Science news

• Toronto climate change plan TransformTO passes 1st test at city hall

  04-07-2017 21:12 via cbc.ca
  
  Following a heated debate about the costs — and benefits — to taxpayers of going green, city council unanimously approved TransformTO, a blueprint staff will use to guide the city as it reduces emissions over the next three decades. The plan, however, is far from a done deal.
  
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• Robots roam Mount Etna volcano as part of lunar testing ground

  04-07-2017 20:08 via cbc.ca
  
  A robot wheels across a rocky, windswept landscape that looks like the surface of some distant planet from a science fiction film. But it is not in outer space, it's on the slopes of Europe's most active volcano.
  
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• Voltage-dependent Ca2+ entry into smooth muscle during contraction promotes endothelium-mediated feedback vasodilation in arterioles

  04-07-2017 19:48 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Vascular smooth muscle contraction is suppressed by feedback dilation mediated by the endothelium. In skeletal muscle arterioles, this feedback can be activated by Ca2+ signals passing from smooth muscle through gap junctions to endothelial cells, which protrude through holes in the internal elastic lamina to make contact with vascular smooth muscle cells. Although hypothetically either Ca2+ or inositol trisphosphate (IP3) may provide the intercellular signal, it is generally thought that IP3 di
  
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• TGF-{beta} promotes PI3K-AKT signaling and prostate cancer cell migration through the TRAF6-mediated ubiquitylation of p85{alpha}

  04-07-2017 19:48 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Transforming growth factor–β (TGF-β) is a pluripotent cytokine that regulates cell fate and plasticity in normal tissues and tumors. The multifunctional cellular responses evoked by TGF-β are mediated by the canonical SMAD pathway and by noncanonical pathways, including mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways and the phosphatidylinositol 3'-kinase (PI3K)–protein kinase B (AKT) pathway. We found that TGF-β activated PI3K in a manner dependent on the activi
  
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• Papers of note in Science Translational Medicine 9 (396)

  04-07-2017 19:48 via stke.sciencemag.org
  This week’s articles describe ways to potentially treat lymphoma and fatty liver–associated fibrosis.
  
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• Papers of note in Science Immunology 2 (12)

  04-07-2017 19:48 via stke.sciencemag.org
  This month’s articles show how Plasmodium by-products cause bone loss and how citrullination of an NF-B subunit enhances inflammatory responses.
  
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• Papers of note in Science 356 (6345)

  04-07-2017 19:48 via stke.sciencemag.org
  This week’s articles address the release of volatile organic compounds from plant cells, a gene regulatory network that ensures proper neural patterning despite variability in morphogen gradients, and a role for adenosine signaling in the plasticity of an auditory circuit.
  
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• Papers of note in Nature 546 (7660)

  04-07-2017 19:48 via stke.sciencemag.org
  This week’s articles highlight a mechanism by which melanoma cells prepare the metastatic niche, intestinal defense against rotavirus, and immune tolerance in the human fetus.
  
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• A therapy for FXS?

  04-07-2017 19:48 via stke.sciencemag.org
  The antidiabetic drug metformin might be repurposed to treat patients with fragile X syndrome.
  
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• A perspective on AKT 25-plus years after its discovery

  04-07-2017 19:48 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Since its discovery more than 25 years ago, the kinase AKT has become a central figure in cell signaling. We highlight some of the landmark findings in those 25 years that contributed to our understanding of the regulation and function of AKT in directing cellular processes and behavior. Future progress toward fully understanding the roles of AKT in cell, tissue, and organismal biology will depend on technological innovations and the combination of in-depth reductionist analyses with systems-bas
  
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• 'Brightest minds' key to future science success

  04-07-2017 19:03 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The new research funding body sets out its vision for the future amid the changing world of science.
  
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• Venture firm co-founder Dave McClure resigns, partner quits over harassment scandal

  04-07-2017 16:45 via cbc.ca
  
  A sexual harassment scandal sweeping the Silicon Valley startup world intensified on Monday as high-profile investor Dave McClure resigned from his firm, 500 Startups, while another partner quit in protest and a second female entrepreneur came forward with allegations of misconduct.
  
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• Lunar robots put to the test on Sicily's Mount Etna

  04-07-2017 16:23
  
  MOUNT ETNA, Italy (Reuters) - A robot wheels across a rocky, windswept landscape that looks like the surface of some distant planet from a science fiction film. But it is not in outer space, it's on the slopes of Europe's most active volcano.
  
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• Scientists explain ancient Rome's long-lasting concrete

  04-07-2017 14:23 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Researchers unlock the chemistry of Roman concrete which has resisted the elements for thousands of years.
  
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• Giant croc had teeth like a T. rex

  04-07-2017 14:06 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Researchers have described new fossils belonging to an extinct crocodile-like creature that had a set of serrated teeth like those of a T. rex.
  
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• Canada's new astronauts visit space agency near Montreal

  04-07-2017 14:01 via cbc.ca
  
  Albertans Jennifer Sidey and Joshua Kutryk were named by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Saturday as the country marked its 150th birthday.
  
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• Canada's new astronauts get rousing welcome at space agency near Montreal

  04-07-2017 14:01 via cbc.ca
  
  Canada's two new astronauts received a rousing ovation from staff at the Canadian Space Agency on Tuesday as they took questions from children in the audience and toured the facilities.
  
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• Painful memories could be erased, new study says

  04-07-2017 11:00 via cbc.ca
  
  Scientists have taken another step toward being able to selectively edit out bad memories while leaving the good ones intact — something that could one day be used to treat people suffering from PTSD or other anxiety disorders linked to painful memories.
  
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• UK research chief 'will not direct science'

  04-07-2017 07:07 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The new head of UK research has said that he won't centrally direct scientific research.
  
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• Winging it: How do bats out-maneuver their prey?

  04-07-2017 06:00
  
  (Society for Experimental Biology) Many bat species catch food 'on the wing' without touching the ground, but how do they do it?A new study by Per Henningsson at Lund University, Sweden is the first of its kind to analyze the aerodynamics of bats performing maneuvers during flight.
  
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• The transfer of chromosomally 'abnormal' embryos can still result in pregnancy in IVF

  04-07-2017 06:00
  
  (European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology) IVF embryos whose cells have mixed chromosomal profiles -- one normal, another abnormal -- still have the potential to implant in the uterus and become a healthy pregnancy, according to a study presented today at the 33rd Annual Meeting of ESHRE.
  
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• Surprise methanol detection points to an evolving story of Enceladus's plumes

  04-07-2017 06:00
  
  (Royal Astronomical Society) A serendipitous detection of the organic molecule methanol around an intriguing moon of Saturn suggests that material spewed from Enceladus undertakes a complex chemical journey once vented into space. This is the first time that a molecule from Enceladus has been detected with a ground-based telescope. Dr. Emily Drabek-Maunder, of Cardiff University, will present the results on Tuesday, July 4, at the National Astronomy Meeting at the University of Hull.
  
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• Study finds automated embryo assessment system more accurate than that of embryologists

  04-07-2017 06:00
  
  (European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology) Embryo quality has long been considered the main determinant of implantation and pregnancy in IVF. Morphology -- a visual assessment of an embryo's shape and development -- has since the very first days of IVF been the key to measuring this embryo quality, and only in recent years has this morphological grading been made somewhat more scientific with the introduction of time-lapse imaging.
  
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• Spain now sets the pace of assisted reproduction in Europe with more than 100,000 treatments a year

  04-07-2017 06:00
  
  (European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology) Spain is Europe's most active country in assisted reproduction. ESHRE has collected the national registry data of ART cycles performed in Europe since 1997 and for its latest report (for 2014) found that a record 109,275 treatment cycles were performed in Spain, which now sets the pace of European ART ahead of Russia (94.985 cycles) and former front runner France (90,434). The cycles monitored by ESHRE include treatments with IVF, ICSI, egg
  
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• Shocking case of indigestion in supermassive black hole

  04-07-2017 06:00
  
  (Royal Astronomical Society) A multi-wavelength study of a pair of colliding galaxies has revealed the cause of a supermassive black hole's case of 'indigestion.' Results will be presented by Dr. Hayden Rampadarath at the National Astronomy Meeting at the University of Hull.
  
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• Sea shells for sale: A new source of sustainable biomaterials

  04-07-2017 06:00
  
  (Society for Experimental Biology) Over 7 million tonnes of mollusc shells are discarded by the seafood industry each year as unwanted waste -- and the vast majority of these shells are either thrown in landfills or dumped at sea. Dr. James Morris and a team of CACHE researchers from the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences are looking at environmentally and economically sustainable options for these biomaterials.
  
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• New chemical synthesis method can produce an exciting range of novel compounds

  04-07-2017 06:00
  
  (Nagoya Institute of Technology) Researchers at Nagoya Institute of Technology have established a reaction catalyzed by Bis(imidazoline)/zinc whereby 2H-azirines react with phosphite, yielding aziridines at a high enantiomeric ratio. Given the value of existing aziridines as chemical building blocks as well as medications such as the chemotherapy agent mitomycin C and the antibiotics azicemicins, this reaction system could provide a range of new targets with pharmaceutical potential.
  
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• Menstruation doesn't change how your brain works -- period

  04-07-2017 06:00
  
  (Frontiers) It has long been assumed that your period affects your brain's performance. Professor Brigitte Leeners and her team studied a sample of women in Zürich and Hannover to determine whether changes in hormones during the menstrual cycle really do change how well brains work. By increasing the sample size and following participants over more than one menstrual cycle, they found evidence that your brain's performance isn't affected by your cycle.
  
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• McMaster researchers make data centers more efficient

  04-07-2017 06:00
  
  (McMaster University) A McMaster University research center has a received a near $1 million grant to create a smart system that monitors the vital signs of data centers, saving companies energy, labor time, and money.McMaster's Computing Infrastructure Research Centre (CIRC) has partnered with Cinnos Mission Critical Incorporated, a McMaster-born data center solutions company, to work on a better monitoring system for data centers.
  
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• High-precision control of printed electronics

  04-07-2017 06:00
  
  (Linköping University) Printed electronic transistor circuits and displays, in which the colour of individual pixels can be changed, are two of many applications of ground-breaking research at the Laboratory of Organic Electronics, Linköping University. New groundbreaking results on these topics have been published in the prestigious scientific journal Science Advances.
  
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• Forgotten archives reveal street-level impact of 1918 Puerto Rico earthquake and tsunami

  04-07-2017 06:00
  
  (Seismological Society of America) Repair petitions filed in the wake of the 1918 Puerto Rico earthquake and tsunami, stored and forgotten in the San Juan archives for nearly 100 years, are giving scientists a house-by-house look at the damage wrought by the magnitude 7.3 event.
  
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• Fastest stars in the Milky Way are 'runaways' from another galaxy

  04-07-2017 06:00
  
  (University of Cambridge) A group of astronomers have shown that the fastest-moving stars in our galaxy -- which are travelling so fast that they can escape the Milky Way -- are in fact runaways from a much smaller galaxy in orbit around our own.
  
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• Ensuring carpoolers are compatible is key to ridesharing success

  04-07-2017 06:00
  
  (University of Waterloo) Ensuring that would-be carpoolers are riding with people they actually like could potentially decrease car use by nearly 60 percent, research from a professor at the University of Waterloo has found.
  
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• Can satellites be used as an early warning system for landslides?

  04-07-2017 06:00
  
  (Newcastle University) Researchers from Newcastle University (UK), Chengdu University of Technology, Tongji University, China Academy of Space Technology and Wuhan University (China) have been tracking the massive landslide which struck Xinmo Village, Maoxian County, Sichuan Province in China.
  
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• Better bacteria-busting techniques could make oil extraction greener and cheaper

  04-07-2017 06:00
  
  (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council) Simple tweaks to oilfield practice could provide the offshore industry with a more sustainable, money-saving solution to health and safety, environmental and commercial threats posed by harmful bacteria in subsea oil deposits. Easy-to-implement, cost-cutting measures - such as adjusting the water temperature used during oil production -- could offer a way of tackling problems linked to sulphate-reducing bacteria (SRB) that is greener and more
  
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• AAS publishes a special issue on Chinese Carbon Budget Program

  04-07-2017 06:00
  
  (Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences) A special issue on outcomes of Chinese Academy of Sciences Carbon Budget and Climate Change Program is published in Advances in Atmospheric Sciences.
  
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• A twist in the tail: Flying fish give clues to 'tandem wing' airplane design

  04-07-2017 06:00
  
  (Society for Experimental Biology) Ribbon halfbeak are a species of fish with the ability to fly above the sea surface -- but unlike true 'flying fish', they lack the necessary hind wing fins. So how do they fly? Dr. Yoshinobu Inada from Tokai University, Japan says, 'Investigating the design of ribbon halfbeak could provide useful information for the optimal design of tandem wing airplanes.'
  
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• Tilted microscopy technique better reveals protein structures

  04-07-2017 02:15
  A new cryo-EM method facilitates a better understanding of proteins involved in disease, outlines a new report.
  
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