Science news

• Big effort to better understand bats takes wing in 31 states

  27-10-2015 23:16
  
  BOISE, Idaho (AP) — An effort spanning 31 states and 10 Canadian provinces has been working to better understand the ecological role that bats play, and the threats they face from climate change, habitat loss and wind energy development.
  
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• Canadian scientist thrills the web by live-tweeting spider sex

  27-10-2015 23:12 via cbc.ca
  
  The detailed play-by-play of a black widow mating session in Toronto makes spiders seem more sweet than spooky.
  
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• University of California unveils plan to curb climate change

  27-10-2015 22:35
  
  SAN DIEGO (AP) — Reducing the human carbon footprint is a "moral imperative," University of California President Janet Napolitano said Tuesday as she vowed to turn the system's 10 campuses into a living laboratory for solutions that can be scaled up to state, national and global levels.
  
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• [Erratum] Erratum for the Research Article: "HDL-bound sphingosine 1-phosphate acts as a biased agonist for the endothelial cell receptor S1P1 to limit vascular inflammation" by S. Galvani, M. Sanson, V. A. Blaho, S. L. Swendeman, H. Conger, B. Dahlbä

  27-10-2015 22:32 via stke.sciencemag.org
  An author is added to a Research Article.
  
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• Real-Life 'Tractor Beam' Can Levitate Objects Using Sound Waves

  27-10-2015 22:18
  
  It may seem straight out of "Star Trek," but it's real: Scientists have created a sonic "tractor beam" that can pull, push and pirouette objects that levitate in thin air. The sonic tractor beam relies on a precisely timed sequence of sound waves that create a region of low pressure that traps tiny objects that can then be manipulated solely by sound waves, the scientists said in a new study. Though the new demonstration was just a proof of concept, the same technique could be adapted to remotel
  
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• 'Let's Go Mets!' Astronaut Mike Massimino Roots for His Home Team

  27-10-2015 21:49
  
  Attention, sports fans! Game 1 of the 2015 World Series between the New York Mets and the Kansas City Royals launches tonight (Oct. 27), and not even astronauts are immune to baseball fever. "The Mets are about to begin the World Series and I want to wish them the best of luck," Massimino says in the 21-second video.
  
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• U of California leader: Fighting climate change is crucial

  27-10-2015 21:31
  
  SAN DIEGO (AP) — Reducing the human carbon footprint is a "moral imperative," University of California President Janet Napolitano said Tuesday as she vowed to turn the system's 10 campuses into a living laboratory for solutions that can be scaled up to state, national and global levels.
  
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• Venus, Jupiter and Mars will form dazzling triangle before dawn

  27-10-2015 21:17 via cbc.ca
  
  Three planets will converge for a beautiful close encounter in the eastern sky about an hour before dawn for the next couple of days.
  
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• An eel's odyssey

  27-10-2015 21:16
  
  Better known for slipperiness than stamina, the American eel was unmasked Tuesday as a stealthy, ultra long-distance swimmer.
  
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• Tractor beams of science fiction becoming a reality

  27-10-2015 20:48
  
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The tractor beam, a staple of science fiction including "Star Wars" and "Star Trek" that is employed to grab spaceships and other things remotely, is entering the realm of reality.
  
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• Private Spaceflight Industry Aims to Shake Off a Rough Year

  27-10-2015 20:45
  
  Over the past 12 months, robotic resupply missions to the International Space Station (ISS) launched by both Orbital ATK and SpaceX failed, and Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo broke apart during a test flight, killing the vehicle's co-pilot and seriously wounding its pilot. Orbital ATK and SpaceX plan to be flying again before the year is out, for example, and Virgin Galactic is nearly finished building SpaceShipTwo number two.
  
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• Falling Space Junk Will Burn Up In Earth's Atmosphere Next Month

  27-10-2015 20:45
  
  A piece of space junk will fall back to Earth next month, giving researchers a chance to study how incoming objects behave when they hit the planet’s atmosphere. The object, which is known as WT1190F, is expected to enter Earth's atmosphere on Nov. 13 above the Indian Ocean, about 62 miles (100 kilometers) south of Sri Lanka. "The object is quite small, at most a couple of meters in diameter, and a significant fraction if not all of it can be expected to completely burn up in the atmospher
  
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• October's Full Moon Rises Tonight: Learn Its Lunar Names

  27-10-2015 20:44
  
  The full moon of October will rise tonight (Oct. 27) in a lunar treat just in time for Halloween this weekend, and it's a Hunter's Moon, so watch out for early werewolves. Kidding aside, October's full moon is traditionally known as the Full Hunter's Moon, since it marked a great time to go hunting to gather food ahead of the northern winter, according to The Farmer's Almanac. "With the leaves falling and the deer fattened, it is time to hunt," Space.com's skywatching columnist wrote of October'
  
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• Hubble Spots Biggest Sample of Faint, Early Galaxies (Photos)

  27-10-2015 20:43
  
  The Hubble Space Telescope has identified the largest known collection of faint galaxies in the early universe. Hubble relied on a massive magnifying glass formed by nature itself to spot more than 250 dwarf galaxies that existed just 600 million to 900 million years after the Big Bang. "The faintest galaxies detected in these Hubble observations are fainter than any other yet uncovered in the deepest Hubble observations," Johan Richard, from the Observatoire de Lyon in France, said in a stateme
  
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• European Union to ban wireless roaming charges starting in 2017

  27-10-2015 20:30 via cbc.ca
  
  The European Parliament approved a bill on Tuesday that would effectively ban wireless companies from charging roaming fees to their customers when they travel within any of the group's 28 member nations.
  
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• Obama, Xi, Modi to attend Paris climate summit

  27-10-2015 20:21
  
  At least 80 world leaders, including Barack Obama, Xi Jinping and Narendra Modi, will attend a summit tasked with inking a global climate pact in Paris in December, France said on Tuesday.
  
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• [Research Article] Ubiquitin-dependent endocytosis of NKG2D-DAP10 receptor complexes activates signaling and functions in human NK cells

  27-10-2015 20:15 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Signaling by an internalized natural killer cell receptor is required for the secretion of cytolytic granules and interferon-γ.
  
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• [Research Article] Phosphorylation of STAT3 mediates the induction of cyclooxygenase-2 by cortisol in the human amnion at parturition

  27-10-2015 20:15 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Activation of the transcription factor STAT3 promotes the feed-forward production of prostaglandins in response to cortisol during labor.
  
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• [Research Article] Genome-wide RNAi screening implicates the E3 ubiquitin ligase Sherpa in mediating innate immune signaling by Toll in Drosophila adults

  27-10-2015 20:15 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Ubiquitylation and SUMOylation of the adaptor protein dMyd88 are required for Toll-dependent immune responses in Drosophila.
  
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• [Focus] Glucocorticoid signaling drives epigenetic and transcription factors to induce key regulators of human parturition

  27-10-2015 20:15 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Glucocorticoids stimulate transcription pathways in the placenta and amnion that contribute to labor.
  
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• [Editors' Choice] SUMO wrestles PKC to the immunological synapse

  27-10-2015 20:15 via stke.sciencemag.org
  SUMOylation of protein kinase C ( is required for stable immunological synapse formation and T cell activation.
  
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• [Editors' Choice] Sensing H2O2 with Syk and Lyn

  27-10-2015 20:15 via stke.sciencemag.org
  A mitochondrial pool of the tyrosine kinases Syk and Lyn mediate signaling responses to H2O2 in hematopoietic and nonhematopoietic cells.
  
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• [Editors' Choice] Iron fuels glioblastoma growth

  27-10-2015 20:15 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Glioblastoma stem-like cells co-opt an iron scavenging system to stimulate proliferation.
  
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• [Editors' Choice] Extracellular cAMP drives gut morphogenesis

  27-10-2015 20:15 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Pigment cells release cAMP to drive morphogenesis of the sea urchin gut.
  
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• [Editors' Choice] Actively quiescent

  27-10-2015 20:15 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Quiescence of the lung mesenchyme in the absence of injury requires Hedgehog signaling.
  
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• Persian Gulf may become too hot for humans, study suggests

  27-10-2015 19:42 via cbc.ca
  
  A new study published in Nature Climate Change suggests that unless CO2 emissions drop below their current pace, parts of the Persian Gulf will hit temperatures too hot for humans. Following is a look at the study, and why some of the hottest places on Earth will remain habitable.
  
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• What's in tampons and pads? Companies list ingredients

  27-10-2015 19:40 via cbc.ca
  
  Two makers of feminine hygiene products have recently begun posting an ingredients list for pads and tampons online, in response to consumer demands to know more about what is in the products.
  
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• Consumer pressure forces tampon, pad makers to list ingredients

  27-10-2015 19:40 via cbc.ca
  
  Two makers of feminine hygiene products have recently begun posting an ingredients list for pads and tampons online, in response to consumer demands to know more about what is in the products.
  
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• US climate envoy visits Cuba, Brazil before Paris summit

  27-10-2015 19:35
  
  The United States has sent its climate change envoy to former foe Cuba and Latin American giant Brazil ahead of the global environment summit that begins next month in Paris.
  
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• 'Pictures are lies.' Woman fundraises for picture-free dating app

  27-10-2015 19:23 via cbc.ca
  
  A Saskatoon woman started an online fundraising campaign for Quitlooking, a dating app that focuses more on personality than looks.
  
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• Parched parts of Earth expanding

  27-10-2015 19:23
  
  More drylands, largely impacting developing nations, are forecasted for near future.
  
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• Website that archives politicians' deleted tweets may return

  27-10-2015 19:20 via cbc.ca
  
  During the recent federal election, some candidates' social media histories came back to bite them. And soon, it may get even harder for elected officials to hide from their online past, thanks to the potential return of Politwoops.
  
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• Environmentalists slam Russia for breaking Sochi Olympics pledge

  27-10-2015 19:14
  
  Russia is reneging on a promise to compensate for environmental damage caused by construction for the 2014 Sochi Olympic games with plans to develop areas it pledged to protect, activists said Tuesday.
  
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• Spacecraft prepares to dive through Saturn moon's icy geyser

  27-10-2015 19:03 via cbc.ca
  
  The Cassini spacecraft is about to get an icy shower as it orbits Saturn.
  
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• 400-plus small quakes jolt California city in recent weeks

  27-10-2015 18:52
  
  SAN RAMON, Calif. (AP) — The U.S. Geological Survey says 435 small earthquakes have rattled the San Francisco Bay Area city of San Ramon in the last two weeks.
  
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• Polish president says won't ratify carbon-cutting pact

  27-10-2015 18:50
  
  Poland's new conservative president on Tuesday refused to endorse an amendment to the UN carbon-cutting pact that would require the coal-dependent EU country to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
  
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• Obama, Xi, Modi among 80 leaders to attend Paris climate summit

  27-10-2015 18:31
  
  At least 80 world leaders, including Barack Obama, Xi Jinping and Narendra Modi, will attend a summit tasked with inking a global climate pact in Paris in December, France's foreign minister said Tuesday.
  
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• Study highlights climate threat to king penguins

  27-10-2015 18:12
  
  Warmer sea temperatures are forcing Indian Ocean king penguins to travel farther for food, cutting into their breeding season researchers said Tuesday, warning of a "serious threat" from climate change.
  
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• Canadian eel tracked on 2,400-kilometre migration to Sargasso Sea

  27-10-2015 18:11 via cbc.ca
  
  It's a mystery that has puzzled scientists for a century — how baby eels end up in the Sargasso Sea near Bermuda when the adults have only been found in faraway places like Canada's St. Lawrence River. Finally, Canadian scientists may have the answer.
  
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• France says it has no way to assess turnout figure in Congo vote

  27-10-2015 18:06
  
  PARIS (Reuters) - France has no way of assessing the turnout figures in a constitutional referendum in Congo Republic that will allow President Denis Sassou Nguesso to stand for a third term next year, the French president's office said on Tuesday. Congo's electoral commission said turnout in Sunday's referendum was 72 percent, a figure dismissed as a fantasy by the opposition, which said its call for a boycott had been widely observed. (Reporting by Elizabeth Pineau; Writing by Matthew Mpoke Bi
  
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• 'Tractor beam' grabs beads with sound

  27-10-2015 17:59 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Engineers in Bristol develop a system that holds and moves small objects without touching them, using "holograms" built from sound waves.
  
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• New tech makes hybrid buses cost-effective

  27-10-2015 17:58
  
  By Jim Drury Artemis's new Digital Displacement (DD) power system this year won the company a prestigious Royal Academy of Engineering MacRobert Award. The company, owned by Mitsubishi, hit the headlines earlier this year when a 7MW (megawatt) wind turbine containing a Digital Displacement transmission (DDT) hydraulic system was deployed to operate as a floating wind-turbine in deep water 20 kilometers off Fukushima. Until now hydraulic pumps and motors have been controlled by varying the stroke
  
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• CRTC report shows more Canadians going mobile

  27-10-2015 17:40 via cbc.ca
  
  Two thirds of Canadians own a smartphone and almost half own a tablet computer, new numbers from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission revealed Tuesday.
  
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• Underwater robot to raise ocean awareness

  27-10-2015 17:27
  
  By Ben Gruber BERKELEY, Cal (Reuters) - It started off as a treasure hunt. Sifting through a magazine from the 1970's, Eric Stackpole pointed out an article to David Lang that hinted at the location of a pile of gold that has been missing for more than 100 years. ...
  
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• Relativity's Legacy: Your Guide to Traveling the Galaxy in Only 20 Years

  27-10-2015 17:15
  
  Paul Sutter is a research fellow at the Astronomical Observatory of Trieste and visiting scholar at the Ohio State University's Center for Cosmology and Astro-Particle Physics (CCAPP). Sutter is also host of the podcasts Ask a Spaceman and RealSpace, and the YouTube series Space In Your Face.
  
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• Would You Rather Be Stranded on Mars or the Moon? XPrize CEO Answers (Video)

  27-10-2015 17:11
  
  Chanda Gonzales, senior director, Google Lunar XPrize, contributed this article to Space.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. The moon is not only our nearest neighbor in space but also an essential stepping-stone to the rest of the universe, and the opportunity to learn from our closest neighbor  can provide the necessary experience to further humanity's presence in the solar system and beyond.
  
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• Tracking Down Rare NASA Photos Hidden from Public View

  27-10-2015 17:08
  
  John Bisney, a space journalist, is co-author with J.L. Pickering of "Spaceshots and Snapshots of Projects Mercury and Gemini" and "Moonshots and Snapshots of Project Apollo" (University of New Mexico Press, 2015), a history of the first 15 years of the U.S. manned spaceflight program told through hundreds of rarely-seen or newly-published photographs. Is there anyone who hasn't seen the iconic picture of Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin standing on the moon ? Such images are so historic, in
  
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• To Preserve the Earth, Rethink Our Relationship with Nature (Op-Ed)

  27-10-2015 17:01
  
  Justin Adams, global managing director, lands, at The Nature Conservancy contributed this article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Just last week, the global community saw the launch of the U.N.'s new and ambitious 15-year Sustainable Development Goals. In the run-up to COP21, more conversations have shifted to the nexus of food, water and energy, and about poverty, climate change and risk.
  
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• Scientists finally reveal mysterious migration of American eels

  27-10-2015 17:00
  
  The North American wrigglers have been tracked at sea en route to their spawning grounds
  
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