Science news

• VIDEO: Nasa releases Apollo 10 'weird music'

  23-02-2016 23:53 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Astronauts in the 1960s say they heard "weird music" coming from the far side of the moon.
  
  Read more

• U.S., China see progress on North Korea U.N. resolution

  23-02-2016 23:45
  China and the United States signalled on Tuesday they were near agreement on a U.N. resolution against North Korea for its Jan. 6 nuclear test. "Important progress has been made in the consultations and we are looking at the possibility of reaching agreement on a draft resolution and passing it in the near future," Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at a joint news conference with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. China and the United States have not entirely seen eye to eye on how strong t
  
  Read more

• Satellite operator SES says interested in used SpaceX rocket

  23-02-2016 23:42
  
  PORT CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - Satellite operator SES SA is interested in buying a used Falcon 9 rocket from Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, for a future launch, the chief technology officer for SES said on Tuesday.
  
  Read more

• Mozilla campaign encourages people to understand encryption

  23-02-2016 23:37 via cbc.ca
  
  Digital encryption has made headlines recently, with a U.S. court ordering Apple to help unlock an iPhone used by one of the shooters in last December's attack in San Bernardino, Calif. Amidst this, a new campaign has launched to explain encryption technology to the public.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Rock ant decisions swayed by six-legged social media

  23-02-2016 21:30
  
  When rock ants start influencing each other with one-on-one social contact, a colony’s collective decisions can change.
  
  Read more

• Kerry critical of South China Sea militarization ahead of talks

  23-02-2016 21:18
  By Arshad Mohammed and Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The militarization of facilities in the South China Sea does not help resolve maritime claims there, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said before he was to meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday. On Monday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry struck a combative tone ahead of Wang's visit by saying China's South China Sea military deployments are no different from U.S. deployments on Hawaii. China claims most of the South China
  
  Read more

• Kerry issues warning as Syrian parties back halt to fighting

  23-02-2016 21:01
  By Tom Perry and Patricia Zengerle BEIRUT/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and rebel groups have accepted a plan for a cessation of hostilities to begin on Saturday and the United States warned it would be hard to hold the country together if the fighting does not stop. With hostilities reported on several fronts, rebels backed by Saudi Arabia expressed doubts about the proposal, which excludes attacks by the Syrian army and its Russian backers on the jih
  
  Read more

• Astronaut Ron Garan Joins Balloon-Based Space Tourism Company

  23-02-2016 20:56
  
  Arizona-based World View Enterprises, which aims to begin crewed operational flights by the end of 2017, has tapped Ron Garan as its chief pilot, the company announced today (Feb. 23). "The name of the company is 'World View' for a reason," said Garan, who flew on the 2008 STS-124 mission of the space shuttle Discovery and spent six months aboard the International Space Station in 2011. "They share a belief that I have — that seeing the planet from the vantage point that you'll b
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Great Barrier Reef acidification predictions get worse

  23-02-2016 20:50
  
  New simulations suggest that ocean acidification poses an even greater threat to the Great Barrier Reef than suspected.
  
  Read more

• California condors reach key survival milestone in the wild

  23-02-2016 20:48
  
  BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A captive breeding program that at one time included every living California condor has passed a key milestone in helping North America's largest bird return to the wild.
  
  Read more

• Mars chocolate bar recall: some famous precedents

  23-02-2016 20:45
  
  The international recall of millions of Dutch-made chocolate bars by US chocolate giant Mars is just the latest high-profile case of a major food brand being pulled due to a health scare
  
  Read more

• Search narrows for Planet Nine

  23-02-2016 20:25
  
  US astronomers announced last month they may have found a ninth planet beyond Neptune, but conceded they had no idea where on an estimated 10,000-20,000-year orbit it might be.
  
  Read more

• Australia's Barrier Reef at greater risk than thought, study says

  23-02-2016 19:25
  
  Australia's Great Barrier Reef (GBR), the world's largest coral bank, is at greater risk than previously thought of dissolving as climate change renders the oceans more acidic, researchers said Tuesday.
  
  Read more

• Large space rock burns up over Atlantic

  23-02-2016 19:13 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The biggest fireball since the Chelyabinsk explosion has plunged through the atmosphere over the Atlantic Ocean.
  
  Read more

• Extinct car-sized 'armadillo' has some close living relatives

  23-02-2016 19:00 via cbc.ca
  
  Giant armadillo-like creatures that lumbered across the plains of South America until around 10,000 years ago have some close living relatives, to scientists' surprise.
  
  Read more

• Corals need to take their vitamin C

  23-02-2016 19:00
  
  Newly settled corals use vitamin C to help build their stony skeletons, researchers propose.
  
  Read more

• Western University researcher's work helps hockey goalies stop five hole shots

  23-02-2016 18:55 via cbc.ca
  
  Every hero has an Achilles' heel and for hockey goaltenders it's the space between their skates. But new pads based on research from Western University could help to close that gap and make it easier goalies to stop pucks.
  
  Read more

• Gorilla born by rare caesarean section delivery at British zoo

  23-02-2016 18:39
  
  LONDON (Reuters) - A baby gorilla has been delivered by a rare caesarean section at a British zoo in an operation performed by a hospital gynaecologist, the zoo said on Tuesday.
  
  Read more

• Are Genetic Weapons the Best Tools to Fight Zika Virus? (Op-Ed)

  23-02-2016 18:38
  David O'Brochta has no conflicts of interest regarding the content of this piece. The unexpected risks unborn children appear to face from the Zika virus have drawn renewed attention to the importance of mosquito control in public health, but the Zika outbreak does not necessarily justify the immediate application of new — and relatively untested — mosquito controls. Mosquito control today involves a combination of chemical insecticide applications to kill adults and larvae, natural
  
  Read more

• Mars recalls products after plastic found in chocolates

  23-02-2016 18:06
  
  Confectionery giant Mars has recalled some of its most popular chocolates in the UK after a piece of plastic was found in one of its products.
  
  Read more

• Gulf oil spill could hasten corrosion of shipwrecks

  23-02-2016 17:53
  
  Oil from the Deepwater Horizon disaster could hasten the corrosion of historical shipwrecks in the Gulf of Mexico, new studies of marine microbes suggest.
  
  Read more

• Militarization does not help resolve S. China Sea claims - Kerry

  23-02-2016 17:51
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The militarization of facilities in the South China Sea does not help efforts to resolve maritime claims there, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said before he was to meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday. The United States is "encouraging the peaceful resolution of competing maritime claims in the South China Sea – a goal that is definitely not helped by the militarization of facilities in that region," Kerry told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
  
  Read more

• Young Adults Ignore Stroke Symptoms That Could Save Their Lives (Op-Ed)

  23-02-2016 17:45
  
  Dr. David Liebeskind is director of outpatient stroke and neurovascular programs and director of the Neurovascular Imaging Research Core at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. About every 40 seconds, someone has a stroke in the United States, according to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention — and from the moment the first symptoms occur, the clock is ticking. Medical professionals refer to the first 3 hours after the onset of a stroke as the "golden window." Those who receive
  
  Read more

• 10 Reasons New York Is 'Greener' Than California (Op-Ed)

  23-02-2016 17:45
  
  Phil Newell writes on the intersection of climate, science and clean energy for Nexus Media. Newell contributed this article, a response to "10 Reasons California Is 'Greener' Than New York," to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Frank Sinatra, the epitome of cool, said that if you can make it in New York City, you can make it anywhere.
  
  Read more

• 10 Reasons California Is 'Greener' than New York (Op-Ed)

  23-02-2016 17:45
  
  Deaton contributed this article, a response to "10 Reasons NY is 'Greener' than California" to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. "Go West, young man," wrote Horace Greeley. Some young Americans did indeed head west, to California, where they enjoyed surfing, sunshine and salsa.
  
  Read more

• Monster Cyclone Winston Seen from Space (Photos)

  23-02-2016 17:31
  
  Satellite photos give a bird's-eye view of Tropical Cyclone Winston, the powerful storm that battered the Pacific Island nation of Fiji over the weekend.
  
  Read more

• Mars And Snickers Bars Recalled Across Europe

  23-02-2016 17:30
  
  The maker of Mars and Snickers has recalled chocolate bars in 55 countries after pieces of plastic were found in its products. In the UK, Mars Funsize and Milky Way Funsize bars, Snickers Miniatures, some variety packs and Celebrations boxes with best before dates ranging from 8 May 2016 and 2 October 2016 are affected by the recall, and should not be eaten. Mars UK said in a statement: "This is an isolated incident.
  
  Read more

• Mars recalls Dutch-made chocolates from 55 countries

  23-02-2016 17:20
  
  The recall "only involves the products that are made in the Netherlands", at the Mars factory in the southern town of Veghel, Eline Bijveld, Mars corporate affairs coordinator for the Netherlands ...
  
  Read more

• Climate 'carbon budget' soon maxed out: study

  23-02-2016 17:14
  
  The window of opportunity for humanity to cap global warming by slashing greenhouse gases is closing faster than previously thought, according to a study released Tuesday.
  
  Read more

• Scientists Isolate Antibodies That Fight Ebola

  23-02-2016 16:49
  
  In a new study, researchers took antibodies from an Ebola patient who showed a particularly strong immune response against the virus, isolated the groups of antibodies that they suspected would be the most effective in fighting the virus, and then used these antibodies to treat mice that were infected with the virus. "What we were trying to do was understand the antibody response in survivors," said Laura Walker, a co-author of the study and a senior scientist at Adimab, a biopharmaceutical comp
  
  Read more

• Small Weight Loss Leads to Big Health Gains

  23-02-2016 16:48
  Losing just 5 percent of your body weight can have significant positive effects on your health, a new small study finds. In the study, people who lost 5 percent of their body weight were found to have improvements in several risk factors for heart disease and type 2 diabetes, including how well their bodies reacted to the hormone insulin, and how well certain cells in the pancreas functioned.
  
  Read more

• Come on, Already! Impatience Linked to Chromosome Length

  23-02-2016 16:48
  Impatient people may be more likely to have shorter telomeres, parts of human chromosomes that that tend to get shorter as people age, according to a new study. Previous research has shown that people with shorter telomeres may be more likely to develop common diseases associated with aging — such as cancers, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases — compared with people who have longer telomeres, the researchers said. The new study shows for the first time that impatience is linke
  
  Read more

• HPV Rate in Teen Girls Drops More Than 60 Percent

  23-02-2016 16:47
  The prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) infections among teenage girls in the United States has dropped by more than 60 percent since the vaccine against the cancer-causing virus was introduced a decade ago, according to a new study. The researchers found that, within six years of the vaccine's introduction in 2006, the prevalence of HPV among girls ages 14 to 19 decreased by 64 percent. The new results suggest that the HPV vaccine "is a very effective vaccine," said lead study author Dr. L
  
  Read more

• Mars recalls Dutch-made chocolate bars from 55 nations

  23-02-2016 16:37
  
  The recall "only involves the products that are made in the Netherlands", at the Mars factory in the southern town of Veghel, Eline Bijveld, Mars corporate affairs coordinator for the Netherlands ...
  
  Read more

• Underwater Photographer of the Year 2016: Breathtaking photos from under the sea

  23-02-2016 16:22
  'Gold' by Davide Lopresti also came first place in the Macro category. "Weary of shooting sharks head-on, and keen to avoid diver's bubbles in my shot, I decided to turn away from the peak action and the crowds it attracts.
  
  Read more

• Niger opposition rejects initial election results, citing fraud

  23-02-2016 15:59
  Opposition parties in Niger on Tuesday rejected initial results from Sunday's presidential election that showed incumbent Mahamadou Issoufou in the lead, calling them fraudulent. Provisional results from 20 of the West African country's 308 municipalities gave Issoufou 40.18 percent of the vote, more than 10 percentage points ahead of his closest rival. "These results are completely contrary to what was expressed at the ballot box," said Amadou Boubacar Cisse, an election candidate and spokesman
  
  Read more

• 'Disgusted' Sydney medallist calls for Rio Olympics boycott

  23-02-2016 15:46
  
  Germany's sailor of the year Heiko Kroeger is horrified by the 'disgusting' water quality he experienced in Rio de Janeiro and says his countrymen should boycott the Olympic and Paralympic sailing events.
  
  Read more

• Body Odor Is Less Repulsive When It Comes from "One of Us"

  23-02-2016 15:45 via rss.sciam.com
  
  New research shows that our feelings of disgust depend on group membership
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
  Read more

• Mars recalls chocolates in European countries

  23-02-2016 15:23
  
  A Mars and a Snickers bar can be seen in Berlin on February 23, 2016
  
  Read more

• Dreamlike Seahorse Picture Snags Top Prize

  23-02-2016 15:20
  
  Lopresti's striking photo of a spiny seahorse in waters near Trieste, Italy, rose above submissions from entrants in 54 countries in the the annual Underwater Photographer of the Year (UPY) contest. The image, titled "Gold," also claimed first place in the contest's macro photography category. Motion blur in the waves conveys the undulation of moving water, while the sharply focused and brilliantly yellow seahorse's head and body emerge from the deep blue sea surrounding it.
  
  Read more

• Scientists Find 8 New Species of Spider with Whiplike Legs

  23-02-2016 15:19
  
  A pair of elongated, whiplike legs that are actually sophisticated environment sensors distinguish an unusual arachnid known as the whip spider, also called the tailless whip scorpion. Scientists recently described eight new species of this long-legged spider that are native to Brazil, nearly doubling the number of known species in the genus Charinus. Thanks to the new species discoveries, Brazil now boasts the greatest diversity of whip spiders in the world.
  
  Read more

• Zika Awakens Debate over Legal and Safe Abortion in Latin America

  23-02-2016 15:15 via rss.sciam.com
  
  The link between Zika virus in pregnant women and microcephaly brings to center stage the topic of abortion in the region
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
  Read more

• 'Space Archaeologists' Show Spike in Looting at Egypt's Ancient Sites

  23-02-2016 15:09
  
  As economic and political instability rocked Egypt, looters increasingly plundered the country's archaeological sites, leaving holes across the nation's ancient landscapes. That's the trend reported today in the journal Antiquity by archaeologists who used satellite images to monitor sites in Egypt from 2002 to 2013. For the last several years, "space archaeologist" Sarah Parcak, an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, has pored over satellite images to
  
  Read more

• MasterCard to bring facial recognition payment software to Canada

  23-02-2016 14:43 via cbc.ca
  
  Starting this summer, Canadian MasterCard holders with smartphones will be able to pay for their online purchases by taking a selfie or stamping their fingerprint on the screen instead of punching in a pin or a password.
  
  Read more

• Cash, debit or selfie? MasterCard to roll out facial recognition technology for payments

  23-02-2016 14:43 via cbc.ca
  
  Starting this summer, Canadian MasterCard holders with smartphones will be able to pay for their online purchases by taking a selfie or stamping their fingerprint on the screen instead of punching in a pin or a password.
  
  Read more

• New York Toy Fair 2016: What We'd Take Home

  23-02-2016 14:30
  
  The annual New York Toy Fair is a massive opportunity for toy manufacturers to show off their newest and coolest items to retailers and the press. Here at Space.com, Toy Fair is one of our favorite yearly events, because we're suckers for space- and science-fiction-themed toys, and because we love to see the increasing number of science kits and cool tech toys that are appearing every year. This year, we saw tons of toys from the "Star Wars" universe (including a zoo of BB-8s), toys and games ce
  
  Read more

• Homesteading in Space: White House Science Office Seeks Sci-Fi Inspiration

  23-02-2016 14:30
  
  Roughly 70 space scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, along with storytellers, artists, directors, and producers met to show their interest in science fiction and space exploration with a view toward future "homesteading" in space. Other co-sponsors were the National Academy of Sciences, Science & Entertainment Exchange, and the Museum of Science Fiction.
  
  Read more

• Google Compare comparison-shopping site shutting down

  23-02-2016 14:23 via cbc.ca
  
  Google is shuttering Google Compare, its U.S. comparison-shopping site for auto insurance, credit cards and mortgages after one year, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.
  
  Read more

• Sea levels rising at fastest pace in 2,800 years: study

  23-02-2016 14:22
  
  The world's oceans are rising at a faster rate than any time in the past 2,800 years, and might even have fallen without the influence of human-driven climate change, researchers say.
  
  Read more

• Pollution link to 40,000 deaths a year

  23-02-2016 14:20 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Air pollution contributes to about 40,000 early deaths a year in the UK, doctors warn, with tobacco, deodorants and wood-burning stoves among the causes.
  
  Read more

Follow @ScienceUKnews on Twitter!