Science news

• North Korea claims rocket engine success; South on high alert

  24-03-2016 23:34
  By Jack Kim SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea successfully tested a solid-fuel engine that boosted the power of its ballistic rockets, state media reported on Thursday, as South Korea's president ordered the military to be ready to respond to the North's "reckless provocation." Pyongyang's claim indicates it is continuing to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at a rapid pace in defiance of U.N. sanctions, and amid assessment by the South's officials that it could conduct a new nucl
  
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• Zika virus came to Brazil in 2013, scientists now say

  24-03-2016 23:12 via cbc.ca
  
  The worrisome Zika virus apparently has been in Brazil at least a year longer than experts previously thought, according to new research.
  
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• We Can't Wait to See Superman Save a Soyuz Spacecraft in 'Batman v Superman'

  24-03-2016 23:07
  
  In the new film "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice," which hits theaters across the United States on Friday (March 25), the Man of Steel swoops in during a launch emergency and delivers the crewmembers of a Russian Soyuz spacecraft from apparent certain death, as the highly anticipated movie's trailer shows. In 2006's "Superman Returns," NASA for some reason attempts to launch a shuttle from atop a jumbo jet in midair — and also allows reporters to fly aboard the plane, to get an extra-ju
  
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• Microsoft's millennial chatbot tweets racist, misogynistic comments

  24-03-2016 22:52 via cbc.ca
  
  Within 24 hours of its launch, Tay has denied the Holocaust, endorsed Donald Trump, insulted women and claimed that Hitler was right.
  
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• Microsoft's millennial chatbot learned how to be a racist

  24-03-2016 22:52 via cbc.ca
  
  Within 24 hours of its launch, Tay has denied the Holocaust, endorsed Donald Trump, insulted women and claimed that Hitler was right.
  
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• To the Moon! NASA Contest Kick-Starts Innovative Space Tech

  24-03-2016 22:16
  
  Dubbed "Startup NASA," the new program will make it easier for young companies to commercialize NASA technology by helping them with their cash flow and securing intellectual property. Until March 27, Startup NASA's "Space Race" competition will accept new entrants, who will have access to as much as $1.2 million in private capital from an unnamed, committed fund. NASA is running the competition in partnership with the Center for Advancing Innovation.
  
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• Psychedelic Sun Simulations May Solve Magnetic Field Mystery

  24-03-2016 22:16
  The group has concluded that strong, small-scale magnetic fields do the job that a lower viscosity might have done. These fields essentially "suppress the chaos," Hotta wrote, and allow the large-scale magnetic field to form.
  
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• Stripped-down synthetic organism sheds light on nature of life

  24-03-2016 21:48
  
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Scientists on Thursday announced the creation of a synthetic organism stripped down to the bare essentials with the fewest genes needed to survive and multiply, a feat at the microscopic level that may provide big insights on the very nature of life.
  
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• Syrian forces fight their way into Palmyra, as Kerry and Putin hail thaw

  24-03-2016 21:12
  By John Irish, Lesley Wroughton and Lisa Barrington GENEVA/MOSCOW/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian troops backed by Russian air support fought their way into the Islamic State-held city of Palmyra on Thursday, their biggest offensive yet against the jihadist caliphate, as Moscow and Washington discussed how to help to end the civil war. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met President Vladimir Putin in Moscow in an atmosphere that was noticeably more amiable than past meetings, reflecting new diplomacy
  
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• What is the price of public shaming? Here are your thoughts

  24-03-2016 20:23 via cbc.ca
  
  A video of a woman who pitched two cups of coffee at a man when he confronted her for parking in a disabled parking spot outside a Tim Hortons went viral earlier this week, drawing outrage and hateful condemnations from around the world. We all make mistakes. But should we be ridiculed for them online?
  
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• Scientists create microbe that can live with just 473 genes

  24-03-2016 20:22 via cbc.ca
  
  Scientists have deleted nearly half the genes of a microbe, creating a stripped-down version that still functions, an achievement that might reveal secrets of how life works.
  
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• A storm of tweets followed Superstorm Sandy’s path

  24-03-2016 20:20
  
  When storms hit, people hunker down and tweet. Their social media activity tracks natural disasters and their damage, a new study shows.
  
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• Why we need a green industrial revolution: Bob McDonald

  24-03-2016 20:07 via cbc.ca
  
  Green technology is expanding — some reports have suggested at a faster pace than any other sector of the Canadian economy — and if we support related industries in Canada, it could grow the way the fossil fuel industry did, with new jobs and skill sets, Bob McDonald says.
  
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• Going green actually creates jobs, helps the economy: Bob McDonald

  24-03-2016 20:07 via cbc.ca
  
  Green technology is expanding — some reports have suggested at a faster pace than any other sector of the Canadian economy — and if we support related industries in Canada, it could grow the way the fossil fuel industry did, with new jobs and skill sets, Bob McDonald says.
  
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• Taking stock of U. S. science literacy broadly

  24-03-2016 20:01
  What does it mean to be science literate? How science literate is the American public? How do we stack up against other countries? What are the civic implications of a public with limited knowledge of science and how it works? How is science literacy measured? These and other questions are now under the microscope.
  
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• Self-repairing cancer cells future of cancer treatments

  24-03-2016 20:01
  A research group has been studying cancer cells' ability to migrate through to tight spaces and self-repair to develop both treatment and diagnostic solutions for the millions of people who deal with cancer every day.
  
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• Researcher improves crop performance with new biotechnology

  24-03-2016 19:59
  Researchers have discovered a way to enhance a plant's tolerance to stress, which in turn improves how it uses water and nutrients from the soil. These improvements increase plant biomass and yield. This discovery could be instrumental in agriculture and food security by improving crop sustainability and performance.
  
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• Efficient methane C-H bond activation achieved for the first time

  24-03-2016 19:59
  Using a new hybrid breed of computational and experimental chemistry, an international team of chemists was able to solve a puzzle that has been dubbed a 'Holy Grail reaction' and devise a method for catalyzing reactions with methane.
  
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• Brazilian Zika outbreak followed upsurge in air travel

  24-03-2016 19:59
  The first genome analysis of the Zika virus outbreak in Brazil, which has been potentially linked to the birth condition microcephaly, offers new information on how and when the virus might have entered the Americas.
  
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• Solar cell material can recycle light to boost efficiency

  24-03-2016 19:54
  Scientists have discovered that a highly promising group of materials known as hybrid lead halide perovskites can recycle light -- a finding that they believe could lead to large gains in the efficiency of solar cells.
  
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• Scientists part the clouds on how droplets form

  24-03-2016 19:54
  A new study reveals that much more is happening at the microscopic level of cloud formation than previously thought. The findings could help improve the accuracy of climate change models.
  
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• Creation of minimal cell with just the genes needed for independent life

  24-03-2016 19:54
  Researchers have designed and synthesized a minimal bacterial genome, containing only the genes necessary for life, and consisting of just 473 genes.
  
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• Expedited Medicaid access increases use of mental health services, but does not reduce recidivism for people recently released from prison

  24-03-2016 19:37
  Providing expedited access to Medicaid to people with serious mental illness as they are released from prison increases their use of mental health and general medical services, but does not reduce criminal recidivism, according to new research.
  
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• Could free streaming ultimately cost consumers?

  24-03-2016 19:37
  That “all you can stream” offer from your Internet service provider sounds like a bargain, but it could have a hidden cost, suggests authors of a new report.
  
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• Unraveling the mystery of stem cells

  24-03-2016 19:32
  How do neurons become neurons? They all begin as stem cells, undifferentiated and with the potential to become any cell in the body. Now neuroscientists document some of the first steps in the process by which a stem cell transforms into different cell types.
  
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• Researchers examine ways to break down, track synthetic compound in herbicides

  24-03-2016 19:32
  Scientists report on the use of manganese oxide, found in soil, to break down the herbicide glyphosate and to identify released phosphate and its byproducts. They are exploring using oxygen isotopes to discriminate and track the sources of phosphorus compounds.
  
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• New view of the X-ray sky

  24-03-2016 19:32
  The 2RXS catalogue is the second publicly released ROSAT catalogue of point-like sources obtained from the ROSAT all-sky survey observations performed between June 1990 and August 1991, and is an extended and revised version of the 1RXS catalogue.
  
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• Moving microswimmers using magnetic vortices

  24-03-2016 19:32
  Scientistshave discovered a way to use a microscopic, swirling flow to rapidly clear a circle of tiny bacteria or swimming robots.
  
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• Malaria family tree has bird roots

  24-03-2016 19:32
  Extensive testing of malarial DNA found in birds, bats and other small mammals from five East African countries revealed that malaria has its roots in bird hosts. It then spread from birds to bats and on to other mammals.
  
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• You can thank diverse yeasts for that coffee and chocolate

  24-03-2016 19:29
  Humans have put yeast to work for thousands of years to make bread, beer, and wine. Wild strains of yeast are also found in the natural fermentations that are essential for chocolate and coffee production. But, as new genetic evidence shows, the yeasts associated with coffee and cacao beans have had a rather unique history.
  
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• What's the relational toll of living in a sexist, heterosexist context?

  24-03-2016 19:29
  Relationships, and especially romantic relationships, are central aspects of our social lives and primary sources of support. For sexual minority (e.g., lesbian, bisexual, and queer) women, relationship quality may be hindered by the multiple oppressions they experience, such as sexist and heterosexist discrimination, as well as internalized sexism and heterosexism (i.e., incorporation of negative dominant societal attitudes and beliefs about women and sexual minority persons).
  
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• Embryo development: Some cells are more equal than others even at four-cell stage

  24-03-2016 19:29
  Genetic 'signatures' of early stage embryos confirm that our development begins to take shape as early as the second day after conception, when we are a mere four cells in size, according to new research. Although they seem to be identical, the cells of the two day-old embryo are already beginning to display distinct differences.
  
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• Zika 'World Cup theory' dismissed

  24-03-2016 19:03 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Zika virus first appeared in South America in mid-2013, say Brazilian and British scientists, long before the World Cup in Brazil.
  
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• The secret to life? 473 genes, apparently

  24-03-2016 19:01
  
  Scientists experimenting with artificially created genomes have calculated the minimum number needed for life to develop.
  
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• Microbe with stripped-down DNA may hint at secrets of life

  24-03-2016 19:01
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — Scientists have deleted nearly half the genes of a microbe, creating a stripped-down version that still functions, an achievement that might reveal secrets of how life works.
  
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• Zika may have flown to Brazil in 2013

  24-03-2016 19:00
  
  The brand of Zika currently floating around the Americas traces its origins to Asia and may have arrived in Brazil by air as early as 2013.
  
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• World Cup Fans Are Not Responsible for the Zika Explosion in Brazil

  24-03-2016 19:00 via rss.sciam.com
  
  New genomic analysis clears 2014 sports enthusiasts of unwittingly transporting the virus
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Scientists build minimum-genome bacterium

  24-03-2016 19:00
  
  Minimal genome organism reveals how much scientists don’t know about biology.
  
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• Organic molecules help fatten cloud-making water droplets

  24-03-2016 19:00
  
  Cloud-forming water droplets can grow larger thanks to organic molecules on the exterior of the drop, new research suggests.
  
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• Sleep tight, fruit fly: Scientists find gene responsible for sleep deprivation and metabolic disorders

  24-03-2016 18:38
  Like humans, fruit flies sleep at night, caffeine affects their sleep, and if they get a lousy night's sleep it can affect their memory performance. But what can they tell us about the connection between sleep deprivation and metabolic disorders like diabetes and obesity? A lot, according to a new study that is the first to identify that a conserved gene -- translin -- works as a modulator of sleep in response to metabolic changes.
  
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• Presence of hormone at key developmental period may point to origin of type 2 diabetes in kids

  24-03-2016 18:38
  The presence of leptin -- a hormone secreted by fat cells that is critical to maintaining energy balance in the body -- inhibits the prenatal development of neuronal connections between the brain and pancreas, a new study reports. The findings could help explain the origin of type 2 diabetes, particularly in children of obese mothers.
  
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• Neuron type-specific gene loss linked to angelman syndrome seizures

  24-03-2016 18:38
  A new study has helped determine that UBE3A gene loss specifically from GABAergic neurons is what's critical for seizures in Angelman patients. But UBE3A loss from other neuron types may drive other phenotypes associated with the condition.
  
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• Genetic changes that cause autism are more diverse than previously thought

  24-03-2016 18:38
  The types of gene mutations that contribute to autism are more diverse than previously thought, report researchers. The findings, they say, represent a significant advance in efforts to unravel the genetic basis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
  
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• For the perfect eggs, roundworms use small RNAs

  24-03-2016 18:38
  All multicellular organisms that reproduce sexually rely on eggs to support early life. Researchers used the tiny roundworm C. elegans as a model to better understand how eggs enable embryonic development, using only the materials already present in them. Their study uncovers the role small RNAs and helper proteins play in fine-tuning egg development.
  
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• Water science leads ecological survival battle

  24-03-2016 18:34
  Scientists have developed tools to help restore vital ecosystems found in tropical mangrove forests around the world. The team conducted fieldwork in three mangrove regions in south-east Asia: Can Gio and Ca Mau, in Vietnam and Mahakam, in Indonesia.
  
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• Study adapts proven community health worker model for outpatient setting

  24-03-2016 18:34
  A Community Health Worker model, shown to reduce admissions and lead to better health outcomes for hospitalized patients, can now be used in outpatient settings, according to a study.
  
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• No increased heart failure with incretin-based drugs

  24-03-2016 18:34
  Incretin-based drugs, a type of medication used to treat type 2 diabetes, do not increase the risk of being hospitalized for heart failure relative to commonly used combinations of oral anti-diabetic drugs, according to a new study.
  
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• New knowledge for managing tree-killing bark beetles

  24-03-2016 18:34
  Outbreaks of the southern pine beetle can't be stopped by its main predator, but risks to forests from this tree-killing insect can be predicted with a simple, inexpensive monitoring program, according to a study.
  
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• Land bridges linking ancient India, Eurasia were 'freeways' for biodiversity exchange

  24-03-2016 18:34
  Before the final collision of Eurasia and the Indian subcontinent, land bridges between the landmasses may have served as 'freeways' of biodiversity exchange that flowed in both directions, new information shows.
  
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• Ground-nesting bees on farms lack food, grow smaller

  24-03-2016 18:34
  The size of a common ground-nesting bee -- an important crop pollinator -- has grown smaller in heavily farmed landscapes, a new study has found. The study points out yet another potential threat to pollinators, along with mites, pesticides and loss of habitat.
  
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