Science news

• Playing with building blocks for metamaterial design

  15-03-2016 21:54
  
  Legos show promise as a low-cost method to assist scientists in developing novel metamaterials.
  
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• Watch what happens when you cover a Big Mac with molten copper

  15-03-2016 21:00
  
  It ends up far prettier than you’d think.
  
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• Computer program bests world champion 4-1 in strategy game Go

  15-03-2016 20:15
  
  Google DeepMind’s Go-playing computer program AlphaGo has topped Lee Sedol, the world’s reigning Go player, in a five-game match in South Korea.
  
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• Prince William unveils transport crackdown on illegal wildlife trafficking

  15-03-2016 19:58
  Prince William has teamed up with the global transportation industry to develop a crackdown on illegal wildlife-trafficking routes. The industry has agreed a declaration that will be signed by around 40 airlines, shipping, port and customs agencies and conservation charities at Buckingham Palace on 15 March. The Duke of Cambridge toured DP World at London Gateway port on 14 March, to see the scale of the task involved in stopping traffickers exploiting global transport routes to smuggle poached
  
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• What you shouldn't be allowed to do on your smartphone

  15-03-2016 19:54 via cbc.ca
  
  Parents often set a lot of rules for their kids' technology use. But which rules are the most effective? And what rules would kids make if they were in charge? CBC Radio technology columnist Dan Misener looks at a new study that explores those questions.
  
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• Robots, human chip implants and 3D-printed clothes at CeBIT tech fair

  15-03-2016 19:44 via cbc.ca
  
  The world's largest computer and software trade fair is on in Hanover, Germany, and features the latest in robotics, drones and security.
  
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• Australian fairy circles first to be found outside Africa

  15-03-2016 19:44
  
  Strange patterns of grassland bald spots called fairy circles show up in Western Australia.
  
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• Slumbering Supermassive Black Hole Hides In New Hubble Image, Video

  15-03-2016 19:41
  
  The black hole used to be fueled by galactic material such as gas and dust, which fell inward and created a spinning disk of material known as an accretion disc. The black hole's strong gravity accelerated the material and heated it to millions of degrees, with the material sending out huge jets. Although the material is now gone, NGC 4889 still is a useful object for astronomers to better understand the evolution of quasars.
  
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• Astronaut Scott Kelly's 12 Best Photos from His Year in Space

  15-03-2016 19:40
  
  What do you do if you're stuck zooming above the Earth in a space station about the size of a football field for 340 days? You take a lot of pictures.
  
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• Are Pluto's Pebbled 'Snakeskin' Slopes Made of Ancient Stuff?

  15-03-2016 19:40
  
  Pluto's mysterious "snakeskin" terrain may be made of stuff that predates the solar system's birth, scientists say. NASA's New Horizons spacecraft spotted the strange landscape — which appears pebbly and scaly from a distance — on the eastern side of Pluto's famous "heart" during the probe's epic flyby of the dwarf planet last July. Computer models created by the New Horizons team suggest that the "scales" are actually tightly packed minimountains about 1,650 feet (500 meters) tall.
  
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• Google self-driving car boss lobbies U.S. government

  15-03-2016 19:17 via cbc.ca
  
  The head of Alphabet Inc's Google self-driving car program will urge the U.S. Congress today to grant national auto safety regulators new authority to speed the introduction of self-driving cars on American roads.
  
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• GM offers potentially free cars to Lyft drivers who pick up enough ride-hailers

  15-03-2016 18:52 via cbc.ca
  
  General Motors has partnered with ride-hailing service Lyft to offer drivers the use of a car for as little as $99 US a week — and potentially for free if they do enough driving.
  
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• 80-million-year-old bird fossil named after 82-year-old Manitoba farmer

  15-03-2016 18:24 via cbc.ca
  
  A pair of Japanese paleontologists have named a marine bird species after a Thornhill, Man., homeowner after an 80-million-year-old fossil was dug up on his property.
  
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• Police: Wythenshawe Hall Blaze May Be Arson

  15-03-2016 17:39
  
  A fire that caused serious damage to a Tudor mansion in Manchester may have been started deliberately, police say. Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service said firefighters were called to Wythenshawe Hall just after 3.30am when a fire broke out in the roof. Ten fire engines were called to the 16th century former museum and art gallery and a cherry-picker style device was used to get water into the roof space as quickly and effectively as possible.
  
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• Top mathematics prize and £495,000 for Briton who solved Fermat's Last Theorem

  15-03-2016 17:34
  
  The Abel Prize, created in 2002, is named after Norwegian mathematician Niels Henrik Abel, who died in 1829.
  
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• Squirrels show flexibility and persistence when foraging

  15-03-2016 17:24
  
  University of Exeter researchers have found that grey squirrels foraging for food are happy to take their time if it means getting a more nourishing meal.
  
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• Climate change could cause food access, public health decline by 2050: report

  15-03-2016 17:17 via cbc.ca
  
  A new report says our access to nutritious foods will be dramatically limited due to climate change by 2050, which scientists warn could lead to a severe decline in public health — and in some cases, deaths.
  
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• Obama U-turn on Atlantic drilling

  15-03-2016 16:58
  
  President Barack Obama's administration on Tuesday signaled it was jettisoning plans to open swathes of the western Atlantic Ocean to oil and gas drilling, a U-turn that delighted environmentalist groups.
  
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• Syrian refugee chickpeas bloom in Lebanon

  15-03-2016 16:38
  By Lisa Barrington BEKAA VALLEY, Lebanon (Reuters) - In a humid plastic tent in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, a Syrian scientist handles the leaves of the chickpeas, lentils and wheat that may one day help fill neighbouring Syria's post-war kitchen tables. Fawzi Souied is part of a team trying to safeguard the future of Syrian and global agriculture by recreating a seed collection stored in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo which is at risk of being destroyed by the war entering its sixth year. Fight
  
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• Ransomware tactics point to Chinese hackers, security researchers say

  15-03-2016 15:24 via cbc.ca
  
  Hackers using tactics and tools previously associated with Chinese government-supported computer network intrusions have joined the booming cybercrime industry of ransomware, four security firms that investigated attacks on U.S. companies said.
  
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• DNA identifies 'early Neanderthals'

  15-03-2016 14:50 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The oldest genome sequence from a human has identified some early representatives of the Neanderthal lineage.
  
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• Spines and Genital Warfare: How Neil deGrasse Tyson Got Sex Wrong

  15-03-2016 14:41
  
  On March 11, astrophysicist and "Cosmos" host Neil deGrasse Tyson tweeted what was perhaps meant as an amusing quip, but instead served up a dismaying animal biology fail. "If there were ever a species for whom sex hurt, it surely went extinct long ago," Tyson tweeted. The idea that sex must be pleasurable in order for a species to be successful is, quite simply, not how evolution works, as a number of science writers and biologists on Twitter were quick to point out.
  
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• Physics of ribbon curling unravelled

  15-03-2016 14:14 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists unveil the first full description of how and why a ribbon curls when we scrape one side of it with scissors.
  
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• Snake fungal disease spreading in eastern United States

  15-03-2016 14:00
  
  A decade after snake fungal disease was first discovered, it has now been found in its 16th U.S. state.
  
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• Site of 1503 shipwreck tied to Vasco da Gama found off Oman

  15-03-2016 13:50
  
  DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The 500-year-old wreckage of Portuguese ship piloted by an uncle of explorer Vasco da Gama has been found off the coast of Oman, archaeologists said Tuesday, a discovery that included the recovery of an incredibly rare coin.
  
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• 'Reverse speciation' causing two fish to become one in B.C. lake

  15-03-2016 13:30 via cbc.ca
  
  Two species of stickleback fish in Enos Lake are becoming one, which is hurting biodiversity and is changing the local ecosystem, says a UBC researcher.
  
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• Touring the Cygnus Supply Spacecraft Clean Room (Photos)

  15-03-2016 12:58
  
  Tucked inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility  at Florida's Kennedy Space Center, NASA's next cargo vehicle preps for its upcoming trip to the International Space Station. This week, one of the remaining steps before launch will be completed as crews encapsulate the Cygnus spacecraft inside the fairing that will carry it into orbit. However, before it is sealed away, NASA invited members of the media to view the Cygnus inside its specialized clean room.
  
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• Exploring Jupiter with Mobile Apps: Track the Planet, Great Red Spot and More

  15-03-2016 12:58
  
  This week, Jupiter, the king of planets, reaches opposition — the day of the year when Earth's orbit carries it the closest to the giant planet. Currently, Jupiter rises as the sun sets, and the planet traverses the sky all night. In your binoculars or telescope, Jupiter will appear with a disk diameter of 44.5 arc seconds (about 2 percent of the full moon's diameter).
  
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• 'Breaking the Chains of Gravity' Reveals Pre-NASA Era

  15-03-2016 12:58
  
  "Breaking the Chains of Gravity" (Bloomsbury, 2015) takes for its focus the earliest rocket experiments and military projects that eventually formed the core of spaceflight research in America, and the many institutions with differing goals that came and went, working with and against one another on projects that eventually became humanity's early excursions into space. Space.com talked with "Breaking the Chains of Gravity" author Amy Shira Teitel, who also runs the spaceflight history blog
  
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• 'Heartbreaking development': Freak weather hits Monarch butterfly sanctuary

  15-03-2016 12:55 via cbc.ca
  
  Butterfly watchers in New Brunswick are fearing the worst, after a freak winter storm struck a Monarch sanctuary west of Mexico City last week.
  
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• Trump's Broken Speech Appeals to the Masses

  15-03-2016 12:46
  But there may be a good reason why this seeming incoherence hasn't hurt Trump in the Republican run for the presidential nomination: Trump's talk mirrors typical conversation, bolstering his status as an honest outsider. "[Trump's] unique rhetorical style may come off as incoherent and unintelligible when we compare it with the organized structure of other candidates' answers," Georgetown University linguist Jennifer Sclafani told Live Science. In a December post, Liberman excerpted a sample of
  
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• Toad-Eating Spider Named for Famed Physicist

  15-03-2016 12:45
  
  A spindly toad-eating spider that creates vibrational waves on the water's surface in order to navigate and capture prey has been discovered in Brisbane, Australia, scientists announced at the World Science Festival last week. They named the fish-eating spider Dolomedes briangreenei after theoretical physicist Brian Greene, who is also co-founder of the World Science Festival where the spider was described. "It's wonderful that this beautiful native spider, which relies on waves for its ver
  
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• From Brains to Brawn: How T. Rex Became King of the Dinosaurs

  15-03-2016 12:43
  
  The skull of a horse-size dinosaur, a distant relative of the colossal Tyrannosaurus rex, suggests that braininess was behind the beast's rise to dominance millions of years ago. The dinosaur fossils, discovered in the desert of Uzbekistan, suggest that although early tyrannosaurs were small animals, they had advanced brains, said study lead researcher Steve Brusatte, a paleontologist at the University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom. "Tyrannosaurs got smart before they got big, and they got
  
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• Wandering Jupiter could have swept inner solar system clean

  15-03-2016 12:00
  
  If Jupiter formed close to the sun and then wandered out, that might explain why there are no planets interior to Mercury’s orbit.
  
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• Human Go champ says machine not superior despite 4-1 defeat

  15-03-2016 11:13 via cbc.ca
  
  Human Go champion Lee Sedol says Google's Go-playing program AlphaGo is not yet superior to humans, despite its 4-1 victory in a series that ended Tuesday.
  
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• Hundreds Of Vintage Toy Robots Up For Sale

  15-03-2016 10:25
  
  The two are part of a collection of almost 1,000 tin plate and plastic robots, flying saucers and rockets built up by a North East couple over the past 40 years. Toy specialist auctioneers Vectis say the Out Of This World collection sale is "one of the biggest of its kind". Auctioneer and valuer Andy Reed said: "Sci-fi, space and robots are very sought after.
  
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• North Korean leader says will soon test nuclear warhead

  15-03-2016 09:37
  By Jack Kim and James Pearson SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country would soon test a nuclear warhead and ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads, the North's KCNA news agency reported, in what would be a direct violation of U.N. resolutions which have the backing of the North's chief ally, China. Kim made the comments as he supervised a successful simulated test of atmospheric re-entry of a ballistic missile that measured the "thermodynamic structura
  
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• Herders suffer as Nigeria army shuts cattle trade to fight Boko Haram

  15-03-2016 08:14
  By Ulf Laessing MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) - A Nigerian government push to strangle the Boko Haram insurgency has shut down the cattle trade that sustained the city of Maiduguri, leaving many residents with no livelihood, including many of the two million people displaced by the war. In the latest shock to civilians, meat has become scarce as the army has closed cattle markets to stop Boko Haram from raising funds by selling livestock, officials say. The shutdown of the Maiduguri cattle market
  
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• Signal recieved from spacecraft ExoMars confirms that the mission to the red planet is in full swing

  15-03-2016 07:10
  
  The spacecraft has safely set off on its seven-month 300 million-mile journey to Mars.
  
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• Space travel rules needed within 5 years: UN

  15-03-2016 07:04
  
  Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipOne was the first private spacecraft to reach the edge of space in 2004
  
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• Illegal tuna fishing costs Pacific US$740m: report

  15-03-2016 07:02
  
  Illegal tuna fishing in the Pacific has reached a "staggering" value of up to US$740 million a year, a study released Tuesday found.
  
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• When memories age

  15-03-2016 05:00
  
  (Ruhr-University Bochum) For our brain it makes a great difference whether we remember experiences from long ago, or if we recollect recent events. RUB-neuroscientists were able to show that distinct brain-networks are involved.
  
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• Universities team up to pursue energy innovation

  15-03-2016 05:00
  
  (Case Western Reserve University) Case Western Reserve University, Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh and West Virginia University are forming the Tri-State University Energy Alliance, to accelerate innovations to address challenges and opportunities facing the energy sector.
  
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• Transforming the US transportation system by 2050 to address climate challenges

  15-03-2016 05:00
  
  (MIT Energy Initiative) Changes to our transportation system -- how much we travel, the vehicles we use, and the fuels that power them -- offer the potential for substantial reductions in GHG emissions, and are necessary to mitigate climate change. On the Road toward 2050: Potential for Substantial Reductions in Light-Duty Vehicle Energy Use and Greenhouse Gas Emissions, a new report spearheaded by MIT professor John Heywood, identifies three important paths forward for light-duty vehicles.
  
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• Trade in rare plants on social media must be monitored

  15-03-2016 05:00
  
  (University of Kent) Trade in rare plants on social media must be monitoredPeople buying rare plants through social media are placing species at risk of extinction and must be monitored.A study conducted by the University of Kent's Dr. Amy Hinsley and Dr. David Roberts, and published by Conservation Biology, represents the first large-scale global survey of wildlife trade via a social-media site, using the orchid trade as a case study.
  
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• To increase group exercise, Penn study suggests rewarding the individual and the team

  15-03-2016 05:00
  
  (University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine) Financial incentives aimed at increasing physical activity among teams are most effective when the incentives are rewarded for a combination of individual and team performance, according to new research from Penn Medicine. The study, which examined the effectiveness of offering monetary rewards as part of workplace wellness programs, showed that people offered 'a combined incentive' were nearly twice likely to achieve their goals as a control group
  
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• The sounds of eating may reduce how much you eat

  15-03-2016 05:00
  
  (Brigham Young University) New doctor's orders: No earbuds, no music, and no watching TV while eating.Researchers at Brigham Young University and Colorado State University have found that the noise your food makes while you're eating can have a significant effect on how much food you eat.
  
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• Sweet corn genes related to crowding stress identified

  15-03-2016 05:00
  
  (University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences) Sweet corn hybrids vary in their tolerance to crowding stress. New research identifies genes related to crowding stress tolerance and yield in sweet corn. This is the first step in breeding new lines that could maximize yield under even greater stress.
  
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• Study: How more R&D funding can hasten green revolution

  15-03-2016 05:00
  
  (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) In a newly published paper, MIT Prof. Daron Acemoglu and three colleagues present a uniquely detailed model of the dynamics of innovation in the energy industry. In so doing, they indicate how supporting clean energy R&D, not just a carbon tax, might be the best way to help clean energy technologies compete with traditional forms of energy.
  
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• Study finds racial differences in smoking patterns, screening

  15-03-2016 05:00
  
  (Yale University) New research from the Yale School of Public Health reveals that differences in smoking habits between African Americans and whites may lead to a disparity in screening for lung cancer. The paper was published online March 15 in Nicotine & Tobacco Research.
  
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