Science news

• Wildfire plan seen as biggest land policy change in decades

  26-01-2016 23:49
  BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A year after Interior Secretary Sally Jewell shifted the national approach to fighting wildfires across a wide swath of sagebrush country in the West, her strategy is turning out to be one of the most significant federal land policy changes in some 80 years, public land experts, outdoor enthusiasts and scientists say.
  
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• Like Mother, Like Daughter--the Science Says So, Too

  26-01-2016 23:01 via rss.sciam.com
  
  A new study sheds light on the hereditary link in the brain structure and mood disorders of mothers and daughters
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• Scientists: "Doomsday Clock" reflects grave threat to world

  26-01-2016 22:47
  
  STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Rising tension between Russia and the U.S., North Korea's recent nuclear test and a lack of aggressive steps to address climate change are putting the world under grave threat, scientists behind a "Doomsday Clock" that measures the likelihood of a global cataclysm said Tuesday.
  
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• [Research Article] Identification of Fic-1 as an enzyme that inhibits bacterial DNA replication by AMPylating GyrB, promoting filament formation

  26-01-2016 22:33 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Fic-1 inhibits bacterial replication by AMPylating DNA gyrase.
  
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• [Research Article] Functional redundancy of the kinases MEK1 and MEK2: Rescue of the Mek1 mutant phenotype by Mek2 knock-in reveals a protein threshold effect

  26-01-2016 22:33 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Placental development and embryo survival require a minimum amount of either MEK1 or MEK2.
  
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• [Research Article] Cholesterol modulates Orai1 channel function

  26-01-2016 22:33 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Cholesterol suppresses the activity of a channel needed to refill intracellular calcium stores.
  
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• [Editors' Choice] Micromanaging the microbiome

  26-01-2016 22:33 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Intestinal cells produce microRNAs that regulate gut microbial communities.
  
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• [Editors' Choice] GTP sensor is a lipid kinase

  26-01-2016 22:33 via stke.sciencemag.org
  The activity of the lipid kinase PI5P4Kβ changes with cellular GTP concentration.
  
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• [Editors' Choice] Building the enteric nervous system

  26-01-2016 22:33 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Sonic hedgehog coordinates the endoderm, mesoderm, and ectoderm to properly pattern the enteric nervous system.
  
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• Uber Canada head says current rules hurt consumers, protect taxi monopoly

  26-01-2016 21:53 via cbc.ca
  
  Uber Canada general manager Ian Black says his company "has solved transportation" and suggests municipalities should get with the times — but he also tells CBC News the company is "open to regulation" on ride-sharing.
  
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• Lizard lying in New Jersey pupil's salad is now class pet

  26-01-2016 21:47
  A tiny green lizard found by a New Jersey kindergarten student in a bundle of chilled salad greens at home has wriggled its way into the hearts of an entire elementary school class, which adopted it as a mascot. The three-inch (7.6-cm) critter went unnoticed for a few days in the refrigerator in Princeton, New Jersey, before Sally Mabon and her daughter Faye found its limp body while unwrapping a bunch of tatsoi, an Asian leaf, the Newark Star Ledger reported on Tuesday. Warmth restored its ener
  
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• Opportunity Mars Rover Marks 12 Years on Red Planet

  26-01-2016 21:39
  
  Opportunity landed on Mars 12 years ago Sunday (Jan. 24), a few weeks after its twin, Spirit, hit the red dirt. Spirit and Opportunity were originally supposed to explore for just 90 days, but both rovers far outlasted their warranties. Spirit stopped communicating with Earth in 2010 and was declared dead a year later, and Opportunity is still going strong today.
  
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• Doomsday Clock stays unchanged at three minutes to midnight

  26-01-2016 21:19
  The Iran nuclear deal and movement on climate change prompted the scientists who maintain the Doomsday Clock, a symbolic countdown to global catastrophe, to keep it unchanged on Tuesday at three minutes to midnight. The Doomsday Clock, devised by the Chicago-based Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, is widely recognised as an indicator of the world's vulnerability to catastrophe. The Doomsday Clock's hands "are the closest they've been to catastrophe since the early days of above-ground hydrogen
  
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• Cell-based tests promise respite for lab animals: study

  26-01-2016 21:10
  
  Scientists in the United States said Tuesday they were developing a faster, more efficient way of gauging the toxicity of chemicals, which may reduce the need for animal testing.
  
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• Conspiracies are 'prone to unravel'

  26-01-2016 20:40 via bbc.co.uk
  
  It's difficult to keep a conspiracy under wraps, scientists say, because sooner or later, one of the conspirators will blow its cover.
  
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• Apple's iPhone, iPad will dim blue light at night to help you sleep

  26-01-2016 20:05 via cbc.ca
  
  There have been plenty of warnings lately that using a digital device before bed could be messing with your sleep. As CBC Radio technology columnist Dan Misener explains, Apple has revealed a new feature the company claims makes screens easier on your eyes, and your sleeping habits.
  
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• Climate change may be deadly for snowshoe hares

  26-01-2016 20:00
  
  The mismatch between coat color and the landscape can be deadly for a snowshoe hare.
  
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• Plesiosaurs swam like penguins

  26-01-2016 19:00
  
  Computer simulations of plesiosaur swimming motion may resolve long-standing debate on how the marine reptile got around.
  
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• Niagara Falls: How American Falls could be turned off…again

  26-01-2016 18:46
  New York State officials are considering turning off the American Falls, one of three waterfalls that make up the Niagara Falls, for several months in order to replace two old stone arch bridges, reported Buffalo news. Dewatering the American Falls would require the construction of a cofferdam spanning from the Goat Island to the US mainland in an effort to direct all the water to the Horseshoe Falls.
  
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• Sri Lanka: 359 confiscated elephant tusks destroyed

  26-01-2016 18:28
  Sri Lanka destroyed 359 elephant tusks on 26 January, after paying tribute with a Buddhist ceremony for the wild animals who lost their lives for them. John Scanlon, the secretary general of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, attended the event with Sri Lanka's Wildlife Minister, Gamini Jayawickrama Perera. Sri Lanka is a signatory to the Washington Convention of 1979, which requires governments to ensure that trade of wild specimens and plants d
  
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• Deadly Math: Venus Flytraps Calculate When Killing Prey

  26-01-2016 18:18
  Unlike proactive predators in the animal kingdom, carnivorous plants like the Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) must wait for their insect prey to literally step inside their "jaws" before they can catch the victims. The first tap from an insect tells a Venus flytrap, "Pay attention, but don't respond just yet," the new study said.
  
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• Enormous Canyon May Be Hidden Beneath Antarctic Ice

  26-01-2016 18:17
  
  A rift almost as deep as the Grand Canyon but much longer may be hidden beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet. Using satellite images and radio waves, researchers have uncovered tantalizing hints of a canyon up to 0.6 miles (1 kilometer) deep and more than 680 miles (1,100 km) long. "Discovering a gigantic new chasm that dwarfs the Grand Canyon is a tantalizing prospect," Martin Siegert, an earth scientist at Imperial College London, said in a statement.
  
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• Fig-Dwelling Worm Is a Mighty Mouth-Morpher

  26-01-2016 18:16
  
  On La Réunion Island in the Indian Ocean, microscopic worms that inhabit wild figs can develop five different mouths. The structure of these mouths varies so widely that the scientists who found the worm, Pristionchus borbonicus, initially thought that worms with different mouths were actually different species. In a new study, published online today (Jan. 15) in the journal Science Advances, the researchers detailed these new species of microscopic worms, also known as nematodes, describ
  
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• Explorer's Death Highlights Dangers of Antarctica

  26-01-2016 18:13
  
  Explorer Henry Worsley has died of exhaustion and dehydration, just a few dozen miles short of completing his historic voyage across the ice of Antarctica. "It is with heartbroken sadness, I let you know that my husband, Henry Worsley, has died following complete organ failure, despite all efforts of ALE [Antarctic Logistics and Expeditions] and medical staff at the Clínica Magallanes in Punta Arenas, Chile," his wife, Joanna Worsley, said in a statement. The 55-year-old adventurer had tr
  
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• Frozen oil droplets morph and shine

  26-01-2016 18:00
  
  Scientists can turn oil droplets into an array of crystalline shapes by manipulating the chemistry and temperature of the droplets’ surroundings.
  
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• One dead in mudslide at French nuclear waste site

  26-01-2016 17:58
  
  One person was killed on Tuesday in a mudslide at a laboratory of France's national nuclear waste management agency in the northeast of the country, the emergency services said.
  
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• Kenya to destroy largest ever ivory stockpile at star-studded summit

  26-01-2016 17:58
  
  Kenya said Tuesday it will torch its vast stockpile of ivory at a star-studded summit to include Hollywood celebrities, presidents and business leaders against "poaching and illegal trade in ivory."
  
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• Islamic State 'enjoyed Turkish money for oil' - Israeli minister

  26-01-2016 17:43
  Israel's defence minister said on Tuesday that Islamic State militants had been funded with 'Turkish money', an assertion that could hinder attempts to mend fences between the two countries after years of estrangement. "It's up to Turkey, the Turkish government, the Turkish leadership, to decide whether they want to be part of any kind of cooperation to fight terrorism. This is not the case so far," Moshe Yaalon told reporters in Athens.
  
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• Used smartphones: How to sell yours without getting burned

  26-01-2016 17:28 via cbc.ca
  
  Selling your old cellphone can be a great way to get some cash towards a newer model. But it can involve some sketchy dealings and some of the same risks you face when your phone is stolen. Here are some tips for safe selling.
  
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• Risky pesticides left on market too long, environment watchdog says

  26-01-2016 16:55 via cbc.ca
  
  A new audit says it takes years for the federal pest management agency to remove risky pesticides from the marketplace and routine re-evaluations are falling far behind.
  
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• Marvin Minsky, pioneer of artificial intelligence, dies

  26-01-2016 16:33
  CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — A pioneer in the field of artificial intelligence at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who saw parallels in the functioning of the human brain and computers has died. Marvin Minsky was 88.
  
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• National Energy Board needs to fix pipeline oversight, watchdog says

  26-01-2016 16:27 via cbc.ca
  
  The National Energy Board is not doing enough to track whether pipeline companies are complying with conditions set out when projects are approved, Canada's environment watchdog says.
  
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• Artificial intelligence pioneer Marvin Minsky dead at 88

  26-01-2016 16:09
  
  BOSTON (Reuters) - Marvin Minsky, the artificial intelligence pioneer who helped make machines think, leading to computers that understand spoken commands and beat grandmasters at chess, has died at the age of 88, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said.
  
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• Spain court finds captain, British insurer liable for Prestige oil spill

  26-01-2016 16:03
  
  The Spanish Supreme Court said Tuesday it had found the captain, British insurer and owner of an oil tanker that broke up off northwestern Spain in 2002 liable for one of Europe's worst environmental disasters.
  
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• 5 Causes Account for Nearly Half of Child and Teen Deaths

  26-01-2016 15:46
  Five causes of death account for nearly half of all deaths in children and adolescents worldwide, a new report finds. Globally, there were 7.7 million deaths among children and adolescents in 2013, according to the report.  The vast majority of these deaths — 6.3 million — were in children under age 5. There were about 480,000 deaths among children ages 5 to 9, and 970,000 in children ages 10 to 19.
  
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• Medical Marijuana May Reduce Frequency of Migraines

  26-01-2016 15:44
  Medical marijuana might help migraine sufferers reduce the frequency of their headaches, a new study suggests. In the study of 121 people with migraines, 103 said they had fewer migraines after they began using marijuana, the researchers found. Among the people who noticed improvement, the frequency of their migraine headaches decreased from 10.4 headaches per month to 4.6 headaches per month, on average, the researchers found.
  
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• Kenya to destroy largest ever ivory stockpile at celebrity burning

  26-01-2016 15:44
  
  Kenya said Tuesday it will torch its vast stockpile of ivory at a star-studded summit to include Hollywood celebrities, presidents and business leaders against "poaching and illegal trade in ivory."
  
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• Color-Morphing Clams Could Inspire New Smartphone & TV Screens

  26-01-2016 15:39
  
  Iridescent cells in the flesh of giant clams could one day help scientists design more efficient solar panels, and television and smartphone screens that are easier on the eyes, researchers say. In addition, the researchers want to see if structures like those found in giant clams might improve the efficiency of solar cells.
  
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• 'Behemoth' Daddy Longlegs Discovered in Oregon

  26-01-2016 15:36
  
  Scientists have unearthed a monstrous new arachnid lurking in the woods of southwest Oregon — and it's a beast. The new daddy longlegs species, dubbed Cryptomaster behemoth, towers over other creatures of its kind. The Cryptomaster leviathan was discovered in 1969 at one location in the coastal town of Gold Beach, Oregon.
  
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• In the Con We Trust: A Q&A with Confidence Game Author Maria Konnikova

  26-01-2016 15:30 via rss.sciam.com
  
  Konnikova studies the art of the con—and what it reveals about every one of us
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Christmas tree worms have eyes that breathe, gills that see

  26-01-2016 15:00
  
  Christmas tree worms and other fan worms have improvised some of the oddest eyes.
  
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• Spanish court sentences captain of sunken Prestige oil tanker to two years

  26-01-2016 14:57
  Spain's Supreme Court sentenced the captain of the Prestige oil tanker, which sank off Spain's northwestern coast in 2002, covering thousands of kilometres of coastline in fuel oil, to two years in prison on Tuesday. The captain, Apostolos Mangouras, was convicted of recklessness resulting in catastrophic environmental damage, according to a statement by the court, overturning a previous sentence which cleared him of criminal responsibility. The new ruling opens the door to damage claims against
  
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• Professor uses lab to science-up a better beer for craft brewers

  26-01-2016 14:22 via cbc.ca
  
  ​Andrew MacIntosh understands beer in ways few others can comprehend — on the microscopic level, in its broader historical sweep, and in its sensual appeal.
  
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• Strange Superfast 'Cannonball' Star Likely Blasted from Supernova

  26-01-2016 13:53
  
  A star with an unusual history is racing through the galaxy at breakneck speed — most likely blasted away by a supernova and carrying traces of the exploded star. Kathryn Plant, a senior at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC), presented the new observations earlier this month at the American Astronomical Society's 227th meeting in Kissimee, Florida. "You're looking at this very, very, very rare star that's moving at cannonball velocity," study co-author Bruce Margon, an astrono
  
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• Don't Blame 'Planet Nine' for Earth's Mass Extinctions

  26-01-2016 13:53
  
  Some scientists have suggested that a big undiscovered body lying on the far outer reaches of the solar system could be responsible for many of the mass extinction events throughout Earth's history, by shaking up the distant comet repository known as the Oort Cloud and sending some its denizens screaming toward our planet. "I suspect it has something like zero effect on us," said Mike Brown of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena. Brown and lead author Konstantin Batygin,
  
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• Polar bear cub hangs on for ride near Churchill, Man.

  26-01-2016 13:00 via cbc.ca
  
  B.C. professional photographer Daisy Gilardini says she waited 117 hours to capture a unique moment near Churchill, Man., in which a polar bear cub tried to catch a ride on its mother's rear end.
  
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• Sri Lanka destroys biggest ever illegal ivory haul

  26-01-2016 12:00
  
  Sri Lanka's government on Tuesday destroyed its biggest ever illegal ivory haul in the first public crushing of poached tusks in South Asia, intended to send a stark message to smugglers.
  
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• Tesla boss sees bumpy road ahead for electric cars

  26-01-2016 10:37
  Electric car manufacturers will have to design futuristic vehicles to entice buyers in order to ride out the challenge of plunging oil prices, Tesla co-founder Elon Musk said Tuesday.
  
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• Scientists to announce "Doomsday Clock" time

  26-01-2016 08:12
  
  PALO ALTO, Calif. (AP) — Scientists behind a "Doomsday Clock" that measures the likelihood of a global cataclysm are set to announce Tuesday whether civilization is any closer or farther from disaster.
  
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• Avalanche educators target safety message at younger crowds

  26-01-2016 07:30
  
  MOUNT BAKER, Wash. (AP) — Walker Smith has been skiing in-bounds at resorts since he was young, but lately the Seattle teen has become more interested "in getting tracks where no one else has really gone."
  
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