Science news

• Everything Is Awesome About These New Lego Space Sets

  09-02-2016 23:15
  
  Whether you love building model observatories or helping the Avengers save the universe, there's a Lego set that caters to your needs. You can find the first, an observatory, in Lego's "Lakeside Lodge" ($29.99), a 3-in-1 set. It can be rebuilt into an observatory or a small cabin.
  
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• U.S. looks to shore up allies' support to battle Islamic State

  09-02-2016 23:07
  By Phil Stewart BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The United States said on Tuesday it hoped allies demonstrate a willingness to ramp up their contributions to the fight against Islamic State and to deterring Russia in eastern Europe during high-level defence talks in Brussels this week. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said he plans to outline America's plan to accelerate the campaign against Islamic State to defence chiefs from more than two dozen allies at talks on Thursday. The United States has long-standin
  
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• Sally Ride Talks Space in Dazzling Animated Interview

  09-02-2016 23:05
  
  Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, answered a lot of dumb questions from the media — and in this beautifully animated audio interview with Gloria Steinem, she discusses her responses, the future of spaceflight and what she felt during launch. The two women recorded the interview only months after Ride flew to space on June 18, 1983, and it was discovered in a collection of Steinem's papers at Smith College. The first woman in space was the Russian cosmonaut Valentina Teres
  
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• White House Proposes $19 Billion NASA Budget

  09-02-2016 23:04
  
  The Obama Administration's final budget request, released Feb. 9, offers $19 billion for NASA in fiscal year 2017, a decrease of $300 million from the agency’s final 2016 budget. The budget, as proposed, would shift some funds from NASA's exploration programs to aeronautics and space technology, in addition to the overall cuts, while also shifting funds within the agency's science account. The budget request is likely to face strong opposition in Congress, where House and Senate leaders ha
  
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• Record 98 shark attacks worldwide in 2015

  09-02-2016 22:52
  A record of 98 shark attacks took place worldwide last year, the highest number ever recorded, a US university said Tuesday, citing warmer waters and more beachgoers as possible explanations.
  
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• Iraqi PM calls for major cabinet reshuffle

  09-02-2016 22:39
  Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Tuesday he would reshuffle his cabinet to replace ministers appointed on the basis of political affiliations with technocrats. "Out of my responsibility, the greater interest and the requirements of the current period to lead the country to safety, I call for a radical cabinet reshuffle to include professionals, technocrats and academics," Abadi said in a televised speech which focused mainly on economic challenges facing major OPEC oil exporter Iraq.
  
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• New thin film transistor may lead to flexible devices

  09-02-2016 22:24
  An engineering research team has invented a new transistor that could revolutionize thin-film electronic devices.Their findings could open the door to the development of flexible electronic devices with applications as wide-ranging as display technology to medical imaging and renewable energy production.The transistor is easily scaled and has power-handling capabilities at least 10 times greater than commercially produced thin film transistors.
  
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• Behind the levees: Flood risk can be higher with levees than without them

  09-02-2016 22:24
  The long-term damage of levees can be far worse for those living behind them than if those levees were not there, a case study of the Sny Island levee district found.
  
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• Figuring out why artificial joints fail

  09-02-2016 22:18
  Using an advanced technology, research has begun a retrospective study to analyze joint implants that fail in the hope of improving future implants and preventing or decreasing the incidence of joint replacement failure.
  
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• Companies must adapt internal communication as demographics change, study finds

  09-02-2016 22:18
  As baby boomers retire and an increasing number of millennials enter the workforce, internal communicators must adapt to accommodate the shift of generations, the rise of internal social media and the development of metrics to determine employee engagement, according to a new study.
  
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• Americans recognize 'past presidents' who never were, study finds

  09-02-2016 22:18
  Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin, Hubert Humphrey and some guy named "Thomas Moore" are among the names that many Americans mistakenly identify as belonging to a past president of the United States, finds a news study by memory researchers.
  
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• U.S. could limit collection of items left at Vietnam War memorial

  09-02-2016 22:15
  By Ian Simpson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. National Park Service is proposing to limit the commemorative items it keeps from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial as it faces a potential space crunch from more than 400,000 tribute objects, the agency said on Tuesday. It is best known for the sunken Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, where the names of more than 58,000 service personnel who died from 1959 to 1975 are engraved. The National Park Service said in a statement that it was seeking public comm
  
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• Art meets science at Canada's home for nuclear physics

  09-02-2016 22:15 via cbc.ca
  
  Artist-in-residence at TRIUMF, Canada's national laboratory for particle and nuclear physics, aims to bridge the divide between science and society.
  
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• Brain Activity for Attention and Memory Tasks Changes with the Seasons

  09-02-2016 21:30 via rss.sciam.com
  
  New research shows brain function associated with attention peaks during the summer and dips in winter
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Flint mayor demands lead pipes be replaced after scandal

  09-02-2016 21:07
  
  Replacing 15,000 lead pipes is the only way that residents of Flint, Michigan can feel safe again in the wake of a tainted water scandal, the US city's mayor said Tuesday.
  
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• North Korea satellite achieves stable orbit -U.S. official

  09-02-2016 21:06
  A satellite launched by North Korea at the weekend has now stabilized in its orbit around the Earth in a step forward from a previous launch in 2012, a U.S. official and a second source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. The satellite was initially tumbling in orbit but has now stabilized, making it more successful than one launched in 2012, which failed to achieve a stable orbit, said the first source, a U.S. official who did not want to be identified by name. The U.S. government-backed
  
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• Urban heat islands exist even in the Arctic

  09-02-2016 21:00
  
  Arctic cities are a source of warming in the far north. Unlike midlatitude heat islands, poorly insulated buildings — not the sun — are a primary source.
  
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• Scientists discover how breast cancer cells spread from blood vessels

  09-02-2016 20:08
  Researchers have identified a protein that controls how breast cancer cells spread around the body, according to a new study. This study sheds light on how cancer cells leave the blood vessels to travel to a new part of the body, using a technique that allows researchers to map how cancer cells interact and exchange information with cells that make up the blood vessels.
  
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• It doesn't 'get better' for some bullied LGBT youths

  09-02-2016 20:08
  In the first study to examine the severity of LGBT bullying over time and its impact on mental health, researchers found that while most LGBT teens are experiencing relief in bullying, about a third are experiencing severe victimizations. This harassment and assault will often lead to lasting mental health problems such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.
  
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• Car roof and battery made with byproducts of paper production

  09-02-2016 20:08
  Swedish researchers have produced the world's first model car with a roof and battery made from wood-based carbon fiber -- a lightweight and renewable alternative to metals and other composites.
  
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• New guideline for treatment of prolonged seizures in children and adults

  09-02-2016 20:07
  Status epilepticus -- continuous or rapid sequential seizure activity for 30 minutes or more -- is a medical emergency with a high mortality rate in both children and adults. Prompt and effective treatment is key; therefore the American Epilepsy Society (AES) has released a new guideline to help physicians, hospitals, and health systems treat patients effectively.
  
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• Eye abnormalities in infants with microcephaly associated with Zika virus

  09-02-2016 20:07
  Vision-threatening eye abnormalities in infants in Brazil with microcephaly (a birth defect characterized by an abnormally small head) may be associated with presumed intrauterine infection with Zika virus, according to a study.
  
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• Rare bumble bee may be making a comeback in Pacific northwest

  09-02-2016 19:21
  Bombus occidentalis used to be the most common bumble bee species in the Pacific Northwest, but in the mid 1990s it became one of the rarest. Now, according to a new article it may be making a comeback.
  
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• Homeownership a 'dream deferred' for millennial generation

  09-02-2016 19:21
  Millennials face significant hurdles in their quest for homeownership, said a professor of agricultural and consumer economics and co-author of a new paper examining homeownership trends among those born between 1980-2000.
  
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• Mysterious Menominee crack is unusual geological pop-up feature

  09-02-2016 19:20
  Seismologists studying a massive crack in the ground that appeared north of Menominee, Michigan in 2010 now think they know what the unusual feature might be.
  
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• Modeling robust use of pesticides

  09-02-2016 19:20
  Researchers propose adaptive control techniques to model pest dynamics and management as a control system. As population growth, greater food consumption, competition for land use, and climate change pose challenges to world food production, managing loss of crop due to pests and weeds becomes increasingly important. While chemical pesticides offer effective means for control, potential loss of crop yield is still significant, as is cost.
  
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• Identifying plant, animal DNA switches much faster, cheaper

  09-02-2016 19:20
  Ecological epigenetics has now been further advanced thanks, to the development of a new research technique. Epigenetic research has grown immensely as a field of research all across the world. In humans, for example, it proved to be connected to the development of cancer cells and to environmental factors affecting the fetus during pregnancy. The latter includes factors such as smoking or the distress of wars. Interest in epigenetics has also recently entered the field of ecological and evoluti
  
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• Ocean's plastics offer a floating fortress to a mess of microbes

  09-02-2016 19:12
  
  Microbes take up residence on ocean plastics, potentially causing changes in ocean environments.
  
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• Aging may worsen the effects of a high-salt diet

  09-02-2016 18:26
  Age significantly impaired the ability of rats to get rid of excess sodium when exposed to a high-salt diet, according to research. Findings could have implications for salt consumption in the elderly, say researchers, and suggest that older people could be at greater risk for the negative consequences of eating a high-salt diet.
  
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• Tiny diatoms boast enormous strength

  09-02-2016 18:23
  Diatoms are single-celled algae organisms, around 30 to 100 millionths of a meter in diameter, that are ubiquitous throughout the oceans. These creatures are encased within a hard shell shaped like a wide, flattened cylinder -- like a tambourine -- that is made of silica. Researchers have recently found that these shells have the highest specific strength -- the strength at which a structure breaks with respect to its density -- of any known biological material, including bone, antlers, and teet
  
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• Interruption of radiation therapy risks cancer recurrence

  09-02-2016 18:23
  Cancer patients who miss two or more radiation therapy sessions have a worse outcome than fully compliant patients, investigators have found. The study evaluated 1,227 patients scheduled for courses of external beam radiation therapy for cancers of the head and neck, breast, lung, cervix uterus or rectum from 2007 to 2012.
  
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• The big dig: Global software solution for road, water and sewer repairs

  09-02-2016 18:17
  Researchers have developed an innovative method of tracking the many issues involved with the repair and renewal of road, water and sewer networks.
  
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• 'Molecular movie' opens door to new cancer treatments

  09-02-2016 18:17
  An international team of scientists has produced a 'structural movie' revealing the step-by-step creation of an important naturally occurring chemical in the body that plays a role in some cancers.
  
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• Engineers develop hybrid technology to create biorenewable nylon

  09-02-2016 18:17
  Engineers are combining the tools of biology and chemistry to create new biorenewable products.
  
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• Carbon reductions won't hinder Chinese growth

  09-02-2016 18:17
  China's new efforts to price carbon could lower the country's carbon dioxide emissions significantly without impeding economic development over the next three decades, new research indicates.
  
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• Ancient gene network helps plants adapt to their environments

  09-02-2016 18:17
  A team of scientists has discovered the purpose of a highly conserved genetic tool that is present in both mosses and flowering plants, organisms whose common ancestor dates back 450 million years. The gene network, which comprising a snippet of non-coding genetic material called a small RNA and the protein it regulates, has been used over the eons to make plants more sensitive to environmental cues and facilitate robust, yet flexible, responses to those cues.
  
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• Wound-healing intestinal bacteria: Like shrubs after a forest fire

  09-02-2016 18:15
  In injured mouse intestines, specific types of bacteria step forward to promote healing, scientists have found. Potentially, some of these microbes could be exploited as treatments for conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease, they say.
  
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• The universe's primordial soup flowing at CERN

  09-02-2016 18:15
  Researchers have recreated the universe's primordial soup in miniature format by colliding lead atoms with extremely high energy in the 27 km long particle accelerator. The primordial soup is a so-called quark-gluon plasma and researchers have measured its liquid properties with great accuracy at the LHC's top energy.
  
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• Study compares outcomes at VA hospitals vs. non-VA hospitals

  09-02-2016 18:15
  Among older men with heart attack, heart failure or pneumonia, hospitalization at Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals, compared with hospitalization at non-VA hospitals, was associated with lower 30-day all-cause mortality rates for heart attack and heart failure, and higher 30-day all-cause readmission rates for all three conditions, both nationally and within similar geographic areas, although absolute differences between these outcomes were small, according to a study.
  
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• Robotically driven system could reduce cost of discovering drug, target interactions

  09-02-2016 18:15
  The first robotically driven experimentation system to determine the effects of a large number of drugs on many proteins, reducing the number of necessary experiments by 70 percent, has been created by scientists.
  
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• Link between stress fracture injuries, genes found

  09-02-2016 18:15
  Researchers have successfully identified how certain genes can contribute towards a person's susceptibility to stress fracture injuries. This research provides a platform for further research into providing a personalized health approach to this common sports injury.
  
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• Ten fingers not needed for fast typing

  09-02-2016 17:24
  The number of fingers does not determine typing speed, new study shows. People using self-taught typing strategies were found to be as fast as trained typists.
  
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• Cutting prison sentences could reduce spread of HIV

  09-02-2016 17:24
  Reducing the number of men who go to prison could help curb the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections in a community. A new computer model suggests that reducing incarceration in a community may also reduce the number of sexual partners men and women have, therefore reducing the spread of sexually transmitted infections.
  
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• Study accurately dates coral loss at Great Barrier Reef

  09-02-2016 17:04
  The timing of significant Great Barrier Reef coral loss captured by a series of historical photos has been accurately determined for the first time. Researchers said the photos were a powerful visual tool often used to highlight the recent decline of the Great Barrier Reef.
  
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• Stereotypes about Native Americans and alcohol debunked

  09-02-2016 17:04
  In contrast to enduring stories about extraordinarily high rates of alcohol misuse among Native Americans, researchers have found that Native Americans' binge and heavy drinking rates actually match those of whites. The groups differed regarding abstinence: Native Americans were more likely to abstain from alcohol use.
  
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• Researchers illuminate 'dark side' of the transcriptome

  09-02-2016 17:04
  A new way of mapping the collection of RNA read-outs that are expressed by a cell's active genes has been devised to shed additional light on the role of RNAs in cells. These 'dark' variations in RNA likely have roles in gene regulation across tissues, development, and in human diseases. The team will use the now-free software to interrogate cells in brain disorders, cancers, and other illnesses.
  
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• Professors use cadaver DNA to advance genetics literacy in medical curricula

  09-02-2016 17:03
  Cadavers have long been one of the most important resources for anatomy teaching in medical school. Now, they are also at the forefront of cutting-edge genetics teaching, thanks to some innovative thinking.
  
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• How stable is the West Antarctic Ice Sheet?

  09-02-2016 17:01
  A future warming of the Southern Ocean caused by rising greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere may severely disrupt the stability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. The result would be a rise in the global sea level by several meters.
  
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• Low Canadian dollar good news for tech startups selling in U.S.

  09-02-2016 17:00 via cbc.ca
  
  Canadian technology startups with clients in the U.S. are seeing a boost in profits from the low loonie.
  
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• The Nullarbor Plain's ancient forests revealed

  09-02-2016 16:54
  Australia's Nullarbor Plain is one of the driest landscapes in the country, but new research suggests it was once forest that received up to four times as much rain as it gets now.
  
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