China's plans for Himalayan super dam stoke fears in India

China is planning a mega dam in Tibet able to produce triple the electricity generated by the Three Gorges—the world's largest power station—stoking fears among environmentalists and in neighbouring India.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-04-china-himalayan-super-stoke-india.html

Rhino population in Nepal grows in conservation boost

Nepal's population of endangered one-horned rhinoceros has grown by more than a hundred over the past six years, officials said, with campaigners hailing the increase as a conservation "milestone".

source https://phys.org/news/2021-04-rhino-population-nepal-boost.html

Electric vehicle battery firms settle trade spat

Two big South Korean electric vehicle battery makers have settled a long-running trade dispute that will allow one of them to move ahead with plans to make batteries in Georgia, a person briefed on the matter says.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-04-electric-vehicle-battery-firms-spat.html

Famed Egyptian archaeologist reveals details of ancient city

Egypt's best-known archaeologist on Saturday revealed further details on a Pharaonic city recently found in the southern province of Luxor.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-04-famed-egyptian-archaeologist-reveals-ancient.html

Ash-covered St. Vincent braces for more volcanic eruptions

People who ignored an initial warning to evacuate the area closest to a volcano on the eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent raced to get clear Saturday, a day after it erupted with an explosion that shook the ground, spewed ash skyward and blanketed the island in a layer of fine volcanic rock.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-04-ash-covered-st-vincent-braces-volcanic.html

NASA delays Mars copter flight for tech check

NASA has delayed by at least several days the first flight of its mini-helicopter on Mars after a possible tech issue emerged while testing its rotors, the US space agency said Saturday.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-04-nasa-mars-copter-flight-tech.html

France to declare agricultural 'disaster' over spring frost

The French government is to declare an agricultural disaster over an unusual early spring frost that has damaged crops and vines across the country, the agiculture minister said.

North Carolina sites halt J&J shots after adverse reactions

North Carolina health officials said on Thursday that they stopped administering Johnson & Johnson doses at a mass vaccination site in Raleigh and at clinics in Hillsborough and Chapel Hill after at least 26 people experienced adverse reactions, including fainting.

French under-55s given AZ jab to get different 2nd dose

French authorities are set to rule that under 55s who received a first injection of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine can be given a jab from a different producer for their second dose, Health Minister Olivier Veran said on Friday.

US suicides dropped last year, defying pandemic expectations

The number of U.S. suicides fell nearly 6% last year amid the coronavirus pandemic—the largest annual decline in at least four decades, according to preliminary government data.

St. Vincent warns of volcanic eruption, orders evacuations

Authorities on the eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent said Thursday they believe an active volcano is in danger of erupting and have ordered mandatory evacuations.

Liftoff! Pioneers of space

Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space 60 years ago next week.

US sanctions Chinese computer makers in widening tech fight

The Biden administration has added seven Chinese supercomputer research labs and manufacturers to a U.S. export blacklist in a spreading conflict with Beijing over technology and security.

Amazon union organizers deflated as vote tilts against them

Amazon is heading into the final stretch of a union push in Bessemer, Alabama with a sizeable lead over labor organizers.

Verizon recalls mobile hotspots sold to schools, in stores

Verizon is recalling 2.5 million mobile hotspots after some reports of overheating and two reports of minor burns.

Three-man Soyuz flight honouring Gagarin blasts off for ISS

A three-man crew blasted off to the International Space Station Friday in a capsule honouring the 60th anniversary of Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becoming the first person in space.

X-ray study recasts role of battery material from cathode to catalyst

An international team working at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) used a unique X-ray instrument to learn new things about lithium-rich battery materials that have been the subject of much study for their potential to extend the range of electric vehicles and the operation of electronic devices.

Configuring infrared spectroscopy tools to better detect breast cancer

Detecting and analyzing breast cancer goes beyond the initial discovery of the cancer itself. If a patient has a tumor removed and it needs to be analyzed to determine further treatment, it might be OK for the results to take 24 hours. But if the patient is still on the operating table and clinicians are waiting to make sure no cancer cells are present along the edges of the removed tumor, results need to be nearly immediate.

Could Mario Kart teach us how to reduce world poverty and improve sustainability?

Many Mario Kart enthusiasts are familiar with the rush of racing down Rainbow Road, barely squeaking around a corner, and catching a power-up from one of the floating square icons on the screen—or, less ideally, slipping on a banana peel laid by another racer and flying off the side of the road into oblivion. This heated competition between multiple players, who use a variety of game tokens and tools to speed ahead or thwart their competitors, is part of what makes the classic Nintendo racing game that has been around since the early 1990s so appealing.

Cancer-killing virus therapy shows promise against inoperable skin cancers

Early results show that a new combination drug therapy is safe and effective against advanced skin cancer in patients who were not able to have their tumors surgically removed.

Sunlight linked with lower COVID-19 deaths, study shows

Sunnier areas are associated with fewer deaths from Covid-19, an observational study suggests.

Failure to rescue a major driver of excess maternal mortality in Black women

In a study of over 73 million delivery hospitalizations during a 19-year period in the United States, researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and Columbia University Irving Medical Center found that failure to rescue from severe maternal morbidity contributes more than a half of the 3-fold difference in maternal mortality between Black women and White women. Failure to rescue refers to death resulting from severe maternal morbidity such as eclampsia, acute heart failure, and sepsis. The findings are published in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Brazil at high risk of dengue outbreaks after droughts because of temporary water storage

Dengue risk is exacerbated in highly populated areas of Brazil after extreme drought because of improvised water containers housing mosquitoes, suggests a new study in Lancet Planetary Health.

Surgery for stress urinary incontinence doesn't cause pelvic cancer

Women undergoing surgery to treat stress urinary incontinence (SUI) are not at increased risk of developing pelvic cancers, according to a large-scale, population-based study in The Journal of Urology, Official Journal of the American Urological Association (AUA).

Lessons in equity from the frontlines of COVID-19 vaccination

When the first COVID-19 vaccines were approved for emergency use in December 2020, healthcare systems across the Unites States needed to rapidly design and implement their own approaches to distribute COVID-19 vaccines equitably and efficiently. This new role has required Beth Israel Lahey Health (BILH) to develop new strategies and build large operational teams to organize and successfully vaccinate more than 14,000 patients a week across Eastern Massachusetts. In an Insight article published in JAMA Health Forum, Leonor Fernandez, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Department of Medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and Peter Shorett, MPP, Chief Integration Officer at BILH, identify five key lessons about health equity that have emerged from BILH's vaccination campaign for the health system's approximately 1.6 million patients.

Even 'safe' ambient CO levels may harm health, study finds

Data collected from 337 cities across 18 countries show that even slight increases in ambient carbon monoxide levels from automobiles and other sources are associated with increased mortality.

Study investigates link between lactation and visceral, pericardial fat

As demonstrated by multiple studies over the years, women who breastfeed have a lower risk for developing cardiovascular disease and diabetes when compared to those who don't or can't. However, the mechanisms by which these risks are reduced for lactating women are still not fully understood.

Earth's crust mineralogy drives hotspots for intraterrestrial life

Below the verdant surface and organic rich soil, life extends kilometers into Earth's deep rocky crust. The continental deep subsurface is likely one of the largest reservoirs of bacteria and archaea on Earth, many forming biofilms—like a microbial coating of the rock surface. This microbial population survives without light or oxygen and with minimal organic carbon sources, and can get energy by eating or respiring minerals. Distributed throughout the deep subsurface, these biofilms could represent 20-80% of the total bacterial and archaeal biomass in the continental subsurface according to the most recent estimate. But are these microbial populations spread evenly on rock surfaces, or do they prefer to colonize specific minerals in the rocks?

Long-awaited review reveals journey of water from interstellar clouds to habitable worlds

Dutch astronomer Ewine van Dishoeck (Leiden University, the Netherlands), together with an international team of colleagues, has written an overview of everything we know about water in interstellar clouds thanks to the Herschel space observatory. The article, published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, summarizes existing knowledge and provides new information about the origin of water on new, potentially habitable, worlds. The article is expected to serve as a reference work for the next twenty years.

French rail company orders 12 hydrogen trains

French national railway SNCF said Thursday it has ordered 12 hydrogen-powered trains to begin tests in four regions in 2023 as it eyes a zero-emissions future with the nascent technology.

Germany to talk to Russia about buying Sputnik jabs: minister

The German government plans to talk to Moscow about buying doses of Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine if it is approved by the European regulator, Health Minister Jens Spahn said Thursday.

Argentina announces curfew as coronavirus cases rise

Argentina's President Alberto Fernandez on Wednesday announced a three-week nighttime curfew after a second consecutive day of record coronavirus infections.

Fresh COVID case in New Zealand as it prepares travel bubble

New Zealand health officials confirmed a fresh community case of COVID-19 in Auckland Thursday, just two days after the country celebrated its largely virus-free status by approving a travel bubble with Australia.

Twitch to boot users for transgressions elsewhere

Twitch on Wednesday said that it will ban people from the popular live video streaming service for abusive or violent behavior in the real world or on other online venues.

Longtime tax target Amazon now leads charge for reform

A longtime lightning rod for critics of corporate tax avoidance, Amazon now wants to lead the way on reform.

Influenced by Clubhouse, Facebook experiments with audio

Facebook on Wednesday launched an experimental online forum called Hotline, an attempt by the social media giant to keep up with the live audio trend made popular by the likes of Clubhouse.

China weighs carrots and sticks in push to vaccinate millions

Tickets to tourist attractions, shopping coupons, and report cards naming and shaming stores where staff haven't been vaccinated: China is veering from compulsion to persuasion in its bid to inoculate its population from COVID.

Summoning seniors: Big new push to vaccinate older Americans

The first hurdle was getting on the bus. Seventy-four year old Linda Busby hesitated outside a community center where older people were loading up to go get the coronavirus vaccine.

Are some COVID-19 vaccines more effective than others?

Are some COVID-19 vaccines more effective than others?

Top colleges see record application numbers amid pandemic

Highly competitive colleges including Yale, Brown and Penn are sending out acceptance notices this week to a much smaller percentage of admission seekers than usual after sorting through record-breaking numbers of applications.

The ulti-mutt pet? Chinese tech company develops robo-dogs

It's whip fast, obeys commands and doesn't leave unpleasant surprises on the floor—meet the AlphaDog, a robotic response to two of China's burgeoning loves: pets and technology.

Spain limits AstraZeneca vaccine to 60 years and up

Spain joined other European nations on Wednesday in limiting the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine to the elderly due to concerns over links to extremely rare blood clotting.

EXPLAINER: What to know about the Amazon union vote count

Amazon is known for quick delivery. But finding out whether Amazon warehouse workers voted for or against unionizing is going to take some more time.

All-in-one device uses microwave power for defense, medicine

An invention from Purdue University innovators may provide a new option to use directed energy for biomedical and defense applications.

Structural racism, anti-LGBTQ policies lead to worse health in Black sexual minority men

Eliminating racist and anti-LGBTQ policies is essential to improving the health of Black gay, bisexual and other sexual minority men, according to a Rutgers-led research team.

One of Africa's rarest primates protected by... speedbumps

A new study revealed that a drastic reduction of deaths of one of Africa's rarest primates, the Zanzibar red colobus (Piliocolobus kirkii), followed the installation of four speedbumps along a stretch of road where the species frequently crossed.

A drug that can stop tumors from growing

Cancer doctors may soon have a new tool for treating melanoma and other types of cancer, thanks to work being done by researchers at the University of Colorado Cancer Center.

Researchers develop language test for people with Down syndrome

Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have developed a test to evaluate the expressive language skills of people with Down syndrome, a condition resulting from an extra copy or piece of chromosome 21. Expressive language is the use of words to convey meaning to others. Language delays are common in people with Down syndrome, and the study authors believe their test provides a more effective way to evaluate prospective language interventions, compared to current evaluation methods.

The truth about doublespeak: Is it lying or just being persuasive?

Doublespeak, or the use of euphemisms to sway opinion, lets leaders avoid the reputational costs of lying while still bringing people around to their way of thinking, a new study has found.

New method advances single-cell transcriptomic technologies

Single-cell transcriptomic methods allow scientists to study thousands of individual cells from living organisms, one-by-one, and sequence each cell's genetic material. Genes are activated differently in each cell type, giving rise to cell types such as neurons, skin cells and muscle cells.

Gut bacteria 'talk' to horse's cells to improve their athletic performance

A horse's gut microbiome communicates with its host by sending chemical signals to its cells, which has the effect of helping the horse to extend its energy output, finds a new study published in Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences. This exciting discovery paves the way for dietary supplements that could enhance equine athletic performance.

Billboard and storefront ads for cannabis linked to problematic use in teens

Adolescents who frequently see billboard or storefront advertisements for recreational cannabis are more likely to use the drug weekly and to have symptoms of a cannabis use disorder, according to a new study in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

Global minimum tax for corporations inches towards reality

Proposed by the United States, supported by the IMF and welcomed by major economies including France and Germany, a global minimum tax rate on corporations is gathering momentum toward becoming a reality.

Facebook says hackers 'scraped' data of 533 mn users in 2019 leak

Facebook said Tuesday that hackers "scraped" personal data of some half-billion users back in 2019 by taking advantage of a feature designed to help people easily find friends using contact lists.

Brazil's daily deaths from COVID pass 4,000 for first time

Brazil reported a 24-hour tally of COVID-19 deaths exceeding 4,000 for the first time Tuesday, becoming the third nation to go above that daily threshold.

Tokyo, as you've never seen it before

It's Tokyo, but unlike you've ever seen it before—a miniaturised 1:1,000 scale version of one of the world's biggest capitals, displaying everything from sea levels to population densities.