The Daily Populous

Saturday November 24th, 2018 evening edition

image for Scientists Have Found Rare Giant Viruses Lurking in The Soil of a US Forest

In this oversized outdoor research laboratory, scientists have made an unexpected discovery, finding 16 rare 'giant' viruses that are completely new to science.

"We were not looking for giant viruses," says biologist Jeff Blanchard from the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass).

"Our goal was to isolate bacteria directly from the environment to understand how microbial communities are changing in response to soil warming.".

These giant viruses were only discovered this century, and up until now they've usually been found in aquatic habitats.

For that reason alone the Harvard Forest discovery is remarkable, as this represents the first time giant viruses have been discovered in a terrestrial ecosystem, and all from a single clump of dirt.

According to the researchers, the approach could make it easier than ever to identify viruses in the soil metagenome in the future.

"Soil is immensely diverse," says one of the UMass researchers, Lauren Alteio, "and we are only beginning to scratch the surface of the organisms and viruses that inhabit it.". »

Al Gore says Trump administration seeks to "bury" climate report by releasing it on Black Friday

Authored by cbsnews.com
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Among those who spoke out was former Vice President Al Gore, who became the face of the climate debate with the 2006 documentary "An Inconvenient Truth.".

The National Climate Assessment, which is mandated by law, was written by outside scientists and officials from 13 federal agencies.

It says Earth's climate is now changing faster than ever, primarily as a result of human activities. »

A Scientist Accidentally Developed Sunglasses That Could Correct Color Blindness

Authored by smithsonianmag.com
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He was wearing a pair of sunglasses, when his friend, Michael Angell, admiring his eyewear, asked to borrow them.

McPherson recalls Angell saying, with surprise, “I can see the cones,” referring to a set of orange traffic cones nearby.

Based in Berkeley, California, McPherson, who has a PhD in glass science from Alfred University, originally specialized in creating eyewear for doctors to use as protection during laser surgery. »

Sentinel Island: Christian group invites ridicule with demand of murder charges against Sentinelese

Authored by timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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This despite Chau having gone to the forbidden island in the Andaman’s, in violation of the law, to proselytise without registering as a missionary, also in violation of laws.

"Our thoughts and prayers go out to both John’s family and friends.

"Words cannot express the sadness we have experienced about this report," his family said in a statement posted on his Instagram account. »

How 2 Pro-Nazi Nobelists Attacked Einstein’s "Jewish Science" [Excerpt]

Authored by scientificamerican.com

Because he was not mathematically adept, he could not get to grips with relativity or quantum theory.

Lenard decided that relativity was a “Jewish fraud” and that anything important in the theory had been discovered already by “Aryans.”1.

Lenard criticized the theory of relativity as early as 1910, but it was not until the 1920s that his attacks began to incorporate explicitly racial elements. »