Science news

• Second thoughts? Countries put off leap second decision to 2023

  19-11-2015 22:55
  
  It is no split-second decision.
  
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• Nature editor Sir Philip Campbell receives knighthood

  19-11-2015 22:00
  
  Astrophysicist Sir Philip Campbell, editor-in-chief of the journal Nature, has been knighted for services to science.
  
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• Giant pandas to remain in Washington to 2020

  19-11-2015 21:55
  
  Just three months after the National Zoo in Washington announced the birth of a giant panda, it had more good news Thursday: pandas are there to stay until December 2020.
  
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• Winter-resistant Canadian bees? Custom honeybee breeds may be on the way

  19-11-2015 21:54 via cbc.ca
  
  Canadian beekeepers are getting help in breeding the ultimate bee - with custom traits including the ability to survive a harsh Canadian winter.
  
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• NGO says Brazil cut C02 emissions, cites slowing deforestation

  19-11-2015 21:43
  
  Brazil cut carbon emissions slightly last year, thanks mainly to a drop in deforestation which offset rises from the farming, energy and industrial sectors, said a report released Thursday.
  
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• Genetically modified salmon gets approval in U.S.

  19-11-2015 21:33
  
  Fast-growing salmon become first genetically engineered animals approved for human consumption.
  
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• Scientists could soon replace damaged vocal cords with lab-grown ones

  19-11-2015 21:15 via cbc.ca
  
  People with damaged vocal cords may one day sing again with the help lab-grown vocal cords. Science columnist Torah Kachur explains how researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison grew vocal cords in the lab.
  
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• Pick-and-pay cable or small bundles must be provided by March 1

  19-11-2015 21:15 via cbc.ca
  
  Cable and satellite providers must provide skinny basic packages priced at $25 a month to every consumer by March 1, 2016, the CRTC says.
  
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• Cable skinny basic packages or pick-and-pay coming by March 1

  19-11-2015 21:15 via cbc.ca
  
  Cable and satellite providers must provide skinny basic packages priced at $25 a month or a pick-and-pay service to every consumer by March 1, 2016, the CRTC says.
  
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• Abraham Lincoln Was a Science Champion, Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson Says

  19-11-2015 20:41
  
  Abraham Lincoln is best known for abolishing slavery and keeping the United States together through the Civil War, but he also helped the country become the scientific and engineering powerhouse we know today. For example, Lincoln signed the Morrill Act in 1862, creating a system of land-grant colleges and universities that revolutionized higher education in the United States, notes famed astrophysicist and science communicator Neil deGrasse Tyson. "Known also as the people's colleges, they were
  
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• Stellar Graveyard Reveals Clues About Milky Way's Ancient Birth

  19-11-2015 20:40
  
  NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has peered far back in time, detecting clues about how the Milky Way galaxy came together, shortly after the universe's birth. Astronomers trained Hubble on the Milky Way's dense central bulge and spotted a population of superdense stellar corpses called white dwarfs that are remnants of stars that formed about 12 billion years ago. "It is important to observe the Milky Way's bulge, because it is the only bulge we can study in detail," study lead author Annalisa Cal
  
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• Amazon CEO Delivers Historic NASA Moon Rocket Engines to Seattle Museum

  19-11-2015 20:40
  
  Amazon.com's CEO personally oversaw the delivery of some large artifacts from NASA's history on Thursday (Nov. 19), completing a cross-country shipment that has traveled by truck, boat and rocket. Jeff Bezos, the online retailer's billionaire founder, came to The Museum of Flight in Seattle to welcome the restored remains of F-1 rocket engines that were used to launch the second and fifth Apollo missions to land astronauts on the moon. Three years ago, Bezos funded the expedition that disco
  
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• How to see with eyes made of rock

  19-11-2015 20:37
  
  Tiny mollusk eyes in chiton armor can pick up rough images.
  
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• Polar bear numbers to fall as Arctic ice shrinks: study

  19-11-2015 20:19 via cbc.ca
  
  Polar bear populations are likely to fall by more than 30 per cent by around mid-century as global warming thaws Arctic sea ice, experts said on Thursday in the most detailed review of the predators to date.
  
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• Satellite will map Earth's plant glow

  19-11-2015 20:14 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The European Space Agency will build a satellite to map from orbit the glow of photosynthesis taking place on Earth.
  
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• Having parasites can boost fertility

  19-11-2015 20:00
  
  Infection with parasitic worms tinkers with fertility
  
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• Colorado unveils plan to manage water amid drought, demand

  19-11-2015 19:36
  
  DENVER (AP) — The snow that falls on the Colorado mountains melts into trillions of gallons of water every year, and most of it flows downstream to Mexico, California and 17 other states. Colorado released its first-ever plan Thursday to cope with increasing competition for that water as the West grows drier.
  
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• Climate change to slash polar bear numbers by 2050, Red List says

  19-11-2015 19:09
  
  Polar bears could see their numbers dwindle by nearly a third by mid-century, a top conservation body said Thursday, warning climate change poses the greatest threat to the king of the Arctic.
  
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• Adorable birds tap dance their way into the heart of a mate

  19-11-2015 18:55
  
  Blue-capped cordon-bleu songbirds not only sing, but also tap dance to woo mates, study reveals.
  
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• 139 Countries Could Get All of their Power from Renewable Sources

  19-11-2015 18:30 via rss.sciam.com
  
  Energy from wind, water and sun would eliminate nuclear and fossil fuels
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Bird's lightning 'tap dance' revealed

  19-11-2015 18:14 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Using high-speed cameras, scientists glimpse songbirds doing a rapid-fire dance that is invisible to the naked eye.
  
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• VIDEO: Video captures songbird quick-step

  19-11-2015 18:13 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists capture high-speed footage of songbirds performing a rapid-fire "tap dance" that is invisible to the naked eye.
  
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• A good diet for you may be bad for me

  19-11-2015 18:00
  
  Eating the same foods can produce very different reactions in people.
  
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• Should politicians decide science funding?

  19-11-2015 17:36 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Should politicians have more say on science funding?
  
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• United Kingdom needs a science funding czar, report says

  19-11-2015 17:15
  Review of U.K. research councils recommends a new overarching structure for greater efficiency and a high-profile leader
  
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• Way-out world is solar system’s most distant object — for now

  19-11-2015 17:01
  
  An icy world over 15 billion kilometers from the sun is the new record holder for most distant object in the solar system.
  
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• US approves GM salmon for food

  19-11-2015 16:43 via bbc.co.uk
  
  US regulators have given the go-ahead to genetically modified salmon, making it the first GM animal destined for human consumption.
  
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• AquaBounty genetically-modified salmon approved by FDA

  19-11-2015 16:27 via cbc.ca
  
  A genetically-modified salmon has been approved as food by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
  
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• You Share 70% of Your Genes with This Slimy Marine Worm

  19-11-2015 16:20
  
  Over 500 million years ago, humans and certain worms shared a common ancestor, and people still share thousands of genes with the worms, said scientists who recently sequenced genomes from two marine worm species. The results suggest humans and acorn worms, so called because of their acorn-shaped "heads," are distant cousins, said the researchers, led by Oleg Simakov of the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University in Okinawa, Japan. The researchers analyzed genes from two
  
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• Breaking: ITER fusion project to take at least 6 years longer than planned

  19-11-2015 16:15
  
  Officials release new completion schedule
  
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• ISIS channels on Telegram pop up as fast as they're shut down

  19-11-2015 16:08 via cbc.ca
  
  Mobile messaging service Telegram is racing to shut down broadcast channels used by Islamic State to promote its causes and recruit members, but the group is creating new channels apparently just as quickly.
  
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• 'X-Ray Vision' Tech Uses Radio Waves to 'See' Through Walls

  19-11-2015 15:49
  
  "X-ray vision" that can track people's movements through walls using radio signals could be the future of smart homes, gaming and health care, researchers say. A new system built by computer scientists at MIT can beam out radio waves that bounce off the human body. Receivers then pick up the reflections, which are processed by computer algorithms to map people’s movements in real time, they added.
  
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• Royal Society president lays out plan for science at heart of government

  19-11-2015 15:41
  
  A strategy to ensure that science has a place at the centre of government has been set out by Nobel Laureate and Royal Society president Sir Paul Nurse.
  
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• Not So Precious: Eyeless 'Smeagol' Arachnid Discovered in Underground Lair

  19-11-2015 15:39
  
  In a deep, dank cave in Brazil, a pale, blind creature lurks, never venturing out to feel the sun. Researchers recently found the creature in its underground lair, a limestone cave in southeastern Brazil, and described it for the first time today (Nov. 18) in the journal ZooKeys. You may know harvestmen as "daddy longlegs," those spiderlike critters that crawl all over the yard during the summer months.
  
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• 'RoboBees' with Laser Eyes Could Locate Disaster Victims

  19-11-2015 15:36
  
  Mechanical eyes that shoot laser beams could one day help robot bees fly without crashing into obstacles, researchers say. These laser eyes could also one day help people control smartphones, tablets, laptops, wearable technology and other mobile devices using only gestures, the researchers added. Previous research found that robot bees are capable of flying while tethered and moving while submerged in water.
  
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• Open Wide! Dinosaurs' Jaw Stretch Linked to Feeding Habits

  19-11-2015 15:35
  
  Recently, Stephan Lautenschlager, a vertebrate paleontologist at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom, conducted the first investigation to link dinosaurs' jaw muscles to the animals' feeding habits. "Up to now, no studies have actually focused on the relation between jaw musculature, feeding style and the maximum possible jaw gape," Lautenschlager said in a statement. In short, muscles have limits, and Lautenschlager wanted to test them.
  
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• Antibiotic 'last line of defence' breached in China

  19-11-2015 15:29 via cbc.ca
  
  Bacteria resistant to an antibiotic of last resort have been found in pigs, meat and a small number of hospital patients in China, setting off alarm bells for doctors and researchers.
  
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• UK science 'needs single funding body'

  19-11-2015 15:12 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A government-commissioned review says UK science funding should be determined by a single independent agency, and overseen perhaps by the chancellor himself.
  
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• Canadian mining firm Lucara finds 2nd-largest diamond ever

  19-11-2015 15:12 via cbc.ca
  
  A Canadian mining company has found what's thought to be the second-largest diamond ever in Botswana, measuring a whopping 1,111 carats. It's almost as big as a tennis ball.
  
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• China won't improve emissions control pledges

  19-11-2015 15:11
  
  China will not improve on its pledges to control emissions, the country's top climate negotiator said on Thursday ahead of key UN climate change talks in Paris.
  
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• Video: Songbirds tap dance to seduce their mate

  19-11-2015 15:00
  
  Blue-capped cordon-bleu has a special talent
  
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• Volkswagen to start recalls in France from 'early 2016': letter

  19-11-2015 14:47
  
  Volkswagen has informed clients in France that early next year it will begin recalling vehicles to remove the pollution-cheating software that has ensnared the carmaker in a global scandal.
  
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• 'I'll warm myself on fire of revenge' - Hatred hangs in ruins of Iraq's Sinjar

  19-11-2015 14:44
  
  By Isabel Coles SINJAR, Iraq (Reuters) - The picnic tables on the mountainside overlooking the town of Sinjar are a vestige of a time when different communities lived side by side in this corner of northwestern Iraq. Empty pick-up trucks descend to the town and return laden with everything from satellite dishes to tricycles pillaged from the homes of Sunni Muslims whom Yazidis accuse of collaborating in the atrocities committed against them. "I've come to take his belongings, and now I'm going t
  
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• Hold on a second: UN kicks 'leap second' decision down road

  19-11-2015 14:39
  
  BERLIN (AP) — For this decision, a U.N. agency has decided to take its time.
  
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• Anonymous's Cyber War with ISIS Could Compromise Terrorism Intelligence

  19-11-2015 14:30 via rss.sciam.com
  
  Efforts to take down the terrorist organization’s Web sites and expose its supporters could interfere with carefully planned law enforcement operations
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Vampire bats share blood to make friends

  19-11-2015 14:17
  
  Vampire bats that share blood with nonrelatives have a wider social network to rely on when they’re in need, a new study finds.
  
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• Private Companies Will Help NASA Get to Mars, Space Agency Chief Says

  19-11-2015 14:16
  
  Work needs to be done by commercial companies to take up the responsibility of supporting science and human astronauts in low-Earth orbit and beyond, according to NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. Speaking yesterday (Nov. 17) at the first annual SpaceCom Expo here, Bolden talked about the need for a marketplace in low-Earth orbit where "NASA is not the only customer." This could potentially include maintaining the American side of the International Space Station, which serves as a one of a kind
  
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• Lunar Lovers, Why Now Is the Best Time to Moon Watch

  19-11-2015 14:16
  
  One of the first things every new moon watcher learns is that, when observing the moon, timing is everything.
  
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• How to Flirt in Panda: Bears' Squeaks Decoded

  19-11-2015 14:16
  
  Maybe that sounds like nonsense to the average person, but to panda bears, those sounds may translate roughly to "let's get busy," "stop bothering me" or "more, please" respectively, according to a new study of panda bear sounds.
  
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• Earth-Like Exoplanet May Be Too Radiation-Blasted to Host Life

  19-11-2015 14:16
  
  ?"Large coronal mass ejections have the potential to strip away any atmosphere that a close-in planet like Kepler-438b might have, rendering it uninhabitable," study co-author Chloe Pugh, of the University of Warwick in England, said in a statement. "With little atmosphere, the planet would also be subject to harsh UV [ultraviolet] and X-ray radiation from the superflares, along with charged particle radiation, all of which are damaging to life," Pugh added. Kepler-438b, which lies about 470 lig
  
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