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A new study into the Portland Gales Creek Fault revealed that the fault could produce a major earthquake in the region of a magnitude 7.1. to 7.4, which could damage properties and potentially threaten lives in the Portland metro region. Researchers assured that this major earthquake is not likely to happen very soon. Portland Gales

The plastic tubes winding through my workspace at the Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine, deliver fluids, nutrients and therapeutics to mouse hearts. The still-beating hearts, each the size of a pea, tell us much about heart disease as well as about the processes of regeneration and repair. On this day, I was studying a

Joey O’Donnell died at the age of 12 from cystic fibrosis.Credit: O’Donnell Family Breath from Salt: A Deadly Genetic Disease, a New Era in Science, and the Patients and Families Who Changed Medicine Forever Bijal P. Trivedi BenBella (2020) “Woe to the child who tastes salty from a kiss on the brow, for he is

A pair of elephants went for a walkabout in West Africa for a month now and paved the way for collaboration of three countries to ensure its safety. In August, the pair left their long-term residence in Guinea’s Ziama Massif. The two elephants then crossed Liberian borders and trekked 200 kilometers across the country. Onlookers

Hello Nature readers, would you like to get this Briefing in your inbox free every day? Sign up here Tracing connections, such as those in this section of the fruit-fly brain, could uncover links between neural architecture, biology and disease.Credit: FlyEM at HHMI/Google Research Artificial intelligence and improved microscopy make it feasible to mapping the

Insecticides such as Fipronil in aquatic ecosystems such as streams are already recognized as a real worldwide concern. Unfortunately, just how much of these chemicals can be safely taken by these aquatic systems is not widely known. Filling the information gap To this end, a team of researchers led by Janet Miller of the Colorado

Changing seasons might affect the transmission of SARS-CoV-2, but researchers say it’s too early to tell.Credit: Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto/Getty Winter is fast approaching in the Northern Hemisphere, and researchers warn that COVID-19 outbreaks are likely to get worse, especially in regions that don’t have the virus’s spread under control. “This virus is going to have a

Human antibodies attacking the coronavirus (artist’s impression).Credit: Science Lab/Alamy When US President Donald Trump was ill with COVID-19, his physicians administered a bevy of medications — some proven, others experimental. But there is one that the president has hailed as a “cure”: a cocktail of coronavirus antibodies produced by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals in Tarrytown, New York.

The slow loris is the world’s only venomous primates, and scientists have always been curious why they have the flesh-rotting venom or how it is used. A new study provided the answer: slow lories mainly use their flesh-rotting venom to fight against each other. Fascinating Slow Loris These fascinating nocturnal primates have gained a lot of fans

An electoral worker prepares to process ballots at the Miami-Dade County Election Department in Florida, a battleground state with a history of contested election results.Credit: Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty As election day approaches and COVID-19 cases surge in the United States, debate rages over how Americans should vote fairly and safely. Because of the pandemic,

In a new study, researchers have discovered that the Elkhorn corals fight and resist reef diseases actively. Their findings show that corals have a capacity for a core immunity response to various disease types. The Importance and Role of Immunity We have become more acutely aware of our immune system’s importance, and role as the entire world struggles against

A mural in Pompeii. White salts on some of Pompeii’s murals contain ions that might have migrated from volcanic material. Credit: Getty Chemistry 23 October 2020 Compounds in the detritus that entombed the ancient city might be degrading its murals. Volcanic ash that preserved the ancient city of Pompeii for nearly 2,000 years could now

Credit: Adapted from Getty Last month in the United Kingdom, we entered the promised land when my children, after a 150-day absence, returned to their school in London. As with most much-anticipated events, except perhaps an end to the pandemic, it didn’t quite live up to expectations. The first change was the silence in my

Scientists have now found a way to upcycle polyethylene plastic and turn them into useful molecules efficiently and cheaply, which can reduce plastic waste.  The world’s plastic problem The Earth is now burdened with 8.3B tons of plastic waste, virtually all the plastics produced since it was invented. This ever-growing waste has no technological means

Credit: Adapted from Getty Like many graduate students around the world, the COVID-19 pandemic forced me to stay at home and analyse data instead of working in the laboratory. To take a break from the mind-numbing data mining and to remind myself of the good old days of lab work, I started to watch some

Environmental science experts warn of a looming disaster after wildfires have been contained: a deadly landslide that may be triggered by even a modest rainfall, the new UC Riverside research said. According to James Gullinger, an environmental science doctoral student and the author of the study, when the fires move through a watershed, waxy seals

Credit: Tad Theimer Joseph (Joe) Connell altered both what and how ecologists study. Tree by tree, coral by coral, barnacle by barnacle, he saw patterns and processes across diverse ecosystems. Simply and with incontrovertible evidence, he demonstrated that interactions such as competition and predation could determine where species lived. Before his classic experiments on Scotland’s

Credit: Sam Chivers When scientists, public-health bodies and governments around the world warn that antimicrobial resistance is the next great health crisis, they have good reason. Since the 1960s, bacteria and other microorganisms have become increasingly resistant to antimicrobial drugs, leading to more and more people dying. Drug-resistant diseases kill around 700,000 people each year,

It is said that many residential areas in the Western US are at risk for wildfires, yet they are usually undisclosed to buyers by real estate agents, the sellers, and the government. The Montanos’ Experience Last August, Jennifer Montano, and her family lost their home in Vacaville in California from the LNU Lightning Complex fires, so-called because they were named after Cal Fire, of the

Hello Nature readers, would you like to get this Briefing in your inbox free every day? Sign up here The diabolical ironclad beetle (Phloeodes diabolicus) is notoriously tough.Credit: Alice Abela Material scientists have discovered what makes the diabolical ironclad beetle (Phloeodes diabolicus) almost uncrushable. Scans showed that sections of the beetle’s exoskeleton lock together like

Scientists are fascinated by the formidable exoskeleton of the “uncrushable“ Diabolical Ironclad Beetle, which may have industrial applications for making materials with exceptional mechanical strength and toughness for use in aeronautics and construction. An Amazing Species of Beetle Researchers have found this beetle to have such a strong exoskeleton that they began to study its material to find ways of applying

The feathered dinosaur Ambopteryx longibrachium (artist’s impression) was inept at gliding and incapable of powered flight. Credit: Gabriel Ugueto Palaeontology 22 October 2020 Little bat-like dinosaurs could glide — but only just. It is one of the enduring wonders of evolution that natural selection can produce complex traits such as flight. But that doesn’t mean

1. Roulois, D. et al. DNA-demethylating agents target colorectal cancer cells by inducing viral mimicry by endogenous transcripts. Cell 162, 961–973 (2015). CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Article  Google Scholar  2. Chiappinelli, K. B. et al. Inhibiting DNA methylation causes an interferon response in cancer via dsRNA including endogenous retroviruses. Cell 162, 974–986 (2015). CAS  PubMed 

Researchers are currently undertaking a program for restoring seagrasses, which also rejuvenated the marine life in Virginia coastal bays. All over the world in all continents except Antarctica, there are over 70 seagrass species. They occur in shallow waters, and in Virginia, eelgrasses (scientific name: Zostera marina) are used as habitat by bay scallops and fishes. They also maintain barrier islands and keep

The diabolical ironclad beetle (Phloeodes diabolicus) is notoriously tough.Credit: Alice Abela Scans reveal what makes beetle ‘uncrushable’ They don’t call it the diabolical ironclad beetle for nothing. Phloeodes diabolicus, a rugged insect native to western North America, has an almost supernatural ability to resist compression and blunt hits. Now, 3D scans have revealed that layered

Scientists believe they have just identified the cause of the biggest mass extinction event on Earth, which occurred at the end of the Permian Period and start of the Triassic Period approximately 252 million years ago (MYA). A new period This event signaled the beginning of what scientists call the Triassic Period. The past Permian

Sequencing DNA at the Cancer Genomics Research Laboratory in Gaithersburg, Maryland.Credit: National Cancer Institute/SPL Equity in Science: Representation, Culture, and the Dynamics of Change in Graduate Education Julie R. Posselt Stanford Univ. Press (2020) In 1916, Saint Elmo Brady became the first African American to be awarded a doctorate in chemistry in the United States.

The challenge trials aim to accelerate the development of COVID-19 vaccines.Credit: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg/Getty Young, healthy people will be intentionally exposed to the virus responsible for COVID-19 in a first-of-its kind ‘human challenge trial’, the UK government and a company that runs such studies announced on 20 October. The experiment, set to begin in January in

Heavy rains and floods have plagued Hyderabad, with 70 dead in Telangana and grim situations in Karnataka and Telangana. Heavy overnight rains Last Saturday, heavy overnight rains battered many areas in the two states and caused massive destruction.  The Yellow alert advisory was already issued, mostly since heavy rains were thought to affect isolated places in many districts

Hello Nature readers, would you like to get this Briefing in your inbox free every day? Sign up here A transmission electron microscope image of hepatitis C virus particles.Credit: Cavallini James/BSIP/SPL Earlier this month, Michael Houghton was awarded a share of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the identification of hepatitis C virus.

Mothers, beware: a study showed that babies may be drinking millions of microplastic particles a day from warming and shaking the milk from formula bottles.  A bottle of formula milk for your baby is supposed to provide fat and vitamins for growth and development. However, in warming and shaking the milk formula, millions of microplastic

Obesity is linked with diabetes, heart disease and other risk factors for severe COVID-19 symptoms.Credit: Edgard Garrido/Reuters When Jesús Ojino Sosa-García looks out over the people being treated for COVID-19 in his hospital’s intensive-care unit, one feature stands out: “Obesity is the most important factor we see,” he says. Sosa-García works at Hospital Médica Sur

Peru (a hospital in Iquitos shown here) has been one of the nations hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic.Credit: EFE News Agency/Alamy As much of the world waits for an effective vaccine to curb the COVID-19 pandemic, some in Latin America are turning to an unproven treatment. There isn’t enough evidence that the drug, ivermectin,

Scientists are calling for the Antarctica Peninsula to be declared as a marine protected area. The West Antarctic peninsula is fast warming, and it is the home of many threatened minke and humpback whales, Gentoo penguins, leopard seals, Adélie penguins, killer whales, chinstrap penguins, skuas, krill, and giant petrels. Disturbed Ecosystems The sea ice has been dwindling, and the melting is now more rapid

A queer-liberation march and rally for Black lives and against police brutality in New York City.Credit: Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket/Getty ‘Invisible’: that is how many scientists from sexual and gender minorities (LGBT+) describe their status at their institution, laboratory, classroom or office. Sexual orientation and sexual and gender identity are not common topics of conversation in

Scientists are concerned that an unprecedented Mega Tsunami might occur if the Alaska ice melt occurs. Triggering a Tsunami This upcoming giant and catastrophic mega-tsunami will be triggered in Alaska by a rock landslide that becomes unstable with the melting glacier. Scientists think that this can happen within the next twenty years decades, or even

China will have to massively increase its solar and wind capacity to become carbon neutral by 2060.Credit: Li Zongxian/VCG/Getty China, the world’s largest emitter of carbon dioxide, has promised to become carbon neutral before 2060, and to begin cutting its emissions within the next ten years. President Xi Jinping made the ambitious pledge to a

The fire on Kilimanjaro in Tanzania has now been contained. According to authorities, the inferno which broke out on its slopes was controlled by Saturday after six days of burning. Extent of the Fire Pascal Shelutete, the spokesman for TANAPA or Tanzania National Parks Authority, said that the fire is basically contained. The activities for tourism are currently ongoing and have not

Madagascar used to be house giant birds and mammals, giant tortoises, and even giant lemurs, but today, these massive animals are not found on the island anymore. There had been an endless debate about whether climate change or human activities are to be blamed for the loss.  Recently, a study of cave deposits on an

Among the windswept glaciers and icebergs of the western Antarctic Peninsula is an oasis of life. Threatened humpback and minke whales patrol the waters. Fish, squid and seals swim alongside noisy colonies of chinstrap, Adélie and gentoo penguins on the shore. It’s a complex web of life. All these species feed on small, shrimp-like crustaceans

A godwit bird just broke the record for the longest non-stop bird flight, flying from Alaska to New Zealand, covering 7,500 miles (or 12,000 kilometers) over 11 days. This achiever is a bar-tailed godwit (scientific name: Limosa lapponica), a species capable of undertaking lengthy migratory flights between New Zealand and Alaska without any break. The Bar-Tailed Godwit The National Audubon Society says that the bar-tailed godwit is

Hello Nature readers, would you like to get this Briefing in your inbox free every day? Sign up here Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced the approval of a second coronavirus vaccine. The vaccine, EpiVacCorona, was described as a “peptide-based shot”. It was developed by biotechnology company State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology VECTOR.

Officials lifted all evacuation orders and reopened the road on Thursday evening as fire crews were able to contain 50 percent of the Bruder fire in southern Redlands by about 5:15 pm. About 50 homes were under mandatory evacuation as a newly sparked Bruder Fire is burning in San Bernardino County Wednesday night. According to

Students observe social-distancing measures at Glasgow University, UK.Credit: Andy Buchanan/AFP/Getty Autumn heralds the start of a new academic year in much of the world, but in 2020, the term comes with the disruption of the COVID-19 outbreak and a surge in infections in many regions. Many universities have welcomed students and researchers back to campus

A researcher scales the 100.8-metre tree named Menara in northern Borneo. The rarity of strong winds in the region has helped its rainforest to reach great heights. Credit: A. Shenkin et al./Front. For. Glob. Change (CC BY 4.0) Ecology 15 October 2020 Scientists find that strong winds constrain tropical forest height, but island’s gentle breezes

A new study explored the dynamics of cooperation among male lions in the Gir Forest in India. It is a complicated process that is not common, since according to natural selection, males should be competing with one another for mates and food. This is especially true in unrelated individuals. Studying Cooperation in Male Lions The Asian lions in India’s Gir Forest are

The placenta is a defining feature of being a mammal, and its formation is one of the first steps in mammalian development. The embryo begins to make its placenta without direct guidance from its mother — rather, it follows a set of molecularly encoded, do-it-yourself assembly instructions. Whether these instructions are universal or unique to

A Michigan poacher who illegally hunted wildlife, including three bald eagles and 18 wolves, was jailed, fined, and had his hunting license and hunting privileges invalidated for life.  Guilty The man from Michigan pleaded guilty to multiple nature and wildlife crimes after a thorough investigation. Upon being proven guilty of the illegal activities, the Michigan