Science news

• Disney Plus user accounts already found on hacking sites

  20-11-2019 14:57 via CBC | Technology News
  
  Disney says its new Disney Plus streaming service doesn't have a security breach, but some users have been shut out after hackers tried to break into their accounts.
  
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• Toxic algae, climate change, bad policy: Scientists say fresh water under threat

  20-11-2019 14:56 via CBC | Technology News
  
  Canada will be up a creek without a paddle if it doesn't acknowledge threats to its fresh water, says a report from some of the country's top water scientists.
  
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• Edmonton pilot hopes to cross the finish line in international electric airplane race

  20-11-2019 14:00 via CBC | Technology News
  
  Scott Holmes and his team are trying to accomplish something that's never been done before in the aviation industry: develop, build, and successfully run an electric motor in an airplane race. 
  
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• Global fossil fuel production on track to bust Paris climate targets

  20-11-2019 13:38 via CBC | Technology News
  
  The world's major fossil fuel producers are set to bust global environmental goals with excessive coal, oil and gas extraction in the next decade, the United Nations and research groups said on Wednesday in the latest warning over climate crisis.
  
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• NASA's Curiosity Rover Finds Unexplained Oxygen on Mars

  20-11-2019 12:45 via Scientific American News
  
  Fluctuating levels of the atmospheric gas, a potential tracer of alien life, have left researchers mystified-- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• UK Study: Lack of economic support hinders cognitive abilities of children of single mothers

  20-11-2019 06:00 via EurekAlert! - Social and Behavioral Science
  
  (Society for Research in Child Development) A new study examined how the impact of single motherhood on children's verbal cognitive abilities has changed and how the age of children when their parents separate affects those abilities. The study concluded that children who lived with a single mother before age 11 had lower verbal cognitive ability even after considering mothers' education and their age at the time of the child's birth.
  
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• Study: Young children can learn math skills from intelligent virtual characters

  20-11-2019 06:00 via EurekAlert! - Social and Behavioral Science
  
  (Society for Research in Child Development) A new study examined whether young children's verbal engagement with an onscreen interactive media character could boost their math skills. The study concluded that children's parasocial (that is, one-sided) emotional relationships with the intelligent character and their parasocial interactions (in this case, talking about math with the character) led to quicker, more accurate math responses during virtual game play.
  
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• Scientists developed a method for studying the structure of self-organizing materials

  20-11-2019 06:00 via EurekAlert! - Technology, Engineering and Computer Science
  
  (Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University) An international group of scientists with IKBFU professor Anatoliy Snigirev among them has published an article that proposes a new method for studying the structure of complexly organized materials of both artificial and natural origin.
  
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• Prior exposure to pollutants could underlie increased diabetes risk of Indian immigrants

  20-11-2019 06:00 via EurekAlert! - Social and Behavioral Science
  
  (American Chemical Society) In 2004, the United Nations Stockholm Convention banned the production and use of many persistent organic pollutants (POPs), such as dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). However, POP production and use continue in some nations that did not ratify the treaty, including India and other South Asian countries. Now, researchers reporting in ACS' Environmental Science & Technology have linked high levels of DDT in Indian immigrants
  
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• Outback telescope captures Milky Way center, discovers remnants of dead stars

  20-11-2019 06:00 via EurekAlert! - Space and Planetary Science
  
  (International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research) A radio telescope in the Western Australian outback has captured a spectacular new view of the centre of the galaxy in which we live, the Milky Way.The image from the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) telescope shows what our galaxy would look like if human eyes could see radio waves.
  
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• Non-invasive microscopy detects activation state and distinguishes between cell types

  20-11-2019 06:00 via EurekAlert! - Technology, Engineering and Computer Science
  
  (Osaka University) Most analytical methods in biology require invasive procedures to analyze samples, which leads to irreversible changes or even their destruction. Here, researchers from Osaka University develop a non-invasive, label-free optical approach along with statistical tools to reveal immune cell type, cell activation state, and single cell heterogeneity.
  
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• New water-based optical device revolutionizes the field of optics research

  20-11-2019 06:00 via EurekAlert! - Space and Planetary Science
  
  (Tokyo University of Science) Using the optical properties of a material to manipulate light signals is called light modulation, a method widely used in optical communication. In a groundbreaking study, a group of scientists at the Tokyo University of Science has come up with a novel method of modulating light, using water as a medium. This method is inexpensive and more efficient than existing ones, paving the way for new, improved optical devices.
  
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• Menopause isn't the only reason for low libido in older women

  20-11-2019 06:00 via EurekAlert! - Social and Behavioral Science
  
  (University of Pittsburgh) A qualitative study by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine found that women in their 60s report various reasons behind why they lack libido -- including sexual dysfunction in their partners.
  
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• Many patients with anorexia nervosa get better, but complete recovery elusive to most

  20-11-2019 06:00 via EurekAlert! - Social and Behavioral Science
  
  (University of California - San Francisco) Three in four patients with anorexia nervosa -- including many with challenging illness -- make a partial recovery. But just 21 percent make a full recovery, a milestone that is most likely to signal permanent remission.
  
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• Making tiny antennas for wearable electronics

  20-11-2019 06:00 via EurekAlert! - Technology, Engineering and Computer Science
  
  (American Chemical Society) When it comes to electronics, bigger usually isn't better. This is especially true for a new generation of wearable communication systems that promise to connect people, machines and other objects in a wireless 'internet of things.' To make the devices small and comfortable enough to wear, scientists need to miniaturize their components. Now, researchers in ACS Nano have made the tiniest radio-frequency antennas reported yet, with thicknesses of about 1/100 of a human
  
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• Li-ion battery components to be printed on an inkjet printer

  20-11-2019 06:00 via EurekAlert! - Technology, Engineering and Computer Science
  
  (Peter the Great Saint-Petersburg Polytechnic University) Scientists from Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University (SPbPU) are developing a technology for printing the electrodes for miniature li-ion batteries by an inkjet printer. The ongoing research may help to create power supplies for biosensors, wearable electronics, and other miniature devices. The results of the study are published in one of the leading scientific journals Energy Technology. The research was carried out with
  
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• How people trick themselves into thinking something is heavier than it really is

  20-11-2019 06:00 via EurekAlert! - Social and Behavioral Science
  
  (Hiroshima University) In a recent study published in PLOS One researchers from Hiroshima University and Nagoya Institute of Technology found that if you hold your car steering wheel at certain angles (1, 4, or 5 on the clock) then it's likely you're over or underestimating how much force you need to use to steer the car.
  
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• Harvesting energy from walking human body Lightweight smart materials-based energy harvester develop

  20-11-2019 06:00 via EurekAlert! - Technology, Engineering and Computer Science
  
  (The Chinese University of Hong Kong) A research team led by Professor Wei-Hsin Liao from the Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) has developed a lightweight smart materials-based energy harvester for scavenging energy from human motion, generating inexhaustible and sustainable power supply just from walking.
  
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• Faith community events for children: Good for the soul but lack nutrition

  20-11-2019 06:00 via EurekAlert! - Social and Behavioral Science
  
  (Florida Atlantic University) Most faith-based and private schools and associated afterschool programs operate independently without dietary requirements. A pilot study is the first to examine foods served within faith community settings related to child health. Results showed that pizza and pasta made up 71 percent of the main dishes; cheese was the main source of dairy products; high fat desserts were served at 75 percent of the events; and sugar-sweetened beverages were served at 71 percent o
  
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• Exposure to air pollutants from power plants varies by race, income and geography

  20-11-2019 06:00 via EurekAlert! - Social and Behavioral Science
  
  (American Chemical Society) Many people take electricity for granted -- the power to turn on light with the flip of a switch, or keep food from spoiling with refrigeration. But generating electricity from fossil fuels exacts a toll on health and the environment. Scientists estimate that these power plant emissions cause tens of thousands of premature deaths in the US each year. Now, researchers report in ACS' Environmental Science & Technology that pollutant exposure varies with certain demo
  
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• Estimating the environmental impact of Bitcoin mining

  20-11-2019 06:00 via EurekAlert! - Technology, Engineering and Computer Science
  
  (American Chemical Society) As an alternative to government-issued money, the cryptocurrency Bitcoin offers relative anonymity, no sales tax and freedom from bank and government interference. But some people argue that these benefits have an enormous environmental impact, particularly with regard to Bitcoin mining -- the process used to secure the cryptocurrency. Now, researchers reporting in ACS' Environmental Science & Technology have estimated that past and future environmental impacts of
  
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• Energy research -- Economizing on iridium

  20-11-2019 06:00 via EurekAlert! - Technology, Engineering and Computer Science
  
  (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) Iridium is an ideal catalyst for the electrolytic production of hydrogen from water -- but it is extremely expensive. But now a new kind of electrode made of highly porous material does an excellent job with just a hint of iridium.
  
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• Emissions from electricity generation lead to premature deaths for some racial groups

  20-11-2019 06:00 via EurekAlert! - Social and Behavioral Science
  
  (University of Washington) University of Washington researchers have found that air pollution from electricity generation emissions in 2014 led to about 16,000 premature deaths in the continental US.
  
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• Caught in the act: MeerKAT telescope spies stellar flare

  20-11-2019 06:00 via EurekAlert! - Space and Planetary Science
  
  (University of Manchester) The MeerKAT radio telescope in the Northern Cape of South Africa has discovered an object which rapidly brightened by more than a factor of threeover a period of three weeks. This is the first new transient source discovered with MeerKAT and scientists hope it is the tip of an iceberg of transient events to be discovered with the telescope.
  
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• Carnegie Mellon system locates shooters using smartphone video

  20-11-2019 06:00 via EurekAlert! - Technology, Engineering and Computer Science
  
  (Carnegie Mellon University) Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have developed a system that can accurately locate a shooter based on video recordings from as few as three smartphones.
  
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• A super-fast 'light switch' for future cars and computers

  20-11-2019 06:00 via EurekAlert! - Technology, Engineering and Computer Science
  
  (ETH Zurich) Switching light beams quickly is important in many technological applications. Researchers at ETH have now developed an 'electro-opto-mechanical' switch for light beams that is considerably smaller and faster than current models. This is relevant for applications such as self-driving cars and optical quantum technologies.
  
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• A decade after the predators have gone, Galapagos Island finches are still being spooked

  20-11-2019 06:00 via EurekAlert! - Technology, Engineering and Computer Science
  
  (University of Cambridge) On some of the Galapagos Islands where human-introduced predators of Darwin's finches were eradicated over a decade ago, the finches are still acting as though they are in danger, according to research published today in the Journal of Animal Ecology.
  
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• 4D imaging with liquid crystal microlenses

  20-11-2019 06:00 via EurekAlert! - Technology, Engineering and Computer Science
  
  (American Chemical Society) Most images captured by a camera lens are flat and two dimensional. Increasingly, 3D imaging technologies are providing the crucial context of depth for scientific and medical applications. 4D imaging, which adds information on light polarization, could open up even more possibilities, but usually the equipment is bulky, expensive and complicated. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Nano have developed self-assembling liquid crystal microlenses that can reveal 4D inform
  
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• Federal Court issues first ever order to block piracy website

  19-11-2019 20:14 via CBC | Technology News
  
  A Federal Court is ordering Canada's internet service providers to block websites for a company selling pirated television online, deeming that such a move wouldn't infringe on freedom of expression or net neutrality.
  
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• Sequential activation of STIM1 links Ca2+ with luminal domain unfolding

  19-11-2019 19:50 via Science Signaling current issue
  The stromal interaction molecule 1 (STIM1) has two important functions, Ca2+ sensing within the endoplasmic reticulum and activation of the store-operated Ca2+ channel Orai1, enabling plasma-membrane Ca2+ influx. We combined molecular dynamics (MD) simulations with live-cell recordings and determined the sequential Ca2+-dependent conformations of the luminal STIM1 domain upon activation. Furthermore, we identified the residues within the canonical and noncanonical EF-hand domains that can bind t
  
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• Metabolic adaption through regulated proteolysis

  19-11-2019 19:50 via Science Signaling current issue
  Induced mitochondrial protein turnover enables cells to metabolically adapt to oxygen and nutrient deprivation.
  
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• Dynamic palmitoylation controls the microdomain localization of the DKK1 receptors CKAP4 and LRP6

  19-11-2019 19:50 via Science Signaling current issue
  Dickkopf1 (DKK1) was originally identified as an antagonist of Wnt signaling that binds to and induces the clathrin-mediated endocytosis of the Wnt coreceptors low-density lipoprotein receptor–related proteins 5 and 6 (LRP5/6). DKK1 also binds to cytoskeleton-associated protein 4 (CKAP4), which was originally identified as an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) protein but also functions at the plasma membrane as a receptor for various ligands. The DKK1-CKAP4 pathway is activated in several human c
  
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• 'Squeal on Pigs' campaign launches to keep Canadian swine from going hog-wild in Montana

  19-11-2019 19:29 via CBC | Technology News
  
  Officials in Montana are marshalling their resources and enlisting the public's help to keep encroaching feral hogs from Canada at bay with a program called "Squeal on Pigs."
  
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• Montana seeks to keep feral pigs from Canada at bay

  19-11-2019 19:29 via CBC | Technology News
  
  The "Squeal on Pigs" program seeks the public's help to prevent wild hogs from destroying private property and spreading disease in Montana.
  
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• Yes, house cats are getting fatter — and it's all your fault

  19-11-2019 18:32 via CBC | Technology News
  
  A fat cat named Cinderblock on an aspirational mission to slim down has become a darling of the internet, but felines everywhere should likely be joining her in the battle against the bulge. 
  
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• Yes, house cats are getting fatter and it's all your fault, veterinarian says

  19-11-2019 18:32 via CBC | Technology News
  
  A fat cat named Cinderblock on an aspirational mission to slim down has become a darling of the internet, but felines everywhere should likely be joining her in the battle against the bulge. 
  
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• EasyJet says it will operate net-zero carbon flights

  19-11-2019 16:17 via CBC | Technology News
  
  European budget airline easyJet says it will become the first major carrier to operate net-zero carbon flights, offsetting carbon emissions from the fuel used on every flight.
  
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• EasyJet plans to offset carbon on all flights

  19-11-2019 16:17 via CBC | Technology News
  
  European budget airline easyJet says it will become the first major carrier to operate net-zero carbon flights, offsetting carbon emissions from the fuel used on every flight.
  
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• Open water replaces sea ice as the autumn norm in Western Arctic

  19-11-2019 14:53 via CBC | Technology News
  
  Open water has become the November norm in the Chukchi Sea northwest of Alaska. Instead of thick, years-old ice, researchers are studying waves and how they may pummel the northern Alaska coastline.
  
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• More than 100 fires burn across Australia's east coast

  19-11-2019 13:52 via CBC | Technology News
  
  Strong winds stoked more than 100 fires across Australia's east coast on Tuesday, blanketing Sydney in hazardous smoke and prompting health warnings for thecountry's most populous city.
  
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• Targeting Gut Microbes May Help Stroke Recovery

  19-11-2019 12:45 via Scientific American News
  
  Growing evidence from mouse studies suggests that a healthy microbiome might improve poststroke outcomes-- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Thrifting is losing its stigma: second-hand clothes are sustainable — and cool

  19-11-2019 10:00 via CBC | Technology News
  
  Sellers of second-hand clothes are enjoying a boom in business right now in part, they say, because consumers' growing concern about the environment is leading them to turn away from the fast fashion industry, with its throwaway garments and carbon footprint.
  
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• For better or worse, Trudeau's next 4 years are going to be about climate change

  19-11-2019 10:00 via CBC | Technology News
  
  The 2019 election result presented Justin Trudeau with an opportunity - and painted him into a corner. Climate change emerged as the key issue of the campaign, giving the Liberals an advantage in the East while building a wall around the West. We'll see Trudeau's response to this challenge in how he designs his next cabinet.
  
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• Australia fires: Sydney blanketed by smoke from NSW bushfires

  19-11-2019 06:46 via BBC News - Science & Environment
  
  People in Sydney woke up to a city shrouded in smoke on Tuesday, as bushfires rage across the region.
  
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• Yoga and physical therapy as treatment for chronic lower back pain also improves sleep

  19-11-2019 06:00 via EurekAlert! - Social and Behavioral Science
  
  (Boston Medical Center) Yoga and physical therapy (PT) are effective approaches to treating co-occurring sleep disturbance and back pain while reducing the need for medication, according to a new study from Boston Medical Center. Published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, the research showed significant improvements in sleep quality lasting 52 weeks after 12 weeks of yoga classes or 1-on-1 PT, which suggests a long-term benefit of these non-pharmacologic approaches.
  
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• World Literature, Cosmopolitanism, Globality

  19-11-2019 06:00 via EurekAlert! - Social and Behavioral Science
  
  (De Gruyter) 'World Literature, Cosmopolitanism, Globality: Beyond, Against, Post, Otherwise' offers a wide range of contributions approaching the blind spots of the globally oriented Humanities for phenomena that in one way or another have gone beyond the discourses, aesthetics, and political positions of liberal cosmopolitanism and neoliberal globalization.
  
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• When do alcohol-dependent mothers parent harshly?

  19-11-2019 06:00 via EurekAlert! - Social and Behavioral Science
  
  (University of Rochester) While parents with substance use disorders are more likely to treat their children harshly, they don't do so all the time. What are the triggers? And how can substance-dependent mothers and their medical care providers predict difficulties across challenging parenting contexts?
  
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• University of Maryland, Baltimore County wins DOE's 2019 CyberForce Competition™

  19-11-2019 06:00 via EurekAlert! - Technology, Engineering and Computer Science
  
  (DOE/Argonne National Laboratory) After a long suspenseful day, University of Maryland, Baltimore County earned the top spot as national winner of the US Department of Energy's CyberForce Competition.
  
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• UGA receives $15.75M to combat human trafficking

  19-11-2019 06:00 via EurekAlert! - Social and Behavioral Science
  
  (University of Georgia) The University of Georgia has been selected to receive $15.75 million from the U.S. Department of State to expand programming and research to measurably reduce human trafficking.
  
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• UBCO researcher examines traumatic brain injury in survivors of intimate partner violence

  19-11-2019 06:00 via EurekAlert! - Social and Behavioral Science
  
  (University of British Columbia Okanagan campus) While the diagnoses and treatment of sport-related concussion have well-established guidelines and protocols, a new study from UBC's Okanagan campus is looking at what has previously been an understudied group -- women survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV). Their hope is to develop a simple screening tool to help front-line services, like women's shelters, identify traumatic brain injury (TBI) earlier, says Paul van Donkelaar, lead research
  
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