Science news

• Faint hopes for Arctic sea ice recovery as levels drop to 4th lowest on record

  16-09-2015 23:56 via cbc.ca
  
  U.S. researchers say Arctic sea ice hit its summer minimum last week, and it was the fourth-lowest level on record. Long term trends show no evidence of sea ice recovery, the scientists say.
  
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• Boeing rejects Aerojet Rocketdyne bid for ULA launch venture

  16-09-2015 23:47
  
  NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. (Reuters) - Boeing Co on Wednesday said it had rejected an unsolicited bid from Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc for United Launch Alliance, a 50-50 rocket launch venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin Corp .
  
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• NASA's Curiosity Rover Finds Petrified Sand Dunes on Mars (Photo)

  16-09-2015 23:29
  
  A sweeping new panorama from NASA's Curiosity rover shows petrified sand dunes stretching across the jagged terrain of Mount Sharp on Mars. Curiosity's science team says the newly imaged dunes look similar to "crossbedding," structures formed by wind-deposited sand dunes such as those in the U.S. southwest. By looking at the sand dunes' geometry and orientation, scientists can get information about the winds that created the dunes.
  
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• An Ocean Flows Under Saturn's Icy Moon Enceladus

  16-09-2015 23:29
  
  Saturn's moon Enceladus is an active water world with a global body of water sloshing around deep below its icy crust, scientists have confirmed. The smoking gun is the very slight wobble that Enceladus displays as it orbits Saturn. Instead, the moon must contain a complete ocean layer, according to new research that relied on more than seven years of images taken by NASA's Cassini space probe.
  
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• Chris Hadfield invites Ahmed Mohamed to Toronto science show

  16-09-2015 23:20 via cbc.ca
  
  Retired astronaut Chris Hadfield says there is a ticket to his Toronto science show waiting for a Texas teenager who was arrested and later released with no charges after his homemade clock was mistaken for a bomb.
  
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• First manned test flight of new deep-space capsule likely delayed: NASA

  16-09-2015 23:18
  
  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - The first manned test flight of NASA's new deep-space Orion capsule faces a likely two-year-year delay until 2023 due to development and budget concerns, officials with the U.S. space agency said on Wednesday.
  
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• Air Pollution Kills More than 3 Million People Globally Every Year

  16-09-2015 23:14
  
  Outdoor air pollution may lead to more than 3 million premature deaths globally per year, according to a new study. About 75 percent of those deaths occur in Asia, the study found. Air pollutants such as ozone and tiny particles of toxins are linked with heart disease, lung disease and other serious afflictions that have long-term impacts on human health.
  
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• Agriculture secretary announces goal for cutting food waste

  16-09-2015 22:59
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced a goal Wednesday to cut the amount of food that Americans waste by 50 percent by 2030.
  
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• Rain to help in fight against California fires

  16-09-2015 22:51
  
  Cooler temperatures and rain are expected to provide much-needed help in the fight against massive fires roaring through northern California, officials said Wednesday.
  
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• Kerry says Russia proposes military talks on Syria

  16-09-2015 22:38
  
  By Lesley Wroughton and David Alexander WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration said Wednesday is was considering how to respond to a Russian proposal for military talks over Syria, where Moscow is expanding its forces even as U.S. warplanes conduct daily air strikes against Islamist militants. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said he was talking to the White House and Pentagon about the Kremlin proposal, which was made during phone calls with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in r
  
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• VIDEO: Kayak couple survives whale encounter

  16-09-2015 22:18 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A couple who survived a close encounter with a humpback whale while kayaking say they "thought [they] were going to die".
  
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• NASA's 1st Manned Flight of Orion Space Capsule May Slip to 2023

  16-09-2015 21:59
  
  The first manned flight of NASA's Orion spacecraft, which is being built to help humanity explore Mars and other distant destinations, may be delayed by two years, until 2023, agency officials announced today. Orion's first crewed sojourn, known as Exploration Mission 2 (EM-2), is officially targeted for launch in August 2021. Engineers and technicians are still working toward the August 2021 goal, but hitting that target is unlikely, said NASA Associate Administrator Robert Lightfoot.
  
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• First manned flight of NASA's Orion may be delayed to 2023

  16-09-2015 21:25
  
  NASA's Orion spaceship, which is being built to one day carry astronauts to deep space, may not launch with crew on board until 2023, the US space agency said Wednesday.
  
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• Mars’ ionosphere mystery explained

  16-09-2015 21:00
  
  A decades-old disagreement between the Viking landers and spacecraft buzzing around Mars might come down to what time of day each was investigating the Red Planet’s ionosphere.
  
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• NASA pushes 1st flight of Orion spacecraft with crew to 2023

  16-09-2015 20:29
  
  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA's newest spacecraft, the Orion, won't be flying astronauts as soon as anticipated.
  
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• 54,000 Canadian IT jobs unfilled, IDC estimates

  16-09-2015 20:13 via cbc.ca
  
  IDC Canada estimates there are 54,000 unfilled information technology jobs in Canada, a problem that delays projects and inhibits innovation.
  
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• Saturn moon Enceladus may have massive hidden 'habitable ocean'

  16-09-2015 20:04
  
  A potentially habitable ocean surrounds the whole of Saturn's small moon Enceladus beneath an icy surface, new research suggests.
  
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• 5 new things in iOS 9

  16-09-2015 20:03 via cbc.ca
  
  Apple released its latest software upgrade for iPhones, iPads and iPods today. Here are five new features iOS 9 will bring.
  
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• Paris climate summit: Don't mention Copenhagen

  16-09-2015 20:01 via bbc.co.uk
  
  How failures at Copenhagen climate summit still haunt the process
  
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• Caffeine resets body’s clock

  16-09-2015 20:00
  
  Caffeine can push the body’s clock back.
  
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• Study: Air pollution kills 3.3 million worldwide, may double

  16-09-2015 19:37
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Air pollution is killing 3.3 million people a year worldwide, according to a new study that includes this surprise: Farming plays a large role in smog and soot deaths in industrial nations.
  
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• Heavy computer use at school hurts student outcomes: report

  16-09-2015 19:33 via cbc.ca
  
  Projectors, interactive whiteboards, tablets and laptops are playing a larger role in education in Canada and around the world. But a new report from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development is cautioning governments not to view technology as a panacea.
  
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• Frozen Giant Virus Still Infectious After 30,000 Years

  16-09-2015 19:32
  
  It's 30,000 years old and still ticking: A giant virus recently discovered deep in the Siberian permafrost reveals that huge ancient viruses are much more diverse than scientists had ever known. They're also potentially infectious if thawed from their Siberian deep freeze, though they pose no danger to humans, said Chantal Abergel, a scientist at the National Center for Scientific Research at Aix-Marseille University in France and co-author of a new study announcing the discovery of the new viru
  
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• Starving Polar Bear Photo: Don't Blame (Just) Climate Change

  16-09-2015 19:26
  
  For tourists and wildlife photographers, the main reason to come to Svalbard is to see polar bears. Polar bears have become the fuzzy face of the impacts of climate change, with shrinking sea ice in the Arctic affecting how the bears normally roam and hunt. Now, after a photograph of an emaciated polar bear hobbling on ice went viral online, some people are wondering if global warming is causing these majestic creatures to starve.
  
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• Earthquake jolts Big Bear area of Southern California

  16-09-2015 19:23
  
  BIG BEAR LAKE, Calif. (AP) — Seismologists have downgraded the magnitude of a light earthquake that jolted the Big Bear Lake area of the San Bernardino Mountains in Southern California.
  
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• Home fires, farm fumes are leading causes of air-pollution deaths

  16-09-2015 19:06
  
  Deadly air pollution comes from surprising sources, but toxicity of different types is still up in the air.
  
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• Kerry says Russia proposed U.S.-Russia military talks on Syria

  16-09-2015 19:03
  
  Russia has proposed military talks with the United States on Syria and the United States is considering next steps, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Wednesday. Kerry said he was talking to the White House and Pentagon about the proposal following recent conversations with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. "The Russians proposed ... that we have military-to-military conversation ...to discuss what precisely what will be done to deconflict with respect to any potential risks that might
  
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• Why Diet Soda Could Sink Your Diet

  16-09-2015 18:49
  
  Drinking diet soda may go hand in hand with indulging in extra helpings of sugar- and fat-laden foods like cookies or french fries, a new study suggests. Or, it could be that people feel less guilty about consuming more calories after drinking a diet beverage, and therefore they feel justified in eating muffins or chips, An added.
  
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• Dirty air sends millions to early grave: study

  16-09-2015 18:47
  
  Outdoor air pollution from sources as varied as cooking fires in India, traffic in the United States and fertiliser use in Russia, claim some 3.3 million lives globally every year, researchers said Wednesday.
  
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• Warmer waters give Arctic mosquitoes a growth spurt

  16-09-2015 18:44
  
  Arctic mosquitoes develop faster in warmer waters, outpacing increased predation.
  
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• Sugar beet waste product could be billion dollar 'wonder material'

  16-09-2015 18:27
  A Scottish company which has developed a material made from sugar beet waste believes the sky is the limit - literally. Cellucomp says its Curran product is twice as strong as carbon fibre and could one day be used to make airplane wings.
  
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• Apple WatchOS 2 delayed due to bug

  16-09-2015 18:24 via cbc.ca
  
  Apple Inc said it won't release watchOS 2, an updated operating system for the Apple Watch, on Wednesday as planned after it discovered a bug in development.
  
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• How automation could benefit agriculture

  16-09-2015 18:20 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Intelligent automation now means that a dairy herd can be fed, cared for and milked by just one or two people.
  
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• Save a panda, save the forest?

  16-09-2015 18:15
  
  Study argues that protecting the charismatic bears helps other species as well
  
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• In warming Arctic, mosquitoes may live long and prosper

  16-09-2015 17:55
  
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Rising temperatures at the top of the world may be bad news for Arctic denizens like polar bears, but good news for the local mosquitoes, pesky bloodsuckers that prosper with warmer weather.
  
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• U.S. universities lead in innovation, Asia a rising power

  16-09-2015 17:52
  LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. universities lead the world in scientific innovation but face strong competition from Asian rivals with close ties to industry, according to a detailed analysis of academic papers and patent filings.
  
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• Texas teen arrested after his electronic clock mistaken for bomb

  16-09-2015 17:41 via cbc.ca
  
  A 14-year-old Texas boy was arrested and taken to juvenile detention Monday after teachers mistook the homemade electronic clock he had brought to school for a bomb.
  
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• Goldfish attack! Unwanted carp showing up in High River ponds

  16-09-2015 17:39 via cbc.ca
  
  The town of High River has discovered up to 100 goldfish in its community stormwater ponds, threatening native fish, and the mayor says "now we've got to go in and kill 'em."
  
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• Underwater microphone to study whales, orcas in Georgia Strait

  16-09-2015 17:10 via cbc.ca
  
  Port Metro Vancouver is hoping a new underwater listening station will help understand the impact shipping is having on whales and orcas in Georgia Strait.
  
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• U.S., China announce deep carbon cuts

  16-09-2015 17:00
  
  Two biggest greenhouse gas polluters vow to slash emissions
  
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• US Military Foresees Robot-Run 'Transportation Hub' in Space

  16-09-2015 16:46
  
  The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is developing a highly capable robotic arm that could make such a space "transportation hub" possible in the relatively near future, said former NASA astronaut Pam Melroy, deputy director of DARPA's Tactical Technology Office. "We think that these capabilities — space capabilities — are not just about a single monolithic satellite with a few capabilities, but instead about a vibrant, robust ecosystem that involves transportation,
  
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• Magma Oceans on Jupiter's Moon Io May Solve Volcano Mystery

  16-09-2015 16:46
  
  Something strange is happening on Io: The Jupiter moon's vigorous volcanoes are mysteriously offset from where scientists expected, and its underground magma oceans may be the cause. A new model suggests that worlds caught in an intense push and pull of gravity, like the volcanic moon Io, are likely to have below-ground oceans of magma or water that stick around for a long time — in the water's case, providing a potential hotspot for the development of life. "This is the first time the amo
  
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• Launching 'The Mars Generation': Teen on Mission to Get People to Mars

  16-09-2015 16:46
  
  Abigail Harrison wasn't alive to see the moon landings. For the past five years, under the social media identity "Astronaut Abby," Harrison has gone about not only advancing her own dream, but sharing her passion for space exploration with tens of thousands of students her age and younger. Now, as a college freshman, Harrison is launching "Astronaut Abby" on an even larger mission —getting people of all ages excited and educated about what it means to be a member of the generation that wil
  
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• Tonight's Waxing Crescent Moon: A Skywatching Tour

  16-09-2015 16:41
  
  Starting with the waxing crescent moon tonight (Sept. 16), skywatchers with binoculars or small telescopes can spot the moon's geographic features in vivid detail. Over the course of the month, the moon cycles through new moon, to first quarter, to full moon, to last quarter and back to new. At new moon, the moon is usually too close to be seen except when it passes in front of the sun, as happened in the eclipse this month on Sept. 13.
  
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• How Google lured the nation’s mental health director to leave his job

  16-09-2015 16:30
  
  Noting successes and "unfinished business," Thomas Insel explains why he’s leaving NIMH for the Silicon Valley powerhouse
  
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• Marine life slashed by half since 1970: WWF

  16-09-2015 16:18
  
  Pollution, industrial fishing and climate change have killed off half of marine life in the last four decades, according to a WWF report released on Wednesday.
  
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• Brain cells activated by sound waves

  16-09-2015 15:32 via bbc.co.uk
  
  In a tiny laboratory worm, scientists directly control brain cells using sound waves for the first time.
  
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• Ancient Human-Size Fish Breathed with Lungs

  16-09-2015 15:11
  
  Before the dinosaur age, the coelacanth — a hefty, mysterious fish that now breathes with its gills — sported a well-developed lung, a new study finds. During the Mesozoic era, more commonly known as the dinosaur age, it's likely that some species of coelacanth (see-leh-kanth) moved to deeper waters, stopped using their lungs and began relying exclusively on their gills to breathe, the researchers said. This adaptation to deep water likely helped coelacanths survive the asteroid that
  
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• Leaf-Eating Caterpillars Use Their Poop to Trick Plants

  16-09-2015 15:08
  
  Caterpillars that munch on corn leaves have developed a clever way to get the most nutrients from their meals: They use their poop to trick the plants into lowering their defenses. Scientists at Pennsylvania State University recently discovered that fall armyworm caterpillars (Spodoptera frugiperda) can send chemical signals to plants through their poop, or frass. "It turns out that the caterpillar frass tricks the plant into sensing that it is being attacked by fungal pathogens," study co-autho
  
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• Ocean fish numbers on 'brink of collapse'

  16-09-2015 14:59 via cbc.ca
  
  The amount of fish in the oceans has halved since 1970, in a plunge to the "brink of collapse" caused by overfishing and other threats, the WWF conservation group said on Wednesday.
  
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