News about PaperPanda, Open Access, and Research
It remains unclear whether the omicron coronavirus variant causes less severe disease, but even if this is true, hospitals could still be overwhelmed by the sheer number of cases Health 6 December 2021 By Michael Le Page A health worker at a covid-19 testing site in Cape Town, South Africa Dwayne Senior/Bloomberg via Getty Images … Read more
Sea ice in Canada’s Hudson Bay has been unusually late to form, raising fears over the impact on polar bears that hunt for seals on the ice Environment 6 December 2021 By Adam Vaughan A lone polar bear along Hudson Bay Cindy Hopkins / Alamy An extreme lack of sea ice in Canada this winter … Read more
Leaves vibrate at a different frequency depending on whether soy plants are under water stress Life 7 December 2021 By Bas den Hond Leaves on a soy plant Igor Stevanovic / Alamy When leaves flutter in the breeze, the frequency of their vibrations may indicate whether the plant is dehydrated. This finding could lead to … Read more
The reliability of early-stage cancer biology research is called into question by an investigation that concludes more than half of experimental results can’t be replicated by independent scientists Health 7 December 2021 By Helen Albert Lab-based cancer research isn’t always easy to replicate, according to a new investigation Anthony Kwan/Bloomberg via Getty Images An eight-year-long … Read more
Rocks that formed in a swamp in what is now Spain 110 million years ago contain both dinosaur bones and amber rich in invertebrate fossils Life 7 December 2021 By Carissa Wong Part of a feather preserved in amber from the Santa Maria coal mine Sergio Alvarez-Parra An impressive trove of fossil-filled amber has come … Read more
By Michael Le Page Omicron may spread much more easily at social functions than other variants Shutterstock Should you go to that festive party this year if you want to avoid being infected by the coronavirus? Probably not. In addition to the risk posed by the high levels of the delta variant in many countries, … Read more
Comet Leonard, the brightest comet of the year, made its closest approach to Earth today (Dec. 12) and should be visible through binoculars and telescopes, weather permitting. Officially known as Comet C/2021 A1 (Leonard), Comet Leonard was discovered in January by astronomer Gregory J. Leonard of the Mount Lemmon Infrared Observatory in Arizona. On Sunday, it … Read more
At higher latitudes, traditional GPS navigation is not reliable, but muons produced when cosmic rays hit Earth’s atmosphere could be used to navigate in the Arctic, as well as underground or in the water Technology 7 December 2021 By David Hambling An artist’s representation of high-energy cosmic rays colliding with Earth MARK GARLICK/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Alamy … Read more
Former NASA astronaut Leland Melvin is working to help the next generation reach the same lofty heights that he did. Melvin, a retired NASA astronaut, completed two space shuttle missions to the International Space Station during his tenure, one in 2008 and the other in 2009. But in the years since then, Melvin has been … Read more
A law intended to tackle anonymous trolls on social media is unlikely to stop online bullying, but it could allow Australian government ministers to continue a trend of suing their critics Technology | Analysis 7 December 2021 By Alice Klein Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on 2 December 2021 MICK TSIKAS/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Australia’s prime minister Scott … Read more