases that were around when the planet formed - as is the case for Jupiter and Saturn. On terrestrial planets like Mars, Venus or Earth, however, such primitive atmospheres are lost. Instead, their remaining atmospheres are strongly influenced ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Electric stimulation may be able to help blood vessels carry white blood cells and oxygen to wounds, speeding healing, a new study suggests. The study, published in the Royal Society of Chemistry journal Lab on a Chip, found that steady electrical stimulation generates increased permeability across blood vessels, providing new insight into the ways new blood vessels might grow. The electrical stimulation provided a constant voltage with an accompanying electric current in the presence of fluid flow. The findings indicate that stimulation increases ...

Grass pollen is a major outdoor allergen, responsible for widespread and costly respiratory conditions including allergic asthma and hay fever (rhinitis). Now, researchers re-porting in the journal Current Biology on March 11 suggest that environmental DNA could help to better understand which grasses are the worst offenders. "These findings represent a first step towards changing and improving our understanding of the complex relationships between pollen and population health," said Benedict Wheeler of the University of Exeter, UK. "If confirmed and refined, this research could help to improve pollen forecasts and warnings in the future, supporting individual and community-level prevention strategies and management ...

Hormones produced by the thyroid gland are essential regulators of organ function. The absence of these hormones either through thyroid dysfunction due to, for example, irradiation, thyroid cancer or autoimmune disease or thyroidectomy leads to symptoms like fatigue, feeling cold, constipation, and weight gain. The condition called hypothyroidism is estimated to affect up to 11% of the global population. Although hypothyroidism can be treated by hormone replacement therapy, some patients have persistent symptoms and/or experience side effects. To investigate potential alternative treatment strategies for these patients, researchers have now for the first time succeeded in generating thyroid mini-organs in the lab. In a END ...

People often choose the standard option. Choosing to be an organ donor, printing on both sides of the page - such decisions are influenced by which is the standard setting, or default. In fact, economists and sociologists call this the default effect. Researchers at ETH Zurich and the University of Warwick in the UK have now managed to clearly demonstrate this effect. Private households, but also self-employed people and SMEs, are more likely to procure sustainably produced electricity if that is their provider's default offer. The scientists conclude this from an analysis of data from two Swiss electricity suppliers - one large and one medium-sized. ...

Researchers studying the Swiss energy market have found that making green energy the default option for consumers leads to an enduring shift to renewables and thus has the potential to cut CO2 emissions by millions of tonnes. The study, published today in Nature Human Behaviour, investigated the effect of changes in the Swiss energy market that presented energy from renewable sources as the standard option for consumers - the 'green default.' Both business and private customers largely accepted the default option, even though it was slightly more expensive, and the switch to green sources proved a lasting one. Professor Ulf Liebe (University of Warwick), Doctor Jennifer Gewinner and Professor em. Andreas Diekmann (both ETH Zurich) analysed data from two Swiss ...

New research, which brings healthcare data together with ground-breaking ecological techniques, could set a roadmap for refining pollen forecasts in the future. Current pollen forecasts, crucial for people with allergic asthma or hay fever to manage their symptoms, rely on measuring the total load of grass pollen in the atmosphere. However, these do not distinguish between pollen from different types of grass. Now, a potential link between pollen from certain grass species and respiratory health issues has been revealed. The results, published in Current Biology, (11.3.21DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.02.019 ) have been produced by the first project to use an ecological biomonitoring ...

A new study published today in Nature Medicine has identified key risk factors that increase the likelihood of individuals developing not only one but multiple non-communicable diseases, which include cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic respiratory disease and diabetes. The analysis of over 11,000 people found that rather than being due to chance, there are often underlying biological links in individuals with multimorbidity, which is defined as the co-occurrence of two or more long-term health conditions and is a growing public health challenge. Multimorbidity, which affects about two thirds of people aged 65 years or over in the UK, impairs an individual's quality of life over and above the cumulative burden from each individual disease. Understanding which diseases ...

A national screening programme targeted at those men who are genetically pre-disposed to prostate cancer, and involving a blood test and MRI scan before an invasive biopsy, could prevent one in six prostate cancer deaths and significantly reduce over-diagnosis, finds a new study led by UCL researchers. Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer in men with around 130 new cases diagnosed in the UK every day and more than 10,000 men a year dying as a result of the disease. However, unlike breast and cervical cancer there is currently no national screening programme for this disease in the UK. Currently, men suspected of having prostate cancer have a blood test that detects raised levels of the prostate-specific antigen (PSA)*. Following the UCL-led ...