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Temperatures measured in a volcanic cloud generated by the eruption of the Indonesian volcano Anak Krakatau plummed to chilling −112°F.
Mar 29, 2020
BEYOND LOCAL: New DNA test that reveals ‘true age’ has promise, but ethical pitfalls
Posted by Genevieve Klien in categories: biotech/medical, genetics
Epigenetic clocks are a fascinating new technology, but some potential applications are controversial.
Mar 29, 2020
Protecting Ourselves from the Next Pandemic
Posted by Genevieve Klien in category: biotech/medical
Mar 29, 2020
Comet Atlas could be the brightest comet in decades
Posted by Genevieve Klien in category: space
C omet Atlas is racing toward the inner solar system, and it could become the brightest comet seen in the night sky in over two decades. The comet, discovered by an observatory designed to protect Earth from asteroids, may even be visible during the day just two months from now.
Also known as C/2019 Y4, this comet was discovered by astronomers at the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) in Hawaii in December 2019. At the time, the comet was exceedingly dim — but the comet became 4,000 times brighter in just a month. This increase is far greater than astronomers predicted, and could potentially signal the comet may soon be exceptionally bright.
Mar 29, 2020
Coronavirus survivors’ blood plasma could be used to fight infection
Posted by Genevieve Klien in category: biotech/medical
Mar 29, 2020
Liberty University Brings Back Its Students, and Coronavirus, Too
Posted by Brent Ellman in category: biotech/medical
The decision by the school’s president, Jerry Falwell Jr., to partly reopen his evangelical university enraged residents of Lynchburg, Va. Then students started getting sick.
Mar 29, 2020
China develops nanomaterial to combat coronavirus: Report
Posted by Brent Ellman in categories: biotech/medical, nanotechnology
Beijing, March 29 (IANS) A team of Chinese scientists has reportedly developed a novel way to combat the new coronavirus that causes the Covid-19 disease which has killed over 32,000 people globally.
According to Global Times, the new weapon is not a drug or a compound but some nanomaterial.
“Chinese scientists have developed a new weapon to combat the #coronavirus,” the news portal tweeted on Sunday.
Mar 29, 2020
Map shows how eight strains of coronavirus raced around the world
Posted by Genevieve Klien in categories: biotech/medical, genetics
Scientists around the world are tracking at least eight strains of coronavirus around the world, using genetic detective work to show how the virus spreads.
Researchers say the virus appears to mutate very slowly, with only tiny differences between the different strains, and that none of the strains of the virus is more deadly than another.
Continue reading “Map shows how eight strains of coronavirus raced around the world” »
Mar 29, 2020
In Somalia, coronavirus goes from fairy tale to nightmare
Posted by Genevieve Klien in category: biotech/medical
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — At first, the coronavirus was just a fairy tale, a rumor along the dusty lanes of the displaced persons’ camp that Habiba Ali calls home.
It seemed fantastical: an illness sweeping the world far beyond Somalia’s borders, killing thousands of people and sending some of the richest countries into panic.
Then Somalia’s first virus case was announced on March 16, and one of the world’s most fragile nations staggered even more. Nearly three decades of conflict, extremist attacks, drought, disease and a devastating outbreak of locusts have taken a vast toll.