May 9th, 2021 - "Our Mosquito Project Takes Flight," reads a baby-blue billboard off US-1 in the Florida Keys, alongside an image of an insect tracing a path in the shape of a heart. Sponsored by the local mosquito control board and U.K.-based biotech firm Oxitec, the ad promotes a contentious plan to release millions of genetically modified Aedes aegypti mosquitoes here to test a new method of bioengineered pest control. It’s the first-ever such experiment in the United States, and one that has turned this chain of sun-soaked island communities into a battleground over scientific truth, government ... [Read More]

May 8th, 2021 - Using neural networks, Flatiron Institute research fellow Yin Li and his colleagues simulated vast, complex universes in a fraction of the time it takes with conventional methods. Using a bit of machine learning magic, astrophysicists can now simulate vast, complex universes in a thousandth of the time it takes with conventional methods. The new approach will help usher in a new era in high-resolution cosmological simulations, its creators report in a study published online on May 4, 2021, in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . "At the moment, constraints on computation time ... [Read More]

May 8th, 2021 - May 8 (UPI) -- India set a new national record Saturday of more than 4,000 deaths from COVID-19 in the previous 24 hours, according to the health ministry. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare reported 4,187 new COVID-19 deaths, bringing the country's total death toll to 238,270, according to the Johns Hopkins University global tracker. India became the third country -- after the United States and Brazil -- to surpass 4,000 COVID-19 deaths in a single day, Anadolu Agency reported . The country also reported 401,078 new COVID-19 cases in the previous 24 hours, bringing the number of ... [Read More]

May 8th, 2021 - This was the ultimate Jurassic seafood platter. During the early Jurassic period , a squid-like creature was in the midst of devouring a crustacean, when it was interrupted by another marine beast, possibly a shark, that chomped into its squishy side and killed it, a new study finds. The shark swam away, but the crustacean and the squid-like animal — a 10-armed and two-finned creature called a belemnite — sank to the bottom of the sea, where they fossilized together over the subsequent eras in what is now Germany. The resulting 180 million-year-old fossil is "unique," one of about "10 ... [Read More]

May 8th, 2021 - The processor performance improvements could come in 2024 or 2025 -- if IBM finds manufacturers that'll license its approach. IBM Research has developed new chipmaking technology it says will advance processors to the next level of circuitry miniaturization, performance improvement and power efficiency. But to make this real, it'll have to find manufacturing partners to bring the tech to market. The new manufacturing technology, featuring components called nanosheets, increases chip performance 45% or reduces power consumption by 75% compared with the one used to make IBM server chips or ... [Read More]

May 8th, 2021 - A new study says the reviled stinging insects play a critical ecological role—and their venom might even be useful to people. This story originally appeared on The Guardian and is part of the Climate Desk collaboration. For those who have asked what the point of wasps is, there is now a comprehensive answer. They are voracious predators of pest insects, produce powerful antibiotics in their venom, pollinate plants, and even make a nutritious snack. The benefits to humans of the much-hated insects are revealed in the first major scientific review of the ecosystem services they provide. It ... [Read More]

May 8th, 2021 - The use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen, does not lead to higher rates of death or severe disease in patients who are hospitalised with COVID-19, according to a new observational study of more than 72,000 people in the UK published in The Lancet Rheumatology journal. NSAIDs are common treatments for acute pain and rheumatological diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthrosis. Early in the pandemic, there was debate on whether the use of such drugs increased the severity of COVID-19, which led to urgent calls for investigations between NSAIDs ... [Read More]

May 8th, 2021 - Using detailed fossil comparison techniques, scientists have been able to identify a giant new saber-toothed cat species, Machairodus lahayishupup , which would have prowled around the open spaces of North America between 5 and 9 million years ago. One of the biggest cats ever discovered, M. lahayishupup is estimated in this new study to have a body mass of some 274 kilograms (604 pounds) or so, and possibly even bigger. It's an ancient relative of the well-known Smilodon , the so-called saber-toothed tiger. A total of seven M. lahayishupup fossil specimens, including upper arms and teeth, ... [Read More]