Новости за 13.03.2023

TL:DR – Even small wetland nature reserves could help boost Whooper Swan wintering populations in the UK. A new study has shown that protected wildlife areas are crucial for the survival of Whooper Swans, a species of migratory bird. These protected areas are important for species conservation, but it has been uncertain how effective they … Continue reading "Whooper Swans spread their wings thanks to nature reserves"

The world's best Go-playing AIs can beat the best humans at the game, but their introduction has also helped human players improve their skills

Most iridescent fish shine because of structures in their scales or skin, but the transparent ghost catfish gets its shine from prism-like structures in its muscle fibres

A drug that is commonly used to treat chronic myeloid leukaemia stopped the most common type of breast cancer cells from dividing after they had spread to the lungs in mice

Ichthyosaur bones found in 250 million-year-old rock hint that these swimming reptiles may have appeared before Earth’s biggest mass extinction and survived

Huge snowstorms between December 2021 and January 2022 made Antarctic petrels, snow petrels and south polar skuas abandon attempts at nesting and return to sea

National Science Foundation official reveals new, questionable contract between US researcher and Chinese government-linked entity

How about these tweaks to the strap: Black widow spiders are waning in the southern US and brown widows may be the culprit – in lab tests, they were more than six times as likely to kill southern black widows than other arachnids they were offered

Son reported from our garden pond #PondLife on 11th March that there were at least a couple of dozen frogs visible in the pond mating and spawning. First dollop of spawn was seen on this date. He counted at least 30 frogs. I got a bit of video of the activity a day later in … Continue reading "Spawn again amphibian"

Also in this week's C&EN, this letter to the editor: 

What ChatGPT means for chemistry

Although enthusiasm for atomic energy has waxed and waned over the decades, Bárbara Pinho finds the question of waste has yet to be solved

Reducing the number of additives could make plastics easier to recycle

In this week's C&EN (by Rick Mullin): 

Bachem inks peptide supply pact

Bachem has signed an agreement to supply large volumes of peptides to an undisclosed customer. Manufacturing will primarily take place at the company’s large-scale production facility currently under construction in Bubendorf, Switzerland. The Swiss firm says the order commits it to supplying a volume of peptides valued at over $530 million between 2027 and 2031. The facility at Budendorf, scheduled to open in 2024... Читать дальше...

Competition celebrates the best of science told through fancy footwork

Surge in trials that alter nonheritable DNA excites some researchers, but others wonder whether even high-income countries can afford therapies

Unlike bulky biologics, small molecules can make Alzheimer’s treatments cheap, convenient to administer, and widely accessible, experts say