Science news

• Gloves off as UN climate-rescue talks reach showdown

  09-12-2015 23:49
  
  Rich and poor nations launched a flurry of well-drilled diplomatic punches Wednesday in a final Paris showdown aimed at securing an elusive accord to save mankind from disastrous global warming.
  
  Read more

• A close look at Google's 1st tablet, the Pixel C

  09-12-2015 22:04 via cbc.ca
  
  Google's first tablet, the Pixel C, went on sale this week. CBC's Anand Ram spent some time with it and offers his thoughts on the premium tablet designed to replace your laptop.
  
  Read more

• US joins 'ambition coalition' at UN climate talks

  09-12-2015 21:24
  
  The United States said Wednesday it had united with the European Union and 79 developing countries to jointly push for an ambitious accord in Paris to curb global warming.
  
  Read more

• Ceres's mysterious bright spots identified as common bath additive

  09-12-2015 21:14 via cbc.ca
  
  Scientists think they've solved the mystery of what causes those weird bright spots on the dwarf planet Ceres — and you may have a jar of it in your bathroom at home.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Success! Japanese Spacecraft Arrives at Venus 5 Years After 1st Try

  09-12-2015 21:05
  
  A Japanese Venus probe took advantage of its long-awaited second chance. Japan's Akatsuki spacecraft has arrived in orbit around Venus, five years after an engine failure scuttled its first attempt, Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) officials announced today (Dec. 9). The $300 million Akatsuki mission launched in May 2010 along with JAXA's IKAROS (Interplanetary Kite-craft Accelerated by Radiation Of the Sun) spacecraft, which became the first probe ever to deploy and use a solar
  
  Read more

• Late North Face founder made enemies on eco crusade

  09-12-2015 20:42
  
  Douglas Tompkins, the billionaire co-founder of outdoor label The North Face who died Tuesday after a kayaking accident in Chile's Patagonia region, used his fortune to conserve the South American wilderness but also stoked controversy here with his outsized ambition.
  
  Read more

• White fossil was ancient 'Moby Dick'

  09-12-2015 20:16 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A white fossil held in a Washington museum since the 1920s is reassessed and found to be from a 15-million-year-old sperm whale cousin with enormous teeth.
  
  Read more

• Don't tell Ahab: scientists find the real great white whale

  09-12-2015 20:11
  
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Don't call me Ishmael. Call me "Albicetus."
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• World's first IVF puppies born in US open door to eradication of heritable disease

  09-12-2015 20:00
  
  The world's first litter of IVF puppies has been born in the US, opening the door to saving endangered species through gene-editing technology. Scientists from Cornell University announced seven healthy puppies were born from 19 embryos transferred to a host female dog. Researchers announced the breakthrough in the journal Public Library of Science ONE.
  
  Read more

• Playful pups conceived via in vitro fertilization for the first time

  09-12-2015 20:00
  
  Scientists have solved the mystery of how to perform in vitro fertilization in dogs, which could help rid canines of heritable diseases.
  
  Read more

• Greenpeace activists arrested after Greek power plant stunt

  09-12-2015 19:57
  
  Greenpeace on Wednesday said 10 of its activists were arrested after scaling a tower at Greece's largest coal power plant to demand a switch to renewable energy.
  
  Read more

• Explanation for dwarf planet's spots

  09-12-2015 19:33 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists think they can now explain the mysterious bright spots on Ceres, the largest object in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
  
  Read more

• Climate-saving deal within reach as Paris deadline looms

  09-12-2015 19:31
  
  An elusive universal pact to save mankind from disastrous global warming is within reach, the French host of UN talks said Wednesday as he released a new blueprint just 48 hours before the deadline for a deal.
  
  Read more

• Mystery Solved? Ceres' Bright Spots Likely Made of Salt

  09-12-2015 19:09
  
  The mysterious bright spots on the dwarf planet Ceres may be composed of the same basic stuff that makes a foot bath feel so good, a new study reports. Observations made by NASA's Dawn spacecraft, which has been orbiting the dwarf planet since March, suggest that Ceres' many bright spots could be made primarily of hydrated magnesium sulfates. Here on Earth, magnesium sulfate is sold as Epsom salt, a popular home remedy for a variety of ailments, including sore feet and joint inflammation.
  
  Read more

• Salty source of Ceres’ mysterious bright spots found

  09-12-2015 19:00
  
  Bright spots on Ceres contain salts from a possible subsurface layer of ice while ammonia-rich minerals hint at building blocks incorporated from the far outer solar system.
  
  Read more

• Ceres Is Cloudy, with a Chance of Cryovolcanoes

  09-12-2015 19:00 via rss.sciam.com
  
  New findings reveal a crater’s vaporous hazes, and hint at the dwarf planet’s possible origin in the outer solar system
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
  Read more

• Vermont medical school delves into marijuana science

  09-12-2015 18:49
  
  BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — As more states allow for the use of medical marijuana, the University of Vermont is offering a course in the science of the drug — and the professors say they are challenged by a lack of research on what has long been a taboo topic.
  
  Read more

• U.N. seeks record $2 billion for Sahel as migration spectre looms

  09-12-2015 18:49
  
  By Emma Farge DAKAR (Reuters) - The United Nations sought on Wednesday a record $2 billion (£1.3 billion) for the Sahel in what a senior U.N. official says is necessary to tackle a triple crisis of poverty, insecurity and climate change that could lead to a new wave of migration. The United Nations has increased its appeal for the nine countries in the semi-arid band stretching from Senegal to Chad more than 10-fold in as many years, but each year funding has fallen short. Toby Lanzer, U.N
  
  Read more

• Sunken Treasure Ship Worth Billions Possibly Found After 300 Years

  09-12-2015 18:48
  
  The wreck of a lost treasure ship has been found 307 years after it vanished beneath the waves. The galleon San Jose was found at the bottom of the Caribbean off the Colombian coast on Nov. 27, President Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia said in a statement on Saturday (Dec. 5). Built in 1696, the Spanish galleon was lost in a sea battle with the English in 1708.
  
  Read more

• Blocking the Sun Is No Plan B for Global Warming

  09-12-2015 18:40 via rss.sciam.com
  
  Planet-wide geoengineering schemes might work—or backfire. Either way, there is no getting around the need to reduce CO2 in the atmosphere
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
  Read more

• From a bully pulpit, Ted Cruz offers his take on climate change

  09-12-2015 18:15
  
  GOP presidential candidate berates scientists at raucous Senate hearing
  
  Read more

• No strings attached -- but 'virtual guitar' wails

  09-12-2015 18:02
  
  LONDON (Reuters) - A guitar with no strings attached has become a reality. British researchers have created a "stringless" virtual guitar that is putting the power of music in the palms of people's hands.
  
  Read more

• Liberia’s Ebola outbreak largely traced to one source

  09-12-2015 18:00
  
  Ebola’s spread and evolution in Liberia echoes patterns seen in Sierra Leone.
  
  Read more

• Nikon Instruments reveals the winner of the Small World in Motion competition

  09-12-2015 17:58
  
  Nikon Instruments Inc. has revealed the winners of the fifth annual Small World in Motion Photomicrography competition. This year's outright winner is Wim van Egmond, of the Micropolitan Museum in the Netherlands. A pool in your garden is actually a miniature underwater jungle teeming with life," said Van Egmond.
  
  Read more

• Hackers targeting dissidents, journalists in South America may be state sponsored

  09-12-2015 17:29 via cbc.ca
  
  Hackers targeting dissidents and journalists in South America with spying malware bear hallmarks of state sponsorship, Canadian researchers at Citizen Lab report.
  
  Read more

• Deal signed to build Jupiter probe

  09-12-2015 16:52 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The European Space Agency signs a 350m-euro contract with Airbus to build a spacecraft to investigate Jupiter and its icy moons.
  
  Read more

• Gene Gems: Ultrapersonalized Jewelry Encapsulates Your DNA

  09-12-2015 16:15
  
  Diamonds may be forever, but what's more unique and rare than even the most precious stones on Earth? The code of life, said Swiss chemist Robert Grass, the mastermind behind Identity Inside, a project that aims to create ultrapersonalized jewelry embedded with a loved one's DNA. "We started playing around with the idea of what we could do with this technology," he told Live Science.
  
  Read more

• 74 Years Later, Sunken Pearl Harbor Plane Still Filled with Mystery

  09-12-2015 16:14
  
  A ghostly, sea-life-encrusted airplane that has been resting at the bottom of Oahu's K?ne?ohe Bay for three-quarters of a century was recently photographed underwater by archaeologists in Hawaii. The U.S. Navy plane, a Catalina PBY-5 "flying boat," went down during the first few minutes of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. Just before bombing the Pearl Harbor naval base, Japanese planes dropped bombs on the nearby Naval Air Station on the east coast of Oahu.
  
  Read more

• China's Latest 'Airpocalypse' Seen from Space

  09-12-2015 16:10
  
  Severe air pollution is choking China with thick veils of smog, and yesterday (Dec. 7), Beijing issued a red alert — the highest possible — due to poor air quality in the Chinese capital city. Recent satellite images of the country show large hazy clouds covering portions of northeastern China that are so thick they can be seen from space. The images, taken by NASA's Earth-watching Suomi NPP satellite on Nov. 30, show some of the most severe pollution that cities in eastern China, in
  
  Read more

• Hyperloop test track being built in Las Vegas

  09-12-2015 16:03 via cbc.ca
  
  A California company with visions of building a futuristic transportation system to one day zip people and packages at nearly the speed of sound announced Tuesday it is building a test facility in southern Nevada.
  
  Read more

• As Paris summit tries to save the planet, how green is France?

  09-12-2015 15:55
  
  UN climate change chief Christina Figueres may have called Paris "a beacon of hope for the world" as leaders gathered last week to begin hammering out a deal to slow global warming.
  
  Read more

• Christmas delivery: 1st US space station shipment in months

  09-12-2015 15:37
  
  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The International Space Station accepted its first U.S. shipment in more than half a year early Wednesday, receiving Christmas presents and much-needed groceries for the resident astronauts.
  
  Read more

• Azerbaijan frees rights activist from prison

  09-12-2015 15:25
  
  By Nailia Bagirova BAKU (Reuters) - Azerbaijan on Wednesday released Leyla Yunus, a leading rights activist in the former Soviet republic, whose imprisonment was decried by critics as politically motivated. Yunus, the head of the Baku-based Institute for Peace and Democracy, had been held in detention since July 2014. Critics of Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev accuse him and his government of cracking down on dissent in the oil-producing country to block the rise of any political opposition.
  
  Read more

• New Fossil of the Day Award: Canada back in climate bad books

  09-12-2015 15:04 via cbc.ca
  
  Canada is once again in the climate bad books, winning a so-called "Fossil of the Day Award" at the climate talks in Paris, a prize long associated instead with the days of the previous Conservative government.
  
  Read more

• US vows to double cash for poor to deal with climate change

  09-12-2015 15:03
  
  The United States vowed Wednesday to double the money it spends helping poorer countries deal with the immediate effects of climate change.
  
  Read more

• Kerry challenges nations on climate change

  09-12-2015 15:01
  
  LE BOURGET, France (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced Wednesday that the United States will double its contribution to helping vulnerable nations adapt to climate change impacts, as he appealed for the world to take action to deal with the phenomenon.
  
  Read more

• Christmas delivery: 1st shipment in months at space station

  09-12-2015 14:38
  
  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The International Space Station accepted its first U.S. shipment in more than half a year early Wednesday, receiving Christmas presents and much-needed groceries for the resident astronauts.
  
  Read more

• Test your smarts on black holes, climate change, and the science of aging

  09-12-2015 14:00
  
  Test your knowledge of the week's hottest science news
  
  Read more

• Rare 'Flasher' Squid Caught on Video

  09-12-2015 13:57
  
  A squid with shiny, bioluminescent "spotlights" tipping two of its arms and what look like waxy red lips shared a close encounter with a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) in deep ocean waters near Hawaii. And the underwater face-to-face was captured in a spectacular video by cameras attached to the ROV, operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) Office of Ocean Exploration and Research. The squid even attached itself to the vehicle and "hung out there for several minutes,"
  
  Read more

• US Air Force's X-37B Space Plane Wings Past 200 Days in Orbit

  09-12-2015 13:44
  
  Mum's the word: The U.S. Air Force's secretive X-37B space plane has winged its way past the 200 day mark, carrying out a classified agenda for the American military.
  
  Read more

• Secrets of Vampire Stars Revealed in Hubble Telescope Data

  09-12-2015 13:44
  
  New observations from the Hubble Space Telescope have revealed the hidden hosts feeding vampirelike blue straggler stars, strange objects that appear to stay uncannily young-looking instead of growing into old red giant stars. A group of astronomers surveyed 21 blue straggler stars in a cluster about 5,000 light-years away to determine their youthful secrets. Scientists have known about these blue stragglers since 1953, but the source of their extra fuel has remained a mystery.
  
  Read more

• Orbital ATK's Private Cygnus Supply Ship Arrives at Space Station

  09-12-2015 13:44
  
  An unmanned Orbital ATK cargo ship filled with tons of vital supplies for the International Space Station arrived at the orbiting lab early Wednesday (Dec. 9) where it was captured by a robotic arm weilded by the station's astronaut crew. The Orbital ATK Cygnus spacecraft arrived at the space station at 6:19 a.m. EST (1119 GMT), where it was grappled in space by the outpost's Canadarm2 robotic arm under the control of NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren, with station commander Scott Kelly - also
  
  Read more

• Meet Tayna, the Faintest Ancient Galaxy Ever Found

  09-12-2015 13:44
  
  To peer into the distant universe is also to peer back in time. Researchers are seeing the tiny galaxy, which they nicknamed Tayna, as it existed 13.8 billion years ago. The researchers detected the galaxy along with 21 other young galaxies near the outer edge of the observable universe.
  
  Read more

• Storm Desmond: Photos of Carlisle and Cockermouth during and after the Cumbria floods

  09-12-2015 13:38
  
  Residents are counting the costs of Storm Desmond. PricewaterhouseCoopers estimates that the storm caused an estimated £500m of damage across the county – almost double the cost of the floods that hit the area six years ago. Up to 5,000 homes in Cumbria and Lancashire were flooded during the storm.
  
  Read more

• YouTube Rewind unveils 2015's most-watched online videos

  09-12-2015 13:30 via cbc.ca
  
  From a blockbuster Star Wars trailer to the latest dance craze sweeping North America, from belly-busting late-night skits to attention-grabbing scientific explanations, Canadians stayed glued to YouTube videos once again in 2015.
  
  Read more

• Iron helps growing bodies, but could too much do harm?

  09-12-2015 13:00
  
  Iron fortification has been a public health victory in the fight against childhood anemia. But too much iron may be a cause for concern, scientists propose.
  
  Read more

• Orbital cargo ship arrives at space station

  09-12-2015 12:54
  
  Orbital ATK's Cygnus cargo ship arrived at the International Space Station on Wednesday, carrying more than 7,000 pounds (3,000 kilograms) of water, food and supplies for global astronauts.
  
  Read more

• Japanese space probe goes into orbit around Venus

  09-12-2015 12:15
  
  Japan's space agency said Wednesday its "Akatsuki" probe had successfully entered into orbit around Venus after an initial attempt at reaching the second planet from the sun failed five years ago.
  
  Read more

• First Penis Transplants in the U.S. Set To Be Performed Next Year

  09-12-2015 11:42
  
  Pioneering surgeons will undertake the first penis transplants ever performed in the US next year, it has been announced.
  
  Read more

• Food trade key against world hunger, but keep it safe: FAO

  09-12-2015 11:39
  
  Expanding trade in agricultural products is key to alleviating world hunger, but only if open trade policies do not endanger food security, the UN food agency said in a report released Wednesday.
  
  Read more

Follow @ScienceUKnews on Twitter!