Science news

• Stephen Hawking joins futuristic bid to explore outer space

  12-04-2016 23:16
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — With famed physicist Stephen Hawking at his side, an Internet investor announced Tuesday that he's spending $100 million on a futuristic plan to explore far outside our solar system.
  
  Read more

• Want a pizza? There's a bot for that — coming soon

  12-04-2016 23:12 via cbc.ca
  
  Online "bot" technology unveiled by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg represents the next step forward in how people interact with businesses, goods and services, according to one expert. But will it also make you worry about your privacy?
  
  Read more

• Ottawa moving on high-speed charging stations for electric cars

  12-04-2016 23:00 via cbc.ca
  
  Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr says he is planning to ask the private sector for proposals to develop a series of fast charging stations across the country.
  
  Read more

• How Does a Mathematician's Brain Differ from That of a Mere Mortal?

  12-04-2016 22:10 via rss.sciam.com
  
  Processing high-level math concepts uses the same neural networks as the basic math skills a child is born with
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Ratchet & Clank a stellar game with promising movie tie-in

  12-04-2016 22:02 via cbc.ca
  
  Is Ratchet & Clank, the latest game in the series and a remake of the 2002 original, an advertisement for the upcoming film adaptation, or the other way around?
  
  Read more

• [Research Article] Metalloprotease cleavage of the N terminus of the orphan G protein-coupled receptor GPR37L1 reduces its constitutive activity

  12-04-2016 21:19 via stke.sciencemag.org
  The N terminus of the receptor GPR37L1 enables constitutive signaling to Gαs.
  
  Read more

• [Research Article] Gβ promotes pheromone receptor polarization and yeast chemotropism by inhibiting receptor phosphorylation

  12-04-2016 21:19 via stke.sciencemag.org
  The Gβ subunit promotes mating responses in yeast by keeping pheromone receptors at the cell surface.
  
  Read more

• [Research Article] Dominant-negative Gα subunits are a mechanism of dysregulated heterotrimeric G protein signaling in human disease

  12-04-2016 21:19 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Mutations in the G protein subunit Gαi3 prevent the endothelin receptor from coupling to the appropriate G protein in patients with auriculo-condylar syndrome.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• [Podcast] Science Signaling Podcast for 12 April 2016: G proteins in auriculo-condylar syndrome

  12-04-2016 21:19 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Mutations that cause a GPCR to couple to the wrong G protein cause auriculo-condylar syndrome.
  
  Read more

• [Editors' Choice] Spatially restricting caspase activation

  12-04-2016 21:19 via stke.sciencemag.org
  A Krebs cycle protein enables the caspase-dependent elimination of spermatid mitochondria without killing the cell.
  
  Read more

• [Editors' Choice] Repurposing an HIV drug for melanoma

  12-04-2016 21:19 via stke.sciencemag.org
  The HIV drug nelfinavir overcomes resistance to BRAF and MEK inhibitors in melanoma.
  
  Read more

• [Editors' Choice] PTEN as a tumor promoter

  12-04-2016 21:19 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Because it enhances the survival of pre-B cells, PTEN could be targeted to treat pre-B acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
  
  Read more

• [Editorial Guide] Focus Issue: New insights in GPCR to G protein signaling

  12-04-2016 21:19 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Complexity in how G proteins and their receptors signal continues to emerge
  
  Read more

• Stephen Hawking and Mark Zuckerberg are backing a microscopic spaceships project

  12-04-2016 21:09
  
  Breakthrough Starshot will look at sending the tiny spacecraft far beyond the boundaries of our solar system.
  
  Read more

• SpaceX's recovered rocket back at port after sea landing

  12-04-2016 21:01
  
  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The rocket that made a historic landing at sea last week is back at its home port.
  
  Read more

• Surgery begins to separate infant conjoined twins in Texas

  12-04-2016 20:58
  
  CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) — Surgery has started in Texas to separate two 10-month-old sisters born conjoined below the waist.
  
  Read more

• Swiss group buys Airbus jet for zero-gravity flights

  12-04-2016 20:49
  
  ZURICH (Reuters) - A Swiss aerospace group plans to offer zero-gravity flights this year in an airliner that will expose thrill-seekers with strong stomachs to repeated bouts of weightlessness.
  
  Read more

• Wi-Fi can be used to pinpoint your location to within centimetres

  12-04-2016 20:45 via cbc.ca
  
  Many of us use Wi-Fi to check email, watch videos, and browse social media. But as CBC Radio technology columnist Dan Misener explains, it can now be used to track your precise position, nearly down to the centimetre.
  
  Read more

• Baseball-size hail hits Dallas area; no injuries reported

  12-04-2016 20:43
  WYLIE, Texas (AP) — Hail the size of baseballs has broken windows and damaged buildings and cars in the Dallas area, forcing the closure of some schools.
  
  Read more

• Brain scans show how LSD mimics mind of a baby

  12-04-2016 20:37
  
  LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists have for the first time scanned the brains of people using LSD and found the psychedelic drug frees the brain to become less compartmentalized and more like the mind of a baby.
  
  Read more

• Billionaire Yuri Milner bids another $100 million to explore the cosmos

  12-04-2016 20:35
  
  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Billionaire Internet investor Yuri Milner announced another $100 million initiative on Tuesday to better understand the cosmos, this time by deploying thousands of tiny spacecraft to travel to our nearest neighboring star system and send back pictures.
  
  Read more

• Stephen Hawking Helps Launch Project 'Starshot' for Interstellar Space Exploration

  12-04-2016 20:19
  
  The famed cosmologist, along with a group of scientists and billionaire investor Yuri Milner, unveiled an ambitious new $100 million project today (April 12) called Breakthrough Starshot, which aims to build the prototype for a tiny, light-propelled robotic spacecraft that could visit the nearby star Alpha Centauri after a journey of just 20 years. "The limit that confronts us now is the great void between us and the stars, but now we can transcend it," Hawking said today during a news conferenc
  
  Read more

• Sea-level rise factors unravelled

  12-04-2016 19:56 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Global sea-level rise since the 1970s has been predominantly driven by greenhouse gas emissions and not natural climate variability, a study suggests.
  
  Read more

• 6 elements your apology must include to be truly effective, according to science

  12-04-2016 19:35
  
  And if you’re going to skimp on a few, make sure you at least include the two “most important”.
  
  Read more

• Hawking, Milner want to send thousands of tiny spacecraft to Alpha Centauri

  12-04-2016 19:28 via cbc.ca
  
  Billionaire internet investor Yuri Milner announced another $100 million US initiative on Tuesday to better understand the cosmos, this time by deploying thousands of tiny spacecraft to travel to our nearest neighboring star system and send back pictures.
  
  Read more

• Stephen Hawking and Mark Zuckerberg backing microscopic spaceships project

  12-04-2016 19:10
  
  Physicist Stephen Hawking, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Russian internet billionaire Yuri Milner have announced a project that could send microscopic spaceships to hunt for extraterrestrial life in the far reaches of space.
  
  Read more

• Kepler telescope readies for new mission after communications scare

  12-04-2016 18:56
  
  The Kepler space telescope has recovered from going into emergency mode and is now ready for its next planet-hunting mission.
  
  Read more

• A new solution to keep food fresher could be 'world-changing'

  12-04-2016 18:46
  
  Scientists believe this could help tackle world hunger.
  
  Read more

• Hawking backs 'starship' project

  12-04-2016 18:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Professor Stephen Hawking backs a project to send spaceships to another solar system within a generation
  
  Read more

• $100 Million Plan Will Send Probes to the Nearest Star

  12-04-2016 18:00 via rss.sciam.com
  
  Funded by Russian entrepreneur Yuri Milner and with the blessing of Stephen Hawking, Breakthrough Starshot aims to send probes to Alpha Centauri in a generation
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
  Read more

• World's Longest Snake Dies 3 Days After Being Captured

  12-04-2016 17:09
  
  A humongous reticulated python measuring 26.2-foot-long (8 meters) long was captured at a Malaysian construction site last week, but the snake died three days later while laying an egg, news sources report. In October 2011, Medusa, a reticulated python (Python reticulatus), measured 25.1 feet (7.67 m) at her home in Kansas City, Missouri, Guinness World Records reported.
  
  Read more

• Red Crabs Swarm Like Insects in Incredible Underwater Video

  12-04-2016 17:09
  
  A strange cloud of disturbed silt in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Panama unexpectedly led marine biologists to an incredible sight: thousands of red crabs close to the sea bottom that were "swarming like insects," according to the researchers. The scientists were in a submersible investigating biodiversity at the Hannibal Bank seamount — an underwater mountain and a known ecological hotspot — when they spotted a disturbance in the water that led them to the unusual sight at dep
  
  Read more

• Daily Aspirin Is Most Beneficial in Your 50s, Panel Says

  12-04-2016 16:56
  Daily aspirin is also beneficial for men and women who start taking it in their 60s, but its overall benefits are smaller than those for people who start taking it in their 50s, according to the new advice from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). Taking one daily low-dose (81 milligrams) aspirin tablet may be an inexpensive and effective way to help reduce the rates of heart disease, cancer and stroke, which are major causes of deaths for adults in the U.S., the USPSTF said. But wh
  
  Read more

• Brain Injury Signs Show Up in Retired NFL Players

  12-04-2016 16:55
  Many retired NFL players may have signs of brain injury, according to a new study. In the study, more than 40 percent of the retired players whom researchers examined showed signs of traumatic brain injury (TBI), which is damage to the brain caused by an outside force.
  
  Read more

• The Brain on LSD: New Scans Show Drug's Trippy Effects

  12-04-2016 16:54
  From hallucinations to a loss of your sense of self, the effects of taking a drug such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) have been known for some time. Taking LSD leads to increases in activity in the visual parts of the brain, which helps to explain the visual hallucinations associated with taking the drug, according to the new study, published today (April 11) in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. These results reveal how LSD can alter a person's consciousness so pr
  
  Read more

• Here's How You Can Prevent Foot Blisters While Running

  12-04-2016 16:54
  All it takes is some paper tape applied to the foot in blister-prone areas before running, the researchers said. The researchers applied paper tape to just part of each runner's foot, so that the untaped areas would serve as a control. "People have been doing studies on blister prevention for 30 or 40 years and never found anything easy that works," Dr. Grant Lipman, a co-author of the study and an emergency-medicine physician at Stanford University Medical Center in California, said in a statem
  
  Read more

• Zika Virus Linked with Another Brain Disease: What's ADEM?

  12-04-2016 16:53
  Some people infected with the Zika virus may develop a rare neurological disorder that is similar to multiple sclerosis, a new study from Brazil suggests. The study reports two cases of people who were infected with the Zika virus and who later developed a condition called acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM). In people with this condition, the body's own immune system causes swelling in the brain and spinal cord, and damages the protective coating of nerve fibers called myelin.
  
  Read more

• Mark Zuckerberg announces business chatbots, live video from drones

  12-04-2016 16:50 via cbc.ca
  
  Facebook is letting businesses connect with customers using automated chatbots on Messenger and providing tools that will allow live video to be streamed to Facebook from devices such as drones.
  
  Read more

• Dropbox integrates with Facebook Messenger ahead of F8 developer conference

  12-04-2016 16:50 via cbc.ca
  
  New features for Facebook Messenger are expected at the company's F8 developer conference today, but at least one has already been rolled out.
  
  Read more

• Declassified - Secretive North Korea lifts veil on arms programme

  12-04-2016 15:58
  By Jack Kim and David Brunnstrom SEOUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Ahead of a rare ruling party Congress next month, secretive North Korea is revealing details of its weapons development programme for the first time, showcasing its push to develop long-range nuclear missiles despite international sanctions. Until recently, information on the North's weapons programme was hard to come by, with foreign governments and experts relying on satellite imagery, tiny samples of atomic particles collected afte
  
  Read more

• New 'Rembrandt' Painting Was Created by Computer

  12-04-2016 15:48
  
  Last week, scholars revealed an as-yet-unknown Rembrandt painting. But it turns out this mysterious picture wasn't a long-lost Rembrandt canvas uncovered in some forgotten 17th-century warehouse: It was instead made out of whole cloth by a computer algorithm and a 3D printer. The computer algorithm created the "new Rembrandt" after painstakingly studying the painter's entire corpus, then mimicking Rembrandt's painting techniques, styles and subjects.
  
  Read more

• New species of tumbleweed is just as bad as its parents

  12-04-2016 15:35
  
  Two species of invasive tumbleweeds hybridized into a third. A new study finds it probably will be invasive, too.
  
  Read more

• Baby pandas get 'kindergarten' sanctuary in China

  12-04-2016 15:18 via cbc.ca
  
  China has established a "kindergarten" for baby pandas whose mothers are unable to care for them.
  
  Read more

• Autism Glass Takes Top Student Health Tech Prize [Slide Show]

  12-04-2016 15:00 via rss.sciam.com
  
  Stanford grad student’s invention uses Google Glass to help autistic children recognize facial and social cues in real time
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
  Read more

• Environmental group files lawsuit over 'expired' Shell Arctic oil permits

  12-04-2016 14:45 via cbc.ca
  
  On Monday, the World Wildlife Fund filed a lawsuit in Federal Court alleging that 30 permits held by Shell Canada at the eastern gate of the Northwest Passage lapsed decades ago.
  
  Read more

• Basic internet speed, service levels may not be enforced by CRTC

  12-04-2016 14:39 via cbc.ca
  
  Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission chairman Jean-Pierre Blais says any internet speed or service level his agency finds ideal won't automatically mean regulatory action to ensure it's accessible to everyone.
  
  Read more

• Handwriting study finds clues on when biblical texts written

  12-04-2016 14:15
  
  JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli mathematicians and archaeologists say they have found evidence to suggest that key biblical texts may have been composed earlier than what some scholars think.
  
  Read more

• The Bible Is Really Old, Handwriting Analysis Reveals

  12-04-2016 14:11
  
  Key parts of the Old Testament may have been compiled earlier than some scholars thought, suggests a new handwriting analysis of text on pottery shards. The shards, found at a frontier fort dating to around 600 B.C., were written by at least six different people, suggesting that literacy was widespread in the ancient kingdom of Judah, said study co-author Israel Finkelstein, an archaeologist and biblical scholar at Tel Aviv University in Israel. "We're dealing with really low-level soldiers in a
  
  Read more

• Scorching Jupiter-Like Planet Throws Wrench in Planet Migration Ideas

  12-04-2016 13:43
  
  Data from the Spitzer telescope show that the planet does not dissipate much heat and that its orbit will take an astounding 10 billion years or more to become circular. "The long time scales we are observing here suggest that a leading migration mechanism may not be as efficient for hot-Jupiter formation as once believed," Greg Laughlin, an astronomer at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a co-author of the study, said in the same statement. Instead, data from the Spitzer telescope s
  
  Read more

• What Might the Putative 'Planet Nine' Look Like?

  12-04-2016 13:42
  
  Astronomers are trying to take the measure of Planet Nine before the hypothesized world has even been discovered. Earlier this year, astronomers Konstantin Batygin and Mike Brown, both of whom are based at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, proposed that a large planet lurks undetected in the outer solar system, far beyond Pluto's orbit. These objects' orbits suggest that Planet Nine may be about 10 times more massive than Earth, and may circle the sun at an average distanc
  
  Read more

Follow @ScienceUKnews on Twitter!