In 2014, observations with NASA’s NuSTAR (Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array) and Chandra X-ray Observatory showed that a few ULXs, which glow with X-ray light equal in luminosity to the total output at all wavelengths of millions of suns, are even less massive objects called neutron stars. These are the burnt-out cores of massive stars that exploded. Neutron stars typically contain only about 1.5 times the mass of the sun. Three such ULXs were identified as neutron stars in the last few years....

The protein, known as BM2, is a proton channel that controls acidity within the virus, helping it to release its genetic material inside infected cells. “If you can block this proton channel, you have a way to inhibit influenza infection,” says Mei Hong, an MIT professor of chemistry and senior author of the study. “Having the atomic-resolution structure for this protein is exactly what medicinal chemists and pharmaceutical scientists need to start designing small molecules that can block it....

More than 90% of Americans are failing to meet the recommended daily intake of choline. The current study in mice showed that a lack of dietary choline can lead to profound negative effects on organs like the heart, liver, and others. Lack of adequate choline is also linked with profound changes in the brain associated with Alzheimer’s disease. These include pathologies implicated in the development of two classic hallmarks of the illness, amyloid plaques, which aggregate in the intercellular spaces between neurons, and tau tangles, which condense within the bodies of neurons....

The project is led by Vladimir Yarov-Yarovoy and James Trimmer, professors in the Department of Physiology and Membrane Biology at the UC Davis School of Medicine. They’ve established an interdisciplinary team that includes several of the same experts that are working on turning tarantula venom into a pain medication. A model of a complex protein that may fit into nerve channels and stop the transmission of pain. Credit: Phuong Tran Nguyen, UC Davis Yarov-Yarovoy and Trimmer were awarded a $1....

According to recent research that provides the first global inventory of lake color, blue lakes all over the globe run the danger of becoming green-brown if global warming continues. Changes in lake water color can signal a decline in ecological health. The current study shows that, in addition to factors like algae and sediments, air temperature, precipitation, lake depth, and elevation all have a significant role in determining a lake’s most common watercolor....

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announced on January 20 that the hands of the Doomsday Clock remain at 100 seconds to midnight—the closest it has ever been to apocalypse. The Bulletin meets every year to determine how much metaphorical time we have to avert catastrophe for humankind. Over the past 75 years, the hands of the clock have moved both backward and forward according to whether steps were taken to address potentially civilization-ending threats, such as climate change and nuclear war....

There is much debate surrounding the age of the Clovis — a prehistoric culture named for stone tools found near Clovis, New Mexico in the early 1930s — who once occupied North America during the end of the last Ice Age. New testing of bones and artifacts show that Clovis tools were made only during a brief, 300-year period from 13,050 to 12,750 years ago. Michael Waters, distinguished professor of anthropology and director of the Center for the Study of the First Americans, along with Texas A&M anthropologist David Carlson and Thomas Stafford of Stafford Research in Colorado, have had their new work published in the current issue of Science Advances....

Chemists from the University of Waterloo studied the structures of complex catalysts known as “nanoscale electrocatalysts” and found that they are not as stable as scientists once thought. When electricity flows through them during use, the atoms may rearrange. In some cases, the researchers found, electrocatalysts degrade completely. Understanding why and how this rearrangement and degradation happens is the first step to using these nanoscale electrocatalysts in environmental remediation efforts such as removing atmospheric carbon dioxide and groundwater contaminants and transforming them into higher-value products such as fuels....

New research from the US has shown that white-tailed deer are being infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 in humans. Antibodies were found in 40% of deer that were tested from January to March 2021 across Michigan, Pennsylvania, Illinois and New York state. A second unpublished study has detected the virus in 80% of deer sampled in Iowa between November 2020 and January 2021. Such high levels of infection led the researchers to conclude that deer are actively transmitting the virus to one another....

Using data from 29 countries in Europe, as well as Chile and the US, the researchers found life expectancy in 2021 remained lower than expected across all 29 countries, had pre-pandemic trends continued. Previous global epidemics have seen fairly rapid “bounce backs” to life expectancy levels. But the scale and magnitude of COVID-19, on mortality, confounds claims it has had no more impact than a flu-like illness. Life expectancy losses during recurring flu epidemics over the second half of the 20th century have been much smaller and less widespread than those seen in the pandemic....

Recent studies estimate that due to the COVID pandemic, we use an astounding 129 billion face masks globally every month – that is 3 million a minute. Most of them are disposable face masks made from plastic microfibers. “With increasing reports on inappropriate disposal of masks, it is urgent to recognize this potential environmental threat and prevent it from becoming the next plastic problem,” researchers warn in a comment in the scientific journal Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering....

NIH-supported research highlights growing, dangerous trend, particularly for people new to drug use. Law enforcement seizures of pills containing illicit fentanyl increased dramatically between January 2018 and December 2021, according to a new study. The number of individual pills seized by law enforcement increased nearly 50-fold from the first quarter of 2018 to the last quarter of 2021 and the proportion of pills to total seizures more than doubled, with pills representing over a quarter of illicit fentanyl seizures by the end of 2021....

In the study, published online on March 29, 2021, in Nature, the researchers imaged autopsied lung tissue in a way that simultaneously highlighted dozens of molecular markers on cells. Analyzing these data using novel analytical tools revealed new insights into the causes of damage in these lung illnesses and a rich data resource for further research. “COVID-19 is a complex disease, and we still don’t understand exactly what it does to a lot of organs, but with this study we were able to develop a much clearer understanding of its effects on the lungs,” said co-senior author Dr....

The scientists published their findings in the journal Nature. Physicist Brian Josephson predicted the existence of a tunnel between superconductors separated by a thin layer of an insulator in 1962, a process that is forbidden in classical physics. The Josephson junction was built and used to make superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) that are sold as ultra-sensitive magnetometers. In the most recent study, scientists measured the devices’ thermal behavior. They heated one end of a SQUID several micrometers long and monitored the temperature of an electrode connected to it....

The drug bumetanide, which has been used for decades to treat high blood pressure and other conditions, has now shown some promise in a small clinical trial for autism spectrum disorder. The drug reduced the overall severity of behavioral symptoms after 3 months of daily treatment. The scientists published their findings in the journal Translational Psychiatry. Parents of the children who were treated reported that their children were more present and engaged in social interactions after taking the drug....

What are some skywatching highlights in January 2023? Some lovely groupings this month include the Moon with Mars, and later with Jupiter, and a close conjunction of Venus and Saturn. The brilliant stars of the Northern Hemisphere’s winter sky are a dazzling sight all month long. And a comet discovered last March makes its closest approach to Earth in January, gracing pre-dawn skies. What to look for: Two conjunctions, winter stars, and a comet!...

The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting limitations on travel and other economic sectors by countries around the globe drastically decreased air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions within just a few weeks. That sudden change gave scientists an unprecedented view of results that would take regulations years to achieve. A comprehensive new survey of the effects of the pandemic on the atmosphere, using satellite data from NASA and other international space agencies, reveals some unexpected findings....

A cautious approach to easing lockdown restrictions that reduces the risk of later lockdowns may be better for the global supply chain in the long run, according to a new modeling study led by UCL and Tsinghua University. The paper, published today (June 3, 2020) in Nature Human Behaviour, is the first peer-reviewed study to comprehensively assess potential global supply chain effects of COVID-19 lockdowns, modeling the impact of lockdowns on 140 countries, including countries not directly affected by COVID-19....

Discovery Sheds New Light on Famous Einstein Ring Social distance science made possible with public W. M. Keck Observatory and NASA archive data. Determined to find a needle in a cosmic haystack, a pair of astronomers time traveled through archives of old data from W. M. Keck Observatory on Mauankea in Hawaii and old X-ray data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory to unlock a mystery surrounding a bright, lensed, heavily obscured quasar....

Quantum computers promise to reach computation speeds far beyond that of today’s computers. As they would use quantum effects, however, they would also be susceptible to external interferences. Information flow into and out of the system is a critical point. Researchers from KIT with partners from Grenoble and Strasbourg have now read out the quantum state of an atom directly by using electrodes. A paper published in the Nature Communications journal reports on the stable interface between the classical and quantum world....