Entropy is the physicist’s magic word, invoked to answer to some of the biggest questions in cosmology. Yet a quantum rethink may be needed to tell us what it actually is

Physicists are finally getting their heads round what information truly is – and using it to gain new insights into life, the universe and, well… everything

It certainly wasn’t big, and probably didn’t bang – and the surprises in the conventional story of the universe's origins don’t end there

Dark energy dominates the universe, and could lead it to a cold, bleak end. But that's not to say we have much clue what it is or how it works

Mathematicians have come up with a way to explore strange 3D spaces that could be related to the shape of the universe

Why is there something rather than nothing? We’re finally making enough antimatter to extract an answer – and it might reveal the dark side of the universe too

Our measurements of the Hubble constant can't seem to come up with a consistent answer. What we learn next may alter our view of the cosmos, writes Chanda Prescod-Weinstein

Fundamental limits on space and time mean that the motion of three black holes is impossible to predict, even with the most powerful computer that could ever be built

Strange particles observed by an experiment in Antarctica could be evidence of an alternative reality where everything is upside down

For the universe to exist as it does now, there must have been an imbalance between matter and antimatter early on, which may have been caused by neutrinos

The question of how the brain gives rise to subjective experience is the hardest of all. Mathematicians think they can help, but their first attempts have thrown up some eye-popping conclusions

Britons stood in silence and Queen Elizabeth addressed the nation on Friday's 75th anniversary of "Victory in Europe" Day, though the coronavirus dampened commemorations for the end of World War Two on the continent. Lauren Anthony reports.

Along with millions around the nation, Prince Charles held a two-minute silence outside his family's Balmoral estate, while military jets flew over the United Kingdom's four capitals, and 1940s-style tea parties plus singalongs were planned in homes.

Finland’s two-year test of universal basic income has concluded that it doesn't seem to disincentivise working, and improves recipients’ mental and financial well-being

Entropy is the physicist’s magic word, invoked to answer to some of the biggest questions in cosmology. Yet a quantum rethink may be needed to tell us what it actually is

Physicists are finally getting their heads round what information truly is – and using it to gain new insights into life, the universe and, well… everything

It certainly wasn’t big, and probably didn’t bang – and the surprises in the conventional story of the universe's origins don’t end there

Dark energy dominates the universe, and could lead it to a cold, bleak end. But that's not to say we have much clue what it is or how it works

Why is there something rather than nothing? We’re finally making enough antimatter to extract an answer – and it might reveal the dark side of the universe too

Strange particles observed by an experiment in Antarctica could be evidence of an alternative reality where everything is upside down

The question of how the brain gives rise to subjective experience is the hardest of all. Mathematicians think they can help, but their first attempts have thrown up some eye-popping conclusions

Britons stood in silence and Queen Elizabeth addressed the nation on Friday's 75th anniversary of "Victory in Europe" Day, though the coronavirus dampened commemorations for the end of World War Two on the continent. Lauren Anthony reports.

The question of how the brain gives rise to subjective experience is the hardest of all. Mathematicians think they can help, but their first attempts have thrown up some eye-popping conclusions

Finland’s two-year test of universal basic income has concluded that it doesn't seem to disincentivise working, and improves recipients’ mental and financial well-being

Title: Nearly 700 at LA Universities Remain Under Measles Quarantine
Category: Health News
Created: 4/29/2019 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 4/29/2019 12:00:00 AM

A video celebrating PMC's first decade is now available for viewing on the NCBI YouTube Channel. The PMC 10th Anniversary Video can also be found on the regular YouTube site.

Title: Is a 'Universal' Flu Vaccine on the Horizon?
Category: Health News
Created: 3/9/2020 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 3/10/2020 12:00:00 AM

Flora Borne, Alexander Kovalev, Stanislav Gorb, and Virginie Courtier-Orgogozo

Insects produce a variety of adhesives for diverse functions such as locomotion, mating, and egg or pupal anchorage to substrates. Although they are important for the biology of organisms and potentially represent a great resource for developing new materials, insect adhesives have been little studied so far. Here, we examined the adhesive properties of the larval glue of Drosophila melanogaster. This glue is made of glycosylated proteins and allows the animal to adhere to a substrate during metamorphosis. We designed an adhesion test to measure the pull-off force required to detach a pupa from a substrate and to evaluate the contact area covered by the glue. We found that the pupa adheres with similar forces to a variety of substrates (with distinct roughness, hydrophilic and charge properties). We obtained an average pull-off force of 217 mN, corresponding to 15,500 times the weight of a pupa and an adhesion strength of 137–244 kPa. Surprisingly, the pull-off forces did not depend on the contact area. Our study paves the way for a genetic dissection of the components of D. melanogaster glue that confer its particular adhesive properties.

Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against programmed cell death 1 (PD-1), such as nivolumab and pembrolizumab, are associated with high response rates in patients with relapsed or refractory classic Hodgkin lymphoma (HL). To date, no prognostic factor for overall survival (OS) has been established with these agents in HL. We examined whether the first early response assessment evaluated using ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT may be associated with OS in this setting. Methods: This retrospective study included 45 patients from 34 institutions. In a masked, centralized review, 3 independent radiologists classified PET/CT scans obtained at a median of 2.0 mo (interquartile range, 1.7–3.7 mo) after nivolumab initiation using existing criteria (i.e., 2014 Lugano classification and 2016 LYRIC). Patients were classified according to 4 possible response categories: complete metabolic response (CMR), partial metabolic response (PMR), no metabolic response (NMR), or progressive metabolic disease (PMD). Because the OS of patients with NMR and PMR was similar, they were grouped together. OS was estimated using the Kaplan–Meier method and compared between groups using log-rank testing. Results: Eleven patients (24%) died after a median follow-up of 21.2 mo. The classification was identical between Lugano and LYRIC because all 16 progression events classified as indeterminate response per LYRIC were confirmed on subsequent evaluations. Both Lugano and LYRIC classified patients as CMR in 13 cases (29%), PMD in 16 (36%), NMR in 4 (9%), and PMR in 12 (27%). The 2-y OS probability was significantly different in patients with PMD (0.53; 95% confidence interval [95%CI], 0.32–0.87), NMR or PMR (0.80; 95%CI, 0.63–1.00), and CMR (1.00; 95%CI, 1.00–1.00) in the overall population (P = 0.02, 45 patients), as well as according to a landmark analysis at 3 mo (P = 0.05, 32 patients). Conclusion: In relapsed or refractory HL patients treated with anti-PD-1 mAbs, the first early PET/CT assessment using either Lugano or LYRIC predicted OS and allowed early risk stratification, suggesting that PET/CT might be used to develop risk-adapted strategies.

Publisher Microsoft and developer 343 Industries announced Halo 2: Anniversary will launch for the Windows PC version of Halo: The Master Chief Collection via Steam and Microsoft Store on Tuesday, May 12.

Here is an overview of the game:

Halo 2: Anniversary comes to PC as the next installment in Halo: The Master Chief Collection. Now optimized for PC, experience the impeccably remastered edition of the original Halo 2 game. Following the destruction of Halo, humankind experiences a short-lived victory. Eager for revenge, the Covenant launches a surprise attack on Earth, but they find themselves ill-prepared to defeat the UNSC’s home fleet and are forced to flee into slipspace. When the Master Chief pursues his overzealous enemies, they discover yet another Halo ring, uncovering long-buried secrets, including an unlikely ally, that will dramatically alter the course of the Human-Covenant Conflict forever.

Key Features:

• PC Settings/Optimizations: Halo 2: Anniversary is now optimized for PC and looking better than ever at up to 4k UHD and at 60+ FPS.* Other PC native settings include customizable mouse and keyboard support, ultrawide support, FOV customization, and more.
• Campaign: Experience the next chapter in the Halo saga and fight your way through 15 unforgettable missions. Play as both Spartan-117, the Master Chief, and for the first time, the Covenant Elite, known as the Arbiter, and experience the Human-Covenant Conflict in a whole new way.
• Anniversary Edition/Update: Toggle between the remastered graphics in the Anniversary edition and the graphics from the original Halo 2 campaign. In the Anniversary edition, view Blur Studio’s spectacularly remastered cutscenes from the original Halo 2 game.
• Multiplayer: Continue your Halo adventure with 7 remastered multiplayer maps from Halo 2: Anniversary and 25 multiplayer maps from the original Halo 2, featuring a completely updated progression system.

A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel dedicated to gaming Let's Plays and tutorials. You can contact the author at wdangelo@vgchartz.com or on Twitter @TrunksWD.

Full Article - https://www.vgchartz.com/article/443396/halo-2-anniversary-for-halo-the-master-chief-collection-for-pc-launches-may-12/

Crawling on his belly through a sewer pipe beneath the streets of Warsaw, Poland, with a battle raging overhead, 16-year-old Lucjan Krause could scarcely have imagined he would survive the fighting, let alone go on to build a globally admired atomic physics program at the University of Windsor. Now 92 and still in full command […]

Earth’s atmosphere thankfully provides air for us to breathe, but when trying to study interesting objects in space it causes all sorts of problems, writes Chanda Prescod-Weinstein

A huge black hole in a distant galaxy caused the largest explosion we have ever seen, with the energy of 10 billion suns – and it isn't clear why it was so big

In the early universe, particles called neutrinos had a starring role in determining where galaxy clusters formed and which elements were created when stars exploded

A huge black hole from when the universe was less than a billion years old is shooting a powerful jet at Earth, and studying it could help us understand the young cosmos

Our measurements of the Hubble constant can't seem to come up with a consistent answer. What we learn next may alter our view of the cosmos, writes Chanda Prescod-Weinstein

Strange particles observed by an experiment in Antarctica could be evidence of an alternative reality where everything is upside down

The question of how the brain gives rise to subjective experience is the hardest of all. Mathematicians think they can help, but their first attempts have thrown up some eye-popping conclusions

The Danish company is announcing a powerful new member of its collaborative robots family

"ARK: Survival Evolved" Crystal Isles is coming to PC soon, alongside a huge anniversary event on all platforms. Get the full details here.

Canadian forces were involved in "six long years of fighting," Lt-Gov. Russ Mirasty said, urging people to take a moment to "remember them and to honour their legacy of peace."

"The process will account for wide variations in abuse and provide a pathway for survivor healing," Richard Schulte, one of the lawyers for the men, said in the university's statement.

Dineobellator was a formidable predator and boasts the battle scars to prove it.

Read our live coronavirus updates HERE Coronavirus: The symptoms

Coronavirus: the symptoms Read our LIVE updates on the coronavirus here

The National Union of Journalists gathered for a special virtual tribute