Science news

• Liver may sway sweet tooth, alcohol consumption

  25-12-2015 20:15
  It may be your liver (and not your better judgement) that keeps you away from excess sweets this holiday season. Two independent research groups have found the first evidence of a liver-derived hormone that specifically regulates intake of sugars and alcohol in mice. One of the studies also found that the same hormone suppresses the consumption of sweets in primates.
  
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• Christmas In Space: Astronauts Beam Holiday Wishes to Earth (Video)

  25-12-2015 18:11
  
  The winter holiday season is well underway, and the astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) are getting ready to celebrate in zero-gravity. In a video message released on Dec. 18, Expedition 46 crew members Scott Kelly and Tim Kopra of NASA, and Tim Peake of the European Space Agency, delivered a holiday message from the station. Christmas Day (Dec. 25) is a U.S. federal holiday, so the six crew members currently on board will be able to spend it however they like, and will
  
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• Bangladesh signs $12.65 billion deal with Russia for nuclear power plants

  25-12-2015 17:46
  Bangladesh's state-run Atomic Energy Commission signed a deal with Russia on Friday to set up two nuclear power plants, each with 1,200 megawatt capacity, an investment totalling $12.65 billion, a government official said. Work will begin early next year at Ruppur in Iswardi, 160 km (100 miles) from Dhaka, said Kamrul Islam Bhyian, spokesman for the ministry of science and technology. "Russia will finance up to 90 percent of the total cost as credit with an interest rate of Libor plus 1.75 perce
  
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• VIDEO: Review 2015: The year in science

  25-12-2015 15:14 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Rebecca Morelle looks back on the year in science – from a British astronaut blasting off into space, to efforts to halt global warming here on Earth.
  
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• Oops: UK astronaut Tim Peake calls wrong number from space

  25-12-2015 14:13
  
  LONDON (AP) — Anyone can dial a wrong number, but it's not often done from outer space.
  
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• 'Tens' killed in Nigeria Christmas Eve gas plant explosion: presidency

  25-12-2015 14:04
  By Anamesere Igboeroteonwu ONITSHA, Nigeria (Reuters) - Tens of people were killed in an explosion at a gas plant in southern Nigeria, the presidency said on Friday, with one journalist putting the death toll at 100. The blast occurred on Thursday when a truck was discharging butane gas at the facility in Nnewi town in Anambra state as a crowd of customers refilled gas bottles on Christmas Eve, residents said. President Muhammadu Buhari's office said "tens of people" who had been looking forward
  
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• Peake calls wrong number from space

  25-12-2015 13:57 via bbc.co.uk
  
  UK astronaut Tim Peake tweets a light-hearted apology after calling a wrong number from the International Space Station and asking "is this planet Earth?".
  
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• Death toll unclear in Nigerian gas plant explosion

  25-12-2015 12:28
  The death toll from an explosion at a gas plant in southern Nigeria was unclear on Friday, with reports ranging from below 10 to around 100. The blast happened on Thursday when a truck was discharging butane gas at the facility in Nnewi town in Anambra state while customers were refilling their gas bottles, residents said. Police spokesman Ali Okechukwu said eight people had been confirmed dead, with six injured.
  
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• Russia warming '2.5 times quicker' than global average: ministry

  25-12-2015 12:22
  
  Russia is warming more than twice as fast as the rest of the world, the environment ministry said Friday, sounding an alarm on the rise in floods and wildfires nationwide.
  
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• About 100 people killed by gas plant explosion in Nigeria - journalist

  25-12-2015 12:04
  ONITSHA, Nigeria (Reuters) - As many as 100 people were killed by an explosion at a gas plant in southeastern Nigeria, a local journalist at the scene said on Friday. "I saw around 100 charred corpses," David Onwuchekwa said. An official at the state relief agency NEMA did not confirm the toll, saying the agency's workers were still assessing the site. The blast happened on Thursday when a truck was discharging butane gas at the facility in Nnewi town in Anambra state while customers were refill
  
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• British astronaut dials wrong number on call from space

  25-12-2015 11:34
  
  Tim Peake, the first British astronaut on the International Space Station, dialled a wrong number after trying to phone home, asking a woman "is this planet Earth?".
  
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• Today's wearable technology can zap your brain, perhaps even safely

  25-12-2015 11:00 via cbc.ca
  
  The new frontier of wearable technology is interested in how your brain works, and some devices don’t want just to monitor your brain, they want to zap and influence it.
  
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• Toxic smog brings nightmare 'white Christmas' to Beijing

  25-12-2015 09:14
  
  Beijing residents woke up to a white Christmas Friday morning but with the sky obscured by thick toxic smog rather than snow after more than 100 million people across China had been warned to stay indoors.
  
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• The best of 2015

  25-12-2015 09:00
  
  A roundup of our end-of-the-year stories
  
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• Tim Peake Dials Wrong Number From Space

  25-12-2015 08:41
  
  Major Peake, who is spending six months on the International Space Station, has apologised and insisted it was not a prank call. Later today, Britons could get a glimpse of the ISS as it soars 250 miles above the Earth.
  
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• Succeeded in observing a two-phonon quantum interference, a world first

  25-12-2015 06:00
  
  (Osaka University) A research group at Osaka University has succeeded in observing at the intended timing two-phonon quantum interference by using two cold calcium ions in ion traps, which spatially confine charged particles. A phonon is a unit of vibrational energy that arises from oscillating particles within crystals. Two-particle quantum interference experiments using two photons or atoms have been previously reported, but this group's achievement is the world's first observation using two p
  
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• Seaweed capsules may lead to an injection-free life for diabetic patients

  25-12-2015 06:00
  
  (Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) Graduate University) A microencapsulation method, developed by OIST researchers, can help to overcome major challenges in pancreatic islet transplantation.
  
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• Merry Moon: Rare full moon on Christmas Day

  25-12-2015 05:29
  
  PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Gaze up into the sky and you'll see something rare. And, no, it won't be Santa. He and his reindeers will have already zoomed across the horizon.
  
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• Tim Peake Calls Wrong Number From Space Station

  25-12-2015 04:14
  Major Peake, who is spending six months on the International Space Station, has apologised and insisted it was not a prank call. Later on today Britons could get a glimpse of the ISS as it soars 250 miles above the Earth.
  
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• 2015: The year in science and environment

  25-12-2015 02:44 via bbc.co.uk
  
  2015 in science and environment news
  
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• California gas leak forces relocation of thousands since October

  25-12-2015 01:45
  A massive natural gas leak has forced the relocation of more than 2,000 families in a California community, with many reportedly falling ill from the noxious fumes spewing into the air since October.
  
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• How chemists plan to sniff out bombs

  25-12-2015 01:41 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Chemists are developing new sensors to sniff out explosives before deadly attacks can occur.
  
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• Threatened mountain goat gets help from the skies

  25-12-2015 01:30 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Populations of Spanish ibex are being pushed to the brink by illegal hunting and disease. Now scientists are using drones in an effort to conserve the threatened species of mountain goat.
  
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