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on science daily

Unique view into the new Arctic — ScienceDaily

With the return of the Polarstern, the largest Arctic expedition of all times has come to a successful end. For more than a year, the German research icebreaker travelled in 5 cruise legs with more than 400 people from 20 countries to investigate the epicentre of climate change more precisely than ever before. At the end of the expedition, which cost around 140 million euros, the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), came to a positive conclusion: despite all the unforeseeable difficulties, it had succeeded in advancing knowledge about the Earth’s climate system and its changes by a decisive step.

From Leipzig’s point of view, the complex project was also successful: all 7 participants from the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS) and the Leipzig University are back in good health and with valuable climate data. Two measurement programmes that are central to research into

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on science daily

New, most complete start-to-finish view of neutron star merger rewrites the way scientists understand these events — ScienceDaily

It’s been three years since the landmark detection of a neutron star merger from gravitational waves. And since that day, an international team of researchers led by University of Maryland astronomer Eleonora Troja has been continuously monitoring the subsequent radiation emissions to provide the most complete picture of such an event.

Their analysis provides possible explanations for X-rays that continued to radiate from the collision long after models predicted they would stop. The study also reveals that current models of neutron stars and compact body collisions are missing important information. The research was published on October 12, 2020, in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

“We are entering a new phase in our understanding of neutron stars,” said Troja, an associate research scientist in UMD’s Department of Astronomy and lead author of the paper. “We really don’t know what to expect from this point forward, because

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on new technology

Google Introduces Sound Notifications For Android, New Live Transcribe Timeline View

Google on Thursday announced a new Android accessibility feature called Sound Notifications. In a blog post co-written by artificial intelligence product manager Sagar Savla and accessibility product manager Sharlene Yuan, the company said Sound Notifications is designed to alert users with hearing loss when various sounds occur, such as when a kitchen appliance beeps or water runs. Google cited a World Health Organization statistic that some 466 million people worldwide, 34 million of which are children, have “disabling hearing loss.”

Sound Notifications are meant to “make important and critical household sounds more accessible with push notifications, a flash from your camera light, or vibrations” on Android and Wear OS devices, according to Google. They also note the feature has relevance beyond hearing loss; it can be beneficial to those who are temporarily disabled due to injury, or even simply wearing earplugs or headphones.

Google says Sound Notifications was

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on future technology

Our View: Alfond grants are a bet on Maine’s future

Much of the Alfond Foundation’s $240 million gift will be dedicated to the University of Southern Maine’s Portland campus. Rendering courtesy of University of Southern Maine

Who says that there’s no good news anymore?

On Wednesday, the Alfond Foundation, one of Maine’s leading philanthropic organizations, announced a massive series of grants totaling $500 million, targeted to build our economic future.

The foundation will distribute funds to eight Maine colleges, universities and organizations that will support science and technology education, which will put students in a position to fill some of the best-paid and most in-demand jobs in the regional economy. A shortage of skilled workers is one of the biggest impediments to economic development in the state.

These gifts won’t be a benefit for the institutions and the students who build their skills. It’s a bet on Maine’s future at a time when powerful economic forces have taken a toll

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on science

Researchers develop tools to sharpen 3-D view of large RNA molecules

UMD researchers develop tools to sharpen 3D view of large RNA molecules
University of Maryland researchers developed a method to expand the scope of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. In the example above, the researchers were able to create a 3D image revealing the site on a piece of hepatitis RNA where small molecules such as a drug could bind (shown in green). Credit: Kwaku Dayie/University of Maryland

University of Maryland scientists have developed a method to determine the structures of large RNA molecules at high resolution. The method overcomes a challenge that has limited 3-D analysis and imaging of RNA to only small molecules and pieces of RNA for the past 50 years.


The new method, which expands the scope of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, will enable researchers to understand the shape and structure of RNA molecules and learn how they interact with other molecules. The insights provided by this technology could lead to targeted RNA therapeutic treatments for disease.

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on information technology

Information Technology Laboratory employees win HENAAC awards > U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Headquarters > Story Article View

Christine Lozano and Dr. Alicia Ruvinsky, both members of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center Information Technology Laboratory team, were named winners of the Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Association Conference (HENAAC) 2020 Great Minds in STEM award.

HENAAC’s annual awards have recognized America’s top engineers and scientists from the Hispanic community for the past 31 years. Lozano was named a STEM hero, while Ruvinsky was honored for professional achievement.

“When I was younger, I was introduced to a drafting class by a female architect,” said Lozano. “It was through this drafting class that I realized that my appreciation for art and creativity could go hand in hand with my strength in math. As I kept looking around, I had male engineering influences, who I am so thankful for because they nurtured my goals and desires, but I never really had a female STEM influence. One of my dreams

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on satelite

Apple Maps Expands Public Transit Information and 3D View in Portugal and the Netherlands

Apple seems to have expanded Apple Maps transit information and the 3D view feature in Portugal and the Netherlands.

According to iCulture, Apple has added 3D rendering of satelite images to the cities of Amsterdam, Haarlem, Zandvoort, Bloemendaal, Heemstede, Hoofddorp, Zaandam, and Aalsmeer. Previously, only Rotterdam, Eindhoven, and Utrecht were viewable in 3D in the Netherlands. Flyover is not yet available in the new locations.

The expansion also seems to include several surrounding towns and villages such as Lisse, Abcoude, Amersfoort, Soest, Baarn, and Leusden. The images used are reportedly from the spring of this year.

In addition to the updated views in the Netherlands, Apple has also added public transit information for the city of Lisbon in Portugal to ‌Apple Maps‌, including its surrounding areas. ‌Apple Maps‌ users in the region can now select public transportation routes when getting directions between two locations.

Transit directions were first added

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