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TECHNIQUES
Brain fruit fly mapped in epic details Scientists produced a 3D image of the brain of a fruit fly ( Drosophila melanogaster ) which is so In detail, researchers can trace connections between neurons across the entire organ. The data, published on July 19 (Z. Zheng and others Cell http://doi.org/gdvjwc; 2018), also revealed neurons that had never been seen before. before. Scientists cut the brain of a fly – roughly the size of a poppy seed – into more than 7000 slices and fired an electron beam through them. A high-speed camera captured detailed images of each slice, generating approximately 21 million images that the team then combined using custom computer software. The resulting image provides scientists with a new tool to study the neural network causing fruit fly behavior
Visualization: Philipp Schlegel, Drosophila Connectomics Group, Cambridge
PEOPLE
Quark finder The physicist Burton Richter, who shared the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1976, died on July 18 at the age of 87 years. In the 1960s, Richter particle collector at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) in California, which he used to discover a new subatomic particle in 1974. This particle, later named J / ψ , proved the existence of a fourth quark (known as the charm) and Richter the Nobel, which he shares with the physicist Samuel Ting. Richter was the director of SLAC from 1984 to 1999, during which time he oversaw numerous developments in particle accelerators
EVENTS
Three New Ages The International Union of Geological Sciences ( UISG) said that we live in a period of geological time called Meghalayan age. The period covers the last 4,200 years of Earth's history of 4.6 billion years and is one of three newly appointed age by the organization. Each is a climatic period distinct from the present Holocene epoch, which began at the end of the last ice age, about 11,700 years ago. The Meghalayan era began with a global drought of 200 years recorded in sediments around the world; the official marker is a stalagmite in a cave in northeastern India. The previous north-saucy age was a relatively cold stage that began about 8,300 years ago. He followed the warmer age of Greenland, which marked the beginning of the Holocene. Some scientists claim that the Holocene has given way to a new era called the Anthropocene, marked by human interference with the planet. But researchers do not agree on the start date of this period and the geological evidence of a new era is inconclusive.
Antibiotic Concerns Many low-income countries are taking steps to prevent bacteria from becoming resistant to antibiotics. The World Health Organization and two other United Nations agencies reported in a report on 18 July. These measures include the improvement of sanitation and hygiene. About a quarter of health care facilities in Africa still lack water, the report says. And just over half of the world's population lives in countries that do not have a national surveillance system for antibiotic consumption. About half of low-income countries do not need prescriptions for antimicrobials. According to the review, only 93 of the 194 Member States have developed strategies to curb resistance.
Opposition to Weapons More than 2,600 people and 195 organizations pledged not to support the development, manufacture, trade, or use of autonomous weapons. The signatories include Elon Musk, chief executive of SpaceX, three co-founders of Google DeepMind and thousands of researchers in the fields of computer science, robotics and artificial intelligence. In an open letter published online July 18, they say that "the decision to take a human life should never be delegated to a machine". The commitment was initiated by the Future of Life Institute, a research and outreach organization in Cambridge, Mbadachusetts, which focuses on the existential threats posed by technology. In August 2017, more than 100 experts in artificial intelligence and robotics called on the United Nations to ban autonomous weapons
Sharing Results A Platform for Researchers to Share Research Data Anonymous clinical trials. more than 2,500 trials involving approximately 1.3 million participants, launched on July 19th. The platform, developed by the nonprofit Vivli of Cambridge, Mbad., Will also provide tools to badyze data across different databases, and aims to capture individual data from academic, industrial and medical patients. non-profit. More than 2,000 of the trials currently in the database were provided by the London pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline
SEARCH
The Origin of Lorax The Title Person in the Famous Children's Book The Lorax were inspired by the patas monkey ( Erythrocebus patas ), a species found throughout West and East Africa, the researchers reported on July 23 (NJ Dominy et al Nature Ecol Evol, 2 1196-1198, 2018). Theodor Seuss Geisel – better known by his pseudonym, Dr. Seuss – wrote much of the book during a visit to Kenya in 1970. The patas monkey is native to the country, and a morphometric badysis described in the paper. study revealed similarities between the Lorax's faces standing on a tree stump pointing with anger. "src =" http://media.nature.com/w800/magazine-badets/d41586-018-05775-w/d41586-018-05775-w_15971550.jpg "/> Source: Dr. Seuss Enterprises
Pollution of Parks The air in American national parks contains so much pollution to ozone. like air in several of the country's largest cities, according to a study published on July 18 (D. Keizer and other Sci. Adv. 4 eaat1613; 2018). The researchers compared ozone levels in 33 national parks and in 20 of the largest US cities between 1990 and 2014. After controlling the weather and the season, the team found that levels of pollution in parks and cities were similar. In fact, before 2000, summer ozone levels in the parks increased before they started to decline. The authors of the study are not sure of what caused this phenomenon. The findings raise health issues for park visitors because exposure to ozone pollution can exacerbate problems such as asthma.
POLITICS
Species at Risk The US government has announced several proposed changes to the Endangered Species Act. -the law that protects thousands of threatened or endangered species. The proposals, announced July 19, are aimed at changing the protocols used to determine the critical habitat of a species and streamline the process of listing and delisting agencies under the law. The US Fish and Wildlife Service, in collaboration with the National Marine Fisheries Service, would also amend a current provision that automatically provides for the same protection for threatened and endangered species, unless the authorities 39, decide otherwise. The public has 60 days to comment on the proposals before the government finishes them.
Science Migration A British parliamentary group has recommended ways to adapt the immigration system of skilled workers such as scientists after Brexit. of the European Union. EU citizens currently have the automatic right to live and work in the UK, but it is not yet known whether they will retain any of these rights once the Brexit process is over. . A report from the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee, released on July 19 and based on discussions with research organizations, recommends that the system allow skilled workers to travel without a visa for 180 days. Although the recommendations were designed to answer the question of how EU workers will come to the UK after Brexit, the same policies could also be applied to workers from other countries, says the report. For long-term stays, the Committee suggests that the Government remove an annual cap on "Level 2" visas for highly skilled workers
ENVIRONMENT
China's Emissions As the Largest Transmitter China must do more to help the world reach its climate change targets, says a July 19 report by a former US chief of energy. David Sandalow, now at Columbia University in New York, found that China's carbon dioxide emissions have only increased by 3% or less over the last 5 years, even though its economy increased by 40%. The report argues that the country has enormous potential to contribute to solutions to climate change: government policies help reduce the use of coal and increase the use of low-carbon alternatives. The country is investing in technologies such as electric vehicles and solar energy. But some of its policies – such as converting coal into synthetic natural gas and financing coal-fired power plants around the world – go against these goals, the report concludes.
TREND WATCH
The production of genetically modified animals has stabilized in British laboratories after a decade that has seen a 37% increase in the high number. Last year, 1.9 million of these animals were produced, about the same as the year before, according to annual statistics released by the British government on July 19th. In addition, 1.9 million experimental procedures, including those used for basic research, drug studies and surgical training, were conducted on animals last year – a 7% decrease since 2016 and 17% since 2008.
