Sci-News Roundup November 21 - November 27, 2020
General Interest  Cosmos   Innovation   Health  Nature  Environment  Climate
 
SftPublic zoom recordings are uploaded to SftP Website & YouTube, Belmont Media Center Community TV, and WGBH Forum Network. Videos are uploaded to event pages (below) a.s.a.p.

Dec 10: rescheduled to Jan 14 Magic, Mystery and Mathematics in the Mundane
for additional events check SftP website Coming Events





Washington Post, November 23, 2020
All three have said they will seek regulatory clearance to offer their vaccines to millions of people.

Scientific American, November 19, 2020
Stay safer on different forms of transportation

Deutsche Welle, November 09, 2020
A coronavirus infection can present in a variety of ways. Researchers have now found some important biomarkers and identified seven groups of symptoms. These could help in treatment and vaccine development.

Phys.Org, November 24, 2020
Investigators looked at research on face masks and their use and summarized what we know, to date, about the way face masks filter or block the virus.

Nature, November 23, 2020
Immunizations are speeding towards approval before clinical trials end, but scientists say this could complicate efforts to study long-term effects.


GENERAL INTEREST 

Aeon, July 02, 2019
How did the sailors of early modern Europe learn to traverse the world’s seas? By going to school and doing math problems.

National Geographic, November 23, 2020
Hungry for artifacts from an elusive Iberian civilization, archaeologists were thrilled to find an elaborate funerary statue dubbed the 'Lady of Baza.

Quanta, November 19. 2020
An exercise in pure mathematics has led to a wide-ranging theory of how the world comes together.

The Conversation, November 24, 2020
From potential new diabetes therapies, to an environmentally friendly sewage treatment system, this year’s Eureka Prizes have acknowledged a diverse group of brilliant minds tackling pressing global problems.

Science, November 23, 2020
Unlike earlier eras in Egyptian history...these coffins stacked two and three deep at the bottom of deep underground shafts.

COSMOS 

Phys.Org, November 20, 2020
In 1838, Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel won the race to measure the first distance to a star other than our Sun via the trigonometric parallax—setting the first scale of the universe.

Quanta, November 23, 2020
Physicists plan to leave no stone unturned, checking whether dark matter tickles different types of detectors, nudges starlight, warms planetary cores or even lodges in rocks.

Nature, November 24, 2020
Cosmologists suggest that an exotic substance called quintessence could be accelerating the Universe’s expansion — but the evidence is still tentative.

Universe Today, November 24, 2020
For only the second time in history, astronomers have discovered a new, natural-origin, mini-moon orbiting the Earth.

Cosmos, November 21,2020
The discovery may alter thinking on how our galaxy grew into what we see today.


INNOVATION

Treehugger, November 19. 2020
Biophilic design is a theory described by designer Neil Chambers as "a new approach to the built environment based on our instinctual passion for wild places.

Sci-News, November 24, 2020
An international team of scientists has developed the world’s smallest memristor.

Anthropocene, November 20. 2020
In 63% of cases, they found that eco-friendly farming boosted biodiversity without any cost to yields. In several cases, yields actually increased

Cosmos, November 20, 2020
And maybe, one day, the wings of an aircraft. The barn owl can cope with winds that gust as fast as its flight speed by changing the shape and posture of its wings. And micro-structured finlets on owl feathers enable silent flight.

Phys.Org, November 23, 2020
Across the U.S. —both on and offshore— energy companies have been installing giant turbines that reach higher and wider than ever before. INNOVATION Supersized wind turbines generate clean energy—and surprising physics.


HEALTH 

The Guardian, November 22, 2020
Should you worry if you can’t get a routine dental appointment because of the pandemic? Can you be your own hygienist? And what if you have an emergency? Experts answer your questions.

Science Daily, November 20, 2020
Obese patients over the age of 60 can lose an equivalent amount of weight as younger people using only lifestyle changes, according to a new study that demonstrates that age is no barrier to losing weight.

The Conversation, November 23, 2020
Researchers now appreciate laughter’s power to enhance physical and mental well-being.

New York Times, November 18, 2020
Think of the rewards of cultivating the tastes of summer all through the winter. You can do this.

Ensia, November 23, 2020
Even the air humans breathe is associated with an increase in the risk of many brain-related conditions — whether people are exposed as children or as adults.


NATURE 

Thought Co, July 03, 2019
Also learn what weather's coming based on the cloud type.

The Guardian, November 24, 2020
The wolf is considered a threat to our way of farming, but our fear may be misplaced. Perhaps predators are needed to bring nature back into balance.

Treehugger, November 06, 2020
From mini monkeys and diminutive deer to itty-bitty bats, these are some of the animal kingdom’s most minuscule members.

Cosmos, November 24, 2020
Studies shift timeline by 100 million years.

Reuters, November 19, 2020
As the world’s climate warms, parasite diseases carried by wildlife will move north, with animals in cold far-north and high-altitude regions expected to suffer the most dramatic increases.

ENVIRONMENT 

Hakkai, November 19, 2020
Hundreds of sea turtles and marine mammals have been choked, snared, and hooked by plastic debris.

Smithsonian, December 2020 issue
Seagrasses provide habitat for fish, sea horses, crustaceans and others; food for sea turtles, waterfowl and marine mammals; and nurseries for an astounding 20 percent of the largest fisheries on the planet.

PBS News Hour, November 22, 2020 (transcript)
She discusses her new book and why she remains optimistic despite the dire situation.

The Guardian, November 20, 2020
Pork giant Smithfield has settled with North Carolina residents who sued over stench, flies and truck traffic from Kinlaw Farms.

Science, November 18, 2020
Flooding will become common in sea level rise hot spots such as Virginia.


CLIMATE  

Grist, November 13, 2020
5 leaders point the way forward for a divided nation.

Inside Climate News, November 23, 2020
Emissions will drop by 4 to 7 percent for 2020, but carbon dioxide will continue to increase, the annual World Meteorological Association bulletin finds.

Cosmos, November 21, 2020
Two months, 10 teams, troubling discoveries.

Reuters, November 23, 2020
Dozens of oil and gas companies on Monday committed to report more accurately on and, ultimately, reduce emissions of the potent greenhouse gas methane which is liable to leak from oilfields and pipelines.

New York Times, November 19, 2020
A new study has found that cold-weather drownings are increasing sharply in warmer parts of the Northern Hemisphere.