livescience--2020-08-22--Honey badgers: Adorable but fierce little mammals

Honey badgers have the well-earned reputation of being fierce , feisty little mammals .
Also known as a ratel , the honey badger belongs to the Mustelidae family of mammals , which also includes weasels , otters , ferrets , wolverines and other badger species .
However , the honey badger is classified in its own subfamily , mellivorinae , and is the only species in the genus Mellivora , according to the Encyclopedia Britannica .
The honey badger ( Mellivora capensis ) is about as big as a small- to medium-size dog , weighing between 13 and 30 lbs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and reaching 9 to 11 inches ( 23 to 28 centimeters ) tall at the shoulder , according to National Geographic .
But the honey badger is more powerful than its compact size suggests — these animals are built for battle , not speed .
Honey badgers have powerful 1.5-inch-long ( 4 cm ) claws and teeth that are strong enough to crack a tortoise shell , making these small mammals a formidable opponent .
The stocky creatures have a short , thick coat of fur that 's black on the face , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , with a broad white stripe running from the top of the head down the back and tail .
Underneath the fur is a layer of loose , thick skin around its muscular neck , which protects the animal during fights , and allows it to wriggle around and defend itself when in the grasp of hungry predators , according to Africa Geographic .
Porcupine quills , bee stings and dog bites rarely penetrate the honey badgers ' thick-skinned neck , according to Ronald Nowak 's book `` Walker 's Carnivores of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Press , 2005 ) .
Related : Photos : Honey badgers and other tiny predators caught on camera Honey badgers have relatively big brains for their body size .
They are one of the few non-primate species to use tools — widely considered a sign of intelligence in the animal kingdom .
Captive honey badgers have been known to work together to unlock gates and use rocks , a rake , mud and sticks to escape from their enclosure , according to a documentary about the animals produced by the BBC .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to defend itself .
Hidden at the base of its tail are two anal glands that squirt out a foul-smelling liquid that can be detected 130 feet ( 40 meters ) away , according to the South African National Biodiversity Institute .
The animals generally expel the substance to mark their territory , but they will also release a `` stink bomb '' when threatened or frightened .
Jonathan Kingdon , a zoologist at the University of Oxford , said in his book `` East African Mammals '' ( The University of Chicago @ @ @ @ @ @ @ may have a calming effect on bees , allowing honey badgers to more safely raid beehives .
Honey badgers are omnivores , feasting on a wide range of food , including birds , reptiles , rodents , berries , roots and fruits .
Their keen sense of smell helps them sniff out food hidden underground , while their long , strong claws help them dig for or catch that food , then rip their meal into pieces .
They are n't picky eaters and will scavenge whatever they can ; three honey badgers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ away from their kill , according to the BBC documentary .
Honey badgers are ferocious hunters , known to take on powerful animals , such as the South African oryx , a large , horned antelope that 's more than 10 times the size of a honey badger .
They 're also persistent hunters , willing to travel 20 miles ( 32 kilometers ) in their pursuit of a meal , the BBC documentary reported .
Although honey badgers are named after their presumed fondness for honey , they 're actually interested in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than the sugary syrup itself .
The small mammals love bee larvae so much that they 'll tolerate hundreds of stings from angry bees to get their claws on the sweet stuff .
But not all raids are successful — desperate honey badgers have been found stung to death in large beehives , according to National Geographic .
Related : Honey badger takes on an antelope , and it does n't go well As fearless predators , honey badgers wo n't hesitate to take down scorpions or venomous snakes for dinner .
However @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the honey badger may receive a mean bite or sting from its prey , such as the highly venomous Cape cobra ( Naja nivea ) , whose venom can temporarily knock out a honey badger .
But after a couple of hours , the honey badger wakes up and continues its meal ( if the meal has n't already left ) .
Snakes , including venomous ones , are an `` excellent source of meat '' for honey badgers , making up to 25 % of the animals ' diet , Danielle Drabeck @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Minnesota , told Slate Magazine .
And in order to dine on venomous snakes , which would be an otherwise deadly meal option for most carnivores , honey badgers have evolved a special kind of immunity to the toxins in snake venom .
In their 2015 study published in the journal Toxicon , Drabeck and her colleagues found that honey badgers have evolved a series of genetic mutations that prohibit snake venom toxin from binding to cellular receptors that would signal their nervous system to shut down .
A similar venom-defense mechanism @ @ @ @ @ @ @ habitat with venomous snakes , including mongooses , hedgehogs and even wild pigs .
Honey badgers have few natural predators , but they are occasionally hunted by leopards , lions and hyenas , Slate Magazine reported .
However , the honey badger 's aggressive nature does not make them an easy meal , and given the honey badger 's small size , predators ' efforts are often better spent catching an easier meal with more meat .
Honey badgers are native to sub-Saharan Africa , the Middle East and India .
These incredibly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a variety of habitats and can live just as well in a rainforest as they can in the mountains .
Typically , honey badgers have large home ranges of about 193 square miles ( 500 square km ) , according to National Geographic .
Honey badgers are territorial creatures and will use their scent glands to mark their territory .
Male honey badgers have larger territories than females , and their territories can overlap with female territories , according to the South African National Biodiversity Institute .
Honey badgers do n't typically settle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of each night , but instead will make a new bed in a tree , rock crevice or hole dug into the ground .
The creatures are expert diggers and can build a burrow in hard ground in just 10 minutes .
But the honey badger will just as happily make itself at home in an abandoned aardvark or mongoose burrow .
They sleep for most of the day , hopefully in a spot that 's safe from predators .
Honey badgers are mostly nocturnal , but they may come out during the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ presence of predators , according to Africa Geographic .
Honey badgers breed all year round , with the female normally giving birth to one cub about seven to 10 weeks after mating .
Honey badger cubs , or kits , are born with their eyes closed , hairless and with pink skin .
It takes about a month for the cub to develop its gray skin , fur and the characteristic wide , white stripe down its back , according to San Diego Zoo .
It takes about two months for the cubs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the North African Big Carnivore Foundation .
Cubs reach their adult size by about 6 months old , but will stay with their mother for up to two years , according to San Diego Zoo .
During that time , the cub learns to master the art of digging , hunting and climbing trees — skills they need before they can venture out on their own .
Honey badgers can live for up to 26 years in captivity , according to the San Diego Zoo , and up to seven years in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The future of the honey badger The International Union for Conservation of Nature 's Red List classifies honey badgers as a species of least concern , meaning their populations are stable in the majority of their native habitats .
Some populations , however , are decreasing to the point where there are so few honey badgers left that they are considered endangered in that area .
In some places , such as Morocco , Israel and Kazakhstan , they are a legally protected species in an effort to prevent their population from declining @ @ @ @ @ @ @ honey badgers can take down venomous snakes and confront lions , they are no match for humans .
Honey badgers are hunted for bushmeat in certain areas , including Zambia and Guinea , and for use in traditional medicines as some believe that the creature 's reputation as being fearless and tenacious will somehow transfer to people , according to the IUCN Red List .
As humans develop once-wild areas and intrude on the honey badgers ' territory , instances of conflict between humans and honey badgers have increased .
In particular , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and destroying beehives , which leads beekeepers and farmers to kill the honey badgers in order to protect human livelihoods .
Some beekeepers and livestock farmers intentionally poison the honey badgers in retaliation for the loss of livestock or beehives , pushing honey badgers to extinction in some areas , according to the IUCN Red List .
And as scavengers , honey badgers are also often killed by poisoning and trapping programs meant for other pests , such as black-backed jackals and caracals .
Since 2002 , conservation initiatives have led to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which is honey that comes from beekeepers who use non-lethal methods to protect their beehives .
For example , the Endangered Wildlife Trust recommends that beekeepers place beehives on stands or trestles 3 feet ( 1 m ) above the ground and away from things honey badgers can climb .
Because honey badgers ca n't jump , or reach that high , this is an effective method that helps prevent honey badgers from destroying beehives , saving both bees and honey badgers , and protecting the beekeepers ' livelihoods .
• Watch a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its enclosure .
• Watch honey badgers and other clever animals as they figure out how to get what they want , from The Conversation .
• Watch a honey badger and a mole snake battle for survival on The Smithsonian Channel

Honey badgers have the well-earned reputation of being fierce, feisty little mammals. Also known as a ratel, the honey badger belongs to the Mustelidae family of mammals, which also includes weasels, otters, ferrets, wolverines and other badger species. However, the honey badger is classified in its own subfamily, mellivorinae, and is the only species in the genus Mellivora, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica.
What are honey badgers?
The honey badger (Mellivora capensis) is about as big as a small- to medium-size dog, weighing between 13 and 30 lbs. (6 and 14 kilograms) and reaching 9 to 11 inches (23 to 28 centimeters) tall at the shoulder, according to National Geographic.
But the honey badger is more powerful than its compact size suggests — these animals are built for battle, not speed. Honey badgers have powerful 1.5-inch-long (4 cm) claws and teeth that are strong enough to crack a tortoise shell, making these small mammals a formidable opponent.
The stocky creatures have a short, thick coat of fur that's black on the face, legs and bottom half of the body, with a broad white stripe running from the top of the head down the back and tail. Underneath the fur is a layer of loose, thick skin around its muscular neck, which protects the animal during fights, and allows it to wriggle around and defend itself when in the grasp of hungry predators, according to Africa Geographic. Porcupine quills, bee stings and dog bites rarely penetrate the honey badgers' thick-skinned neck, according to Ronald Nowak's book "Walker's Carnivores of the World" (The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005).
Related: Photos: Honey badgers and other tiny predators caught on camera
Honey badgers have relatively big brains for their body size. They are one of the few non-primate species to use tools — widely considered a sign of intelligence in the animal kingdom. Captive honey badgers have been known to work together to unlock gates and use rocks, a rake, mud and sticks to escape from their enclosure, according to a documentary about the animals produced by the BBC.
The honey badger also has a secret weapon to defend itself. Hidden at the base of its tail are two anal glands that squirt out a foul-smelling liquid that can be detected 130 feet (40 meters) away, according to the South African National Biodiversity Institute. The animals generally expel the substance to mark their territory, but they will also release a "stink bomb" when threatened or frightened. Jonathan Kingdon, a zoologist at the University of Oxford, said in his book "East African Mammals" (The University of Chicago Press, 1977) that this liquid may have a calming effect on bees, allowing honey badgers to more safely raid beehives.
Honey badgers have long, strong claws and sharp teeth — perfect for ripping their apart. (Image credit: Shutterstock)
What do honey badgers eat?
Honey badgers are omnivores, feasting on a wide range of food, including birds, reptiles, rodents, berries, roots and fruits. Their keen sense of smell helps them sniff out food hidden underground, while their long, strong claws help them dig for or catch that food, then rip their meal into pieces. They aren't picky eaters and will scavenge whatever they can; three honey badgers have been seen chasing seven adult lions away from their kill, according to the BBC documentary.
Honey badgers are ferocious hunters, known to take on powerful animals, such as the South African oryx, a large, horned antelope that's more than 10 times the size of a honey badger. They're also persistent hunters, willing to travel 20 miles (32 kilometers) in their pursuit of a meal, the BBC documentary reported.
Although honey badgers are named after their presumed fondness for honey, they're actually interested in the bee larvae found in honey rather than the sugary syrup itself. The small mammals love bee larvae so much that they'll tolerate hundreds of stings from angry bees to get their claws on the sweet stuff. But not all raids are successful — desperate honey badgers have been found stung to death in large beehives, according to National Geographic.
Related: Honey badger takes on an antelope, and it doesn't go well
As fearless predators, honey badgers won't hesitate to take down scorpions or venomous snakes for dinner. However, those meals fight back, and the honey badger may receive a mean bite or sting from its prey, such as the highly venomous Cape cobra (Naja nivea), whose venom can temporarily knock out a honey badger. But after a couple of hours, the honey badger wakes up and continues its meal (if the meal hasn't already left).
Snakes, including venomous ones, are an "excellent source of meat" for honey badgers, making up to 25% of the animals' diet, Danielle Drabeck, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Minnesota, told Slate Magazine. And in order to dine on venomous snakes, which would be an otherwise deadly meal option for most carnivores, honey badgers have evolved a special kind of immunity to the toxins in snake venom. In their 2015 study published in the journal Toxicon, Drabeck and her colleagues found that honey badgers have evolved a series of genetic mutations that prohibit snake venom toxin from binding to cellular receptors that would signal their nervous system to shut down. A similar venom-defense mechanism has evolved in other mammals that share habitat with venomous snakes, including mongooses, hedgehogs and even wild pigs.
Honey badgers have few natural predators, but they are occasionally hunted by leopards, lions and hyenas, Slate Magazine reported. However, the honey badger's aggressive nature does not make them an easy meal, and given the honey badger's small size, predators' efforts are often better spent catching an easier meal with more meat.
Where do honey badgers live?
Honey badgers are native to sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and India. These incredibly tough and hardy creatures adapt well to a variety of habitats and can live just as well in a rainforest as they can in the mountains. Typically, honey badgers have large home ranges of about 193 square miles (500 square km), according to National Geographic.
Honey badgers are territorial creatures and will use their scent glands to mark their territory. Male honey badgers have larger territories than females, and their territories can overlap with female territories, according to the South African National Biodiversity Institute.
Honey badgers don't typically settle in the same spot at the end of each night, but instead will make a new bed in a tree, rock crevice or hole dug into the ground. The creatures are expert diggers and can build a burrow in hard ground in just 10 minutes. But the honey badger will just as happily make itself at home in an abandoned aardvark or mongoose burrow. They sleep for most of the day, hopefully in a spot that's safe from predators. Honey badgers are mostly nocturnal, but they may come out during the day depending on weather conditions and the presence of predators, according to Africa Geographic.
Honey badger's seem to have no fear. This one is ready to attack a jackal. (Image credit: Shutterstock)
When do honey badgers breed?
Honey badgers breed all year round, with the female normally giving birth to one cub about seven to 10 weeks after mating. Honey badger cubs, or kits, are born with their eyes closed, hairless and with pink skin. It takes about a month for the cub to develop its gray skin, fur and the characteristic wide, white stripe down its back, according to San Diego Zoo. It takes about two months for the cubs' eyes to open, according to the North African Big Carnivore Foundation.
Cubs reach their adult size by about 6 months old, but will stay with their mother for up to two years, according to San Diego Zoo. During that time, the cub learns to master the art of digging, hunting and climbing trees — skills they need before they can venture out on their own.
Honey badgers can live for up to 26 years in captivity, according to the San Diego Zoo, and up to seven years in the wild, according to National Geographic.
Related: Honey badger don't care about camera traps
The future of the honey badger
The International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List classifies honey badgers as a species of least concern, meaning their populations are stable in the majority of their native habitats. Some populations, however, are decreasing to the point where there are so few honey badgers left that they are considered endangered in that area. In some places, such as Morocco, Israel and Kazakhstan, they are a legally protected species in an effort to prevent their population from declining, according to the IUCN.
Though honey badgers can take down venomous snakes and confront lions, they are no match for humans. Honey badgers are hunted for bushmeat in certain areas, including Zambia and Guinea, and for use in traditional medicines as some believe that the creature's reputation as being fearless and tenacious will somehow transfer to people, according to the IUCN Red List.
As humans develop once-wild areas and intrude on the honey badgers' territory, instances of conflict between humans and honey badgers have increased. In particular, honey badgers are known for killing livestock and destroying beehives, which leads beekeepers and farmers to kill the honey badgers in order to protect human livelihoods. Some beekeepers and livestock farmers intentionally poison the honey badgers in retaliation for the loss of livestock or beehives, pushing honey badgers to extinction in some areas, according to the IUCN Red List.
And as scavengers, honey badgers are also often killed by poisoning and trapping programs meant for other pests, such as black-backed jackals and caracals. Since 2002, conservation initiatives have led to the production of "badger-friendly" honey, which is honey that comes from beekeepers who use non-lethal methods to protect their beehives. For example, the Endangered Wildlife Trust recommends that beekeepers place beehives on stands or trestles 3 feet (1 m) above the ground and away from things honey badgers can climb. Because honey badgers can't jump, or reach that high, this is an effective method that helps prevent honey badgers from destroying beehives, saving both bees and honey badgers, and protecting the beekeepers' livelihoods.
Additional resources:


livescience--2020-08-22--Can carrots give you night vision?

Can carrots give you night vision?

If you 've ever believed that eating carrots will help you to see in the dark , then you 've been retrospectively duped by a group of British civil servants from the 1940s .
If you already knew that the old adage was dreamed up by World War II propagandists , then you 've probably been led to accept it 's because London wanted to divert German attention away from British advances in aircraft radar technology .
According to this telling , the reason the Royal Air Force was so successful at thwarting the German air force , or the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its pilots were eating so many carrots — so no need for Hitler 's spies to worry about any British advances in radar tech .
But here again , you 've been hoodwinked .
This carrot-praising publicity blitz was primarily designed to deceive the United Kingdom 's own citizens , rather anyone in the Third Reich .
After France fell in 1940 , the British were alone and cut off from their empire by German submarines , called U-boats .
Keeping Brits well fed on the home front was critical to sustaining the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ increasingly difficult to come by for the island nation .
As it turns out though , the British weather lends itself very nicely to growing carrots .
But there was a problem ; the British consumer was far from keen .
`` Carrots were never a very popular vegetable before World War II , '' said John Stolarczyk , curator of the World Carrot Museum .
`` It was considered a poor man 's vegetable . ''
Yet , British carrot production during the war soared by 300 % , Stolarczyk told Live @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the tricky situation of growing much-needed food that risked going to waste if public attitudes could n't be changed .
`` The government extensively promoted carrots , mainly because they were available without import , therefore not subject to sea attacks , and were a viable substitute for rationed items , '' Stolarczyk explained .
The answer , concluded Prime Minister Winston Churchill 's government , was to tell the public a white lie .
Posters went up to tout the carrot 's supposed night vision properties , linking them to the Royal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ however , Royal Air Force pilots were so effective on night time missions because of their planes ' on-board radar equipment .
Like most convincing falsehoods , there was a grain or two of truth to the propaganda .
Firstly , carrots have high levels of beta-carotene and lutein , antioxidants that the body uses to produce .
This vitamin helps the convert light into a signal that can be sent to the brain for image processing , especially in low-light situations , Dr. Emily Chew , deputy clinical director of the National @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
That means carrots can help to improve vision for someone who is lacking in vitamin A , but it wo n't help people who already have adequate vitamin A levels achieve better vision .
Moreover , the cornea ( the clear , outer part of the eye ) can be damaged if a person has vitamin A deficiency , according to a 2013 report in .
Secondly , British scientists did carry out experiments to see whether carrots could improve pilots ' vision , said Stolarczyk , but those studies didn ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was the on-board radar technology in British fighter planes that gave them the edge , not the airman 's diet , and it 's unlikely the British propagandists ever truly believed their campaign could distract German high command from such a fact .
Moreover , in 1941 , a British plane with on-board radar equipment made an emergency landing in France , and the Germans salvaged the remains , discovered the technology and wasted no time in developing a similar system , according to the World Carrot Museum .
`` The publicity campaign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at home than for the Germans , '' Stolarczyk said .
`` If the story was primarily aimed at German intelligence , it would be odd to plant it so blatantly in the British press .
The Germans were n't that stupid . ''

If you've ever believed that eating carrots will help you to see in the dark, then you've been retrospectively duped by a group of British civil servants from the 1940s.
If you already knew that the old adage was dreamed up by World War II propagandists, then you've probably been led to accept it's because London wanted to divert German attention away from British advances in aircraft radar technology.
According to this telling, the reason the Royal Air Force was so successful at thwarting the German air force, or the Luftwaffe's nighttime raids, was because its pilots were eating so many carrots — so no need for Hitler's spies to worry about any British advances in radar tech. But here again, you've been hoodwinked. This carrot-praising publicity blitz was primarily designed to deceive the United Kingdom's own citizens, rather anyone in the Third Reich.
Related: Why didn't the Allies bomb Auschwitz?
After France fell in 1940, the British were alone and cut off from their empire by German submarines, called U-boats. Keeping Brits well fed on the home front was critical to sustaining the fight, but food imports were becoming increasingly difficult to come by for the island nation. As it turns out though, the British weather lends itself very nicely to growing carrots. But there was a problem; the British consumer was far from keen.
"Carrots were never a very popular vegetable before World War II," said John Stolarczyk, curator of the World Carrot Museum. "It was considered a poor man's vegetable."
Yet, British carrot production during the war soared by 300%, Stolarczyk told Live Science. The government was therefore in the tricky situation of growing much-needed food that risked going to waste if public attitudes couldn't be changed. "The government extensively promoted carrots, mainly because they were available without import, therefore not subject to sea attacks, and were a viable substitute for rationed items," Stolarczyk explained.
The answer, concluded Prime Minister Winston Churchill's government, was to tell the public a white lie. Posters went up to tout the carrot's supposed night vision properties, linking them to the Royal Air Force success. In reality, however, Royal Air Force pilots were so effective on night time missions because of their planes' on-board radar equipment.
Like most convincing falsehoods, there was a grain or two of truth to the propaganda. Firstly, carrots have high levels of beta-carotene and lutein, antioxidants that the body uses to produce vitamin A . This vitamin helps the eye convert light into a signal that can be sent to the brain for image processing, especially in low-light situations, Dr. Emily Chew, deputy clinical director of the National Eye Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, told Scientific American . That means carrots can help to improve vision for someone who is lacking in vitamin A, but it won't help people who already have adequate vitamin A levels achieve better vision. Moreover, the cornea (the clear, outer part of the eye) can be damaged if a person has vitamin A deficiency, according to a 2013 report in Community Eye Health Journal .
Secondly, British scientists did carry out experiments to see whether carrots could improve pilots' vision, said Stolarczyk, but those studies didn’t uncover anything of note. It was the on-board radar technology in British fighter planes that gave them the edge, not the airman's diet, and it's unlikely the British propagandists ever truly believed their campaign could distract German high command from such a fact. Moreover, in 1941, a British plane with on-board radar equipment made an emergency landing in France, and the Germans salvaged the remains, discovered the technology and wasted no time in developing a similar system, according to the World Carrot Museum .
"The publicity campaign was clearly intended more for the people at home than for the Germans," Stolarczyk said. "If the story was primarily aimed at German intelligence, it would be odd to plant it so blatantly in the British press. The Germans weren't that stupid."
Originally published on Live Science.


livescience--2020-08-22--Coronavirus outbreak: Live updates

Coronavirus outbreak: Live updates

Refresh
90-year-old woman in the UK receives first dose of Pfizer vaccine, FDA review confirms vaccine is safe and effective A 90-year-old woman (who will turn 91 next week) became the first in the world to be given Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine outside of clinical trials, according to the BBC. Margaret Keenan, who is originally from Northern Ireland, was given the vaccine at the University Hospital in Coventry, England. She received the first of 800,000 doses expected to be administered in the U.K. in the coming weeks, according to the BBC. "I feel so privileged to be the first person vaccinated against Covid-19," Keenan said, according to the BBC."It's the best early birthday present I could wish for because it means I can finally look forward to spending time with my family and friends in the new year after being on my own for most of the year." "My advice to anyone offered the vaccine is to take it. If I can have it at 90, then you can have it too," she added. Up to four million doses of Pfizer's vaccine is expected to be given to people in the U.K. by the end of the month. Meanwhile, a 53-page Food and Drug Administration (FDA) review published Tuesday (Dec. 8) confirmed that Pfizer's vaccine is safe and effective, according to The Washington Post.
Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine starts to work just 10 days after 1st dose Pfizer's new COVID-19 vaccine starts to protect people from the novel coronavirus just 10 days after the first dose, according to new documents from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The documents were released on Tuesday (Dec. 8), two days before a meeting of the FDA's vaccine advisory panel, which will vote on whether to recommend authorization of the vaccine in the U.S, Live Science reported . The FDA analyzed data from Pfizer's phase 3 clinical trial, which included some 44,000 people in the United States, Brazil, Argentina, Germany and Turkey, about half of whom received the vaccine while the other half received a placebo. Both groups received two shots, 21 days apart. About 10 days after the first dose, there was a noticeable drop-off in new COVID-19 cases in the vaccine group compared with the placebo group, indicating that even one dose provides some protection, the report said. However, scientists don't know how long the protection from a single dose will last, so it will still be important for people to receive two shots, according to The New York Times . Overall, the vaccine was 52% effective after the first dose and 95% effective after the second dose, the report said.
People with significant allergies should avoid Pfizer vaccine, UK warns The U.K.'s Regulatory Agency is advising people with a history of "significant" allergic reactions to avoid Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine, after two National Health Service members developed severe allergic reactions to it on Tuesday (Dec. 8), Live Science reported. "As is common with new vaccines the MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency) have advised on a precautionary basis that people with a significant history of allergic reactions do not receive this vaccination after two people with a history of significant allergic reactions responded adversely yesterday," Stephen Powis, the national medical director for England's National Health Service said in a statement on Wednesday (Dec. 9). Both workers have a history of severe allergies and carry adrenaline auto injectors (such as EpiPens) around with them, according to The Guardian. Shortly after receiving the vaccine, both NHS workers developed anaphylaxis-like symptoms, or severe allergic reactions, but have recovered after receiving treatment. The MHRA will investigate further and Pfizer and BioNTech will support their investigation, according to Reuters. "Allergic reaction occurs with quite a number of vaccines, and perhaps even more frequently with drugs. So it is not unexpected," Stephen Evans, a professor of pharmacoepidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said in remarks to journalists published by Britain's Science Media Center. “What would be wise, as the MHRA have already advised, would be for anyone who has known severe allergic reaction such that they need to carry an EpiPen, to delay having a vaccination until the reason for the allergic reaction has been clarified," he said. For the general population this does not mean that they would need to be anxious about receiving the vaccination, he added. "One has to remember that even things like marmite [a quintessential British food spread] can cause unexpected severe allergic reactions.”
Canada approves Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine Canada has authorized Pfizer's new COVID-19 vaccine, with the first doses expected to be administered there as early as next week. Health Canada, the country's health regulatory agency, said in a statement on Wednesday (Dec. 9) that it had determined that the vaccine "meets the Department's stringent safety, efficacy and quality requirements for use in Canada," according to CTV News . "We expect vaccines to arrive maybe as early as Monday [Dec. 14]. It takes time to prepare the vaccine," said Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin, the top military general leading the vaccine rollout for the Public Health Agency of Canada, according to CTV News. The first doses could be administered by the middle of next week, he said. Canada is the third country in the world to authorize the Pfizer vaccine, following the United Kingdom and Bahrain. The country should receive up to 249,000 doses of the vaccine by the end of December, and has purchased 20 million doses total, with the option to purchase more, CTV News reported.
Daily COVID-19 death toll in the U.S. reaches record-high, surpassed 9/11 On Wednesday (Dec. 9), the U.S. recorded 3,124 new COVID-19 deaths, the highest daily death toll to date, according to CNN . In comparison, 2,977 people were killed in the 9/11 attacks. The U.S. has now recorded 280,488 deaths related to the virus, according to The COVID Tracking Project . A forecast from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicts that the total death toll can increase to between 332,000 and 362,000 by January 2, according to CNN. There are currently 106,671 people hospitalized with the virus in the U.S.; 20,903 of them are currently in the ICU and 7,621 are currently on a ventilator, according to the COVID Tracking Project. On Thursday (Dec. 10), the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee is set to meet to discuss an emergency use authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine.
FDA panel recommends authorization of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine A panel of experts for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recommended that the agency authorize Pfizer's new COVID-19 vaccine in the United States. On Thursday (Dec. 10), the panel voted 17 to 4 to recommend that the vaccine receive emergency use authorization (EUA) for people ages 16 and older, according to The New York Times . The FDA typically follows the advice of its panels, and so today's vote is an important step towards the vaccine's authorization. It is anticipated that the agency will officially authorize the vaccine on Saturday (Dec. 12), the Times reported. Several countries have already authorized Pfizer's vaccine, including Canada, the United Kingdom and Bahrain.
Vaccine approval could come this weekend, as U.S. continues to record high daily death tolls On Thursday (Dec. 10), the U.S. recorded another 2,902 COVID-19 deaths, a day after the country set a record of 3,253 deaths, according to Reuters . “Probably for the next 60 to 90 days, we’re going to have more deaths per day than we had on 9/11 or we had at Pearl Harbor,” Dr. Robert Redfield, the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told the Council on Foreign Relations on Thursday, according to Reuters. "The reality is the vaccine approval this week is not going to really impact that, I think, to any degree for the next 60 days." On Thursday, the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee discussed, voted and recommended that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should grant an emergency use authorization for Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine. The Pfizer vaccine has already been approved in the U.K. and in Canada, and FDA approval for use in the U.S. could come this weekend.
Australia abandons local COVID-19 vaccine after it caused false-positive HIV tests An Australian COVID-19 vaccine that had shown promising results in early trials is being abandoned after researchers found that the shot caused false-positive results on HIV tests. On Friday (Dec. 11), Australian officials said they had canceled an order for some 51 million doses of the vaccine, which was being developed by The University of Queensland and CSL Ltd., a local biotech company, according to The New York Times . In an early trial with 216 participants, the vaccine appeared to be safe and to produce a robust immune response against COVID-19, according to a statement from CSL . But some volunteers falsely tested positive for HIV, which officials feared would undermine trust in the vaccine, the Times reported. The vaccine contained small fragments of an HIV protein, which helped stabilize the vaccine. Some of the participants developed antibodies against these fragments, and these antibodies triggered false positive results on some HIV tests. It's important to note that there is no way for the vaccine to cause an HIV infection, because it contains harmless fragments of the virus.
ICU nurse in New York becomes first person in the US to receive a coronavirus vaccine outside of clinical trials New York, the worst-hit state at the start of the pandemic, just became the first to administer a coronavirus vaccine outside of clinical trials, kicking off a long, massive effort to vaccinate the American people, Live Science reported. Around 9 a.m. E.T. on Monday (Dec. 14), the very first dose of Pfizer and BioNTech's coronavirus vaccine was given to Sandra Lindsay, an intensive care nurse in Long Island Jewish Medical Center in Queens, New York, according to The New York Times. This comes as the U.S. continues to battle a massive wave of the virus that has more than 109,000 people currently hospitalized, according to The COVID Tracking Project. Since the start of the pandemic, New York has recorded more than 780,000 cases of COVID-19 and more than 35,100 deaths, according to The Times. "This vaccine is exciting because I believe this is the weapon that will end the war," Gov. Andrew Cuomo said during a live broadcast of the first vaccination. "It's the beginning of the last chapter of the book, but now we just have to do it."
FDA analysis confirms Moderna's vaccine is safe and effective, emergency authorization is likely to come Friday A new briefing document from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released on Tuesday (Dec. 15) confirmed that Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective, according to NPR . Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine is 94% effective and has "a favorable safety profile," according to the document. A panel of experts is set to meet on Thursday (Dec. 17) to discuss the effectiveness and safety of the vaccine and vote on whether or not the FDA should grant emergency approval to the vaccine. Last week, the same panel voted that the FDA should grant emergency approval to Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine; the authorization came a day late and the first doses were given on Monday (Dec. 15). The FDA will likely approve Moderna's vaccine for emergency use on Friday (Dec. 18), according to The New York Times .
FDA authorizes first over-the-counter COVID-19 test The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized the first over-the-counter COVID-19 test, which can be done at home and does not need a prescription. The test, made by the Australia-based company Ellume, provides results in as little as 20 minutes, according to a statement from the FDA . It is a "lateral flow antigen test," meaning it works in a similar way to a home pregnancy test, by running a "liquid sample along a surface with reactive molecules," the FDA said. The test works in conjunction with a smartphone app. Users take a nasal swab and place their sample in an analyzer, which communicates to the smartphone app via Bluetooth. The results are delivered through the app, and also reported to public health authorities (based on a user's zip code) through a secure cloud connection, the company said . Ellume is ramping up production of its test, and expects to produce three million tests in January 2021, and 20 million within the first half of 2021.
A wild mink tested positive for the coronavirus, it may be the first wild animal to have a confirmed case A wild mink in Utah may be the first "free-ranging, native wild animal" confirmed to be infected with SARS-CoV-2, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Live Science reported. The mink was found near a mink farm and likely picked up the infection from the farmed mink. There's no evidence that the virus spread to other minks or wild animals; but if the virus does begin circulating in wild animals, it could pick up mutations that COVID-19 vaccines may not protect well against if it spreads back to humans, according to the report. "If it does [establish a reservoir], then we've got a long-term issue here, where this virus has the potential to be with us for millennia," Sarah Olson, associate director of the health program at the Wildlife Conservation Society, told Vox. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has screened other animal species for the virus near mink farms in Utah, Michigan and Wisconsin, but all of them have tested negative so far, according to a statement.
An FDA advisory panel will meet today to vote on whether to recommend Moderna's coronavirus vaccine for emergency approval On Thursday (Dec. 17), a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory committee will meet to determine whether to recommend that Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine for emergency approval, according to The New York Times . This panel, composed of independent experts, will vote on whether to recommend the vaccine after hearing from the company, FDA scientists and the public, according to The Times. Last week, the same panel of experts met to discuss Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine and voted to recommend emergency authorization; the authorization came the next day. There have now been more than 16.9 million cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. and more than 307,000 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins dashboard . There are currently 113,090 people hospitalized across the country with more than 21,900 of them in the ICU and 7,778 on a ventilator, according to The COVID Tracking Project .
California becomes new epicenter of COVID-19 in U.S. California, once praised for its early pandemic response, is now the new U.S. hotspot for COVID-19 infections. The state has reported an alarming surge in cases, breaking previous records for daily cases. On Thursday (Dec. 17), the state reported some 50,000 COVID-19 infections in 24 hours, and nearly 100,000 in 48 hours, according to The Washington Post . That's more than the daily cases reported in many countries, including India, Germany and Britain, the Post reported. The state also set a record for daily deaths on Thursday, with 379 fatalities reported, up from the previous high of 293. Capacity in intensive care units has also dropped dramatically, with hospitals in Southern California reporting zero percent capacity on Thursday. "I want to be very clear: Our hospitals are under siege, and our model shows no end in sight," said Christina Ghaly, director of Los Angeles County's Department of Health Services, the Post reported.
FDA expected to authorize Moderna's vaccine on Friday The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to authorize Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine on Friday (Dec. 18). Once authorized, it will be the second coronavirus vaccine to get the green light from the agency in just a week, with Pfizer's vaccine gaining authorization on Dec. 11. Moderna is expected to begin shipping 5.9 million doses of its vaccine on Sunday (Dec. 20), with the first deliveries arriving Monday (Dec. 21), according to The New York Times . Unlike the Pfizer vaccine, Moderna's vaccine does not require storage in extremely cold temperatures, and states are hoping to distribute the vaccine to rural hospitals and community health centers, the Times reported.
COVID-19 cases continue to surge across the U.S. There have now been more than 17 million cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. and more than 300,000 deaths, according to The COVID Tracking Project . There are currently 114,237 people hospitalized across the country and 21,900 people in the ICU. California is facing a massive surge in cases; the state reported 41,012 new COVID-19 cases and 300 new deaths on Thursday (Dec. 17), according to the state's COVID-19 dashboard . By comparison, at the start of November, California was reporting a seven-day average of 4,183 cases, compared to an average of 38,774 on Thursday, according to CNN . "We're experiencing an explosive and very deadly surge," Dr. Barbara Ferrer, Los Angeles County Public Health Director said, according to CNN. Intensive care unit beds are rapidly filling up across the state; there are only 1,234 ICU beds left available in California, according to the dashboard. Current closures across California are impacting around 98% of the state's population, according to CNN.
London and southeast England are under an emergency lockdown Following concerns of a new version of the coronavirus that might be more transmissible, London and most of southeast England are now under an emergency lockdown, according to The New York Times . Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the lockdown on Saturday (Dec. 19) citing concerns that the mutated virus — which was detected a couple of weeks ago in southeast England — may be as much as 70% more transmissible than previous versions, according to the Times. The new version of the coronavirus is detected in more than 60% of new infections in London and have also been detected in several other countries, according to the Times. But it's not yet clear if this coronavirus version is any more infectious than the last and thorough analyses will need to be conducted before conclusions are made, scientists cautioned. In South Africa, a similar version of the virus has been found in up to 90% of new cases detected since mid-November, according to The Times . It's common for viruses to mutate, and this particular coronavirus has mutated many times since the start of the pandemic. But experts told The Times that it would take years for the virus to mutate enough such that it would make the current vaccines developed to fight COVID-19 ineffective.
Biden gets Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine President-elect Joe Biden received a dose of Pfizer's new COVID-19 vaccine on Monday (Dec. 21), according to The New York Times . He received the shot on camera at the Christiana Hospital in Newark, Delaware. "I'm doing this to demonstrate that people should be prepared when it's available to take the vaccine. There's nothing to worry about," Biden said.
Antarctica has its 1st COVID-19 outbreak The first COVID-19 cases have been reported in Antarctica , meaning the disease has now spread to every continent in the world. On Tuesday (Dec. 22), Chilean officials reported an outbreak of 36 COVID-19 cases at the Chilean research base General Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme on the Antarctic Peninsula, according to the BBC . Of these, 26 cases were military personnel and 10 were maintenance workers, the BBC reported. All of these cases have been evacuated from Antarctica to Punta Arenas, Chile, according to The Guardian . Antarctica had been COVID-19 free up until the current outbreak. The continent has no permanent residents, but about 1,000 people, including scientists and other workers, stayed there this past winter, The Guardian reported.
Live updates will continue in 2021!


livescience--2020-08-22--Coronavirus news of the week (VIDEO)

Coronavirus news of the week (VIDEO)

Since the discovery of the virus that causes COVID-19 , the daily news cycle has become swamped with updates about how the pathogen spreads , what the bug does to the body and what solutions might finally bring an end to the pandemic .
But staying up-to-date on all the latest coronavirus news can be a challenge .
To help keep you informed , we at Live Science have compiled a short list of standout news stories from the week — these are the ones that really caught our attention .
This week , the U.S. Food and Drug Administration @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an for COVID-19 that can deliver results in less than three hours .
The test , called SalivaDirect , was developed by researchers at the Yale School of Public Health and offers several advantages over nasal swab tests .
First , the saliva sample can be collected in any sterilized container , unlike nasal swab tests that require a special swab to be inserted deep inside the nose .
Second , Yale expects that labs will offer the test for only $ 10 per saliva sample .
And finally , Yale does not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ instead release instructions for labs to conduct the test themselves , using only commercially available components .
Federal officials announced that the FDA wo n't authorize the use of blood plasma to treat COVID-19 patients until more data about the treatment can be reviewed .
So-called convalescent plasma therapy uses the liquid portion of blood drawn from people who have recovered from COVID-19 .
While coronavirus patients can get the treatment in the context of a clinical trial , the FDA will not authorize plasma for wider use until more `` gold standard @ @ @ @ @ @ @ must be randomized and controlled , meaning patients randomly receive either plasma or a standard treatment , as a point of comparison .
These trials are challenging to organize during a pandemic , due to the limited supply of eligible plasma and differences in COVID-19 prevalence in different regions .
COVID-19 pandemic could be deadlier than 1918 flu A new study suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic could potentially become more deadly than the 1918 flu pandemic .
The 1918 flu pandemic is remembered as the deadliest pandemic in recent history , having claimed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ To compare the 1918 outbreak with the current pandemic , researchers zeroed in on data from New York City .
They began by analyzing the deaths from all causes in New York City between October and November 1918 , the peak of the flu pandemic , and compared those to all-cause deaths in the same months in years preceding the pandemic .
They then calculated all-cause deaths during the peak of the COVID-19 outbreak , between March and May , and compared those to rates in recent years .
They found that all-cause @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1918 flu than in the same months in preceding years , while all-cause mortality was 4.15 higher during the COVID-19 outbreak than it had been in recent years .
That said , the authors note that the relative increase in deaths appears greater in 2020 because we started out at a lower baseline death rate .
Overall , the all-cause mortality rate was higher during the fall of 1918 than the spring of 2020 .
`` All we know is that in this little slice of time that we looked at , there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ n't be just shrugged off , '' the lead researcher said .

Since the discovery of the virus that causes COVID-19, the daily news cycle has become swamped with updates about how the pathogen spreads, what the bug does to the body and what solutions might finally bring an end to the pandemic.
But staying up-to-date on all the latest coronavirus news can be a challenge. To help keep you informed, we at Live Science have compiled a short list of standout news stories from the week — these are the ones that really caught our attention.
New saliva test
(Image credit: Shutterstock)
This week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the use of an inexpensive saliva test for COVID-19 that can deliver results in less than three hours.
The test, called SalivaDirect, was developed by researchers at the Yale School of Public Health and offers several advantages over nasal swab tests. First, the saliva sample can be collected in any sterilized container, unlike nasal swab tests that require a special swab to be inserted deep inside the nose. Second, Yale expects that labs will offer the test for only $10 per saliva sample. And finally, Yale does not plan to commercialize the test and will instead release instructions for labs to conduct the test themselves, using only commercially available components.
(Image credit: Shutterstock)
Federal officials announced that the FDA won't authorize the use of blood plasma to treat COVID-19 patients until more data about the treatment can be reviewed.
So-called convalescent plasma therapy uses the liquid portion of blood drawn from people who have recovered from COVID-19. While coronavirus patients can get the treatment in the context of a clinical trial, the FDA will not authorize plasma for wider use until more "gold standard" trials are completed. The trials must be randomized and controlled, meaning patients randomly receive either plasma or a standard treatment, as a point of comparison.
These trials are challenging to organize during a pandemic, due to the limited supply of eligible plasma and differences in COVID-19 prevalence in different regions.
COVID-19 pandemic could be deadlier than 1918 flu
(Image credit: Shutterstock)
A new study suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic could potentially become more deadly than the 1918 flu pandemic.
The 1918 flu pandemic is remembered as the deadliest pandemic in recent history, having claimed at least 50 million lives worldwide. To compare the 1918 outbreak with the current pandemic, researchers zeroed in on data from New York City.
They began by analyzing the deaths from all causes in New York City between October and November 1918, the peak of the flu pandemic, and compared those to all-cause deaths in the same months in years preceding the pandemic. They then calculated all-cause deaths during the peak of the COVID-19 outbreak, between March and May, and compared those to rates in recent years.
They found that all-cause mortality was 2.8 times higher during the 1918 flu than in the same months in preceding years, while all-cause mortality was 4.15 higher during the COVID-19 outbreak than it had been in recent years. That said, the authors note that the relative increase in deaths appears greater in 2020 because we started out at a lower baseline death rate. Overall, the all-cause mortality rate was higher during the fall of 1918 than the spring of 2020.
"All we know is that in this little slice of time that we looked at, there are certainly enough resemblances that it can't be just shrugged off," the lead researcher said.
Originally published on Live Science.


livescience--2020-08-23--Amazing images: The best science photos of the week

Each week at Live Science we find the most interesting and informative articles we can .
Along the way , we uncover some amazing and cool images .
Here you 'll discover the most incredible photos we found this week , and the remarkable stories behind them .
Buglike marine creatures that skitter across the sea bottom can grow to be as big as puppies , and a newly described species is one of the largest ever seen .
These crustaceans are known as isopods ; the order Isopoda includes around 10,000 species that live in diverse habitats on land @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can range in size from just a few millimeters to nearly 20 inches ( 500 mm ) long .
Of the ocean-dwelling isopods , the genus Bathynomus contains the biggest species ; the newfound isopod , which turned up in the Indian Ocean in 2018 , is among the largest of the Bathynomus species ever seen in the wild .
Named Bathynomus raksasa ( `` rakasa '' is the Indonesian word for `` giant '' ) , the sizable sea bug measures about 13 inches ( 330 mm ) in length , on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ giant isopod species to be described in more than a decade , and is the first of these isopod behemoths to be found in waters near Indonesia , scientists reported in a new study .
As many as 70 million animals were mummified in ancient Egypt between roughly 700 B.C .
and A.D. 300. , though the practice remains largely mysterious today .
Now , a new study published today ( Aug. 20 ) in the journal unwraps the proverbial bandages a little bit further .
Using a non-invasive imaging technique called X-ray @ @ @ @ @ @ @ images of three ancient animal mummies — a cat , a bird and the aforementioned cobra — revealing how the creatures lived and died in unprecedented detail .
With their scans , the team peered directly through the mummies ' bandages , exposing the gnarled bones within .
The cat , for example , was found to be a kitten younger than 5 months old , based on the development of its teeth and bones .
Breaks around the feline 's neck suggest it was strangled to death before its mummification , according @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was also a juvenile , met a similarly crushing end , the team found .
Fractures in its skull and spine suggested that the cobra had been grabbed by the tail and killed in a `` whipping '' motion shortly before being mummified ; after this , the snake 's jaw was broken and its mouth stuffed with some sort of dirt or clay — possibly natron , a natural sodium carbonate mixture often used to dehydrate corpses during mummification , the researchers said .
Read more : Mummified kitten 'strangled ' to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , new 3D scans reveal A small , soft space rock smacked into Costa Rica on April 23 , 2019 .
And it may have carried building blocks for life .
The washing machine-sized clay fireball broke up before landing , .
Locals found shards scattered between two villages , La Palmera and Aguas Zarcas .
And while meteorites turn up all over , these shards were special ; the asteroid that spawned them was a soft remnant of the early solar system , made from the dust from the spinning nebula that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ formed in even older stars .
This particular space rock contains complex compounds , likely including ( which join to form and ) and perhaps other , even more complex building blocks of life .
Aguas Zarcas shards may offer the most pristine samples yet of the early solar system and pre-solar dust cloud .
But landing as they did in the Costa Rican rainforest , Sokol reported , there 's still the possibility of contamination .
Read more : Rainbow meteorite discovered in Costa Rica may hold building blocks of life A @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a fur tuft on its tail and big , spectacled eyes had n't been seen in nearly half a century .
That is , until a whiff of peanut butter lured the wee mouse-sized mammal out from the rocky , rugged lands of Djibouti in the Horn of Africa .
The recently `` rediscovered '' mammal , called a Somali sengi ( Elephantulus revoilii ) , is a species of elephant shrew .
While elephant shrews are related to , and — they 're not elephants and they 're not shrews .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ since 1973 .
Everything known about the obscure mini mammal came from 39 individual specimens that were collected decades and centuries ago and that are now stored in museums , from Global Wildlife Conservation .
Now , using information from interviews , analysis of dung piles at candidate sites and assessments of terrain and sheltering potential , the researchers set up 1,259 traps at 12 different locations across the rocky terrain .
They lured the animals to the traps by setting out peanut butter , oatmeal and yeast .
They caught one of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they set .
Read more : This palm-sized elephant relative was just sighted for the first time in 50 years There 's a flood of scorching nuclear wind pouring out of our galaxy 's center , and astronomers have discovered two tiny islands of unborn baby stars caught in the riptide .
These two hunks of cosmic driftwood are actually freezing-cold clouds of gas , each one as frigid as ( about minus 400 degrees Fahrenheit , or minus 240 degrees Celsius ) and carrying the mass of more than 200 suns .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ stellar nurseries — those ultra-dense clouds of gas where molecules can bundle up into stars ( like the one pictured above , known as the `` Finger of God '' ) .
However , the searing winds of the galactic center seem to have other plans for them , a new study published Aug. 19 in the journal suggests .
Flying `` like bullets '' away from the galactic center , the two tiny clouds of gas seem to be colliding head-on with hotter , more energetic winds from the galaxy 's heart @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ongoing collision threatens to dismantle the gas clouds entirely , smothering their star-forming potential .
Read more : Clouds of star-forming gas are being shot 'like bullets ' across the galaxy About 130,000 years ago , an early wave of anatomically modern humans — Homo sapiens — left the Horn of Africa and spread north along the center of the Arabian Peninsula , which was wetter and greener than it is now .
Their distinctive way of making flint points has been used as a `` breadcrumb '' trail to mark their progress @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the northernmost of these breadcrumbs in Israel 's Negev Desert .
Archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority ( IAA ) report they unearthed the distinctive flints , made with a technique called Nubian Levallois , at an ancient `` flint-knapping '' site near the city of Dimona , where a photovoltaic solar power plant will be built.The flints , which are thought to date back about 100,000 years , could be further evidence of the spread of Homo sapiens along the central Arabian route from Africa , said IAA archaeologist Maya Oron , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a doctoral student at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem .
The site is rich in raw flint and is clearly where the ancient tools were manufactured , she said ; if its age is confirmed , the finds may be a new breadcrumb along the trail of early modern humans into the northern regions of the Levant .
A massive earthquake in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean in 2016 ricocheted east then west like a geologic boomerang .
Boomerang quakes have only been rarely anecdotally reported , and never before recorded scientifically @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a relatively simple , straight-line fault called an ocean transform fault .
That suggests such weird , ricocheting quakes could happen on other straight-line , such as the that snakes along California 's coast .
There are a few different reasons that a boomerang quake could have happened , researchers reported on Aug. 10 in the journal .
It 's possible that the first rupture toward the east happened deep within the crust , which then built up energy and forced the re-rupture back toward the west at a shallower depth .
Alternatively @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have bounced off the end of the , so to speak .
The eastern rupture occurred at the far end of the fault , so perhaps some of the energy from the rupture zinged back through the fault .
Read more : Weird 'boomerang ' earthquake recorded for the first time It 's never aliens… or is it ?
'Oumuamua — a mysterious , interstellar object that crashed through our solar system two years ago — might in fact be alien technology .
That ’ s because an alternative , non-alien explanation might @ @ @ @ @ @ @ study argues .
In 2018 , our ran into an object lost in interstellar space .
The object , dubbed 'Oumuamua , seemed to be long and thin — cigar-shaped — and tumbling end over end .
Then , close observations showed it was accelerating , as if something were pushing on it .
Scientists still are n't sure why .
One explanation ?
The object was propelled by an alien machine , such as a lightsail — a wide , millimeter-thin machine that accelerates as it 's pushed by solar radiation .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's wonky acceleration was likely due to a natural phenomenon .
In June , a research team proposed that solid was blasting invisibly off the interstellar object 's surface and causing it to speed up .
Now , in a new paper published Monday ( Aug. 17 ) in , Loeb and Thiem Hoang , an astrophysicist at the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute , argue that the hydrogen hypothesis could n't work in the real world — which would mean that there is still hope that our neck of space was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that we actually spotted their presence at the time .
Read more : Interstellar visitor 'Oumuamua could still be alien technology , new study hints California is on fire , with scorching across the state .
Unsurprisingly , the effects are visible from space , as NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy shared images today ( Aug. 21 ) of huge billows of smoke above California as seen from his perch on the .
California 's difficult fire season is the result of unusual lightning-rich storms occurring during a record-topping heatwave , according to The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ state relies heavily of inmates to staff its firefighting crews , and prisons have been hit particularly badly by the coronavirus pandemic , according to The Sacramento Bee .
The state knew even before the current heatwave that this would be a tricky fire season .
A , the state 's firefighting agency , cited low precipitation rates leading to high risk in northern California , particularly in August and September , and wind-induced fire risk in the southern part of the state later in the fall .
Read more : Astronaut spots @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and prayers ' to victims California 's Death Valley recorded what may be its hottest ever temperature on Sunday ( Aug. 16 ) —— a blazing 130 degrees Fahrenheit ( 54.4 degrees Celsius ) .
If that National Weather Service ( NWS ) measurement holds up , it will have been the hottest August temperature recorded there by 3 F ( 1.7 C ) , the hottest temperature recorded in Death Valley National Park in at least a century , and one of the hottest temperatures ever recorded anywhere in the world .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ world temperature record ?
Depends on who you ask .
The World Meteorological Organization that the highest temperature ever recorded was 134 F ( 56.7 C ) on July 10 , 1913 , at the same site : Death Valley 's aptly named Furnace Creek Ranch .
But Christopher Burt , investigating the claim for The Weather Underground in 2016 , that the 134 F recording was accurate .
The next universally agreed-upon record temperature was 129.0 F ( 53.9 C ) in Death Valley on July 1 , 2013 .
This new @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
• Earth from Above : 101 Stunning Images from Orbit • From Big Bang to Present : Snapshots of Our Universe Through Time

Each week at Live Science we find the most interesting and informative articles we can. Along the way, we uncover some amazing and cool images. Here you'll discover the most incredible photos we found this week, and the remarkable stories behind them.
Gargantuan "growlers"
(Image credit: RAF)
In July 2017, a gargantuan iceberg spanning five times the area of New York's five boroughs snapped off the coast of Antarctica and began to drift northward.
Though its edges have crumbled considerably since then, the iceberg — named A-68a — is still the largest on Earth , and it's currently barreling toward an island wildlife refuge in the South Atlantic Ocean. New aerial footage taken by the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force (RAF) reveals just what that island might be up against.
For starters, the RAF footage really drives home how massive this ice giant is. (As of early April, A-68a measured about 2,000 square miles, or 5,100 square kilometers, in area, Live Science previously reported ). The berg's steep walls tower 100 feet (30 meters) above the sea, according to RAF News , and are gouged with tunnels, fissures and caves. Huge chunks of ice, or "growlers," are rapidly cracking off on all sides, leaving behind a trail of debris that could impede boat traffic in the future.
[Read more: World's largest iceberg still barreling toward penguin habitat, new footage confirms ]
Clear head, nine arms, can't lose
(Image credit: Kyodo News via Getty Images)
A nine-armed octopus caught off Japan's coast nearly ended up being dinner, until the family preparing it noticed its extra limb and sent it to a museum instead, according to news sources. While unusual, this extra appendage — which wasn't fully formed, but a small offshoot on a regular arm — isn't unheard of in octopuses, said Michael Vecchione, an invertebrate zoologist at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., who was not involved with this octopus's discovery.
Octopuses are capable of regenerating their arms, but "sometimes regeneration doesn't work quite right," Vecchione told Live Science. "If an arm gets damaged, it might regenerate wrong; it could wind up with extra tissue growing out, and that extra tissue could turn into an arm."
The nine-armed oddity was caught in a trap with three other octopuses on Nov. 13 in Shizugawa Bay, in the northeastern town of Minamisanriku, Japan, according to The Mainichi , a Japanese newspaper.
[Read more: Rare 9-armed octopus found off Japan coast ]
The sound of a supernova
(Image credit: NASA)
In space, nobody can hear you scream — or explode, or collapse, or slowly collide with a neighboring galaxy. But now, thanks to a new " data sonification " program at NASA, you can at least get a sense of what some of the most extreme phenomena in the universe might sound like when converted to sound played by Earthly instruments.
To hear what that sounds like, we turn to NASA's Chandra X-ray center — which has been imaging distant galaxies with its Chandra X-ray observatory for 20 years now. In their new initiative, Chandra researchers have taken three iconic images from their archives and translated different frequencies of light into different pitches of sound.
The first video shows the crab nebula (a supernova remnant powered by a windy neutron star , shown above). In NASA's data sonification of the nebula, X-ray light (blue and white) is represented by brass instruments; optical light (purple) is played by string instruments; and infrared light (pink) is represented by woodwinds. The sounds converge near the center of the nebula, where a rapidly swirling pulsar is blasting gas and radiation in all directions. Listen to this cosmic symphony (and two others) at the link below.
[Read more: This is what a supernova sounds like, according to NASA ]
Pterosaur's missing cousin
(Image credit: Rodolfo Nogueira)
Nearly nothing is known about the family tree of pterosaurs — iconic reptiles that flew alongside the dinosaurs . These now-extinct beasts appear in the fossil record with already developed wings and senses adapted for flying, with researchers having nary a clue about their immediate evolutionary history.
But now, the pterosaur's family tree has a new branch; an enigmatic group of small reptiles, known as lagerpetids, might be the closest-known pterosaur relatives on record, the researchers of a new study say.
Unlike pterosaurs, however, lagerpetids did not fly. "Now, we have an idea of what a flightless pterosaur relative would look like," study co-researcher Sterling Nesbitt, an associate professor of geosciences at Virginia Tech, told Live Science.
[Read more: Missing link in pterosaur origins discovered ]
The changing face of ice
(Image credit: NOAA/Photo courtesy of Caitlin Bailey, GFOE, The Hidden Ocean 2016: Chukchi Borderlands)
From vanishing sea ice to blistering air temperatures to zombie fires , climate change is reshaping the Arctic. And that transformation may be permanent, researchers said on Tuesday (Dec. 8) at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU).
The Arctic has warmed and melted at an alarmingly accelerating pace over the last 15 years, and the impacts are accumulating so rapidly that "there's no reason to think that in 30 years anything will be as it is today," Rick Thoman, an Alaska climate specialist with the International Arctic Research Center (IARC) at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF), said at the conference, held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, on Tuesday.
This year's news was not good: June snow cover across the Eurasian Arctic was at its lowest in 54 years; coastal permafrost erosion is increasing; and glaciers and ice sheets in Greenland continued a trend "of significant ice loss," according to the report.
[Read more: Dramatic transformation of the Arctic landscape may be permanent ]
Starship down
(Image credit: SpaceX)
SpaceX's Starship spaceflight system just took a big step on its path to Mars. The latest Starship prototype, a shiny silver vehicle known as SN8, launched on an epic high-altitude test flight on Dec. 9, taking off at 5:45 p.m. EST from SpaceX's facility near the South Texas village of Boca Chica.
The goal was to soar about 7.8 miles (12.5 kilometers) into the sky, perform some complex aerial maneuvers — including a "belly flop" like the one the final Starship will perform when coming back to Earth on operational flights — and then land safely near the launch stand. The 165-foot-tall (50 meters) SN8 appeared to notch all of these big milestones, except for the final one: The vehicle hit its landing mark but came in too fast, exploding in a dramatic fireball 6 minutes and 42 seconds after liftoff.
SN8's rapid unplanned disassembly did nothing to dampen the spirits of SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk, who was thrilled by the results of today's flight.
[Read more: SpaceX's Starship SN8 prototype soars on epic test launch, with explosive landing ]
Amazonian universe
Billions of lasers shot from a helicopter flying over the Brazilian Amazon Rainforest have detected a vast network of long-abandoned circular and rectangular-shaped villages dating from 1300 to 1700, a new study finds.
The round villages all had remarkably similar layouts, with elongated mounds circling a central plaza, like marks on a clock. "These latter elongated mounds, when seen from above, look like the rays of the sun, which gives them the common name of 'Sóis,'" the Portuguese word for "suns," the researchers wrote in the study.
The discovery is part of a new archaeological focus on the pre-Columbian Amazon. Within the past 20 years, researchers have learned that the rainforest's southern rim was home to a great diversity of soil-sculpting cultures that engineered the landscape before the Europeans arrived. Within the past decade, scientists have uncovered the remnants of so-called "mound villages," which are shaped as circles or rectangles, and connected by road networks.
[Read more: Archaeologists find vast network of Amazon villages laid out like the cosmos ]
The sky is falling
(Image credit: ESA)
Have you ever seen 40,000 shooting stars blaze across the sky at the same time?
If you'd like to, the European Space Agency (ESA) is offering you two options: Either stare at the night sky for about half a million years as our solar system drifts steadily through the Milky Way (some patience required) — or, watch a new 60-second time-lapse simulation of the same thing, courtesy of the ESA's Gaia space observatory.
In the new simulation, 40,000 stars — all located within 325 light-years of Earth's sun — whiz through space, leaving long trails of light behind them. Each point of light represents one real object in the Milky Way, and each shining trail shows that object's projected movement through the galaxy over the next 400,000 years. Brighter, faster streaks are located closer to our solar system, while dimmer, slower ones live much farther away.
[Read more: Epic time-lapse shows what the Milky Way will look like 400,000 years from now ]
Gold in the garden
(Image credit: © The Trustees of the British Museum)
A family in England was weeding their garden when they unearthed a valuable treasure — a buried hoard of gold coins dating back to the 1400s, depicting English monarchs from Edward IV to Henry VIII.
The hoard — a stash of 63 gold coins and one silver coin — contains money minted over a period of nearly 100 years, from the late 15th to the 16th centuries. Four of the coins feature Henry VIII and, curiously, one of the initials of three of his wives: Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour.
Upon finding the cache, the family, in the New Forest district of Hampshire, a county in southeastern England, notified the British Museum, which runs the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS). This program partners with local people who find historical artifacts in the United Kingdom, so the findings can be documented and studied, the British Museum said in a statement Thursday (Dec. 10).
[Read more: Gold coin stash from time of Henry VIII found in English garden ]
Enigma of the deep
(Image credit: Florian Huber/WWF)
Divers trying to remove old fishing nets from the Baltic sea have accidentally stumbled on a Nazi code-making machine. The Enigma machine, as it's called, looks a bit like a typewriter. In fact, the diver who found the device on the ocean floor initially thought that's what the artifact was, according to AFP . But the diving team, on assignment for the conservation group World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), quickly realized that they had something much stranger.
During World War II, Enigma machines were used to encode German military messages, in hopes of preventing Allied powers from learning about troop movements and other plans. The devices consisted of a keyboard and a series of rotors that did the encoding. The rotors substituted different letters for the ones typed in; different Enigma machines used between three and eight rotors, which moved independently after each keystroke so that the same initial letter typed into the machine would appear as multiple different letters in the final code.
The Enigma machine found by the WWF diving crew was at the bottom of the Bay of Gelting in northeast Germany. It had three rotors, making it the type used on warships, not U-boats. That suggests that the machine may have been tossed overboard in the final days of World War II, in an attempt to keep the technology out of enemy hands, historian Jann Witt of the German Naval Association told the DPA news agency.
[Read more: Nazi 'Enigma' machine found at the bottom of the Baltic Sea ]
Originally published on Live Science.


livescience--2020-08-23--Does your personality change as you get older?

Between adolescence and adulthood , you go through a host of changes — jobs , regrettable haircuts and relationships that come and go .
But what about who you are at your core ?
As you grow older , does your personality change ?
Personality is the pattern of thoughts , feelings and behaviors unique to a person .
People tend to think of as fixed .
But according to psychologists , that 's not how it works .
`` Personality is a developmental phenomenon .
It 's not just a static thing that you 're stuck with and ca @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Roberts , a psychologist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign .
That 's not to say that you 're a different person each day you wake up .
In the short term , change can be nearly imperceptible , Roberts told Live Science .
Longitudinal studies , in which researchers survey the personalities of participants regularly over many years , suggest that our personality is actually stable on shorter time scales .
Related : Why do people have different personalities ?
In one study , published in 2000 in the journal , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ studies on personality , which followed participants ranging in age from childhood to their early 70s .
Each of these studies measured trends in the Big Five personality traits .
This cluster of traits , which include extroversion , agreeableness , conscientiousness , openness to experience , and neuroticism , are a mainstay of personality research .
The researchers found that individuals ' levels of each personality trait , relative to other participants , tended to stay consistent within each decade of life .
That pattern of consistency begins around age 3 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Donnellan , professor and chair of psychology at Michigan State University .
When psychologists study children , they do n't measure personality traits in the same way they do for adults .
Instead , they look at temperament — the intensity of a person 's reactions to the world .
We come into the world with unique temperaments , and research suggests that our temperaments as children — for example , whether we 're easy going or prone to temper tantrums , eager or more reluctant to approach strangers — correspond to adult @ @ @ @ @ @ @ acts a lot different from a shy 20-something .
But there 's an underlying core , '' Donnellan told Live Science .
Earlier temperament seems to affect later life experience .
For example , one 1995 study published in the journal followed children from the age of 3 until the age of 18 .
The researchers found , for instance , that children who were shyer and more withdrawn tended to grow into unhappier teenagers .
But those decades add up .
Throughout all those years , our personality is still changing , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It 's something that 's subtle , '' he added .
You do n't notice it on that five-to-10-year time scale , but in the long term , it becomes pronounced .
In 1960 , psychologists surveyed over 440,000 high school students — around 5 % of all students in the country at that time .
The students answered questions about everything from how they reacted to emotional situations to how efficiently they got work done .
Fifty years later , researchers tracked down 1,952 of these former students and gave them the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 2018 in the , found that in their 60s , participants scored much higher than they had as teenagers on questions measuring calmness , self-confidence , leadership and social sensitivity .
Again and again , longitudinal studies have found similar results .
Personality tends to get `` better '' over time .
Psychologists call it `` the maturity principle . ''
People become more extraverted , emotionally stable , agreeable and conscientious as they grow older .
Over the long haul , these changes are often pronounced .
Some individuals might change @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the maturity principle applies to everyone .
That makes personality change even harder to recognize in ourselves — how your personality compares with that of your peers does n't change as much as our overall change in personality , because everyone else is changing right along with you .
`` There 's good evidence that the average self-control of a 30-year-old is higher than a 20-year-old , '' Donnellan said .
`` At the same time , people who are relatively self-controlled at 18 also tend to be relatively self-controlled at age @ @ @ @ @ @ @ change so much ?
Evidence suggests it 's not dramatic life events , such as marriage , the birth of a child or loss of a loved one .
Some psychologists actually suggest these events reinforce your personality as you bring your characteristics with you to that particular situation , Donnellan said .
Related : How accurate is the Myers-Briggs personality test ?
Instead , changing expectations placed on us — as we adjust to university , the work force , starting a family — slowly wears us in , almost like a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` Over time you are asked in many contexts across life to do things a bit differently , '' he said .
`` There 's not a user manual for how to act , but there 's very clear implicit norms for how we should behave in these situations . ''
So we adapt .
Depending on how you look at it , it 's a revelation that 's either unsettling or hopeful .
Over time , personality does change , progressively and consistently — like shifting rather than an .
`` That @ @ @ @ @ @ @ life course , how much of a different person do we become ? ''
Roberts said .

Between adolescence and adulthood, you go through a host of changes — jobs, regrettable haircuts and relationships that come and go. But what about who you are at your core? As you grow older, does your personality change?
Personality is the pattern of thoughts, feelings and behaviors unique to a person. People tend to think of personality as fixed. But according to psychologists, that's not how it works. "Personality is a developmental phenomenon. It's not just a static thing that you're stuck with and can't get over," said Brent Roberts, a psychologist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
That's not to say that you're a different person each day you wake up. In the short term, change can be nearly imperceptible, Roberts told Live Science. Longitudinal studies, in which researchers survey the personalities of participants regularly over many years, suggest that our personality is actually stable on shorter time scales.
Related: Why do people have different personalities?
In one study, published in 2000 in the journal Psychological Bulletin , researchers analyzed the results of 152 longitudinal studies on personality, which followed participants ranging in age from childhood to their early 70s. Each of these studies measured trends in the Big Five personality traits. This cluster of traits, which include extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness to experience, and neuroticism, are a mainstay of personality research. The researchers found that individuals' levels of each personality trait, relative to other participants, tended to stay consistent within each decade of life.
That pattern of consistency begins around age 3, and perhaps even earlier, said Brent Donnellan, professor and chair of psychology at Michigan State University. When psychologists study children, they don't measure personality traits in the same way they do for adults. Instead, they look at temperament — the intensity of a person's reactions to the world. We come into the world with unique temperaments, and research suggests that our temperaments as children — for example, whether we're easy going or prone to temper tantrums, eager or more reluctant to approach strangers — correspond to adult personality traits. "A shy 3-year-old acts a lot different from a shy 20-something. But there's an underlying core," Donnellan told Live Science.
Earlier temperament seems to affect later life experience. For example, one 1995 study published in the journal Child Development followed children from the age of 3 until the age of 18. The researchers found, for instance, that children who were shyer and more withdrawn tended to grow into unhappier teenagers.
But those decades add up. Throughout all those years, our personality is still changing, but slowly, Roberts said. "It's something that's subtle," he added. You don't notice it on that five-to-10-year time scale, but in the long term, it becomes pronounced. In 1960, psychologists surveyed over 440,000 high school students — around 5% of all students in the country at that time. The students answered questions about everything from how they reacted to emotional situations to how efficiently they got work done. Fifty years later, researchers tracked down 1,952 of these former students and gave them the same survey. The results, published in 2018 in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , found that in their 60s, participants scored much higher than they had as teenagers on questions measuring calmness, self-confidence, leadership and social sensitivity.
Again and again, longitudinal studies have found similar results. Personality tends to get "better" over time. Psychologists call it "the maturity principle." People become more extraverted, emotionally stable, agreeable and conscientious as they grow older. Over the long haul, these changes are often pronounced.
Some individuals might change less than others, but in general, the maturity principle applies to everyone. That makes personality change even harder to recognize in ourselves — how your personality compares with that of your peers doesn't change as much as our overall change in personality, because everyone else is changing right along with you. "There's good evidence that the average self-control of a 30-year-old is higher than a 20-year-old," Donnellan said. "At the same time, people who are relatively self-controlled at 18 also tend to be relatively self-controlled at age 30."
So why do we change so much? Evidence suggests it's not dramatic life events, such as marriage, the birth of a child or loss of a loved one. Some psychologists actually suggest these events reinforce your personality as you bring your characteristics with you to that particular situation, Donnellan said.
Related: How accurate is the Myers-Briggs personality test?
Instead, changing expectations placed on us — as we adjust to university, the work force, starting a family — slowly wears us in, almost like a pair of shoes, Roberts said. "Over time you are asked in many contexts across life to do things a bit differently," he said. "There's not a user manual for how to act, but there's very clear implicit norms for how we should behave in these situations." So we adapt.
Depending on how you look at it, it's a revelation that's either unsettling or hopeful. Over time, personality does change, progressively and consistently — like tectonic plates shifting rather than an earthquake . "That opens up the question: Over the life course, how much of a different person do we become?" Roberts said.


livescience--2020-08-23--Coronavirus outbreak: Live updates

Coronavirus outbreak: Live updates


livescience--2020-08-24--'Death screams' of swarming bacteria help their comrades survive antibiotic attacks

Swarming `` scream '' when they die , warning neighboring bacteria of danger .
These death shrieks are n't audible ; rather , they are chemical alarms that the bacteria broadcast while on the verge of death , an action known as necrosignaling .
Through necrosignaling , bacteria alert their swarming neighbors to the presence of a deadly threat , and thereby save the majority of the swarm ( a bacterial colony that 's on the move ) .
When confronted by a threat such as , the bacteria 's chemical death cries can provide survivors enough time to acquire @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reported in a new study .
Related : 6 superbugs to watch out for Many species of bacteria swim about with the help of slender tail-like structures called flagella , which help them swiftly .
And sometimes , bacteria such as ( E. coli ) congregate in the billions and use their flagella to move together over solid surfaces , as a swarm .
`` Bacterial swarms are metabolically active and grow robustly , '' almost like a single organism does , the researchers wrote .
For that reason , the scientists suspected @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mechanisms for evolving antibiotic resistance , which could differ from those of individual bacteria .
Researchers previously noted that when swarming bacteria encountered antibiotics , about 25 % of the roaming colony died .
The dead bacteria seemed to somehow protect the survivors — surviving cells appeared to actively move away from the antibiotics after a portion of the swarm died — but it was unclear what guided the bacteria 's behavior .
In the new study , scientists observed swarms of E. coli bacteria as they interacted with antibiotics , to unravel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rest of the swarm .
that bound to the outer membranes of living cells in the swarm .
After the signal was received , the bacteria moved away , which suggested the compound communicated `` a state of emergency , '' alerting the living bacteria to the presence of danger , according to the study .
But the sacrifice of the dead bacteria did n't just send a warning ; it also activated pumps in the membranes of the live cells `` to start pumping out the antibiotics , '' study co-author Rasika @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the University of Texas at Austin , told Live Science in an email .
The cascade of genes turned on by necrosignals not only protected the surviving swarm from antibiotics , but promoted future resistance to the compounds that killed their comrades .
What 's more , the scientists realized that subpopulations of swarm bacteria were genetically variable ; some were more susceptible to the antibiotics than others .
Swarms of bacteria may collectively cultivate different subpopulations as an evolutionary survival strategy — if new antibiotics kill the vulnerable members of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ protect the rest , the study authors wrote .
`` Dead cells are helping the community survive , '' Harshey said .
The findings imply that in dense bacteria swarms , exposure to low doses of antibiotics could actually promote the acquisition of antibiotic resistance — an important consideration for research into strategies for defeating bacterial infections , she added .
The findings were published online Aug. 19 in the journal .

Swarming bacteria "scream" when they die, warning neighboring bacteria of danger.
These death shrieks aren't audible; rather, they are chemical alarms that the bacteria broadcast while on the verge of death, an action known as necrosignaling.
Through necrosignaling, bacteria alert their swarming neighbors to the presence of a deadly threat, and thereby save the majority of the swarm (a bacterial colony that's on the move). When confronted by a threat such as antibiotics , the bacteria's chemical death cries can provide survivors enough time to acquire mutations that convey antibiotic resistance, scientists reported in a new study.
Related: 6 superbugs to watch out for
Many species of bacteria swim about with the help of slender tail-like structures called flagella, which help them swiftly. And sometimes, bacteria such as Escherichia coli (E. coli) congregate in the billions and use their flagella to move together over solid surfaces, as a swarm.
"Bacterial swarms are metabolically active and grow robustly," the researchers wrote. For that reason, the scientists suspected that swarms could also have their own mechanisms for evolving antibiotic resistance, which could differ from those of individual bacteria.
Researchers previously noted that when swarming bacteria encountered antibiotics, about 25% of the roaming colony died. The dead bacteria seemed to somehow protect the survivors — surviving cells appeared to actively move away from the antibiotics after a portion of the swarm died — but it was unclear what guided the bacteria's behavior.
In the new study, scientists observed swarms of E. coli bacteria as they interacted with antibiotics, to unravel how dead cells might help save the rest of the swarm.
E. coli can gather in the billions as a swarm, moving together over solid surfaces. (Image credit: University of Texas at Austin)
Signals from the dead
The researchers found that dead E. coli in the swarm released a necrosignal: a protein that bound to the outer membranes of living cells in the swarm.
With these dying chemical "screams," the dead bacteria activated mechanisms in the membranes of the live cells "to start pumping out the antibiotics," study co-author Rasika Harshey, a professor of molecular biosciences at the University of Texas at Austin, told Live Science in an email. This suggests that the compound communicated "a state of emergency," alerting the living bacteria to the presence of danger, according to the study.
The cascade of genes turned on by necrosignals not only protected the surviving swarm from antibiotics, but promoted future resistance to the compounds that killed their comrades. What's more, the scientists realized that subpopulations of swarm bacteria were genetically variable; some were more susceptible to the antibiotics than others. Swarms of bacteria may collectively cultivate different subpopulations as an evolutionary survival strategy — if new antibiotics kill the vulnerable members of the swarm, their deaths will help to protect the rest, the study authors wrote.
"Dead cells are helping the community survive," Harshey said.
The findings imply that in dense bacteria swarms, exposure to low doses of antibiotics could actually promote the acquisition of antibiotic resistance — an important consideration for research into strategies for defeating bacterial infections, she added.
The findings were published online Aug. 19 in the journal Nature Communications .
EDITOR'S NOTE: This article was updated on Aug. 31 to correct the bacteria swarm's response to necrosignals as pump activation rather than flight.
Originally published on Live Science.