Science news

• Latest: Support leg gives way as rocket lands on ocean barge

  17-01-2016 23:44
  
  LOS ANGELES (AP) — The latest on the launch of an ocean-monitoring satellite from California (all times local):
  
  Read more

• Support leg breaks as SpaceX rocket lands on ocean barge

  17-01-2016 22:41
  
  LOS ANGELES (AP) — After successfully delivering a U.S.-European ocean-monitoring satellite into orbit, a Space X rocket made a hard landing on a floating barge in the roiling Pacific, breaking a support leg and toppling over Sunday.
  
  Read more

• Three U.S. prisoners freed by Iran arrive in Germany, official says

  17-01-2016 22:18
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Three Iranian-Americans who left Tehran on Sunday under a U.S. prisoner swap with Iran have arrived in Germany, a U.S. State Department official said on condition of anonymity. "We can confirm that the U.S. citizens who departed Iran this morning after being released from detention have arrived in Germany," said the official. (Reporting by Arshad Mohammed; Editing by Peter Cooney)
  
  Read more

• Tyrannosaur tracks bring life full circle for U of A grad student

  17-01-2016 22:17 via cbc.ca
  
  It’s a homecoming 66 million years in the making for Scott Persons when returning to the site of his first dinosaur dig.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• SpaceX Narrowly Misses Rocket Landing at Sea After Launching Satellite

  17-01-2016 21:17
  
  SpaceX successfully launched a new satellite into orbit to map Earth's oceans today (Jan. 17), but the spaceflight company's bold plan to land a rocket on a robotic ship at sea after the liftoff came up just short, narrowly missing a successful touchdown. The first stage of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket managed to reach its landing target, an "autonomous spaceport droneship" called "Just Read the Instructions," but apparently came in too hard and toppled over on the deck, company representatives said
  
  Read more

• SpaceX fails to stick ocean landing after satellite launch

  17-01-2016 21:00
  
  SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket broke apart Sunday as it tried to land on a floating platform in the Pacific, marking the fourth such failure in the company's bid to recycle rockets.
  
  Read more

• SpaceX launches US-French oceans satellite

  17-01-2016 20:02
  SpaceX on Sunday launched a $180 million satellite made by France and the United States to study sea level rise, and will make a fourth try at landing its Falcon 9 rocket on a floating platform.
  
  Read more

• SpaceX rocket blasts off from California with science satellite: NASA

  17-01-2016 19:53
  
  VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (Reuters) - A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from California on Sunday to put a climate-monitoring satellite into orbit, NASA said.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• U.S. prisoners leave Iran for U.S. base as Obama hails win for diplomacy

  17-01-2016 19:51
  By Lesley Wroughton and Parisa Hafezi WASHINGTON/ANKARA (Reuters) - Three Iranian-Americans left Tehran for a U.S. base in Germany on Sunday under a prisoner swap following the lifting of most international sanctions on Iran under a deal that President Barack Obama said had cut off Tehran's path to a nuclear bomb. In a sign of sustained readiness to track Iranian compliance with remaining United Nations curbs, the United States imposed fresh sanctions on 11 companies and individuals for supplyin
  
  Read more

• The Latest: US-European ocean-monitoring satellite launches

  17-01-2016 19:45
  LOS ANGELES (AP) — The latest on the launch of an ocean-monitoring satellite from California (all times local):
  
  Read more

• SpaceX rocket launches satellite but botches ocean landing

  17-01-2016 19:22 via cbc.ca
  
  The first stage of a SpaceX rocket that delivered a U.S.-European ocean-monitoring satellite into orbit Sunday made a hard landing on a floating barge in the Pacific and broke a support leg.
  
  Read more

• Bubonic plague hung around in Europe

  17-01-2016 18:24
  
  DNA from plague victims suggests that a European reservoir of the plague bacterium Yersinia pestis could have fueled the medieval pandemic.
  
  Read more

• Insight - Iran moves from pariah state to regional power

  17-01-2016 18:06
  By Samia Nakhoul BEIRUT (Reuters) - Iran's release from sanctions testifies to its new relationship with the United States as it moves from pariah state to regional power, a status that could come at the cost of Saudi Arabia, Washington's chief Arab ally. Enemies and allies alike must adjust to Iran becoming an uninhibited power broker in the Middle East after its nuclear deal with world powers and Saturday's lifting of sanctions that bring it to the top table of international politics. After th
  
  Read more

• Mock NASA Space Shuttle 'Inspiration' Moving for River Tour

  17-01-2016 17:02
  
  The mock-up orbiter "Inspiration,"which for two decades sat parked outside the Astronaut Hall of Fame in Florida, west of NASA's Kennedy Space Center, will depart on its first move as soon as Saturday morning (Jan. 16) to begin its transformation into an educational outreach tool and the showpiece for a company developing new communications technologies for future missions into deep space. "It is kind of an educational and promotional thing," stated John Pederson, the chief executive officer of
  
  Read more

• Driverless cars may save lives, but will they kill driving?

  17-01-2016 17:00 via cbc.ca
  
  Autonomy is the next wave in the automotive industry. But with the evolution of that technology, auto manufacturers at the Detroit auto show are confronting a bleak possibility for car lovers — the end of driving as we know it.
  
  Read more

• Particles could reveal clues to how Egypt pyramid was built

  17-01-2016 14:37
  CAIRO (AP) — An international team of researchers said Sunday they will soon begin analyzing cosmic particles collected inside Egypt's Bent Pyramid to search for clues as to how it was built and learn more about the 4,600-year-old structure.
  
  Read more

• SpaceX to Launch Jason-3 Satellite, Try Rocket Landing Today: Watch Live

  17-01-2016 14:13
  
  The private spaceflight company SpaceX will launch an ocean-measuring satellite for NASA today (Jan. 17), and then attempt to land a rocket on a drone ship in the Pacific Ocean, and you can watch the flight live online. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is set to launch the Jason-3 ocean-monitoring satellite into orbit from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base at 1:42 p.m. EST (10:42 a.m. PST/1842 GMT). You can watch the launch live on Space.com starting at 11 a.m. EST (8 a.m. PST/1600 GMT), courtesy o
  
  Read more

• Solar energy set to shine in greener Alberta

  17-01-2016 11:00 via cbc.ca
  
  Alberta is moving away from coal as a way of generating electricity, part of a plan that would see a heavier reliance on natural gas and renewable sources of power. It's a shift that has some in Alberta bracing for a boom in solar power.
  
  Read more

• Netflix cross-border streaming: Experts doubt company can 'stamp it out completely'

  17-01-2016 11:00 via cbc.ca
  
  ​Netflix announced this week it will crack down on virtual border hoppers watching programs restricted to other countries. This time, experts say, the video streaming service means serious business. But there's also doubts the clamp down will actually work.
  
  Read more

• Iran to boost oil exports by 500,000 bpd after sanctions - Shana

  17-01-2016 10:00
  Iran is ready to increase its crude oil exports by 500,000 barrels a day, the deputy oil minister said on Sunday, hours after international sanctions on Tehran were lifted, removing an obstacle to exports. The Islamic Republic emerged from years of economic isolation on Saturday when world powers lifted sanctions after confirming that Tehran had curbed its nuclear programme. "With consideration to global market conditions and the surplus that exists, Iran is ready to raise its crude oil exports
  
  Read more

• Rouhani hails 'golden page' in Iran's history as sanctions lifted

  17-01-2016 09:42
  By Bozorgmehr Sharafedin DUBAI (Reuters) - President Hassan Rouhani hailed on Sunday a nuclear deal with world powers as a "golden page" in Iran's history, and looked forward to an economic future less dependent on oil as the country emerges from years of sanctions and isolation. Iran ended years of economic isolation when world powers lifted the crippling sanctions against the Islamic Republic on Saturday in return for Tehran complying with a deal to curb its nuclear ambitions. Presenting the d
  
  Read more

• Launch set for US-European ocean-monitoring satellite

  17-01-2016 09:42
  
  LOS ANGELES (AP) — The latest in a series of U.S.-European satellites designed to detect and measure ocean phenomena like El Nino is scheduled for launch this weekend aboard a SpaceX rocket that will attempt to land its discarded first stage on a floating barge.
  
  Read more

• Increased childbirth at Indian health facilities led to no reduction in maternal death

  17-01-2016 06:00
  
  (Umea University) To reduce maternal and neo-natal deaths, India launched a cash transfer program in 2005 that provides monetary incentives for women to give birth in health facilities instead of at home. While the program successfully increased the use of health facilities for child birth, it did not reduce maternal deaths as much, especially in poor areas. This is according to a doctoral dissertation published at Umeå University.
  
  Read more

• Ads for candy-flavored e-cigarettes could encourage vaping among school children

  17-01-2016 06:00
  
  (University of Cambridge) Advertisements featuring e-cigarettes with flavors such as chocolate and bubble gum are more likely to attract school children to buy and try e-cigarettes than those featuring non-flavored e-cigarettes, according to new research published in the journal BMJ Tobacco Control.
  
  Read more

• Thermal cameras snoop beneath surfaces to reveal materials’ secrets

  17-01-2016 03:54
  Scientists are using infrared cameras to create heat maps of working materials that reveal their thermal properties and subsurface structure.
  
  Read more

• Increased carbon dioxide enhances plankton growth

  17-01-2016 03:54
  Coccolithophores--tiny calcifying plants that are part of the foundation of the marine food web--have been increasing in relative abundance in the North Atlantic over the last 45 years, as carbon input into ocean waters has increased. Their relative abundance has increased 10 times, or by an order of magnitude, during this sampling period, report researchers.
  
  Read more

• Feral cats: Computational study looks at how best to fix the nuisance

  17-01-2016 03:54
  The first computational model to track the size, location and nuisance of feral cat colonies has been developed by researchers. This issue concerns communities across the United States that hold some 70 to 100 million unhoused cats and kittens.
  
  Read more

• Better design improves understanding of online privacy notices

  17-01-2016 03:54
  Privacy policies for websites, smartphone apps and, especially, components of the emerging Internet of Things are usually ineffective or ignored by users, but researchers say properly designed privacy notices — pushed out to users at appropriate times — could help remedy that problem.
  
  Read more

• Genetic ‘paint box’ shuffled between butterfly species to create new wing patterns

  17-01-2016 03:50
  New research on butterfly genomes has revealed that the genetic components that produce different splotches of colour on wings can be mixed up between species by interbreeding to create new patterns, like a "genetic paint box".
  
  Read more

• Two-for-one bacterial virulence factor revealed

  17-01-2016 03:49
  Given that antibiotics are losing effectiveness faster than replacements are being found, a chemist suggests we try a new approach. Drugs that hobble the production of virulence factors, small molecules that help bacteria to establish an infection in a host, would put much less selective pressure on bacteria and delay the evolution of resistance. In a new article, he describes recent work on a target virulence factor.
  
  Read more

• Link found between obesity and blood clots in pediatric patients

  17-01-2016 03:49
  An association between obesity and the formation of blood clots in the veins of children and adolescents has been identified by researchers. While obesity is a well-established risk factor for venous thromboembolism (VTE) in adults, previous studies in pediatric populations have yielded mixed results.
  
  Read more

• Plasma marker of vascular disease confirmed in type 1 diabetes patients

  17-01-2016 03:47
  Patients with higher levels of pre-kallikrein in their blood were shown to have thicker layers of intima-media in the vasculature of their carotids, report scientists.
  
  Read more

• Gregarious chimps harbor richer gut microbiomes

  17-01-2016 03:47
  Spending time in close contact with others means risking catching germs and getting sick. But being sociable may also help transmit 'good' microbes, finds a new study. Researchers monitored changes in the gut microbiomes and social behavior of chimpanzees over eight years in Tanzania. The number of bacterial species in a chimp's GI tract increased when the chimps were more gregarious. The results help scientists understand the factors that maintain a healthy gut microbiome.
  
  Read more

• France to be vigilant Iran nuclear deal "strictly respected" - Fabius

  17-01-2016 00:15
  France will keep a close eye out to ensure that Iran's nuclear deal with diplomatic powers is strictly respected, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Saturday in a statement. Welcoming the deal's implementation, Fabius said that it was an important step in international efforts to control nuclear proliferation. "By being constructively firm, France has strongly contributed to the conclusion of this agreement.
  
  Read more

• U.S. lifts ban on foreign units of American companies operating in Iran

  17-01-2016 00:13
  The United States will allow foreign subsidiaries of American companies to trade with Iran as part of sanctions relief granted under an international nuclear deal, the U.S. Treasury Department said on Saturday. U.S. authorities have also lifted restrictions on buying of Iranian oil by non-U.S. entities, as well as the sale of goods and services to Iran's energy sector, the Treasury said. The lifting of the ban on non-American trade with Iran's oil sector represents a significant opening on an em
  
  Read more

Follow @ScienceUKnews on Twitter!