Science

Two Scientists Will Replace U.S. Science Adviser Eric Lander

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US President Joe Biden has replaced his disgraced science adviser, Eric Lander, with two scientists who will split Lander’s duties “until permanent leadership is nominated and confirmed”, according to the White House. Alondra Nelson, deputy director for science and society at the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), which Lander led, will become acting director … Read more

Fire-safety experiment among science gear launching to International Space Station this weekend

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A Cygnus cargo ship launching toward the International Space Station (ISS) this weekend will carry an experiment designed to improve fire safety on moon and Mars missions. Called SoFIE (Solid Fuel Ignition and Extinction), the experiment is the latest in a series of in-orbit investigations that look at how fire behaves in microgravity. SoFIE is … Read more

Glowing tumor marker may interfere with cancer studies in mice, creating reproducibility problems | Science

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Cancer biologist Cyrus Ghajar was gearing up to study how the immune system can fight breast cancer when he hit a snag: The supposedly fast-spreading cancer cells he implanted in mice stayed put and sometimes even disappeared after about 11 days. Then postdoc Candice Grzelak identified the culprit: the green fluorescent protein (GFP) the researchers … Read more

Europe proposes drastic cuts of BPA, a hormone disruptor found in plastics and food | Science

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In a move that could signal a new approach to regulating potentially hazardous compounds, European health experts are recommending a drastic cut in the allowable human consumption of a common chemical in food. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has proposed reducing by a factor of 100,000 the tolerable daily intake of bisphenol A (BPA), … Read more

Evidence of giant asteroid strike may be buried under Wyoming | Science

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Some 280 million years ago, before the rise of the Rocky Mountains—or even the dinosaurs—a 2.5-kilometer-wide asteroid smashed into the supercontinent of Pangaea, near the eastern border of present-day Wyoming. The impact’s heat and shock wave would have killed anything within 400 kilometers, making it one of the largest asteroid strikes in North American history. … Read more

COVID-19 patients face higher risk of brain fog and depression, even 1 year after infection | Science

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Dozens of papers have examined the lingering mental health effects of COVID-19, but many have measured conditions such as depression and brain fog only a few months after infection. Now, a giant new study shows people who contracted COVID-19 faced substantially higher risks of neuropsychiatric ailments 1 year later, including brain fog, depression, and substance … Read more

The Milky Way is a messy eater. This map shows the crumbs it has left behind | Science

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Country: Country *AfghanistanAland IslandsAlbaniaAlgeriaAndorraAngolaAnguillaAntarcticaAntigua and BarbudaArgentinaArmeniaArubaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBermudaBhutanBolivia, Plurinational State ofBonaire, Sint Eustatius and SabaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBouvet IslandBrazilBritish Indian Ocean TerritoryBrunei DarussalamBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCayman IslandsCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaChristmas IslandCocos (Keeling) IslandsColombiaComorosCongoCongo, The Democratic Republic of theCook IslandsCosta RicaCote D’IvoireCroatiaCubaCuraçaoCyprusCzech RepublicDenmarkDjiboutiDominicaDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEthiopiaFalkland Islands (Malvinas)Faroe IslandsFijiFinlandFranceFrench GuianaFrench PolynesiaFrench Southern TerritoriesGabonGambiaGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGibraltarGreeceGreenlandGrenadaGuadeloupeGuatemalaGuernseyGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaitiHeard Island and Mcdonald IslandsHoly See (Vatican City State)HondurasHong … Read more

NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory suffers camera glitch, stalling science

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A prolific NASA space telescope has closed its camera eye for now due to a power issue that has stalled the observatory’s science work. The Chandra X-ray Observatory, which has studied the X-ray universe since 1999, suffered a power supply problem with its High Resolution Camera instrument on Feb. 9, leading the mission team to … Read more

Nights won’t save us from wildfires in a warming world | Science

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As the Sun set in eastern Australia in late December 2019, a wildfire swept through the region’s eucalyptus forests like nothing scientists had seen before. Blazes typically weaken at night. But high winds, hot temperatures, and extremely dry air helped trigger a firestorm that sent plumes of ash 15 kilometers into the atmosphere. Over the … Read more

COVID Dominated Their Science Lives: Here’s What Four Experts Learned over Two Years

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Amesh Adalja, Rupali Limaye, Jeffrey Shaman and Brian Wahl all know SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID, inside and out. Adalja, an ER doctor and biosecurity specialist, saw this pandemic coming back in 2018 when he headed a report called The Characteristics of Pandemic Pathogens. It states, “The most probable naturally occurring [global catastrophic biological risk]–level threat that humans face is … Read more