The study, published in the journal Science Advances, yields information on an important period in our planet’s formation, when a deep-sea of incandescent magma stretched across Earth’s surface and extended hundreds of kilometers into its interior. It is the gradual cooling and crystallization of this ‘magma ocean’ that set the chemistry of Earth’s interior — a defining stage in the assembly of our planet’s structure and the formation of our early atmosphere....

In the first study of its kind, researchers discovered that individuals who reported difficulty sleeping tended to have on average more indicators of poor cardiometabolic health, such as inflammation markers, cholesterol, and body weight, which can increase the likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes. In Australia, almost one million adults have type 2 diabetes. Globally, type 2 diabetes affects more than 422 million people. UniSA researcher Dr. Lisa Matricciani says different aspects of sleep are associated with risk factors for diabetes....

Unexpected Diversity in Virus-Derived Sequences in the Human Genome Powerful genetic analysis tools reveal that people exhibit a surprising level of variation in virus-derived genetic sequences. Three RIKEN geneticists have discovered previously undetected snippets of genetic material from viruses lurking in our DNA. The methods they developed for this discovery will be valuable for determining when this viral genetic material entered the human genome and also whether it can give rise to differences between individuals....

Using novel high-throughput screening techniques to overcome the problems of resistance and partial response to single-drug cancer therapy in patients with melanoma, Yale scientists identified several unique drug therapy combinations that show positive results in fighting late-stage melanoma. Yale Cancer Center researchers have identified several effective combinations of therapies that inhibit melanomas driven by two of the most formidable cancer genes. Some combinations include cholesterol-lowering statin drugs. The study appears in the journal Cancer Discovery....

Standing at over 140 meters tall, the Cheops pyramid is considered the largest and oldest of the pyramids of Giza. It is made of millions of limestone blocks, and it is believed to have taken more than 20 years to construct. As part of one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, it has been thoroughly explored; however, the structure still holds many undiscovered secrets. TUM researchers have now solved one more of the pyramid’s mysteries....

Hurricanes are known for their destructive wind, rain, and storm surge. Hurricane Larry delivered more than that. On September 12, 2021, the storm’s remnants dropped abundant snowfall on Greenland just as the summer melt season was coming to an end. Snowfall amounts on that day are visible in the map above, as represented by the Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) model. Snowfall amounts are shown as millimeters of water, as opposed to snow depth, for the 24-hour period....

There has been a definite, palpable impact on the Earth’s climate by global warming. The unusual high frequency of heatwaves indicate that there has to be a human influence. As much of the USA sizzles through another scorching summer and the Midwest endures a historic drought, NASA’s climatologist James Hansen states that the future he predicted in 1988 has finally arrived. Hansen and his colleagues have published a paper entitled Perceptions of Climate Change in the journal PNAS....

An independent panel of experts confirmed in April that Juno is on track to achieve its science objectives and is already returning spectacular results. The Juno spacecraft and all instruments are healthy and operating nominally. NASA has now funded Juno through FY 2022. The end of prime operations is now expected in July 2021, with data analysis and mission close-out activities continuing into 2022. “With these funds, not only can the Juno team continue to answer long-standing questions about Jupiter that first fueled this exciting mission, but they’ll also investigate new scientific puzzles motivated by their discoveries thus far,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington....

Experiments with SLAC’s Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) X-ray laser have given scientists their first detailed look at how light controls the first trillionth of a second of this process, known as all-optical magnetic switching. The experiments show that the optically induced switching of the magnetic regions begins much faster than conventional switching and proceeds in a more complex way than scientists had thought – a level of detail long sought by the data storage industry, which is eager to learn more about the key drivers of optical switching....

A vaping habit could end up leading to a tarnished smile, and more frequent visits to the dentist. New research has found that patients who said they used vaping devices were more likely to have a higher risk of developing cavities. With CDC surveys reporting that 9.1 million American adults—and 2 million teenagers—use tobacco-based vaping products, that means a lot of vulnerable teeth. The research was conducted by faculty from Tufts University School of Dental Medicine....

The study, published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, is based on survey data from Brazil. It chimes with previous research that found higher rates of depression among those who do not eat meat. However, the new study indicates that this link exists independent of nutritional intake. It may seem straightforward to look at an association between a diet and specific health problems and assume that the former is causing the latter via some form of nutritional deficiency....

A drug commonly used to manage symptoms of Alzheimer disease and other dementias — donepezil — is associated with a two-fold higher risk of hospital admission for rhabdomyolysis, a painful condition of muscle breakdown, compared with several other cholinesterase inhibitors, found a study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). Dementia is a growing problem, with almost 10 million newly diagnosed cases every year around the world. The study, led by researchers at Western University’s Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry and Lawson Health Research Institute, looked at ICES data from 2002 to 2017 on 220 353 patients aged 66 years or older in Ontario, Canada, with a new prescription for donepezil, rivastigmine or galantamine, three cholinesterase inhibitors used to manage dementia and Alzheimer disease....

What is the long-range weather forecast for the giant planets Uranus and Neptune? These planets are home to extreme winds blowing at speeds of over 1000 km/hour, hurricane-like storms as large around as Earth, immense weather systems that last for years, and fast-flowing jet streams. Both planets feature similar climates, despite the fact that Uranus is tipped on its side with the pole facing the sun during winter. The winds on these planets have been observed on their outer surfaces; but to get a grasp of their weather systems, we need to have an idea of what is going on underneath....

This multi-layered technology, the coronagraph instrument, might more rightly be called “starglasses”: a system of masks, prisms, detectors, and even self-flexing mirrors built to block out the glare from distant stars — and reveal the planets in orbit around them. When a new NASA space telescope opens its eyes in the mid 2020s, it will peer at the universe through some of the most sophisticated sunglasses ever designed. Normally, that glare is overwhelming, blotting out any chance of seeing planets orbiting other stars, called exoplanets, said Jason Rhodes, the project scientist for the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California....

Just like humans learning to speak, many birds learn to sing by associating with older birds of the same species. They risk losing this skill if adults become too rare. And if they don’t learn to sing a sexy enough song, their chances of mating are reduced. “If endangered birds are unable to learn how to sing correctly, it seriously impacts their ability to communicate,” lead author Dr. Ross Crates said....

Just as mathematics reveals the motions of the stars and the rhythms of nature, it can also shed light on the more mundane decisions of everyday life. Where to park your car, for example, is the subject of a new look at a classic optimization problem by physicists Paul Krapivsky (Boston University) and Sidney Redner (Santa Fe Institute) published in this week’s Journal of Statistical Mechanics. The problem assumes what many of us can relate to when exhausted, encumbered, or desperate to be somewhere else: the best parking space is the one that minimizes time spent in the lot....

Fast-moving consumer goods, such as toiletries, cleaning supplies and packaged foods, are low-priced products that sell quickly and are purchased frequently. Although shoppers have traditionally bought these items at “Bricks & Mortar” (physical retail) stores, online sales are increasing in many countries, including China, the U.K. and the U.S. Among online shopping models, the two main types are “Bricks & Clicks” (online ordering, followed by home delivery directly from a physical store) and “Pure Play” (online ordering, with fulfillment via a parcel delivery company)....

This prejudice against boys may spell the difference between passing and failing classes like math. The Italian researchers caution that it may also have larger repercussions on matters like college admission, career choice, and income. Their research, which was published in the British Journal of Sociology of Education, is the first to show that the issue is systemic and exists in a range of educational settings regardless of the characteristics of the teachers....

Wieger Wamelink and his colleagues at Wageningen University & Research, cultivated ten different crops: garden cress, rocket, tomato, radish, rye, quinoa, spinach, chives, peas, and leek. The researchers simulated the properties of Lunar and Martian regolith and “normal” soil (potting soil from Earth) as a control. Nine of the ten crops sown grew well and edible parts were harvested from them. Spinach was the exception. Total biomass production per tray was the highest for the Earth control and Mars soil simulant that differed significantly from Moon soil simulant....

The summer of 2020 has been one of those summers. Phytoplankton—the floating plant-like organisms that, like plants on land, need sunlight and nutrients to thrive—have exploded in numbers, or “bloomed,” across ice-free northern latitudes. The image above, acquired on July 26 with the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra and Aqua satellites, shows a bloom of phytoplankton in the Barents Sea, north of Scandinavia and Russia. In the Barents Sea, blooms that show up in spring and early summer are typically composed of diatoms—a microscopic form of algae with silica shells and ample chlorophyll, which makes them appear green in satellite images....