Iron deficiency can be managed better

Australian and European researchers have released updated, evidence-based guidance for managing iron deficiency, a serious worldwide health problem.

Increased school choice linked to better mental health for students

Allowing families to choose schools that are more suited to their children may play a key role in improving student mental health, including reducing adolescent suicide rates, suggests new research published in the peer-reviewed journal School Effectiveness and School Improvement.

New review confirms disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on Black, Hispanic populations

Black and Hispanic populations are disproportionately affected by COVID-19, according to a systematic review published this week.

People with rare autoimmune diseases at increased risk of dying during COVID-19 pandemic

A new study, led by experts from the University of Nottingham, has shown that people with rare autoimmune rheumatic diseases are at a greater risk of dying at a younger age during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pediatric ER saw steep drop in asthma visits during spring COVID-19 lockdown

A new study published online in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society discusses a steep drop off from prior years in asthma-related emergency department (ED) visits at Boston Children's Hospital during the spring 2020 COVID-19 surge and lockdown.

China turns on nuclear-powered 'artificial sun'

China successfully powered up its "artificial sun" nuclear fusion reactor for the first time, state media reported Friday, marking a great advance in the country's nuclear power research capabilities.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-china-nuclear-powered-artificial-sun.html

A plant immune receptor: It takes four to tango

A collaborative study on a plant intracellular immune receptor from researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research (MPIPZ) not only shows how an important resistance protein is activated during pathogen infection but also reveals some common operational principles with immunity proteins from humans.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-immune-receptor-tango.html

UK vows 68 percent emissions cut by end of decade

Britain will aim to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by more than two-thirds this decade, in what the government on Thursday said would be the fastest reduction of any major economy.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-uk-vows-percent-emissions-decade.html

Ecuador finds nest of huge, endangered sea turtle

Conservationists in Ecuador have found a nest of endangered leatherback sea turtles, a whopper of a species that can weigh up to a tonne and be three meters (10 feet) long.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-ecuador-huge-endangered-sea-turtle.html

Pacific Islands Forum to hold virtual climate summit

Pacific island leaders will hold a virtual summit next week to demand urgent worldwide action on climate change ahead of UN-brokered talks on the issue.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-pacific-islands-forum-virtual-climate.html

NASA buying Moon dust for $1

The US space agency NASA awarded contracts to four companies on Thursday to collect lunar samples for $1 to $15,000, rock-bottom prices that are intended to set a precedent for future exploitation of space resources by the private sector.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-nasa-moon.html

Trash tracking satellites help Indonesia tackle marine waste

Every year, pounding rains wash away mountains of plastic waste from the streets of Jakarta, with some of it ending up as far away as Bali's beaches. So scientists are turning to satellites to trace the rubbish and figure out how to tackle the problem.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-trash-tracking-satellites-indonesia-tackle.html

California monolith pops up after finds in Utah, Romania

Days after the discovery and swift disappearance of two shining metal monoliths half a world apart, another towering structure has popped up and then quickly vanished, this time from the pinnacle of a trail in California.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-california-monolith-utah-romania.html

Amazon workers in bid to unionize at Alabama warehouse

Workers at an Amazon warehouse in Alabama are seeking to form a union, setting up a potential battle in the Deep South with a company that has opposed unionization efforts.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-12-amazon-workers-unionize-alabama-warehouse.html

Tapping overlooked marketing data to drive business growth

Researchers from University of Houston, Columbia University, Emory University, and University of Connecticut published a new paper in the Journal of Marketing that reviews factors that contribute to the disconnect between the data companies create and the productive use of that data.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-overlooked-business-growth.html

Chemists get peek at novel fluorescence in carbon nanotubes

That carbon nanotubes fluoresce is no longer a surprise. Finding a second level of fluorescence is surprising and potentially useful.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-chemists-peek-fluorescence-carbon-nanotubes.html

Scientists took a rare chance to prove we can quantify biodiversity by 'testing the water'

Organisms excrete DNA in their surroundings through metabolic waste, sloughed skin cells or gametes, and this genetic material is referred to as environmental DNA (eDNA).

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-scientists-rare-chance-quantify-biodiversity.html

Advancing gene editing with new CRISPR/Cas9 variant

Using a new variant to repair DNA will improve both safety and effectiveness of the much-touted CRISPR-Cas9 tool in genetic research, Michigan Medicine researchers say.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-advancing-gene-crisprcas9-variant.html

New DNA modification 'signature' discovered in zebrafish

Researchers at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research have uncovered a new form of DNA modification in the genome of zebrafish, a vertebrate animal that shares an evolutionary ancestor with humans ~400 million years ago.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-dna-modification-signature-zebrafish.html

Special delivery: Japan space probe to bring asteroid dust to Earth

Call it a special delivery: after six years in space, Japan's Hayabusa-2 probe is heading home, but only to drop off its rare asteroid samples before starting a new mission.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-12-special-delivery-japan-space-probe.html