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Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

Lithium batteries power smart phones, laptops, and electric bicycles and cars by storing energy in a very small space. This compact design is usually achieved by winding the thin sandwich of battery electrodes into a cylindrical form. This is because the electrodes must nevertheless have large surfaces to facilitate high capacity and rapid charging

An international team of researchers from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin and University College London has now investigated the tomography methods. Employing X-ray tomography at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble, they were able to analyze the microstructure of the electrodes and detect deformations and discontinuities that develop during the charging cycles.

"Neutron tomography, on the other hand, made it possible to directly observe the migration of neutron tomography data were obtained mainly at the HZB BER II neutron source at the CONRAD instrument, one of the best tomography stations worldwide.

Additional data were obtained at the neutron source of the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL, Grenoble), where with the help of the HZB team of experts a first neutron imaging station is currently being set up. Following the shutdown of BER II in December 2019, the CONRAD instrument will be transferred to ILL so that it will be available for research in the future.

A new mathematical method developed at the Zuse-Institut in Berlin then enabled physicists to virtually unwind the battery electrodes—because the cylindrical windings of the battery are difficult to examine quantitatively. Only after mathematical analysis and the virtual unwinding could conclusions be drawn about processes at the individual sections of the winding.

[...] "The process we have developed gives us a unique tool for looking inside a battery during operation and analyzing where and why performance losses occur. This allows us to develop specific strategies for improving the design of wound batteries," concludes Manke.

More information: Ralf F. Ziesche et al, 4D imaging of lithium-batteries using correlative neutron and X-ray tomography with a virtual unrolling technique, Nature Communications (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-13943-3

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upstart writes in with an IRC submission for RandomFactor:

Galaxy formation simulated without dark matter:

For the first time, researchers from the Universities of Bonn and Strasbourg have simulated the formation of galaxies in a universe without dark matter. To replicate this process on the computer, they have instead modified Newton's laws of gravity. The galaxies that were created in the computer calculations are similar to those we actually see today. According to the scientists, their assumptions could solve many mysteries of modern cosmology. The results are published in the Astrophysical Journal.

Cosmologists today assume that matter was not distributed entirely evenly after the Big Bang. The denser places attracted more matter from their surroundings due to their stronger gravitational forces. Over the course of several billion years, these accumulations of gas eventually formed the galaxies we see today.

An important ingredient of this theory is the so-called dark matter. On the one hand, it is said to be responsible for the initial uneven distribution that led to the agglomeration of the gas clouds. It also explains some puzzling observations. For instance, stars in rotating galaxies often move so fast that they should actually be ejected. It appears that there is an additional source of gravity in the galaxies that prevents this—a kind of "star putty" that cannot be seen with telescopes: dark matter.

However, there is still no direct proof of its existence. "Perhaps the gravitational forces themselves simply behave differently than previously thought," explains Prof. Dr. Pavel Kroupa from the Helmholtz Institute for Radiation and Nuclear Physics at the University of Bonn and the Astronomical Institute of Charles University in Prague. This theory bears the abbreviation MOND (MOdified Newtonian Dynamics); it was discovered by the Israeli physicist Prof. Dr. Mordehai Milgrom. According to the theory, the attraction between two masses obeys Newton's laws only up to a certain point. Under very low accelerations, as is the case in galaxies, it becomes considerably stronger. This is why galaxies do not break apart as a result of their rotational speed.

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Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

The Grignard reaction is used to synthesize carbon-carbon bonds, a crucial step for making new molecules for academic and industry uses. Finding efficient and selective methods for this reaction, using low cost materials and minimal energy resources has been the target of the research activity for more than 100 years. Incredibly enough, the way the Grignard reaction works has been unknown—until now. As we finally understand it, ways to its improvement can now open up.

[...] Eisenstein and Cascella decided to tackle the problem using computer simulations. Modelling both the reagent and the solvent in a realistic manner, they were able to detect the multiple chemical species during the Schlenk equilibrium[*]. Importantly, their study identified that the whole process is determined by solvent molecules that combine to, or detach from, the magnesium atoms. Thus, the dance of solvent drives the exchange of partners for the magnesium atom, giving rise to the Schlenk equilibrium, and resulting in the different compounds present in the solution.

[*] Wikipedia entry on the Schlenk equilibrium.

upstart writes in with an IRC submission for RandomFactor:

Phishers impersonate WHO, exploit coronavirus-related anxiety - Help Net Security:

Media outlets are reporting daily on the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan and the emergency repatriation of foreign citizens that found themselves in the thick of it.

As cases of the virus infection keep popping up across the world – demonstrating just how small (i.e., well-connected) our planet is – so do fake news and videos about the situation on social media, as well as malware, phishing schemes and other scams in people’s inboxes.

The latest example of the latter are fake emails purportedly coming from the World Health Organisation (WHO), which is, ironically, engeaged in fighting an “infodemic” of fake coronavirs-themed news online.

The email, spotted by the Sophos Security Team, uses a trick lately favored by phishers and scammers: “Click here to download safety measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.”

The link takes the potential victim to a compromised web page containing a frame that renders the legitimate WHO page, which currently and prominently sports a link to information about this novel coronavirus.

Unfortunately, it also shows a simple pop-up asking the potential victim to “verify” their email by entering their email address and password. Those who fall for the trick are redirected to WHO’s legitimate page, while their email login credentials end up in the phishers’ hands.

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Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

The FBI director warns that Russian efforts to sow discord and political divide among Americans is continuing. The director of the FBI told lawmakers Wednesday that Russia is engaging in "information warfare" as the US heads into the 2020 presidential election. But he said there's no sign that Russia is targeting America's election infrastructure.

FBI Director Chris Wray told the House Judiciary Committee that Russia is waging a covert social media campaign to create a political divide and sow the seeds of discord among Americans, just as it did during the 2016 election, according to an Associated Press account of the hearing.

The effort, Wray said, involves fictional personas, bots, social media postings and disinformation. He said the threat was continuous and that was harder to combat than a hack on an election system.

"Unlike a cyberattack on an election infrastructure, that kind of effort -- disinformation -- in a world where we have a First Amendment and believe strongly in freedom of expression, the FBI is not going to be in the business of being the truth police and monitoring disinformation online," Wray said.

Disinformation has long been a part of Russia's foreign policy strategy, and social media has allowed the trolling effort to expand on a viral scale. US intelligence agencies have warned Congress that these campaigns will continue in future elections.

[...] "They identify an issue that they know that the American people feel passionately about on both sides and then they take both sides and spin them up so they pit us against each other," Wray said. "And then they combine that with an effort to weaken our confidence in our elections and our democratic institutions, which has been a pernicious and asymmetric way of engaging in ... information warfare."

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MrPlow writes:

Submitted via IRC for chopchop1

Scientists have for the first time released a genetically engineered, self-limiting insect into an open field.

Researchers hope the field test marks the beginning of a turn in the momentum in the war between the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella, and growers of brassica crops like cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower.

Every year, the diamondback moth, sometimes called the cabbage moth, does billions of dollars in crop damage. Scientists have been searching for a way to combat the pest without resorting to stronger and stronger pesticides.

Oxitec, a British biotechnology company, has developed a solution, a self-limiting moth strain.

In a first-of-its-kind field test, researchers at Cornell University released the company's genetically engineered males to interact and mate with their wild counterparts.

"The moth contains a gene that confers female-specific mortality in the larval stage," lead researcher Anthony Shelton, a professor of entomology at Cornell, told UPI in an email. "When the released males mate with females in the field, they carry the male-selecting, self-limiting gene and the female progeny from that mating do not survive, causing the population to decline."

In previous lab tests, modified males successfully competed for mates, passing along the self-limiting gene and stunting reproduction, but researchers need to be certain the genetically engineered moth behaved similarly in the field.

Source: https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2020/01/31/Genetically-engineered-moth-released-for-first-time/4551580495287/

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DeathMonkey writes:

[Note: The announcement of these records just occurred; the highs actually occurred in the years: 1982, 1989, and 2015. --martyb]

Highest Recorded Temperatures In Antarctica Announced And They May Surprise You:

Antarctica is often misunderstood, and you commonly see people mischaracterize ice gains and losses in Antarctica compared to the Arctic. It is typically a region known for being cold. The South Pole's annual mean temperature is -76F (-60C) in winter and -18 (-28.2C) in summer according to data at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. In a previous Forbes discussion, I explained why the polar regions are so cold. However, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) announced today new verified record high-temperatures for the region, and they may surprise you.

WMO announced in a press release,

The highest temperature for the "Antarctic region" (defined by the WMO and the United Nations as all land and ice south of 60-deg S) of 67.6 F (19.8 C) , [was] observed on Jan. 30, 1982 at Signy Research Station, Borge Bay on Signy Island. The highest temperature for the Antarctic Continent, defined as the main continental landmass and adjoining islands, is the temperature extreme of 63.5 F (17.5 C) recorded on Mar. 24, 2015 at the Argentine Research Base Esperanza located near the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. The highest temperature for the Antarctic Plateau (at or above 2,500 meters, or 8,200 feet) was 19.4 F (-7 C) made on Dec. 28, 1989 at an automatic weather station site D-80 located inland of the Adelie Coast.

These records are quite impressive when you consider that average yearly temperature ranges from about about 14 F on the coasts to -76 F at the highest points in the interior. The ice sheet contains about 90% of the planet's freshwater supply and is about 3 miles thick in places. While unlikely to happen, if the entire ice sheet melted it would raise sea levels by around 200 feet (60 meters) according to the WMO.

Original Submission

Editor's Comment: The figures and statistics regarding the novel coronavirus outbreak are changing daily and there are differences between reports from different sources. The latest figures, which we believe to be from a reputable source and which are being regularly updated, can be found at the worldometers. If you have a favourite site for updated information please leave a link in the comments.

Chinese Whistleblower Doctor Dies Due to Coronavirus

takyon writes:

Li Wenliang: Coronavirus kills Chinese whistleblower doctor

A Chinese doctor who tried to issue the first warning about the deadly coronavirus outbreak has died, the hospital treating him has said. Li Wenliang contracted the virus while working at Wuhan Central Hospital. He had sent out a warning to fellow medics on 30 December but police told him to stop "making false comments".

There had been contradictory reports about his death, but the People's Daily now says he died at 02:58 on Friday (18:58 GMT Thursday).

The virus has killed 636 people and infected 31,161 in mainland China, the National Health Commission's latest figures show. The death toll includes 73 new deaths reported on Thursday.

An AC writes:

Wuhan hospital announces death of whistleblower doctor after confusion in state media

This story has been updated to reflect the latest statement from Wuhan Central Hospital, after confusion in state media reports.

Li died of the novel coronavirus in Wuhan in the early hours of Friday morning (local time).

"Our hospital's ophthalmologist Li Wenliang was unfortunately infected with coronavirus during his work in the fight against the coronavirus epidemic," the latest hospital statement read.

"He died at 2:58 am on Feb 7 after attempts to resuscitate were unsuccessful."

Earlier on Thursday night, several state media outlets had reported Li's death, following which Chinese social media erupted in profound grief and anger.

Two Soylentils sent in stories about the US TSA (Transportation Security Administration) and their handling of Ballaké Sissoko's kora (musical instrument).

US customs dismantled 'impossible to replace' instrument

c0lo writes:

Prominent Malian Musician Alleges that TSA Destroyed His Instrument:

One of Mali's most prominent musicians, Ballaké Sissoko, has alleged that the Transportation Security Administration [TSA] destroyed his specially designed instrument during a trip from New York to Paris that began on Monday evening. On Thursday afternoon, the TSA said that its agents did not open the instrument case or create the damage.

[...]Sissoko checked his kora, which was packed in a hard flight case covered with "fragile" stickers, as oversized baggage. Koras are large instruments that can stand more than 4 feet from the tip of the long, rounded neck to the base of its big gourd body.

[...]But once he arrived at his apartment in Paris, Sissoko says, he opened the case to find his kora dismantled.

An official statement posted to Sissoko's Facebook page, written by ethnomusicologist and former BBC presenter Lucy Durán, notes: "The neck of the kora has been removed. The strings, bridge and entire, delicate and complex sound system of amplification has been taken apart.... These kinds of custom-made koras are simply impossible to replace."

[...]Sissoko says that inside the case, alongside the dismantled instrument was an official note from the TSA written in Spanish, that said that agents had opened the case for inspection, and that its contents "may have been searched for prohibited items."

RS3 writes:

https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a30784690/chernobyl-fungus/

Scientists have discovered that a longtime fungal resident of the Chernobyl complex could actually "eat" radiation. In an upcoming paper, scientists will share the results of growing the fungus on the International Space Station.

Scientists have known about this fungus, and similar extremophile organisms that can thrive on radiation, since at least 2007. The variety found in Chernobyl "can decompose radioactive material such as the hot graphite in the remains of the Chernobyl reactor," Nature said in 2007.

Story goes on to say that:

How can this fungus process radiation in this way? Because it has tons of very dark melanin pigment that absorbs radiation and processes it in a harmless way to produce energy.

Original Submission

Phoenix666 writes:

Scientists discover virus with no recognizable genes:

Viruses are some of the most mysterious organisms on Earth. They're among the world's tiniest lifeforms, and because none can survive and reproduce without a host, some scientists have questioned whether they should even be considered living things. Now, scientists have discovered one that has no recognizable genes, making it among the strangest of all known viruses. But how many viruses do we really know?

[...] The finds speak to "how much we still need to understand" about viruses, says one of the researchers, Jônatas Abrahão, a virologist at the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte.

Abrahão made his discovery while hunting down giant viruses. These microbes—some the size of bacteria—were first discovered in amoebae in 2003. In a local artificial lake, he and his colleagues found not only new giant viruses, but also a virus that—because of its small size—was unlike most that infect in amoebae. They named it Yaravirus. (Yara is the "mother of waters" according to Indigenous Tupi-Guarani mythology.)

Hmm, perhaps Yaravirus hitched a ride in on Oumuamua.

Scientists discover virus with no recognizable genes, (DOI: 10.1126/science.abb2121)

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takyon writes:

NASA safety panel calls for reviews after second Starliner software problem

A NASA safety panel is recommending a review of Boeing's software verification processes after revealing there was a second software problem during a CST-100 Starliner test flight that could have led to a "catastrophic" failure.

That new software problem, not previously discussed by NASA or Boeing, was discussed during a Feb. 6 meeting of NASA's Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel that examined the December uncrewed test flight of Starliner that was cut short by a timer error.

That anomaly was discovered during ground testing while the spacecraft was in orbit, panel member Paul Hill said. "While this anomaly was corrected in flight, if it had gone uncorrected, it would have led to erroneous thruster firings and uncontrolled motion during [service module] separation for deorbit, with the potential for a catastrophic spacecraft failure," he said.

The exact cause of the failure remains under investigation by Boeing and NASA, who are also still examining the timer failure previously reported. Those problems, Hill said, suggested broader issues with how Boeing develops and tests the software used by the spacecraft.

"The panel has a larger concern with the rigor of Boeing's verification processes," he said. The panel called for reviews of Boeing's flight software integration and testing processes. "Further, with confidence at risk for a spacecraft that is intended to carry humans in space, the panel recommends an even broader Boeing assessment of, and corrective actions in, Boeing's [systems engineering and integration] processes and verification testing."

Previously:
Boeing Provides Damage Control After Inspector General's Report on Commercial Crew Program
Starliner Fails to Make Journey to ISS
Boeing's Failed Starliner Mission Strains 'Reliability' Pitch

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PiMuNu writes:

Phys.org:

Scientists have demonstrated a key technology in making next-generation high-energy particle accelerators possible.

[...] So far, the particles accelerated have been protons, electrons and ions, in concentrated beams. However, an international team called the Muon Ionization Cooling Experiment (MICE) collaboration are trying to create a muon beam.

Muons are particles like electrons, but with much greater mass. This means they could be used to create beams with ten times more energy than the Large Hadron Collider

[...] MICE have today announced the success of a crucial step in creating a muon beam—corralling the muons into a small enough volume that collisions are more likely. The results are published today in Nature.

Journal reference: Demonstration of cooling by the Muon Ionization Cooling Experiment, Nature (DOI: doi:10.1038/s41586-020-1958-9)

Also at CERN Courier, Fermilab Symmetry & Nature News.

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upstart writes in with an IRC submission for Bytram:

Pluto's icy heart makes winds blow:

Pluto's famous heart-shaped structure, named Tombaugh Regio, quickly became famous after NASA's New Horizons mission captured footage of the dwarf planet in 2015 and revealed it isn't the barren world scientists thought it was.

Now, new research shows Pluto's renowned nitrogen heart rules its atmospheric circulation. Uncovering how Pluto's atmosphere behaves provides scientists with another place to compare to our own planet. Such findings can pinpoint both similar and distinctive features between Earth and a dwarf planet billions of miles away.

Nitrogen gas -- an element also found in air on Earth -- comprises most of Pluto's thin atmosphere, along with small amounts of carbon monoxide and the greenhouse gas methane. Frozen nitrogen also covers part of Pluto's surface in the shape of a heart. During the day, a thin layer of this nitrogen ice warms and turns into vapor. At night, the vapor condenses and once again forms ice. Each sequence is like a heartbeat, pumping nitrogen winds around the dwarf planet.

New research in AGU's Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets suggests this cycle pushes Pluto's atmosphere to circulate in the opposite direction of its spin -- a unique phenomenon called retro-rotation. As air whips close to the surface, it transports heat, grains of ice and haze particles to create dark wind streaks and plains across the north and northwestern regions.

"This highlights the fact that Pluto's atmosphere and winds -- even if the density of the atmosphere is very low -- can impact the surface," said Tanguy Bertrand, an astrophysicist and planetary scientist at NASA's Ames Research Center in California and the study's lead author.

Pluto's beating heart regulates the atmospheric circulation: results from high resolution and multi‐year numerical climate simulations, Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets (DOI: 10.1029/2019JE006120)

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Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

Roofs and the downwind sides of buildings in street canyons have the lowest levels of particulate matter during a single-source pollution event, according to Penn State researchers. The findings have implications for improving evacuation plans during a pollution release as well as for informing ventilation system design of urban buildings.

"Previous research has focused on ambient pollution created by traffic," said Jeremy Gernand, assistant professor of industrial health and safety. "We decided to investigate sources of pollution from a point source of particulate matter, such as a chemical spill or an accidental release from a factory."

The researchers investigated a pollutant release scenario to evaluate the safest locations for evacuation and for building design elements such as air intakes. This marks the first study investigating an emission event from a single source near a street canyon.

Monitoring air quality in urban areas can be very important due to high population density and levels of particulates. Street canyons, or places where the street is bounded on both sides by buildings, are important locations for studying air pollution because they are prevalent in urban areas.

[...] The findings have implications for improving evacuation plans and for informing ventilation system design. In the event of a pollution release emergency from a central source, pedestrians should be evacuated to the leeward side of the transverse channel. For installation of new air intakes, portions of roofs furthest away from inner channels, or roads, of street canyons serve as the safest location, the researchers said.

The researchers reported their findings in the journal Air Quality, Atmosphere and Health.

However, given the variety of possible scenarios, these findings represent only a general guideline and will benefit from further investigation, said Gernand. Building upon the cost-effective modeling approach used in this study, future research will consider additional possibilities with the goal of providing more comprehensive safety recommendations.

More information: Mengfan Li et al, Identifying shelter locations and building air intake risk from release of particulate matter in a three-dimensional street canyon via wind tunnel and CFD simulation, Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health (2019). DOI: 10.1007/s11869-019-00753-1

[20200207_163947 UTC: Updated to correct a copy error in the third paragraph.--martyb]

Original Submission