Science news

• Navy gets OK for exercises, says little effect on orcas

  12-11-2015 23:23
  
  SEATTLE (AP) — The U.S. Navy has received authorization from federal biologists to expand sonar testing and other warfare training off the coast of Washington, Oregon and Northern California.
  
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• CLIMATE COUNTDOWN: When's a warming treaty not a treaty?

  12-11-2015 22:30
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — It's the elephant in the negotiating room that few officials want to acknowledge: Whatever international deal comes out of Paris climate talks, it likely won't be a treaty that needs ratification by a reluctant Republican U.S. Congress.
  
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• Greenland glacier sheds billions of tonnes of ice into ocean

  12-11-2015 22:04 via cbc.ca
  
  A glacier in northeast Greenland with enough ice to raise world ocean levels by 50 cms (20 inches) has begun to slide faster toward the sea, extending ice losses to all corners of the vast remote island, a study showed on Thursday.
  
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• Canada PM and provinces to hash out climate strategy

  12-11-2015 21:59
  
  Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will meet leaders of Canada's provinces and territories to hash out a cohesive climate strategy a week before key international talks in Paris.
  
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• Microsoft releases Windows 10, Xbox One updates, Cortana for Canada

  12-11-2015 21:42 via cbc.ca
  
  Microsoft releases its first major update for Windows 10 today. It also releases a Windows 10-powered update for its Xbox One gaming console, and its virtual assistant, called Cortana, finally arrives in Canada.
  
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• U.S. bomber flew near Chinese-built island in South China Sea - Pentagon

  12-11-2015 21:30
  
  A U.S. B-52 strategic bomber flew near Chinese manmade islands in the South China Sea recently and was contacted by Chinese ground controllers but continued its mission undeterred, the Pentagon said on Thursday. "We conduct B-52 flights in international air space in that part of the world all the time," Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook told a briefing. "My understanding is there was one B-52 flight, I'm not even sure the date on it, but there was an effort made by Chinese ground controllers to reac
  
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• Record-Setting Gamma-Ray Pulsar Beyond Our Galaxy Bursts into View

  12-11-2015 20:58
  
  Researchers have spotted the most luminous gamma-ray pulsar ever found — and the rapidly spinning, ultradense stellar core is also the first pulsar of its kind ever seen outside the Milky Way. A group analyzing data from the orbiting Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope's Large Area Telescope discovered the extraordinary object in an area bursting with star activity: the Tarantula Nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy to the Milky Way. The new measurements show that puls
  
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• Mars' Lost Atmosphere: MAVEN Probe Scientist Explains New Finding

  12-11-2015 20:58
  
  The MAVEN spacecraft recently revealed that Mars' once-thick atmosphere was stripped away by powerful solar activity at some time in its history. "MAVEN has been focused on trying to understand the changing Mars climate," Jakosky told Space.com. The new findings from MAVENshow that the Martian atmosphere was lost to space, with large amounts stripped away by strong solar activity — as opposed to the atmosphere going down into the soil.
  
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• Lone Star Flight Museum to Land Where NASA Astronaut Jets Take Off

  12-11-2015 20:58
  
  HOUSTON — For 24 years, former astronaut Bonnie Dunbar came to Ellington Field to fly. On Monday (Nov. 9), she returned to the southeast Houston airport, the home to NASA's aircraft operations, to dig — in honor of the history, and future, of flight. Dunbar, who launched aboard five space shuttle missions between 1985 and 1998, was among the dignitaries who took up a shovel of dirt to symbolically break ground on the new site of the Lone Star Flight Museum.
  
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• Mighty winds fuel megastorms on Titan

  12-11-2015 20:45
  
  Saturn’s moon Titan might produce long-lasting storms squalls that flood the surface with liquid methane.
  
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• Lost genetic history of Inca mummy

  12-11-2015 20:42 via bbc.co.uk
  
  DNA analysis of a child mummy sheds light on the genetic history of the Inca civilisation.
  
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• 'Dramatic retreat' seen in Greenland glacier

  12-11-2015 20:21
  
  A major glacier in northeastern Greenland is rapidly crumbling into the Atlantic Ocean and experts warned on Thursday the breakup will likely raise global sea level by 18 inches (a half meter).
  
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• Deadly clashes in north Iraq close main road to Baghdad - sources

  12-11-2015 20:02
  
  Clashes between Kurdish and Shi'ite Arab paramilitary forces turned a northern Iraqi district into a battlefield on Thursday and cut a strategic road linking Baghdad to the northern oil city of Kirkuk, security sources and local officials said. The violence in and around Tuz Khurmatu, about 175 km (110 miles) north of the capital, left at least 16 people dead, including five civilians, security and medical sources said. The Kurdish and Shi'ite fighters have been uncomfortable allies against Isla
  
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• Earth’s water originated close to home, lava analysis suggests

  12-11-2015 20:00
  
  Scarcity of a hydrogen isotope called deuterium in molten rock from Earth’s depths suggests that the planet’s H2O originated from water-logged dust during formation, not comets.
  
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• Brazil levies initial fines of $66 million against mine for burst dams

  12-11-2015 19:48
  
  By Stephen Eisenhammer and Marta Nogueira MARIANA, Brazil (Reuters) - President Dilma Rousseff on Thursday announced preliminary fines worth 250 million reais (£43.52 million) against a mine in southeastern Brazil where two dams burst, killing at least seven people and coating a two-state area with mud and mine waste. The fines, announced after Rousseff flew over the affected area, come as federal prosecutors announced plans to work with state prosecutors to investigate possible crimes tha
  
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• Justin Trudeau to push middle-class message in debut on world stage

  12-11-2015 19:26 via cbc.ca
  
  Justin Trudeau will push for 'inclusive growth' to help the middle class as he makes his debut on the world stage as Canada's prime minister. Trudeau leaves Friday to attend the G20 Leaders' Summit in Antalya, Turkey, his first foreign trip in a busy fall of international summits.
  
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• Prince George's future face predicted by scientists

  12-11-2015 18:39
  
  Prince George may still only be a toddler but computer scientists say they can now offer a glimpse of how the third in line to the British throne will look in the coming years. The research, led by Hassan Ugail, the University's professor of visual computing, explained that their algorithm can verify which traits the child may have inherited from the parents to build a more reliable forecast of their future face. To demonstrate the system, the team chose to predict what Prince George will look l
  
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• Review: In Call of Duty: Black Ops III, cyber warfare is still awfully bloody

  12-11-2015 18:07 via cbc.ca
  
  It's 2065, and while most of the fighting is done by drones and robots, there's still a role for cybernetically modified humans on the battlefield. Welcome to the psychotic future of Call of Duty: Black Ops III.
  
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• Cosmonaut training site: Oasis in an uncertain world

  12-11-2015 17:28 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Star City in Moscow continues to function as a space training centre, oblivious to events in the outside world.
  
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• Climate risk 'threatens markets'

  12-11-2015 17:25 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Global investment portfolios could be hit hard amid changes in short-term market sentiments, triggered by climate impact concerns.
  
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• Space rains junk on Spain

  12-11-2015 17:23
  
  It's raining space junk in Spain.
  
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• Paper retracted after scientist bans use of his software in countries that welcome refugees

  12-11-2015 17:15
  
  BMC Evolutionary Biology says the move violated its policies on software availabilty
  
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• EU downplays cancer risk from weedkiller in win for Monsanto

  12-11-2015 17:08
  
  A highly sensitive EU report on Thursday claimed one of the world's most popular weedkillers is "unlikely" to cause cancer, countering the UN and handing a victory to agri-business giant Monsanto.
  
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• Finland to build world's first permanent nuke waste facility

  12-11-2015 17:05
  
  Finland's government gave the green light Thursday for the construction of the world's first permanent repository designed to store nuclear waste for 100,000 years.
  
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• Cosmic rays maintain their mystery

  12-11-2015 17:00
  
  Cosmic rays come from all over the universe, including some places we’re not so sure about.
  
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• Why the Pyramids Spawn So Many Wacky Theories

  12-11-2015 16:22
  
  GOP presidential candidate Ben Carson stands by an odd theory he floated at a commencement address: that the Egyptian pyramids are not pharaohs' tombs, but ancient grain silos built by the biblical Joseph. Indeed, though the pyramids are some of the most well-researched ancient structures in the world, they have a long-standing tendency to attract crackpot theories. Like Carson, these people ignore massive amounts of contemporary evidence about the pyramids.
  
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• Dog-Size Rats Once Lived Alongside Humans

  12-11-2015 16:18
  
  Scientists on an expedition to the island nation of East Timor discovered fossils representing seven new species of giant rats, all larger than any species ever found. The biggest of them would have tipped the scales at 11 lbs. (5 kilograms), about 10 times as much as a modern rat, according to Julien Louys, a paleontologist and research fellow at the Australian National University, who presented the findings in October at the annual meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology. Calling the
  
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• Darwin's 'Origin of Species' Voted Most Influential Academic Book

  12-11-2015 16:16
  
  Women's rights, the foundations of capitalism and the warping of space-time can all take a backseat to meticulous descriptions of long-beaked finches, at least if public opinion is any measure. A group of academic booksellers, publishers and librarians conducted the survey in advance of Academic Book Week in the United Kingdom. In Darwin's theory, species emerge through natural selection, where genetic changes lead some in a population to be more fit for their environment than their competitors.
  
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• Space junk hunk WT1190F will fall to Earth on Friday the 13th

  12-11-2015 16:10 via cbc.ca
  
  A hunk of space junk is expected to fall to Earth in a spectacular light show near Sri Lanka early this Friday the 13th. The prediction has prompted the Sri Lankan government to impose a temporary no-fly zone and a fishing ban as a precaution.
  
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• Hoping to find life on other planets, astronomers start on giant Chile telescope

  12-11-2015 15:16
  
  CERRO LAS CAMPANAS, Chile (Reuters) - Chilean President Michelle Bachelet put hammer to stone on an Andean mountaintop on Wednesday evening to mark the start of construction for one of the world's most advanced telescopes, an instrument that may help shed light on the possibility of life on distant planets.
  
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• France, US clash on legal status of future climate deal

  12-11-2015 15:10
  
  France and the United States appeared to clash Thursday over the legal status of a global pact to be agreed in Paris in December to stave off dangerous climate change.
  
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• Mummified boy’s DNA unveils new but ancient maternal lineage

  12-11-2015 15:00
  
  An Inca child’s DNA shows he hailed from a newly identified line of maternal ancestors.
  
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• Inca child mummy reveals lost genetic history of South America

  12-11-2015 15:00
  
  Aconcagua boy helps define a new genetic group
  
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• New XX Files video: Listening to the universe with gravitational waves

  12-11-2015 14:15
  
  Dek: Episode in Science video series profiles MIT’s Nergis Mavalvala
  
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• Ozone Hole Over Antarctica Nears Record-Breaking Size Again

  12-11-2015 14:04
  
  The hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica is nearing record-breaking size again, scientists say. In fact, new observations show that the infamous "ozone hole" is currently larger than the entire continent of North America. Researchers at the German Aerospace Center are using Earth-observing satellites to monitor the protective ozone layer and recently reported that a large, nearly circular hole over Antarctica extends over an area measuring 26 million square km (10 million square miles).
  
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• How Robots Are Building a 3D-Printed Metal Bridge in Amsterdam

  12-11-2015 14:03
  
  The quaint, cobblestoned city of Amsterdam is about to get a modern addition: a 3D-printed footbridge. The bridge will be constructed entirely by robots that can "print" complex steel objects in midair. The autonomous bots are like mechanical, torch-wielding welders that melt together layer upon layer of steel to form a solid object, said Tim Geurtjens, MX3D's co-founder and chief technology officer.
  
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• Popular herbicide doesn’t cause cancer, European Union agency says

  12-11-2015 14:00
  
  Food safety authority’s decision suggests EU won’t ban the use of glyphosate
  
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• Low-carbon future means driving less, Conference Board says

  12-11-2015 14:00 via cbc.ca
  
  New zero-emissions cars and gains in fuel efficiency won't be enough for Canada to meet climate change targets for road transport, a Conference Board of Canada study says. Instead, Canadians will have to change their habits and drive less.
  
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• EU says cancer risk from popular weedkiller 'unlikely'

  12-11-2015 13:46
  
  The EU's food safety agency on Thursday said one of the world's most popular weedkillers was "unlikely" to cause cancer, putting it at odds with findings by the UN.
  
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• Alarm over Delhi pollution doesn't stop Diwali fireworks

  12-11-2015 13:43
  
  NEW DELHI (AP) — The fireworks have fizzled. The festival lights are coming down. What's left of the Hindu holiday of Diwali in the Indian capital — already considered the world's most polluted — is a toxic haze that has residents gagging for oxygen and hiding indoors.
  
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• Strategic Command Issues Statement on Trident Missile Test that Freaked Out the West Coast

  12-11-2015 13:33
  
  With images like these, it's no wonder California — not to mention the Twittersphere — freaked out Saturday evening when an unannounced test of a submarine-launched Trident missile lit up the evening sky. Photographer Porter Tinsley and her wife were on the shore of California's desolate Salton Sea taking long exposures and time lapses with three different cameras when they witnessed what they thought at the time was a chemical or nuclear weapon detonating over Los Angeles two a
  
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• Part of Pluto's Heart Was 'Born Yesterday'

  12-11-2015 13:33
  
  Pluto has a surprisingly youthful heart — the smooth, round region on the dwarf planet'ssurface is no more than 10 million years old, a blink of an eye in the 4.5-billion-year lifetime of the solar system. The large,western lobe of the "heart" on Pluto's surface is also known as Sputnik Planum, and it is strikingly free of craters. Researchers with NASA's New Horizons mission said this is surprising, because such processes require an internal heat source, which is often lost in small bodie
  
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• Don't Miss Your Last Chance to See Saturn for Awhile

  12-11-2015 13:33
  
  If you've been looking for Saturn lately, you've seen it rapidly sinking towards the sun in the southwestern sky just after sunset. This week is probably your last chance to spot Saturn before it disappears into the sun's glow. The moon will be much higher in the sky, but Saturn will be even lower.
  
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• Don't Miss Your Last Chance to See Saturn for a While

  12-11-2015 13:33
  
  If you've been looking for Saturn lately, you've seen it rapidly sinking towards the sun in the southwestern sky just after sunset. This week is probably your last chance to spot Saturn before it disappears into the sun's glow. The moon will be much higher in the sky, but Saturn will be even lower.
  
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• Kurdish forces launch battle to retake Iraq's Sinjar town

  12-11-2015 13:32
  
  By Isabel Coles NEAR SINJAR TOWN, Iraq (Reuters) - Backed by U.S. air strikes, Kurdish forces said they captured several villages in an offensive on Thursday to retake the Iraqi town of Sinjar from Islamic State militants who overran it more than a year ago. Islamic State's killing and enslaving of thousands of the northern town's Yazidi residents focussed international attention on the group's violent campaign to impose its radical ideology and prompted Washington to launch its air offensive. O
  
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• Robot salamander helping scientists unlock spinal secrets

  12-11-2015 13:24
  A robotic salamander that can replicate the amphibian's movement to an unprecedented degree of accuracy has been built by robotic engineers in Switzerland. Called Pleurobot, it can reproduce the many postures and positions of a real salamander, and can even swim underwater. Researchers hope it will give neuroscientists an important new tool for further understanding the way the nervous system co-ordinates movement in vertebrates.
  
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• Pakistan asks Supreme Court to overturn ban on hunting rare bird

  12-11-2015 13:06
  
  Pakistan on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to review its ban against hunting a rare desert bird whose meat is prized among Arab sheikhs as an aphrodisiac, saying controlled hunting could be a tool for preservation.
  
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• Tortoises provide a window into the illegal wildlife trade

  12-11-2015 13:00
  
  Tens of thousands of Indian star tortoises are poached every year, a new study finds.
  
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• German energy giant RWE sees coal, gas business shrink

  12-11-2015 12:49
  
  Germany's second biggest energy company, RWE, saw profits from its core coal and gas business plummet again in the first nine months of the year, it said Thursday.
  
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• NASA: Stretch Marks Suggest Doom For Mars Moon

  12-11-2015 12:43
  
  Mars' largest moon has begun to fall apart, according to NASA. Scientists first thought the 100-200 metre wide grooves streaking some 12 miles (20km) along Phobos' oddly shaped surface were fractures caused by an impact that nearly shattered the satellite and formed its Stickney crater. But further analysis reveals they are likely to be "stretch marks" formed by stresses caused by the gravitational pull from Mars.
  
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