Science news

• Gorgeous Auroras Could Light Up Entire Martian Sky

  05-11-2015 23:57
  
  The first astronauts to set foot on Mars may be in for a spectacular sight — the entire night sky filled with glowing auroras. Researchers working on NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission hosted a news conference this afternoon (Nov. 5) to discuss the orbiter's observations about the Red Planet's loss of atmosphere due to solar wind, and they also shared some details about MAVEN's measurements of Mars auroras. "A new kind of aurora was observed at Mars that frankly
  
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• NASA Pluto Probe Sets Course for Second Flyby Target

  05-11-2015 23:36
  
  The NASA probe that flew by Pluto in July is now all lined up for a potential close encounter with a second faraway object, in 2019. NASA's New Horizons spacecraft completed the last of four trajectory-altering engine burns Wednesday (Nov. 4) and is now on course to a small body called 2014 MU69, which lies more than 1 billion miles (1.6 billion kilometers) beyond Pluto. The probe will study 2014 MU69 up close in January 2019, if NASA approves an extended mission.
  
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• Scientists crack mystery of Mars' missing atmosphere -the sun did it

  05-11-2015 23:28
  
  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - Scientists have documented a solar storm blasting away Mars’ atmosphere, an important clue in a long-standing mystery of how a planet that was once like Earth turned into a cold, dry desert, research published on Thursday shows.
  
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• New raptor found in South Dakota by team with Kansas ties

  05-11-2015 23:21
  
  LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A dinosaur fossil found in South Dakota's Hell Creek Formation has led to the discovery of a new giant raptor.
  
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• NASA drops Boeing from space station cargo competition

  05-11-2015 23:12
  
  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - U.S. space agency NASA has dropped Boeing Co from a multibillion-dollar competition to fly cargo to the International Space Station and will delay selecting one or more winners for about two months, officials said on Thursday.
  
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• Spacecraft reveals how sun storms killed Mars' atmosphere

  05-11-2015 23:05
  
  Mars may once have supported life but is now cold and dry, and scientists said Thursday that a stormy sun likely accelerated the loss of the Red Planet's atmosphere.
  
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• NASA drops Boeing from race for $3.5 billion cargo contract

  05-11-2015 22:57
  
  Boeing has received a NASA contract to send astronauts to the ISS aboard its CST-100 Starliner capsule beginning as early as 2017, but its bid to get US space agency funds for a cargo version in the coming ...
  
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• Big businesses back affirmative action before U.S. Supreme Court

  05-11-2015 22:52
  
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Three major companies, citing the under-representation of minorities in science and technology fields, are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold affirmative action in university admissions in a closely watched case to be argued next month.
  
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• NASA: Sun stripping away Martian atmosphere, left dry planet

  05-11-2015 22:45
  
  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA's Mars-orbiting Maven spacecraft has discovered that the sun likely robbed the red planet of its once-thick atmosphere and water.
  
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• Majority of Texas out of drought thanks to heavy Oct. rains

  05-11-2015 22:38
  
  LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — Recent rains that fell on Texas saturated many parts of the state and lessened drought conditions.
  
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• Land life spared in Permian extinction, geologists argue

  05-11-2015 22:30
  
  New rock layer dating in South Africa’s Karoo Basin suggests that extinctions of land species didn’t coincide with the Permian extinction around 252 million years ago.
  
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• Los Angeles wants backyard cisterns to collect rain water

  05-11-2015 22:24
  
  Officials in drought-stricken Los Angeles want locals to consider installing special cisterns to collect rainwater that would otherwise run off and go to waste.
  
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• Rare fossil of baby Pentaceratops dinosaur to be unveiled in New Mexico

  05-11-2015 22:12 via cbc.ca
  
  Paleontologists with the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science on Thursday planned to unveil the first baby Pentaceratops skull ever discovered.
  
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• NASA: Mars Stripped Of Chance To Support Life

  05-11-2015 22:05
  
  Solar winds have transformed Mars from a warm and wet environment that could have supported life to the cold, arid planet it is today, according to NASA. "Like the theft of a few coins from a cash register every day, the loss becomes significant over time," said Bruce Jakosky of NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission. "The combination of greater loss rates and increased solar storms in the past suggests that loss of atmosphere to space was likely a major process in ch
  
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• 40-country survey: Majority support for cutting emissions

  05-11-2015 22:02
  
  PARIS (AP) — A survey across 40 countries around the world found most people see global warming as a serious problem, and most of them want their governments to limit emissions as part of a global agreement being negotiated in Paris in a month.
  
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• Bounties on wolves and coyotes slammed as 'inhumane' by Alberta biologists

  05-11-2015 21:32 via cbc.ca
  
  Two Alberta-based wildlife biologists are calling for an end to bounties offered on wolves and coyotes, calling them "inhumane" and ineffective.
  
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• Some extreme weather made worse by climate change: study

  05-11-2015 21:21
  
  A killer snowstorm in the Himalayas, a scorching heat wave in Argentina and lashing rainfall in southern France last year were all made worse by climate change, international scientists said Thursday.
  
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• Scientists learn how some fish can supercharge their vision

  05-11-2015 21:16
  
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Superman can use his X-ray vision whenever the need arises. It turns out that in real life, some fish and amphibians can do something nearly as super when it come to their sight.
  
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• Sask. man builds gigantic Nintendo console for fun, charity

  05-11-2015 21:13 via cbc.ca
  
  Jeremy Rieger's first Nintendo brought him a lot of joy as a child. That's why he decided to build a giant one to raise money for the Children's Hospital of Saskatchewan.
  
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• Mars Lost Atmosphere to Space as Life Took Hold on Earth

  05-11-2015 20:15
  
  The window for life to take root across broad stretches of the Martian surface may have closed shortly after the first microbes evolved on Earth. New results from NASA's MAVEN spacecraft suggest that the Red Planet lost most of its carbon dioxide-dominated atmosphere — which had kept Mars relatively warm and allowed the planet to support liquid surface water — to space about 3.7 billion years ago. "We think that all of the action took place between about 4.2 to 3.7 billion years ago,
  
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• Curious about curiosity? The science behind enquiring minds

  05-11-2015 20:05 via cbc.ca
  
  What does it mean to be curious? And what's going on in our brains when something piques our attention? According to CBC science columnist Torah Kachur, scientists are still trying to figure that out.
  
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• New Mexico museum to unveil rare fossil find

  05-11-2015 20:02
  
  ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Paleontologists with the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science on Thursday planned to unveil the first baby Pentaceratops skull ever discovered.
  
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• Tricky element isolated from spent nuclear fuel

  05-11-2015 20:00
  
  A new chemical technique makes it easier to extract the radioactive element americium from used nuclear fuel, potentially paving the way for better ways to reprocess and recycle nuclear waste.
  
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• MAVEN mission finding clues to Mars’ climate change

  05-11-2015 20:00
  
  Intense solar storms in the past might have stripped Mars of its water as well as much of the rest of its atmosphere.
  
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• Photos: NASA releases new photos of Antares rocket explosion

  05-11-2015 19:38 via cbc.ca
  
  NASA released dramatic new photos of the moments before, during and after an unmanned Antares rocket exploded over its Wallops Island, Va., launch site last year.
  
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• NASA releases new images of Antares rocket explosion

  05-11-2015 19:38 via cbc.ca
  
  NASA released dramatic new photos of the moments before, during and after an unmanned Antares rocket exploded over its Wallops Island, Va., launch site last year.
  
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• 'Designer cells' reverse baby's cancer

  05-11-2015 19:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The first person in the world to receive a pioneering genetic therapy has shown a remarkable reversal of her cancer.
  
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• Egypt: Three ancient tombs are unveiled to public for the first time

  05-11-2015 18:55
  
  Three tombs have been opened to the public for the first time in Egypt's ancient city of Luxor, while two others have been reopened after restoration and conservation work. The new tombs, located in the small village of Qurnat Marey, were opened for the first time since their discovery in a ceremony officiated by the Egyptian Minister of Antiquities Mamdouh El Damaty. The new tombs are among the most important resting places of the nobles, including that of Imhotep, the deputy of King Tutankhamu
  
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• Big cats hunt livestock when wild prey is scarce

  05-11-2015 18:39
  
  Lions, tigers and other big cats tend to hunt livestock only after their wild prey has dropped in availability, a new study shows.
  
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• Fanged eel among Brazil fossil finds

  05-11-2015 18:34 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists unearth a haul of reptile and amphibian fossils in Brazil, dating from 278 million years ago when the continents were joined.
  
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• EU finance ministers set for vague climate promises

  05-11-2015 18:25
  
  By Barbara Lewis BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European finance ministers are likely to agree on Tuesday to provide more cash to help the world adapt to global warming, which campaigners say will be too weak for a successful outcome to the Paris talks on a new climate deal. Poor nations have said climate finance will be the biggest issue for the Paris negotiations that begin on Nov. 30. A draft document prepared for next Tuesday's meeting of EU finance ministers says the European Union's climate finance
  
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• German prosecutors probe VW carbon emission allegations

  05-11-2015 17:47
  
  German prosecutors on Thursday launched an investigation into new allegations that Volkswagen lied about the carbon dioxide emissions of up to 800,000 cars, as the auto giant sinks ever deeper into a massive pollution-cheating scandal.
  
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• Austria's largest state goes 100% renewable

  05-11-2015 17:43
  
  Austria's largest state said Thursday that 100 percent of its electricity is now generated using renewable sources of energy.
  
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• Researchers accelerate evolution in attempt to save Hawaii's coral reefs

  05-11-2015 17:40 via cbc.ca
  
  Scientists at a research centre on Hawaii's Coconut Island have embarked on an experiment to grow "super coral" that they hope can withstand the hotter and more acidic oceans that are expected with global warming.
  
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• Report: 14 wild weather events last year goosed by warming

  05-11-2015 17:11
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — New scientific analysis shows the fingerprints of manmade climate change on 14 extreme weather events in 2014, hitting every continent but Antarctica.
  
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• Photographers 'put deer off mating'

  05-11-2015 16:57 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Photographers trying to capture stags clashing antlers during rutting season could be threatening the herd's future in a London park, wardens warn.
  
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• Mandatory long-form census restored by new Liberal government

  05-11-2015 16:34 via cbc.ca
  
  The Liberal government is reinstating the mandatory long-form census that was scrapped by the Conservatives in 2010. Ministers Navdeep Bains and Jean-Yves Duclos announced the plan on Parliament Hill today.
  
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• Why China's bigger new coal use numbers aren't a big deal

  05-11-2015 16:15
  Experts make light of a New York Times story’s weighty implications
  
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• China's revised coal use data not a big deal

  05-11-2015 16:15
  Experts make light of a New York Times story’s weighty implications
  
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• Solar winds strip away Mars's atmosphere, says NASA

  05-11-2015 16:10 via cbc.ca
  
  Mars probably had a thick atmosphere that was warm enough to support liquid water, but it has since been stripped away by solar wind, NASA says.
  
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• Man Dies After Tapeworm Inside Him Gets Cancer

  05-11-2015 15:55
  
  A Colombian man's lung tumors turned out to have an extremely unusual cause: The rapidly growing masses weren't actually made of human cells, but were from a tapeworm living inside him, according to a report of the case. This is the first known report of a person becoming sick from cancer cells that developed in a parasite, the researchers said. "We were amazed when we found this new type of disease — tapeworms growing inside a person, essentially getting cancer, that spreads to the person
  
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• Better Instructions for Tattoo Care Could Prevent Infections, Doctors Say

  05-11-2015 15:55
  
  People who get tattoos need better instructions on how to properly care for their skin afterward, and most states need stronger guidelines for tattoo artists about this topic, a new opinion paper suggests. Only seven states in the U.S. — Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan and North Dakota — have strong policies, requiring that licensed tattoo artists provide customers with instructions on tattoo "aftercare" that has received prior approval from state publ
  
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• Can Prenatal Choline Cut Schizophrenia Risk in Kids?

  05-11-2015 15:52
  
  In an update to a recent study, researchers say they are continuing to find evidence that women who take supplements containing choline when they're pregnant may lower the risk of schizophrenia in their children. The children in the study are now 4 years old, and are already showing fewer early signs of schizophrenia — such as certain attention and social problems — than expected, said Dr. Robert Freedman at a talk in New York City on Oct. 23.  Half of the children in the study
  
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• NASA To Deliver Big News About Mars Today

  05-11-2015 15:38
  
  NASA is about to reveal some big news about the red planet. In an announcement it said it would "provide details of key science findings from the agency's ongoing exploration of Mars". It said the revelations will revolve around the "fate of Mars' atmosphere" but gave no more details.
  
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• Feature: A controversial company offers a new way to make a baby

  05-11-2015 15:00
  
  OvaScience's treatments rely on women making new eggs, sparking disbelief as well as hope
  
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• Oil Spill Aftermath: Why Baby Dolphins May Be Rare in Gulf Waters

  05-11-2015 14:11
  
  Bottlenose dolphins swimming in waters affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill are dying earlier and birthing fewer calves than dolphins living in other areas, a new study shows. Just 20 percent of pregnant dolphins in Barataria Bay — a part of the Gulf of Mexico that was most heavily tainted by oil from the spill — gave birth to surviving calves, much lower than the 83 percent success rate in other dolphin populations, the researchers found. In addition, just 86.8 percent of the
  
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• Mysterious Dark Matter May Not Always Have Been Dark

  05-11-2015 13:49
  
  Dark matter particles may have interacted extensively with normal matter long ago, when the universe was very hot, a new study suggests. Astronomers began suspecting the existence of dark matter when they noticed the cosmos seemed to possess more mass than stars could account for. Most scientists think dark matter provides the gravity that helps hold these stars back.
  
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• Flying Telescope Catches Glimpse of Alien Planet

  05-11-2015 13:49
  
  Studies of exoplanets normally have been confined to either outer space or the ground. "Exoplanets are rare events that are sometimes hard to observe from a fixed ground-based telescope," Daniel Angerhausen, a postdoctoral fellow at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, told Space.com by email.
  
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• Fireballs from Taurus: See the Taurid Meteors This Week

  05-11-2015 13:48
  
  Meteors, popularly called "shooting stars," are much more common than most people think. In fact, there's a display going on now - courtesy of two Taurid meteor showers - if you know when and where to look. Most meteoroids are quite small, from the size of a pebble down to the size of a grain of sand.
  
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• Course set for New Horizons journey to Kuiper belt object

  05-11-2015 13:43
  
  New Horizons bids Pluto farewell as it starts a 1.45-billion-kilometer cruise to its next target.
  
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