Science news

• Wow! Total Solar Eclipse Seen from 1 Million Miles Away (Video)

  14-03-2016 23:58
  
  The images, which have been combined into a gorgeous total solar eclipse video, were taken by the Deep Space Climate Observatory satellite (DSCOVR), which sits at a gravitationally stable point in space 930,000 miles (1.5 million kilometers) closer to the sun than Earth is. DSCOVR, a joint mission between NASA and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), was designed to provide an early space-weather warning system for the planet. The spacecraft monitors the stream of cha
  
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• 'Most Interesting Man in the World' Goes to Mars in Dos Equis Ad

  14-03-2016 23:58
  
  The folks behind Dos Equis beer are retiring its "most interesting man in the world" ad campaign with a literal bang — sending the character off on a fictional one-way Mars trip. Perhaps catching a ride with Mars One, a company proposing one-way trips to the Red Planet, the familiar character is seen in a new commercial making a long walk to the rocket amid a crowd of admirers. The blastoff concludes a nine-year-long ad campaign featuring Jonathan Goldsmith, 77.
  
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• ExoMars Phones Home En Route to Red Planet: 'We Have a Mission'

  14-03-2016 23:50
  
  The Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) and Schiaparelli lander — the first phase of the two-part, European-led ExoMars life-hunting program — phoned home today on schedule at 5:30 p.m. EDT (2130 GMT), 12 hours after blasting off together from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. TGO's two solar arrays deployed shortly after radio contact was established, European Space Agency (ESA) officials announced via Twitter. "We have a mission, and for the second time, Europe is going to Mars!" Ex
  
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• Europe-Russia mission departs on hunt for life on Mars

  14-03-2016 23:38
  
  A joint European-Russian mission aiming to search for traces of life on Mars left Earth's orbit Monday at the start of a seven-month unmanned journey to the Red Planet, space agency managers said.
  
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• ExoMars on its way to solve the Red Planet’s mysteries

  14-03-2016 23:24
  The first of two joint ESA-Roscosmos missions to Mars has begun a seven-month journey to the Red Planet, where it will address unsolved mysteries of the planet's atmosphere that could indicate present-day geological -- or even biological -- activity.
  
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• Small, brainy tyrannosaur sheds light on how T. rex evolved

  14-03-2016 21:35 via cbc.ca
  
  How did evolution produce a monstrous killer like T. rex? A fossil find in Central Asia is giving scientists a glimpse of the process.
  
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• Newly discovered dinosaur reveals how T. rex became king of the Cretaceous

  14-03-2016 21:12
  The fossilized remains of a new horse-sized dinosaur reveal how Tyrannosaurus rex and its close relatives became top predators.
  
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• Carbon from land played a role during last deglaciation

  14-03-2016 21:12
  As the Earth emerged from its last ice age several thousand years ago, atmospheric carbon dioxide increased and further warmed the planet. Scientists have long speculated that the primary source of this CO2 was from the deep ocean around Antarctica, though it has been difficult to prove.
  
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• VIDEO: Dinosaur find resolves T. rex mystery

  14-03-2016 21:09 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Meet the newly discovered dinosaur that could hold the evolutionary key to how T. rex became such a giant.
  
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• Dinosaur find resolves T. rex mystery

  14-03-2016 20:57 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A newly discovered species of tyrannosaur reveals clue to T-Rex's great size, according to scientists.
  
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• Thebaine poppies should be legal to grow for narcotics, farmers tell Ottawa

  14-03-2016 20:31 via cbc.ca
  
  The federal government is being asked to unravel red tape to allow farmers to cultivate a type of poppy that is currently illegal to grow in Canada.
  
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• Horse-sized dinosaur shows how T. rex became king

  14-03-2016 20:29
  
  A newly discovered cousin of the T. rex may explain how the legendary dinosaur leapt in size to become undisputed king of the food chain, scientists said Monday.
  
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• Here's how the ExoMars mission will land on the planet's surface

  14-03-2016 20:18
  
  In the words of David Bowie, is there life on Mars?
  
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• IQ and fade-out effect: Environmental intervention can raise general intelligence, but the effects aren't permanent

  14-03-2016 20:16
  A psychologist shows that while environmental intervention can raise general intelligence, the effects aren't permanent.
  
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• Horse-sized dinosaur discovery linked to T. Rex development

  14-03-2016 20:01
  
  The species’ skull was much smaller than that of T. rex – but key features reveal its brain and senses were highly developed.
  
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• New tyrannosaur bridges gap from medium to monstrous

  14-03-2016 20:00
  
  Horse-sized Timurlengia euotica had a brain and ears like its bigger relative Tyrannosaurus rex, which lived millions of years later.
  
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• Ancient Dust Found in Meteorites Came from Exploding Stars

  14-03-2016 19:44
  
  Microscopic dust grains extracted from meteorites that landed on Earth had ancient and explosive origins, scientists have discovered. The dust grains — also known as presolar grains, since they're older than Earth's sun — were likely spewed out by stars that blew up hundreds of millions of years before Earth's solar system formed. To trace the origins of the stardust's subatomic "fingerprints," scientists built computer models simulating the explosive conditions that could have produ
  
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• Plastic-Munching Bacteria Can Make Trash Biodegradable

  14-03-2016 19:34
  A durable plastic called PET is considered a major environmental hazard because it's highly resistant to breakdown. Most plastic degrades extraordinarily slowly, but PET — short for poly(ethylene terephthalate) — is especially durable, and about 61 million tons (56 metric tons) of the colorless plastic was produced worldwide in 2013 alone, according to the researchers. Previously, the only species found to break down PET were rare fungi.
  
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• New Anti-Snore Patch Targets the Science of Sound Waves

  14-03-2016 19:33
  
  The aptly named "Silent Partner" snore patch addresses the sound, rather than the cause, of snoring, according to Netanel Eyal, co-founder of the startup Silent Partner. It uses a sensor on one side of the nose to detect snore sounds.
  
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• Temperature records shattered by record margins so far in 2016

  14-03-2016 19:27 via cbc.ca
  
  A record surge in temperatures in 2016, linked to global warming and an El Nino weather event in the Pacific, is adding urgency to a deal by 195 governments in December to curb greenhouse gas emissions to slow climate change, scientists said on Monday.
  
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• First prosthesis in the world with direct connection to bone, nerves and muscles

  14-03-2016 19:14
  Thanks to the electrodes system a stable signal is obtained, which allows precise control like handling an egg without breaking. It also provides sensations as if it were a real hand.
  
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• One in four seniors have superbugs on their hands after a hospital stay, new research finds

  14-03-2016 19:08
  One in four seniors is bringing along stowaways from the hospital to their next stop: superbugs on their hands. Moreover, seniors who go to a nursing home or other post-acute care facility will continue to acquire new superbugs during their stay, according to new findings.
  
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• Molecular breakthrough: Method to cleave and form new bonds with 'inert' materials

  14-03-2016 19:08
  Reducing a barrier that generally hinders the easy generation of new molecules, chemists have devised a method to cleave generally inert bonds to allow the formation of new ones.
  
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• You are what your parents ate!

  14-03-2016 19:07
  Scientists have shown that diet-induced obesity and diabetes can be epigenetically inherited by the offspring via both the oocytes and the sperm.
  
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• Gravity glasses offer a view of the Earth's interior

  14-03-2016 19:07
  How does the ice on the polar caps change? And which are the geological characteristics of the Earth's crust beneath? Geophysicists will be able to answer these questions in the future using gravity field measurements from ESA's GOCE gravity satellite. Geodesists have prepared the measurement data mathematically in such a way that they can be used to resolve structures deep below the surface.
  
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• Degrading underground ice wedges are reshaping Arctic landscape

  14-03-2016 19:01
  Rapid melting of ice and Arctic permafrost is altering tundra regions in Alaska, Canada and Russia, according to a new study. Ice-wedge degradation has been observed before in individual locations, but this is the first study to determine that rapid melting has become widespread throughout the Arctic.
  
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• Bee flower choices altered by exposure to pesticides

  14-03-2016 19:01
  Low levels of pesticides can impact the foraging behaviour of bumblebees on wildflowers, changing their floral preferences and hindering their ability to learn the skills needed to extract nectar and pollen.
  
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• We asked astronaut Chris Hadfield what he thinks about the ExoMars mission

  14-03-2016 17:47
  
  Chris Hadfield, the first Canadian to walk in space, thinks the question of life on Mars is a fundamental one that needs answering.
  
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• ExoMars 2016 begins 300 million-mile mission to search for life on Red Planet

  14-03-2016 17:32
  
  Europe's greatest interplanetary adventure, the search for life on Mars, has taken off with the launch of a spacecraft programmed to sniff out methane around the Red Planet.
  
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• Hiker finds rare 2,000-year-old Roman coin, turns it over to authorities

  14-03-2016 17:24 via cbc.ca
  
  Laurie Rimon was near some ruins in northern Israel when something shiny caught her eye. It was a 2,000-year-old coin so rare the only other copy is in the British Museum.
  
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• Ancient DNA reveals who is in Spain’s ‘pit of bones’ cave

  14-03-2016 17:21
  
  Ancient DNA shows Neandertals lived in northern Spain 430,000 years ago; the early date raises new questions about Neandertals’ origins.
  
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• Irrational Partying: Happy Pi Day!

  14-03-2016 17:08
  Doesn't matter — for the purposes of today's date, the first three digits of pi are the important ones. Today, 3/14, is Pi Day, the math nerd's holiday celebrating the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter. Pi Day was the brainchild of physicist Larry Shaw at the San Francisco Exploratorium, which has been holding special events on March 14 for 28 years running.
  
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• Maria Sharapova's Failed Doping Test: What Is Meldonium?

  14-03-2016 16:32
  Tennis star Maria Sharapova has been provisionally suspended from competition after testing positive for the recently banned drug meldonium. On Monday (March 7), Sharapova admitted to failing a drug test for the upcoming Australian Open because she had been taking meldonium (sold under the brand name Mildronate). Sharapova said she had been taking the drug for 10 years as advised by her family doctor.
  
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• Which neuron is more mature? Single cell transcriptome knows

  14-03-2016 16:13
  The human brain is extremely complex, containing billions of neurons forming trillions of synapses where thoughts, behavior and emotion arise. However, when an individual is performing a particular task, not many but only a few neural circuits are in action. The enormous cellular heterogeneity of the brain structure has made dissections of the molecular basis for neural circuitry function particularly challenging.
  
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• Nontoxic way of generating portable power developed

  14-03-2016 16:13
  The batteries that power the ubiquitous devices of modern life, from smartphones and computers to electric cars, are mostly made of toxic materials such as lithium that can be difficult to dispose of and have limited global supplies. Now, researchers have come up with an alternative system for generating electricity, which harnesses heat and uses no metals or toxic materials.
  
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• What dark matter might be

  14-03-2016 16:11
  There are indications that we might never see the universe's mysterious dark matter. Now researchers turn this somehow depressing scenario into an advantage and propose a new model for what dark matter might be -- and how to test it.
  
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• Traditional measures of inducing pain refuted in exercise experiments

  14-03-2016 16:11
  People who are ready to engage in greater amounts of pain perform better in exercise activities, research shows. This indicates that traditional methods of measuring pain in experiments -- such as thermal, pressure or electrical stimuli -- may be unsuitable for investigating the relationship between exercise and pain.
  
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• Now researchers can follow the hectic life inside a cell

  14-03-2016 16:11
  Living cells are constantly on the move. They move around and divide, and they are responsible for transporting molecules around inside themselves. Now researchers have developed a method that makes it possible to become a spectator at this hectic traffic. The method is of particular importance for disease research.
  
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• Fermions to bosons, bosons to fermions

  14-03-2016 16:11
  Theoretical physicists are about to report on a controversial discovery that they say contradicts the work of researchers over the decades. The discovery concerns the conventional approach toward bosonization-debosonization. The finding could affect calculations regarding the future of quantum computers as well as your electronic devices as they become smaller, faster and more advanced.
  
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• Bacterial biofilms in hospital water pipes may show pathogenic properties

  14-03-2016 16:11
  The human microbiome, a diverse collection of microorganisms living inside us and on our skin, has attracted considerable attention for its role in a broad range of human health issues. Now, researchers are discovering that the built environment also has a microbiome, which includes a community of potentially-pathogenic bacteria living inside water supply pipes.
  
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• Smartphone voice assistants don't have all the answers in personal crisis test

  14-03-2016 16:00 via cbc.ca
  
  Smartphone speaking agents like Siri and Cortana don't always respond appropriately when people ask about suicide or rape, a missed opportunity as artificial intelligence increasingly weaves into our lives, researchers say.
  
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• Kids Are Eating Nuts, Despite Rise in Allergies

  14-03-2016 15:55
  About one-third of U.S. children and teens eat nuts on any given day, mostly in the form of seeds and nut butters, according to a new government report. The report, which is based on a national survey, found that 32 percent of children ages 2 to 19 ate nuts on any given day between 2009 and 2012. About 40 percent of the nuts that kids ate were from a single product, like seeds or peanut butter.
  
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• Zika Virus Linked with Man's Brain Infection, Coma

  14-03-2016 15:52
  
  An elderly French man who caught the Zika virus while on vacation developed a brain infection that put him in a temporary coma, according to a new report of the case. The 81-year-old man had been healthy before he went on a cruise to the South Pacific — one of the regions where the Zika virus is spreading. The man had a fever, and later developed a rash — both symptoms of Zika virus infection.
  
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• Risk of Zika Infection Is Low at High Altitudes, CDC Says

  14-03-2016 15:52
  Pregnant women may not need to avoid travel to all areas where the Zika virus is spreading — health officials say that, in high elevations, there is a low risk of becoming infected with the virus. The new recommendations, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, come after the agency analyzed data from 16 countries with elevations above 4,900 feet (1,500 meters). "Consequently, at elevations above [6,500 feet], the risk for mosquito-borne exposure to Zika virus is considered to
  
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• Human Trials of Zika Vaccine May Begin This Fall

  14-03-2016 15:52
  The first vaccine trials against the Zika virus will likely start this fall, federal health officials announced today (March 10). President Barack Obama has asked Congress to approve $1.8 billion in federal spending to battle Zika virus, but so far, Republicans in Congress have put up a fight, insisting that health officials should use federal money left over from the Ebola crisis, according to USA Today. Officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a news briefing
  
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• No Laughs: New Technique Helps Ticklish Patients

  14-03-2016 15:51
  The new technique calls for creating a "hand sandwich" so that doctors can examine their ticklish patients without any difficulty or unwanted laughter, according to a letter to the editor published online today (March 9) in The New England Journal of Medicine. Dobson said he has used the technique on a small number of his adult patients who, because of their ticklishness, often have to make repeated visits to the dermatology clinic to be examined."It's been very effective" in these individuals,
  
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• Brain Scans Show How Alzheimer's Emerges

  14-03-2016 15:43
  For the first time, scientists have used brain scans to track the development of Alzheimer's disease in adults with no symptoms. Until now, a definitive diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease could only be made via an autopsy, in which a medical examiner observes the extent of the spread of two rogue proteins in the brain associated with the disease, called beta-amyloid and tau. For living patients, doctors make the diagnosis of probable Alzheimer's disease based on observations of patients' behavior,
  
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• Health Apps May Share Your Data, Study Finds

  14-03-2016 15:42
  Researchers analyzed more than 200 Android health apps aimed at helping people manage diabetes, such as apps that keep a log of blood glucose levels, or track all the foods you eat. And among the apps that did have privacy policies available pre-download, about half said that they shared user data with third parties. The researchers then downloaded 65 diabetes apps at random, and found that 76 percent of apps without privacy policies available pre-download, and 79 percent of apps with them, shar
  
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• Women urged to speak out about online harassment

  14-03-2016 15:41 via cbc.ca
  
  Online harassment and sexism is demeaning women and can no longer be brushed aside as an ugly side of social media and the gaming industry if they are to thrive, panellists on Saturday said at the South By Southwest (SXSW) tech meeting in Austin.
  
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• New Test Identifies Kids at High Risk for Ongoing Concussion Symptoms

  14-03-2016 15:41
  When a child gets a concussion, it can be difficult for a doctor to assess whether he or she will have problems that persist over the longer term. In the study, this simple-to-do test, which a doctor can perform within 48 hours of a child's concussion occurring, was better than the currently used method — which relies on a physician's judgment to make this assessment — at predicting which kids were more likely to still have ongoing symptoms about one month after they suffered a concu
  
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