Science news

• SpaceX undercut ULA rocket launch pricing by 40 percent: U.S. Air Force

  28-04-2016 23:49
  
  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - The U.S. Air Force will save 40 percent by buying a GPS satellite launch from Elon Musk’s SpaceX compared with what United Launch Alliance has been charging, the head of the Space and Missile Systems Center said on Thursday.
  
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• Claude Shannon’s information theory built the foundation for the digital era

  28-04-2016 23:42
  
  Claude Shannon, born 100 years ago, devised the mathematical representation of information that made the digital era possible.
  
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• More than just eyes and skin: Vitamin A affects the heart

  28-04-2016 23:40
  Vitamin A is important for heart development in embryos, but whether it has a role in maintaining heart health is unclear. A new study finds that the heart is able to respond to vitamin A and the amount of vitamin A present has an effect. However, whether the effects are beneficial or harmful is still a mystery.
  
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• New gene testing technology finds cancer risks 'hiding in plain sight'

  28-04-2016 23:33
  A new method for identifying mutations and prioritizing variants in breast and ovarian cancer genes, which will not only reduce the number of possible variants for doctors to investigate, but also increase the number of patients that are properly diagnosed.
  
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• A cell senses its own curves

  28-04-2016 23:33
  Septin proteins in human and fungal cells can sense micron-scaled curves in the cell membrane, scientists discover.
  
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• Origin of Earth's oldest crystals

  28-04-2016 23:32
  New research suggests that the very oldest pieces of rock on Earth -- zircon crystals -- are likely to have formed in the craters left by violent asteroid impacts that peppered our nascent planet, rather than via plate tectonics as was previously believed.
  
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• HPV vaccination expected to reduce cancer in all races, may not eliminate all disparities

  28-04-2016 23:32
  Human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated cancers occur more frequently among Hispanics, blacks, American-Indians, and Alaska Natives than among whites. A new study finds that HPV vaccination is expected to reduce the cancer burden across all racial/ethnic groups. However, some disparities in cancer burden may persist and widen in the years to come if their causes, such as lack of access to diagnoses and treatment, aren't addressed.
  
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• Genetic risk factors of disparate diseases share similar biological underpinnings

  28-04-2016 23:32
  The discovery of shared biological properties among independent variants of DNA sequences offers the opportunity to broaden understanding of the biological basis of disease and identify new therapeutic targets, report scientists.
  
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• Gene therapy halts pulmonary hypertension progression in large animal pre-clinical study

  28-04-2016 23:32
  Scientists have used a novel gene therapy to halt the progression of pulmonary hypertension, a form of high blood pressure in the lung blood vessels that is linked to heart failure.
  
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• U.S. Army determines Kennewick Man is Native American

  28-04-2016 22:37 via cbc.ca
  
  The ancient skeleton known as Kennewick Man is related to modern Native American tribes, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Wednesday, opening the process for returning to tribes for burial one of the oldest and most complete set of bones ever found in North America.
  
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• Slumber party: reptiles, like us, have REM sleep and may dream

  28-04-2016 22:32
  
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Research in a German laboratory involving five lizards called Australian bearded dragons indicates that these reptiles may dream and could prompt a fundamental reassessment of the evolution of sleep.
  
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• Hugging your dog makes it stressed?

  28-04-2016 22:17 via cbc.ca
  
  Based on a survey of 250 photos on the internet, a canine expert says four out of five dogs showed at least one sign of stress.
  
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• Scientists may have discovered massive lake under Antarctic ice

  28-04-2016 22:15 via cbc.ca
  
  New radar images from the South Pole have reveal a feature that could be an enormous, previously unknown lake hidden under kilometres of ice, and isolated from the rest of the planet for millions of years.
  
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• Nightshade plants bleed sugar as a call to ants for backup

  28-04-2016 22:08
  
  Bittersweet nightshade produces sugary wound goo to lure in ant protectors that eat herbivores, researchers have found.
  
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• [Working Life] The hidden perks of grad school

  28-04-2016 21:59
  Author: Nathan Johnson
  
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• [This Week in Science] The dragon sleeps tonight

  28-04-2016 21:59
  Author: Peter Stern
  
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• [This Week in Science] Synthetic twists among lipids

  28-04-2016 21:59
  Author: Jake Yeston
  
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• [This Week in Science] Strengths that are now weaknesses

  28-04-2016 21:59
  Author:JBCJ
  
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• [This Week in Science] Sleep induction through ion changes

  28-04-2016 21:59
  Author: Peter Stern
  
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• [This Week in Science] Signaling at the synapse

  28-04-2016 21:59
  Author: Valda Vinson
  
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• [This Week in Science] RNA splicing links genetics to disease

  28-04-2016 21:59
  Author: Laura M. Zahn
  
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• [This Week in Science] Progesterone signaling in sperm

  28-04-2016 21:59
  Author: Beverly A. Purnell
  
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• [This Week in Science] Phase separation organizes signaling

  28-04-2016 21:59
  Author: L. Bryan Ray
  
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• [This Week in Science] Persistence of fecal transplants

  28-04-2016 21:59
  Author: Caroline Ash
  
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• [This Week in Science] Peering into a membrance oxidase

  28-04-2016 21:59
  Author: Nicholas S. Wigginton
  
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• [This Week in Science] Parasitic worms affect gut microbes

  28-04-2016 21:59
  Author: Kristen L. Mueller
  
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• [This Week in Science] “Normal” for the gut microbiota

  28-04-2016 21:59
  Author: Caroline Ash
  
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• [This Week in Science] Iron isotopes constrain core chemistry

  28-04-2016 21:59
  Author: Brent Grocholski
  
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• [This Week in Science] Identifying nonequilibrium dynamics

  28-04-2016 21:59
  Author: Valda Vinson
  
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• [This Week in Science] How sleep deprivation impairs memory

  28-04-2016 21:59
  Author: Leslie K. Ferrarelli
  
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• [This Week in Science] EZ catalyst control in olefin metathesis

  28-04-2016 21:59
  Author: Jake Yeston
  
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• [This Week in Science] Beyond antibiotics

  28-04-2016 21:59
  Author: Angela Colmone
  
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• [Technical Response] Response to Comment on “Extended-resolution structured illumination imaging of endocytic and cytoskeletal dynamics”

  28-04-2016 21:59
  Sahl et al. in their Comment raise criticisms of our work that fall into three classes: image artifacts, resolution criteria, and comparative performance on live cells. We explore each of these in turn.
  Authors: Dong Li, Eric Betzig
  
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• [Technical Comment] Comment on “Extended-resolution structured illumination imaging of endocytic and cytoskeletal dynamics”

  28-04-2016 21:59
  Li et al. (Research Articles, 28 August 2015, aab3500) purport to present solutions to long-standing challenges in live-cell microscopy, reporting relatively fast acquisition times in conjunction with improved image resolution. We question the methods’ reliability to visualize specimen features at sub–100-nanometer scales, because the mandatory mathematical processing of the recorded data leads to artifacts that are either difficult or impossible to disentangle from real features. We are als
  
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• [Special Issue Review] Resurrecting the intestinal microbiota to combat antibiotic-resistant pathogens

  28-04-2016 21:59
  The intestinal microbiota, which is composed of diverse populations of commensal bacterial species, provides resistance against colonization and invasion by pathogens. Antibiotic treatment can damage the intestinal microbiota and, paradoxically, increase susceptibility to infections. Reestablishing microbiota-mediated colonization resistance after antibiotic treatment could markedly reduce infections, particularly those caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Ongoing studies are identifying com
  
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• [Special Issue Review] How colonization by microbiota in early life shapes the immune system

  28-04-2016 21:59
  Microbial colonization of mucosal tissues during infancy plays an instrumental role in the development and education of the host mammalian immune system. These early-life events can have long-standing consequences: facilitating tolerance to environmental exposures or contributing to the development of disease in later life, including inflammatory bowel disease, allergy, and asthma. Recent studies have begun to define a critical period during early development in which disruption of optimal host-
  
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• [Special Issue Review] Cross-species comparisons of host genetic associations with the microbiome

  28-04-2016 21:59
  Recent studies in human populations and mouse models reveal notable congruences in gut microbial taxa whose abundances are partly regulated by host genotype. Host genes associating with these taxa are related to diet sensing, metabolism, and immunity. These broad patterns are further validated in similar studies of nonmammalian microbiomes. The next generation of genome-wide association studies will expand the size of the data sets and refine the microbial phenotypes to fully capture these intri
  
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• [Special Issue Perspective] Antibiotic use and its consequences for the normal microbiome

  28-04-2016 21:59
  Anti-infectives, including antibiotics, are essentially different from all other drugs; they not only affect the individual to whom they are given but also the entire community, through selection for resistance to their own action. Thus, their use resides at the intersection of personal and public health. Antibiotics can be likened to a four-edged sword against bacteria. The first two edges of the antibiotic sword were identified immediately after their discovery and deployment in that they not
  
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• [Research Article] Unconventional endocannabinoid signaling governs sperm activation via the sex hormone progesterone

  28-04-2016 21:59
  Steroids regulate cell proliferation, tissue development, and cell signaling via two pathways: a nuclear receptor mechanism and genome-independent signaling. Sperm activation, egg maturation, and steroid-induced anesthesia are executed via the latter pathway, the key components of which remain unknown. Here, we present characterization of the human sperm progesterone receptor that is conveyed by the orphan enzyme α/β hydrolase domain–containing protein 2 (ABHD2). We show that ABHD2 is highly
  
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• [Research Article] Structure and organization of heteromeric AMPA-type glutamate receptors

  28-04-2016 21:59
  AMPA-type glutamate receptors (AMPARs), which are central mediators of rapid neurotransmission and synaptic plasticity, predominantly exist as heteromers of the subunits GluA1 to GluA4. Here we report the first AMPAR heteromer structures, which deviate substantially from existing GluA2 homomer structures. Crystal structures of the GluA2/3 and GluA2/4 N-terminal domains reveal a novel compact conformation with an alternating arrangement of the four subunits around a central axis. This organizatio
  
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• [Research Article] Population-level analysis of gut microbiome variation

  28-04-2016 21:59
  Fecal microbiome variation in the average, healthy population has remained under-investigated. Here, we analyzed two independent, extensively phenotyped cohorts: the Belgian Flemish Gut Flora Project (FGFP; discovery cohort; N = 1106) and the Dutch LifeLines-DEEP study (LLDeep; replication; N = 1135). Integration with global data sets (N combined = 3948) revealed a 14-genera core microbiota, but the 664 identified genera still underexplore total gut diversity. Sixty-nine clinical and questionnai
  
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• [Research Article] Changes in the composition of brain interstitial ions control the sleep-wake cycle

  28-04-2016 21:59
  Wakefulness is driven by the widespread release of neuromodulators by the ascending arousal system. Yet, it is unclear how these substances orchestrate state-dependent, global changes in neuronal activity. Here, we show that neuromodulators induce increases in the extracellular K+ concentration ([K+]e) in cortical slices electrically silenced by tetrodotoxin. In vivo, arousal was linked to AMPA receptor–independent elevations of [K+]e concomitant with decreases in [Ca2+]e, [Mg2+]e, [H+]e, and
  
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• [Report] Structure of a bd oxidase indicates similar mechanisms for membrane-integrated oxygen reductases

  28-04-2016 21:59
  The cytochrome bd oxidases are terminal oxidases that are present in bacteria and archaea. They reduce molecular oxygen (dioxygen) to water, avoiding the production of reactive oxygen species. In addition to their contribution to the proton motive force, they mediate viability under oxygen-related stress conditions and confer tolerance to nitric oxide, thus contributing to the virulence of pathogenic bacteria. Here we present the atomic structure of the bd oxidase from Geobacillus thermodenitrif
  
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• [Report] Slow waves, sharp waves, ripples, and REM in sleeping dragons

  28-04-2016 21:59
  Sleep has been described in animals ranging from worms to humans. Yet the electrophysiological characteristics of brain sleep, such as slow-wave (SW) and rapid eye movement (REM) activities, are thought to be restricted to mammals and birds. Recording from the brain of a lizard, the Australian dragon Pogona vitticeps, we identified SW and REM sleep patterns, thus pushing back the probable evolution of these dynamics at least to the emergence of amniotes. The SW and REM sleep patterns that we obs
  
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• [Report] RNA splicing is a primary link between genetic variation and disease

  28-04-2016 21:59
  Noncoding variants play a central role in the genetics of complex traits, but we still lack a full understanding of the molecular pathways through which they act. We quantified the contribution of cis-acting genetic effects at all major stages of gene regulation from chromatin to proteins, in Yoruba lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs). About ~65% of expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) have primary effects on chromatin, whereas the remaining eQTLs are enriched in transcribed regions. Using a
  
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• [Report] Pressure-dependent isotopic composition of iron alloys

  28-04-2016 21:59
  Our current understanding of Earth’s core formation is limited by the fact that this profound event is far removed from us physically and temporally. The composition of the iron metal in the core was a result of the conditions of its formation, which has important implications for our planet’s geochemical evolution and physical history. We present experimental and theoretical evidence for the effect of pressure on iron isotopic composition, which we found to vary according to the alloy teste
  
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• [Report] Population-based metagenomics analysis reveals markers for gut microbiome composition and diversity

  28-04-2016 21:59
  Deep sequencing of the gut microbiomes of 1135 participants from a Dutch population-based cohort shows relations between the microbiome and 126 exogenous and intrinsic host factors, including 31 intrinsic factors, 12 diseases, 19 drug groups, 4 smoking categories, and 60 dietary factors. These factors collectively explain 18.7% of the variation seen in the interindividual distance of microbial composition. We could associate 110 factors to 125 species and observed that fecal chromogranin A (CgA)
  
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• [Report] Phase separation of signaling molecules promotes T cell receptor signal transduction

  28-04-2016 21:59
  Activation of various cell surface receptors triggers the reorganization of downstream signaling molecules into micrometer- or submicrometer-sized clusters. However, the functional consequences of such clustering have been unclear. We biochemically reconstituted a 12-component signaling pathway on model membranes, beginning with T cell receptor (TCR) activation and ending with actin assembly. When TCR phosphorylation was triggered, downstream signaling proteins spontaneously separated into liqui
  
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• [Report] Kinetically controlled E-selective catalytic olefin metathesis

  28-04-2016 21:59
  A major shortcoming in olefin metathesis, a chemical process that is central to research in several branches of chemistry, is the lack of efficient methods that kinetically favor E isomers in the product distribution. Here we show that kinetically E-selective cross-metathesis reactions may be designed to generate thermodynamically disfavored alkenyl chlorides and fluorides in high yield and with exceptional stereoselectivity. With 1.0 to 5.0 mole % of a molybdenum-based catalyst, which may be de
  
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• [Report] Helminth infection promotes colonization resistance via type 2 immunity

  28-04-2016 21:59
  Increasing incidence of inflammatory bowel diseases, such as Crohn’s disease, in developed nations is associated with changes to the microbial environment, such as decreased prevalence of helminth colonization and alterations to the gut microbiota. We find that helminth infection protects mice deficient in the Crohn’s disease susceptibility gene Nod2 from intestinal abnormalities by inhibiting colonization by an inflammatory Bacteroides species. Resistance to Bacteroides colonization was dep
  
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