Science news

• Oldest Animal Jonathan the Tortoise Is Going Strong at 183

  18-01-2016 23:05
  
  A caloric increase is helping the oldest known living terrestrial animal in the world — a giant tortoise — reclaim his health and vigor, a veterinarian reports. At 183 years old, Jonathan, who resides on the tiny Atlantic island of St. Helena, is now eating like a king. Before the diet change, Jonathan's keratin beak was blunt and soft, making him an inefficient grazer, Dr. Joe Hollins, the veterinarian who cares for Jonathan, said in a 2012 report in the journal Veterinary Reco
  
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• Fowl Play: Diverse Parasites Infest Backyard Chickens

  18-01-2016 22:59
  
  Chickens that live in backyards are exposed to a wider range of ectoparasites — parasites that live on the skin — than their commercial counterparts. In a study published online Jan. 11 in the Journal of Medical Entomology, scientists investigated 100 hens from 20 flocks in Southern California, and found a number of parasites in the coops and on the birds that are typically absent in commercial farms. Many of the urban chickens were playing host to a diverse group of parasites, which
  
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• Arctic sea ice 'frost flowers' in bloom at University of Manitoba lab

  18-01-2016 22:33 via cbc.ca
  
  While others in Winnipeg are lamenting the bone-chilling temperatures and extreme weather warnings, researchers at a unique lab are celebrating the cold and seizing the opportunity to grow tiny, briny, icy structures called frost flowers.
  
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• Study questions link between teen pot smoking and IQ decline

  18-01-2016 21:04
  NEW YORK (AP) — A new analysis is challenging the idea that smoking marijuana during adolescence can lead to declines in intelligence.
  
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• Spider-Man wall-crawling science fails to stick over shoe size

  18-01-2016 21:00
  If Spider-Man was real, he would be forever falling off vertical walls and struggling to maintain credibility as a superhero, new research suggests.
  
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• Human evolution, biomimicry and more go on display

  18-01-2016 20:00
  
  A new human evolution gallery and a lecture series on Europa are among science events to explore in February 2016.
  
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• Invites to Syria talks on hold, agreement on opposition needed - U.N.

  18-01-2016 19:54
  By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations said on Monday it would not issue invitations to peace talks between Syria's government and opposition set to begin on Jan. 25 until major powers pushing the peace process reach agreement on which rebel representatives should attend. "At this stage the U.N. will proceed with issuing invitations when the countries spearheading the ISSG (International Syria Support Group) process come to an understanding on who among the opposition
  
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• Human sounds convey emotions clearer and faster than words

  18-01-2016 19:49
  It takes just one-tenth of a second for our brains to begin to recognize emotions conveyed by vocalizations. It doesn't matter whether the non-verbal sounds are growls of anger, the laughter of happiness or cries of sadness. More importantly, the researchers have also discovered that we pay more attention when an emotion (such as happiness, sadness or anger) is expressed through vocalizations than we do when the same emotion is expressed in speech.
  
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• Pluto closeup zooms in on giant ice volcano

  18-01-2016 19:47 via cbc.ca
  
  A full-colour closeup of what is thought to be the largest volcano on Pluto — and in the outer solar system — has been beamed back to Earth by the New Horizons spacecraft.
  
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• Scientists solve 3D structure of protein that guides the immune system

  18-01-2016 19:44
  The three-dimensional structure of a crucial ion channel has been revealed by researchers, whose findings shed light on the channel's possible role in immune functions such as detecting infection and inflammation.
  
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• Mapping out cell conversion

  18-01-2016 19:44
  An algorithm that can predict the factors required to convert one human cell type to another has been developed by researchers. These game-changing findings have significant implications for regenerative medicine and lay the groundwork for further research into cell reprogramming.
  
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• Laws of nature predict cancer evolution

  18-01-2016 19:44
  The spread of mutations through a cancer follows natural laws -- and is therefore theoretically predictable, just as we can predict the movement of celestial bodies or the weather, a study shows. This intriguing research raises the possibility that doctors could take clinical decisions on how an individual patient's cancer will change, and what treatments should be used, by applying mathematical formulas to tumor biopsies.
  
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• Core set of genes for plant-fungal symbiosis uncovered by researchers

  18-01-2016 19:44
  A group of genes necessary for plants to form beneficial relationships with nutrient-bearing soil fungi has been uncovered by a team of scientists. They compared the genomes of plants that form these symbiotic relationships to those that don't. A better understanding of the genetic basis of the symbiosis may one day yield better crop plants that require less fertilizer input.
  
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• Cardiac arrests in high-rise buildings: Low survival rates above 3rd floor

  18-01-2016 19:44
  Residents of high-rise buildings had better survival rates from cardiac arrests if they lived on the first few floors, and survival was negligible for people living above the 16th floor, according to a study.
  
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• Earth's oceans absorbed colossal amount of heat in past 18 years

  18-01-2016 19:00 via cbc.ca
  
  A colossal amount of man-made heat has been sucked up by the world's oceans in the past 18 years, and the rate at which that happens has been accelerating — but that's not nearly as good as it sounds.
  
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• Argentina snake invasion forces beach closures

  18-01-2016 18:58
  
  An invasion of poisonous snakes washed downriver in recent floods forced authorities to close beaches to summer holidaymakers in northern Argentina, officials said Monday.
  
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• Students design 'plant backpack' to combat air pollution

  18-01-2016 18:55
  
  Five Dutch students have hit on a unique idea to replace face masks used against air pollution, and are developing a "plant backpack" to give wearers instant fresh air.
  
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• BMO rolls out robo-adviser for tech-savvy investors

  18-01-2016 18:16 via cbc.ca
  
  The Bank of Montreal has launched an online portfolio manager, making it the first of the big five Canadian banks to offer at 'robo-adviser.'
  
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• Global warming strikes deep into oceans: study

  18-01-2016 18:02
  
  The oceans have soaked up as much heat from global warming over the last two decades as during the preceding 130 years, according to a study published Monday.
  
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• Study: Man-made heat put in oceans has doubled since 1997

  18-01-2016 17:03
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The amount of man-made heat energy absorbed by the seas has doubled since 1997, a study released Monday showed.
  
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• Ocean heating doubles

  18-01-2016 17:00
  
  Earth’s oceans now absorb twice as much heat as they did 18 years ago, with more than a third of that warmth going into the ocean depths.
  
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• SpaceX narrowly missed Falcon 9 rocket landing, video shows

  18-01-2016 16:58
  
  MIAMI - The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that exploded into a fiery ball just after landing at sea off California on Sunday had descended with pinpoint accuracy onto an ocean barge before a landing leg buckled, causing the booster to tip over, a landing video showed.
  
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• Denmark sets wind energy world record

  18-01-2016 16:54
  
  Danish wind turbines set a new world record by generating nearly half of all the electricity consumed by the Scandinavian country in 2015, an official from state-owned Energinet.dk said Monday.
  
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• Russia's Lavrov expects talks between Syrian government and opposition in Jan in Damascus

  18-01-2016 16:48
  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday he hoped that talks between the Syrian government and Syrian opposition would start this month in Damascus. Lavrov made his comments during a visit by Qatari Foreign Minister Khalid al-Attiyah to Moscow. (Reporting by Denis Dyomkin; writing by Katya Golubkova, editing by Jason Bush)
  
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• Morocco says arrests Belgian national tied to Paris attacks

  18-01-2016 16:31
  Moroccan authorities have arrested a Belgian national of local origin directly linked to the attackers who carried out the Paris shootings and bombings in November that killed 130 people, the government said in a statement on Monday. The interior ministry gave only the suspect's initials in Arabic and said he fought in Syria with al-Nusra front before joining the Islamic State. "He went to Syria with one of the suicide bombers of Saint Denis," it said.
  
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• Broken UV light leads to key heart muscle cell discovery

  18-01-2016 16:31
  For a team of investigators trying to generate heart muscle cells from stem cells, a piece of broken equipment turned out to be a good thing. The faulty equipment pushed the researchers to try a different approach. Their new method uses a "Matrigel mattress" to rapidly generate cardiac cells suitable for heart disease studies and drug discovery.
  
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• Environmental policy behind imbalance in phosphorus, nitrogen levels of the North Sea

  18-01-2016 16:27
  European measures aimed at improving water quality through the reduction of nitrogen and phosphorus loads in the North Sea have resulted in an imbalance of these two nutrients in surface waters, new research shows.
  
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• New biomarkers for improved treatment of severe heart- and lung disease

  18-01-2016 16:26
  New blood biomarkers reflecting vasoreactivity in lung blood vessels of patients with heart- and lung disease, can lead to simplified diagnostics and better evaluation of treatment for patients with the condition pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), a new dissertation suggests.
  
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• Cranberry extract confirmed to help fighting urinary tract infections in breastfed babies under age one

  18-01-2016 16:26
  Cranberry extract helps fighting urinary tract infections (UTIs) in breastfed babies under one year of age, new research confirms. This work has proven that this compound prevents the prescription of antibiotics in the prophylaxis for recurrent urinary tract infections in infants with vesicoureteral reflux (VUR), so preventing the risk of increasing the bacterial antibiotic resistance.
  
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• Austerity has slowed regional recovery during the post-2008 recession, says new study

  18-01-2016 16:26
  Austerity measures at national level have not helped regions to recover following the 2008 economic crisis, according to a new study of the UK and other EU countries. On the contrary, high public debt countries have been more successful in sheltering their regional economies, the research concludes.
  
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• Fossils of Largest Marine Croc Found … on Tatooine!

  18-01-2016 15:57
  
  "At one point, when one eye of the crocodile was completely exposed, we realized there was an entire, giant skull just under our feet," said excavation team member Andrea Cau, a doctoral student at the Biological, Geological and Environmental Department of Alma Mater Studiorum in Bologna University, in an email interview with Live Science. In the hours that followed, they became certain they were laying eyes on a previously unknown species.
  
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• Russia catches senior engineer on delayed space pad project 'taking bribe'

  18-01-2016 15:53
  
  Russia has detained a top engineer on its delayed Vostochny cosmodrome project on suspicion of accepting a bribe, investigators said Monday in the latest setback for the country's troubled space programme.
  
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• WhatsApp will drop subscription fees

  18-01-2016 15:43 via cbc.ca
  
  Mobile messaging service WhatsApp, owned by Facebook Inc, said it will no longer charge annual subscription fees.
  
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• Cosmic particles could reveal clues to how Egyptian pyramid was built

  18-01-2016 15:15 via cbc.ca
  
  An international team of researchers 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.
  
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• South Africa: Crops fail and people die from heatstroke as worst drought on record continues

  18-01-2016 15:11
  South Africa is in the grips of a severe drought that shows no sign of abating. At least 11 people died of heatstroke as temperatures in North West province exceeded 40C during a week-long heatwave in January 2016. The South African Weather Service has announced that 32 temperature records have already been broken this year.
  
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• Video Shows SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Land on Droneship, Then Fall Over and Explode

  18-01-2016 14:49
  
  The short video, which Musk posted on Instagram, shows the Falcon 9 rocket first stage touching down on the drone ship as planned, but then falling over to hit the deck and explode. Musk has said one of the four landing legs on the rocket failed to latch securely, leading to the fall. The rocket landing occured after SpaceX successfully launched the Jason-3 satellite into orbit from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
  
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• Astronauts Observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Space

  18-01-2016 14:49
  
  Like their cohort on the ground, astronauts aboard the U.S. segment of the International Space Station will take a day off today (Jan. 18) to celebrate the life of Martin Luther King Jr.
  
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• Intelligent electronics to become durable, flexible and functional through new technology

  18-01-2016 14:45
  With a roll-to-roll overmoulding manufacturing process recently developed, components can be easily overmoulded into durable electronics products such as wearable sports solutions, toys and, for instance, household appliances equipped with an overmoulded solar cell, report researchers.
  
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• Streaming services are a blessing and a curse for the music industry

  18-01-2016 14:44
  Paid music streaming services can increase revenues for the music industry and lead consumers to spend more money on music overall. Free streaming, in contrast, is less beneficial. These are the findings of a recent empirical study that included interviews with over 2500 music fans over the course of more than one year. They found that although free as well as paid streaming services reduce revenues from CDs and downloads, the subscription fees for paid streaming services over-compensate for the
  
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• Stepping beyond our 3D world

  18-01-2016 14:44
  Over centuries, humans have tried to discover a Theory of Everything. Possible candidates for this cachet, such as String Theory and Grand Unified Theory, require higher dimensions or higher-dimensional symmetries, for instance ten dimensions, despite their radical difference from the world we actually experience. One such symmetry – known as E8 – exists in eight dimensions and is the largest symmetry without counterparts in every dimension and is therefore called exceptional. Now a
  
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• Scientists use wood to create biodegradable, renewable alternative to Styrofoam

  18-01-2016 14:44
  We may soon be saying goodbye to polystyrene, the petroleum-based material that is used to make Styrofoam. In what looks like an ordinary bicycle helmet, designers have replaced Styrofoam with a new shock-absorbing material made with renewable and biodegradable wood-based material.
  
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• Increased childbirth at Indian health facilities led to no matching reduction in maternal deaths

  18-01-2016 14:44
  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, a new paper reports.
  
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• An image is worth a thousand kilos?

  18-01-2016 14:44
  Okay, so maybe not a thousand kilos, exactly, but a new study shows how a photo diary can keep dieters motivated, making them more likely to achieve their target weight.
  
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• Harmful mutations have accumulated during early human migrations out of Africa

  18-01-2016 14:43
  Modern humans (Homo sapiens) are thought to have first emerged in Africa about 150,000 years ago. 100,000 years later, a few of them left their homeland traveling first to Asia and then further east, crossing the Bering Strait, and colonizing the Americas. Experts have developed theoretical models predicting that if modern humans migrated as small bands, then the populations that broke off from their original African family should progressively accumulate slightly harmful mutations - a mutation
  
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• Thwarting abnormal neural development with a new mutation

  18-01-2016 14:41
  Researchers have discovered how to reverse the abnormal axonal development characteristic of CFEOM3, a congenital disease that affects the muscles that control eye movements. The work shows how creating a specific mutation rescued abnormal axonal growth in the developing mouse brain.
  
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• Report identifies positive news on kidney disease in the US, yet challenges remain

  18-01-2016 14:41
  The annual data report from the United States Renal Data System reveals both positive and negative trends in kidney disease in the US. Medicare spending for patients with chronic kidney disease aged 65 and older exceeded $50 billion in 2013 and represented 20 percent of all Medicare spending in that age group. In addition, the total cost to Medicare for end-stage kidney disease grew to $30.9 billion and accounted for 7.1 percent of the overall paid Medicare claims costs.
  
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• How the cat got its spots

  18-01-2016 14:19
  
  (Reuters) - A team of biologists and mathematicians from three British universities are challenging conventional thinking on piebaldism - a benign genetic disease caused by a mutation which results in the distinctively colored fur patches of cats, horses, pigs, dogs, and deer, while human hair is occasionally affected.
  
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• Baby orangutan recovers after ordeal in Indonesia, finds new playmate

  18-01-2016 13:34
  
  A baby orangutan found abandoned and almost dead has made a swift recovery at an Indonesian rescue centre, and has been filmed playing happily with another young ape.
  
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• Belgian drone mixes plane and quadcopter technology

  18-01-2016 13:04
  
  Researchers in Belgium have devised a prototype delivery drone which they say could rival the likes of Amazon Prime Air and Google's Project Wing.
  
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• The votes are in: Exoplanets get new names

  18-01-2016 13:00
  
  Arion, Galileo and Poltergeist are just three winners of a contest to name planets and suns in 20 solar systems.
  
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