Welcome to Overnight News Digest- Saturday Science. Since 2007 the OND has been a regular community feature on Daily Kos, consisting of science stories from around the world, sometimes coupled with a daily theme, original research or commentary. Editors of OND impart their own presentation styles and content choices, typically publishing each day near 12:00 AM Eastern Time.
Topics in this edition include:
- Yale honors young Black scientist
- JWST investigates Saturn and Uranus light shows
- Walmart’s skimming the American taxpayers
- New patch relieves herniated disc pain
- Experts issue warning about mosquito-borne illness
- Prehistoric canoes found at bottom of Italian lake
- People adapt to plastic bag bans
- Patient receives transplanted pig kidney
- Phase-changing concrete melts snow & ice
Upworthy
by Vani Khokar
Yale honors a young black scientist after a neighbor falsely reported the 9-year-old to the police
The spotted lanternfly has received a lot of attention. The beautifully colored yet highly invasive and destructive species has expanded rapidly. The people were encouraged to trample on apple and maple trees, among other vegetation, whenever they saw the flash of red and speckled wings. A 9-year-old Black girl named Bobbi Wilson decided to attempt something similar in her hometown of Caldwell, New Jersey. A neighbor contacted the authorities to report a "suspicious" individual as she destroyed the animals with a non-toxic, homemade spray, reported My Modern Met.
The young scientist was subjected to a terrible incident of racial profiling, as many people of color have experienced. Despite this traumatic occurrence, Yale University has taken further steps to ensure Bobbi understands how valuable and respected she is as a young, Black female scientist. Following the racist incident in October 2022, Bobbi's 13-year-old sister Hayden bravely stepped up in front of the town council to protest the unfairness her sister and other children of color experienced in their community.
Space.com
by Robert Lea
Stunning light shows on Uranus and Saturn may soon draw James Webb Space Telescope's eye
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is set to begin investigating the spectacular light shows of solar system giants Uranus and Saturn.
Two separate teams of astronomers at the University of Leicester will use the $10-billion space telescope to study auroras over the gas giant Saturn and the frigid ice giant Uranus. The aim will be to explain in greater detail the processes that create these polar light shows over different planets.
"The
JWST is already changing how we perceive the universe, from the solar system, our very own cosmic backyard, to the first galaxies formed at the beginning of time," Henrik Melin from the University of Leicester School of Physics and Astronomy who will lead the Uranus investigation, said in a statement. "I am thrilled to have been awarded time on this remarkable observatory, and this data will fundamentally shape our understanding of both Saturn and Uranus.”
Salon
by Austin Frewick
Hidden costs, public burden: The real toll of Walmart's "always low prices"
Instead of paying a living wage to their employees, taxpayers are footing the bill.
Walmart is based in Bentonville, Arkansas, just a few miles from Sam Walton’s first Walmart store in Rogers. Although Walmart currently operates out of a nondescript building that doesn’t seem to match its power and scale, the company is in the midst of building a massive new corporate headquarters on the east side of town. The new offices are designed in the style of a college campus, with twelve buildings spread over 350 acres, and with a price tag estimated to be $1 billion.
[…]
In an ironic twist, Bentonville captures the Main Street, USA imagery that Sam Walton’s Supercenters helped destroy in other towns across the country. Whereas most small-town squares in America are in a state of decay, Bentonville’s is the only one I’ve ever seen with James Beard finalist restaurants next to offices for national brands.
The Brighter Side of News
by Joseph Shavit
Lifechanging spinal patch uses natural body motion to repair herniated discs
Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and the CMC VA Medical Center (CMCVAMC) have unveiled a groundbreaking medical advancement that offers hope to those suffering from herniated discs. This innovative development, known as "tension-activated repair patches" (TARPs), harnesses the body's natural motion to release an anti-inflammatory molecule called anakinra from microcapsules.
This mechanism has has shown promise in reversing herniation and preventing further degeneration in a large animal model. In a paper published in Science Translational Medicine, these researchers share their remarkable progress in the quest for an effective herniated disc treatment
The Cool Down
by Kaiyo Funaki
Experts across the U.S. issue warning about return of potentially deadly virus: 'The consequences ... would be profoundly destabilizing'
The American South has been under constant duress from extreme weather events spurred by rising global temperatures, but the region could face a different kind of threat that it hasn't experienced in over a century: yellow fever.
What's happening?
A joint report from the Baylor College of Medicine and the Stanford School of Medicine published in the New England Journal of Medicine warned that warmer climates, urbanization, and "shifting patterns of human migration" are increasing the likelihood of a rapid spread of mosquito-borne infections in the States.
It noted that "extreme poverty throughout Texas and the Gulf Coast states, where inadequate or low-quality housing, absent or broken window screens, and a pervasive dumping of tires in poor neighborhoods" can become breeding sites for mosquitoes, make the South particularly vulnerable.
The Island Packet
by Eileen Wright
‘Exceptional’ prehistoric canoes found at bottom of Italian lake.
As divers scoured the floor of an Italian lake off the Mediterranean, the wooden edge of a canoe poked out from the dirt. The lake, just outside modern-day Rome, was once home to an ancient people before the water rose and time moved on. Archaeologists began searching the lake for evidence of ancient civilizations in 1989, but it was only recently they made one of their biggest discoveries. Wooden canoes, almost perfectly preserved, were buried in the sediment in the bottom of the lake.
The Cool Down
by Jeremiah Budin
New report uncovers remarkable impact of controversial plastic bag bans: 'People realize quickly it's easy to live without plastic bags'
City, state, and national governments all over the world have been banning single-use plastic bags in an attempt to curb pollution. Now, a new report has revealed just how effective these bans are — highly effective, as it turns out.
The report, released by the Environment America Research & Policy Center, was copublished by three nonprofit groups: Environment America, U.S. Public Interest Research Group Education Fund, and Frontier Group.
The report focused on plastic bag bans in New Jersey; Vermont; Philadelphia; Portland, Oregon; and Santa Barbara, California. It found that the bag bans can eliminate nearly 300 single-use plastic bags per person annually. New Jersey's ban, enacted in 2022, was found to be the most effective, eliminating 5.5 billion plastic bags per year.
Deutsche Welle
US surgeons transplant first pig kidney to live patient
The transplant operation took four hours and was carried out on Saturday on a 62-year-old man suffering from end-stage kidney disease, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) announced on Thursday.
The hospital said the pig kidney used for the transplant had been genetically edited to remove harmful pig genes and add certain human ones. The hospital also said the patient, Richard Slayman of Weymouth, Massachusetts, "is recovering well at MGH and is expected to be discharged soon."
"The procedure marks a major milestone in the quest to provide more readily available organs to patients," MGH said in a statement.
Transplanting organs from one species to another is a growing field known as xenotransplantation.
New Atlas
by Paul McClure
Phase-change concrete melts snow and ice without salt or shovels
Incorporating a phase-change material into concrete, researchers have created a self-heating material that can melt snow and ice for up to 10 hours without using salt or shovels. The novel material could reduce the need for plowing and salting and help preserve the integrity of road surfaces.
According to the
US Department of Transportation (DOT), more than 70% of roads are in snowy regions. Snow and ice accumulation reduces road friction and vehicle maneuverability, causing drivers to slow and increasing the risk of crashes. Snow-obstructed lanes and roads also reduce roadway capacity and increase travel time.
[…]
In a new study, researchers from Drexel University in Pennsylvania, US, a known ‘cold state,’ present their self-heating concrete: a potential fix to snowed-over roads and the cost associated with clearing and maintaining them.
This is an open thread where everyone is welcome, especially night owls and early birds, to share and discuss the science news of the day. Please share your articles and stories in the comments.
I’m publishing this on Thursday because midnight Saturday and Sunday I will be on the train along the Canadian border, so most likely I won’t have internet or be able to read and respond to your comments. Please talk among yourselves.