Science news

• By the Light of the Moon: Luna and Lighthouse Meet in Amazing Photo

  05-04-2016 22:42
  
  Astrophotographer Steve Scanlon took this image from on Jan. 11 and shared it with Space.com. Moonset is when the moon appears to fall below the horizon. A crescent moon is between a new moon and a half moon.
  
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• Rebels shoot down second Syrian jet in a month

  05-04-2016 22:41
  AMMAN/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Rebels shot down a second Syrian warplane in less than a month on Tuesday and a monitoring group said they captured its pilot in an area near Aleppo where heavy fighting has erupted in recent days despite a cessation of hostilities agreement. The Syrian army said the jet was shot down with an anti-aircraft missile, which have been long demanded by foreign-backed rebels against devastating aerial raids by Syrian and, since September, Russian forces. Rebels said the plane
  
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• Lego 'Star Wars' Game Shows Off Flexible Fun in Gameplay Trailer

  05-04-2016 22:39
  
  May the Force be with you! A new trailer has just been released from "Lego Star Stars: The Force Awakens," which will echo many key sequences of the hit film from last year. Players can take part in airborne TIE fighter battles, check out famous "Star Wars" locations, use the Force to move objects around and assemble epic Lego structures to solve puzzles in multiple ways, as spotlighted in a new game-play trailer. "The enhanced Multi-Builds system allows players to choose from multiple building
  
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• Facing Down the World's Deadliest Pathogens in a BSL4 Lab

  05-04-2016 21:30 via rss.sciam.com
  
  Researchers reach a crucial milestone despite the challenges of working under astronaut-like conditions
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• There’s far more to the galaxy than meets the eye

  05-04-2016 21:00
  
  A new map of the galaxy as seen in submillimeter light reveals intricate details from nearby nebulas to the far-flung galactic center.
  
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• Alberta wild bison complete historic 650-km journey to ancestral Montana home

  05-04-2016 20:13 via cbc.ca
  
  "Seeing those buffaloes coming home is a dream unfolding in front of us," says a man from the Montana First Nation that received 87 wild bison that travelled 650 km from east of Edmonton in a historic repopulation effort.
  
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• Oculus Rift terms of service raise privacy concerns

  05-04-2016 20:08 via cbc.ca
  
  The long-awaited Oculus Rift — the virtual reality headset from Facebook — is now shipping to customers. But privacy advocates say the technology could open a big can of worms when it comes to your personal data. CBC Radio technology columnist Dan Misener looked into why.
  
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• Project to drill into 'dinosaur crater'

  05-04-2016 19:42 via bbc.co.uk
  
  An expedition gets under way to drill into the Chicxulub Crater, the deep scar made in the Earth's surface by the asteroid that hastened the end of the dinosaurs.
  
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• Pig heart kept beating in baboon

  05-04-2016 19:39 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists say they have kept a pig heart alive in a baboon for more than two years.
  
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• At least 29 from Nagorno-Karabakh army killed in clashes - TV

  05-04-2016 19:23
  YEREVAN (Reuters) - Nagorno-Karabakh's army has incurred a total of 29 dead and 101 injured in clashes over the past several days with Azeri forces, Armenian online television showed the Nagorno-Karabakh military representative as saying on Tuesday. (Reporting by Hasmik Mkrtchyan; Writing by Polina Devitt; Editing by Alison Williams)
  
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• Kik opens chat platform to third party bots, like H&M, Sephora and Vine

  05-04-2016 19:02 via cbc.ca
  
  Kik users can now use chat bots to get makeup tips, play games or get local weather forecasts, as messaging app opens doors to third-party bot developers.
  
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• Curse Tablets Discovered in 2,400-Year-Old Grave

  05-04-2016 18:49
  
  The grave would have provided the tablets a path to such gods, who would then do the curses' biddings, according to ancient beliefs. One of the curses targeted husband-and-wife tavern keepers named Demetrios and Phanagora. The word kynotos literally means "dog's ear," an ancient gambling term that "was the name for the lowest possible throw of dice," Jessica Lamont, an instructor at John Hopkins University in Baltimore who recently completed a doctorate in classics, wrote in an article published
  
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• Scientists discover tiny creature that carried babies like 'kites'

  05-04-2016 18:20 via cbc.ca
  
  A new study reveals an unknown sea animal that kept it's offspring tethered to it's body using kite-like capsules.
  
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• Twister on Mars! Opportunity Rover Makes Tracks Ahead of Dust Devil (Photo)

  05-04-2016 18:10
  
  NASA's Mars rover Opportunity is no storm chaser.
  
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• This microbe makes a meal of plastic

  05-04-2016 18:00
  
  A newly identified bacterium can break down plastic waste.
  
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• Mysterious Gravitational Tug on Saturn May Help Find Planet Nine

  05-04-2016 18:00 via rss.sciam.com
  
  Astronomers are homing in on the whereabouts of a hidden giant planet in our solar system, and could discover the unseen beast in roughly a year
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Mysterious Gravitational Tug on Orbiter May Help Find Planet Nine

  05-04-2016 18:00 via rss.sciam.com
  
  Astronomers are homing in on the whereabouts of a hidden giant planet in our solar system, and could discover the unseen beast in roughly a year
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Putin urges Armenia, Azerbaijan to ensure complete ceasefire over Nagorno-Karabakh

  05-04-2016 17:37
  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin urged presidents Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and Serzh Sargsyan of Armenia to ensure a complete ceasefire over the breakway Nagorno-Karabakh region, the Kremlin said on Tuesday. It said Putin made the appeal in phone calls with Aliyev and Sargsyan. (Reporting by Polina Devitt; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
  
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• PayPal cancels North Carolina expansion over LGBT discrimination law

  05-04-2016 17:30 via cbc.ca
  
  PayPal says is scrapping plans to bring 400 jobs to North Carolina after lawmakers passed a law that restricts protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
  
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• Blind Facebook users can now get descriptions of friends' posted photos

  05-04-2016 17:18 via cbc.ca
  
  Facebook is training its computers to become seeing-eye guides for blind and visually impaired people as they scroll through the pictures posted on the world's largest online social network.
  
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• Alberta government to take reins of environmental monitoring agency

  05-04-2016 17:17 via cbc.ca
  
  Monitoring the environmental impacts of industry is a core function of government, and the vital work should be the responsibility not of an arm's-length agency but of the province itself, says Alberta Environment Minister Shannon Phillips.
  
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• How a Sleepless Night Affects Your Ability to Focus

  05-04-2016 17:15
  
  In the study, the researchers confirmed that sleep deprivation can impair what's known as "selective attention," or the ability to focus on specific information when other things are occurring at the same time. A classic example of a setting that requires your selective attention is a cocktail party, said Eve Wiggins, a former student at Willamette University in Oregon and the lead researcher on the study. Selective attention is the ability to focus on a conversation you're having with someone a
  
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• Size vs. Shape: What's More Important for Heart Health?

  05-04-2016 17:14
  When it comes to heart health, body shape matters: A new study finds that having an apple-shaped body may increase the risk for heart disease in people with diabetes. In the study, people who had a higher waist circumference were more likely to have problems with the left ventricle of their heart, which is a common cause of heart disease, compared with people with smaller waists, according to the findings presented today (April 2) at the American College of Cardiology's annual meeting in Ch
  
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• Concussions and Cognitive Skills: What's the Impact?

  05-04-2016 17:14
  Concussions may have lasting and widespread effects on a person's cognitive abilities, according to two new studies presented here at the Cognitive Neuroscience Society's annual meeting. There's been an assumption that a concussion can affect a person's thinking skills for several weeks, the researchers said. Each group included some people who had a concussion and some who had never experienced one.
  
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• Grilling Danger: Wire Brushes Cause Injuries, Doctors Warn

  05-04-2016 17:13
  In a new study, researchers attempted to estimate how many Americans are injured by ingesting wire bristles from grill brushes. The study found that between 2002 and 2014, nearly 1,700 Americans visited the emergency room for injuries related to ingesting grill-brush bristles. Among these cases, injuries to the mouth, throat and tonsils were the most common, but people also suffered injuries to the stomach or intestines.
  
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• Gunmen kidnap Lebanese, kill soldier in Nigeria's Delta - police

  05-04-2016 17:07
  YENAGOA, Nigeria (Reuters) - Gunmen killed a Nigerian soldier and kidnapped a Lebanese construction worker on Tuesday in the southern oil-producing Niger Delta, police said. "One Lebanese, Ramzi Bau Hadir, aged 53 years, was kidnapped by the armed bandits," said Butswat Asinim, a police spokesman in Bayselsa state. A resident said a second foreigner had been kidnapped but Asinim did not confirm this. (Reporting by Tife Owolabi; Writing by Ulf Laessing; Editing by Catherine Evans)
  
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• Clearing the Way for Leadless Pacemakers

  05-04-2016 16:30 via rss.sciam.com
  
  New technologies promise to do away with a major source of complications from cardiac resynchronization therapy devices
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• NASA releases beautiful time-lapse video of Earth at night

  05-04-2016 15:19 via cbc.ca
  
  Shot from the International Space Station, it shows aurora and occasional lightning storms in the thin veil of atmosphere
  
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• Twitter to stream live NFL games on Thursdays this season

  05-04-2016 15:12 via cbc.ca
  
  Twitter and the NFL have signed a deal that will see the social media company stream the Thursday night football game online this season.
  
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• Personal info of 50 million Turkish people posted online in largest leak of its kind

  05-04-2016 15:03 via cbc.ca
  
  Hackers have posted a database online that seems to contain the personal information of nearly 50 million Turkish citizens in what is one of the largest public leaks of its kind.
  
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• The Addictive Personality Isn't What You Think It Is

  05-04-2016 15:00 via rss.sciam.com
  
  Author Maia Szalavitz rebrands addiction as a learning disorder, exploring new approaches to tolerance, prevention and treatment 
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• Italy's Olive Trees Didn't Have to Die

  05-04-2016 15:00 via rss.sciam.com
  
  New studies about a deadly bacterium threatening the trees suggest that historic groves can be saved
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Hippocampus makes maps of social space, too

  05-04-2016 15:00
  
  The hippocampus is a multitalented mapmaker.
  
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• Islamist rebels shoot down Syrian warplane, capture pilot - monitor

  05-04-2016 14:28
  Islamist rebels shot down a Syrian warplane and captured its pilot on Tuesday in an area south of Aleppo where insurgents are battling the Syrian army and allied militias, a monitoring group said. Syria's military confirmed that a plane on a reconnaissance mission had been shot down and said it was hit by a surface-to-air missile. The pilot had bailed out and efforts were underway to rescue him, it said.
  
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• Cows that milk themselves? Farmers turn to high-tech for help

  05-04-2016 14:26 via cbc.ca
  
  From milking the cows, to driving the tractors, to picking the lettuce, robotic technology is changing farms and farm work. The Current's Julian Uzielli heads to a dairy farm where the cows get in line for the robots.
  
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• Dung clue to Hannibal's Alpine crossing

  05-04-2016 13:48 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists may be closer to revealing the route taken by Hannibal as he crossed to Alps to attack ancient Rome.
  
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• Mystery on Enceladus: What Drives Saturn Moon's Icy Plumes?

  05-04-2016 13:32
  
  The famous geysers seen erupting from the surface of Saturn's striped moon Enceladus are a striking visual feature, but a scientific mystery. A new model may finally explain what sustains these eruptions. First spotted by NASA's Cassini spacecraft in 2005, the geysers erupt along Enceladus' "tiger stripes," or fissures, in the icy surface around the moon's south pole.
  
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• The Brightest Planets in April's Night Sky: How and When to See Them

  05-04-2016 13:31
  
  April 8 – Mercury emerges from beyond the sun and into the evening sky this month. In a telescope, Mercury appears as a gibbous disk and is shining at a brilliant minus 1.0 magnitude (making it nearly as bright as Sirius, the brightest star in the sky). Mercury just passed the perihelion point of its orbit, when it's closest to the sun, on April 5 and is thus moving rapidly, becoming more favorably placed with each passing day.
  
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• 'Moon Shot' Series Tells Personal Stories of X Prize Competitors

  05-04-2016 13:31
  
  The nine-episode series, now available to watch for free on Google Play, gives viewers almost no information about the specific rover designs being engineered by any of the competition's 16 remaining teams. The opening episode follows roboticist Red Whittaker, a cheerful professor (who's also a business owner and a farmer) who has already built a very impressive legacy in his field.
  
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• Milky Way Mystery: Here's What Caused the Galaxy's Youngest Supernova

  05-04-2016 13:31
  
  The Milky Way's youngest supernova — an explosion of a star that renders it extremely bright — was probably caused by the collision of two ultradense remnants of stars, new research suggests. The supernova remnant was identified by radio telescope in 1984, and astronomers set out to fit X-ray and radio data to a model that could help reveal what instigated the explosion. Researchers tracked down the explosion's cause by measuring how the supernova remnant brightened over time, and th
  
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• At Venus, a Japanese Spacecraft is Almost Ready for Big Science

  05-04-2016 13:31
  
  A Japanese spacecraft's long-awaited Venus campaign is finally about to begin. Japan's Akatsuki probe was originally supposed to arrive at Venus in December 2010, but an engine failure caused the spacecraft to miss its target and zoom off into orbit around the sun.
  
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• Suu Kyi's state counsellor bill passes vote despite military protest

  05-04-2016 13:05
  By Timothy Mclaughlin YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar's military lawmakers made clear their opposition to a bill to create a powerful new presidential advisory role for Aung San Suu Kyi on Tuesday by refusing to take part in a lower house of parliament vote on it. The bill, which creates a state counsellor position enabling Suu Kyi to work in both in the executive and legislative branches of government, passed in the lower house but not before raising tension between the military and Suu Kyi's party.
  
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• Dome effect leaves Chinese megacities under thick haze

  05-04-2016 13:00
  
  Airborne black carbon lowers an atmospheric boundary, trapping pollution around major cities and worsening air quality, researchers propose.
  
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• Habitat for chimney-nesting bird at risk of 'going the way of the dodo'

  05-04-2016 12:30 via cbc.ca
  
  The numbers of a charcoal-coloured, boomerang-shaped migratory bird are on the decline across Canada, and one project is encouraging Manitobans livings in old buildings to do more to help save the threatened species.
  
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• Losing a loved one could quite literally break your heart

  05-04-2016 12:11
  
  Researchers said the risk appears to be greatest in younger people.
  
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• Arctic heat waves cause exceptional Greenland melt, says new study

  05-04-2016 11:32 via cbc.ca
  
  A new study by researchers from Denmark and Canada's York University says Arctic heat waves cause exceptional melts of the Greenland ice sheet, calling into question commonly-used climate models that may underestimate the impact of warm weather episodes.
  
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• Orbital presses U.S. lawmakers to end ban on retired missiles

  05-04-2016 11:23
  
  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - Orbital ATK is pressing U.S. lawmakers to end a 20-year ban on using decommissioned intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) for launching commercial satellites and the effort has raised concern among companies that have invested millions of dollars in potential rival rockets.
  
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• Syrian rebels advance against Islamic State near Turkish border

  05-04-2016 11:20
  By Suleiman Al-Khalidi AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian rebels were closing in on a town near the Turkish border held by Islamic State on Tuesday after seizing numerous villages from the group in the area, rebels and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The rebels involved in the offensive include factions fighting under the banner of the Free Syrian Army that have been supplied with weapons via Turkey. A sustained rebel advance near the Turkish border would erode Islamic State's last foothold
  
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• Grouse suit seeks to block new fences on BLM land in Nevada

  05-04-2016 10:35
  
  RENO, Nev. (AP) — Conservationists are suing the Bureau of Land Management to block the construction of fences in northern Nevada they say are intended to appease livestock ranchers at the risk of harming sage grouse and the drought-stricken federal rangeland.
  
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• Parrots escaped from pet trade may 'rival numbers in natural habitat'

  05-04-2016 10:02
  
  While numbers of red-crowned parrots have declined in Mexico, the birds are flourishing in parts of the US.
  
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