Science news

• Five things science can (and can’t) tell us about North Korea’s nuclear test

  06-01-2016 23:51
  
  North Korea’s claim about its recent nuclear bomb test isn’t entirely backed up by scientific evidence.
  
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• Drought, heat slash grain crops: study

  06-01-2016 23:51
  
  Drought and heatwaves depleted grain harvests by 10 percent from 1964 to 2007, with sharper losses in the latter two decades and rich nations, reports a study released Wednesday.
  
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• TransCanada to sue US for $15 bn over Keystone XL pipeline rejection

  06-01-2016 23:47
  
  TransCanada said Wednesday it will sue the US government for US$15 billion for blocking its project for an oil pipeline linking Canada with the Gulf of Mexico.
  
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• Obama, Abadi discuss concern over Saudi Arabia execution in call

  06-01-2016 23:42
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Wednesday discussed their "mutual concern" over Saudi Arabia's execution of Shi'ite cleric Nimr al-Nimr and attacks on Saudi Arabia's embassy in Iran, the White House said. "They agreed on the need for all regional parties to demonstrate restraint, avoid provocative rhetoric or behaviour, and avoid a worsening of sectarian tensions," the White House said in a statement. "They agreed on the importance that a
  
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• Writers Guild nominations revealed

  06-01-2016 23:14
  The Writers Guild of America on Wednesday unveiled its nominees for this year's best original and adapted screenplays awards. The screenwriters for Cold War drama "Bridge of Spies", Catholic Church abuse probe drama "Spotlight", action thriller "Sicario", N.W.A. biopic "Straight Outta Compton" and comedy "Trainwreck" will compete for the best original screenplay prize. For adapted screenplays, the writers of Wall Street comedy "The Big Short", space adventure "The Martian", lesbian drama "Carol"
  
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• Black hole burps up gobbled gas and dust

  06-01-2016 23:08
  
  Two belches from a supermassive black hole are drifting away from another galaxy.
  
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• Diverse interests split on best way to manage public land

  06-01-2016 22:09
  
  BOISE, Idaho (AP) — An armed group occupying the headquarters of a national wildlife refuge in Oregon wants the federal government to relinquish about 300 square miles to local control so it can be opened up for ranching, mining, logging and other uses.
  
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• Get to know your microbes at ‘The Secret World Inside You’

  06-01-2016 22:00
  
  The American Museum of Natural History’s newest exhibit rehabilitates bacteria’s bad reputation and introduces visitors to the microbiome.
  
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• Study: Star clusters might host intelligent civilizations

  06-01-2016 21:18
  
  KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) — Clusters of stars on the fringes of our Milky Way galaxy may be home to intelligent life. That's that word from an astrophysicist who's new to probing extraterrestrial territory.
  
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• Visible Light from a Black Hole Spotted by Telescope, a First

  06-01-2016 21:12
  For the first time, astronomers have seen dim flickers of visible light from near a black hole, researchers with an international science team said. These dramatically variable fluctuations of light are yielding insights onto the complex ways in which matter can swirl into black holes, scientists added. The researchers also released a video of the black hole's light seen by a telescope.
  
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• Curiosity Rover Eyes Towering Sand Dunes on Mars (Photos)

  06-01-2016 21:12
  
  NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has captured some spectacular new photos of big, active sand dunes on the Red Planet. The new images depict the dark Bagnold Dunes, which Curiosity has been studying for about 6 weeks in history's first up-close investigation of extraterrestrial sand dunes. "The mission's dune-investigation campaign is designed to increase understanding about how wind moves and sorts grains of sand, in an environment with less gravity and much less atmosphere than well-studied dune fi
  
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• Iraq offers to mediate between Saudi and Iran, fearing for IS campaign

  06-01-2016 20:45
  By Maher Chmaytelli BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq dispatched its foreign minister to Tehran on Wednesday with an offer to mediate in an escalating feud between Saudi Arabia and Iran, reflecting Baghdad's fears that new sectarian conflict could unravel its campaign against Islamic State. Sunni Saudi Arabia's execution of Shi'ite dissident Nimr al-Nimr on Saturday has inflamed sectarian anger across the Middle East, infuriating Iran, the region's main Shi'ite Muslim power. After demonstrators sacked th
  
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• Sexual rebellion and murder among the bees

  06-01-2016 20:37
  
  Scientists revealed Wednesday the trigger that can plunge a colony of obedient and sterile worker bees dutifully serving their queen into a chaotic swarm of sexual rebellion and regicide.
  
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• Factbox - North Korea says successfully conducts first H-bomb test

  06-01-2016 20:31
  By Idrees Ali and Jonathan Landay WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Korea said on Wednesday it had successfully tested a miniaturised hydrogen bomb, leading to questions about what a hydrogen bomb is, why it is seen as a threat, and how the test could be detected. ATOMIC BOMBS--The first nuclear weapons, developed during World War II, atomic bombs, or fission weapons, use a process by which neutrons collide with an atom’s nucleus and release energy with explosive force. U.S. aircraft dropped at
  
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• Sharks follow their noses home

  06-01-2016 20:18
  
  Leopard sharks draw on scents to navigate back to shore, study suggests.
  
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• Oculus Rift virtual reality headset pre-orders open

  06-01-2016 20:14 via cbc.ca
  
  Oculus, the virtual reality company owned by Facebook Inc., has opened pre-orders and released pricing for its much-anticipated Rift headset.
  
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• India court challenges Delhi to show car ban cuts smog

  06-01-2016 20:11
  
  An Indian court on Wednesday challenged the Delhi city government to prove that its restrictions on cars were improving air quality in the world's most polluted capital.
  
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• How a small Ontario town is betting on the future by becoming a hub for self-driving cars

  06-01-2016 20:00 via cbc.ca
  
  The city of the future is adapting to the car of the future. Stratford, Ont., where wireless connectivity is considered a utility, is wooing developers of driverless cars with its connected streets and stop lights.
  
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• How a small Ontario city is betting on the future by becoming a hub for self-driving cars

  06-01-2016 20:00 via cbc.ca
  
  The city of the future is adapting to the car of the future. Stratford, Ont., where wireless connectivity is considered a utility, is wooing developers of driverless cars with its connected streets and stop lights.
  
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• Netflix adds 130 new countries, now available in 190 worldwide

  06-01-2016 19:55 via cbc.ca
  
  Netflix has begun streaming its Internet video service in 130 more countries, nearly completing its expansion a year ahead of schedule.
  
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• Using Internet Explorer? You have to upgrade to IE 11 by Tuesday

  06-01-2016 19:44 via cbc.ca
  
  If you're using Internet Explorer as your web browser, you have less than a week to upgrade to the latest version.
  
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• Motorhead fans want new heavy metal to be called 'Lemmium'

  06-01-2016 19:35
  
  A petition calling for a new heavy metal element in the periodic table to be named after the late Motorhead frontman Lemmy had drawn more than 30,000 signatures Wednesday.
  
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• Experiment offers glimpse at how to make hydrogen metallic

  06-01-2016 19:00
  
  A new phase of hydrogen could represent the stepping stone for transforming element 1 into a metal.
  
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• Malaysia bans bauxite mining for three months amid pollution fears

  06-01-2016 18:59
  
  Malaysia Wednesday announced a three-month ban on bauxite mining in its rural state of Pahang from mid-January amid mounting concern over hazardous dust and pollution.
  
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• Melody makers: Alberta chickadees have a songbook with many tunes

  06-01-2016 18:38 via cbc.ca
  
  Not all birdsong is created equal, according a new study on black-capped chickadees by the University of Alberta.
  
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• Anger grows in Saudi Arabia's Shi'ite areas after executions

  06-01-2016 18:38
  By Angus McDowall RIYADH (Reuters) - Since Saturday's execution of four Shi'ite Muslims in Saudi Arabia, hundreds or thousands of the minority sect have marched nightly in protest, and their anger could herald wider unrest. The execution of one of them, dissident cleric Nimr al-Nimr, caused an international crisis as Shi'ite Iran and its allies responded angrily, but it also caused upset in his home district of Qatif, where many saw his death as unjustified. The protests in Qatif, an almost enti
  
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• Norway leads world in electric car market share

  06-01-2016 18:32
  
  Electric cars represented almost one in five new vehicles registered in Norway last year, a market share unparallelled anywhere in the world thanks largely to consumer incentives few countries can match.
  
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• Lebanon's solution for the mountains of rubbish around Beirut: exporting it to Europe

  06-01-2016 18:28
  Mountains of stinking rubbish are piled up on the outskirts of Beirut, reaching the height of motorway overpasses. Water pollution due to sewage and domestic waste is of major concern because diseases such as typhoid, cholera, jaundice, dysentery and diarrhoea are infectious and spread through contaminated water. Just before Christmas, Lebanon's cabinet agreed to export the country's waste after a crisis that led to a wave of protests threatened the downfall of the government.
  
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• How to help your kids be smarter with their smartphones

  06-01-2016 18:20 via cbc.ca
  
  A British dad recently got an eight-thousand-dollar bill from his son's accidental gaming purchases. How can parents avoid being on the hook for these kinds of charges? A technology expert joins us to talk about smart rules, for kids smart phones.
  
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• Verifying North Korea hydrogen bomb claim may prove difficult

  06-01-2016 17:51
  By Jack Kim and Francois Murphy SEOUL/VIENNA (Reuters) - In the days and weeks ahead, nuclear experts will be hunting for airborne radioactive particles that could shed light on North Korea's assertion that it tested a hydrogen bomb, but drawing an independent conclusion could prove lengthy and difficult. Seismic monitoring stations operated by governments around the world detected an earthquake on Wednesday morning that the U.S. Geological Survey measured at a magnitude of 5.1. The location of
  
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• Health Issue Brewing? 'Kefir Beer' May Someday Help

  06-01-2016 17:45
  A craft beer made with ingredients from kefir — a fermented milk drink that resembles yogurt— may sound a little gross. Moreover, the researchers in Brazil found that the "kefir beer" seemed to reduce inflammation and stomach ulcers that had been induced in the rats for the study. Although the concept of kefir beer is interesting, it is too early to determine whether these health benefits would apply to humans, considering the study was done in an animal model, said Dr. Arun Swaminat
  
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• EPA says pesticide harms bees in some cases

  06-01-2016 17:31
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — A major pesticide harms honeybees when used on cotton and citrus but not on other big crops like corn, berries and tobacco, the Environmental Protection Agency found.
  
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• U.S.-led air strikes have cut Islamic State oil revenues - U.S.

  06-01-2016 17:18
  By Yeganeh Torbati WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S.-led coalition air strikes against Islamic State oil facilities have cut the militant group's oil revenues by about 30 percent since October, a coalition spokesman said on Wednesday. Islamic State, an adversary the United States calls the wealthiest terrorist group of its kind in history, derives funds from a variety of sources, including sales of oil produced in territory it controls, extortion, and sales of antiquities, experts say. In October, the
  
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• UK weather: Photos of flood destruction as Britain is soaked by record breaking rainfall

  06-01-2016 17:11
  December 2015 was the wettest month in Britain since records began in 1910, with 2015 being recorded as the sixth-wettest year overall. Storm Frank battered areas of the UK, resulting in around 6,700 properties being flooded in northern England over the Christmas period. River levels reached all time highs, while three severe flood warnings remained in place, with flood alerts being issued in a number of locations.
  
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• Neonics harmful to bees when used on some crops, but not others

  06-01-2016 16:39 via cbc.ca
  
  A common neonicotinoid pesticide harms honeybees when used on cotton and citrus but not on other big crops like corn, berries and tobacco.
  
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• Gas leak at Kuwait refinery injures worker, operations unaffected

  06-01-2016 16:38
  A gas leak that occurred at a major refinery in Kuwait on Wednesday injured a labourer but did not affect the plant's operations, state news agency KUNA reported. Workers were able to control the leak in the second line of a gas liquefaction plant in the Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery, Ali Abdullah, vice president for financial and administrative affairs at Kuwait National Petroleum Co, told KUNA. "The leak did not result in any ... material damage as the refinery and gas liquefaction plant's operation
  
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• Antibiotic resistance threat demands curb on use in animals, Canadian doctors say

  06-01-2016 16:14 via cbc.ca
  
  Superbug bacteria in Canadian samples dating back five years that were discovered during recent tests serve as a wake-up call to stop adding antibiotics to animal feed, and to boost surveillance, doctors and microbiologists say.
  
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• Bow waves betray runaway stars

  06-01-2016 16:07 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Researchers identify dozens of fast-moving stars in the Milky Way by combing the galaxy for the curved waves of material they plough before them.
  
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• Twitter may allow tweets of up to 10,000 characters

  06-01-2016 15:43 via cbc.ca
  
  Twitter appears ready to loosen its decade-old 140-character restriction on the length of messages in a bid to make its service more appealing to a wider audience.
  
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• Microbes Added to Seeds Could Boost Crop Production

  06-01-2016 15:16 via rss.sciam.com
  
  Researchers are testing more than 2,000 different microbial seed coatings on half a million test plots in the U.S.
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Iraq offers to mediate between Saudi and Iran, fearing for Islamic State campaign

  06-01-2016 15:10
  By Maher Chmaytelli BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq dispatched its foreign minister to Tehran on Wednesday with an offer to mediate in an escalating feud between Saudi Arabia and Iran, reflecting Baghdad's fears that new sectarian conflict could unravel its campaign against Islamic State. Sunni Saudi Arabia's execution of Shi'ite dissident Nimr al-Nimr on Saturday has inflamed sectarian anger across the Middle East, infuriating Iran, the region's main Shi'ite Muslim power. After demonstrators sacked th
  
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• What's Behind Brazil's Alarming Surge in Babies Born with Small Heads

  06-01-2016 15:00 via rss.sciam.com
  
  Zika typically causes flulike aches and rash, but the rapidly spreading disease is fueling global worries about tiny-headed infants and brain damage
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Kids grasp words as symbols before learning to read

  06-01-2016 15:00
  
  Preschoolers grasp that written words refer to specific things before they learn to read.
  
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• Astronomers Struggle to Translate Anger into Action on Sexual Harassment

  06-01-2016 15:00 via rss.sciam.com
  
  Scientists discuss the plight of women and minorities in the wake of a scandal over harassment by a prominent researcher
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Winter whale activity in western Newfoundland could link to climate change: DFO scientist

  06-01-2016 14:17 via cbc.ca
  
  Whale watching is continuing beyond the usual tourist season in Bonne Bay, on Newfoundland's west coast, and one scientist is tracking the link to climate change.
  
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• Glittering Milky Way Peeks Through Arches in Utah National Park (Photo)

  06-01-2016 14:16
  
  Astrophotographer Ken Lee took the image from Arches National Park in Utah. "Feeling like an explorer on a new world in Arches National Park, Utah, watching the Milky Way drift toward the south as night progresses," Lee wrote. The Milky Way galaxy is a barred spiral galaxy with roughly 400 billion stars, including our sun.
  
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• Under the Starry Sky: Trio Watches Meteor Shower in Stunning Photo

  06-01-2016 14:15
  
  A trio of skywatchers enjoy the beach watching meteors streak across the starry sky. Astrophotographer Deepanshu Arora took this image during Perseids Meteor shower week on August 18, 2015 at Cannon Beach in Oregon. The annual Perseid meteor shower occurs in late July or early August each year.
  
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• 'Star Wars' for Real: US Military Wraps Up Space War Games

  06-01-2016 14:15
  
  The United States Air Force Space Command's ninth Schriever Wargame, which took place from Dec. 11 through Dec. 17 at Schriever Air Force Base in Colorado, might not have had all the silver screen hoopla of the Galactic Empire, Jedi Knights and other components of the "Star Wars" universe, but there were some familiar themes. The goal was to sharpen the skills of space warfighters, and to figure out ways to deal with, as well as de-escalate, the prospect of space conflict in the future, Air Forc
  
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• How Virtual Reality Could Help Astronauts on Mars

  06-01-2016 14:15
  
  Could virtual reality make the long trek to Mars more exciting and less stressful for astronauts? An ongoing study in the Canadian High Arctic attempts to answer that question. Researchers have outfitted the residents of Canadian Forces Station Alert (CFS Alert) — the most northerly permanently inhabited outpost in the world, at just 508 miles (817 kilometers) from the North Pole — with new virtual-reality gear that gives them access to beautiful scenery from New Hampshire, Aust
  
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• Build Your Own Enterprise! Celebrate 'Star Trek's' 50th with Mega Bloks

  06-01-2016 14:15
  
  "Star Trek" fans, assemble! Later this year, fans of the sci-fi franchise who also love construction will have the chance to build their own Klingon battle cruiser, transporter room and (of course) the famed USS Enterprise. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of "Star Trek" this fall, Mega Bloks — a product produced by Mega Brands, a subsidiary of the Mattel toy company — will release several kits aimed at people who followed the exploits of James T. Kirk and other crews of the USS E
  
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