https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Like her ancestors before her, Emirati astronaut Nora AlMatrooshi has spent much of her life gazing up at the stars and dreaming of flying to the moon. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-arab-woman-nasa-moon.html Space Exploration Thu, 07 Mar 2024 03:40:01 EST news629004492 Deploying paramedics, social workers, and others to non-criminal emergency calls could significantly boost a police department's ability to respond to criminal emergencies while reducing negative interactions with the community, according to new University of Maryland research. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-civilian-safety.html Social Sciences Political science Wed, 06 Mar 2024 15:34:03 EST news628961642 The Apollo Program delivered 12 American astronauts to the surface of the moon. But that program ended in 1972, and since then, no human beings have visited. But Artemis will change that. And instead of just visiting the moon, Artemis' aim is to establish a longer-term presence on the moon. That requires more complexity than Apollo did. Astronauts will need to transfer between vehicles. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-nasa-starship-docking.html Space Exploration Mon, 04 Mar 2024 14:30:03 EST news628785002 When shifting from the microgravity of a spacecraft to the gravity-rich environment of the moon or Mars, astronauts experience deficits in perceptual and motor functions. The vestibular system in the inner ear, which detects the position and movement of the head, must adjust to reinterpret new gravity cues. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-augmented-reality-astronaut-adjustment-gravity.html Space Exploration Fri, 01 Mar 2024 11:17:03 EST news628514221 The return on investing in universal school meals is clear. According to a new report, universal free school meals (breakfast and lunch for students regardless of income) have 2.5 to seven times the return in human health and economic benefits in comparable high-income countries. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-cafeteria-economic-case-investing-school.html Education Fri, 01 Mar 2024 07:10:01 EST news628499055 Their mission around the moon is not expected until September 2025 at the earliest, but the four astronauts on NASA's Artemis II mission are already preparing for their splashdown return. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-moon-nasa-artemis-ii-crew.html Space Exploration Thu, 29 Feb 2024 16:02:34 EST news628444949 The Balearic boxwood (Buxus balearica), a species common in eastern Andalusia, is able to trap moisture from the fog and convey it to the ground, making it a valuable tool in times of drought. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-climate-scenarios-portend-balearic-boxwood.html Plants & Animals Ecology Tue, 27 Feb 2024 16:22:03 EST news628273321 A private U.S. lunar lander is expected to stop working Tuesday, its mission cut short after landing sideways near the south pole of the moon. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-sideways-moon-mission-short-private.html Space Exploration Mon, 26 Feb 2024 12:25:53 EST news628172747 Researchers from Goethe University Frankfurt and the Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Center have modeled the spatial distributional patterns of black flies in Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony for the first time. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-blood-black-flies-germany.html Plants & Animals Ecology Fri, 23 Feb 2024 10:28:04 EST news627906482 Joe Gaydos remembers the beautiful minke whale that washed up on the shore of a San Juan Island in 2022. Illuminated by a pink and orange sunrise, its injuries were consistent with a fatal strike. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-coast-traffic-whales-washington-state.html Plants & Animals Ecology Thu, 22 Feb 2024 15:50:03 EST news627839401 A new study by researchers at the University of Massachusetts (UMass) Lowell, San Diego State University, and Penn State Harrisburg has examined perceptions of team members who work with a U.S. program called Veterans Treatment Courts (VTCs) regarding the viability and longevity of the program. The study identified team members' expectations and hopes for the future, including the importance of expansion of and continued funding for a program that considers the unique and ongoing needs of U.S. veterans. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-explores-perceptions-veterans-treatment-courts.html Social Sciences Political science Wed, 21 Feb 2024 17:02:03 EST news627757321 A private U.S. lunar lander reached the moon and eased into a low orbit Wednesday, a day before it will attempt an even greater feat—landing on the gray, dusty surface. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-private-spacecraft-orbit-moon.html Space Exploration Wed, 21 Feb 2024 12:21:27 EST news627740482 Since 1996, a deadly neurodegenerative disease of cervids (deer, elk, moose, caribou, reindeer) has been spreading across Canada. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-chronic-disease-british-columbia-deer.html Ecology Veterinary medicine Mon, 19 Feb 2024 11:44:04 EST news627565441 NASA is seeking applicants to participate in its next simulated one-year Mars surface mission to help inform the agency's plans for human exploration of the Red Planet. The second of three planned ground-based missions called CHAPEA (Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog) is scheduled to kick off in spring 2025. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-martians-nasa-simulated-yearlong-mars.html Space Exploration Planetary Sciences Fri, 16 Feb 2024 12:38:44 EST news627309516 Wageningen researchers have discovered a molecular self-destruct mechanism in a bacterium living on seaweed. With this mechanism the bacteria sacrifice themselves when they are infected, thus protecting their brothers and sisters from infections. By reprogramming this mechanism, researchers aim to utilize it in diagnostic (self-)tests. The study is published in Science. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-newly-bacterial-defense-functions-destruct.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 16 Feb 2024 10:10:09 EST news627300602 Another private U.S. company took a shot at the moon Thursday, launching a month after a rival's lunar lander missed its mark and came crashing back. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-company-lunar-lander-rockets-moon.html Space Exploration Thu, 15 Feb 2024 04:15:05 EST news627192898 The recent charges against five members of Canada's gold medal-winning 2018 world junior hockey team in connection with an alleged sexual assault has thrust Hockey Canada and its issues back into the public eye. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-violence-canadian-hockey-culture-properly.html Social Sciences Education Wed, 14 Feb 2024 12:17:04 EST news627135421 There are pervasive stereotypes that Americans who are low-income and access government assistance are lazy, lack a work ethic, and are even morally inferior. This stigma has been shown to have many negative consequences. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-income-people-effective-stigma.html Economics & Business Political science Wed, 14 Feb 2024 11:01:37 EST news627130888 Researchers at CSIRO, Australia's national science agency, have sequenced the first genome of the night parrot, one of the world's rarest and most elusive birds. The development will answer questions about population genetics and biology that could boost conservation hopes for the recently rediscovered species. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-secrets-night-parrot-genome-sequenced.html Plants & Animals Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 13 Feb 2024 16:59:03 EST news627065941 While NASA is rooting for SpaceX to achieve Starship success so it can land humans on the moon, the U.S. military has plans of their own for the massive rocket that could include launches from Florida's Space Coast. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-military-day-troops-spacex-starship.html Space Exploration Mon, 12 Feb 2024 08:10:01 EST news626946399 A new qualitative study of families experiencing homelessness suggests public service systems need to do a better job of working with parents to support homeless children. The study also identifies key barriers limiting children's access to support programs, such as unrealistic eligibility requirements and a failure to make parents aware of existing programs. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-ways-children-experiencing-homelessness.html Social Sciences Tue, 06 Feb 2024 14:56:03 EST news626453762 On a chilly day in December, a crowd gathered in the shadow of City Hall in lower Manhattan to chant, listen to speeches and wave signs crafted for the occasion. "No cuts to compost!" read one held by a man with shoulder-length gray hair. "Compost Adams" read another, with a picture of the New York City mayor. One sign featured a rat-faced Statue of Liberty. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-nyc-community-composting-curbside.html Environment Mon, 05 Feb 2024 14:20:01 EST news626343198 Cambridge scientists have identified two crucial genetic factors needed to produce specialized root organs that can accommodate nitrogen-fixing bacteria in legumes such as peas and beans. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-lsh-genes-stems-required-root.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Thu, 01 Feb 2024 11:42:04 EST news626010121 Both liberals and conservatives are more likely to believe that merit-based hiring is unfair after learning about the impacts of socioeconomic disparities, according to a study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-hiring-candidate-socioeconomic-disparities-impacts.html Economics & Business Political science Thu, 01 Feb 2024 11:34:19 EST news626009656 The Ontario Human Rights Commission's Right to Read report, published last February, called for changes in the province's educational system. The commission found shortcomings in how schools support students with special education needs. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-schools-equitable-opportunities-french-immersion.html Education Wed, 31 Jan 2024 12:40:04 EST news625927202 Carbon nanostructures could become easier to design and synthesize thanks to a machine learning method that predicts how they grow on metal surfaces. The new approach, developed by researchers at Japan's Tohoku University and China's Shanghai Jiao Tong University, will make it easier to exploit the unique chemical versatility of carbon nanotechnology. The method was published in the journal Nature Communications. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-machine-carbon-nanotechnology.html Nanomaterials Wed, 31 Jan 2024 09:44:03 EST news625916642 An important question for policymakers worldwide is how to make climate and environmental policies acceptable among the populations. A new study published in Climate Policy sheds light on the preferences in five East African countries. The study shows, among other things, that education and information about how revenues from carbon taxes are used are important factors. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-climate-policies.html Environment Mon, 29 Jan 2024 13:10:07 EST news625756201 Computers can count seals from aerial photographs with lightning speed and reliability. Based on their spatial patterns, the tiny dots on the aerial images can even be assigned to one of the two major species of seals in the Wadden Sea. That is shown in the thesis that marine biologist Jeroen Hoekendijk will defend on January 26 in Wageningen. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-marine-biologist-quick-reliable.html Plants & Animals Ecology Fri, 26 Jan 2024 08:37:10 EST news625480628 People who were more skeptical of human-caused climate change or the Black Lives Matter movement and who took part in conversation with a popular AI chatbot were disappointed with the experience, but left the conversation more supportive of the scientific consensus on climate change or BLM. This is according to researchers studying how these chatbots handle interactions from people with different cultural backgrounds. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-chats-ai-shift-attitudes-climate.html Social Sciences Political science Thu, 25 Jan 2024 16:23:04 EST news625422181 There are millions of entrepreneurs in developing countries. In fact, in emerging markets, more than half of all workers—both men and women—are small-firm owners. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-women-female-businesswomen-greater-success.html Economics & Business Thu, 25 Jan 2024 16:10:19 EST news625421401