Global panic deepens over China virus

China's coronavirus crisis worsened Thursday as the death toll soared to 563 and the plight of thousands trapped on quarantined cruise ships deepened global panic over the epidemic.

Chinese doctor who sounded the alarm about the virus dies

A Chinese doctor who got in trouble with authorities in the communist country for sounding an early warning about the coronavirus outbreak died after coming down with the illness Friday, a hospital reported.

How iron carbenes store energy from sunlight—and why they aren't better at it

Photosensitizers are molecules that absorb sunlight and pass that energy along to generate electricity or drive chemical reactions. They're generally based on rare, expensive metals; so the discovery that iron carbenes, with plain old iron at their cores, can do this, too, triggered a wave of research over the past few years. But while ever more efficient iron carbenes are being discovered, scientists need to understand exactly how these molecules work at an atomic level in order to engineer them for top performance.

Smartphone lab delivers test results in 'spit' second

Engineers with the University of Cincinnati have created a tiny portable lab that plugs into your phone, connecting it automatically to a doctor's office through a custom app UC developed.

Apps could take up less space on your phone, thanks to new 'streaming' software

If you resort to deleting apps when your phone's storage space is full, researchers have a solution.

Beyond Goodfellas and The Godfather: the Cosa Nostra families' rise and fall

Italian American organized crime may conjure images of classic gangster flicks, but as James B. Jacobs explores in the Crime and Justice article "The Rise and Fall of Organized Crime in the United States," its history is unexpectedly nuanced and mutable. The Cosa Nostra families—popularly known as the Mafia—operated, at the height of their power, in at least twenty-four American cities, with five in New York City alone. Although no national body governed the families, they operated similarly to one another and were major urban power brokers.

Tinder a good example of how people use technology for more than we think

Tinder's meteoric rise in popularity has cemented its position as the go-to dating app for millions of young and not-so-young users. Although it is widely known as a platform to facilitate hookups and casual dating, some of the app's estimated 50 million+ worldwide users are employing it for something altogether different.

What is your risk from smoking? Your network knows!

How many people will die from tobacco use in developed countries in 2030?

Majority of US adults believe climate change is most important issue today

As the effects of climate change become more evident, more than half of U.S. adults (56%) say climate change is the most important issue facing society today, yet 4 in 10 have not made any changes in their behavior to reduce their contribution to climate change, according to a new poll by the American Psychological Association.

Chemical found in drinking water linked to tooth decay in children

Children with higher concentrations of a certain chemical in their blood are more likely to get cavities, according to a new study by West Virginia University School of Dentistry researchers.

Half of lupus rashes harbor high levels of bacteria responsible for infections

A new study finds that one side effect of lupus could also make patients with the autoimmune condition more vulnerable to a skin infection, or spreading the infection to others.

NASA satellite finds wind shear adversely affecting tropical storm Francisco

Forecasters use a variety of satellite imagery to understand what is happening in a storm, and sometimes just a visible picture can tell a lot. NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite provided forecasters with a visible image of the Tropical Storm Francisco in the Southern Indian Ocean that showed wind shear was pushing clouds away from the storm's center.

NASA sees tropical storm Damien form off Australia's Pilbara coast

The low-pressure area that formed off Australia's Kimberley coast and lingered there for a couple of days has moved west and developed into Tropical Cyclone Damien off the Pilbara coastline. NASA's Terra satellite passed over the Southern Indian Ocean and provided forecasters with a visible image of the new tropical storm.  The Pilbara Coast is also known as the northwest coast of Western Australia.

Artificial evolution of an industry

A research team from the University of Delaware and the Indian Institute of Management took a deeper look into the newly emerging domain of "forward-looking" business strategies and found that firms have far more ability to actively influence the future of their markets than once thought.

Physicists find evidence of previously unseen transition in ferroelectrics

In a recent study, University of Arkansas physics researchers found evidence of an inverse transition in ferroelectric ultrathin films, which could lead to advances in development of data storage, microelectronics and sensors.

How runaway healthcare costs are a threat to older adults and what to do about it

Empowering Medicare to directly negotiate drug prices, accelerating the adoption of value-based care, using philanthropy as a catalyst for reform and expanding senior-specific models of care are among recommendations for reducing healthcare costs published in a new special report and supplement to the Winter 2019-20 edition of Generations, the journal of the American Society of Aging (ASA).

How farmers' opinions determine success of plant-disease control strategies

To successfully combat a crop-threatening disease, it may be more important to educate growers about the effectiveness of control strategies than to emphasize the risk posed by the disease, according to new research by Alice Milne of Rothamsted Research in Harpenden, U.K., and colleagues. These findings appear in PLOS Computational Biology.

Stopping onchocerciasis on two sides of a border

Pathogens don't pay attention to international borders, with transmission and endemic areas often stretching between countries. In the new work, Moses Katabarwa of the Carter Center, USA, and colleagues report in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases the first known and successful coordinated cross-border mass drug administration (MDA) effort with ivermectin to stop onchocerciasis.

Collaboration lets researchers 'read' proteins for new properties

Clumps of proteins inside cells are a common thread in many neurodegenerative diseases, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or Lou Gehrig's disease. These clumps, or solid aggregates of proteins, appear to be the result of an abnormality in the process known as liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS), in which individual proteins come together to form a liquid-like droplet.

Key molecular machine in cells pictured in detail for the first time

Scientists from the UNC School of Medicine, Columbia University, and Rockefeller University have revealed the inner workings of one of the most fundamental and important molecular machines in cells.

Scientists discover how rogue communications between cells lead to leukemia

New research has deciphered how rogue communications in blood stem cells can cause leukaemia.

Two enzymes control liver damage in NASH, study shows

As much as 12 percent of adults in the United States are living with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), an aggressive condition that can lead to cirrhosis or liver cancer. After identifying a molecular pathway that allows NASH to progress into liver cell death, University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers were able to halt further liver damage in mouse models with NASH.

Water-conducting membrane allows carbon dioxide to transform into fuel more efficiently

Methanol is a versatile and efficient chemical used as fuel in the production of countless products. Carbon dioxide (CO2), on the other hand, is a greenhouse gas that is the unwanted byproduct of many industrial processes.

Europe dodges US fentanyl crisis but for how long?

When 18-year-old Joseph bought a pill at a fun fair in the French Riviera resort of Cannes, he was convinced it was morphine.

Coronavirus could cost Australian universities 'billions'

The coronavirus outbreak could deliver a painful multi-billion-dollar hit to Australian universities, as high-paying Chinese students are forced to defer their studies, economists warned Thursday.

10 more sick with virus on one of two isolated cruise ships

Ten more people were sickened with a new virus aboard one of two quarantined cruise ships with some 5,400 passengers and crew aboard, health officials in Japan said Thursday, as China reported 73 more deaths and announced that the first group of patients were expected to start taking a new antiviral drug.

Staff making iPhones in central China plant to be quarantined

Workers making iPhones at tech giant Foxconn's plant in central China will be quarantined for up to two weeks, the company said Thursday, as cities on the mainland tighten their defences against the deadly coronavirus outbreak.

Multiple eco-crises could trigger 'systemic collapse': scientists

Overlapping environmental crises could tip the planet into "global systemic collapse," more than 200 top scientists warned Wednesday.

Airbnb to limit bookings by people under 25 in Canada

People under 25 will no longer be able to rent local listings for entire homes on Airbnb in Canada, the company announced Wednesday after a fatal shooting at a Toronto apartment booked through the website.

Record-breaking US astronaut set to return to Earth

US astronaut Christina Koch is set to return to Earth Thursday having shattered the spaceflight record for female astronauts by spending almost a year aboard the International Space Station.

Saudi Arabia bars citizens, residents from travel to China

Saudi Arabia on Thursday barred its citizens and residents of the kingdom from traveling to China amid the new virus outbreak.

Toyota logs nine-month profit gain, upgrades annual forecasts

Japanese car giant Toyota on Thursday reported a surge in net profit on record sales for the nine months to December, and upgraded its full-year profit forecasts.

Chinese scientists ask for patent on US drug to fight virus

Scientists in the city at the center of China's virus outbreak have applied to patent a drug made by U.S. company Gilead Science Inc. to treat the disease, possibly fueling conflict over technology policy that helped trigger Washington's tariff war with Beijing.

Universities cancel study-abroad programs amid virus fears

As concerns about China's virus outbreak spread, universities all over the world are scrambling to assess the risks to their programs, and some are canceling study-abroad opportunities and prohibiting travel affecting hundreds of thousands of students.

China scrambles to find beds for virus patients as deaths hit 563

China scrambled to find bed space for thousands of newly infected patients on Thursday, as the death toll from the novel coronavirus soared to 563.

Pregnant women with very high blood pressure face greater heart disease risk

Women with high blood pressure in their first pregnancy have a greater risk of heart attack or cardiovascular death, according to a Rutgers study.

Sediment loading key to predicting post-wildfire debris flows

The mudslides that follow wildfires in Southern California can be deadly and difficult to predict. New research can help officials identify areas prone to these mudslides and respond before disaster occurs, according to scientists.

Team finds that their cancer-fighting compound fights obesity and diabetes, too

Eric Prossnitz, Ph.D., and his team hope to help 93 million obese Americans fight their fat.

At least 13% of wastewater treated by Southern Ontario septic systems ends up in streams

The presence of artificial sweeteners has revealed that at least 13 percent of septic system wastewater from rural Southern Ontario homes eventually makes its way into local streams.

Conflict between ranchers and wildlife intensifies as climate change worsens in Chile

Scientists from the University of La Serena, Newcastle University, UK, and the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile surveyed ranchers to find out what they thought were the drivers of conflict between people and guanacos (a wild camelid species closely related to the Llama).

Study reveals global breast size dissatisfaction

A new global study has found that the majority of women are unhappy with the size of their breasts—a finding that has important public health implications.

Team develops model to predict hernia surgery recovery outcomes

Could patients experience less pain and possibly have better recovery outcomes if their fears or emotional issues were addressed before surgery?

VA's 'Healthy Teaching Kitchens' benefit from holistic approach

Over the next decade, older adults will grow to become 20 percent of the US population. A new paper in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior found Healthy Teaching Kitchen programs are great vehicles for nutrition education specifically among older veterans.

Religious, moral beliefs may exacerbate concerns about porn addiction

Moral or religious beliefs may lead some people to believe they are addicted to pornography even when their porn use is low or average, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association.

Study catalogues cancer 'fingerprints' in decade-long global effort to map cancer genomes

Cancer is the leading cause of death in Singapore and the second leading cause of death around the world, implicated in about one in six deaths globally. An international consortium of scientists has now identified 81 mutational 'signatures' that could help reveal the origins and development of various types of cancer, and inform new strategies to prevent, diagnose and treat the disease.