Science news

• Gene editing makes pigs safer for human transplants

  12-10-2015 22:38
  
  CRISPR/Cas9 disables multiple viruses at one time
  
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• Earth's Gravitational Pull Cracks Open the Moon

  12-10-2015 21:57
  
  Earth's gravitational pull is massaging the moon, opening up faults in the lunar crust, researchers say. Just as the moon's gravitational pull causes seas and lakes to rise and fall as tides on Earth, the Earth exerts tidal forces on the moon. Scientists have known this for a while, but now they've found that Earth's pull actually opens up faults on the moon.
  
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• No fuel delivered to Yemen despite president's pledge - U.N.

  12-10-2015 21:46
  
  By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Yemen only received one percent of its monthly commercial fuel needs in September and there have been no shipments since the war-torn country's president pledged to the United Nations a week ago to allow deliveries, the world body said on Monday. Yemen relies on imports, but a near-total blockade led by Saudi Arabia has slowed shipments to a trickle. The Houthis and their allies - forces loyal to former Yemen president Ali Abdullah Saleh - seized th
  
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• Rat Brain Reconstructed in a Computer

  12-10-2015 21:33
  
  Scientists have digitally recreated a slice of a juvenile rat's brain — including 31,000 brain cells, of 207 different types, with 37 million connections. The computer-simulated brain achievement is part of the Blue Brain Project, whose aim is to create a rat brain and, eventually, a human brain inside a computer. The team first conducted tens of thousands of experiments in live juvenile rats, painstakingly cataloging the types of neurons and synapses, or brain cell connections.
  
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• Sea level rise will swallow Miami, New Orleans: study

  12-10-2015 21:27
  
  Say goodbye to Miami and New Orleans. No matter what we do to curb global warming, these and other beloved US cities will sink below rising seas, according to a study Monday.
  
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• Surface spills near fracking sites implicated in water contamination

  12-10-2015 21:00
  
  Chemical spills from fracking operations are the likely source of chemicals found in drinking water wells in northeastern Pennsylvania.
  
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• The science behind hallucinations

  12-10-2015 20:59 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Cardiff University researchers study whether the predictive nature of the brain could explain why people suffer hallucinations.
  
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• Gene editing could pave way for use of pig organs in human transplants

  12-10-2015 20:56 via cbc.ca
  
  U.S. researchers have used a new gene editing technique to trim away potentially harmful virus genes that have impeded the use of pig organs for transplants in humans.
  
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• Food chain collapse predicted in world's oceans

  12-10-2015 20:55
  
  The world's oceans are teeming with life, but rising carbon dioxide emissions could cause a collapse in the marine food chain from the top down, researchers in Australia said Monday.
  
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• Gene editing could pave way for pig organ transplants: U.S. study

  12-10-2015 20:31
  CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. researchers have used a new gene editing technique to trim away potentially harmful virus genes that have impeded the use of pig organs for transplants in humans.
  
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• 'GM could make pig organs for humans'

  12-10-2015 17:52 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A gene-editing method could one day make pig organs suitable for use in people, scientists say.
  
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• Palestinians step up pace of Jerusalem stabbings

  12-10-2015 17:21
  
  By Jeffrey Heller JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Palestinians escalated the pace of stabbing attacks in the Jerusalem area on Monday and Israeli police shot dead two of the alleged assailants in the worst spell of street violence for years. Four Israelis and 25 Palestinians, including seven alleged assailants and eight children, have died in 12 days of bloodshed, stirred in part by Muslim anger over increasing Jewish visits to the al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem. In the space of one hour, Israeli po
  
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• Don't like that drone overhead? Grab an anti-drone freeze ray

  12-10-2015 17:19 via cbc.ca
  
  A group of companies in the U.K. have come up with something that sounds straight out of a cartoon: A device with an anti-drone freeze ray.
  
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• Many Kids with Mental Health Issues See Only Pediatricians

  12-10-2015 17:04
  
  One in three children who were diagnosed and treated for mental health conditions on an outpatient basis saw their primary-care doctors for this care, a new study reports. Using data from a nationally representative survey, the researchers found that about 35 percent of children receiving mental health care in the past year had appointments only with their primary-care physicians compared with about 26 percent who saw only psychiatrists and 15 percent who saw only psychologists or social workers
  
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• Julian Assange, WikiLeaks founder, sees U.K. police removed from embassy where he's holed up

  12-10-2015 17:03 via cbc.ca
  
  British police have removed its officers from outside the Ecuadorean Embassy where WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been holed up since June 2012, but say they will still do their best to arrest him.
  
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• This Computer Chip Will Self-Destruct in 5 Seconds

  12-10-2015 17:02
  
  The new method uses silicon computer wafers attached to a piece of tempered glass that shatters into smithereens when heated in one spot. The heat can be turned on via a remote, which in the future could conceivably be triggered by anything from Wi-Fi to a radiofrequency signal, said Gregory Whiting, a materials scientist and manager of the Novel Electronics Group that produced the chip at PARC, a Xerox company.
  
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• No More Sticky Mess! Scientists Develop Slower-Melting Ice Cream

  12-10-2015 17:00
  
  Indulging in an ice cream cone on a hot summer day can be a refreshing but sticky treat. Now, scientists are trying to take some of the mess out of this simple pleasure by developing ice cream that melts slower than conventional varieties. Researchers from the University of Edinburgh and the University of Dundee, both in the United Kingdom, discovered that a protein called BsIA, normally found in large bacterial communities in structures called biofilm, can be used as an ingredient to keeps ever
  
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• NASA releases thousands of photos from Apollo moon missions

  12-10-2015 16:22 via cbc.ca
  
  NASA has released thousands of unprocessed photographs from the Apollo missions of the 1960s and '70s — including all the images ever taken from the moon's surface — on the photo-sharing site Flickr and into the public domain.
  
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• Saudis tell Russia its actions in Syria will have 'dangerous consequences'

  12-10-2015 16:18
  
  By William Maclean DUBAI (Reuters) - Moscow's military intervention in Syria will have "dangerous consequences", escalating sectarian war there and inspiring militants from around the world to join in, senior Saudi Arabian officials told Russia's leaders on Sunday, a Saudi source said. The message, twinned with a pledge of support for moderate foes of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Russia's ally, signals Saudi suspicions about Moscow's motives in entering a 4-1/2 year war in which some 250,00
  
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• War drives 'alarming' global hunger

  12-10-2015 15:53 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Conflict is "development in reverse" and a key factor that is leaving almost 800 million without enough food, the 2015 Global Hunger Index observes.
  
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• Saudis tell Russia: Syria action will have 'dangerous consequences' - source

  12-10-2015 14:17
  
  DUBAI (Reuters) - Russia's military intervention in Syria will have dangerous consequences, escalate the war there and inspire militants from around the world to participate, Saudi Arabian leaders told their Russian counterparts on Sunday, a Saudi source said. Saudi Arabia will continue to strengthen and support the moderate opposition in Syria, the source said, citing positions outlined by Defence Minister Mohammed bin Salman and Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir in meetings with Russian Presiden
  
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• Life of Ada Lovelace in new display

  12-10-2015 14:11 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Opium, maths and Victorian computing in Ada Lovelace exhibition
  
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• Polar research ship builder revealed

  12-10-2015 14:10 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A £200m polar research vessel is to be built by a shipyard on Merseyside, which is named as the preferred bidder against international competition.
  
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• Dell to buy data storage firm EMC Corp. for tech-sector record $67B US

  12-10-2015 14:10 via cbc.ca
  
  Dell Inc will buy data storage company EMC Corp in a deal valued at about $67 billion US, the largest on record in the technology sector.
  
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• SyFy Channel's 'The Expanse' App Lets You Fly By Spaceships in 3D

  12-10-2015 13:57
  
  Fans at New York Comic-Con got an immersive look into the  SyFy Channel 's epic new TV series "The Expanse" in more ways than one: with a Q&A panel and screening of the first episode as well as with a Google-Cardboard-powered 3D tour of the show's spectacular spaceships to take home. As con-goers entered the panel yesterday (Oct. 8) they received flat, plastic-sealed packages which could be folded into Google's quick-and-dirty 3D viewer made of cardboard, Velcro, a magnet and some plast
  
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• Great Scott! 'Back to the Future' Documentary to Bring Back Our Favorite Time Machine

  12-10-2015 13:57
  
  Where they're going, they won't need roads: a new documentary spotlighted at New York Comic-Con examines the making of the "Back to the Future" trilogy and its 30-year impact on pop culture and society. Yesterday morning (Oct. 8) at New York Comic Con, 300 fans filed into a panel room at the Javits convention center to get sent back… to 2013, when director Jason Aron first turned to the crowdfunding website Kickstarter to produce a documentary about the beloved time-travel movie trilogy.
  
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• Buzz Aldrin: Apollo 11's 50th Anniversary Should Kick Off Crewed Mars Effort

  12-10-2015 13:57
  
  The 50th anniversary of the first human landing on the moon would be a fine occasion to kick off a serious effort to put astronauts on Mars, Buzz Aldrin says. Buzz Aldrin would like the president of the United States — whomever it happens to be — to announce a firm crewed Mars commitment on July 20, 2019, the "golden anniversary" of the giant leaps Aldrin and fellow Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong took on the lunar surface in 1969. "We can progress with a national holiday of July
  
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• Studies on consumption and welfare honored with Economics Nobel

  12-10-2015 13:30
  
  Princeton economist Angus Deaton addressed "issues of immense importance"
  
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• Economics Nobel honors study of consumption differences between rich and poor

  12-10-2015 13:30
  
  British-American economist Agnus Deaton developed key tools for fighting poverty
  
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• Uganda says to start troop exit from South Sudan

  12-10-2015 13:28
  
  Uganda said it would start withdrawing troops from South Sudan on Monday, a move that will please other regional and Western powers who feared the soldiers' presence could exacerbate fighting there. Uganda sent the troops into its neighbour in December 2003 to back the government after clashes erupted with rebels loyal to South Sudan's sacked vice-president. Most of the foreign troops were posted around South Sudan's capital Juba.
  
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• Is Stephen Hawking Right About Hostile Aliens?

  12-10-2015 13:14
  
  "We have brains that are three times bigger than those of our closest relatives," said Mark Flinn, an anthropologist at the University of Missouri who has researched the emergence of human intelligence. "You need to have the better mousetrap every time.
  
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• Ecotourism could bring new dangers to animals

  12-10-2015 13:00
  
  The presence of kindly tourists could make animals more vulnerable to predation and poaching, a new study warns.
  
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• Alaska: Oil to pay for climate change

  12-10-2015 11:19 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Governor of Alaska tells the BBC that expanding the state's search for oil is necessary to pay for the damage caused by climate change.
  
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• Lego Dimensions is the latest video game that could cost you hundreds

  12-10-2015 11:00 via cbc.ca
  
  Lego Dimensions, the latest entry in the "toys-to-life" market, is taking over store shelves and threatening to bankrupt parents and fans alike this fall.
  
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• VIDEO: Climate deal could hit Alaska drilling

  12-10-2015 10:32 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Alaska is seeking to boost on-shore drilling in the wake of Shell's decision to abandon the Arctic, but there is significant political opposition.
  
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• Video game designers hope to advance 'Giant Cop' to next level

  12-10-2015 10:30 via cbc.ca
  
  A Newfoundland and Labrador company has developed a new video game that let's you be a "Giant Cop", and now Other Ocean Interactive is trying to take it to the next level.
  
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• Many Americans Don't Get Recommended Vaccines Before Travel

  12-10-2015 09:06
  
  One study of Americans visiting travel clinics found that more than half of those who were recommended to get a measles vaccination did not do so before traveling. "Americans planning international travel should see their health care providers or visit a travel clinic four to six weeks before the trip to learn what vaccines are recommended before heading to their destinations," said Dr. Emily Hyle, an instructor at Harvard Medical School in Boston, who led the measles vaccine study. About half o
  
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• Teens Want to Know Genetic Test Results

  12-10-2015 09:03
  
   When genetic testing is done in adolescents, they don't have the option to learn about these types of results — but a new study reveals that teens would overwhelmingly prefer to know. In the new study, the researchers surveyed a group of adolescents and found that 83 percent of them would prefer to know the results of a genetic test, even if the results were about conditions that would not affect them until adulthood. When adults undergo genetic testing, there's a huge consent p
  
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• Destined for Glasses? Firstborn Kids More Likely Nearsighted

  12-10-2015 09:02
  
  Firstborn children may have a slightly higher risk of becoming nearsighted later in life, compared with later-born siblings, new research suggests. In the study, researchers looked at birth order and nearsightedness in about 89,000 people, ages 40 to 69. However, when the researchers adjusted their results for education levels, such as the highest educational degree the people had attained, it turned out education accounted for about 25 percent of the link between birth order and the risk of nea
  
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• Are Healthy School Lunch Programs a Waste?

  12-10-2015 08:53
  
  Critics of the updated National School Lunch Program say yes, and they have lots of anecdotal evidence to back up their claim. Photographs and videos of kids dumping their veggies in the trash and giving the thumbs down have exploded on social media since the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act was passed in 2010. Yet recent studies have shown that claims of food waste may be inflated.
  
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• OxyContin Approved for Kids, Worrying Doctors

  12-10-2015 08:48
  
  Doctors are worried about the recent approval of OxyContin for use in children as young as age 11. The drug, which is a powerful painkiller, has been linked to the rise in heroin addiction and drug overdose deaths. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved its use in children in August.
  
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• Workplace mentors benefit female employees more than men

  12-10-2015 06:00
  
  (University of California - Berkeley Haas School of Business) The success of online networking sites such as LinkedIn illustrates the popularity of building a wide-ranging contact list. Yet when it comes to raising one's profile within the workplace, female employees stand much to gain from formal, face-to-face mentoring programs, according to a new study.
  
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• 'Window to the brain' research to ramp up

  12-10-2015 06:00
  
  (University of California - Riverside) A team of scientists from the University of California, Riverside and three Mexican universities have received about $5 million in funding to support research to continue development of a novel transparent skull implant that literally provides a 'window to the brain.'
  
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• VTT's beauty patch is applicable from skincare to medical patches

  12-10-2015 06:00
  
  (VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland) VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland has analyzed the effectiveness of its beauty patch, using a technique for imaging live tissue to demonstrate the patch's beneficial effects on the skin.
  
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• Video conferencing could increase shared decision-making in hospice care

  12-10-2015 06:00
  
  (University of Missouri-Columbia) Now, researchers at the University of Missouri have found that shared decision-making, although beneficial, could be enhanced in hospice care. The researchers recommend that health care workers employ measures such as video conferencing to help increase the likelihood of shared decision-making between patients and family caregivers.
  
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• UTSA professor receives Department of Army grant to detect chemical terrorist attacks

  12-10-2015 06:00
  
  (The University of Texas System) UTSA associate professor of mechanical engineering Kiran Bhaganagar has received a $260,000 grant from the Department of the Army in an effort to slash that number significantly with a new method of predicting the path of weaponized chemical agents, which would allow for swifter evacuation.
  
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• University of Hawai'i Cancer Center awarded $5.5 million grant

  12-10-2015 06:00
  
  (University of Hawaii Cancer Center) The University of Hawai'i Cancer Center has been awarded a five-year $5.5 million to support its ongoing partnership with the University of Guam, addressing cancer health disparities among Pacific Islanders in Hawai'i, Guam and neighboring US Associated Pacific Islands.
  
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• TRIGA Mainz reaches world record of 20,000 pulses in 50 years

  12-10-2015 06:00
  
  (Johannes Gutenberg Universitaet Mainz) The research reactor TRIGA at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz has reached a new milestone: after 50 years of consecutive operation, TRIGA Mainz achieved a total number of 20,000 pulses on Oct. 1, 2015 -- a world record.
  
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• Trends in travel over 5 decades: We're traveling farther but not more often

  12-10-2015 06:00
  
  (Wiley) The most striking trend of the past half-century is that individuals are traveling further but not more often.
  
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• Tiny thrusters, safer seafood, and novel fungicidal treatments at plasma physics meeting

  12-10-2015 06:00
  
  (American Physical Society) The unique characteristics of plasmas offer a plethora of novel applications including spacecraft propulsion, medical treatments and industrial manufacturing innovations, to name just a few possibilities that will be be featured at the 68th Annual Gaseous Electronics Conference/9th International Conference on Reactive Plasmas/33rd Symposium on Plasma Processing in Hawaii.
  
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