Heavens

FINDINGS

Bisphenol S, a chemical used to manufacture polycarbonate water bottles and many other products such as epoxy glues and cash receipts, is an increasingly common replacement for bisphenol A, the of which was discontinued because of concerns about its harmful effects on the reproductive system. In a new study, UCLA researchers have found that BPS is just as harmful to the reproductive system as the chemical it replaced. BPS damages a woman's eggs and at lower doses than BPA.

Hurricane Earl began as a tropical wave that was tracked by the National Hurricane Center (NHC) from the African coast to the Caribbean Sea. The tropical wave drenched the Dominican Republic, where it was blamed for the deaths of six people. Southwest of Jamaica on Aug. 2, 2016, the tropical wave developed a closed circulation, and Earl was upgraded to a tropical storm.

The health systems of six Latin American and Caribbean countries have made substantial progress toward universal coverage -- providing free or subsidized healthcare to the majority of their populations -- but continue to face challenges managing more complex health needs such as those related to cardiovascular disease, cancer, stroke and depression, a new study from the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and the Inter-American Development Bank finds.

Some of the most abundant particles in the universe are the so-called ghost particles, neutrinos, which travel through virtually anything on their journey through the universe. Researchers have identified three types of neutrinos, but they have been searching for one more type, an even more ghostlike sterile neutrino, which would explain mysterious phenomena like dark matter. After analysing thousands of neutrinos in the IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the South Pole, researchers from the Niels Bohr Institute can now confirm that there is no evidence for the existence of sterile neutrinos.

Friday 12 August sees the annual maximum of the Perseid meteor shower. This year, as well as the normal peak on the night of 12/13 August, meteor scientists are predicting additional enhanced activity in the shower the night before, as the Earth passes through a dense clump of cometary debris.

About 7 percent of all Danish children are born prematurely. This is of significant im-portance not only to the child's development, but it also affects the mother's body that - unexpectedly - has to produce the necessary nutrition for the newborn baby.

WASHINGTON, DC -- A solar storm that jammed radar and radio communications at the height of the Cold War could have led to a disastrous military conflict if not for the U.S. Air Force's budding efforts to monitor the sun's activity, a new study finds.

Soon after Tropical Depression 08W strengthened into Tropical Storm Conson, NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite passed overhead from space and provided a look at the storm, revealing it was battling wind shear.

One of the studies in the August issue of Health Affairs examines the critical role of primary care in promoting overall health system performance in Latin American countries. The study, by James Macinko of the University of California, Los Angeles, and coauthors, analyzed survey data from Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Jamaica, Mexico, and Panama for the year 2013. The authors found significant weaknesses in primary care, with more than half of respondents lacking a regular doctor. According to the study, there were high rates of skipping needed care and accessing care on weekends.

Advances in technology coupled with an increased use of social media and personal devices could offer new possibilities for treating patients and improving outcomes, but the new approaches must be rigorously evaluated, according to a column by Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Robert M. Califf, M.D., MACC, published today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Soft materials are great at damping energy -- that's why rubber tires are so good at absorbing the shock of bumps and potholes. But if researchers are going to build autonomous soft systems, like soft robots, they'll need a way to transmit energy through soft materials.

Now, researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), in collaboration with colleagues at the California Institute of Technology, have developed a way to send mechanical signals through soft materials.

Tropical Depression Ivette continues to weaken in the Central Pacific Ocean and infrared data from NASA's Aqua satellite showed a small area of strong storms remaining in the system.

The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder or AIRS instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite looked at the weakening storms within Tropical Depression Ivette on Aug. 8 at 7:08 a.m. EDT (11:08 UTC). There was only one area with some strong storms remaining in the circulation and that was seen in the northeastern quadrant.

Tropical Storm Javier formed on Aug. 7, 2016 in the Eastern Pacific Ocean off Mexico's western coast. Javier formed partially from the remnants of Hurricane Earl. NASA's Global Precipitation Measurement core satellite found that Javier contained heavy rain. On Aug. 8, Javier triggered hurricane and tropical storm warnings.

Landslides caused by heavy rainfall from the remnants of Hurricane Earl caused the reported deaths of at least 39 people in eastern Mexico. That kind of rainfall was now seen in Tropical Storm Javier.

Researchers at the University of Maryland and Michigan Technological University have operated a tiny proposed satellite ion rocket under a microscope to see how it works.

NASA's Aqua satellite recently caught a look at the newly formed tropical depression in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean.