Genetic exchange discovered in anciently asexual rotifers

Evolutionary biologists at Skoltech have discovered recombination in bdelloid rotifers, microscopic freshwater invertebrates characterized by their presumed ancient asexuality. The existence of such anciently asexual groups calls into question the hypothesis that sexual reproduction is indispensable for the long-term evolutionary success of a species. However, the recent study published in Nature Communications provides evidence of recombination and genetic exchange in bdelloids.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-genetic-exchange-anciently-asexual-rotifers.html

Researchers deconstruct ancient Jewish parchment using multiple imaging techniques

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but capturing multiple images of an artifact across the electromagnetic spectrum can tell a rich story about the original creation and degradation of historical objects over time. Researchers recently demonstrated how this was possible using several complementary imaging techniques to non-invasively probe a Jewish parchment scroll. The results were published in the journal Frontiers in Materials.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-deconstruct-ancient-jewish-parchment-multiple.html

Researchers deconstruct ancient Jewish parchment using multiple imaging techniques

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but capturing multiple images of an artifact across the electromagnetic spectrum can tell a rich story about the original creation and degradation of historical objects over time. Researchers recently demonstrated how this was possible using several complementary imaging techniques to non-invasively probe a Jewish parchment scroll. The results were published in the journal Frontiers in Materials.

Fire-resistant tropical forest on brink of disappearance

A new study led by researchers in the Geography Department at Swansea University reveals the extreme scale of loss and fragmentation of tropical forests, which once covered much of the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-fire-resistant-tropical-forest-brink.html

Cell atlas of tropical disease parasite may hold key to new treatments

The first cell atlas of an important life stage of Schistosoma mansoni, a parasitic worm that poses a risk to hundreds of millions of people each year, has been developed by researchers at the Wellcome Sanger Institute and their collaborators.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-cell-atlas-tropical-disease-parasite.html

Tesla to join elite S&P index, shaking up Wall Street

Tesla is set to join an elite group of companies in a key Wall Street index, a move which gives greater prominence to the high-flying electric carmaker and forces money managers to reshuffle their portfolios.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-12-tesla-elite-sp-index-wall.html

Google says Australian law on paying for news is unworkable

A Google executive said on Friday that a proposed Australian law to make digital platforms pay for news was unworkable and its proposed arbitration model was biased toward media businesses.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-12-google-australian-law-news-unworkable.html

Hack against US is 'grave' threat, cybersecurity agency says

Federal authorities expressed increased alarm Thursday about a long-undetected intrusion into U.S. and other computer systems around the globe that officials suspect was carried out by Russian hackers. The nation's cybersecurity agency warned of a "grave" risk to government and private networks.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-12-hack-grave-threat-cybersecurity-agency.html

China's Alibaba 'dismayed' by Uighur facial-recognition software

Chinese tech giant Alibaba has sought to distance itself from a face-recognition software feature devised by its cloud computing unit that could help users to identify members of the country's Muslim Uighur minority.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-12-china-alibaba-dismayed-uighur-facial-recognition.html

Cyberpunk 2077 pulled from PlayStation Store after bug backlash

Sony is pulling the much-hyped Cyberpunk 2077 from PlayStation stores around the world, the firm said Friday, after a flood of complaints and ridicule over bugs, compatibility issues and even health risks.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-12-cyberpunk-playstation-bug-backlash.html

Two dead as super cyclone levels Fiji villages

Super cyclone Yasa flattened entire villages as it tore through Fiji, aid agencies said Friday, with a baby among two confirmed deaths and rescue workers racing to the worst-hit communities.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-dead-super-cyclone-fiji-villages.html

'Poverty line' concept debunked by new machine learning model

Mathematicians have used machine learning to develop a new model for measuring poverty in different countries that junks old notions of a fixed 'poverty line'.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-poverty-line-concept-debunked-machine.html

Fire-resistant tropical forest on brink of disappearance

A new study led by researchers in the Geography Department at Swansea University reveals the extreme scale of loss and fragmentation of tropical forests, which once covered much of the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan.

Cell atlas of tropical disease parasite may hold key to new treatments

The first cell atlas of an important life stage of Schistosoma mansoni, a parasitic worm that poses a risk to hundreds of millions of people each year, has been developed by researchers at the Wellcome Sanger Institute and their collaborators.

Tesla to join elite S&P index, shaking up Wall Street

Tesla is set to join an elite group of companies in a key Wall Street index, a move which gives greater prominence to the high-flying electric carmaker and forces money managers to reshuffle their portfolios.

Google says Australian law on paying for news is unworkable

A Google executive said on Friday that a proposed Australian law to make digital platforms pay for news was unworkable and its proposed arbitration model was biased toward media businesses.

Hack against US is 'grave' threat, cybersecurity agency says

Federal authorities expressed increased alarm Thursday about a long-undetected intrusion into U.S. and other computer systems around the globe that officials suspect was carried out by Russian hackers. The nation's cybersecurity agency warned of a "grave" risk to government and private networks.

China's Alibaba 'dismayed' by Uighur facial-recognition software

Chinese tech giant Alibaba has sought to distance itself from a face-recognition software feature devised by its cloud computing unit that could help users to identify members of the country's Muslim Uighur minority.

Cyberpunk 2077 pulled from PlayStation Store after bug backlash

Sony is pulling the much-hyped Cyberpunk 2077 from PlayStation stores around the world, the firm said Friday, after a flood of complaints and ridicule over bugs, compatibility issues and even health risks.

Two dead as super cyclone levels Fiji villages

Super cyclone Yasa flattened entire villages as it tore through Fiji, aid agencies said Friday, with a baby among two confirmed deaths and rescue workers racing to the worst-hit communities.

'Poverty line' concept debunked by new machine learning model

Mathematicians have used machine learning to develop a new model for measuring poverty in different countries that junks old notions of a fixed 'poverty line'.

The 'crazy beast' that lived among the dinosaurs

New research published today in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology describes a bizarre 66 million-year-old mammal that provides profound new insights into the evolutionary history of mammals from the southern supercontinent Gondwana—recognized today as Africa, South America, Australia, Antarctica, the Indian subcontinent, and the Arabian Peninsula.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-crazy-beast-dinosaurs.html

The 'crazy beast' that lived among the dinosaurs

New research published today in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology describes a bizarre 66 million-year-old mammal that provides profound new insights into the evolutionary history of mammals from the southern supercontinent Gondwana—recognized today as Africa, South America, Australia, Antarctica, the Indian subcontinent, and the Arabian Peninsula.