Tuesday, March 17, 2020

science news 17.3.2020

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.


evolution

Ancient hornwort genomes could lead to crop improvement
The first hornwort genomes illuminate the origin of land plants.



Hornwort (Anthoceros) grown under laboratory conditions.
Credit: Eftychis Frangedakis


ecology

Soft corals near Virgin Islands recover from hurricanes, but stony corals declining


conservation

Bargain-hunting for biodiversity


nanoworld

A tale of shepherds and helices
a calcium salt crystallising on a marble relief forms a collagen-like triple helix. Could be an artistic statement ...


climate change

New research first to relate Antarctic sea ice melt to weather change in tropics


biomedical

'Stealth transmission' fuels fast spread of coronavirus outbreak

Chinese case study suggests COVID-19 is not transmitted from pregnant mothers to newborns


environment

Study suggests LEGO bricks could survive in ocean for up to 1,300 years
By measuring the mass of individual bricks found on beaches against equivalent unused pieces and the age of blocks obtained from storage, researchers estimated that the items could endure for anywhere between 100 and 1,300 years


humans

Ancient mantis-man petroglyph discovered in Iran

Tang Dynasty noblewoman buried with her donkeys, for the love of polo


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From the news media:

That coronavirus is all over the news now that the UK and US governments have come round to agree too little too late. Here's the Guardian on vaccine plans.
Also, the interface between air pollution and coronavirus is an interesting one to watch. Polluted air makes the disease more deadly, but in return I have seen several people claiming that the lockdowns leading to drastic reductions in pollution will save more lives than the virus outbreak claims.


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