Science news

• French parliament adopts bill to ratify Paris climate agreement

  17-05-2016 23:40
  French parliamentarians in a near unanimous vote on Tuesday adopted a bill authorising the government to ratify the landmark climate agreement reached by 195 nations in Paris in December. France, which is chairing the COP21 climate talks until the end of the year, is the first European Union member state to move ahead with the ratification of the agreement which aims to curb global warming. Environment Minister Segolene Royal, who presented the bill in parliament on Tuesday, told journalists ear
  
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• With easy e-cig access, teen vaping soars

  17-05-2016 22:30
  
  The vast majority of U.S. states ban sales or distribution of e-cigarette products to minors. Still, it’s no sweat for teens to buy them online.
  
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• How the Galápagos cormorant got its tiny wings

  17-05-2016 21:46
  
  Galápagos cormorants’ tiny wings may be due to altered reception in cellular antennas.
  
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• Report: Genetically altered food safe but not curing hunger

  17-05-2016 21:30
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Genetically manipulated food remains generally safe for humans and the environment, a high-powered science advisory board declared in a report Tuesday.
  
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• NASA launches massive balloon to study near space

  17-05-2016 21:14 via cbc.ca
  
  NASA successfully launched a super pressure balloon from New Zealand's South Island Wanaka Airport Tuesday to conduct near-space scientific investigations.
  
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• [Review] Following the trail of lipids: Signals initiated by PI3K function at multiple cellular membranes

  17-05-2016 21:08 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Phosphatidylinositol lipid signaling serves multiple functions at the plasma membrane and internal membranes.
  
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• [Research Article] Themis1 enhances T cell receptor signaling during thymocyte development by promoting Vav1 activity and Grb2 stability

  17-05-2016 21:08 via stke.sciencemag.org
  The protein Themis1 enables thymocyte selection by promoting T cell receptor signaling.
  
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• [Research Article] Mice lacking the intracellular cation channel TRIC-B have compromised collagen production and impaired bone mineralization

  17-05-2016 21:08 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Tric-b knockout mice serve as a model for studying the bone defects of osteogenesis imperfecta.
  
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• [Research Article] BTG1 ameliorates liver steatosis by decreasing stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1 (SCD1) abundance and altering hepatic lipid metabolism

  17-05-2016 21:08 via stke.sciencemag.org
  A transcription cofactor alters the expression of genes involved in lipid metabolism in the liver to suppress hepatic steatosis.
  
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• [Editors' Choice] Targeting Epo to treat anemia

  17-05-2016 21:08 via stke.sciencemag.org
  An engineered form of erythropoietin stimulates red blood cell production without also stimulating platelets.
  
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• [Editors' Choice] Homegrown factors in colon cancer

  17-05-2016 21:08 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Intestinal microbes trigger tumorigenic signals.
  
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• [Editors' Choice] Glia dictate neuronal morphology

  17-05-2016 21:08 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Increased extracellular chloride concentration mediated by a glial cell prevents a neuronal ending from forming microvilli.
  
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• [Editors' Choice] Cancerous splice variants

  17-05-2016 21:08 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Alternative splicing drives metabolic changes in cancer and enables metastasis.
  
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• [Editors' Choice] Alternative splicing in development

  17-05-2016 21:08 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Alternative splicing is critical for skeletal muscle health and glutamatergic synaptic function.
  
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• Meteor captured on dashcam video lights up New England sky

  17-05-2016 20:51
  
  PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A police sergeant looking for speeders captured a fireball streaking across the sky on his dashboard camera early Tuesday.
  
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• Astronaut Hall of Fame Inducts Brian Duffy and Scott Parazynski

  17-05-2016 20:46
  
  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame inducted its 15th class of space shuttle veterans Saturday (May 14), adding a commander and a spacewalker to the institution's ranks. Brian Duffy and Scott Parazynski were honored during a public ceremony at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. Standing in front of an audience that included their families, friends, space program co-workers and past Astronaut Hall of Fame inductees, the two men were celebrated un
  
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• Fireball lights up sky over Ontario, Quebec

  17-05-2016 20:34 via cbc.ca
  
  A blazing "giant" fireball streaked across the sky and exploded with a "boom" over Ontario, Quebec and several northeastern U.S. states after midnight last night.
  
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• Here’s where 17,000 ocean research buoys ended up

  17-05-2016 20:24
  
  A combined look at 35 years’ worth of ocean buoy movements reveals the currents that feed into ocean garbage patches.
  
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• Lyme disease increases in Canada as climate, land use change

  17-05-2016 20:10 via cbc.ca
  
  It's believed Canada has seen more confirmed cases of Lyme disease because of a combination of greater awareness, increased reporting and climate change.
  
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• University students fooled by robot TA

  17-05-2016 19:25 via cbc.ca
  
  Imagine discovering someone you thought was human is, in fact, a robot. As CBC Radio technology columnist Dan Misener explains, that's what happened to a class full of Georgia Tech students recently, when they learned that their teaching assistant was actually a piece of software.
  
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• Paradise lost in a tourism boom

  17-05-2016 19:18 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Beautiful places threatened by mass tourism
  
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• Genetically altered food safe, but not living up to promise, report finds

  17-05-2016 18:45 via cbc.ca
  
  Genetically manipulated food remains generally safe for humans and the environment, a high-powered science advisory board declared in a report Tuesday.
  
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• Here's how the giraffe evolved into the world's tallest land animal

  17-05-2016 17:55
  
  It’s hoped publishing research into their genes will raise awareness of the plight of giraffes, with some subspecies close to extinction.
  
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• Israeli divers find ancient Roman shipwreck full of treasure

  17-05-2016 17:49 via cbc.ca
  
  A chance discovery by two divers uncovered Israel's biggest find of underwater Roman-era artifacts in three decades.
  
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• Cities 'woefully unprepared' for rising disaster risk, World Bank says

  17-05-2016 17:39 via cbc.ca
  
  Cities around the world are failing to plan for fast-increasing risks from extreme weather and other hazards, particularly as population growth and surging migration put more people in the path of those threats, the World Bank says.
  
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• Aspiring northern Ontario beekeeper loses hives to hungry bear

  17-05-2016 17:38 via cbc.ca
  
  David Dubois was expecting a hive of lively activity in his brand new hobby apiary in Sudbury, Ont. this week, but what he woke up to instead was a scene of destruction, thanks to a hungry bear.
  
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• NASA launches near-space monitoring balloon from New Zealand

  17-05-2016 17:29
  
  WELLINGTON (Reuters) - NASA successfully launched a super pressure balloon from New Zealand's South Island Wanaka Airport Tuesday to conduct near-space scientific investigations.
  
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• Silent But Deadly: Half of All Heart Attacks Have No Symptoms

  17-05-2016 17:28
  Nearly half of all heart attacks may have no symptoms at all — but that doesn't mean they're any less deadly than heart attacks with symptoms, a new study finds. "Silent" heart attacks account for 45 percent of all attacks in the U.S., according to the study, published today (May 16) in the journal Circulation. In addition, the researchers also found that silent heart attacks raise a person's risk of dying from heart disease by three times, compared with if they had not had a heart attack.
  
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• That's My Mom: Mother's Voice Lights Up Kids' Brains

  17-05-2016 17:27
  There really is something special about a mother's voice, science confirms. Children's brains respond more strongly to their mothers' voices than to the voices of strangers, even when heard for only a fraction of a second, according to a new study published today (May 16), in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "We know that hearing [their] mother's voice can be an important source of emotional comfort to children.
  
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• Exercise May Reduce the Risk of These 13 Cancers

  17-05-2016 17:27
  Here's another reason to get active: Exercise may reduce the risk of 13 types of cancer, a new study finds. Participants were asked whether they did moderate or vigorous exercise in their free time, like walking, swimming or running, and how much physical activity they got. During the study period, more than 186,000 cases of cancer were diagnosed in the study participants.
  
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• Doctors Perform US' 1st Penis Transplant

  17-05-2016 17:27
  A 64-year-old man in Massachusetts has become the first person in the United States to receive a penis transplant, doctors announced today. The patient, Thomas Manning, needed his penis removed in 2012 because of aggressive penile cancer. The penile transplant was performed in order to reconstruct the genitalia so it has a more natural appearance, restore urinary function and hopefully achieve sexual function, the doctors said.
  
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• Genes tell how the giraffe got its long neck

  17-05-2016 17:12
  
  LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists have sequenced the genome of the giraffe for the first time, uncovering DNA quirks that help explain how the tallest animals on earth developed their remarkably long necks.
  
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• Giraffe’s long neck linked to its genetic profile

  17-05-2016 17:00
  
  Giraffes’ genes may reveal how their necks grew long and hearts got strong.
  
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• Robotic Toy 'Leka' Designed for Kids with Autism

  17-05-2016 16:50
  
  However, there's another spherical, programmable, rolling robot currently in development that's capable of doing important work to engage children with special needs, particularly children on the autism spectrum. Described by its designers as "a robotic companion," the roly-poly Leka robot is shaped like a ball, has an endearing "face" that changes expressions, and uses sound, light and colors to interact with users through customizable games that improve cognitive and motor skills. Caregivers a
  
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• Echoes of Ancient Cosmology Found at Prehistoric Native American Site

  17-05-2016 16:27
  The so-called Heckelman site, located near the town of Milan, in Ohio's Erie County, is on a flat-topped bluff above the Huron River. There, people of the "Early Woodland" period of North American prehistory erected tall, freestanding wooden poles as part of the group's social or religious ceremonies. Archaeologist Brian Redmond, a curator at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, said the location of the site appeared to echo a conception of the cosmos common to many Native American peoples.
  
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• Cosmic Dust on Earth Reveals Clues to Ancient Atmosphere

  17-05-2016 16:17
  
  The oldest space dust yet found on Earth suggests that the ancient atmosphere of Earth had significantly more oxygen than previously thought, a new study finds. Although oxygen gas currently makes up about one-fifth of Earth's air, there was at least 100,000 times less oxygen in the primordial atmosphere, researchers say. Previous research suggests that significant levels of oxygen gas started permanently building up in the atmosphere with the Great Oxidation Event, which occurred about 2.4 bill
  
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• New State of Water: Strange 6-Sided Molecule Found

  17-05-2016 16:16
  
  A strange new behavior of water molecules has been observed inside crystals of beryl, a type of emerald, caused by bizarre quantum-mechanical effects that let the water molecules face six different directions at the same time. Under normal conditions, the two hydrogen atoms in each water molecule are arranged around the oxygen atom in an open "V" shape, sometimes compared to a boomerang or Mickey Mouse ears. But in a new experiment, scientists have found that hydrogen atoms of some water molecul
  
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• Nasa's Snapchat story showing what life is like on the ISS is everything

  17-05-2016 16:06
  
  Take a virtual, emoji-filled tour on board the International Space Station.
  
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• Red Cross targets $110 million for drought relief in Southern Africa

  17-05-2016 15:31
  The International Federation of Red Cross and the Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has launched an appeal for $110 million to a new initiative to help drought-stricken southern African countries. In South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe, last year's poor rains have been followed by an El Nino-driven drought that has delayed planting and stunted crops. An estimated 31.6 million people across the region are struggling to feed themselves, and the figure is expected
  
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• Move over, truckers - driverless big rigs aim to take over the highways

  17-05-2016 15:26 via cbc.ca
  
  Former Google employees have launched a startup that aims to put self-driving technology in all U.S. trucks, allowing them to drive themselves while a human driver naps in the back of the cab.
  
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• Ottawa strengthens protections for beluga whales in St. Lawrence Estuary

  17-05-2016 14:21 via cbc.ca
  
  Any human activities carried out in the beluga whale habitat in the St. Lawrence Estuary will require "authorization before going ahead," under a new order signed by Canada's minister of fisheries and oceans.
  
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• 'Three's Company': SpaceX's 3 Landed Rockets Cozy Up (Photos)

  17-05-2016 14:15
  
  The images, which were taken on Saturday (May 14), show the three Falcon 9 rockets that SpaceX has successfully brought back to Earth arrayed next to each other in a hangar at Launch Complex 39A, which is part of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. SpaceX is working to develop fully and rapidly reusable rockets, technology that Musk has said could reduce the cost of spaceflight by a factor of 100.
  
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• Scott and Mark Kelly, NASA's Astronaut Twins, to Be Honored by Hometown This Week

  17-05-2016 14:15
  
  West Orange, New Jersey, will honor native sons Mark and Scott Kelly on Thursday (May 19), which the city has decreed Kelly Family Day. The former NASA astronauts, who are identical twins, will receive "Mayoral Medals," and the elementary school they attended — currently called Pleasantdale Elementary — will be renamed after them, West Orange officials said. Mark Kelly flew four space shuttle missions during his astronaut career: the STS-108 flight of Endeavour in 2001, the STS-
  
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• NASA Funds Interstellar Flight System, 7 Other Wild Space Tech Ideas

  17-05-2016 14:15
  
  NASA has funded eight advanced-technology concepts that agency officials believe could help transform space science and exploration. The high-risk, high-reward ideas — which received grants under Phase 2 of the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program — include a possible way to induce a hibernation-like state in Mars-bound astronauts and a proposal to blast tiny spacecraft between the stars using powerful lasers. "The NIAC program is one of the ways NASA engages the U.S
  
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• Humans on Mars: Scouting Needed for Red Planet Resources

  17-05-2016 14:15
  
  NASA's quest to put boots on Mars in the 2030s is advancing, bolstered by new studies about a multifunction, next-generation Mars orbiter and the best ways to use Red Planet resources to sustain astronaut pioneers. For example, any favored exploration zone should allow expeditionary crews to tap into at least 100 metric tons (110 U.S. tons) of water, NASA officials have said. With its suite of instruments and cameras — particularly the sharp-shooting High Resolution Imaging Science Experim
  
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• Ouch! An Interview with Entomology's King of Sting

  17-05-2016 13:00 via rss.sciam.com
  
  Justin Schmidt’s book chronicles—in excruciating detail—the stings he has collected to understand insect socialization 
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Magic mushrooms helped drug trial volunteer 'stay connected' with his dead mother

  17-05-2016 12:33
  
  Kirk Rutter fell into deep depression after losing his parent and joined a trial to test the effects the drug had on his mental health.
  
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• Where did the right whales go? New study dives into mystery

  17-05-2016 12:20 via cbc.ca
  
  Scientists from the United States and Canada will take part in an unprecedented survey of marine mammals off Atlantic Canada this year, including the endangered northern right whale.
  
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• Could 'magic mushroom' drug help with depression? New research offers hope to patients

  17-05-2016 12:01
  
  The small sample reacted positively to taking psilocybin drugs, but the research is not without its detractors.
  
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• Penis operation highlights past, future of organ transplants

  17-05-2016 08:30
  
  CHICAGO (AP) — Add one remarkable case to the 30,000-plus organ transplants expected to be performed nationwide this year: A cancer patient who received a donor penis.
  
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