Category: Science and Nature

  • Gravitational waves from mega black-hole collision reveal long-sought ‘ringing’

    Gravitational waves from mega black-hole collision reveal long-sought ‘ringing’

    The largest black-hole merger ever detected seemed to produce a black hole 150 times the mass of the Sun, in defiance of some accepted theories. Researchers now say they’ve found, for the first time, evidence of the long-sought vibrations produced by the resulting black hole as it settled into a spherical shape. The findings provide…

  • Reshaping the training landscape by addressing cultural taxation

    Minoritized doctoral students are subject to cultural taxation — disproportionate expectations and obligations based on their race or ethnicity — that negatively impacts their PhD studies. Faculty members and departments should counteract this taxation to support students of colour. Like every student attending a doctoral psychology program, students of colour attend graduate school to hone…

  • Endlings

    Endlings

    The machine is dead. I will watch over it until it isn’t. I no longer remember when I started waiting for the tiny red bulb of the machine to light up. I do, however, remember thinking that it was a noble assignment. I cringe at the pride and the sense of urgency I assigned to…

  • Open-science drug discovery for COVID-19

    RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT 01 December 2023 Sarah Crunkhorn Sarah Crunkhorn The SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro) is an attractive antiviral target due to its indispensable role in viral replication, high degree of conservation across coronaviruses, and low homology with human proteases. Indeed, first generation oral Mpro inhibitors, such as nirmatrelvir, have demonstrated clinical efficacy. However, as co-dosing…

  • The association between the workload of emergency physicians and the outcomes of acute myocardial infarction: a population-based study

    The association between the workload of emergency physicians and the outcomes of acute myocardial infarction: a population-based study

    Abstract Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is the second leading cause of mortality in Taiwan. The correlation between the workload of emergency physicians and the outcome of AMI remains unknown. To determine the effects of the workload of emergency physicians on the outcomes of AMI. We included 17 661 patients (age > 18 years) with STEMI undergoing PCI, who visited…

  • New thermal decomposition pathway for TATB

    New thermal decomposition pathway for TATB

    Abstract Understanding the thermal decomposition behavior of TATB (1,3,5-triamino-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene) is a major focus in energetic materials research because of safety issues. Previous research and modelling efforts have suggested benzo-monofurazan condensation producing H2O is the initiating decomposition step. However, early evolving CO2 (m/z 44) along with H2O (m/z 18) evolution have been observed by mass spectrometric…

  • Evelyn Fox Keller (1936–2023), philosopher who questioned gender roles in science

    Evelyn Fox Keller (1936–2023), philosopher who questioned gender roles in science

    Credit: Rick Friedman/Corbis via Getty Evelyn Fox Keller achieved prominence for her studies on gender and science, the role of language in shaping how we see and study the world and her analysis of key concepts in modern biology, such as the gene. Keller tackled the fundamental question of how scientific knowledge is created and…

  • Physical infrastructure and global capacity are both needed to fight biodiversity loss

    A recent editorial in this journal1 highlighted how equity and access are essential to using the unique power of herbarium collections for understanding plant biology and mitigating environmental change. Many large collections, such as those held at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (RBG Kew), are global in scope and of particular value because of the…

  • How to create compelling scientific data visualisations

    How to create compelling scientific data visualisations

    Your browser does not support the audio element. Download MP3 See transcript Data form the backbone of the scientific method, but it can be impenetrable. In the penultimate episode of this six-part Working Scientist podcast series about art-science collaborations, Julie Gould talks to artists and data visualisation specialists about how they interpet and present data…

  • Nature Inspires a New Wave of Biotechnology

    Nature Inspires a New Wave of Biotechnology

    The Science Newswise — Biological molecules called peptides play a key role in many biological activities, including the transport of oxygen and electrons. Peptides consist of short chains of amino acids, the building blocks of proteins. They are also the inspiration for new kinds of biotechnology. Researchers are developing a synthetic form of a peptide…