Science news

• California orders VW recalls over pollution scandal

  25-11-2015 23:54
  
  California regulators ordered Volkswagen Wednesday to recall some diesel vehicles equipped with emissions-cheating software in coming months as the German company's pollution scandal widens.
  
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• Mystery fossil identified - as Canada's 1st dimetrodon

  25-11-2015 22:46 via cbc.ca
  
  A fossil dug up in P.E.I. in 1854 has finally been identified — as the first and only dimetrodon ever found in Canada.
  
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• Century-old mystery fossil identified - as Canada's 1st dimetrodon

  25-11-2015 22:46 via cbc.ca
  
  A fossil dug up in P.E.I. in 1854 has finally been identified — as the first and only dimetrodon ever found in Canada.
  
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• RCMP commissioner wants warrantless access to online subscriber info

  25-11-2015 21:55 via cbc.ca
  
  RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson says the police force needs warrantless access to Internet subscriber information to keep pace with child predators and other online criminals.
  
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• More mysterious extragalactic signals detected

  25-11-2015 21:22
  
  Five more fast radio bursts from other galaxies have shown up and one of them is a double.
  
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• The Thanksgiving Sky: The Moon Meets a Bright Star at Dawn

  25-11-2015 21:21
  
  As the moon moves around the Earth in its monthly orbit, it often passes in front of background stars. Such events are called "lunar occultations" and one will happen Thursday at dawn in a Thanksgiving lunar treat.
  
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• 'The Good Dinosaur': Could Humans and Dinos Coexist?

  25-11-2015 21:21
  
  What if the dinosaur-killing asteroid never slammed into Earth and the paleo-beasts weren't vanquished from our planet 66 million years ago? The movie maker's answer — that a young Apatosaurus would meet and befriend a cave boy — is cute, but totally off the mark, several paleontologists told Live Science. "It's completely impossible," said Thomas Williamson, curator of paleontology at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, referring to dinosaurs ever being alive along
  
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• Massive Rocks May Explain Moon's Mysterious Tilt

  25-11-2015 20:52
  
  The mysterious tilt of the moon's orbit is due to gravitational tugs it received from giant, close-passing rocks that eventually slammed into the Earth, new research suggests. The leading explanation for the moon's origin is that a Mars-size rock called Theia struck the newborn Earth about 4.5 billion years ago, and the moon coalesced from the disk of debris that resulted from this crash. However, the moon's current orbit is tilted about 5 degrees with respect to Earth.
  
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• Wolves return to Warsaw area after decades

  25-11-2015 20:43
  
  Wolves have returned to a large national park on the northern outskirts of Warsaw, decades after they were wiped out in the area under a hunt launched by the communist authorities.
  
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• Hong Kong pollution in the spotlight at smart car show

  25-11-2015 20:35
  
  Asian countries are running out of time to combat air pollution, campaigners said Wednesday, as smart car firms converged in Hong Kong to promote clean energy vehicles.
  
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• Thanksgiving in Space: What Astronauts Eat On Turkey Day (Video)

  25-11-2015 20:30
  
  Astronauts give thanks and preview their "traditional" space meal in a video greeting from the International Space Station just in time for Thanksgiving. NASA astronauts Scott Kelly, who is nearing the end of his one-year mission, and Kjell Lindgren took a moment to celebrate the season in a video preview of their Thanksgiving dinner, where they discussed what they're thankful for and grabbed a few quick bites of their zero-gravity feast. The two NASA astronauts, along with Japanese astronaut Ki
  
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• Full Moon Rises Tonight in Pre-Thanksgiving Lunar Show

  25-11-2015 20:30
  
  The full moon tonight (Nov. 25) moon will be at its best tonight at 5:44 p.m. EST (2244 GMT), but to the average skywatcher, the moon can appear full in the day before and the day after the actual event. November's full moon is traditionally known among Native Americans as the Full Beaver Moon. The name Beaver Moon dates back to the Algonquin tribes and early U.S. colonists, apparently because November was the best month to set traps for the small, industrious mammal to gather warm furs for
  
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• UN climate talks brought forward as new report warns of peril

  25-11-2015 20:02
  
  Negotiations for a world pact to curb global warming will start in Paris Sunday, a day ahead of schedule, the UN said Wednesday as a report warned 2015 could become the hottest year on record.
  
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• Urban trees provide pollution solution

  25-11-2015 19:00
  Urban environments struggle with contaminated water running off, causing pollution and algal blooms. In response, cities often use natural landscapes of soil, grasses, and trees. These biofiltration systems capture and filter the runoff. Researchers measured how well tree species grew when watered with stormwater, and how well they took extra nutrients out of the stormwater.
  
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• How cells 'climb' to build fruit fly tracheas

  25-11-2015 19:00
  Fruit fly windpipes are much more like human blood vessels than the entryway to human lungs. To create that intricate network, fly embryonic cells must sprout "fingers" and crawl into place. Now researchers have discovered that a protein called Mipp1 is key to cells' ability to grow these fingers.
  
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• Anticancer agent FL118 more potent than its analogs, not prone to typical channels of resistance

  25-11-2015 19:00
  A new synthetic form of camptothecin appears to have greater potency, longer efficacy and fewer adverse side effects than irinotecan and topotecan, report investigators.
  
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• Willingness to adopt children with special needs the focus of recent study

  25-11-2015 18:51
  A new study has focused on the attitudes and preferences of prospective adoptive parents in Canada. The study examined the preferences and attitudes of 5,830 AdoptOntario online registrants between May 2009 and February 2012.
  
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• Peering into cell structures where neurodiseases emerge

  25-11-2015 18:51
  Atom by atom, researchers reveal the structure of CAP-Gly, a protein that binds to the latticework of microtubules in our cells. When mutations occur in CAP-Gly, neurological diseases and disorders occur, including Perry syndrome and distal spinal bulbar muscular dystrophy.
  
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• Liver cell therapies closer as study reveals key to mass production

  25-11-2015 18:51
  Stem cell scientists have made a key find that aids the quest to produce therapies for patients with liver damage. They have developed a new technique for growing liver cells from stem cells that is cost-effective and could be adapted for mass production of clinical grade cells.
  
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• How cells in the developing ear 'practice' hearing

  25-11-2015 18:51
  Before the fluid of the middle ear drains and sound waves penetrate for the first time, the inner ear cells of newborn rodents practice for their big debut. Researchers report they have figured out the molecular chain of events that enables the cells to make 'sounds' on their own, essentially 'practicing' their ability to process sounds in the world around them.
  
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• Changing season means a changing diet for bison

  25-11-2015 18:51
  North American bison adjust their diet seasonally in order to take full advantage of the growing season when grasses become less nutritious, a new study has discovered.
  
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• At the edge of vision: Struggling to make sense of our cluttered world

  25-11-2015 18:51
  Even with 20/20 vision in broad daylight on a clear day, our peripheral vision can be surprisingly poor, particularly when the scene in front of us is cluttered. Now, scientists believe they are a step closer to understanding why this is.
  
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• How cocaine changes the brain

  25-11-2015 18:50
  The burst of energy and hyperactivity that comes with a cocaine high is a rather accurate reflection of what's going on in the brain of its users, finds a study. Through experiments conducted in rats exposed to cocaine, the researchers mapped out the network of circuits that cause wild firing of neurons that produce dopamine. The findings also help explain how cocaine use eventually leads to desensitization.
  
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• We used to revere turkeys, not eat them

  25-11-2015 18:30
  
  Ancient Puebloans even shared scarce food with birds
  
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• Tibet: Scientists warn of rapid climate change at 'roof of the world'

  25-11-2015 18:24
  
  Lying 4,700m above sea level on the Tibetan plateau is Namtso Lake. It is held as holy by the region's Tibetan population and every year thousands of pilgrims walk around its shores. As one of the largest lakes on the plateau, Namtso is fed partly by run-off from the region's glaciers, which also acts as a store of water for the surrounding grasslands, experts have said.
  
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• 'Inside Einstein's Mind': New TV Show Explores Journey to Relativity

  25-11-2015 18:20
  
  Chances are high that the name Albert Einstein popped into your head. Now, on the 100th anniversary of what is arguably Einstein's greatest accomplishment — the publication of his theory of general relativity — PBS and Nova are celebrating his work and giving viewers insights into the man behind the theory. "Inside Einstein's Mind" guides viewers through the life and thought processes that led Einstein to publish his theory.
  
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• Leading the flock helps speedy pigeons learn to navigate

  25-11-2015 18:00
  
  Pigeon leaders pick up their training on the job
  
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• Huge development projects could doom Africa’s environment

  25-11-2015 18:00
  
  Researchers worry about a disaster in the making
  
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• Hypergiant Star's Weight Loss Secrets Revealed (Video)

  25-11-2015 17:44
  
  Massive stars that are close to the end expand dramatically into enormous red giants, and the gargantuan red hypergiant VY Canis Majoris, located around 3,800 light-years from Earth, is one of the biggest. A new video of VY Canis Majoris here offers a zoomed-in view on the hypergiant. New observations from the Very Large Telescope at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Chilecaught VY Canis Majoris in greater detail than ever before as the giant star shed mass.
  
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• World facing 'grave environmental crisis', pope warns

  25-11-2015 17:41
  
  Pope Francis said the world was facing a "grave environmental crisis" as he arrived in Kenya on Wednesday on a landmark Africa trip just days before a crucial UN summit aimed at curbing climate change.
  
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• Sensation of Taste Is Built into Brain

  25-11-2015 17:40 via rss.sciam.com
  
  Researchers from Columbia University prompt mice to taste sweet and bitter by activating brain cells
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Opsins, proteins better known as visual sensors, play a role in the heat-seeking movement of sperm

  25-11-2015 17:33
  Sperm use multiple navigation systems, such as heat-seeking and chemical, new research shows. Opsins – proteins involved in the visual system – contribute to the heat-seeking movement, helping sperm sense warmth, investigators report.
  
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• Mother nature may have solution for lowering cholesterol in pregnant women

  25-11-2015 17:33
  Researchers are studying whether plant sterols can be used as a natural alternative to drug therapy for pregnant women who have high cholesterol. While it’s normal for a woman’s cholesterol to spike during pregnancy, excessive lipid levels — whether from genetic or dietary reasons — can have negative health effects on the offspring, both early in life and later on as adults.
  
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• Lack of protein in rare childhood disease also has role in cancer

  25-11-2015 17:33
  An expert who has treated rare childhood diseases has found that a protein that is missing in one such disease is also silenced by many cancers. Looking at how the lack of the protein affects the sick children also provides a “lens” on cancer.
  
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• Why E. coli move faster in syrup-like fluids than in water

  25-11-2015 17:32
  Swimming in a pool of syrup would be difficult for most people, but for bacteria like E. coli, it's easier than swimming in water. Scientists have known for decades that these cells move faster and farther in viscoelastic fluids, such as the saliva, mucus, and other bodily fluids they are likely to call home, but didn't understand why. New findings could inform disease models and treatments, or even help design microscopic swimming robots.
  
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• Osteoarthritis finding sheds new light on hyaluronic acid injection controversy

  25-11-2015 17:32
  A discovery bioengineers is shedding new light on the controversy surrounding a common treatment for osteoarthritis that has divided the medical community over its effectiveness.
  
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• Nurse provides firsthand account of combating Ebola

  25-11-2015 17:32
  International nurse volunteers responding to the Ebola outbreak in West African encountered death on nearly every shift and worked under conditions that challenged their ingenuity in providing even basic care. That is according to one nurse's account which provides a rare glimpse of the realities clinicians and patients with Ebola faced inside one Ebola Treatment Unit.
  
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• EU 'ready to work day and night for right climate deal in Paris'

  25-11-2015 17:25
  
  By Barbara Lewis BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union will negotiate day and night at U.N. talks on global warming in Paris to ensure a robust deal, followed up with regular reviews to cap temperature rises at 2 degrees Celsius, the bloc's climate boss said on Wednesday. Ahead of the Paris conference, which begins on Nov. 30, European Climate and Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Canete said there was much work to be done and the negotiating text was too long and complex. "We will have a deal
  
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• Drug driving suit mimics taking the wheel stoned

  25-11-2015 17:15
  A simulation suit that mimics the effects on wearer's reactions of taking illegal substances has been developed by scientists to show young drivers the dangers of getting behind the wheel while intoxicated by drugs.
  
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• Similar proteins protect the skin of humans, turtles

  25-11-2015 16:49
  Genes for important skin proteins arose in a common ancestor shared by humans and turtles 310 million years ago, a genome comparison has discovered.
  
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• Promising drug combination for advanced prostate cancer

  25-11-2015 16:49
  A new drug combination may be effective in treating men with metastatic prostate cancer. Preliminary results of this new approach are encouraging and have led to an ongoing international study being conducted in 196 hospitals worldwide.
  
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• Optimal care for older cancer patients should target relevant health related quality of life domains according to study

  25-11-2015 16:48
  Researchers have identified health related quality of life components that should be considered as most relevant for achieving optimal care for older cancer patients.
  
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• Proteome analysis for detection of diabetic nephropathy: Benefit remains unclear

  25-11-2015 16:47
  As no study relevant for the research question was identified, the benefit or harm for patients, as well as the diagnostic and prognostic accuracy, remain unclear.
  
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• Great Barrier Reef protecting against landslides, tsunamis

  25-11-2015 16:47
  The world-famous Australian reef is providing an effective barrier against landslide-induced tsunamis, new research shows. An underwater landslide has been found to have occurred some 20,000 years ago, causing a tsunami. Similar submarine landslides could occur without our knowledge but the Great Barrier Reef can absorb some of that potential wave energy.
  
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• Researchers dispute lawmaker’s allegation that NOAA rushed climate study

  25-11-2015 16:45
  
  In new letter, science groups decry investigation
  
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• There's lots we don't know about oil spills' impact, report finds

  25-11-2015 16:24 via cbc.ca
  
  There are major research gaps when it comes to understanding the environmental impacts of oil spills in water, says a new report by the Royal Society of Canada.
  
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• Climate change: 2015 set to be warmest year on record, says WMO

  25-11-2015 16:24
  
  The year 2015 was set to be the warmest on record and 2016 could be hotter, the United Nations' weather agency said on 25 November, warning that inaction on climate change could see temperatures rise by 6C or more. "Unfortunately, the news [is] not good," said Michel Jarraud, secretary-general of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). One of them, I'm repeating what we said just a few weeks ago, is that we have broken new records for the concentration of greenhouse gases as you know.
  
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• Costco Chicken Salad Linked to E. Coli Outbreak in 7 States

  25-11-2015 16:16
  
  An outbreak of E. coli bacteria tied to chicken salad sold at Costco has sickened 19 people in seven states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The patients are infected with a strain of E. coli called O157:H7, which produces a harmful toxin called Shiga toxin. Five people have been hospitalized, and two of those people have developed a type of kidney failure called hemolytic uremic syndrome, which can be caused by the Shiga toxin.
  
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• A Pill for ISIS Supersoldiers? Not So Fast

  25-11-2015 16:16
  
  ISIS fighters are using an illegal drug known as Captagon, according to news reports. Captagon is actually a combination of two drugs, theophylline and amphetamine, said Nicolas Rasmussen, a professor of history and philosophy of science at the University of New South Wales in Australia. The combination itself is inactive in the body, but when the body breaks it down into the two component parts, each part becomes active, Rasmussen told Live Science.
  
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• 7 Tips to Make Thanksgiving More Enjoyable for People with GERD

  25-11-2015 16:15
  
  For many Americans, Thanksgiving revolves around food, family, football and giving thanks. "The primary reason Thanksgiving can be difficult for GERD sufferers is that people tend to overstuff themselves," said Dr. Jacqueline Wolf, a gastroenterologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. People with GERD can get into trouble by eating too much overall, eating too much within a short time and eating bothersome foods that frequently trigger reflux, Wolf said.
  
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