Uncategorized
- Health & Medicine
Politics aside, hydroxychloroquine could (maybe) help fight COVID-19
Hydroxychloroquine may help prevent COVID-19, or it may not. Studies are under way to find out. Meanwhile, here’s what we know.
- Science & Society
Scientists sometimes conceal a lack of knowledge with vague words
Life, time, intelligence — plenty of terms used in science have imprecise definitions.
- Life
Pollen-deprived bumblebees may speed up plant blooming by biting leaves
In a pollen shortage, some bees nick holes in tomato leaves that accelerate flowering, and pollen production, by weeks.
By Susan Milius - Health & Medicine
There are two versions of the coronavirus. One’s not more dangerous than the other
Factors such as a person’s age and white blood cell counts matter more for disease severity when it comes to COVID-19, a study finds.
- Earth
Up to 220 million people globally may be at risk of arsenic-contaminated water
A new world map highlights possible hot spots of arsenic contamination in groundwater.
- Space
Stunning images of swirling gas and dust may show a planet forming
Infrared images show a spiral of gas and dust around a star 520 light-years away. A smaller, tantalizing twist hints at where a planet is coalescing.
- Health & Medicine
As we wait for a vaccine, here’s a snapshot of potential COVID-19 treatments
Though a vaccine remains the ultimate goal, researchers are on the hunt for new ways to treat COVID-19.
- Astronomy
The oldest disk galaxy yet found formed more than 12 billion years ago
A spinning disk galaxy similar to the Milky Way formed just 1.5 billion years after the Big Bang, much earlier than astronomers thought was possible.
- Tech
A new artificial eye mimics and may outperform human eyes
A new artificial eyeball boasts a field of view and reaction time similar to that of real eyes.
- Genetics
The oldest genetic link between Asians and Native Americans was found in Siberia
DNA from a fragment of a 14,000-year-old tooth suggests that Native Americans have widespread Asian ancestry.
By Bruce Bower - Humans
Births in the United States have dropped to a 34-year low
Recessions can influence the birth rate, but births haven’t rebounded yet since the country’s last economic downturn in the late 2000s.
- Health & Medicine
New data suggest people aren’t getting reinfected with the coronavirus
People who recover from COVID-19 but later test positive again for the coronavirus don’t carry infectious virus, a study finds.