Science news

• Judge denies Washington kids' petition on climate change

  20-11-2015 23:52
  SEATTLE (AP) — A judge has denied an appeal by eight young activists who petitioned Washington state to adopt stricter science-based regulations to protect them against climate change.
  
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• Giant Bling: World's Second-Largest Diamond Unearthed

  20-11-2015 23:20
  A mining company operating in Botswana recently announced that it has "recovered" the second-largest diamond in the world. At 1,111 carats, the rock weighs nearly half a pound (227 grams) and measures 2.6 by 2.2 by 1.6 inches (65 by 56 by 40 millimeters). The gem is the largest of its kind to ever be found in Botswana and the largest diamond to be discovered anywhere in the world in more than 100 years, according to officials from the Lucara Diamond Corp., which discovered the massive gemstone.
  
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• Climate change 'affecting' bird migration: eco-group

  20-11-2015 23:08
  The number of birds migrating south from chilly North America to warmer South America this time of year has dropped sharply compared to 2014, probably because of climate change, an environmental group said Friday.
  
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• Watch for the Mischievous 'Demon Star' This Week

  20-11-2015 22:22
  Perseus — will pass directly overhead. Its prominent variable star, Algol — known as "the Demon" — will be vividly visible as well. In case you're not familiar with the story — which, in some ways, seems almost like a soap opera — Perseus' mission was to behead the Gorgon Medusa, a hideous creature with rather unusual "naturally curly" hair composed of poisonous snakes.
  
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• Roses rigged with electrical circuitry

  20-11-2015 22:22
  
  Bioelectric molecules can form wires and conduct electricity in cut roses, researchers find.
  
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• Astronauts in Space Honor Paris Attack Victims (Video)

  20-11-2015 22:15
  The crew of the International Space Station and flight controllers worldwide held a moment of silence this week for the victims of the Nov. 13 Paris terrorist attacks, and NASA astronaut Scott Kelly shared some remarks in a new video. The space station personnel joined a stunned and grieving world in the wake of Friday's attacks in Paris, which killed 129 people and injured 352. The space station's six-man crew took part in the tribute on Monday (Nov. 16), NASA officials said.
  
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• Colorado area open to Superfund cleanup after mine spill

  20-11-2015 22:03
  DENVER (AP) — Southwestern Colorado officials said Friday that they are ready to talk to the Environmental Protection Agency about a federally financed Superfund cleanup of inactive mines, including one that spewed millions of gallons of wastewater and polluted rivers in three states this summer.
  
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• Newest Pluto pics show day in life of dwarf planet

  20-11-2015 21:20
  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA's newest Pluto pictures depict an entire day on the dwarf planet.
  
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• US regulator deepens crisis at VW in emissions probe

  20-11-2015 21:18
  Volkswagen's use of emissions cheating devices on its larger 3.0 liter diesel engine cars extends back five years earlier than originally reported, US regulators said Friday, deepening the crisis at the German auto giant.
  
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• Half of Amazon tree species in danger: study

  20-11-2015 21:07
  About half of the 15,000 tree species in the Amazon -- the world's most diverse forest -- are threatened by deforestation, an international study said on Friday.
  
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• Samsung's virtual reality headset impressive for the price

  20-11-2015 21:05 via cbc.ca
  
  Samsung's Gear VR headset is pretty impressive as first-generation devices go, writes The Associated Press's Anick Jesdanun.
  
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• Many Amazon trees endangered

  20-11-2015 20:50
  
  Large numbers of Amazon tree species are threatened by deforestation.
  
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• More than half of Amazon tree species seen at risk of extinction

  20-11-2015 20:48
  
  By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - South America's vast Amazon region harbours one of the world's most diverse collection of tree species, but more than half may be at risk for extinction due to ongoing deforestation to clear land for farming, ranching and other purposes, scientists say. Researchers said on Friday that if recent trends continued, between 36 and 57 percent of the estimated 15,000 Amazonian tree species likely would qualify as threatened with extinction under cri
  
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• World Toilet Day is no joke: Bob McDonald

  20-11-2015 20:42 via cbc.ca
  
  More people worldwide have mobile phones than toilets. It’s a problem that especially affects the health of women and children.
  
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• Shrinking Amazon forests may lose thousands of trees species

  20-11-2015 20:19
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — A first-of-its-kind examination of the Amazon's trees found that as many as half the species may be threatened with extinction or heading that way because of massive deforestation. Among the more than 5,000 tree species in deep trouble: the ones that produce Brazil nuts and mahogany.
  
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• Tesla's Musk seeks 'hardcore engineers'

  20-11-2015 19:34 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Tesla boss Elon Musk appeals for software engineers to accelerate plans to build self-guiding cars, as the carmaker recalls all Model S cars sold over a potential seatbelt problem.
  
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• Rogers Media agrees to pay $200,000 fine under CRTC's anti-spam law

  20-11-2015 19:34 via cbc.ca
  
  Rogers Media has agreed to pay a $200,000 fine to the CRTC for allegedly sending unsolicited email advertisements.
  
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• 138 world leaders to attend Paris climate summit: France

  20-11-2015 18:32
  
  A total of 138 heads of state and government so far will attend a climate summit due to kick off in terror-hit Paris on November 30, the French government said Friday.
  
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• Astronomers spot baby planet growing in stellar womb

  20-11-2015 18:16 via cbc.ca
  
  Astronomers have taken the first images of a planet still in formation, a discovery expected to shed light on how giant planets manage to beef up early in their lives.
  
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• YouTube will pay some users' legal fees to fight copyright takedown notices

  20-11-2015 18:11 via cbc.ca
  
  Google announced Thursday that it will take measures to defend YouTube users whose videos have been unfairly targeted for copyright violations, including paying their legal fees and defending them in court if necessary.
  
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• Mine spill Brazil's worst environmental catastrophe: minister

  20-11-2015 17:56
  
  A deadly mine waste spill that buried a village and contaminated a river basin two weeks ago is the worst environmental disaster in Brazilian history, the environment minister said Friday.
  
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• Jet-Propelled 3D-Printed Drone Claims Speed Record

  20-11-2015 16:24
  
  A new jet-powered drone might be the most complex flying machine ever built using 3D printing. The drone, which made its debut at the Dubai Airshow earlier this month, looks nothing like your average 3D-printed toy plane. It has a 9-foot-long (3 meters) wingspan and an aerodynamic design that gives it a futuristic appearance.
  
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• Facebook users question French flag photo tool

  20-11-2015 16:12 via cbc.ca
  
  Facebook has faced criticism for creating a tool to overlay the colours of the French flag — and only the French flag — on one's profile picture after last week's attacks in Paris.
  
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• Researchers Grow Vocal Cord Tissue That Can 'Talk'

  20-11-2015 16:07
  
  Researchers have grown vocal cord tissue in the lab, and it works — the tissue was able to produce sound when it was transplanted into intact voice boxes from animals, according to a new study. "This is years away from trial just because of reality of the regulatory requirements," said study author Nathan Welham, a speech-language pathologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Vocal cords consist of two flexible bands of muscle that are lined with a specialized tissue, called mucosa,
  
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• Pick Up the Pace: Walking Speed Linked with Heart Health in Older Adults

  20-11-2015 16:07
  
  For older adults, walking a little faster, or for a few extra blocks, may increase the heart-healthy benefits of your stroll, a new study finds. In the study, the researchers found that older adults who walked faster than 3 miles per hour had a 50 percent lower risk of heart disease than those who walked at a pace slower than 2 miles per hour. In addition, those who walked an average of seven blocks daily had a 47 percent lower risk of heart disease than those who walked five or fewer blocks eac
  
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• Less Vino, Please: Italian Drinking Rates Drop

  20-11-2015 16:05
  
  What's more, most of the drop has been due to a fall in wine consumption, the study found. In less than 10 years, the per person rate of alcohol consumption in Italy decreased by 23 percent, dropping from an average of 5.6 drinks per week in 2006 to 4.4 drinks per week in 2014, the researchers found. This drop was essentially due to a 31 percent fall in wine consumption over the study period, the findings showed.
  
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• Bright Light Therapy Can Ease Depression Symptoms

  20-11-2015 16:05
  
  For people with depression, using "bright light therapy" either alone or combined with an antidepressant might help treat their condition, a new study suggests. In the eight-week study of 122 people with major depression, the researchers found that people who were treated with either a bright light box or a combination of light box therapy with an antidepressant drug experienced more improvement in their symptoms than people treated with a placebo. In comparison, those treated with an antidepres
  
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• New Ebola case hits Liberia after country declared virus free

  20-11-2015 15:41
  
  By James Harding Giahyue MONROVIA (Reuters) - A new case of Ebola emerged in Liberia on Friday in a setback for the country declared free of the disease on Sept. 3 and for the region, which is struggling to end an epidemic that has killed around 11,300 people. The patient is a 10-year-old boy who lived with his parents and three siblings in Paynesville, a suburb east of the capital Monrovia, said Minister of Health Minister Bernice Dahn. "We know how Ebola spreads and we know to stop Ebola but w
  
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• Facebook tests tools to make relationship breakups less painful

  20-11-2015 15:06 via cbc.ca
  
  Facebook is testing ways to stop you from being reminded of your heartache when a relationship ends.
  
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• Pigeons classify breast cancer images

  20-11-2015 14:21 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A study finds that pigeons, with training, can identify breast cancer in mammagrams just as accurately as human experts.
  
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• Ecuador: Tungurahua volcano erupts covering houses with ash

  20-11-2015 14:08
  
  Residents from communities near Ecuador's Tungurahua volcano faced a massive cleaning operation on Thursday (19 November) after the volcano erupted, covering houses and fields with smoke and ash. In nearby Queros, one of the most affected communities, officials registered 10kg of ash per square metre. "These accumulations of ash that have been falling are the greatest masses of ash that we've registered in the past five years," she said.
  
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• Kids Quiz One-Year Astronaut on Life in Space

  20-11-2015 13:39
  
  Astronauts aboard the International Space Station fielded rapid-fire questions from curious middle schoolers this morning (Nov. 19), delving into life on the orbiting lab and the everyday strangeness that invites. Sixty-five students from East Side Middle School in New York City, chosen for its science, technology, engineering and math focus, got the chance to talk with NASA astronauts Scott Kelly and Kjell Lindgren aboard the station as part of an event hosted in the Time-Life building by
  
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• Gigantic Ice Cloud Spotted on Saturn Moon Titan (Photos)

  20-11-2015 13:39
  
  NASA's Cassini spacecraft has detected a massive, never-before-seen icy cloud at the south pole of Saturn's huge moon Titan. The newly spotted feature — part of a cloud system known as the south polar vortex — suggests that winter in the southern hemisphere of Titan will be even colder than predicted, scientists said. The atmospheric signal "looks pretty normal, then BOOM!, increases," indicating the presence of a brand-new cloud, said Cassini participating scientist Carrie Anderson,
  
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• A Magic Moment: The Milky Way from Yellowstone National Park (Photo)

  20-11-2015 13:39
  
  Before twilight and shortly after the moon set in Yellowstone National Park, astrophotographer A. Garrett Evans found the perfect moment to capture this stunning image. Evans took the image from near the edge of the Grand Prismatic Spring in the Midway Geyser Basin in Yellowstone on June 27 and recently shared it with Space.com.
  
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• Italy’s supreme court clears L’Aquila earthquake scientists for good

  20-11-2015 12:45
  
  Convictions overturned for six out of seven defendants
  
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• Weird Sea Mollusk Sports Hundreds of Eyes Made of Armor

  20-11-2015 12:38
  
  Acanthopleura granulata is a chiton, a pill bug of the sea. Researchers have long known that chitons have soft tissue embedded in their flexible suits of armor, and that some of this soft tissue is sensitive to light. Even weirder, these eyes are made of the same calcium-carbonate mineral as the chiton shell.
  
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• No Fair! Children's Sense of Equality Is Shaped by Culture

  20-11-2015 12:36
  
  Across cultures, children develop a dislike of receiving less than others by age 10, but it isn't until later that they begin to feel discomfort when others get the short end of the deal, the new research found. In the study of kids ages 4 to 15 from seven countries, children in just three countries showed any sign of caring about fairness for other kids. "A negative reaction to getting less than others may be a human universal," said study co-author Katherine McAuliffe, a psychologist at Yale U
  
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• 'Flying' Tadpoles & Fleeing Fish Win Prestigious Photo Contest

  20-11-2015 12:34
  
  What does the world look like to a tadpole? The photo he took came out swimmingly, earning him first place in a photography competition hosted by the Royal Society, London. The man behind the pollywog photo is Bert Willaert, a biologist and environmental advisor in Belgium who has snapped thousands of photos of the natural world.
  
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• Getting a Head: 'Superduck' Dinosaur Shows How Dino Crests Evolved

  20-11-2015 12:33
  
  The crest atop its head may have barely cleared its brow, but it identifies the hadrosaur as a link between a predecessor species with a flat skull and later relatives with more dramatic paddle-shaped crests that reached the backs of their heads. Paleontologists discovered leg and pelvis bones in Montana's Judith River Formation, a rich source of dinosaur fossils, in 1981. "Typically, we need the skull to know what species we have," Elizabeth Freedman Fowler, curator of paleontology at the Great
  
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• New case of Ebola found in Liberia - U.N. official

  20-11-2015 11:25
  
  A new case of Ebola has been found in Liberia, a country declared free of the disease on Sept. 3, a senior United Nations official said on Friday. The case represents a setback for Liberia, which has seen more than 10,600 cases and 4,808 Ebola deaths since it was first announced in March, 2014, according to U.N. World Health Organisation figures. The virus has killed about 11,300 people in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, but Sierra Leone was declared free of the virus on Nov. 7 and Guinea has
  
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• Star Wars Battlefront stays on target for legions of superfans

  20-11-2015 11:00 via cbc.ca
  
  Launching ahead of The Force Awakens, EA's multiplayer online shooter Star Wars Battlefront overflows with reverence for its source material. But does that make it a good video game in 2015?
  
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• Insurance industry aims to reduce huge losses from climate change extremes

  20-11-2015 11:00 via cbc.ca
  
  The insurance industry has been hit by mounting claims from extreme weather, prompting it to search for ways to limit the cost of damage resulting from climate change.
  
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• Bowie makes cosmic return with first single from new album

  20-11-2015 10:57
  
  British rock icon David Bowie on Friday took another dive into the space theme that has run throughout his career, releasing "Blackstar", the first single from his album of the same name.
  
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• Top stories: Cancer-spotting pigeons, humanmade vocal cords, and parasitic worms that promote pregnancy

  20-11-2015 10:15
  
  The week’s hottest science news
  
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• VIDEO: Endangered pygmy hippo born at zoo

  20-11-2015 09:46 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A pygmy hippo has been born at Bristol Zoo
  
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• China pursues fraudsters in science publishing

  20-11-2015 09:00
  
  Measures may not be enough to stem the tide, some fear
  
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• Why is your Christmas tree so big? An ancient gift of extra genes

  20-11-2015 08:00
  
  New data force a rethink of the evolution of gymnosperms, the plant group that includes spruces, pines, and other holiday favorites
  
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• Scientists call for lifting protections for Great Lakes wolves

  20-11-2015 08:00
  
  Letter rebuts opposing statement
  
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• In electrifying advance, researchers create circuit within living plants

  20-11-2015 08:00
  
  Advance could allow farmers to eavesdrop on their crops
  
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• North and South Korea set for talks on easing tension

  20-11-2015 07:10
  
  By Jack Kim and James Pearson SEOUL (Reuters) - North and South Korea agreed on Friday to hold talks on Nov. 26, setting the stage for the first government-level meeting focussed on easing tension since the two pledged to improve ties following an armed standoff in August. The North's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea, its main agency handling inter-Korean ties, proposed to hold working-level contact for government talks, at a truce village on their militarised border. The South'
  
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