Science news

• Mark Zuckerberg and wife vow to donate 99% of Facebook shares to charity in letter to newborn

  01-12-2015 23:42 via cbc.ca
  
  Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Dr. Priscilla Chan, plan to give away much of their fortune to a new charity they are creating in celebration of the birth of their first child last week.
  
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• Mexico experts: passageway may lead to Aztec ruler's tomb

  01-12-2015 22:55
  
  MEXICO CITY (AP) — A Mexican archaeologist said his team has found a tunnel-like passageway that apparently leads to two sealed chambers, the latest chapter in the search for the as-yet undiscovered tomb of an Aztec ruler.
  
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• Hundreds of whales found dead in Chile

  01-12-2015 22:40
  
  More than 300 whales have been found washed up in a remote inlet in Patagonia in southern Chile in one of the largest die-offs on record, researchers said Tuesday.
  
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• Diagnosing malaria with a cell phone

  01-12-2015 22:30
  COLLEGE STATION, TX (Reuters) - New technology that transforms a cell phone into a mobile polarized microscope can diagnose malaria in a Rwandan village with the same level of accuracy as a hi-tech lab in a major Western city, according to Texas A&M University biomedical engineers developing the device.
  
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• Urgent climate rhetoric must be backed by action, Greenpeace says

  01-12-2015 21:53
  
  Soaring rhetoric from US President Barack Obama and other leaders about their deep commitment to fighting climate change should be taken with a hefty pinch of salt, Greenpeace chief Kumi Naidoo said Tuesday.
  
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• 'Dinosaur disco' footprints reveal lifestyle of Jurassic giants

  01-12-2015 21:40
  
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - On a platform of rock jutting into the Atlantic on Scotland's Isle of Skye, hundreds of newly discovered dinosaur tracks are changing the way scientists view the lifestyle of some of the largest creatures ever to walk the Earth.
  
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• Amid Controversy, Japanese Whaling Ships Return to Antarctic Ocean

  01-12-2015 20:49
  
  Japan sent two whaling ships back to Antarctica's Southern Ocean today (Dec. 1) after a one-year hiatus, resuming seasonal whale hunts that have come under increasing scrutiny and censure from the international community. Under a revised whaling plan, Japan proposes to kill 333 minke whales this year for research purposes — significantly fewer than past years' annual kill limit of 935 whales. Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research (ICR), which oversees the country's whaling program, stated
  
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• New tone by Canada and Alberta noticed at COP21 climate talks

  01-12-2015 20:42 via cbc.ca
  
  Canada has changed its tone at the Paris climate talks and everyone from environmental groups to the International Energy Agency is taking note.
  
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• COP21: Optimism growing at Paris climate change conference

  01-12-2015 20:25 via cbc.ca
  
  Even climate change-hardened environmental groups seem to feel these Paris talks have a legitimate shot at success, Nahlah Ayed writes. One positive sign for Canada is that we haven't picked up any Fossil of the Day awards yet.
  
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• What you need to know about the Vtech hack and protecting your kids' data

  01-12-2015 20:24 via cbc.ca
  
  This week, millions of parents' and children's personal information was stolen by a hacker from electronic toy manufacturer VTech. Technology columnist Dan Misener explains how the breach happened and how to protect your kids' data.
  
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• Nicaragua refuses to make carbon-cutting pledge

  01-12-2015 20:23
  
  Nicaragua said Tuesday it would not make a pledge to fight global warming as part of the Paris climate talks, arguing that to do so would let rich countries off the hook.
  
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• Obama warns of climate security risks as tough talks begin

  01-12-2015 20:05
  
  US President Barack Obama warned Tuesday that global warming poses imminent security and economic risks, as negotiators embarked on an 11-day race to seal a UN pact aimed at taming climate change.
  
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• After leaders' rhetoric, climate negotiators start work on deal

  01-12-2015 19:38
  
  By Barbara Lewis and Bate Felix PARIS (Reuters) - With encouragement from 150 world leaders ringing in their ears, government negotiators in Paris sought on Tuesday to turn that rhetoric of unity into the text of a global deal to slow climate change. The biggest obstacle is money: how to come up with the billions of dollars developing nations need to shift from fossil fuels and adapt to the impacts of climate change. China's delegate Su Wei "noted with concern" what he called a lack of commitmen
  
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• Pretty flower uses dead arthropods to lure protectors

  01-12-2015 19:30
  
  A sticky columbine from California lures arthropods to their death to lure protectors to the plant, a new study suggests.
  
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• US Republicans aim to roll back Obama emissions rules

  01-12-2015 19:26
  
  With a global climate deal under negotiation in Paris, the Republican-led US Congress on Tuesday is expected to repeal White House regulations on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, a move certain to spark President Barack Obama's veto.
  
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• Satellite launch to test Einstein's idea on space and time delayed

  01-12-2015 18:47
  BERLIN (Reuters) - A European satellite launch to find ripples in space that can be caused by merging black holes has been delayed due to a technical problem with its Vega rocket, the European Space Agency (ESA) said on Tuesday.
  
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• Racist social media posts plastered on billboards in Brazil

  01-12-2015 18:29 via cbc.ca
  
  An anti-racism campaign called "Virtual racism, real consequences" targets those who make racist social media posts by putting them up on billboards near their homes.
  
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• Huge, long-necked dinosaurs once tromped Scotland

  01-12-2015 18:15
  
  Hundreds of 70-centimeter-wide fossils found on the Isle of Skye
  
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• Japan whale hunt resumes in Antarctic after 1-year hiatus

  01-12-2015 18:09 via cbc.ca
  
  Japan's whaling fleet set out for the Antarctic on Tuesday to resume a decades-old whale hunt, defying global outrage, after a year's hiatus due to an international court ruling.
  
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• Long-necked monsters roamed more than Scotland’s lochs

  01-12-2015 18:04
  
  The discovery of sauropod footprints in Scotland suggest the dinosaurs lived in lagoons.
  
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• VIDEO: Jurassic footprints found on Skye

  01-12-2015 18:02 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists find footprints - left by some of the biggest dinosaurs ever to have walked on Earth - in a bay on the Isle of Skye.
  
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• The Science Behind the Power of Giving (Op-Ed)

  01-12-2015 17:53
  
  Jenny Santi is a philanthropy advisor to some of the world's most generous philanthropists and celebrity activists, and was the head of philanthropy services (Southeast Asia) for the world's largest wealth manager. A Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy, Santi is a frequent commentator on the topic and has been quoted in The New York Times, International Herald Tribune, on Channel NewsAsia, and on BBC World News. The morning of Dec. 26, 2004, Czech model Petra Nemcova, then age 25, and her fia
  
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• Launch postponed for satellite to detect ripples in space-time left by black holes

  01-12-2015 17:39 via cbc.ca
  
  The launch of an experimental satellite that will test a technique to detect ripples in space and across time has been postponed.
  
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• Safer way to do gene editing

  01-12-2015 17:34 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists say they have fine tuned a gene editing method to make it safer and more accurate - vital if it is to be used in humans to cure inherited diseases or inborn errors.
  
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• Can DNA predict a face?

  01-12-2015 17:29
  
  DNA-based facial sketches are moving into the crime-solving arena. With current science, predictions of some features are better than others.
  
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• Belgium extends lives of ageing nuclear reactors

  01-12-2015 17:26
  
  Belgium agreed to extend the life of two ageing nuclear reactors for another decade under a hard-won deal to preserve jobs and invest in the transition to cleaner energy.
  
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• NASA's Awesome Humanoid Robots Just Joined 2 University Teams

  01-12-2015 17:22
  
  The agency awarded one robot to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and one to Northeastern University. Both schools will receive versions of NASA's R5 robot, once named Valkyrie. R5 was initially designed to aid in search-and-rescue efforts and disaster response, which is fitting since the robot looks like a real-life Iron Man. It resembles the superhero, but with a white metal body and glowing NASA logo on its chest.
  
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• Long-Lost Lander: Researchers Hunting for Soviet Moon Probe Luna 9

  01-12-2015 17:21
  
  The search is on for the former Soviet Union's Luna 9 moon probe, which made history's first-ever successful soft landing on a body beyond Earth. Luna 9 made it to the moon on Feb. 3, 1966, and shortly thereafter beamed home the first images taken from the lunar surface. Now, nearly a half-century later, researchers are using NASA's sharp-eyed Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) in an attempt to locate the final resting place of Luna 9, which is less than 2 feet (0.6 meters) wide and weighed abou
  
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• 'Heart' of NASA's Orion Spacecraft to Undergo Stress Tests

  01-12-2015 17:21
  
  The Orion service module, built by the European Space Agency, provides propulsion for the Orion vehicle and critical life support to the crew, among other things. On Nov. 7, a test version of the module was delivered to NASA Glenn Research Center’s Space Power Facility (SPF) at the Plum Brook Station in Sandusky, Ohio. "It's the only place you can test a vehicle of this size, fully deployed, in its launch and space configuration[s], which is so important in ensuring mission success," Jim F
  
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• Clever Illustrations Dub NASA's Mars Rover Curiosity a 'Red World Car'

  01-12-2015 17:21
  
  The Curiosity close-up comes from a new book by Randall Munroe, creator of the science-y stick-figure comic "xkcd," entitled "Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words" (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015). For the rover's part, Munroe describes its sensors ("eye for looking down," "eyes for seeing rocks so the car won't hit them," "rock touchers" and so on) as well as its epic landing procedure from space and its mission to seek out signs of life. Munroe is also the author of "W
  
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• Startup Sober Steering aims to 'sniff' out drunk driving

  01-12-2015 17:08 via cbc.ca
  
  A new sensor technology that works by sniffing alcohol through skin is helping keep drunk drivers off the roads.
  
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• U.S. says Turkey must do more to control its border with Syria

  01-12-2015 16:45
  U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter on Tuesday named Turkey as one of the countries that needed to do more in the fight against Islamic State, including tightening control of its border with Syria. Turkey must do more to control its often porous border," Carter told a congressional panel, noting that Saudi Arabia and Gulf states had been "preoccupied by the conflict in Yemen." Earlier, U.S. President Barack Obama said Turkey had made some progress in sealing its border with Syria but Islamic State
  
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• Your Brain Is a Mosaic of Male and Female

  01-12-2015 16:41
  
  There is no such thing as a "male brain" or a "female brain," new research finds. Instead, men and women's brains are an unpredictable mishmash of malelike and femalelike features, the study concludes. "Our study demonstrates that although there are sex/gender differences in brain structure, brains do not fall into two classes, one typical of males and the other typical of females, nor are they aligned along a 'male brain–female brain' continuum," the study researchers wrote today (Nov. 30
  
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• COP21: Coal plans to derail 2 degrees

  01-12-2015 16:41 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Attempts to keep global warming to 2 degrees will be wildly off course if all planned coal fire plants around the world are built.
  
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• Internet cut off for B.C. town after its only ISP shuts down

  01-12-2015 16:34 via cbc.ca
  
  No Facebook, no Netflix, no Google, and no email: that will be the reality for the residents of Stewart, B.C., starting on Tuesday for at least one month.
  
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• Obama urges Turkey to reduce tensions with Russia

  01-12-2015 16:28
  
  By Jeff Mason PARIS (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama urged Turkey on Tuesday to reduce tensions with Moscow after the downing of a Russian warplane and to seal its border with Syria to choke off the supply of money and fighters to Islamic State militants. Obama met Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Paris, where they have been attending a climate summit, a week after Turkish jets shot down a Russian warplane along the Syrian border.
  
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• Guatemala: Fuego volcano spews ash and lava in 'new phase of eruption'

  01-12-2015 16:07
  
  Guatemala's Fuego volcano is at it again, erupting early on 30 November and spewing lava into the night sky. The volcano – about 29 miles south west of Guatemala City – has had at least three large lava flows reported in recent days. David de Leon of Guatemala's emergency agency Conred is monitoring the situation closely.
  
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• 'Last-Resort' Antibiotics Fail Against New Superbugs

  01-12-2015 16:04
  
  Some bacteria have finally breached the last wall of humans' antibiotic stronghold, according to a new study from China. In the study, researchers found a gene in one strain of Escherichia coli (E. coli) that protects these bacteria against one of the antibiotics considered to be a last resort. The results are "extremely worrying," study author Jian-Hua Liu, a professor at South China Agricultural University in Guangzhou, said in a statement.
  
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• High Cholesterol Rate Dropping in America, Says CDC

  01-12-2015 16:04
  
  Americans are moving in the right direction when it comes to cholesterol levels, a new report finds. The percentage of adults with high total cholesterol decreased from 18 percent in 1999 to 2000 to 11 percent in 2013 to 2014, according to the findings, published today (Dec. 1). HDL cholesterol is considered the "good" type of cholesterol, so lower levels are considered less healthy.
  
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• Taking antiviral drug ‘on demand’ guards against HIV

  01-12-2015 16:00
  
  The antiviral drug Truvada taken before and after sex cuts HIV transmission rates.
  
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• Diplomats see Yemen's Hadi undermining UN peace talks

  01-12-2015 15:57
  
  By Yara Bayoumy DUBAI (Reuters) - Efforts to launch peace talks to end an eight-month-old war in Yemen are being thwarted in part by Saudi-backed President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who fears a negotiated settlement would drive him from power, diplomats who follow Yemen said. Hadi, driven out of the capital Sanaa earlier this year by Houthi fighters that Arab neighbours say are backed by Iran, has returned to lead a government from the southern port of Aden, recaptured in July by troops from a Sau
  
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• Obama: Climate action an economic and security 'imperative'

  01-12-2015 15:50
  
  US President Barack Obama said Tuesday global warming posed economic and security risks that had to be tackled immediately, but insisted the climate problem could be solved.
  
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• New from the biotech store: an improved gene editing tool

  01-12-2015 15:45
  (Reuters) - Scientists have developed an improved gene editing tool that significantly reduces potentially dangerous "off-target" edits, promising an even more precise and efficient system for manipulating human DNA.
  
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• New coal plants would tip Earth to dangerous warming: report

  01-12-2015 15:41
  
  While scientists agree humanity needs to phase out coal within 35 years, thousands of new plants are being planned that would doom hopes of keeping global warming to safer levels, analysts said Tuesday.
  
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• European satellite to test method to find ripples in space, time

  01-12-2015 15:39
  
  An experimental satellite slated for launch on Wednesday will test a technique to detect ripples in space and across time, adding a new perspective for viewing and understanding the universe.
  
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• Obama - climate change an economic, security imperative

  01-12-2015 15:37
  
  U.S. President Barack Obama said on Tuesday the world needs an enduring framework for addressing climate change and that he would seek an agreement that would boost economies as well as help the planet's environment. A strong climate pact would send a signal to researchers and investors that change is necessary and will spur energy innovation, Obama said at a news conference at the U.N. global climate summit in Paris. Obama said he expected the United States could uphold its climate commitments
  
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• Briton Tim Peake to spend extra month in space

  01-12-2015 15:15
  
  British astronaut Tim Peake's mission to the International Space Station (ISS) has been extended by a month, the European Space Agency (Esa) has announced.
  
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• Iraqi Kurdistan minister says no link between oil sales and Islamic State

  01-12-2015 15:13
  
  The Iraqi Kurdish minister for natural resources said on Tuesday reports that the regional government was helping smuggle oil from fields controlled by Islamic State militants were "wild imagination and unsubstantiated". Speaking at a conference in London, Ashti Hawrami reiterated comments made in a statement by the Kurdistan Regional Government's ministry of natural resources on Monday that every drop of oil flowing through its system was accounted for. U.S. defence officials estimate Islamic S
  
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• Do you have a 'male' brain or a 'female' brain? Probably neither

  01-12-2015 14:54 via cbc.ca
  
  Are the brains of men and women really different? In some ways, on average. But chances are you don't have a 'male' or 'female' brain yourself, new MRI study suggests.
  
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• Angry Birds? Seagulls Implicated in Baby-Whale Deaths

  01-12-2015 14:29
  
  Hundreds of baby whales died off the coast of Argentina between 2003 and 2014, and seagulls may have played a role in their deaths, a new study suggests. Gull harassment of right whales off Argentina's Península Valdés has been observed since the 1970s. Since then, researchers from universities and conservation institutions in Argentina and the United States have monitored the gulls' behavior.
  
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