Science news

• Boiling Water on Mars May Have Carved Out Streaky Slopes

  02-05-2016 23:31
  
  Dark streaks on Martian slopes may have been carved by boiling water, new research suggests. This finding may be good news and bad news: good, because it suggests that Mars might still have liquid water, but bad, because the planet might have less liquid water than previously thought, the researchers said. Although Mars is now cold and dry, large amounts of several previous studies suggest that liquid water once ran on the planet's surface.
  
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• Newly discovered planets may boost search for life beyond Earth

  02-05-2016 23:13
  
  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - The discovery of three planets that circle a small, dim star could bolster the chances of finding life beyond Earth, astronomers said on Monday.
  
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• More Power! SpaceX's Rockets Are Stronger Than Predicted

  02-05-2016 23:09
  SpaceX's Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets can launch weightier spacecraft than previously thought, company officials said. On Saturday (April 30), SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk announced via Twitter that the company has revised the maximum-payload capabilities of the two boosters. The two-stage Falcon 9 — whose first stage uses an array of nine Merlin engines (hence the name) — can also send 8,860 lbs. (4,020 kg) of payload on its way to Mars, according to the new document.
  
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• Ottawa toughening energy efficiency regulations by 2020

  02-05-2016 23:07 via cbc.ca
  
  The Canadian government is moving to make a greater number of household and commercial products more energy efficient by 2020, announced Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr ahead of today's G7 energy ministers meeting in Japan.
  
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• A Rare Celestial Crossing: Mercury Will Transit the Sun on May 9

  02-05-2016 23:06
  
  Next week, on Monday, May 9, skywatchers on Earth will be able to see Mercury make its way across the surface of the sun. Because Mercury and Venus are the only solar system planets that lie between the Earth and the sun, they are the only planets that transit the star as seen from Earth. Although both Mercury and Venus circle between the Earth and the sun on every orbit (with Mercury passing between the two bodies three times each Earth year), the three planets don't sit in a flat orbit compare
  
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• Facial recognition tech lets everybody know your name

  02-05-2016 23:00 via cbc.ca
  
  Facial recognition technology is used mostly for security. But its developers are selling it to retail stores, which would be able to recognize customers, not just shoplifters.
  
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• The Latest: Solar plane leaving California for Arizona

  02-05-2016 22:35
  
  MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (AP) — The Latest on the flight of a solar-powered airplane from California to Arizona in an attempt to circumnavigate the globe (all times local):
  
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• Military tests unmanned ship designed to cross oceans

  02-05-2016 21:41
  SAN DIEGO (AP) — The military is launching tests on the world's largest unmanned surface vessel — a self-driving, 132-foot ship designed to travel thousands of miles out at sea without a single crew member on board.
  
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• Watch a record-smashing 2,200-metre flight on a real hoverboard

  02-05-2016 21:32 via cbc.ca
  
  The record for farthest hoverboard flight, set last year by a Canadian, has been smashed by a French Jet Ski champion.
  
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• Nearby exoplanet trio new target in search for life

  02-05-2016 21:10
  
  Three nearby exoplanets might be good spots to go looking for signs of alien life.
  
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• 230 million-year-old dinosaur footprint found in north Spain

  02-05-2016 21:03
  
  MADRID (AP) — Spain says a footprint of a dinosaur that roamed the area 230 million years ago has been found in northeastern Catalonia, and says it's the best preserved dinosaur print seen so far in the Iberian Peninsula.
  
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• These 3 Alien Planets Around a Tiny, Cold Star Just Might Support Life

  02-05-2016 20:19
  
  Three potentially habitable Earth-size planets have been discovered orbiting a dim, cold nearby star that is barely larger than Jupiter, researchers say. "These kinds of tiny, cold stars may be the places we should first look for life elsewhere in the universe, because they may be the only places where we can detect life on distant Earth-sized planets with our current technology," study lead author Michaël Gillon, an astronomer at the University of Liège in Belgium, told Space.com. A
  
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• Fizzled 2014 El Niño fired up ongoing monster El Niño

  02-05-2016 19:00
  
  The ongoing El Niño, one of the strongest on record, got a heat boost from a 2014 event that failed due to unfavorable winds.
  
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• 3 Earth-sized planets found orbiting nearby dwarf star

  02-05-2016 18:54 via cbc.ca
  
  Astronomers searching for extraterrestrial life may need to look no farther than a small, nearby star.
  
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• Watch SpaceX's historic rocket landing from aboard the droneship

  02-05-2016 18:28 via cbc.ca
  
  Want to know what SpaceX's historic reusable rocket landing on a barge would have looked like from way up close?
  
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• U.N. mediator urges Russia, U.S. to push nationwide Syria ceasefire

  02-05-2016 17:14
  The United Nations mediator in the Syrian conflict called on the United States and Russian Federation to try to salvage and renew a cessation of hostilities, after fighting intensified in many areas. Staffan de Mistura issued a statement on Monday after meeting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir in Geneva, and before flying to Moscow for talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday.
  
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• 3 planets orbiting dwarf star prime spots to search for life

  02-05-2016 17:06
  
  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Astronomers searching for extraterrestrial life may need to look no farther than a small, nearby star.
  
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• To Motivate Kids, Don't Dwell on Their Failures

  02-05-2016 16:43
  The way you view failure may influence how your children view their own abilities, a new study finds. In particular, the researchers wanted to know whether a parent's view of failure might influence the way kids think about their intelligence. They found that parents who see failure as a major setback may be encouraging their children to think that intelligence is fixed.
  
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• Science Explains Why Your Mom Calls You by Your Brother's Name

  02-05-2016 16:42
  Such "misnamings," or when a person calls someone else by the wrong name, occur frequently, according to the study. When people call someone by the wrong name, they tend to call that person by the name of someone in the same social group, the researchers found.
  
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• Solar plane on global trip soars from California to Arizona

  02-05-2016 16:07
  
  MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (AP) — A solar-powered airplane soared above the clouds Monday after taking off from California for Arizona to resume its journey around the world using only energy from the sun.
  
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• Buddhist Sculptures Discovered in Ruins of Ancient Shrine

  02-05-2016 15:37
  
  Sculptures and carvings dating back more than 1,700 years have been discovered in the remains of a shrine and its courtyard in the ancient city of Bazira. The sculptures illustrate the religious life of the city, telling tales from Buddhism and other ancient religions. Also called Vajirasthana, Bazira is located the in the Swat Valley in Pakistan.
  
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• Dinosaurs Migrated Out of Europe as Ancient Supercontinent Broke Up

  02-05-2016 15:12
  Between 230 million and 66 million years ago, dinosaurs plodded across the supercontinent Pangea, and migrated from Europe to other parts of the world. The researchers used "network theory" in a new way to see how different dinosaur fossils were connected. The team chose continents as points and then drew connecting lines if the same types of dinosaurs were found on two or more continents.
  
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• Portable Device Can Test If Your Food Is Gluten-Free

  02-05-2016 15:11
  
  For people with gluten allergies or celiac disease, the idea of eating out in restaurants can be terrifying. It typically involves scrutinizing menus and food labels, interrogating waiters, or having to bring their own meals wherever they go. Manufactured by San Francisco-based startup 6SensorLabs, the portable gluten-testing device, called Nima, can test food for the presence of gluten, providing results within minutes and reducing people's food anxiety.
  
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• In-car sex could be the distracted driving hazard of the future, expert warns

  02-05-2016 15:06 via cbc.ca
  
  As the so-called 'smart' cars get smarter, there will eventually be an increase in an unusual form of distracted driving: hanky-panky behind the wheel, an expert predicts.
  
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• Evidence conflicts on iron’s role in Parkinson’s disease

  02-05-2016 15:00
  
  Experiments yield conflicting results about whether vulnerable nerve cells have too much or too little iron.
  
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• Secret Atomic Role of WWII-Era Aircraft Carrier Revealed

  02-05-2016 14:49
  
  A team of underwater archaeologists has pieced together information from declassified government documents and a shipwrecked World War II-era naval vessel to understand the secret role played by one of the most historic U.S. aircraft carriers: the USS Independence. The Independence (CVL 22) was one of 90 vessels assigned to Operation Crossroads — the atomic bomb tests conducted at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands — but it was deliberately sunk, or scuttled, in 1951 and little was
  
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• Beyoncé Got It Right: Cheating's Emotional Fallout Gushes from 'Lemonade'

  02-05-2016 14:26
  Beyoncé hasn't revealed what inspired her to create "Lemonade," a musical album and film that details the emotions felt after learning of a husband's infidelity. "She's speaking a language that so many people have experienced," said Kassia Wosick, a research affiliate at New Mexico State University and an assistant professor of sociology at El Camino College in Torrance, California. In fact, "Lemonade" may show people that "how we move through infidelity is painful, but it's also very str
  
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• Second European-Russian mission to Mars delayed to 2020

  02-05-2016 14:25
  
  MOSCOW (Reuters) - The second stage of a joint European-Russian mission to search for signs of life on Mars has been delayed from 2018 to 2020, the European Space Agency and Russia's Roscosmos said on Monday.
  
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• The Latest: Solar plane leaves California for Arizona

  02-05-2016 14:16
  
  MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (AP) — The Latest on the flight of a solar-powered airplane from California to Arizona in an attempt to circumnavigate the globe (all times local):
  
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• Nepal, northern India battle worst forest fires in years

  02-05-2016 14:05
  By Malini Menon and Gopal Sharma NEW DELHI/KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Nepal and parts of northern India are battling their worst forest fires in years that have devastated thousands of hectares of woodland, killed at least 18 people and sent a pall of smoke across the southern Himalayas that can been seen from space. In Nepal, 11 people have died while trying to fight fires that have razed 280,000 hectares (692,000 acres) of forest across the country, the worst in six years. "This year we have experi
  
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• BCE to buy Manitoba Telecom in friendly deal worth $3.9B

  02-05-2016 13:56 via cbc.ca
  
  BCE Inc. has a friendly deal to buy Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. that they say is valued at $3.9 billion.
  
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• Phase two of ExoMars mission delayed to 2020

  02-05-2016 13:52
  
  The second part of a joint European-Russian mission to probe Mars for traces of life has been delayed two years, with a new launch date set for July 2020, officials said Monday.
  
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• Could Earth's Light Blue Color Be a Signature of Life?

  02-05-2016 13:48
  
  In 1990, Voyager 1 captured the most distant portrait of our planet ever taken, revealing that from beyond Pluto's orbit, Earth appears as nothing more than a "pale blue dot." In a new study, researchers have tested whether Earth's color is a unique feature of life-friendly planets. As it turns out, Earth's delicate color can be closely mimicked by hypothetical exoplanet types that are completely uninhabitable. A broader portion of Earth's overall spectrum, however, does display a subtle si
  
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• Appendages Help Microbes Survive Harsh Conditions

  02-05-2016 13:48
  
  The most ancient kinds of microbes on Earth often have special filaments lining their surfaces. Scientists are discovering that these structures can play a variety of roles in helping microorganisms survive the most hostile environments on Earth, findings that could shed light on how alien life might withstand extreme conditions on distant worlds. There are two kinds of prokaryotes — the familiar bacteria, and the archaea, many of which thrive in harsh environments such as hot springs, sal
  
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• World Map of Pluto Includes Every Image of Beloved Dwarf Planet

  02-05-2016 13:47
  
  The new map brings together all the images that NASA has been slowly releasing, into a single global overview of the solar system's largest known dwarf planet. The New Horizons probe did not orbit Pluto, but instead made a quick flyby of the dwarf planet before heading further out into the Kuiper Belt, the band of icy, rocky bodies that loop around the sun beyond the orbit of Neptune.
  
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• Spectacular NASA Videos Reveal a Sun Storm in Jaw-Dropping 4K HD

  02-05-2016 13:47
  
  A spectacular new video of the sun captured by a NASA spacecraft puts you up close and personal with a fiery storm on our closest star — all in mind-boggling 4K resolution. The video, taken by NASA's powerful Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), was recorded on April 17 as an active sunspot unleashed an intense solar flare. "Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation," NASA officials wrote in a video description.
  
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• Jellyfish from Outer Space? Amazing Glowing Creature Spotted

  02-05-2016 13:43
  
  With red and yellow lights seeming to glow inside its bulbous body, a newfound jellyfish looks more alien spaceship than deep-sea cnidarian. Video captured of the jellyfish reveals a stunning sight: The organism sports two sets of tentacles, long and short, that extend from its pulsating bell. When the long tentacles are extended outward, the jellyfish's bell remains still.
  
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• How NASA's Next Big Telescope Could Take Pictures of Another Earth

  02-05-2016 13:15 via rss.sciam.com
  
  A “starshade” flying alongside the WFIRST observatory could deliver images of potentially habitable worlds decades ahead of schedule
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Risky skull surgery done for ritual reasons 6,000 years ago

  02-05-2016 13:00
  
  Some ancient skull surgeries hinged on ritual, not on medical treatment.
  
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• ITER nuclear fusion project faces new delay, cost overrun: Les Echos

  02-05-2016 11:09
  
  PARIS (Reuters) - The international ITER project to build a prototype nuclear fusion reactor will be delayed by more than a decade and faces another 4 billion euros of cost overruns, its director told French daily Les Echos.
  
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• Enough with concept cars, we need them on the lot: Don Pittis

  02-05-2016 11:00 via cbc.ca
  
  As North Amercians wait for the latest car sales numbers this week, there is one thing that's certain. Despite all the talk of an automotive revolution, most of us are still shopping for old-fashioned gas guzzlers.
  
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• Australian tech entrepreneur reveals himself as Bitcoin's creator

  02-05-2016 10:27 via cbc.ca
  
  Australian tech entrepreneur Craig Wright on Monday told the BBC he was the creator of controversial digital currency Bitcoin, ending years of speculation about a person who until now has gone by the name of Satoshi Nakamoto.
  
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• Solar plane prepares to leave California for Arizona

  02-05-2016 09:24
  
  MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (AP) — A solar-powered airplane is preparing to leave California for Arizona to continue its journey around the world.
  
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• Why Some Women Are Likely to Have Twins

  02-05-2016 09:04
  Twins tend to run in families, and now researchers have identified two genes that make women more likely to conceive nonidentical twins. Both genes are related to the production and processing of the hormone that helps oocytes (egg cells) mature. "There's an enormous interest in twins, and in why some women have twins while others don't," study co-author Dorret Boomsma, a biological psychologist at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, said in a statement.
  
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• Mumps Outbreak at Harvard: Why Do Vaccinated People Get Sick?

  02-05-2016 09:04
  An outbreak of mumps at Harvard University continues to grow, and experts say the close living spaces in college dorms may make people particularly susceptible to the virus, even if they've been vaccinated. This week, the Cambridge Public Health Department confirmed that more than 40 people at the university have been sickened with the mumps virus. Outbreaks typically don't happen in the general population, but instead are more likely to occur among people who live in close quarters, such as col
  
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• That Youthful Glow? It's in Your Genetic Makeup

  02-05-2016 09:03
  The new study is the first time that "a gene has been found that explains, in part, why some people look older and others younger for their age," Manfred Kayser, a professor of forensic molecular genetics at Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam in the Netherlands and a senior author on the study, said in a statement. The study was funded in part by Unilever, and although no specific products were tested by the researchers, the results could be used in the future to promote anti-aging p
  
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• Simple Trick May Improve an Infant's Attention Span

  02-05-2016 09:03
  Parents can help improve their child's attention span in a very simple way: by paying attention to the toy their child is playing with, a new study suggests. The study shows that a young child's attention span can be changed by the real-time behaviors of parents, said Chen Yu, a professor of psychology and brain science at Indiana University in Bloomington and the lead author of the study. The results reveal that social interactions between a parent and an infant can influence the development of
  
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• UK Health Check has only modest impact on risk factors for cardiovascular disease

  02-05-2016 06:00
  
  (Canadian Medical Association Journal) The largest risk assessment and management program for cardiovascular disease in the world, England's National Health Service Health Check, had only a modest impact on risk factors for heart disease and did not meet national and international targets, found new research in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).
  
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• Three potentially habitable worlds found around nearby ultracool dwarf star

  02-05-2016 06:00
  
  (ESO) Astronomers using the TRAPPIST telescope at ESO's La Silla Observatory have discovered three planets orbiting an ultracool dwarf star just 40 light-years from Earth. These worlds have sizes and temperatures similar to those of Venus and Earth and are the best targets found so far for the search for life outside the solar system. They are the first planets ever discovered around such a tiny and dim star.
  
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• Three Earth-sized planets found orbiting a tiny nearby star

  02-05-2016 06:00
  
  (University of California - San Diego) An international team of astronomers composed of UC San Diego astrophysicists has discovered three Earth-sized planets orbiting near the 'habitable zone' of an ultracool dwarf star, the first planets ever discovered around such a tiny and dim star.
  
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