Science news

• Obama touts robots, US ingenuity at White House Science Fair

  13-04-2016 23:58
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — They came with eco-glue and Lego launchers. Their tag board displays were filled with charts, graphs and research on pollution. There were no little kids with plaster volcanoes in this crowd. But there was a trash-eating robot.
  
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• Zika’s role as a cause of severe birth defects confirmed

  13-04-2016 23:54
  
  A new analysis from the Centers for Disease control and Prevention confirms that Zika virus infection causes microcephaly and other severe birth defects.
  
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• STIs may have helped monogamy spread

  13-04-2016 23:31 via cbc.ca
  
  Why do modern human societies punish men with more than one wife, when hunter-gatherer groups encouraged successful men to have many wives? Sexually transmitted infections may have played a role in the rise of that human custom, a new study shows.
  
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• Sexually transmitted infections may have helped make monogamy the norm, study suggests

  13-04-2016 23:31 via cbc.ca
  
  Why do modern human societies punish men with more than one wife, when hunter-gatherer groups encouraged successful men to have many wives? Sexually transmitted infections may have played a role in the rise of that human custom, a new study shows.
  
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• UConn receives grant to exhibit collection of 2 million ants

  13-04-2016 23:01
  STORRS, Conn. (AP) — A federal grant will bring new life to decades of work by a University of Connecticut biologist who made more than 20 expeditions with his wife to the jungles of Central and South America following, studying and collecting millions of army ants.
  
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• CDC Declares Zika–Microcephaly Link Solid

  13-04-2016 23:00 via rss.sciam.com
  
  The U.S. health agency says it is important for pregnant women to take safe sex precautions and avoid mosquito bites 
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• Too Much Alcohol? Drinking Guidelines Vary by Country

  13-04-2016 22:33
  Drinking three or four alcoholic drinks in a day, on occasion, is considered safe in the U.S., but in Sweden and Germany, that's well over the amount that health authorities recommend. In the study, researchers analyzed safe drinking guidelines from 37 countries, looking at what each country defined as one "standard drink," as well as how many drinks it took to reach the recommended daily or weekly limit. They found that the amount of alcohol in a standard drink varied by 250 percent among
  
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• Shape-Shifting Particles: Mysterious Neutrinos [Video]

  13-04-2016 22:25 via rss.sciam.com
  
  Nobel physics laureate Arthur McDonald will discuss the surprising characteristics of neutrinos, which can change their identities as they fly through the universe
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• Search begins for clues in prehistoric crater linked to demise of dinosaurs

  13-04-2016 22:02
  
  MEXICO CITY - Scientists have begun drilling  for core samples, nearly 5,000 feet below the seabed, of a prehistoric crater caused by an asteroid collision  that is linked to the extinction of dinosaurs.
  
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• Facebook profile photos are becoming videos with Toronto startup Flixel

  13-04-2016 21:53 via cbc.ca
  
  Amid the drones, bots and goggles, Facebook announced a partnership with Flixel, a Toronto startup.
  
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• Scientists find pandas have their own language

  13-04-2016 21:44 via cbc.ca
  
  60 years of research suggests 20 distinct types of communication
  
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• LSD May Chip Away at the Brain's "Sense of Self" Network

  13-04-2016 21:25 via rss.sciam.com
  
  Brain imaging suggests LSD’s consciousness-altering traits may work by hindering some brain networks and boosting overall connectivity
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• Why Hope Remains for Saving the World's Largest Gorillas (Op-Ed)

  13-04-2016 21:16
  Andrew Plumptre is a senior conservationist in the Uganda Program at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). Radar Nishuli is chief park warden for the Kahuzi-Biega National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo working for the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN). The Rwandan genocide in 1994 forced hundreds of thousands of refugees to flee to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which two years later became embroiled in a calamitous civil war — an estimated
  
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• Carl Sagan on the Bible, Aliens and Hollywood (The Experimenters)

  13-04-2016 21:16
  
  David Gerlach is the executive producer of "Blank on Blank," which brings new life to classic interviews, and the founder of Quoted Studios, a nonprofit dedicated to animated journalism. This original text highlights the video about Carl Sagan that originally appeared at "Blank on Blank." Gerlach contributed this article to Space.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Carl Sagan was able to explain the science of space in a way everyone could understand.
  
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• Siblings' Dilemma? Solve Backseat Bickering with Game Theory (Op-Ed)

  13-04-2016 21:15
  
  Kevin Zollman, a game theorist and associate professor of philosophy at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, contributed this article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Game theory is the science of strategic thinking. While the name brings to mind a chess master or poker savant, this area of study deals with much more than what people ordinarily call "games." Although traces of game theory go back millennia, this study of strategy was invented as a field in the 194
  
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• Earth's Finished! Time to Build a Backup

  13-04-2016 21:14
  
  Imagine a world without public storage, in which there are no lockers of various sizes and price points. A world in which human beings redecorating or going through divorce or preserving fine china they have no intention of ever using — but would like to pass along to their children — cannot stow valuable junk safely. In a sense, that's the world that exists now, if you think of human beings as stuff, which means humanity has 7 billion of its valuables out in the open, with no contin
  
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• Sudan concludes Darfur referendum amid opposition boycott

  13-04-2016 20:54
  By Khalid Abdelaziz EL FASHER, Sudan (Reuters) - Darfuris concluded voting on Wednesday in a referendum on whether to reunite the states of their arid western region, amid a boycott by rebel groups that accuse the government of rigging the vote to keep Darfur divided. The Sudanese government's decision to split Darfur into three states in 1994 helped fuel discontent that eventually erupted into fighting - rebels and many from the large Fur tribe said the break-up allowed Khartoum to weaken and r
  
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• Amazon unveils its smallest, most expensive e-reader

  13-04-2016 20:51 via cbc.ca
  
  Will loyal fans of e-books be willing to pay tablet prices for dedicated e-readers? Amazon is about to find out.
  
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• United Launch Alliance suspends Atlas 5 flights

  13-04-2016 20:21
  
  COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Reuters) - United Launch Alliance said on Wednesday its Atlas 5 rocket will need to be repaired before flights resume following an early engine shutdown on its last mission.
  
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• Device harnessing thoughts allows quadriplegic to use his hands

  13-04-2016 19:32
  
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An Ohio man paralyzed in an accident while diving in waves can now pick up a bottle or play the video game Guitar Hero thanks to a small computer chip in his brain that lets his mind guide his hands and fingers, bypassing his damaged spinal cord.
  
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• Study: Brain implant lets paralyzed man regain use of hand

  13-04-2016 19:29
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — A paralyzed 24-year-old man has regained some use of his right hand, controlling it with signals relayed from electronic sensors in his brain.
  
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• Bed bugs' thick skins beat insecticide

  13-04-2016 19:23 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Bed bugs might be developing thicker "skins" to help them survive exposure to common insecticides.
  
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• Intuition helps humans beat computers in thorny physics game

  13-04-2016 19:20
  
  BERLIN (AP) — Computers may have us beat at chess and checkers, but new research suggests our brains still have an edge when it comes to solving certain tricky problems thanks to a very human trait: intuition.
  
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• Man with quadriplegia regains ability to pinch and grasp in lab

  13-04-2016 19:05 via cbc.ca
  
  A man with a spinal cord injury regained limited movement of his fingers, hand and wrist in a lab trial of implanted chip technology that allowed him to harness signals from his brain.
  
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• 'Thought control' has been used to help a paralysed patient move his fingers

  13-04-2016 19:01
  
  Now Ian Burkhart can even play Guitar Hero.
  
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• Spinal cord work-around reanimates paralyzed hand

  13-04-2016 19:00
  
  A neural prosthesis can bypass a severed spinal cord, allowing a paralyzed hand to once again move.
  
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• Implant lets paralysed man 'play guitar'

  13-04-2016 19:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  In a world first, a quadriplegic man can once again move his own fingers after a chip was implanted in his brain.
  
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• Gamers outperform computer at quantum task

  13-04-2016 19:00
  
  Quantum mechanics may be weird, but a new video game shows that human intuition can still best computers at quantum tasks.
  
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• Tim Peake to run London Marathon from space with help of 'shadow runner'

  13-04-2016 18:58
  Astronaut Tim Peake is counting down to the London Marathon, which he will run on board the International Space Station in just 11 days' time.
  
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• Woman accused of livestreaming her friend's rape on Periscope

  13-04-2016 18:55 via cbc.ca
  
  A woman used a social media app to livestream the alleged rape of a 17-year-old girl, an Ohio prosecutor said Wednesday as a grand jury indicted the woman and a co-defendant on several charges including rape and kidnapping.
  
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• Drought-hit Venezuela awaits rain at crucial Guri dam

  13-04-2016 18:02
  By Andrew Cawthorne GURI, Venezuela (Reuters) - Drought has turned parts of the area behind Venezuela's Guri dam, one of the world's biggest, into a desert, but the government is optimistic of rain within weeks to drive the vast installation that provides the bulk of the OPEC nation's power.     On a tour of the hydroelectric complex on the Caroni river, Electricity Minister Luis Motta told Reuters that forecasts showed a 70 to 80 percent chance of rain towards the end of April or
  
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• Last Flight-Qualified Space Shuttle External Tank Sets Sail for California

  13-04-2016 17:54
  
  NEW ORLEANS — NASA’s last-existing, built-for-flight space shuttle external tank was launched Tuesday (April 12) on a 40-day sea voyage from New Orleans to Los Angeles, 35 years to the day after the first such tank fueled the maiden flight of the iconic winged spacecraft. Secured atop an open-air, flatbed barge, the 154-foot-long (47 meters) orange-brown tank left the dock at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facilityin Louisiana, beginning its journey to the California Science Center for
  
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• 'Starshot' Interstellar Probes May Hunt for Alien Life Close to Home

  13-04-2016 17:53
  
  The tiny robotic spacecraft that Stephen Hawking and his colleagues plan to send between the stars could also revolutionize the hunt for alien life in Earth's own solar system. Today (April 12), Hawking, several other scientists and billionaire investor Yuri Milner announced Breakthrough Starshot, a $100 million initiative to develop the technology required to accelerate postage-stamp-size, sail-equipped "nanocraft" to 20 percent the speed of light using powerful ground-based lasers. The Starsho
  
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• New Evidence Points to Personal Brain Signatures

  13-04-2016 16:30 via rss.sciam.com
  
  Brain scans of a person doing nothing at all can predict how neural circuits will light up when that same individual is gambling or reading a book  
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• Is the RCMP using Stingray devices to spy on cellphone users?

  13-04-2016 16:13 via cbc.ca
  
  Is the RCMP using a technology that could allow them to secretly track and intercept Canadians' wireless communications? The federal police agency has been asked to respond to questions related to a federal privacy complaint.
  
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• No more curtains thanks to next generation window technology

  13-04-2016 15:35
  By Ben Gruber Cambridge, MASS (Reuters) - - Curtains and blinds may soon be a design choice as opposed as to a tool for privacy. Windows that can transition between clear and cloudy in a second may soon be a reality thanks to technology under development at Harvard University's School of Engineering.
  
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• Ceasefire observers deploy in three Yemeni provinces to monitor truce

  13-04-2016 15:11
  Local ceasefire monitors arrived at three Yemeni provinces on Wednesday to consolidate a shaky truce, residents and officials said, ahead of U.N.-sponsored peace talks scheduled to start in Kuwait next week. Over 6,200 people have been killed in a year of fighting between forces loyal to President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and the Houthis, a conflict pitting the Yemeni allies of Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, against those of Iran. Local officials said teams of 12 monitors were deploye
  
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• How I Learned the Art of Math [Excerpt]

  13-04-2016 14:00 via rss.sciam.com
  
  Mathematician Ken Ono describes how an inspiring mentor helped him redefine his relationship with numbers in this excerpt from his new book, written with mathematics writer Amir Aczel
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• 'Mars Matters' for the Future of Space Exploration, NASA Chief Says

  13-04-2016 13:35
  
  "Mars matters," was the central theme of a speech by NASA administrator and former astronaut Charles Bolden today (April 12) at the National Space Symposium, perhaps the largest international spaceflight meeting in the world. Bolden noted that almost six years ago today, President Obama announced at the Kennedy Space Center that NASA should pursue a human mission to Mars. "Even though we here recognize why Mars matters, it's important every now and again to remind ourselves, so that we'll be mor
  
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• Is the Universe a Simulation? Scientists Debate

  13-04-2016 13:35
  
  Is the universe just an enormous, fantastically complex simulation? These were the big questions that a group of scientists, as well as one philosopher, tackled on April 5 during the 17th annual Isaac Asimov Debate here at the American Museum of Natural History. The event honors Asimov, the visionary science-fiction writer, by inviting experts in diverse fields to discuss pressing questions on the scientific frontiers.
  
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• 500,000 Milky Way Stars Shine in Amazing New Video

  13-04-2016 13:35
  
  A jaw-dropping new video takes viewers on an epic journey through the center of the Milky Way, where hundreds of thousands of stars jostle shoulder-to-shoulder near the galaxy's supermassive black hole. The new Milky Way video, which we set to the cosmic tune "Stars" by Grace Potter, shows more than 500,000 stars in the densest, most massive cluster in the galaxy, which lies near the Milky Way's core. "This region is so tightly packed that it is equivalent to having 1 million stars crammed into
  
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• The Tee-Hee Test: Laughter Reveals Your Real Friends

  13-04-2016 13:17
  
  It's no joke — laughter can actually provide clues about whether people are among friends or strangers, a new study finds. When people laugh among friends, their guffaws tend to sound more excited than when that laughter occurs between strangers, said study lead researcher Greg Bryant, an associate professor in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). "It is often faster and has more irregularities in frequency and loudness that gives it
  
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• Israel's Oldest Glass Factory Discovered

  13-04-2016 13:12
  
  Archaeologists say they've have unearthed the oldest known glass factory in Israel, dating back to the fourth century A.D. The discovery of turquoise chunks of raw glass and collapsed, ash-covered kilns provide the first archaeological evidence of glass production in Israel during the Late Roman period. "We know from historical sources dating to the Roman period that the Valley of Akko was renowned for the excellent-quality sand located there, which was highly suitable for the manufacture of gla
  
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• Bloodhound Diary: Planning for the roughest of rides

  13-04-2016 13:06 via bbc.co.uk
  
  What's it going to be like to drive at 1,000mph?
  
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• Birds tracked on mammoth Sahara flight

  13-04-2016 12:27 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A tracking study shows that a small, nocturnal songbird crosses the Sahara in a single 40-60 hour flight during its spring and autumn migrations.
  
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• Obama plans to attend his final White House Science Fair

  13-04-2016 09:25
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Some of America's brightest children will visit the White House as President Barack Obama holds his final science fair to highlight work that excelled in a broad range of competitions.
  
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• Poo from Edinburgh zoo pandas being used for diet research

  13-04-2016 08:52
  
  Samples will be provided by both of the zoo’s residents, female Tian Tian and her mate Yang Guang, then compared to samples from the wild.
  
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• Astronaut Tim Peake backs £40m pool to help space research - from ISS

  13-04-2016 08:35
  
  The ambitious facility would become the world’s deepest and largest indoor pool.
  
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• Lone wolf in northern B.C. destroyed after stalking walkers, killing dog

  13-04-2016 06:10 via cbc.ca
  
  A wolf that's been prowling city streets in Prince Rupert for several months has been destroyed by conservation officials after it approached people, stalked a dog walker, and killed a backyard pet.
  
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• Words for snow revisited: Languages support efficient communication about the environment

  13-04-2016 06:00
  
  (Carnegie Mellon University) The claim that Eskimo languages have many words for different types of snow is well known among the public, but it has been greatly exaggerated and is therefore often dismissed by scholars of language. A new study supports the general idea behind the original claim. Researchers found that languages that use the same word for snow and ice tend to be spoken in warmer climates, reflecting lower communicative need to talk about snow and ice.
  
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