By Jonathan O’Callaghan An illustration of space junk in orbit (not to scale)ESACloud-emitting rockets could prevent satellites from colliding by altering their trajectories, avoiding potential disasters that would see Earth’s orbits littered with space junk. There are 2000 active satellites in orbit today, along with 3000 dead satellites and thousands of pieces of dangerous smaller…
Does a cell surface protein explain why the coronavirus is more likely to kill people with diabetes or heart disease? Researchers are trying to find out Health 7 April 2020 By Jessica Hamzelou Particles of the new coronavirus, in red, emerging from an infected cellNiad/National Institutes Of Health/Science Photo LibraryDOES a protein on the surface…
There are three main strategies for leaving coronavirus lockdown, but each risks a dangerous second wave and further lockdowns if things don’t go as planned Health 7 April 2020 By Graham Lawton People applaud health workers in locked-down Madrid, SpainJorge Sanz/Sopa Images/Sipa USA/PA Images BANS, curfews and wide-reaching restrictions. For many people worldwide, severe limitations…
By Sam Wong , Adam Vaughan , Conrad Quilty-Harper and Layal Liverpool People gather along the waterfront of the Bund in Shanghai, China on 7 April 2020.Yves Dean/Getty ImagesLatest coronavirus news as of 5.30 pm on 7 April No new deaths in China and hope of a plateau in New York China reported no new…
By Alice Klein The central, southern and northern sections of the Great Barrier Reef were bleached by warmer ocean waterVictor HuertasAustralia’s Great Barrier Reef has experienced its third mass bleaching event in five years. For the first time, all three sections of the reef have been severely affected. The damage occurred in February when the reef…
By Jessica Hamzelou Children who experience stress in early life have adult-like brain connectionsStephen Voss/AlamySome children who experience stress in early life develop adult-like brain networks – and those that do show signs of ageing more slowly. These children also appear to take longer to progress through puberty, too. That’s what Jonas Miller at Stanford…
By Sam Wong , Adam Vaughan , Conrad Quilty-Harper and Layal Liverpool US Army personnel wearing masks in New York City.Kena Betancur/Getty ImagesLatest coronavirus news as of 5.15 pm on 6 April Daily death tolls decline in Europe’s worst-hit countries as US braces for “peak death week” In Europe, Italy and Spain have the highest…
Space 6 April 2020 By Gege Li The place of the pop – Zunil crater on Mars’s Elysium PlanitiaMRO’s CTX camera/NASAAn unusual deposit spotted in one of Mars’s biggest volcanic regions might be the result of an eruption that popped the surface of the planet. If this is the case, it would mean Mars is…
By Gege Li Some soil-dwelling bacteria like Streptomyces can be toxicWestend61/GettySoil gets its characteristic earthy smell from certain chemicals produced primarily by soil-dwelling bacteria called Streptomyces. But until now, we didn’t know why these bacteria produce these odours and what role they play in the soil ecosystem. To find out more, Paul Becher at the…
By Jason Arunn Murugesu Hot stuffpieter musterd/GettyAn artificial intelligence that can predict how a piece of glass responds to heat and pressure could one day also be used to model traffic flow. While most solid materials have a regular atomic structure, the atoms in glass have a more irregular arrangement, resembling a liquid that has…
