Friday, June 12, 2020

science news 12.6.2020

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.




earth

Looking up to the stars can reveal what's deep below
Using a new technique originally designed to explore the cosmos, scientists have unveiled structures deep inside the Earth, paving the way towards a new map revealing what Earth's interior looks like.

Utah's arches continue to whisper their secrets
Two new studies from University of Utah researchers show what can be learned from a short seismic checkup of natural rock arches and how erosion sculpts some arches -- like the iconic Delicate Arch -- into shapes that lend added strength.


evolution

New insight into the Great Dying
A new study shows for the first time that the collapse of terrestrial ecosystems during Earth's most deadly mass extinction event was directly responsible for disrupting ocean chemistry. The study highlights the importance of understanding the inter-connectedness of ecosystems as our modern environment struggles with the devastating effects of a rapidly warming planet.

New discovery of giant bipedal crocodile footprints in the cretaceous of Korea



3D image of Batrachopus grandis, the new name for the footprint of a large bipedal Cretaceous crocodilian
Credit: Martin Lockley

Sex-specific canary colors driven by simple molecular mechanisms


nanoworld

Tiny pump builds polyrotaxanes with precision
Northwestern University researchers have developed the most precise way to build polyrotaxanes by using two artificial molecular pumps to install rings onto each end of a polymer string.


humans

Denisovan DNA influences immune system of modern day Oceanian populations

Female researchers majorly under-represented in COVID-19 research


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From the news media:


We can no longer ignore the potential of psychedelic drugs to treat depression

said Robin Carhart-Harris in the Guardian on Monday. (David Nutt and colleagues have been saying such things for many years, see my feature from 2013, it's just that politicians carry on with the pointless war on drugs and don't listen ... )

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