Science news

• [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

  30-10-2015 23:35 via stke.sciencemag.org
  An author is added to a Research Article.
  
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• Beverly Hills nailed for not cutting back on water use

  30-10-2015 23:19
  
  Four California cities, including upscale Beverly Hills, got slapped with fines on Friday for failing to cut back on water use as the west coast US state struggles with a historic drought.
  
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• Computers could decide who lives and dies in a driverless car crash

  30-10-2015 22:50 via cbc.ca
  
  When it comes to vehicles that drive themselves, questions face regulators, manufacturers and people who will ride in them: faced with a fatal crash, would the car be programmed to save its occupants or would it sacrifice its passengers to save pedestrians?
  
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• Drought pushes endangered California salmon to the brink

  30-10-2015 22:27
  
  Chinook salmon were already endangered in California's Sacramento River, but the record drought parching the western United States has brought the iconic fish even closer to extinction.
  
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• Vampires, Zombies & Werewolves, Oh My! The Origins of Halloween Monsters

  30-10-2015 22:14
  
  Love them or fear them, the spooky creatures that haunt your Halloween nightmares have complicated histories. From the 15th century vampire myths of Serbia to the werewolf tales of ancient Rome, here are the origin stories of your favorite Halloween monsters. Vampire legends were popular long before Edward Cullen won the hearts of "Twilight" fans.
  
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• Science of the Paranormal: Can You Trust Your Own Mind?

  30-10-2015 22:13
  
  Of all the paranormal phenomena that surround Halloween, the haunted house may be the last to inspire real fear. After checking that none of the medical gas bottles were leaking, he sat back at his desk, only to see a gray figure emerge in the corner of his vision.
  
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• Goblin Sharks and 'Skeletorus': 6 Scary Beasts to Haunt Your Halloween

  30-10-2015 22:12
  
  Some sport extra-long fangs, while others perform ghoulish acts. Some roam the deep sea, while others haunt the land. But if there's one thing all of the animals listed here have in common, it's this: They are ready for Halloween 365 days of the year. Here are 10 creepy critters to contemplate as you bob for apples, carve pumpkins and eat copious amounts of candy.
  
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• Asking your phone for directions isn't distracted driving, N.S. judge rules

  30-10-2015 22:05 via cbc.ca
  
  The Supreme Court of Nova Scotia has upheld a provincial court decision that a man who was using the Siri feature on his iPhone to ask for directions is not guilty of distracted driving.
  
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• Can a Naturalist Go Fishing in Fragile Waters? [Excerpt]

  30-10-2015 21:00 via rss.sciam.com
  
  Marine biologist James McClintock brings a love of nature to tales of fishing adventures in remote waters ranging from Antarctica to Louisiana's marshy barrier islands
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Allied Navies Destroy Mock Ballistic Missile in Practice Test

  30-10-2015 20:15
  
  How many navies does it take to shoot down one ballistic missile? On Oct. 20, naval armed forces from nine different nations teamed up to shoot down a mock ballistic missile high above Earth's atmosphere. The fiery interception was part of a demonstration by the Maritime Theater Missile Defense (MTMD) Forum, an organization established in 1999 to promote cooperation among allied navies and to facilitate the coordination of sea-based defense systems.
  
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• Sumatran Rhino begins US-Asia trip to ancestral home

  30-10-2015 20:03
  
  CINCINNATI (AP) — The last Sumatran rhino in the Western Hemisphere began a journey Friday from Ohio to its ancestral southeast Asian homeland on a mission to help preserve the critically endangered species.
  
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• With ice melting, Arctic coast guards pledge cooperation

  30-10-2015 20:01
  
  NEW LONDON, Conn. (AP) — Coast guard leaders from the U.S., Russia and other Arctic nations pledged Friday to strengthen cooperation in response to safety and environmental concerns as warming temperatures open new waterways in northern seas.
  
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• 'Be the Astronaut' and 'Journey to Space' in New Museum Exhibits

  30-10-2015 19:53
  
  In Los Angeles, the California Science Center has debuted "Journey to Space," a hands-on, climb-aboard experience at what it takes to live and work off the Earth. And in Texas, Space Center Houston recently opened "Be the Astronaut," a multimedia exhibit that takes visitors on trips to the moon, Mars, asteroids, Jupiter and beyond. From exploring the International Space Station to landing on multiple worlds, these new, separate attractionsfeature authentic artifacts, replica space hardware and i
  
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• Halloween Fireballs Will Blaze in the Sky Through November

  30-10-2015 19:49
  
  During the next couple of weeks, there is a fairly good chance that Earth will encounter a swarm of unusually large space particles, capable of generating some eye-catching fireball meteors. The Taurid meteors, sometimes called "Halloween fireballs,"(fireballs are extremely bright meteors) create one of this year's longest meteor showers, with at least a couple of shooting stars per hour from Oct. 20 to Nov. 30. Meteors — popularly known as "shooting stars" — are produced when debris
  
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• Halloween Asteroid Flyby: Why You Won't See the Space Rock Saturday

  30-10-2015 19:48
  
  As you may already know by now, we're going to have a pretty close encounter on Halloween Saturday (Oct. 31) with a pretty big asteroid. The object in question has been cataloged as asteroid 2015 TB145 and was discovered recently – Oct. 10, to be exact – by the University of Hawaii's Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS) on Hawaii, part of the NASA-funded Near-Earth Object Observation (NEOO) Program. "Only about half of the near-Earth asteroids simila
  
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• Probes unveil three hidden blemishes on moon’s face

  30-10-2015 19:43
  
  Gravity measurements collected by NASA’s GRAIL spacecraft reveal a clearer picture of the moon’s craters, including three previously unseen lunar basins.
  
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• Antares rocket explosion cause identified

  30-10-2015 19:40 via cbc.ca
  
  A year ago, an Antares rocket blew up in a fiery explosion as it launched with a load of supplies for the International Space Station. Finally, an investigation report from NASA's independent review team has revealed the cause.
  
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• US to clean 1 of Puerto Rico's worst polluted waterways

  30-10-2015 19:37
  
  SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The United States pledged Friday to help clean one of Puerto Rico's most polluted waterways in a move to end a 15-year struggle by the U.S. territory to eliminate raw sewage and mounds of garbage from a community where thousands of people live.
  
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• Saturn's moon Enceladus glows in close-up pictures from Cassini spacecraft

  30-10-2015 19:19
  
  Saturn's geyser-spouting moon Enceladus has a new portfolio, thanks to the Cassini spacecraft.
  
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• Spacecraft captures flyby through Saturn moon's icy spray

  30-10-2015 19:04 via cbc.ca
  
  NASA's Cassini spacecraft has sent home stunning images of Saturn's moon Enceladus captured during a daring flyby that took it through one of the moon's icy geysers.
  
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• Electronic skin feels the heat, hears the sound

  30-10-2015 19:00
  
  Electronic skin inspired by human fingertips detects texture, pressure, heat and sound.
  
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• New fascination with Earth's 'Boring Billion'

  30-10-2015 18:08
  
  The Mesoproterozoic era, known as the boring billion, had very low oxygen, but it set the stage for the evolution of animals.
  
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• Study shows sunscreen is killing coral reefs

  30-10-2015 17:52 via cbc.ca
  
  Reef grief. Sunscreen may protect you at the beach, but as new research shows, the residue it leaves behind in the ocean is threatening already fragile coral reefs off the coast of Hawaii.
  
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• Saturn's geyser-spouting moon glows in close-up pictures

  30-10-2015 17:52
  
  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Saturn's geyser-spouting moon Enceladus has a new portfolio, thanks to the Cassini spacecraft.
  
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• Cassini samples an alien ocean

  30-10-2015 17:45
  The NASA spacecraft flies through Enceladus’s icy plume
  
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• Congo opposition holds ceremony for killed protesters

  30-10-2015 17:06
  
  By Philon Severin Bondenga BRAZZAVILLE (Reuters) - Congo Republic's opposition parties held a remembrance ceremony on Friday for protesters killed during rallies against President Denis Sassou Nguesso's plans to change the constitution and potentially extend his rule. Seventeen people died, according to the opposition, during nationwide demonstrations on Oct. 20 and 21 against a referendum on changes that would allow the 71-year-old president to run in an election next year. At a ceremony at the
  
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• Windows 10 will become a 'recommended update' that starts automatically

  30-10-2015 16:56 via cbc.ca
  
  Microsoft is introducing new measures to get Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users to upgrade to Windows 10 - including one that will initiate upgrades automatically in 2016.
  
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• Swim for the Earth: 3D-Printed Bikini Scrubs Water Pollution

  30-10-2015 16:46
  
  Engineers from the University of California, Riverside, teamed up with designers from Eray Carbajo, an architecture and design firm based in New York City, to design a bikini that can absorb contaminants from water while a person swims. Sponge is a new material that engineers at UC Riverside started developing four years ago. "This is a supermaterial that is not harmful to the environment and [is] very cost-effective to produce," Mihri Ozkan, a member of the research team and an electrical engin
  
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• Fire in engine doomed Orbital rocket on space station flight

  30-10-2015 16:46
  
  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A fire and explosion in a rocket engine are being blamed for a botched commercial space station shipment last October.
  
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• Hip-hop star Akon picks Stadium app to release next 4 albums

  30-10-2015 16:34 via cbc.ca
  
  Hip-hop star Akon is about to release his first albums in seven years, but you won't find them in stores or on streaming services. Instead, he plans to release four albums through a new app, making him the latest artist to experiment with bypassing big record labels and traditional music distribution altogether.
  
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• Rare Alagoas curassow bird hatches in Brazilian zoo raising hopes against extinction

  30-10-2015 15:56
  
  A rare bird considered extinct in the wild has been born in a Brazilian zoo, giving new hope in the fight to stop the rare species from being wiped out. The baby Alagoas curassow was born on 26 October in the Parque das Aves in the Brazilian city of Foz do Iguacu. The zoo said the birth marked the first time an Alagoas curassow has hatched in captivity.
  
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• Spooktacular! Town of Monster opens 'batbridge'

  30-10-2015 15:48
  
  In a freaky twist of the calendar, a new bridge to provide a safe haven for bats has just opened days before Halloween in a Dutch town called ... Monster.
  
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• Three’s Company! The Dating App For Those Who Looking For More Than One Partner

  30-10-2015 14:30
  
  Tinder may have made it easier than ever to find a date – but how about if you’re of the view that three is very much not a crowd?
  
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• Party Like It's 2500 B.C.: Stonehenge Builders Hosted Barbecues

  30-10-2015 13:51
  
  The ancient builders of Stonehenge may have hosted massive barbecue cookouts where thousands of revelers feasted on meat, new research suggests. Archaeologists at the Neolithic settlement of Durrington Walls in modern-day southern England, where the builders of Stonehenge likely lived, found evidence that the village hosted open-air meat-roasting parties 4,500 years ago, with animals likely walking to the site for slaughter from regions far and wide. At the time, thousands of ancient pilgrims ma
  
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• Forget life on Mars, how about life inside moons?

  30-10-2015 13:51 via cbc.ca
  
  There has been a lot of focus on searching for life on Mars. But its surface is very inhospitable. Icy moons, on the other hand, provide warm, wet environments that are much more comfortable for life, and those oceans exist today.
  
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• UN climate chief: global emissions pledges not enough yet

  30-10-2015 13:48
  
  BERLIN (AP) — Governments' emissions-cutting pledges ahead of a global conference in December are a good step toward achieving an international global warming goal, but they aren't yet enough, the U.N. climate chief said Friday.
  
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• Tiny Bird Fossil Solves Big Mystery About Life After Dinosaurs

  30-10-2015 13:35
  
  The newfound skeleton dates back to about 62.5 million to 62 million years ago, making it the oldest known modern bird specimen in North America to live after the dinosaur-killing mass extinction, the researchers said. "Birds were explosively diversifying right after the end of the Cretaceous, right after the big mass extinction," said study co-author Tom Williamson, curator of paleontology at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. "Maybe a dozen or less lineages of birds survived
  
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• Little Cousin: Human, Ape Ancestor Had 'Goggle Eyes'

  30-10-2015 13:34
  
  The fossil of a small primate with "goggle" eyes that strode atop tree branches, snagging snacks of fruit, suggests the last common ancestor of all apes might have been less like humans' closest living relatives than often thought, researchers say. This discovery could shed light on what the last common ancestor of all apes and humans might have been like, scientists added. For instance, the newfound species was a small-bodied ape that would have weighed about 8.8 to 11 lbs. (4 to 5 kilograms),
  
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• No, cheese is not just like crack

  30-10-2015 13:24
  
  Recent news reports claimed that a study shows cheese is addictive. But the facts behind the research show cheese and crack have little in common.
  
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• New air battery design shows promise

  30-10-2015 13:22 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A new design for lithium-air batteries overcomes several hurdles that have stood in the way of this "next-generation" concept.
  
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• Dolphins suspected in whale attack

  30-10-2015 13:03 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Marine wildlife experts believe dolphins attacked a young pilot whale which was found stranded on a beach in Skye.
  
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• NASA Probe Flies Through Saturn Moon Enceladus' Plume

  30-10-2015 12:53
  
  NASA's Cassini spacecraft has made its deepest dive yet through the plume emanating from the south pole of Saturn's icy moon Enceladus.
  
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• Lunar Rover Lost ... and Found: NASA Moon Buggy Saved by Scrap Dealer

  30-10-2015 12:53
  
  A prototype lunar rover that was sold to a scrapyard and reported by NASA to be lost has now been found and may be heading to auction. Just one day after the online magazine Motherboard broke the story about the thought-to-be-scrapped moon roveron Tuesday (Oct. 27), the 50-year-old NASA artifact popped up in the classifieds section of an Alabama newspaper. The coincidental timing of the ad aside, it was the first public indication that the rover, a predecessor to the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) d
  
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• Halloween Asteroid Flyby: Here's What We Know About 2015 TB145

  30-10-2015 12:53
  
  As a big asteroid flies by at a close but safe distance from Earth on Saturday (Oct. 31), astronomers will likely get a better radar view of the surface than ever before. Asteroid 2015 TB145 — discovered earlier this month, on Oct. 10 — will fly by slightly outside the moon's orbit. TB145 will fly by at 300,000 miles (480,000 kilometers) from Earth, but poses no threat to our planet.
  
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• A Year After Private Rocket Explosion, Orbital ATK Aims to Soar Again

  30-10-2015 12:53
  
  One year after the explosive loss of an Antares rocket, as well as the Cygnus spacecraft riding atop it, Orbital ATK is getting ready for both Cygnus and Antares to return to flight.  On Oct. 28, 2014, an Antares rocket made by the company now known as Orbital ATK exploded only seconds after liftoff, creating an enormous inferno that destroyed the company's unmanned Cygnus spacecraft. The craft was carrying supplies to the International Space Station, on Orbital's third cargo mission for NA
  
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