Science news

• Possible second Viking site found in Newfoundland

  01-04-2016 23:34
  
  Newfoundland excavation reveals possible Norse settlement.
  
  Read more

• U.S. hospitals face growing ransomware threat: security group

  01-04-2016 23:12
  U.S. hospitals should brace for a surge in "ransomware" attacks by cyber criminals who infect and shut down computer networks, then demand payment in return for unlocking them, a non-profit healthcare group warned on Friday. The Health Information Trust Alliance conducted a study of some 30 mid-sized U.S. hospitals late last year and found that 52 percent of them were infected with malicious software, HITRUST Chief Executive Daniel Nutkis told Reuters. The most common type of malware was ransomw
  
  Read more

• TV and video game worlds collide with Quantum Break

  01-04-2016 23:10 via cbc.ca
  
  Setting down your controller to watch a television episode in the middle of your game, maybe grab some popcorn and a drink, is exactly what Quantum Break, starring a digitized version of Canadian actor Shawn Ashmore, expects and wants you to do.
  
  Read more

• AFDB pledges half a billion dollars for African drought relief

  01-04-2016 22:30
  The African Development Bank (AfDB) on Friday pledged half a billion dollar relief package to 14 Southern and Eastern African countries most affected by an El Nino-propelled drought. The drought response package consists of $5 million in emergency relief and $361 million in short-to-long term support from various windows of the bank’s financial instruments.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Lab-grown skin sprouts hair and glands

  01-04-2016 22:13 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists create artificial skin, made from mouse stem cells, that integrates successfully and even sprouts hairs when transplanted into another mouse.
  
  Read more

• Europe gives green light to first gene therapy for children

  01-04-2016 22:06
  
  LONDON (Reuters) - The world's first life-saving gene therapy for children, developed by Italian scientists and GlaxoSmithKline, has been recommended for approval in Europe, boosting the pioneering technology to fix faulty genes.
  
  Read more

• Pizza Pizza offers free slices in exchange for e-waste

  01-04-2016 21:45 via cbc.ca
  
  You can get a free slice of pizza this month when you turn in an old camera, cellphone or MP3 player for recycling.
  
  Read more

• How to make farmed salmon pens comfier and more humane

  01-04-2016 21:33 via cbc.ca
  
  Cage-free eggs and massages for dairy cattle represent ways farmers are trying to improve the comfort of the animals we raise for food. But what would comfort and humane treatment look like for farmed salmon?
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Farmed salmon like their walls painted black, UBC study finds

  01-04-2016 21:33 via cbc.ca
  
  Cage-free eggs and massages for dairy cattle represent ways farmers are trying to improve the comfort of the animals we raise for food. But what would comfort and humane treatment look like for farmed salmon?
  
  Read more

• Secret Tut chamber? Egypt calls experts to examine evidence

  01-04-2016 21:26
  
  VALLEY OF THE KINGS, Egypt (AP) — Egypt on Friday invited archaeologists and experts from around the world to examine new data from new, extensive radar scanning conducted on King Tutankhamun's tomb to explore a theory that secret chambers could be hidden behind its walls.
  
  Read more

• What are aerosols?

  01-04-2016 20:50
  An atmospheric scientist has flown on planes outfitted with high tech equipment through wildfire plumes and over the ocean, and has visited stations all over the globe to observe aerosols and understand the potentially big impact these suspensions of tiny particles can have on climate.
  
  Read more

• Lower home temperature in winter is associated with lower waist measurement

  01-04-2016 20:45
  Elderly adults are bigger around the middle when they turn up the heat inside their homes during the cold season and have smaller waistlines when their homes stay cool, new research finds.
  
  Read more

• Light helps develop programmable materials

  01-04-2016 20:45
  Light of a certain wavelength can be used to put so-called active materials into motion and control their movement. In the future, this discovery can become significant in widely different areas such as environmental protection, medicine and the development of new materials which can be programmed.
  
  Read more

• Infants with strong sucking skills are more likely to gain additional weight

  01-04-2016 20:45
  A new study of African-American infants finds that those who feed more vigorously at one month of age have higher weight at four months, which may be associated with a later risk for obesity.
  
  Read more

• Feeding the world: Uncovering a key regulator of flower head development in rice

  01-04-2016 20:45
  Discovering how rice flower structures develop in response to environmental cues will help breeders increase the productivity of this crucial food crop. In a groundbreaking study, scientists uncovered an important regulator of this developmental process through mutant and molecular analysis.
  
  Read more

• Ancient DNA shows European wipe-out of early Americans

  01-04-2016 20:45
  The first large-scale study of ancient DNA from early American people has confirmed the devastating impact of European colonization on the Indigenous American populations of the time.
  
  Read more

• An overfed fetus may become an overweight adolescent

  01-04-2016 20:45
  Higher levels of blood markers in the umbilical cord indicate that the baby has more fat and may continue having more fat into late childhood and adolescence, new research suggests.
  
  Read more

• Rise of the ridiculously resilient ridge: California drought patterns becoming more common

  01-04-2016 20:44
  Atmospheric patterns resembling those that appeared during the latter half of California's ongoing multi-year drought are becoming more common, report scientists.
  
  Read more

• Syria's Palmyra: Ghost town bearing scars of IS destruction

  01-04-2016 20:38
  
  PALMYRA, Syria (AP) — Explosions rocked the ancient town of Palmyra on Friday and on the horizon, black smoke wafted behind its majestic Roman ruins, as Syrian army experts carefully detonated hundreds of mines they say were planted by Islamic State militants before they fled the town.
  
  Read more

• Hidden King Tut Chambers? Not So Fast, Officials Caution

  01-04-2016 20:03
  
  Egypt's new antiquities minister, Khaled El Anany, sounded caution this morning at a press conference in Luxor over the claim that Tutankhamun's tomb holds two hidden chambers. Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves, of the Amarna Royal Tombs Project, had proposed that two hidden chambers were lurking in the tomb of Tutankhamun and that the hidden rooms may hold the tomb of Queen Nefertiti, the stepmom of King Tutankhamun.
  
  Read more

• Tigers could make a roaring comeback over the coming decades if their habitat is restored

  01-04-2016 20:02
  
  Enough wild habitat remains to allow a doubling of tiger numbers by 2022, the next “Year of the Tiger” in the Chinese astrological calendar.
  
  Read more

• New habitat monitoring tools find hope for tigers

  01-04-2016 20:00
  
  Free tools such Google Earth Engine and Global Forest Watch show there’s still enough forest left for tigers — if it’s protected.
  
  Read more

• Britain is going to be as hot as Barcelona this weekend

  01-04-2016 19:36
  
  We’ll be able to feel the warmer weather from Saturday, which will be around 5C higher than the English average for April.
  
  Read more

• Inflatable module headed to International Space Station

  01-04-2016 19:31 via cbc.ca
  
  In space, weight equals money. So lightweight inflatable modules might be the future of space exploration and living.
  
  Read more

• Study determines economic impact, ripple effect of hunting on CRP-funded land

  01-04-2016 19:11
  An economic analysis of data gathered from survey respondents who bought South Dakota hunting licenses showed that more than $37.5 million was generated through those who hunted on land set aside through Conservation Reserve Program funding. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency research shows the economic contribution, impacts and benefits from hunting that occurs on CRP lands and calculates the effect of a 50 percent reduction in CRP acres.
  
  Read more

• Massive deforestation found in Brazil's Cerrado

  01-04-2016 19:11
  Agricultural expansion in Brazil's Cerrado is quickly chewing up rainforests and savannas -- even altering the region's water cycle, a new study finds.
  
  Read more

• Scientists engineer immune cells to protect organs from transplant rejection

  01-04-2016 19:08
  A gene therapy has been developed that programs a type of immune cell called T regulatory cells (Tregs) to protect transplanted tissues from rejection by the patient's immune system, report scientists.
  
  Read more

• New cause of exceptional Greenland melt revealed

  01-04-2016 19:08
  The energy associated with air temperature and moisture content, rather than radiant energy from the sun, was responsible for more melt during the 2012 exceptional melt episodes on the Greenland Ice Sheet, new research indicates. Using the PROMICE automatic weather station data, they found climate models underestimate the impact of exceptionally warm weather episodes on the ice sheet.
  
  Read more

• Discovery of cellular counting mechanism used for size control in algae with links to cancer genetics

  01-04-2016 19:08
  Cell size is a critical trait for improved yields of algal biofuels, scientists have discovered. Unlike the textbook paradigm of cell proliferation where cells double in size and then immediately split into two new daughters, cells of Chlamydomonas and many of its green algal relatives can enlarge more than ten times in size before they start dividing.
  
  Read more

• Use of peripheral nerve blocks associated with improved joint replacement outcomes

  01-04-2016 19:06
  The use of peripheral nerve blocks (PNBs) is associated with better outcomes following hip and knee replacement, according to a study. Researchers compiled data on more than one million joint replacement patients who received a PNB in addition to general anesthesia or epidural anesthesia. Those who received the nerve block had fewer complications after surgery.
  
  Read more

• Seeing cell to cell differences for first time explains symptoms of rare genetic disorders

  01-04-2016 19:06
  Every cell in the body has two genomes, one from the mother and one from the father. Until now, researchers have lacked the tools to examine -- in a single cell -the exact readout from each genome to make RNA. Using a new technology that allows researchers to do just that, an interdisciplinary team examined a rare disease in which these two genomes are expressed differently throughout the body, even sometimes in the same organ.
  
  Read more

• Researcher synthesizes hybrid molecule that delivers a blow to malignant cells

  01-04-2016 19:06
  A new molecule recently developed shows promise for treating breast cancer. The protein/polymer-gold nanoparticle composite, besides being easy to synthesize, can load up with drugs, carry them to malignant cells, and unload them where they can do the most damage with the least amount of harm to the patient.
  
  Read more

• Older overweight and obese adults with diabetes benefit from better diet and exercise

  01-04-2016 19:06
  Lifestyle changes that include healthier diet and routine physical exercise help older overweight and obese adults with Type 2 diabetes improve glucose control, body composition, physical function and bone quality, according to preliminary findings of an ongoing clinical trial.
  
  Read more

• Number of science, engineering graduate students up in 2014

  01-04-2016 19:06
  The number of science and engineering graduate students at US academic institutions rose by 3 percent between 2013 and 2014, owing largely to a 13.1 percent increase in foreign graduate enrollment.
  
  Read more

• In mildly obese patients, sleeve-it surgery may increase weight loss and glycemic control

  01-04-2016 19:06
  In mildly obese ('class I') patients, sleeve with ileal transposition (sleeve-IT) surgery results in better glycemic control than either gastric bypass or clinical treatment, a new study suggests.
  
  Read more

• April Fools' Day! Why People Love Pranks

  01-04-2016 19:00
  Pranks have not been thoroughly studied, though researchers have found that people find being tricked a very aversive experience. Prank-based humor can be cruel or kind, loved or hated, but it's anything but simple. Pranks "combine a whole bunch of theories, potentially, of laughter," said Cynthia Gendrich, a professor of acting and directing at Wake Forest University who teaches a seminar on why people laugh.
  
  Read more

• Pulling ‘Vaxxed’ still doesn’t retract vaccine misconceptions

  01-04-2016 18:30
  
  The Tribeca Film Festival’s decision to cancel its screening of an antivaccination film has been lauded as a win for science, but irrationality already won.
  
  Read more

• It's a Girl! Ancient Viral Genes May Determine a Baby's Sex

  01-04-2016 17:54
  It's a boy! Or maybe it's a girl, but either way, new research suggests that the sex of mouse babies, and perhaps the sex of human babies, may be influenced by a newfound way to deactivate ancient viral genes that have been embedded in mammal genomes for more than a million years. In the research, the scientists looked at viral DNA that is active in the mouse genome. Viral DNA can become part of an animal's genome when a kind of virus called a retrovirus infects a cell, and slips its genes into
  
  Read more

• Zika Revealed: Here's What a Brain-Cell-Killing Virus Looks Like

  01-04-2016 17:53
  The destructive Zika virus has been visualized for the first time, shedding light on similarities and differences between this and related viruses, according to a new study. The new findings may be helpful in developing effective antiviral treatments and vaccines against the Zika virus, the researchers said. "The structure of the virus provides a map that shows potential regions of the virus that could be targeted by a therapeutic treatment, used to create an effective vaccine, or [used] to impr
  
  Read more

• Tribeca Film Debate: Why the Anti-Vaxxers Just Won't Quit

  01-04-2016 17:52
  The anti-vaccination movement regained attention due to actor Robert De Niro's decision late last week to pull the film "Vaxxed" from the Tribeca Film Festival, which he runs. Despite the public pressure to pull the film — not to mention the innumerable studies showing that vaccines are safe — there are many reasons the movement persists, sociologists told Live Science. "We know vaccines carry some risk, and we know that risk is very small," said Jennifer Reich, an associate professo
  
  Read more

• Scientists can predict if a baby is going to struggle with obesity in later life

  01-04-2016 17:45
  
  Babies as young as six months can be identified as likely to struggle with obesity in later life.
  
  Read more

• Reddit change sparks concerns about U.S. government spying

  01-04-2016 17:42 via cbc.ca
  
  Digital privacy advocates and users of Reddit expressed their alarm on Friday over a change in the forum's transparency report that suggested it may have been asked to give customer data to FBI investigators under a secretive government authority.
  
  Read more

• In the Coral Triangle, clownfish figured out how to share

  01-04-2016 17:41
  
  In the Coral Triangle in Southeast Asia, an area of rich biodiversity, clownfish species often share anemones, a new study finds.
  
  Read more

• Comet 67P presented in silhouette

  01-04-2016 17:39 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Perfectly backlit by our star, Comet 67P was photographed in dramatic fashion this week by the Rosetta spacecraft - 260 million km from Earth.
  
  Read more

• 5 Ways Science Could Make Football Safer

  01-04-2016 17:39
  Now, in response to concerns from the public and players about injuries, research into making football safer has become a leading topic of discussion for the NFL and many sports medicine organizations, experts say. An investigation published last week by The New York Times revealed that concussion research from the National Football League (NFL) was incomplete to the point of being misleading. According to the Times, data that the NFL used in 13 peer-reviewed articles, which supported the NFL's
  
  Read more

• Needle Stuck in Woman's Heart Gives Her a Stroke

  01-04-2016 17:38
  A 48-year-old woman in China suffered a stroke that was later found to be caused by a finger-length needle stuck in her heart, according to a new case report. The needle had pierced the woman's chest a few months before the stroke (although the case report doesn't say how it happened). It had penetrated layers of tissue and had gotten stuck in her heart muscle.
  
  Read more

• Training to prevent strain injury? Contraction mode matters

  01-04-2016 17:23
  Hamstring injuries are the most common noncontact injury in elite sport. Despite increased research efforts, these injury rates continue to rise. Recent evidence has shown that short muscle fiber lengths can increase the risk of hamstring injury in elite soccer players. This study aimed to see how fascicle lengths change following training interventions of either lengthening or shortening contractions.
  
  Read more

• Lithium hoarding behind failure of promising new battery

  01-04-2016 17:23
  A salt plays a critical role in allowing lithium-sulfur batteries to hold a charge after more than 200 uses; this work offers needed design principles for creating long-lasting, high-capacity batteries.
  
  Read more

• How to control chlamydia: An ECDC guidance for Europe

  01-04-2016 17:19
  They are young and mostly female: with more than 3.2 million cases between 2005 and 2014, chlamydia remains the most commonly reported sexually transmitted infection across Europe. An updated Guidance on chlamydia control in Europe from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control makes the case for national chlamydia control strategies in the European Union Member States and shows ways to develop, implement or improve national or local control activities.
  
  Read more

• Chemical in antibacterial soap may disrupt mix of organisms in digestive tract

  01-04-2016 17:19
  Use of a common nonprescription antimicrobial, triclocarban, during pregnancy and breast-feeding may alter the offspring's composition of intestinal bacteria and other micro-organisms, called the gut microbiota, a new animal study finds.
  
  Read more

Follow @ScienceUKnews on Twitter!