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  Two existing drugs prevent COVID-19 in human cells: Study

  August 18, 2020 14:04 IST

  According to the study, published in the journal PNAS, both drugs, vacuolin-1 and apilimod, originally developed years ago, target a large enzyme called PIKfyve kinase.

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  Greenland ice sheet passes point of no return due to climate change: Study

  August 17, 2020 13:21 IST

  The finding, published in the journal Nature Communications Earth and Environment, means that Greenland's glaciers have passed a tipping point of sorts, where the snowfall that replenishes the ice sheet each year cannot keep up with the ice that is flowing into the ocean from glaciers.

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  Scientists detect '10 times' more infectious coronavirus strain - D614G

  August 17, 2020 13:07 IST

  D614G - a new strain of the novel coronavirus has been detected by scientists in Malaysia. The new strain is believed to be 10 times more infectious than the novel coronavirus, said Director General of Health Noor Hisham Abdullah in a Facebook post.

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  Rare squirrel spotted at Gangotri National Park in Uttarkashi

  August 17, 2020 12:21 IST

  A rare squirrel, who uses fur of her claw as a parachute, spotted at Gangotri National Park in Uttarkashi. The state's Forest Research Center's survey has seen her in 18 of 13 forest divisions, while Wooly squirrel was considered extinct 70 years ago in IUCN Red List. 

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  Indian scientists make space bricks for lunar habitation

  August 17, 2020 11:19 IST

  The Indian space agency launched two unmanned missions to the moon in 2008 and 2019 as part of its inter-planetary exploration to study the earth's natural satellite, though it failed to land on the lunar surface.

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  Massive lava tubes found on Mars, Moon; can protect from cosmic radiation

  August 17, 2020 8:44 IST

  Researchers have discovered lava tubes underneath the floors of both the moon and mars. According to the study, these tubes are large enough to be the homes of planetary bases as humanity, even more, explores the cosmos. 

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  Gaganyaan: Unmanned space mission planned for December 2020 likely to be delayed

  August 16, 2020 18:56 IST

  The likely delay in the first unmanned mission was recently conveyed to the Space Commission, the apex policy making body on space related issues.

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  Pre-existing drug shows promise in fight against Covid-19

  August 16, 2020 13:10 IST

  Using state-of-the-art computer simulations, the researchers have identified a preexisting drug that could fast-track a solution to this worldwide Covid-19 pandemic.

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  Scientists decode how Covid-19 begins to appear in humans

  August 16, 2020 10:52 IST

  Researchers have found the likely order in which Covid-19 symptoms first appear -- fever, followed by cough, muscle pain, and then nausea, and/or vomiting and diarrhoea. Knowing the order of the Covid-19 symptoms may help patients seek care promptly or decide sooner than later to self-isolate.

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  Scientists identify potential drug candidate against COVID-19

  August 15, 2020 13:50 IST

  Using state-of-the-art computer simulations, scientists have identified a preexisting drug, used to treat multiple diseases, including bipolar disorders and hearing loss, that could prevent the novel coronavirus from replicating in host cells, an advance that may lead to a therapeutic solution against COVID-19.

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  Researchers develop new test to diagnose COVID-19 in just 20 minutes

  August 14, 2020 14:36 IST

  In an ongoing fight against the novel coronavirus, the researchers have developed a new test that can diagnose Covid-19 in just 20 minutes. The findings, published in the Journal of Medical Microbiology, show the rapid molecular test called N1-STOP-LAMP, is 100 per cent accurate in diagnosing samples containing SARS-CoV-2 at high loads.

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  Scientists decode likely order of COVID-19 symptoms

  August 14, 2020 11:24 IST

  Scientists have found the likely order in which COVID-19 symptoms first appear, an advance that may help clinicians rule out other diseases, and help patients seek care promptly or decide sooner to self-isolate.

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  Want to harvest water on Moon and Mars? NASA now inviting applications from students

  August 14, 2020 11:13 IST

  NASA is giving university-level engineering students a unique opportunity to participate in the quest to harvest water on the Moon and Mars. The 2021 Moon to Mars Ice and Prospecting Challenge is asking eligible undergraduate and graduate student teams to design and build hardware that can identify, map, and drill through various subsurface layers, then extract water from an ice block in a simulated off-world test bed, the American space agency said. 

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  New galaxy similar to Milky Way found in deep space. Read on

  August 14, 2020 10:15 IST

  Earlier Astronomers had observed a young galaxy similar to Milky way. They often thought this infant universe as a chaotic, extreme environment where galaxies are unstable and violent. However, a new study suggests that this infant galaxy has features similar to those of our own more mature Milky Way.

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  Scientists use AI to identify hundreds of COVID-19 drug candidates

  August 13, 2020 12:39 IST

  A team led by an Indian-origin scientist has used artificial intelligence (AI) to identify hundreds of new potential drugs that could help treat COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, or SARS-CoV-2. 

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  Scientists sceptical about Russia’s COVID-19 vaccine, cite lack of evidence for efficacy

  August 12, 2020 18:02 IST

  Responding with scepticism to Russia’s approval of a COVID-19 vaccine, several scientists around the world, including in India, suggest it hasn’t been tested properly given the time constraint and there may not be enough evidence to prove its efficacy.

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  Scientists detect rare 'boomerang' earthquake under Altantic Ocean. Read on

  August 12, 2020 11:56 IST

  For the first time, scientists have detected an extremely rare 'boomerang earthquake' under the Atlantic Ocean near the equator. According to the scientists, the boomerang earthquake is also known as a "back-propagating supershear rupture", is the fracture that travels away from the initial crack before returning to it at even faster speeds.

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  Scientists discover new vulnerability in coronavirus

  August 12, 2020 11:36 IST

  Scientists have uncovered a new vulnerability in the spike protein of the novel coronavirus, which enables the virus to enter host cells, an advance that may lead to potential treatment pathways against COVID-19.

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  'Blood test may tell if you are at risk of severe COVID-19 infection'

  August 11, 2020 15:02 IST

  A simple blood test may predict the risk of severe COVID-19 infection, say scientists who have identified a particular molecular signature in the blood that increases the chances of hospitalisation by 5 to 10 times in people infected by the novel coronavirus.

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  COVID-19 does not directly cause loss of taste: Study

  August 11, 2020 12:15 IST

  The findings, published in the journal ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science, are contrary to previous studies that have shown damage may be caused directly by the virus particle.

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  Gargling with mouthwashes might lower spread of COVID-19, scientists say

  August 11, 2020 11:23 IST

  The novel coronavirus can be inactivated using commercially available mouthwashes, according to a study which says gargling with these products may reduce the quantities of viral particles in the mouth and throat, and possibly reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission over the short term. 

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  Green Banana, one of the deepest blue holes, found in Florida's Gulf Coast. Read on

  August 11, 2020 10:37 IST

  Divers in Florida's Gulf Coast discovered a new blue hole. This 425-foot blue hole has been termed as the Green Banana and is located around 155 feet below the water's surface. The data has been provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

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  Perseid - Best meteor shower of the year to light up skies today, tomorrow. Here's how to watch

  August 11, 2020 10:19 IST

  The Perseid meteor shower is often considered to be one of the best meteor showers of the year due to its high rates and pleasant late-summer temperatures. This year’s shower, however, has the unfortunate circumstance of the Moon phase—last quarter—impeding the view of the shower peak, reducing the visible meteors from over 60 per hour down to 15-20 per hour. 

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  Dwarf planet Ceres is 'ocean world' with reservoirs of sea water beneath its surface

  August 11, 2020 9:53 IST

  A new study has revealed that the Dwarf planet is an ocean world with a reservoir of seawater beneath its surface. Earlier it was believed that the Ceres is barren space rock. 

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  Home electric cookers could efficiently sanitise N95 masks, scientists say

  August 10, 2020 12:44 IST

  According to the findings published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology Letters, this could enable wearers to safely reuse limited supplies of the respirators, originally intended to be one-time-use items.

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  COVID-19: Scientists develop low-cost method to test mask effectiveness against viral droplets

  August 09, 2020 14:20 IST

  Using widely available tools, scientists have developed a simple method to visualise how effectively different types of masks prevent the spread of droplets that could contain novel coronavirus particles, an advance which could aid small scale mask producers to optimise designs, and help community outreach organisations demonstrate proper mask fitting procedures.

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  Scientists identify cellular structure that may play critical role in coronavirus replication

  August 08, 2020 17:31 IST

  Scientists have identified a structure in host cells which the novel coronavirus likely uses to synthesise components that will be assembled into fully infectious viruses, an advance which may lead to the development of new drugs against COVID-19.

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  NASA releases new photo showing shape of bubble surrounding our solar system

  August 08, 2020 16:40 IST

  Scientists have developed a new puffy model for the shape of the Sun's heliosphere or the magnetic bubble that surrounds our solar system.