1st US patient with new virus leaves hospital, is recovering

The man who became the first U.S. patient infected with the new virus from China has left the hospital and said in a statement that he is getting better and looking forward to life returning to normal, according to a statement from the man provided to The Associated Press on Monday.

TCL set to end deal making BlackBerry smartphones

Chinese electronics group TCL will stop producing BlackBerry-branded smartphones this year, the companies said Monday, leaving it unclear whether that will be the end of the line for the once-dominant handsets.

Sub-standard mask donations hamper China virus response: Red Cross

The Red Cross on Monday stressed the need to ensure that all masks used in Chinese hospitals fighting the novel coronavirus outbreak are high quality, warning that donating sub-standard gear was more problematic than helpful.

FTC sues to block Harry's sale to Schick owner Edgewell

Federal antitrust regulators say a proposed merger that would combine old-school shaving company Schick with upstart Harry's would end up costing consumers some skin.

Disappointing growth hits Google parent Alphabet shares

Google parent Alphabet on Monday reported rising profits in the final three months of last year amid growth in digital advertising and cloud computing, but shares took a hit on disappointing revenue growth.

Researchers study the intricate link between climate and conflict

New research from the University of Notre Dame is shedding light on the unexpected effects climate change could have on regional instability and violent conflict.

Green infrastructure provides benefits that residents are willing to work for, study shows

Urban areas face increasing problems with stormwater management. Impervious surfaces on roads and buildings cause flooding, which impacts the water quality of streams, rivers and lakes. Green infrastructure, including features such as rain barrels, green roofs, rain gardens, and on-site water treatment, can provide affordable and environmentally sound ways to manage precipitation.

First-ever experimental Sudan virus specific antibody treatment protects animals

Army scientists working with partners from industry and academia have developed an experimental treatment that protects animals from Sudan virus, which is closely related to Ebola. Their work is published online today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The one ring—to track your finger's location

Smart technology keeps getting smaller. There are smartphones, smartwatches and now, smart rings, devices that allow someone to use simple finger gestures to control other technology.

Researchers find clues to how hazardous space radiation begins

Scientists at the University of New Hampshire have unlocked one of the mysteries of how particles from flares on the sun accumulate at early stages in the energization of hazardous radiation that is harmful to astronauts, satellites and electronic equipment in space. Using data obtained by NASA's Parker Solar Probe (PSP), researchers observed one of the largest events so far during the mission. These observations show how plasma that is released after a solar flare—a sudden flash of increased brightness—can accelerate and pile up energetic particles generating dangerous radiation conditions.

Link between chronic kidney disease and heart failure is identified in patients

People with chronic kidney disease have a higher risk for heart disease and heart-disease death. Now, for the first time in humans, research led by Navkaranbir Bajaj, M.D., of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, has identified a pathological change that appears to link kidney disease to progressive heart disease.

Team identifies low-energy solar particles from beyond Earth near the Sun

Using data from NASA's Parker Solar Probe (PSP), a team led by Southwest Research Institute identified low-energy particles lurking near the Sun that likely originated from solar wind interactions well beyond Earth orbit. PSP is venturing closer to the Sun than any previous probe, carrying hardware SwRI helped develop. Scientists are probing the enigmatic features of the Sun to answer many questions, including how to protect space travelers and technology from the radiation associated with solar events.

FDA clears investigational new drug application for Calibr's 'switchable' CAR-T therapy

Calibr, the drug discovery and development division of Scripps Research, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has given clearance to the Investigational New Drug (IND) application for Calibr's "switchable" CAR-T cell therapy, which is being evaluated for the treatment of certain cancers, including relapsed/refractory B-cell malignancies such as non-Hodgkin lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

If cancer were easy, every cell would do it

A new Scientific Reports paper puts an evolutionary twist on a classic question. Instead of asking why we get cancer, Leonardo Oña of Osnabrück University and Michael Lachmann of the Santa Fe Institute use signaling theory to explore how our bodies have evolved to keep us from getting more cancer.

HIT modernization crucial to improve healthcare for Native Americans and Alaska Natives

The Indian Health Service (IHS), a division within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, needs technology improvements to enhance healthcare for Native Americans and Alaska Natives, according to a Health Affairs blog post written by Regenstrief Institute and Indiana University School of Medicine researchers. The authors urge Congress to support the needs of indigenous tribes by allocating appropriate resources and supporting oversight of a health information technology (HIT) modernization program.

Australia's orroral valley fire consumes over 155,000 acres in a week

NASA's Terra satellite saw yet another fire, known as the Orroral Valley Fire, break out in the Canberra region of Australia, specifically in and around the ?Namadgi National Park. In one week, these fires have consumed 62,988 hectares (155,646 acres) according to the Australian Capital Territory Emergency Services Agency as of Feb. 04, 2020 (2:30 am local Australian time). The Department of Defence in Australia has reported that a firefighting helicopter's landing lights created the heat needed to spark the new fire. Since the area is tinder-dry, any bit of heat can provide the ignition for a new blaze. Below is a sliding image showing the true- and false-color images of the fire on Feb. 03, 2020 taken by the Terra satellite using the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) instrument. The dark red-brown color represents areas where the fires have burned the land.

Helping patients with binge eating disorders: There's an app for that

Behavioral therapy assisted by a smartphone app, delivered via telemedicine by a health coach, was an effective treatment for several symptoms of binge eating disorders, according to a study conducted by researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and published this week in The American Journal of Psychiatry.

Arctic permafrost thaw plays greater role in climate change than previously estimated

Abrupt thawing of permafrost will double previous estimates of potential carbon emissions from permafrost thaw in the Arctic, and is already rapidly changing the landscape and ecology of the circumpolar north, a new CU Boulder-led study finds.

Making high-temperature superconductivity disappear to understand its origin

When there are several processes going on at once, establishing cause-and-effect relationships is difficult. This scenario holds true for a class of high-temperature superconductors known as the cuprates. Discovered nearly 35 years ago, these copper-oxygen compounds can conduct electricity without resistance under certain conditions. They must be chemically modified ("doped") with additional atoms that introduce electrons or holes (electron vacancies) into the copper-oxide layers and cooled to temperatures below 100 Kelvin—significantly warmer temperatures than those needed for conventional superconductors. But exactly how electrons overcome their mutual repulsion and pair up to flow freely in these materials remains one of the biggest questions in condensed matter physics. High-temperature superconductivity (HTS) is among many phenomena occurring due to strong interactions between electrons, making it difficult to determine where it comes from.

Finding the source of chemical reactions

Scientists are constantly searching for the source of things like the origin of the universe, matter or life. Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory, in a collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and several other universities, have demonstrated a way to experimentally detect the most hidden aspect of all chemical reactions—the extremely short-lived transition state that occurs at their initiation. This pivotal discovery could become instrumental in gaining the ability to predict and externally control the outcomes of chemical processes.

How ants get angry: Precise 'lock and key' process regulates aggression, acceptance

For most social animals, even humans, the ability to distinguish friend versus foe can be a challenge that often can lead to knee-jerk aggression. But when it comes to ants getting aggressive, there's a more sophisticated method to their madness.

New quantum switch turns metals into insulators

Most modern electronic devices rely on tiny, finely-tuned electrical currents to process and store information. These currents dictate how fast our computers run, how regularly our pacemakers tick and how securely our money is stored in the bank.

Government grants deliver highest returns for college financing, says study

Merit-based grants are a government's best bet for providing effective student aid for long-term economic growth—increasing both welfare (measured in terms of long-term well-being outcomes) and efficiency, according to a new joint study from the University of British Columbia, Queen's, Princeton and Yale. The study focuses on current education policy in the United States, and finds that the current system of grants and loans has significant long-term value.