science news 11.3.2020

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.



astrobiology

Paper sheds light on infant universe and origin of matter


ecology

Disease-causing virus manipulates crop plants to favor its vector

Grad student names new treehopper species after Lady Gaga



Kaikaia gaga has features of both Old World and New World treehoppers.
Credit: Photo courtesy Brendan Morris

Some domesticated plants ignore beneficial soil microbes


conservation

Research shows mangrove conservation can pay for itself in flood protection

Planet's largest ecosystems collapse faster than previously forecast
New research has shown that large ecosystems such as rainforests and coral reefs can collapse at a significantly faster rate than previously understood. The findings suggest that ecosystems the size of the Amazon forests could collapse in only 49 years and the Caribbean coral reefs in just 15 years.


biomedical

Knowing more about a virus threat may not satisfy you
People who rate themselves as highly knowledgeable about a new infectious disease threat could also be more likely to believe they don't know enough, a new study suggests. In the case of this study, the infectious disease threat was the Zika virus. But the authors of the new study, published recently in the journal Risk Analysis, say the results could apply to the recent novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.



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From the news media:

The Guardian on the demise of the Hauraki Gulf marine protected area in New Zealand.