Science news

• World's top scientists pledge to share all findings to fight Zika

  10-02-2016 23:05
  
  LONDON (Reuters) - Thirty of the world's leading scientific research institutions, journals and funders have pledged to share for free all data and expertise on Zika to speed up the fight against an outbreak of the viral disease spreading across the Americas.
  
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• Researchers find new Zika clues to birth defect in foetus study

  10-02-2016 23:03
  By Julie Steenhuysen CHICAGO (Reuters) - Researchers on Wednesday reported new evidence strengthening the association between Zika virus and a spike in birth defects, citing the presence of the virus in the brain of an aborted foetus of a European woman who became pregnant while living in Brazil. An autopsy of the foetus showed microcephaly or small head size, as well as severe brain injury and high levels of the Zika virus in fetal brain tissues, exceeding levels of the virus typically found in
  
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• Twitter user growth stalls in 4th quarter

  10-02-2016 23:01 via cbc.ca
  
  Twitter says the number of active users in the most recent quarter was flat compared to the previous quarter. That's the first time it hasn't seen sequential user growth since it went public in 2013.
  
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• LIGO makes gravitational wave announcement Thursday

  10-02-2016 23:00 via cbc.ca
  
  Following weeks of rumours that gravitational waves have finally been discovered, scientists are set to make a much-anticipated announcement Thursday morning.
  
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• Have gravitational waves been found? Scientists share news today

  10-02-2016 23:00 via cbc.ca
  
  Following weeks of rumours that gravitational waves have finally been discovered, scientists are set to make a much-anticipated announcement Thursday morning.
  
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• Rare gyrfalcon stares into camera in Churchill, Man.

  10-02-2016 22:40 via cbc.ca
  
  A bird that is rarely spotted is being seen by thousands in a video taken in Churchill, Man. and posted to Facebook.
  
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• Drinking Causes Gut Microbe Imbalance Linked to Liver Disease

  10-02-2016 21:45 via rss.sciam.com
  
  In addition to damaging the the organ directly, alcohol weakens naturally produced antibiotics, leaving the liver exposed to bacteria and disease
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Alberta squirrels may not survive warm winter, expert says

  10-02-2016 21:32 via cbc.ca
  
  Unseasonably warm temperatures in Southern Alberta could spell trouble for small critters and the larger carnivores that eat them, according to animal ecologist Jeffrey Lane.
  
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• Horses can read human facial expressions, study suggests

  10-02-2016 20:05 via cbc.ca
  
  A new study suggests horses may be able to read human facial expressions — especially anger.
  
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• Female suicide bombers kill over 60 people in northeast Nigeria - officials

  10-02-2016 19:56
  Two female suicide bombers killed more than 60 people at a camp for people displaced by an insurgency of the jihadist Boko Haram group in the northeast Nigerian town of Dikwa, military and emergency officials said on Wednesday. The attack occurred 85 km (50 miles) outside the capital of Borno state, centre of the seven-year insurgency, they said. The two female suicide bombers sneaked into an internally displaced persons (IDP) camp and detonated themselves in the middle of it, emergency official
  
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• Rise of human civilization tied to belief in punitive gods

  10-02-2016 19:00
  
  Beliefs in all-knowing, punitive deities may have fueled the growth of human civilizations.
  
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• Drones, robots and big data: High-tech farming is changing Canada's agriculture industry

  10-02-2016 18:33 via cbc.ca
  
  From robotic milking machines to data-gathering drones, industry watchers say technology is making agriculture more precise and efficient as farmers push for increased profits and yields.
  
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• Africa’s poison arrow beetles are key in traditional hunting method

  10-02-2016 18:30
  
  In the Kalahari of Namibia, some San people still hunt with a traditional method — arrows laced with poison taken from beetle larvae.
  
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• How to Hunt for Gravitational Waves [Slide Show]

  10-02-2016 18:00 via rss.sciam.com
  
  Various experiments seek different versions of this highly sought-after phenomenon
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Readers tussle over top science stories of 2015

  10-02-2016 17:59
  Readers tussle over the top spot in our top 25, questions about engineered vocal cords, and more in the February 20 Feedback.
  
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• In all sorts of circumstances, life finds a way

  10-02-2016 17:55
  Editor in Chief discusses the new marine habitats formed by human pollution and the alarming rise of the Zika virus.
  
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• Rise in marijuana in U.S. use not as high as previously reported

  10-02-2016 17:21
  Researchers report an estimated 12.5 percent of adults living in the United States use marijuana, but this research also shows that the rate of pot use did not double from 2002 to 2013 — as had been reported in the fall — but instead increased by about 20 percent. Meanwhile, the rate of problems related to the drug has remained steady.
  
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• Ancient Martian lakes may have harboured life, researchers say

  10-02-2016 17:20 via cbc.ca
  
  Deep water basins formed on Mars more than three billion years ago may have once been habitable, according to a new research paper which its authors say lends credibility to the theory that there was once life on the Red Planet.
  
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• Junior doctors' strike: The best of the placards poking fun at Jeremy Hunt and his contract

  10-02-2016 17:16
  Thousands of junior doctors in England went ahead with their second 24-hour walkout after last-ditch talks between the government and the British Medical Association (BMA) collapsed. Junior doctors will only offer emergency care during the 24-hour period.
  
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• Atherosclerosis: A short cut to inflammation

  10-02-2016 17:13
  The enzyme Dicer processes RNA transcripts, cutting them into short segments that regulate the synthesis of specific proteins. A research team has shown that Dicer promotes the development of atherosclerosis, thus identifying a new drug target.
  
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• Light, manganese to discover the source of submerged Roman marble

  10-02-2016 17:08
  The Roman Emperors used to spend their summers in the city of Baia, near Naples. With the passage of time, however, the majority of their luxury villas became immersed under water. Italian and Spanish researchers have now applied microscopic and geochemical techniques to confirm that the marble used to cover these ancient Roman buildings came from Carrara and other marble quarries in Turkey and Greece -- valuable information for archaeologists and historians.
  
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• Attention problems persist in childhood leukemia survivors treated with chemotherapy alone

  10-02-2016 17:07
  Pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) patients from the contemporary treatment era remain at risk for attention and learning problems later, researchers report. ALL is the most common childhood cancer and among the most curable. The study involved the largest and most comprehensive assessment to date of neurocognitive outcomes in pediatric ALL survivors treated with intensive chemotherapy alone rather than in combination with cranial radiation therapy.
  
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• Cryogenically frozen rabbit brain returned 'near-perfectly' from preservation

  10-02-2016 17:03
  A cryogenically frozen rabbit brain has been returned from preservation in near-perfect condition. Researchers behind the breakthrough say there is no reason their technique could not be applied to larger mammals, including cows and primates, for long-term cryogenic preservation. The team at 21st Century Medicine has been awarded the Small Mammal Brain Preservation Prize for this achievement.
  
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• Meteorite not responsible for killing man in India: NASA

  10-02-2016 16:51
  
  NASA on Wednesday said it was unlikely a meteorite was responsible for killing a man at a college campus in India last week, as local scientists continued to examine the mysterious object recovered from the scene.
  
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• In Yemen war, hospitals bombed to rubble, starvation spreads

  10-02-2016 16:00
  By Noah Browning DUBAI (Reuters) - Elderly Hamama Yousif was rushed to the main hospital in one of Yemen's largest cities after an artillery round lashed her chest with shrapnel, only to find that the doctors there had run out of the oxygen tanks needed to save her life. In a video captured by local news station Yemen Youth TV, worried relatives carry her, still talking, to almost every clinic and hospital in the war-torn city of Taiz - none had any oxygen - until motionless and dead, she was fi
  
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• Fukushima chief confident new disaster won't threaten clean-up

  10-02-2016 15:30
  
  The chief of Japan's shuttered Fukushima nuclear power plant warned Wednesday that the biggest risk the crippled facility faces is another major earthquake and tsunami -- though insisted the chaos of nearly five years ago won't be repeated.
  
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• Computers can qualify as drivers, U.S. tells Google

  10-02-2016 15:04 via cbc.ca
  
  U.S. vehicle safety regulators have said the artificial intelligence system piloting a self-driving Google car could be considered the driver under federal law, a major step toward ultimately winning approval for autonomous vehicles on the roads south of the border.
  
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• Asian scientists race to make Zika test kit, but lack of live sample a challenge

  10-02-2016 14:24
  By Aditya Kalra and Rujun Shen NEW DELHI/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Scientists in Asia are racing to put together detection kits for the Zika virus, with China on Thursday confirming its first case, but the researchers are challenged by the lack of a crucial element - a live sample of the virus. Zika, suspected of causing brain defects in more than 4,000 newborns in Brazil after spreading through much of the Americas, is a particular worry in South and Southeast Asia, where mosquito-borne tropical di
  
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• Did a meteorite kill a man in India?

  10-02-2016 14:17 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Did a meteorite kill a man in India?
  
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• Try giving up porn for Lent - it changed my life

  10-02-2016 14:10
  While the scientific community is yet to form a consensus over whether this type of compulsive behaviour can be described as an addiction – though the efforts of people like Dr Valerie Voon, a neuropsychiatrist at the University of Cambridge whose work involves comparing the brain patterns of porn users with those of substance abusers and gambling addicts, is laying the foundations for this area of research – there's enough anecdotal evidence to suggest that it's a real problem.
  
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• What Caused This Weird Crack to Appear in Michigan?

  10-02-2016 14:04
  
  A strange and sudden buckling of the earth in Michigan five years ago is now being explained as a limestone bulge, researchers reported today (Feb. 9). The upheaved rock and soil was discovered after a deep boom thundered through the forest near Birch Creek on Michigan's Upper Peninsula, north of Menominee.
  
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• Images probe artery-hardening plaques

  10-02-2016 14:00
  
  Zooming in on hardened arteries shows researchers which plaques pose heart attack risks.
  
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• Maths link to future locust dispersal

  10-02-2016 13:34
  
  (Reuters) - A mathematical model of locust swarms could help in the development of new strategies to control their devastating migration, according to British researchers.
  
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• Khomeini grandson loses appeal to stand in Iranian election

  10-02-2016 13:28
  By Bozorgmehr Sharafedin DUBAI (Reuters) - The grandson of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, founder of Iran's Islamic Republic, will not be allowed to stand in this month's election in Iran, the clerical vetting body said on Wednesday, in a blow to reformist forces in the country. Hassan Khomeini, 43, the first member of the Khomeini family to register for polls and an ally of President Hassan Rouhani, lost an appeal to the body against a ban. Hardliners fear Iranian voters will now be more inclined
  
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• New Star Trek TV Series Beams Up Bryan Fuller as Co-Creator

  10-02-2016 13:16
  
  Move over, James T. Kirk, "Star Trek" has another captain now. CBS Studios has tapped "Hannibal" creator Bryan Fuller — a veteran Trek writer — as a co-creator for its new Trek TV series launching in 2017. Fuller has written for "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" and "Star Trek: Voyager," and brings a deep appreciation of the "Star Trek" world to the new show, according to CBS Studios representatives.
  
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• Medium-Size Asteroid Strike Could Unleash a Mini Ice Age

  10-02-2016 13:16
  Such an impact on land (as opposed to at sea) could cause average global temperatures to plunge to ice age levels and lead to steep drops in precipitation and plant productivity, among other effects, researchers said. "These would not be pleasant times," Charles Bardeen, of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, said in December during a presentation at the annual fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in San Francisco. Bardeen and his colleagues modeled
  
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• Hundreds of Hidden Galaxies Glimpsed Behind Milky Way (Video)

  10-02-2016 13:16
  
  A new telescope view has revealed hundreds of galaxies that were previously obscured by the Milky Way's bulk. Scientists used an Australian radio telescope famous for assisting with the moon landings to peer through the gas and dust of the Milky Way, and uncovered 883 galaxies hidden behind it — one-third of which were never observed before. This new view of the region could help explain something called the Great Attractor, which is a mysterious spot in the universe whose strong gravity p
  
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• Support grows for a return to ice giants Uranus and Neptune

  10-02-2016 12:30
  
  Thirty years ago, Voyager 2 cruised past Uranus and then on to Neptune. Now planetary scientists think it’s time to go back.
  
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• Indian scientists express doubt over meteorite death attribution

  10-02-2016 12:10
  
  NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian scientists have expressed doubt that a man in the southern state of Tamil Nadu was the first person to have been confirmed killed by a meteorite strike, as the state's top official has declared.
  
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• Netflix border crackdown cuts off some customers, but unblocking services fight back

  10-02-2016 11:00 via cbc.ca
  
  Netflix really is cracking down on cross-border watchers. Meanwhile, unblocking companies that aid virtual travellers are fighting back. Some are even declaring victory in the battle to keep Netflix’s borders wide open.
  
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• Canadian security company uncovers massive digital ad fraud scheme

  10-02-2016 11:00 via cbc.ca
  
  A New Brunswick online security company has uncovered a multi-million dollar scheme to bilk companies that advertise online through Google and Twitter.
  
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• ASTRO-H X-ray telescope aims to solve black hole mysteries

  10-02-2016 11:00 via cbc.ca
  
  A Japanese space telescope with X-ray vision sharpened by Canadian technology heads into orbit on Friday. Canadian scientists believe it will help them solve longstanding mysteries about black holes and supernovas.
  
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• South Korea suspends operations at joint factory park with North

  10-02-2016 10:18
  By Ju-min Park and Jack Kim SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea said on Wednesday it would suspend operations at a jointly run factory park just inside North Korea following the North's long-range rocket launch over the weekend, cutting off an important source of revenue for the impoverished North. North Korea's Feb. 7 rocket launch put a satellite into orbit, although the United States and South Korea view the launch as a ballistic missile test. South Korean Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo told a
  
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• Court halts Obama's key climate plan

  10-02-2016 10:16 via bbc.co.uk
  
  President Obama's plans to regulate emissions of carbon dioxide from US power plants are stalled by the Supreme Court.
  
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• Japan imposes sanctions on North Korea after satellite launch

  10-02-2016 10:13
  TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan said on Wednesday it was imposing sanctions on North Korea after a satellite launch seen by Washington and its allies including Tokyo as cover for development of ballistic missile technology that could be used to deliver a nuclear weapon. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference that remittances of money to North Korea in principle would be forbidden. ...
  
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• 13 million pupils in OECD nations 'failing at 15': report

  10-02-2016 09:44
  
  Around 13 million pupils in OECD countries have failed to attain a sufficient level of proficiency in either reading, maths or science by the time they reach 15, according to a new study released by the think-tank on Wednesday.
  
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• Fish, other mosquitoes now warriors in Zika battle

  10-02-2016 09:27
  
  With larva-chomping fish and genetically modified insects, Latin Americans are deploying legions of little helpers to destroy mosquitoes carrying the Zika virus in the world's latest mass health scare.
  
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• Legal breakthrough for Google car

  10-02-2016 09:11 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Google's self-driving technology should be considered a legal driver, the US highways authority says.
  
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• Potent Pot: Marijuana Is Stronger Now Than It Was 20 Years Ago

  10-02-2016 08:07
  When the researchers looked at the ratio of THC to CBD, they found that marijuana in 1995 had a THC level that was 14 times its CBD level. "We can see that the ratio of THC to CBD has really, really increased and climbed so much higher," said lead study author Mahmoud A. ElSohly, a professor of pharmaceutics at the University of Mississippi. The researchers also found that, among the cannabis plant material seized over the last four years of the study, there had been an increase in the samples o
  
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• Your Brain May Work Differently in Winter Than Summer

  10-02-2016 08:06
  Researchers found that when people in the study did certain cognitive tasks, the ways that the brain utilizes its resources to complete those tasks changed with the seasons. Although people's actual performance on the cognitive tasks did not change with the seasons, "the brain activity for the ongoing process varie[d]," said study author Gilles Vandewalle, of the University of Liege in Belgium.
  
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