science news 21.1.2020

Today's selection of science news. Links are normally to press releases on EurekAlert (at the bottom end I may also add a couple of newspaper stories). I include quotes from the summary in italics in cases where the title alone doesn't reveal what the story is about. My own thoughts appear without italics if I have any.


NB not much science news today, for some reason, but I'm loving the fish rubbing, so I'm still posting it today rather than keeping it for tomorrow.


climate change

Want to know what climate change will do in your back yard? There's a dataset for that


art and science

On the edge between science and art: Historical biodiversity data from Japanese 'gyotaku'

Japanese cultural art of 'gyotaku,' which means 'fish impression' or 'fish rubbing,' captures accurate images of fish specimens. It has been used by recreational fishermen and artists since the Edo Period. Distributional data from 261 'Gyotaku' rubbings were extracted for 218 individual specimens, roughly representing regional fish fauna and common fishing targets in Japan through the years. The results of the research are presented in a paper published by Japanese scientists in open-access journal Zookeys.



Gyotaku rubbing from Chiba Prefecture.
Credit: Yusuke Miyazaki


health

Health of poor Brits worse than that of those born a century ago



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From the news media:


A compound from cannabis fights MRSA superbugs, reports The Guardian.