Science news

• Security fears risk overshadowing Paris climate summit

  16-11-2015 23:51
  
  Security fears in the wake of Friday's brutal slaying of 129 people in Paris threaten to overshadow a crunch climate summit to be launched by 120 world leaders in the French capital on November 30.
  
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• UNESCO Celebrates 70th Anniversary with High-Tech Light Show

  16-11-2015 23:16
  
  The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year with some very high-tech decorations. Today (Nov. 16), a slew of superpowerful projectors will turn the many facades of the organization's headquarters in Paris into a giant digital photo album. The live projection show will literally reflect the accomplishments that the multinational agency has achieved over the past seven decades, displaying never-before-seen photos from
  
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• Climate activists want to march in Paris despite attacks

  16-11-2015 22:45
  
  PARIS (AP) — Environmental activists said Monday that they want to go ahead with plans to march in Paris before the U.N. climate summit later this month, despite the attacks in the French capital.
  
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• Face Transplants Move Forward with Most Extensive Operation Yet

  16-11-2015 22:41
  
  The man recently underwent the most extensive facial transplant done to date, said the doctors who treated him. "The amount of tissue that was transplanted [in this surgery] had not been transplanted before," Rodriguez said. Prior to this surgery, Rodriguez told the patient, Patrick Hardison, that the surgery had a 50/50 chance of success, Rodriguez said.
  
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• International Space Station needs repairs after power problem

  16-11-2015 22:32
  
  The International Space Station has taken a power hit, and spacewalking repairs may be needed. First, though, a replacement part must be delivered via rocket.
  
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• Hungry elephants turn trunks into leaf blowers

  16-11-2015 22:30
  
  Darwin once observed an elephant using its trunk to blow an object closer. Japanese zoo elephants use the behavior to obtain food, a new study reports.
  
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• El Niño Expected to Strengthen, Bring Wild Weather Across US

  16-11-2015 22:28
  
  El Niño is likely to strengthen by the end of the year, potentially bringing more precipitation than usual to much of the United States. This year's El Niño is among the strongest since 1950, according to meteorologists. Already, the atmospheric pattern is among the top three since that time, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
  
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• Study brews up more evidence for coffee’s health benefits

  16-11-2015 22:00
  
  Drinking up to five cups of coffee a day reduced the risk of dying early from heart and brain diseases and suicide.
  
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• New fat cell metabolism research could lead to new ways to treat diabetes, obesity

  16-11-2015 21:22
  New insights into what nutrients fat cells metabolize to make fatty acids have been released by scientists. The findings pave the way for understanding potential irregularities in fat cell metabolism that occur in patients with diabetes and obesity and could lead to new treatments for these conditions.
  
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• Mysterious molars reveal more about human cousins, the Denisovans

  16-11-2015 21:00 via cbc.ca
  
  Scientists have uncovered new information about the Denisovans, a mysterious group of human relatives that interbred with ancient humans in Asia.
  
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• DNA puts Neandertal relatives in Siberia for 60,000 years

  16-11-2015 21:00
  
  Recovered DNA suggests Denisovans inhabited Siberia for around 60,000 years.
  
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• Ancient gardeners saved the gourd

  16-11-2015 21:00
  
  Domestication might have helped early vine plants like pumpkin survive after seed-dispersing megafauna went extinct.
  
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• Canadian video game industry catching up to TV & film production

  16-11-2015 20:49 via cbc.ca
  
  The video game industry in Canada is growing by leaps and bounds and quickly catching up to film and television production as a major contributor to the economy.
  
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• See! I was right

  16-11-2015 20:36
  Once people reach a conclusion, they aren’t likely to change their minds, even when new information shows their initial belief is likely wrong and clinging to that belief costs real money, new research shows.
  
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• Student led a team that built a prosthesis for little girl's hand

  16-11-2015 20:34
  A biomedical engineer used her know-how to help create a prosthesis for a 4-year-old girl using 3-D printing. An energetic and inquisitive little girl, the child was born with Poland syndrome, a birth defect marked by incomplete development of hand and chest muscles typically on a person's right side.
  
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• Microbes that are key indicators of Puget Sound's health in decline

  16-11-2015 20:26
  Paleontologists find that tiny organisms called foraminifera have a big story to tell about the health of Puget Sound. Two recent studies about the health of Bellingham Bay and inlets in the Bremerton area found the diversity and number of foraminifera -- single-celled marine organisms that live on the sea floor -- deteriorated significantly.
  
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• How students of different backgrounds use strategies to strengthen college applications

  16-11-2015 20:26
  Over the past 25 years, the higher education system in the United States has grown more competitive, with students trying to gain admissions to the most desirable institutions and institutions vying for the most desirable students. During this time period, high school students across the country - particularly those from families of higher socioeconomic status - have increasingly used multiple strategies to enhance their college applications, finds research.
  
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• Flowers that point to the sky may attract more moth pollinators

  16-11-2015 20:26
  Plants that have flowers that point towards the sky may be better at attracting moth pollinators than plants that have 'shy' flowers that point sideways.
  
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• Space Tech Meets Earth-Based Industry in SpaceCom Conference

  16-11-2015 20:24
  
  Leaders and innovators of the commercial space industry will descend on Houston this week for a meeting aimed at demonstrating how technologies developed in space can help build business on Earth. The first annual Space Commerce Conference and Exposition (SpaceCom) will "showcase the real, viable links between space technology and Houston's major industries," according to a statement released by the event organizers. The five industries targeted by the conference organizers are advanced man
  
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• Pluto Goes Psychedelic in Brilliant New Photo

  16-11-2015 20:24
  
  Pluto's the prettiest dwarf planet at the party in this new, brilliantly colored image recently released by NASA. Researchers used a process called principal component analysis to create the false-colored photo of Pluto, which highlights the subtle color differences among the different regions, NASA officials said in a statement. The original image was captured by the Ralph/MVIC color camera on NASA's New Horizons spacecraft as it passed within about 22,000 miles (35,000 kilometers) from Pluto d
  
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• Half the world's natural history specimens may have the wrong name

  16-11-2015 20:24
  As many as 50 percent of all natural history specimens held in the world's museums could be wrongly named, according to a new study.
  
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• Brushing up peptides boosts their potential as drugs

  16-11-2015 20:24
  Peptides promise to be useful drugs, but they're too easily digested and can't get into cells without help. Chemists now show that peptides can be protected from digestion and delivered into cells without changing their biological function by rearranging them into dense brushes.
  
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• Brain scans illuminate emotional response to sound

  16-11-2015 20:24
  Noisy gymnasiums, restaurants where conversations are nearly impossible and concert halls less than perfect for the music are all acoustical problems. Now acoustical engineers are using functional MRI to better understand room acoustics and the emotions they can cause.
  
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• Israel accidentally finds 'impressive' ancient mosaic

  16-11-2015 19:46
  
  Israel will present to the public for the first time this week an "impressive" mosaic accidentally discovered in what was a wealthy neighbourhood in Roman and Byzantine times, officials said Monday.
  
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• Clues Emerge in the Fight against a Mysterious Killer of Central American Farmers

  16-11-2015 19:00 via rss.sciam.com
  
  Scientists have long struggled to find the cause of a chronic kidney disease that chiefly afflicts farmers, and now suspect strenuous labor and harsh work conditions
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• Clues Emerge in Fight against a Mysterious Killer of Central American Farmers

  16-11-2015 19:00 via rss.sciam.com
  
  Scientists have long struggled to find the cause of a chronic kidney disease that chiefly afflicts farmers, and now suspect strenuous labor and harsh work conditions
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• France to pare side events at Paris climate talks

  16-11-2015 18:26
  
  Upcoming UN climate talks in Paris will focus on the negotiations, and "a whole series" of side events will be cancelled, the French prime minister said Monday.
  
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• Paris attacks: Is social media becoming more reliable in a crisis?

  16-11-2015 18:13 via cbc.ca
  
  When a crisis hits, people turn to social media to find out what's happening, or more importantly, find out that loved ones are safe. Our technology columnist Jesse Hirsh talks about the role it played during and after the attacks in Paris.
  
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• Population health promotion: Stratified approach for cardiovascular health

  16-11-2015 18:08
  Promoting cardiovascular health worldwide, experts discuss how the practice of medicine will change to reflect an increase in ambulatory care.
  
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• Discovery of hidden earthquake presents challenge to earthquake early-warning systems

  16-11-2015 18:08
  Seismologists studying the 2011 Chile earthquake have discovered a previously undetected earthquake that took place seconds after the initial rupture. This newly discovered phenomena, which they called a `closely-spaced doublet,' presents a challenge to earthquake and tsunami early warning systems as it increases the risk of larger-than-expected tsunamis in the aftermath of a typical subduction earthquake.
  
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• China continues to lag in effective tobacco control, studies show

  16-11-2015 18:08
  Efforts over the past seven years to reduce tobacco use in China have been strikingly ineffective and leave tobacco use a top threat to the health and economic well-being of the world's largest country, according to research findings.
  
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• Researchers decode patterns that make our brains human

  16-11-2015 18:06
  The human brain may be the most complex piece of organized matter in the known universe, but researchers have begun to unravel the genetic code underlying its function. Research has now identified a surprisingly small set of molecular patterns that dominate gene expression in the human brain and appear common to all individuals, providing key insights into the core of the genetic code that makes our brains distinctly human.
  
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• Kids with Medicaid, CHIP get more preventive care than those with private insurance

  16-11-2015 18:06
  Children insured by Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) were more likely to get preventive medical and dental care than privately insured children in a study that compared access and use of health care for children in households with low to moderate incomes, according to a new article.
  
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• How depleting the gut microbiota protects from obesity

  16-11-2015 18:06
  By studying mice without microbiota, scientists were able to demonstrate how the absence of microbiota has a remarkable effect against obesity. Indeed, it triggers a surprising metabolic mechanism: white fat cells -- which in excess cause obesity and insulin resistance -- are transformed into cells similar to brown fat (they are called 'beige fat'), that protects the body against excess weight and its damaging consequences.
  
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• Effect of pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV infection integrated with community health services

  16-11-2015 18:06
  The rate of acquiring human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was extremely low despite a high incidence of sexually transmitted infections in a study where pre-exposure antiretroviral medication to prevent HIV infection was dispensed at clinics in three metropolitan areas heavily affected by HIV, according to an article.
  
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• Earth's hidden groundwater mapped: Less than six per cent renewable within a human lifetime

  16-11-2015 18:06
  The first data-driven estimate of the Earth's total supply of groundwater shows that less than six per cent of groundwater in the upper two kilometers of the Earth's landmass is renewable within a human lifetime.
  
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• Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a stem cell disease

  16-11-2015 18:06
  For nearly 20 years, scientists have thought that the muscle weakness observed in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy is primarily due to problems in their muscle fibers, but new research shows that it is also due to intrinsic defects in muscle stem cells. Muscle stem cells that lack the dystrophin gene can't sense their orientation and produce ten-fold fewer muscle precursor cells, which in-turn generate fewer functional muscle fibers.
  
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• Giant warrior robot gets Hollywood's help to battle Japanese rival

  16-11-2015 18:03 via cbc.ca
  
  The American underdogs in what is planned to be the world's first giant robot battle have enlisted help from NASA engineers and Hollywood robotics experts in a bid to overcome their favoured Japanese adversary.
  
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• Google's New AI System Could Be 'Machine Learning' Breakthrough

  16-11-2015 17:45
  
  Whether you're trying to translate something into a different language, turn your spoken words into text or sift through thousands of saved photos for that one special snapshot, Google has built a "smarter" artificial intelligence system to help, company representatives announced this week. "TensorFlow is faster, smarter and more flexible than our old system, so it can be adapted much more easily to new products and research," Google representatives said in the company's blog post announcing the
  
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• Public health leaders urge far-reaching reforms to curb prescription opioid epidemic

  16-11-2015 17:29
  A group of experts has issued recommendations aimed at stemming the prescription opioid epidemic, a crisis that kills an average of 44 people a day in the U.S.
  
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• New method may help detect avocado pathogen earlier

  16-11-2015 17:29
  An algorithm has helped scientists to detect laurel wilt, the deadly pathogen that threatens Florida’s $100 million-a-year avocado industry.
  
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• High plains aquifer peak use by state, overall usage decline, study finds

  16-11-2015 17:29
  The over-tapping of the High Plains Aquifer's groundwater beyond the aquifer's recharge rate peaked in 2006, new research shows. Its use is projected to decrease by roughly 50 percent in the next 100 years.
  
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• Traditional calendar schools increase property values by nearly two percent in Wake County, North Carolina

  16-11-2015 17:27
  Prices for homes assigned to traditional calendars were up to 2 percent higher than similar homes that switched to multi-track year round calendars, a new analysis of more than 50,000 residential real estate transactions shows.
  
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• Programmable plants: Synthetic biologists pave way for genetic circuits

  16-11-2015 17:27
  Taking genetic engineering to the next level, researchers are creating modular, programmable genetic circuits that control specific plant functions.
  
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• Earth's climate more sensitive to carbon dioxide than previously thought

  16-11-2015 17:27
  Ancient climates on Earth may have been more sensitive to carbon dioxide than was previously thought, according to new research. Scientists examined nahcolite crystals found in Colorado's Green River Formation, formed 50 million years old during a hothouse climate. They found that carbon dioxide levels during this time may have been as low as 680 parts per million (ppm), nearly half the 1,125 ppm predicted by previous experiments. The new data suggests that past predictions significantly underes
  
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• Former smokers who quit within the past year are four times more likely to be daily users of e-cigarettes

  16-11-2015 17:25
  Analysis of a national survey of adult tobacco use points to use of e-cigarettes as a quitting aid. The researchers also found that while any e-cigarette use was higher among young adults, daily e-cigarette use was more common among adults over age 25 than among young adults aged 18-24.
  
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• 'Supergene' underlies genetic differences, sexual behavior in male ruff

  16-11-2015 17:24
  The ruff is a Eurasian shorebird that has a spectacular lekking behavior where highly ornamented males compete for females. Now two groups report that males with alternative reproductive strategies carry a chromosomal rearrangement that has been maintained as a balanced genetic polymorphism for about 4 million years.
  
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• For the birds: Whether you're territorial, a girlfriend stealer or a cross dresser, it's in your genes

  16-11-2015 17:24
  Whether you’re territorial, a girlfriend stealer, or a cross dresser, when it comes to finding a partner, scientists have discovered that for some birds it’s all in the genes.
  
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• Scientists build nanoscale submarines powered by light

  16-11-2015 17:23
  Though they're not quite ready for boarding a lá "Fantastic Voyage," nanoscale submarines are proving themselves seaworthy.
  
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• Responding to C. diff: Concerted action needed to control health care-related infection

  16-11-2015 17:23
  Appropriate use of antibiotics is a critical step toward controlling the ongoing epidemic of health care-related Clostridium difficile infection, according to a special article from experts.
  
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