New point spread functions developed for particle 3D tracking

Nanoparticle positioning and tracking have a wide range of uses in life science, drug research and development. Real-time recording of the intracellular and extracellular motion of nano particles is of great significance in exploring the basic laws of life activities and drug transformation as it is crucial for clarifying key scientific issues such as disease pathogenesis, viral dynamic infection of host cells, and promoting the development and transformation of nano-drugs.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-10-functions-particle-3d-tracking.html

Is it even possible to regulate Facebook effectively? Multiple attempts have led to the same outcome

The Australian government's recent warning to Facebook over misinformation is just the latest salvo in the seemingly constant battle to hold the social media giant to account for the content posted on its platform.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-10-facebook-effectively-multiple-outcome.html

Study finds women, honor students prefer active learning spaces

The Association of American Universities has made a recent push to encourage institutions to install more active learning spaces on campuses, in which students can move and work together, instead of sitting in fixed seats in a traditional lecture hall. A new study from the University of Kansas found students are self-sorting between the two spaces and that active learning classrooms can be a way to attract more women to STEM fields and keep students enrolled and engaged.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-10-women-honor-students-spaces.html

New sensor detects low air humidity

Measuring air humidity is important in many areas. However, conventional sensors in hygrometers have so far not been able to determine a very low water vapor content. Physicists at the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE) and the Yuri Gagarin Technical University in Russia have now developed a new sensor. It detects even the smallest amounts of water molecules that sink to its surface. The detector is based on highly conductive materials known as MXenes.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-10-sensor-air-humidity.html

Biden calls for a big expansion of offshore wind: How officials decide where the turbines may go

The Biden administration has announced ambitious plans to scale up leasing for offshore wind energy projects along the Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific coasts. In an announcement released on Oct. 13, 2021, the U.S. Department of the Interior stated that it will "use the best available science as well as knowledge from ocean users and other stakeholders to minimize conflict with existing uses and marine life." University of Massachusetts Boston public policy scholar David W. Cash, who worked at senior levels in state government for a decade, describes how this process works.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-10-biden-big-expansion-offshore-turbines.html

Viruses are both the villains and heroes of life as we know it

Viruses have a bad reputation. They are responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic and a long list of maladies that have plagued humanity since time immemorial. Is there anything to celebrate about them?

source https://phys.org/news/2021-10-viruses-villains-heroes-life.html

Floods, landslides kill 116 in India and Nepal

The death toll from days of flooding and landslides in India and Nepal crossed 100 on Wednesday, including several families swept away or crushed in their homes by avalanches of mud and rocks.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-10-landslides-india-nepal.html

Alibaba shares soar after Jack Ma reported on Europe trip

Alibaba shares surged more than six percent on Wednesday after billionaire founder Jack Ma was reported to be in Europe, fuelling investor hopes that the worst of China's regulatory crackdown for the internet giant might be over.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-10-alibaba-soar-jack-ma-europe.html

Flooding in Venice worsens off-season amid climate change

After Venice suffered the second-worst flood in its history in November 2019, it was inundated with four more exceptional tides within six weeks, shocking Venetians and triggering fears about the worsening impact of climate change.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-10-venice-worsens-off-season-climate.html

Helium: South Africa strikes new 'gold'

In a grassy plain in South Africa, once the world's largest gold producer, prospectors have stumbled upon a new treasure: helium.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-10-helium-south-africa-gold.html

Boeing aims for unmanned Starliner test flight in first half of 2022

Boeing is aiming for a test flight of its unmanned CST-100 Starliner capsule in the first half of next year and a potential launch of its crewed spacecraft at the end of 2022, company officials said Tuesday.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-10-boeing-aims-unmanned-starliner-flight.html

WeWork back to Wall Street, two years after fiasco

WeWork's financial woes and aborted IPO made headlines in 2019, but two years later the office-sharing giant is returning to Wall Street after seeking to renew itself in response to the pandemic.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-10-wework-wall-street-years-fiasco.html

United Airlines scores 3Q profit as more travel returns

An improvement in customer travel levels helped United Airlines report a profit in the third quarter on Tuesday even as it pointed to higher jet fuel costs as the latest challenge facing the industry.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-10-airlines-scores-3q-profit.html

3M to pay $99 mn to settle dispute over harmful chemicals

The US group 3M, which among other things manufactures anti-COVID protective face masks, said Tuesday it will pay $99 million to settle complaints related to health and the environment.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-10-3m-mn-dispute-chemicals.html

Study: Fossil fuel plans would far overshoot climate goals

The world needs to cut by more than half its production of coal, oil and gas in the coming decade to maintain a chance of keeping global warming from reaching dangerous levels, according to a U.N.-backed study released Wednesday.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-10-fossil-fuel-overshoot-climate-goals.html

Simulating chaotic interactions of three black holes

Dutch student Arend Moerman (Leiden University, the Netherlands) has defended his thesis research on the simulation of chaotic interactions of three black holes. The simulations, which he carried out together with researchers from Leiden and Oxford, show that lighter black holes tend to slingshot each other out into space, while heavier ones tend to merge. The research will be published in the leading journal Physical Review D.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-10-simulating-chaotic-interactions-black-holes.html

Netflix posts higher 3Q earnings, solid subscriber growth

Netflix posted sharply higher third-quarter earnings Tuesday thanks to a stronger slate of titles, including "Squid Game," the dystopian survival drama from South Korea that the company says became its biggest-ever TV show.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-10-netflix-higher-3q-solid-subscriber.html

Volcano in southern Japan erupts with massive smoke column

A volcano in southern Japan erupted Wednesday with a massive column of gray smoke billowing into the sky.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-10-volcano-southern-japan-erupts-massive.html

Marangoni surfer robots look and move like water bugs

From birds in the sky to fish in the sea, nature's creatures possess characteristics naturally perfected over millennia. Studying them leads engineers to create new technologies that are essential to our way of life today. Mechanical engineers from Michigan Technological University share how they built a tiny, self-powered robot inspired by water-skimming insects.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-10-marangoni-surfer-robots-bugs.html

Europeans want climate action but show little appetite for radical lifestyle change: new polling

Europeans want urgent action on climate change but remain committed meat-eaters and question policy proposals such as banning the sale of new petrol vehicles after 2030, according to a new poll from the YouGov-Cambridge Centre for Public Opinion Research that surveyed environmental attitudes in seven European countries, including the UK.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-10-europeans-climate-action-appetite-radical.html