Science news

• Astronauts carry out marathon spacewalk to recharge cooling system

  06-11-2015 23:26
  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - Two U.S. astronauts spent nearly eight hours spacewalking outside the International Space Station on Friday, grappling with an escape of potentially hazardous ammonia as they switched out a cooling system, NASA said.
  
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• Six Surprising Facts About 'The Martian'

  06-11-2015 23:25
  
  Here are six surprising things you might not know about this Red Planet survival story. Based on the novel by Andy Weir, "The Martian" tells the story of astronaut Mark Watney, who, during a mission to the Red Planet, is mistaken for dead by his crewmates and left behind. In order to survive on Mars, Watney has to rely on his incredible problem-solving skills and his sense of humor.
  
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• How to Make History as a NASA Astronaut Without Walking on Mars

  06-11-2015 23:25
  
  But with the space agency's schedules pegging a journey to the Red Planet in the mid-2030s timeframe, it may fall to even more future recruits to become the first astronauts to walk on Mars. That's not to say there aren't opportunities to make history as a new NASA astronaut. Although there have been more than 365 NASA astronauts to date, there remains firsts to be achieved and all that you have to do to claim them is get chosen for the corps.
  
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• France's climate ambassador brings 'tough love' to Paris talks

  06-11-2015 23:23
  
  As France's top climate envoy, Laurence Tubiana has to be light on her diplomatic feet and has gained a reputation both for her frank, unpretentious style -- and her sporty sneakers.
  
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• Police say arrest 83 Biafran separatists in Nigerian oil state

  06-11-2015 22:30
  
  Nigerian police said they arrested more than 80 members of a Biafran separatist movement on Friday during one of a series of protests across the oil-rich southeast against the detention of the group's leader. The 78 men and five women were detained in a motorpark in Yenagoa, the capital of Bayelsa state, "because they want to foment troubles and unleash mayhem" said Bayelsa police spokesman Anisim Butswat. Witnesses reported other rallies in at least four other areas, and one activist said polic
  
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• Merkel wins respite with migrant deal - but for how long?

  06-11-2015 22:30
  
  Chancellor Angela Merkel has won some breathing space after a deal with the fiercest domestic critics of her open-door policy to refugees -- but the respite could prove temporary given the record influx to Germany.
  
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• Direct-to-consumer company tests FDA's resolve on gene testing

  06-11-2015 22:13
  CHICAGO (Reuters) - Just as 23andMe has made peace with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, another direct-to-consumer genetics company is testing the regulatory waters with the launch of a $249 DNA test designed to predict drug response.
  
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• Spacewalking Astronauts Tackle 'High-Flying Plumbing' Job on Space Station

  06-11-2015 22:04
  
  Two American astronauts took a marathon spacewalk on Friday, spending nearly eight hours outside the International Space Station on a truly out-of-this-world plumbing job. NASA astronauts Scott Kelly and Kjell Lindrgren spent seven hours and 48 minutes working outside the station to perform the vital maintenance on their spacecraft. The duo's first-ever spacewalk last week, commanded by Kelly, had the two on separate tracks as they performed a variety of long-term maintenance tasks outside
  
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• 12-foot mammoth tusk unearthed in Idaho; skeleton sought

  06-11-2015 21:28
  
  BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A 12-foot Columbian mammoth tusk has been unearthed in Idaho and scientists say more of the fossil skeleton might still be buried at the site.
  
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• Obama rejects Canada's Keystone XL pipeline to US

  06-11-2015 20:54
  
  US President Barack Obama on Friday blocked the Keystone XL oil pipeline that Canada sought to build into the United States, ruling it would harm the fight against climate change.
  
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• Key facts about controversial Keystone XL pipeline

  06-11-2015 20:53
  
  US President Barack Obama blocked the construction of a controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline between Canada and the United States Friday following years of bitter and politically charged debate.
  
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• Young babies live in a world unto themselves

  06-11-2015 20:51
  
  Young babies don’t let information from the outside throw off their touch perception, a finding that has clues for how babies experience the world.
  
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• US astronauts dodge ammonia on risky spacewalk

  06-11-2015 20:41
  
  Two US astronauts successfully dodged highly toxic ammonia flakes during a risky spacewalk Friday to repair a cooling system at the International Space Station.
  
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• UN issues climate warning, three weeks till Paris summit

  06-11-2015 20:35
  
  The UN warned Friday that nations' carbon-cutting pledges go nowhere near far enough to prevent dangerous global warming, as political efforts gain speed three weeks before a Paris summit tasked with sealing a climate rescue pact.
  
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• Ancient hominids used wooden spears to fend off big cats

  06-11-2015 20:33
  
  Saber-toothed cat remains suggest ancient hominids used wooden spears as defensive weapons.
  
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• Spacewalkers encounter leaking ammonia, spoils radiator work

  06-11-2015 20:21
  
  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Spacewalking astronauts encountered leaking ammonia and minor glove damage while performing plumbing work outside the International Space Station on Friday, then fell so far behind that they had to leave a radiator job undone.
  
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• Laser light turns graphene paper into a microbot

  06-11-2015 20:00
  
  Tiny origami-inspired robot uses laser light to walks like an inchworm.
  
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• The great unmuzzling: Scientists, ministers get green light to speak

  06-11-2015 19:51 via cbc.ca
  
  You're about to start hearing a lot more from elected officials and government scientists.
  
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• Can Canada avoid the Fossil Award at UN climate talks?

  06-11-2015 19:51 via cbc.ca
  
  Canada's new government has a chance to polish our damaged reputation at the upcoming UN climate talks in Paris.
  
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• Hot weather is now affecting Belgian beer too

  06-11-2015 18:53 via cbc.ca
  
  One of the most renowned Belgian beer brewers said Friday it is a victim of climate change because increasingly high temperatures have shortened the brewing season by about a month compared with the 1950s.
  
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• Obama rejects Keystone XL pipeline

  06-11-2015 18:48 via bbc.co.uk
  
  US President Barack Obama rejects an application to build the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada because it will not help the economy, he says.
  
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• Cancer researchers band together to pool tumor genome data

  06-11-2015 18:30
  
  Registry of tens of thousands of patients’ data from research institutions could lead to new treatments
  
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• Climate change played role in 2014's extreme weather, report says

  06-11-2015 18:22 via cbc.ca
  
  Human-caused climate change contributed to many extreme weather and climate events in 2014, according to a report by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
  
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• Obama rejects Canada-US Keystone XL pipeline

  06-11-2015 18:13
  
  US President Barack Obama on Friday blocked the construction of a controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline between Canada and the United States, ending years of bitter and politically charged debate.
  
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• How a plane crash is investigated

  06-11-2015 18:08 via bbc.co.uk
  
  How a plane crash is investigated
  
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• Water droplets spontaneously bounce, sans trampoline

  06-11-2015 17:25
  
  Initially stationary water droplets can bounce on an extremely water-repellent surface as if on a trampoline.
  
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• US astronauts on risky spacewalk to fix cooling system

  06-11-2015 17:23
  
  Two US astronauts stepped out on a risky spacewalk Friday to complete the repair of an ammonia cooling system at the International Space Station.
  
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• Spacewalkers encounter leaking ammonia, NASA says no danger

  06-11-2015 16:57
  
  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Spacewalking astronauts encountered leaking ammonia and minor glove damage while performing plumbing work outside the International Space Station on Friday, but NASA said neither issue posed an immediate threat.
  
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• New Mexico museum unveils first-of-its-kind dinosaur fossil

  06-11-2015 16:50
  
  ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Paleontologists in New Mexico unveiled the first baby Pentaceratops skull ever discovered as hundreds of people lined up to get a look.
  
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• UK astronaut dreams of heavenly Christmas pudding

  06-11-2015 16:42
  
  Brushing off any last-minute nerves, Britain's first astronaut to the International Space Station (ISS) insists he is more concerned about his out-of-this-world Christmas dinner than potential disaster.
  
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• Britain's first astronaut for 24 years hopes to inspire Mars interest

  06-11-2015 16:22
  
  LONDON (Reuters) - The man who will become the first British astronaut to visit the International Space Station said on Friday he hoped his mission would inspire young Britons to one day journey to Mars.
  
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• Greenpeace loses Indian registration

  06-11-2015 16:06 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The environmental pressure group Greenpeace says its charitable registration to operate in India has been revoked.
  
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• Sofia Rises: Baby Name Takes Over the World

  06-11-2015 16:05
  
  A new analysis of baby name statistics from naming expert Laura Wattenberg finds that Sofia (along with its variants) is the top baby name in nine countries — nations as far-flung as Mexico, Italy and Russia. In fact, Sophia/Sofia and other local spellings are among the top 25 baby names in two-thirds of the countries (mostly in Europe and the Americas) that report baby name statistics, Wattenberg found. "It just blew me away that so many different languages and cultures would arrive at th
  
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• Hubble telescope takes photos of ancient white dwarfs at Milky Way's centre

  06-11-2015 16:05 via cbc.ca
  
  NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has for the first time observed a cluster of white dwarfs — the tiny, super-dense remains of burned-out stars — at the centre of the Milky Way.
  
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• New Medical Devices Vanish Inside You

  06-11-2015 16:00 via rss.sciam.com
  
  Implants that prop open clogged arteries and then dissolve are part of a new medical frontier
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Watch Jetpack-Wearing Daredevils Zoom Past a Jumbo Jet (Video)

  06-11-2015 15:59
  
  Move over, George Jetson — a new rocket-propelled duo is giving you a run for your money! For instance, in 2012, Rossy flew alongside a B-17 bomber, and in 2013, he flew over Mount Fuji. Earlier this year, the team flew over Dubai.
  
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• Spotted! Elusive Snow Leopard Caught on Camera in Kyrgyzstan

  06-11-2015 15:56
  
  Scientists have captured new images of a snow leopard being collared in Kyrgyzstan. The move marks the first time that one of these elusive creatures has been collared in the remote Central Asian nation.
  
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• Mooooove Over, Cows! Kangaroo Farts Warm the Earth, Too

  06-11-2015 15:49
  
  Since the 1970s, it has been suggested that kangaroos don't fart — or rather, the (ahem!) gas they emit contains very little, if any, methane. Methane is naturally created by bacteria in an animal's gut. Kangaroos, cows and many other plant eaters use these bacteria to help them digest grass and leaves.
  
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• Swallowed Bobby Pin Ends Up in Child's Kidney

  06-11-2015 15:39
  
  After a medical team operated to remove the pin, the boy recovered without further complications, according to the doctors who treated the boy and wrote the report of his case. "Children actually start exploring the world using their mouth as soon as they are able to pick up objects," said Dr. Yasmin Abdulaziz Yousef, of the department of surgery at KAMC-JD, National Guard Health Affairs in Jeddah, who treated the boy and co-authored the report of his case.
  
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• A 'Natural' Herb Can be Poisonous, Woman Learns

  06-11-2015 15:37
  
  Once the woman was admitted to the hospital and treated for her symptoms, she told her doctors that she had recently purchased an herbal remedy made from the poisonous plant Atropa belladonna, commonly named deadly nightshade, to combat her insomnia. On the label of the product the woman purchased, it is called "Atropa belladonna Belladonna Leaf," and it can be legally purchased online.
  
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• Garcinia Cambogia: Supplement Often Lacks Active Ingredient, Study Finds

  06-11-2015 15:36
  
  Consumers who buy Garcinia cambogia, a weight-loss supplement made popular by Dr. Oz, may not be getting what they expect, recent laboratory testing show. Laboratory tests found 21 of 29 of the top-selling Garcinia cambogia supplements sold online contain substantially less of the active ingredient, called hydroxycitric acid (HCA), than the label claims. The results were released by an independent supplement testing company, called LabDoor, and have not been subject to peer review, the primary p
  
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• Tummy Tucks May Be Riskier Than Other Plastic Surgeries

  06-11-2015 15:35
  
  People who undergo tummy tucks may face a higher rate of major complications than those who have other cosmetic plastic-surgery procedures, according to a new study. Tummy tucks, which doctors call abdominoplasty, involve surgically removing excess skin and tissue from the abdomen to create a smoother and firmer abdominal profile. In the study, researchers looked at about 25,000 people who had tummy tucks between 2008 and 2013.
  
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• Death from Above: Mass Extinctions Tied to Comet Strikes

  06-11-2015 15:02
  
  Many of Earth's mass extinctions over the eons have been caused by comet strikes, a new study suggests. Over the past 260 million years, cratering rates on Earth have peaked every 26 million years or so, in tune with a previously noted cycle of mass-extinction events, researchers found. Furthermore, five of the six largest impact craters known from the last quarter-billion years — including the 112-mile-wide (180 kilometers) crater associated with the demise of the dinosaurs 65 million yea
  
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• Will Private Moon Race's First Contract Spur Snowball Effect?

  06-11-2015 15:01
  
  Last month, Israel-based SpaceIL announced it had signed a deal to launch its lander to the moon aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in the second half of 2017, becoming the first entrant in the Google Lunar X Prize (GLXP) competition to secure a "verified" launch contract. GLXP representatives said they hope other teams follow SpaceIL's lead.
  
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• Intense Antares Rocket Explosion Shown in Newly Released NASA Photos

  06-11-2015 15:01
  
  Orbital Sciences' Antares rocket exploded just seconds after lifting off from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia on Oct. 28, 2014, scuttling the company's third robotic resupply mission to the International Space Station. According to SpaceNews, NASA has posted new images to a 39-photo gallery of the ill-fated Antares launch on its Flickr page — just a week or so after the agency released the results of its investigation into the failure.
  
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• Podcast: Allergies, artificial fingertips, and using human waste to power homes

  06-11-2015 15:00
  
  Listen to a roundup of some of our favorite stories from the week
  
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• Supersized scanner to explore the body and hunt down disease

  06-11-2015 14:57
  When they were kids, Simon Cherry and Ramsey Badawi both wanted to be astronomers, unlocking mysteries in far off galaxies. That didn't work out for them. The pair still plan on unlocking mysteries but this time inside the human body. 
  
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• New Mexico museum unveils rare baby Pentaceratops fossil

  06-11-2015 14:46 via cbc.ca
  
  Paleontologists with the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science unveiled the first baby Pentaceratops skull ever discovered as hundreds of people lined up to get a look.
  
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• Astronauts Taking Walk in Space Today: Watch It Live

  06-11-2015 14:37
  
  American astronauts Scott Kelly and Kjell Lindgren are venturing outside the International Space Station this morning (Nov. 6) for their second spacewalk mission in two weeks — and you can watch their orbital action online as it happens. The 33rd U.S. spacewalk outside the station began at 6:22 a.m. EST (1122 GMT), and the astronauts will be reconfiguring a station cooling system after an attempt to stop a leak in 2012, and topping off its liquid ammonia. The astronauts are scheduled to be
  
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• Dawn of gene-editing medicine?

  06-11-2015 14:25 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Does the smiling face of Layla Richards mark a new era in genetic medicine that could change all our lives?
  
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