Science news

• Record 1,284 planets added to list of worlds beyond solar system

  10-05-2016 23:25
  
  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - Astronomers have discovered 1,284 more planets beyond our solar system, with nine possibly in orbits suitable for surface water that could bolster the prospects of supporting life, scientists said on Tuesday.
  
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• Clinton, Sanders compete in West Virginia; Trump mulls running mate

  10-05-2016 23:19
  
  By Jonathan Allen NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bernie Sanders had another chance on Tuesday to slow Hillary Clinton's march toward the Democratic U.S. presidential nomination as West Virginia held its primary election, a week after Donald Trump became the Republicans' presumptive nominee. Clinton, a former U.S. secretary of state, still holds a commanding lead in the pledged delegates needed to become the party's candidate in the Nov. 8 election. Even a decisive victory for Sanders in West Virginia, whe
  
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• Social area of the brain sets threat level of animals

  10-05-2016 23:00
  
  How people perceive an animal’s danger level is encoded in a particular wrinkle of cortex, a brain scan study suggests.
  
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• Heartburn drugs can damage cells that line blood vessels

  10-05-2016 22:00
  
  A type of heartburn drugs called proton pump inhibitors may damage cells that line the blood vessels. The results, though controversial, hint at an explanation for PPI’s link to serious side effects, including dementia and heart attack.
  
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• Quebec teen uses stars to locate possible lost Mayan city in Mexican jungle

  10-05-2016 21:58 via cbc.ca
  
  A teenager from Saint-Jean-de-Matha, Que., has discovered what could be the ruins of a lost 4,600-year-old city in Mexico by comparing Mayan star charts and the positions of known ruins.
  
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• NASA Finds 1,284 Alien Planets, Biggest Haul Yet, with Kepler Space Telescope

  10-05-2016 21:55
  
  The number of known alien planets has just gone up by more than 60 percent. NASA's Kepler space telescope has discovered 1,284 new exoplanets, including nine rocky worlds that might be capable of supporting life as we know it, astronomers announced today (May 10). This is by far the largest haul of alien planets ever unveiled at one time.
  
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• [Research Article] The transcription factor FOXF1 promotes prostate cancer by stimulating the mitogen-activated protein kinase ERK5

  10-05-2016 21:49 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Prostate cancers positive for FOXF1 depend on the kinase ERK5.
  
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• [Research Article] Gain-of-function mutations in protein kinase Cα (PKCα) may promote synaptic defects in Alzheimer's disease

  10-05-2016 21:49 via stke.sciencemag.org
  PKCa variants in some patients with Alzheimer's disease may mediate the pathological effects of amyloid-β.
  
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• [Podcast] Science Signaling Podcast for 10 May 2016: PKCα in Alzheimer's disease

  10-05-2016 21:49 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Activating mutations in PKCα are associated with and may contribute to the pathology of Alzheimer’s disease.
  
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• [Editors' Choice] Preventing infant blindness

  10-05-2016 21:49 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Two HIF-1α-stabilizing drugs protect against retinopathy of prematurity by exerting tissue-specific effects.
  
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• [Editors' Choice] Microglia combat addiction

  10-05-2016 21:49 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Drugs that activate microglia suppress excitatory glutamatergic synapses to reduce cocaine-craving behaviors in mice.
  
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• [Editors' Choice] An all-in-one bacterial ubiquitylation machine

  10-05-2016 21:49 via stke.sciencemag.org
  A single bacterial enzyme uses NAD, rather than E1 and E2 enzymes and ATP, toubiquitylate a host protein.
  
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• [Editorial Guide] How much of the human protein interactome remains to be mapped?

  10-05-2016 21:49 via stke.sciencemag.org
  A high-quality reference map of the human protein-protein interactome is within reach.
  
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• 'Pyro' bugs will help restore burned Fort McMurray forest

  10-05-2016 21:42 via cbc.ca
  
  The blackened landscape around Fort McMurray is far from a dead zone. Amid the charred skeletons of spruce and still smouldering muskeg, Alberta's fire-loving insects are on the move.
  
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• Discovery of new planets by Kepler telescope raises hopes of 'another Earth'

  10-05-2016 21:34
  
  Astronomers have confirmed the discovery of 1,284 new planets by the Kepler space telescope, including nine Earth-like worlds that potentially could harbour life.
  
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• Clinton, Sanders compete in West Virginia primary; Trump looks on

  10-05-2016 21:29
  Bernie Sanders had another chance on Tuesday to slow Hillary Clinton's march toward the Democratic U.S. presidential nomination as West Virginians voted in their state's primary. A week after Donald Trump became the Republicans' presumptive nominee, Clinton, a former U.S. secretary of state, held a commanding lead in the pledged delegates needed to clinch her party's nomination. The winners of the Republican and Democratic nomination battles will face off in the Nov. 8 election to succeed Democr
  
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• Virtual reality concert streams coming this summer

  10-05-2016 21:07 via cbc.ca
  
  Summer music festival season is upon us. But if one tech company has its way, you won't need to leave the house to experience your favourite band live. CBC Radio technology columnist Dan Misener has been looking at the latest in virtual reality music concerts.
  
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• See summer concerts for free - in virtual reality

  10-05-2016 21:07 via cbc.ca
  
  Summer music festival season is upon us. But if one tech company has its way, you won't need to leave the house to experience your favourite band live. CBC Radio technology columnist Dan Misener has been looking at the latest in virtual reality music concerts.
  
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• Kepler telescope doubles its count of known exoplanets

  10-05-2016 21:07
  
  NASA’s Kepler space telescope adds 1,284 planets to the roster of worlds known to orbit other stars in our galaxy.
  
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• More Than 1,000 New Planets Discovered By NASA

  10-05-2016 21:04
  
  NASA has announced its largest-ever discovery of new planets using its Kepler space telescope. Some 1,284 new planets outside our solar system have been confirmed, including nearly 550 which could be rocky planets like Earth, based on their size.
  
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• It's not just Alberta: Warming fueled fires are increasing

  10-05-2016 20:54
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Alberta's unusually early and large fire is just the latest of many gargantuan fires on an Earth that's grown hotter with more extreme weather.
  
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• NASA's official exoplanet count more than doubles

  10-05-2016 20:47
  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The Milky Way has just gotten a lot more crowded — with planets.
  
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• 1,284 new planets discovered with Kepler telescope

  10-05-2016 19:34 via cbc.ca
  
  NASA has announced the discovery of 1,284 new planets using the Kepler telescope, more than doubling the number of known exoplanets discovered using the planet-hunting space telescope.
  
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• This stings: Winter death rate for America's bees jumps

  10-05-2016 18:54
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — After two years of improvement, America's honeybees had another tough and deadly winter, probably because of mites, according to a new federal survey released Tuesday.
  
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• This stings: Winter death rate for America's honeybees jumps

  10-05-2016 18:03
  WASHINGTON (AP) — America's honeybees had another tough and deadly winter. A new federal survey shows the winter death rate for colonies jumped to 28 percent after dropping for a couple of years.
  
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• Godless Universe: A Physicist Searches for Meaning in Nature

  10-05-2016 17:45 via rss.sciam.com
  The natural world is the only world, theoretical physicist Sean Carroll argues in a new book
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Two policemen killed in Nigeria's Delta region - police

  10-05-2016 17:11
  Unknown gunmen killed two Nigerian policemen in the oil-producing Niger Delta, a police spokesman said on Tuesday, a day after five officers were shot dead in the restive region. "The policemen were asleep and killed by some callous assailants," said a spokesman for police in Rivers state in the Delta. A villager who gave her name as Sarah Ebikabowei said gunmen had killed three soldiers in Bayelsa state, which is also located in the Delta.
  
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• Could a Few Extra Pounds Help You Live Longer?

  10-05-2016 17:01 via rss.sciam.com
  A new Danish study provides more data but does not resolve the question
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• Get 'Bionic Hearing' with New Smart Earbuds

  10-05-2016 17:00
  
  If you've ever been on a crowded bus and found yourself stuck between a loud conversation on one side and obnoxiously loud music on the other, the idea of being able to cancel out that background noise probably sounds like bliss. Now, new earbuds can not only help boost your hearing and cancel out pesky noise, but also serve as wireless earphones for making phone calls and listening to music hands-free. Users can also answer phone calls and start or stop audio with a simple tap of the earbuds.
  
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• Where Is the Most Lightning-Prone Place in the World?

  10-05-2016 16:58
  Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela has a new claim to fame: This large bay has been revealed as the lightning capital of the world, with storms lighting up the skies almost 300 nights each year, according to a NASA study. The largest lake in South America, Lake Maracaibo sits along the northern Andes Mountains, where the mountains form a natural barrier, pushing air up and mixing it with warm, moist air above the lake to create nocturnal thunderstorms. Researchers found that the lake gets 603 bolts of
  
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• Clinton, Sanders face off in West Virginia as Trump looks on

  10-05-2016 16:50
  Bernie Sanders has another chance on Tuesday to slow Hillary Clinton's march towards the Democratic U.S. presidential nomination as West Virginians vote in their state's primary, a week after Donald Trump became the presumptive Republican nominee. Clinton, a former secretary of state and U.S. senator from New York, holds a commanding lead in the pledged delegates needed to clinch her party's nomination for the Nov. 8 election to succeed Democratic President Barack Obama. In West Virginia, where
  
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• 1 in 5 plant species threatened with extinction

  10-05-2016 15:46 via cbc.ca
  
  One in five types of plant worldwide is at risk of extinction from threats such as farming and logging that are wrecking many habitats, a first global overview of plant life said on Tuesday.
  
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• Scientists: Mussels, without noses, use smell to find homes

  10-05-2016 15:32
  
  PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Mussels don't have noses, but two Maine scientists believe the dark shellfish rely on smells when choosing where to set up their homes.
  
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• NASA to Reveal Planet-Hunting Kepler Spacecraft's Latest Discoveries Today

  10-05-2016 15:14
  
  NASA officials will announce the planet-hunting Kepler space telescope's latest discoveries at a news conference today (May 10). You can find out by listening to the 1 p.m. EDT (1700 GMT) briefing live here at Space.com, courtesy of NASA.
  
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• Mercury Finishes Its Run Across the Sun

  10-05-2016 15:14
  
  Citizen skywatchers, amateur astronomers and scientists alike looked skyward today (May 9) to see Mercury pass across the face of the sun, an event that will not happen again until 2019. The solar system's smallest planet made a slow passage across the bright solar disc — an event that astronomers call a transit — starting at about 7:16 a.m. EDT (1116 GMT), according to NASA. Mercury finally exited the sun’s disk at about 2:38 p.m. EDT (1838 GMT).
  
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• Celestial Scarves Bring NASA Photos to Fashion

  10-05-2016 15:14
  
  Now you can: The newest collection of limited-edition silk scarves, printed with vivid NASA photos, from the New York City-based boutique Slow Factory has just been released. In addition to the celestial scarves, the new collection includes a key necklace modeled after the key to Vernon's home in Beirut.
  
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• Apple Pay expands in Canada, enlisting 5 biggest banks

  10-05-2016 15:09 via cbc.ca
  
  Apple Pay is becoming much more useful in Canada, as the mobile payment system welcomes the partnership of the country's five biggest banks.
  
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• Hunting for Spring Galaxies with Mobile Astronomy Apps

  10-05-2016 15:06
  
  During May, the obscuring dense stars, gas and dust of the Milky Way vacate the night sky, leaving a yearly opening for skywatchers to peer at distant galaxies. In this edition of mobile astronomy, we'll examine how your mobile astronomy app can help you find galaxies, provide plenty of information about them and even point your computerized telescope toward them. Our galaxy consists of a large, central bulge of densely packed stars, surrounded by a flattened disk of encircling spiral arms.
  
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• Colliding Black Holes May Sing Different Gravitational Songs

  10-05-2016 15:06
  What is the sound of two black holes colliding? Colliding black holes don't actually create sound waves, but they do create gravitational waves — distortions to space-time, the fabric of reality itself. In February, scientists with the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) collaboration announced the first-ever direct detection of gravitational waves.
  
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• China scrambles fighters as U.S. sails warship near Chinese-claimed reef

  10-05-2016 14:31
  By Michael Martina, Greg Torode and Ben Blanchard BEIJING/HONG KONG (Reuters) - China scrambled fighter jets on Tuesday as a U.S. navy ship sailed close to a disputed reef in the South China Sea, a patrol China denounced as an illegal threat to peace which only went to show its defence installations in the area were necessary. Guided missile destroyer the USS William P. Lawrence travelled within 12 nautical miles of Chinese-occupied Fiery Cross Reef, U.S. Defense Department spokesman, Bill Urban
  
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• Facebook questioned by U.S. Senate over anti-conservative bias allegations

  10-05-2016 14:21 via cbc.ca
  
  A U.S. Senate committee launched an inquiry on Tuesday into how social media website Facebook selects its news stories after a report that company employees blocked news about conservative issues from its "trending" list.
  
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• Facebook questioned by U.S. Senate over alleged suppression of conservative news

  10-05-2016 14:21 via cbc.ca
  
  A U.S. Senate committee launched an inquiry on Tuesday into how social media website Facebook selects its news stories after a report that company employees blocked news about conservative issues from its "trending" list.
  
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• Facebook denies suppressing conservative stories in 'Trending' section

  10-05-2016 14:21 via cbc.ca
  
  Facebook is being accused of suppressing conservative stories in its 'Trending' section. But a Facebook official says the company has found no evidence to back up those allegations.
  
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• Oxygen on Mars detected by flying space observatory

  10-05-2016 13:48
  
  The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy is a Boeing 747 jet modified to carry scientific equipment.
  
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• Marijuana tests for drivers are 'flawed' and have 'no scientific basis', says biggest motoring association in US

  10-05-2016 13:46
  
  The American Automobile Association (AAA) is calling for current laws to be changed.
  
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• U.S. Courts Crack Down on Feds over Mass Wildlife Culls

  10-05-2016 13:00 via rss.sciam.com
  
  Judges say wildlife officials have been slack on science in assessing the need for exterminating wolves, wolverines and cormorants
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Women get half an hour more sleep than men because they go to bed earlier, new study shows

  10-05-2016 12:10
  
  Researchers also discovered one very useful (although rather obvious) way to get more sleep.
  
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• Clinton and Sanders face off in West Virginia as Trump looks on

  10-05-2016 12:03
  Bernie Sanders has another chance on Tuesday to slow Hillary Clinton's march to the Democratic presidential nomination as West Virginians vote in their state's primary, a week after Donald Trump became the presumptive Republican nominee. Clinton, a former secretary of state and U.S. senator from New York, has a commanding lead in the pledged delegates needed to clinch her party's nomination for the Nov. 8 election to succeed Democratic President Barack Obama.
  
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• Mercury’s stunning landscape mapped

  10-05-2016 11:30
  
  First complete topographic map of Mercury reveals plains, craters and both the highest and lowest points on the planet.
  
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• Census excitement obscures questions about its future

  10-05-2016 11:00 via cbc.ca
  
  Happy census day, Canada! Some countries are moving away from the traditional census and Canada may do so, too.
  
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