Science news

• Interstellar Dust Found at Saturn

  19-04-2016 23:39
  
  Some of the dust swirling around Saturn comes from beyond the solar system, a new study reveals. NASA's Saturn-orbiting Cassini spacecraft has sampled millions of dust grains since arriving at the ringed planet in 2004. While most of those grains come from jets erupting from Saturn's icy moon Enceladus, 36 of them were born between the stars, researchers said.
  
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• Bright Ceres Crater Looks Like a Stop Sign (Photos)

  19-04-2016 23:39
  
  A strange crater on Ceres seems to be warning spacecraft not to land on the dwarf planet's battered surface. The rim of Ceres' Haulani Crater is composed of relatively straight lines, making the 21-mile-wide (34 kilometers) feature look oddly like a stop sign, as several dazzling new photos captured by NASA's Dawn probe show. "The crater's polygonal nature (meaning it resembles a shape made of straight lines) is noteworthy because most craters seen on other planetary bodies, including Earth, are
  
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• 'For the Love of Spock': New Film Honors Leonard Nimoy's Legacy

  19-04-2016 23:02
  
  As the credits rolled in "For the Love of Spock" — a new documentary honoring Leonard Nimoy and the beloved "Star Trek" character he portrayed — a long, long list of names scrolled by to the tune of David Bowie's "Starman," sung by Nimoy's grandson. Indeed, the documentary was always made for the character's many fans, said Nimoy's son, Adam Nimoy. After a screening last night (April 18), Adam Nimoy took the stage to describe the documentary's evolution and the tricky balance between
  
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• U.S. criticizes Machar for failing to return to South Sudan capital

  19-04-2016 23:01
  The United States voiced dismay on Tuesday at rebel leader Riek Machar's failure to return to South Sudan's capital to form a unity government under a peace deal aimed at ending more than two years of violence. Machar was to arrive in Juba on Monday and to be sworn in as first vice president under an August peace deal that called for a transitional national government. Thousands of people have been killed since the conflict erupted in December 2013 after a power struggle between Machar, an ethni
  
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• Tesla Autopilot credited with preventing collision with truck

  19-04-2016 22:46 via cbc.ca
  
  An American driver says Tesla's automated driving features saved his Model S from being hit from the side by a truck crossing his lane on an interstate highway.
  
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• Chipmaker Intel chopping 12,000 jobs

  19-04-2016 22:43 via cbc.ca
  
  Falling personal computers sales means chipmaker Intel is cutting 12,000 jobs, or roughly 11 per cent of its workforce.
  
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• Chipmaker Intel chopping 11% of its workforce

  19-04-2016 22:43 via cbc.ca
  
  Intel is cutting 12,000 jobs — about 11 per cent of its workforce — as it reorganizes to confront a decline in sales of personal computers.
  
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• Chocolate milk maker wanted study promoted with Concussion movie

  19-04-2016 21:49 via cbc.ca
  
  A small chocolate milk company wanted to tout the ability of its drink in helping high school athletes recover from concussions to coincide with the Will Smith movie Concussion, according to emails obtained by The Associated Press.
  
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• U.N. world powers press Yemenis to start talks, truce in danger

  19-04-2016 21:48
  By Mohammed Ghobari KUWAIT (Reuters) - The United Nations and world powers sought on Tuesday to persuade Yemen's Houthis to send representatives to peace talks in Kuwait as a shaky truce teetered near collapse, delegates said. Houthi negotiators have stayed put in the capital Sanaa, which their movement holds, demanding a ceasefire that began on April 10 be fully observed before they travel for the talks originally planned to start with representatives of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi's gover
  
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• Pieces of Homo naledi story continue to puzzle

  19-04-2016 21:11
  
  Researchers defend Homo naledi as a new hominid species and debate how it reached an underground cave.
  
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• [Research Resource] Computational spatiotemporal analysis identifies WAVE2 and cofilin as joint regulators of costimulation-mediated T cell actin dynamics

  19-04-2016 20:47 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Live-cell microscopy determines the relative contributions of different signaling pathways to actin reorganization in T cells.
  
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• [Research Article] FOXF1 maintains endothelial barrier function and prevents edema after lung injury

  19-04-2016 20:47 via stke.sciencemag.org
  The transcription factor FOXF1 activates a signaling pathway in endothelial cells that promotes recovery from lung injury.
  
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• [Research Article] Enhanced responsiveness of GhsrQ343X rats to ghrelin results in enhanced adiposity without increased appetite

  19-04-2016 20:47 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Ghrelin promotes weight gain in the form of fat without increasing appetite.
  
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• [Focus] Dissociating ghrelin-dependent G protein from β-arrestin-2 signaling in transgenic rats

  19-04-2016 20:47 via stke.sciencemag.org
  A truncated mutant ghrelin receptor increases fat deposition without altering appetite.
  
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• [Editors' Choice] Two faces of WNT signaling

  19-04-2016 20:47 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Endogenous WNT antagonists have roles in both childhood brain cancer and melanoma in the elderly.
  
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• [Editors' Choice] New connections: Species-specific immune responses

  19-04-2016 20:47 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Mouse and human macrophages use distinct signaling molecules to respond to similar stimuli.
  
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• [Editors' Choice] Host exploits bacterial quorum sensing

  19-04-2016 20:47 via stke.sciencemag.org
  When damaged or exposed to bacteria, intestinal epithelial cells release a molecule that activates bacterial quorum-sensing.
  
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• [Editors' Choice] Educating macrophages to clean up the tumor space

  19-04-2016 20:47 via stke.sciencemag.org
  CD40 agonist immunotherapy improves the efficacy of chemotherapy by directing antifibrotic macrophages to pancreatic tumors.
  
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• New sky map charts previously unknown gamma-ray sources

  19-04-2016 20:31
  
  A new map of the sky from the High-Altitude Water Cherenkov Observatory charts the cosmic origins of high-energy photons.
  
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• Why you should be nice when you're chatting with robots

  19-04-2016 20:09 via cbc.ca
  
  It's becoming easier than ever to converse with a robot — via applications like Facebook Messenger and Apple's Siri. CBC Radio technology columnist Dan Misener explains why the way we treat chatbots reveals a lot about who we are as humans.
  
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• Earth's hot streak continues for a record 11 months

  19-04-2016 19:51
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Earth's record monthly heat streak has hit 11 months in a row — a record in itself.
  
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• U.N. chief urges warring Yemen parties to start peace talks

  19-04-2016 19:29
  United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged Yemen's warring parties on Tuesday to "engage in good faith" with his envoy on the conflict so that peace talks could start without further delay, his spokesman said. U.N. mediator Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed is seeking to persuade Yemen's Houthi rebels to send representatives to peace talks in Kuwait as a shaky truce declared on April 10 teetered near collapse, delegates said earlier on Tuesday. "The Secretary-General is convinced that seizing thi
  
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• How alien can a planet be and still support life?

  19-04-2016 19:00
  
  Geoscientists imagine the unearthly mechanisms that could keep alien planets habitable.
  
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• Dozens killed in Syria air strikes, Syrian army attacks northwest

  19-04-2016 18:49
  Air strikes on two markets killed up to 50 people in northwest Syria on Tuesday, as Syrian government forces backed by Russian air power also launched strikes against rebels in the province of Latakia, a rebel group and a conflict monitor said. Targets included towns and villages where a partial truce agreement had brought about a lull in fighting between the government and rebels since Feb. 27. In the insurgent stronghold of Idlib province, which neighbours Latakia, air strikes on a vegetable m
  
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• Polar bears forced to swim long distances as Arctic ice melts

  19-04-2016 18:48 via cbc.ca
  
  Scientists are concerned about the discovery that many polar bears the Canadian Arctic are making marathon swims of several days in search of stable ice as the Beaufort Sea melts with climate change.
  
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• Melting Arctic ice forces polar bears to swim for days

  19-04-2016 18:48 via cbc.ca
  
  Scientists are concerned about the discovery that many polar bears in the Canadian Arctic are making marathon swims of several days in search of stable ice as the Beaufort Sea melts with climate change.
  
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• European digital single market plans welcomed by Government

  19-04-2016 18:25
  
  Downing Street has welcomed new European Commission proposals to move towards a single market in digital services, including the creation of a "European cloud" which will provide an environment for 70 million science and technology professionals to store and share data.
  
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• 'Magic Mushroom' Drug Psilocybin May Ease Pain of Rejection

  19-04-2016 17:16
  During this game, people reported feeling less social pain when they received psilocybin, compared with when they received a placebo, or "dummy pill." In addition, participants' brain scans showed less activity in brain regions linked with feelings of social pain after they took psilocybin compared with after taking a placebo. Such treatments could be important for people with certain psychiatric disorders, who often encounter social rejection, and who may react more strongly to rejection than a
  
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• Eating Nuts Linked to Lower Risk of Colon Cancer

  19-04-2016 17:15
  Now, new findings from South Korea suggest that a nut-rich diet may also reduce a person's risk of colon cancer. Eating a serving of nuts three or more times a week appeared to have a big effect on risk, said Dr. Aesun Shin, an associate professor of preventive medicine at Seoul National University College of Medicine in South Korea and an author of the study. This may be due to the availability of peanuts in South Korea, the researchers said.
  
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• Your Genes May Influence When You Lose Your Virginity

  19-04-2016 17:14
  Genetics may have a say in when people lose their virginity. "Clearly some of the things that impact the age of first sex are social," study co-author Felix Day, a genetics researcher at the University of Cambridge in the U.K., told Live Science.
  
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• Palmyra's ancient Arch of Triumph, destroyed by ISIS, recreated

  19-04-2016 16:51 via cbc.ca
  
  A meticulous recreation of the 1,800-year-old Arch of Triumph in Palmyra, Syria, destroyed by Islamic State militants last year, has been erected in Trafalgar Square in what London Mayor Boris Johnson called an act of defiance.
  
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• Palmyra's ancient Arch de Triomphe, destroyed by ISIS, recreated

  19-04-2016 16:51 via cbc.ca
  
  A meticulous recreation of the 1,800-year-old Arch of Triumph in Palmyra, Syria, destroyed by Islamic State militants last year, has been erected in Trafalgar Square in what London Mayor Boris Johnson called an act of defiance.
  
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• Earthquakes in Japan and Ecuador Aren't Related: Here's Why

  19-04-2016 16:14
  
  They may have happened within days of one another, but the devastating earthquakes in Japan had nothing to do with the strong temblor that struck Ecuador over the weekend, experts say. Both Japan and Ecuador are located along the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, which spans the coasts lining the Pacific Ocean. The regions along the Ring of Fire are prone to earthquakes, but it's extremely rare for an earthquake on one side of the world to trigger earthquakes on the other, said Ross Stein, CEO and
  
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• Canada's clean tech revenue growth stalls in 2014 amid fierce global competition

  19-04-2016 15:22 via cbc.ca
  
  A new report finds that revenues from Canada's multibillion-dollar clean technology industry contracted slightly in 2014 after six consecutive years of growth that outpaced the rest of the economy.
  
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• Netflix shares off 10% as customer growth slows while costs increase

  19-04-2016 15:17 via cbc.ca
  
  Shares in Netflix were down by about 9 per cent in pre-market trading Tuesday as investors digested the company's latest quarterly earnings.
  
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• Israeli girl, 12, finds ancient Egyptian amulet

  19-04-2016 15:15 via cbc.ca
  
  A 12-year-old Israeli girl has discovered an ancient Egyptian amulet dating back more than 3,200 years to the days of the Pharaohs.
  
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• Would you rent your car to a total stranger? Now you can

  19-04-2016 15:00 via cbc.ca
  
  Turo, which counts Google and General Motors among its investors, is the first company in Canada offering peer-to-peer vehicle rentals through its app and website. Think AirBnB, but for cars. Will Canadians be willing to rent their cars to total strangers?
  
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• Turo peer-to-peer car rentals expand Canada's sharing economy

  19-04-2016 15:00 via cbc.ca
  
  Turo, which counts Google and General Motors among its investors, is the first company in Canada offering peer-to-peer vehicle rentals through its app and website. Think AirBnB, but for cars. Will Canadians be willing to rent their cars to total strangers?
  
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• New telescopes will search for signs of life on distant planets

  19-04-2016 15:00
  
  Researchers are coming up with creative ways to pick up biosignatures in far-away planetary atmospheres.
  
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• The First Telephoto Lens Used On the Moon Is Up for Auction

  19-04-2016 14:06
  
  The first telephoto camera lens used by an astronaut on the surface of the moon is now the focus of a week-long auction that also features a prototype moon buggy and a collection of astronauts' space memorabilia to benefit a scholarship fund. The one-of-a-kind flown Zeiss Tele-Tessar 500mm f/8 lens, which Apollo 15 commander David Scott extensively used as he explored the moon's Hadley Rille in 1971, opened at $50,000 on Thursday (April 14) as part of an online space and aviation sale organized
  
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• Jennifer Lawrence Joins Astronaut-Studded 'A Beautiful Planet' IMAX Premiere

  19-04-2016 14:05
  
  Astronauts and cosmonauts joined a star on the blue — like Earth — carpet Saturday night (April 16) at the premiere of "A Beautiful Planet," the latest IMAX 3D film to be shot in space. Academy Award-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence, who lends her voice to the movie as its narrator, joined the crewmates whose camera work aboard the International Space Station filled the eight-story tall screen at the AMC Loews theater in New York City's Lincoln Square. "I just really happen to
  
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• Heart-Shaped Sunspot Fires Off Powerful Flare (Video)

  19-04-2016 14:05
  
  A huge, heart-shaped sunspot shot off a strong solar flare Sunday evening (April 17), temporarily disrupting radio communications here on Earth. The flare erupted at 8:29 p.m. EDT Sunday (0029 GMT on Monday) from a giant sunspot known as active region (AR) 2529, which is currently big enough to fit nearly five Earths inside it. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory spacecraft captured amazing video of the solar flare as it happened.
  
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• Nagorno-Karabakh says one of its soldiers killed by Azeri gunfire

  19-04-2016 14:00
  YEREVAN (Reuters) - A soldier from the Armenian-backed Nagorno-Karabakh region was killed by gunfire from Azerbaijan on Tuesday morning, said the defence ministry of the breakaway region. Dozens died in clashes between Azeri and Armenian-backed forces over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh earlier this month. A Moscow-brokered ceasefire halted four days of fierce fighting on April 5 but sporadic shooting still breaks out. (Reporting by Hasmik Mkrtchyan; Writing by Margarita Antidze and Dm
  
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• The Science Behind the DEA's Long War on Marijuana

  19-04-2016 13:45 via rss.sciam.com
  
  Experts say listing cannabis among the world’s deadliest drugs ignores decades of scientific and medical data. But attempts to delist it have met with decades of bureaucratic inertia and...
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• U.N. envoy struggles to start Yemen talks, truce teeters on collapse

  19-04-2016 13:43
  By Mohammed Ghobari KUWAIT (Reuters) - The U.N. envoy to Yemen sought on Tuesday to persuade Yemen's Houthi group to send representatives to peace talks in Kuwait as a shaky truce declared this month teetered near collapse, delegates said. An advisor to the U.N. delegation in Kuwait said the Houthis had been "very positive" until two days ago and were agreed with envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed on almost everything. "They have since completely changed and this has caused a shock (to Ould Cheikh A
  
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• Scientists set eyes on ice moon Europa

  19-04-2016 13:32 via bbc.co.uk
  
  European scientists are meeting in Paris to consider their best option for exploring Europa, the moon of Jupiter widely regarded as the most likely place beyond Earth to support microbial life.
  
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• Ultrathin 'E-Skin' Turns Your Hand into an Electronic Display

  19-04-2016 13:29
  
  Your smartphone could one day be replaced by an electronic display laminated to the back of your hand, if the inventors of a new ultrathin "e-skin" have their way. For the first time, Japanese scientists have demonstrated a superflexible electronic skin (or e-skin) display, made from organic electronics, that doesn't degrade when exposed to air. Organic electronics, made from carbon-based polymers, hold huge promise for wearable devices because they are far lighter and more flexible than traditi
  
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• Syrian army mounts attack in northwest, Idlib bombarded

  19-04-2016 13:19
  Syrian government forces backed by Russian air power launched a counter-attack against rebels in the northwestern province of Latakia, a rebel group and a conflict monitor reported, as violence was reported across much of the northwest on Tuesday. Targets included towns and villages where a partial truce agreement had brought about a lull in fighting between the government and rebels since Feb. 27. Air strikes killed at least five people in the town of Kafr Nubl in the insurgent stronghold of Id
  
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• 12-year-old Israeli girl discovers ancient Egyptian amulet

  19-04-2016 13:12
  JERUSALEM (AP) — A 12-year-old Israeli girl has discovered an ancient Egyptian amulet dating back more than 3,200 years to the days of the Pharaohs.
  
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• Information is physical, even in quantum systems, study suggests

  19-04-2016 13:00
  A thermodynamic principle says that deleting information generates heat, and now, scientists say that goes for quantum systems, too.
  
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