The Zeus Technologies™ Blog: 12/07/20

Monday, December 7, 2020

Drug for rare disorder shows promise for treating herpes viruses

A drug currently prescribed to treat a rare enzyme deficiency can help cells clear the herpes simplex 1 and herpes simplex 2 viruses, according to a new study published in the journal Science Advances.

Study finds large-scale expansion of stem rust resistance gene in barley and oat lineages

Stem rust is one of the most devastating fungal diseases of wheat and historically has caused dramatic, widespread crop failures resulting in significant yield losses around the world. Stem rust epidemics in major wheat growing areas could cause a major threat to global food security. Scientists have identified a resistance gene, Sr22, as one of the few characterized genes that protects against a large array of stem rust races.

National Zoo extends panda deal with China through 2023

The National Zoo has struck a new extension of its longstanding agreement with the Chinese government that will keep the zoo's iconic giant pandas in Washington for another three years.

EU tells online platforms to better explain search rankings

Internet companies such as Google and Amazon should be more transparent in explaining how the search rankings work on their platforms, the European Commission said in guidelines released Monday.

Aurora to buy Uber's self-driving vehicles arm

Uber is selling off its autonomous vehicles development arm to Aurora as the ride-hailing company slims down after its revenues were pummeled by the coronavirus pandemic.

SpaceX capsules parked side-by-side at station for 1st time

A SpaceX supply ship bearing Christmas goodies arrived at the International Space Station on Monday, parking alongside another Dragon capsule that carried up astronauts three weeks ago.

#Covid19, #BlackLivesMatter top Twitter themes in 2020

The coronavirus pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement topped the list of conversation topics on Twitter in a tumultuous year, the messaging platform said Monday.

Scientists test safest way driver, passengers can avoid COVID spread

Traveling in a car with another person during the pandemic? Certain key steps might cut the odds of coronavirus spread during the trip, researchers say.

Can gender inequality kill? Paper looks at impact among older Indian women

Indian women past childbearing age are dying at a higher rate than those in other countries because of poverty and limited access to resources such as food and health care, according to a study from Rice University.

Warning labels reduce sugary drink consumption in university setting, researchers found

As municipalities have taxed sugar-sweetened beverages and schools and worksites have banned their sales, university researchers have found that simple warning labels on such beverages in a college cafeteria helped students reduce their reported consumption of drinks by 14.5 percent. The results signal that such labels could reduce sugar consumption in larger settings.

Study shows that poor sleep can lead to depression in adolescents

Chronic sleep disruption during adolescence can lead to depression in both males and females and alters stress reactivity in females, according to a new study led by University of Ottawa researchers. Their findings, published in the journal Behavioral Brain Research, are particularly relevant in the context of a pandemic, when adolescents' mental health is already under strain.

White blood cells may cause tumor cell death—but that's not good news

White blood cells are part of many immune system responses in the human body. New research shows that a specific type of those cells may cause brain cancer tissues to die—but that's not good news, according to researchers at Penn State College of Medicine. They said that higher amounts of this tissue death have been associated with poor survival in patients with aggressive glioblastomas, a deadly type of brain cancer that is common in adults.

Novel anti-craving mechanism discovered to treat cocaine relapse

Cocaine continues to be one of the most commonly abused illicit drugs in the United States. Pre-clinical literature suggests that targeting glucagon-like peptide-1 receptors (GLP-1Rs) in the brain may represent a novel approach to treating cocaine use disorder. Specifically, GLP-1R agonists, which are FDA-approved for treating diabetes and obesity, have been shown to reduce voluntary drug taking and seeking in preclinical models of cocaine used disorder. However, the exact neural circuits and cell types that mediate the suppressive effects of GLP-1R agonists on cocaine-seeking behavior are mostly unknown.

Drones and AI detect soybean maturity with high accuracy

Walking rows of soybeans in the mid-summer heat is an exhausting but essential chore in breeding new cultivars. Researchers brave the heat daily during crucial parts of the growing season to look for plants showing desirable traits, such as early pod maturity. But without a way to automate detection of these traits, breeders can't test as many plots as they'd like in a given year, elongating the time it takes to bring new cultivars to market.

Research concluding noncompetes stifle workers forthcoming in multiple publications

In recent years, debate has been intensifying over whether the noncompete agreements some companies use to bind employees help or hurt workers. It's an issue management professor Evan Starr at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business has studied extensively—co-authoring four research papers on the topic forthcoming in top journals. All the results point to the same conclusion: Noncompetes stifle workers.

A recipe for protein footprinting

Michael Gross, professor of chemistry in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis and of immunology and internal medicine at the School of Medicine, and his team are experts in footprinting proteins—that is, using advanced methods for investigating the structure and interactions of proteins within larger molecules.

Researchers have uncovered one way plants respond to hormonal cues

Just like other organisms, plants must respond dynamically to a variety of cues over their lifetime. Going through different developmental stages, or altering their form in response to a drought or drastic temperature change requires altering which of their genes are expressed into proteins and when those processes occur.

Researchers call for renewed focus on thermoelectric cooling

Almost 200 years after French physicist Jean Peltier discovered that electric current flowing through the junction of two different metals could be used to produce a heating or cooling effect, scientists continue to search for new thermoelectric materials that can be used for power generation.

Increase in head start funding "a national priority"

Increased funding for Head Start—the largest federally funded, early childhood development program in the United States—is needed to support families during the COVID-19 recession and to ensure a more stable economic recovery.

Image-based navigation could help spacecraft safely land on the moon

In order for future lunar exploration missions to be successful and land more precisely, engineers must equip spacecraft with technologies that allow them to "see" where they are and travel to where they need to be. Finding specific locations amid the moon's complicated topography is not a simple task.

COVID-19 transmission in nursing homes may be affected by care workers with multiple jobs

Nurses and other long-term care workers in nursing homes who hold multiple jobs, may be one of the factors contributing to the spread of COVID-19 in these facilities, according to a new study published in Medical Care Research and Review. The nature of their work in providing essential care to patients in rather close proximity, and the limited access to personal protective equipment for some workers, has made this profession even riskier during the pandemic. The findings examine the likelihood that nurses and direct care workers in long-term care facilities hold a second job, and how demographic differences between the two may affect this probability.

Remote Hawaiian island harbors last land snails of their kind

The island of Nihoa, a slice of jagged rock that juts out of the Pacific Ocean, is the sole refuge for a rediscovered species of native Hawaiian land snail previously presumed to be extinct.

New sunspot cycle could be one of the strongest on record, new research predicts

In direct contradiction to the official forecast, a team of scientists led by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) is predicting that the Sunspot Cycle that started this fall could be one of the strongest since record-keeping began.

US probe finds no 'misconduct' in Kodak loan: report

A US watchdog report has found no "evidence of misconduct" in the processing of a government loan to Kodak that was subsequently suspended pending investigations into the deal, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.

Chinese Covid-19 vaccine maker gets $500 million funding boost

Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinovac Biotech has secured half a billion dollars in extra funding to produce its COVID-19 vaccine, it said Monday, as the country races to roll out a jab for general use.

Moroccan geeks flock to 'paradise for hackers'

With its rows of sleek computers and ultra-modern study methods, Morocco's 1337 campus is a dream come true for budding geeks, in a country where IT skills are in high demand.

Schools confront 'off the rails' numbers of failing grades

The first report cards of the school year are arriving with many more Fs than usual in a dismal sign of the struggles students are experiencing with distance learning.

Last month the hottest November on record: EU

Last month was the hottest November on record as Europe basked in its highest Autumn temperatures in history, the European Union's satellite monitoring service said Monday.

Health officials warn Americans not to let their guard down

With a COVID-19 vaccine perhaps just days away in the U.S., most of California headed into another lockdown Sunday because of the surging outbreak and top health officials warned Americans that this is no time to let their guard down.

As virus slams rural California, many still pan restrictions

Brenda Luntey is openly violating California's order to close her restaurant to indoor dining. But she wants her customers and critics to know she isn't typically a rule-breaker. It's a matter of survival.

Airbnb to increase IPO price: report

Home-sharing giant Airbnb, which is scheduled to go public this week, will significantly raise its IPO price, valuing the group at more than $40 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.

Chinese probe orbiting moon with Earth-bound samples

A Chinese probe was orbiting the moon on Monday in preparation for the returning of samples of the lunar surface to Earth for the first time in almost 45 years.

Twilio CEO discusses why pandemic lifted tech to new heights

Twilio has emerged as a technological backbone for thousands of companies during the pandemic. Its users rely on its digital tools to connect with customers through mobile apps, call centers and messaging services as the shift to online commerce and curbside pickup accelerates.

Australian surfer survives great white shark attack

An Australian surfer told Monday how he managed to paddle back to shore and walk hundreds of meters to get help after being attacked by a great white shark.

Giant vertical farm opens in Denmark

A purple glow illuminates stacked boxes where lettuce, herbs and kale will soon be sprouting at one of Europe's biggest "vertical farms" which has just opened in a warehouse in an industrial zone in Copenhagen.

Cervical cancer survival may improve by targeting senescent 'zombie' cells

How well women with cervical cancer respond to treatment and survive correlates with the level of 10 proteins in their blood that also are associated with a "zombie" cell state called senescence, Medical College of Georgia scientists report.

Trench fever in urban people who are homeless

A disease common during the First World War, trench fever, has been found in some urban populations experiencing homelessness in Canada, and physicians should be aware of this potentially fatal disease, highlights a practice article in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

Study finds obesity contributes to 40% mortality gap between Black and white women with early breast cancer

In an analysis of women with early breast cancer, Black women had higher rates of obesity and other health conditions that can affect survival, compared with white women. The findings are published early online in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society (ACS).

The world's first DNA 'tricorder' in your pocket

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) scientists developed the world's first mobile genome sequence analyzer, a new iPhone app called iGenomics. By pairing an iPhone with a handheld DNA sequencer, users can create a mobile genetics laboratory, reminiscent of the "tricorder" featured in Star Trek. The iGenomics app runs entirely on the iOS device, reducing the need for laptops or large equipment in the field, which is useful for pandemic and ecology workers. Aspyn Palatnick programmed iGenomics in CSHL Adjunct Associate Professor Michael Schatz's laboratory, over a period of eight years, starting when he was a 14-year-old high school intern.

New study shows every week of lockdown increases binge drinking

Harmful drinking among adults increases the longer they spend at home in lockdown, according to a study published in the peer-reviewed American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse.

Airbnb to increase IPO price: report

Home-sharing giant Airbnb, which is scheduled to go public this week, will significantly raise its IPO price, valuing the group at more than $40 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-12-airbnb-ipo-price.html

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Monday, December 7, 2020