Science news

• New data will help Colorado study health effects of fracking

  14-06-2016 23:59
  
  DENVER (AP) — New data on air pollution from fracking wells in Colorado will be a big help in assessing whether the emissions are harmful to human health, state officials say.
  
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• WHO: Very little risk that Brazil’s Olympics will speed Zika’s spread

  14-06-2016 23:49
  
  Olympics not likely to hasten international spread of Zika virus, according to WHO analysis that includes data from previous mass gatherings.
  
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• Asymmetric molecule, key to life, detected in space for first time

  14-06-2016 23:36
  
  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - Scientists for the first time have found a complex organic molecule in space that bears the same asymmetric structure as molecules that are key to life on Earth.
  
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• Gunshot Wounds Are Getting Deadlier, One Hospital Finds

  14-06-2016 23:05
  Just days after the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history, a new study from Denver finds that deaths from gunshot wounds at a trauma center there have increased over the past decade and that gunshot injuries have become more severe. "Our study provides an objective measure of something trauma surgeons across the country already know: The firearms used in our communities are becoming more harmful and more lethal," said study co-author Dr. Angela Sauaia, a professor of public health, medicine an
  
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• U.S. regulator says too many drugmakers chasing same cancer strategy

  14-06-2016 22:49
  
  (This June 10 story corrects reference to AstraZeneca drug to PD-L1 instead of PD-1, paragraph 10)
  
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• Mineral from wet, hot volcano lava found on Mars, baffling scientists

  14-06-2016 22:33 via cbc.ca
  
  Scientists are baffled by the discovery of a mineral on Mars that, on Earth, typically comes from extremely hot volcanoes whose lava was exposed to lots of ocean water.
  
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• Limestone world gobbled by planet-eating white dwarf

  14-06-2016 22:30
  
  Debris from a shredded planet points to a world that was once covered in calcium carbonate.
  
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• Lemurs sing in sync — until one tries to go solo

  14-06-2016 22:00
  
  Indris, a lemur species in Madagascar, sing in synchrony and match rhythm, except for young males trying to stand out.
  
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• Bendable phones 'right around the corner,' says Samsung exec

  14-06-2016 21:47 via cbc.ca
  
  Imagine a tablet computer you could roll up like a newspaper. Or a paper-thin smartphone you could fold in half. As CBC Radio technology columnist Dan Misener explains, tech companies are working on exactly these types of devices — and they might hit the market as soon as next year.
  
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• 'Mysterious Object' May Be First 'Extinct' Meteorite

  14-06-2016 21:40
  
  A newly uncovered meteorite may be the first-ever "extinct" meteorite — a member of a class of meteorite that no longer falls to Earth. The ancient rock may yield insights on a cosmic impact that created most of the meteorites that now crash on Earth, and which may have influenced the evolution of life on Earth, researchers said. The most common meteorites on Earth, which make up about 85 percent of the rocks that fall onto this planet from space, are known as ordinary chondrites
  
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• U.S. internet providers lose battle against net neutrality rules

  14-06-2016 21:31 via cbc.ca
  
  In a big win for the Obama administration, a U.S. federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld the government's "net neutrality" rules that require internet providers to treat all web traffic equally.
  
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• 'Twisty' Molecule Essential to Life Spotted in Deep Space For 1st Time

  14-06-2016 21:24
  
  Now, for the first time, one has been spotted in interstellar space. Discovering such molecules in deep space, called chiral molecules, can help researchers understand the development of life on Earth, which is rich in those complex molecules — what presenters at the American Astronomical Society's summer meeting in San Diego called "life's first handshake." The discovery is explained in this new video by Science Magazine. "This [discovery] is going to provide us with a laboratory to try t
  
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• Tatooine-style planet with two suns detected by Kepler telescope

  14-06-2016 20:46
  
  Kepler-1647b is the latest planet to be discovered by Nasa’s Kepler space telescope.
  
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• Heavy rain with a threat of flash floods forecast to continue into Thursday

  14-06-2016 20:45
  
  Thundery downpours have been thoroughly soaking parts of the UK.
  
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• Toronto libraries partner with Google to offer WiFi internet you can take home

  14-06-2016 20:35 via cbc.ca
  
  You've always been able to get books. But now, thanks to a partnership with Google Canada, some library users will be able to bring home some wireless internet.
  
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• Stegosaurus had bite like a sheep

  14-06-2016 20:24
  
  Dinosaur experts have conducted the first detailed study of the Stegosaurus skull and found that it had a more powerful bite than its tiny, peg-shaped, teeth suggested.
  
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• Tim Peake: Watch key moments from UK astronaut's mission

  14-06-2016 20:06 via bbc.co.uk
  
  As UK astronaut Tim Peake comes back to Earth, BBC News has compiled some of the best Esa videos from his six-month mission.
  
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• Tim Peake: The UK astronaut's best photos and comments

  14-06-2016 20:06 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Has Tim Peake got the best photo album on (and off) Earth? As his space mission comes to an end, we compile some of his best shots along with his comments.
  
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• Tim Peake: A look at Sokol spacesuit used for re-entry

  14-06-2016 20:05 via bbc.co.uk
  
  As British astronaut Tim Peake ends his mission, BBC News takes a look at the spacesuit used for launch and re-entry.
  
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• Duck hunter fishes woolly mammoth bone out of Yukon's Crow River

  14-06-2016 20:05 via cbc.ca
  
  Robert Kyikavichik was duck hunting on the Crow River in northern Yukon when he saw something sticking up out of the water.
  
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• Exclusive: North Korea may be 'significantly' upping nuclear bomb output - report

  14-06-2016 19:56
  By David Brunnstrom and Jonathan Landay WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Korea may be significantly expanding its nuclear weapons production and could have added six or more weapons to its stockpile in the last 18 months, a U.S. research institute said on Tuesday. The Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) estimated last year that North Korea had 10 to 16 nuclear weapons at the end of 2014. It based that conclusion on an analysis of the country's production of weapo
  
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• Russian hackers steal Donald Trump research from Democrats' computers

  14-06-2016 19:48 via cbc.ca
  Russian government hackers penetrated the computer network of the Democratic National Committee and gained access to the entire database of opposition research on Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, the committee and security researchers said Tuesday.
  
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• Bitcoin price hits 2-year high above $700 US

  14-06-2016 19:30 via cbc.ca
  
  The value of a bitcoin has risen to its highest level since 2014 as the software code that underpins the cryptocurrency is set to cut the amount of new coins being created by half.
  
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• How Kevlar Saved an Orlando Police Officer's Life

  14-06-2016 18:04
  
  A helmet made of Kevlar saved the life of an Orlando, Florida, police officer on Sunday (June 12) after police engaged in a gun battle with a man who killed 49 people and injured 53 others at a gay nightclub, according to news sources. Thanks to its unique chemistry, Kevlar body armor has saved the lives of countless people who were wearing it. In a tweet Sunday morning, the Orlando Police Department applauded the tough fiber: "Pulse shooting: In hail of gunfire in which suspect was killed, OPD
  
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• Mysterious Monumental Structure Found at Ancient Petra

  14-06-2016 18:03
  
  Carved into desert cliffs, the towering, ancient city of Petra can trace its origins back at least 2,000 years. For two centuries, archaeologists have extensively studied what is left of Petra, but they continue to make new discoveries. By combining data gathered by Google Earth and satellite sensors, they observed the shape of what may have once been a giant stoneplatform, located about 0.6 miles (900 m) outside Petra's city center.
  
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• Whistling Sling Bullets Were Roman Troops' Secret 'Terror Weapon'

  14-06-2016 18:02
  
  Some 1,800 years ago, Roman troops used "whistling" sling bullets as a "terror weapon" against their barbarian foes, according to archaeologists who found the cast lead bullets at a site in Scotland. These holes converted the bullets into a "terror weapon," said archaeologist John Reid of the Trimontium Trust, a Scottish historical society directing the first major archaeological investigation in 50 years of the Burnswark Hill site.
  
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• Operation Puerto: Blood bags in Spanish cycling doping case to be handed over

  14-06-2016 17:48 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Blood bags used as evidence in a major Spanish cycling doping scandal must be handed over to authorities for investigation, a court rules.
  
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• 'Fossil' meteorite was from asteroid smash-up

  14-06-2016 17:46 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists identify a completely new type of meteorite that likely originated in a huge asteroid collision some 470 million years ago.
  
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• Whole Grains Each Day Linked to Longer Life

  14-06-2016 17:12
  Eating a diet rich in whole grains may reduce your risk of dying early, a new meta-analysis finds. People who reported eating at least three servings of whole grains daily were 20 percent less likely to die early from any cause compared with people who reported eating less than one serving a day, the researchers found. The U.S. Dietary Guidelines recommend eating three or more servings of whole grains each day.
  
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• Children's Sleep: New Guidelines on Shut-Eye for Kids

  14-06-2016 17:12
  New guidelines from doctors who specialize in sleep disorders map out how much sleep children of every age should get. Babies ages 4 months to 1 year should sleep 12 to 16 hours per day, including naps, according to the guidelines. Children ages 3 to 5 should sleep 10 to 13 hours per day, whereas children ages 6 to 12 should sleep 9 to 12 hours per day, the guidelines said.
  
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• Kids' Mental Health Risks Rise with Poor Air Quality

  14-06-2016 17:11
  Higher levels of air pollution may correspond to higher rates of mental health disorders in kids and teens, according to a new study conducted in Sweden. Researchers found that, in areas with higher levels of pollution, there were more medications dispensed for psychiatric conditions in children and teens, compared with areas with lower levels of pollution. "The results can mean that a decreased concentration of air pollution — first and foremost, traffic-related air pollution — may
  
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• This is the 1st mammal wiped out by human-caused climate change, scientists say

  14-06-2016 17:08 via cbc.ca
  
  An Australian rodent found only on a tiny island on the Great Barrier Reef has been declared extinct. Scientists say it's the first mammal known to be wiped out by human-caused climate change.
  
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• Long-lost ‘extinct’ meteorite found

  14-06-2016 17:00
  
  A newly discovered meteorite, nicknamed Öst 65, may have originated from the same collision that formed L chondrites, one of the most abundant groups of meteorites on Earth.
  
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• E3 2016: New Spider-Man, Batman games coming to PlayStation

  14-06-2016 16:58 via cbc.ca
  
  The Dark Knight and Spidey are among the heroes swinging onto the PlayStation.
  
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• Private Cargo Ship Leaves Space Station to Ignite Record-Breaking Fire Experiment

  14-06-2016 16:39
  
  A private cargo ship left the International Space Station today (June 14) and will soon host the biggest fire-in-space experiment ever conducted. The robotic Cygnus spacecraft, which was built by Virginia-based company Orbital ATK, undocked from the orbiting lab at 9:30 a.m. EDT (1330 GMT). At about 2:30 p.m. EDT (1830 GMT), when the freighter is a safe distance from the ISS, controllers on the ground will deliberately light a large fire inside Cygnus to test how flames spread in micro
  
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• Power cuts, violence fuel Yemen separatists' dreams

  14-06-2016 16:07
  By Mohammed Mukhashaf ADEN (Reuters) - Deprived of sleep by temperatures of over 40 degrees (104 F), Azal Mohammed was among dozens of young men burning tyres last month to protest against persistent power cuts in Aden, a port city that was the capital of South Yemen. Over the past 14 months, Aden’s one million inhabitants have endured war and gang violence. The collapse of even basic public services has fuelled demands for the restoration of the southern state that merged with northern Ye
  
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• For the Kermit Sutra? New mating position reported for frogs

  14-06-2016 16:06
  
  This just in from the Department of Amphibian Philandering: For years, scientists have thought frogs and toads used only six positions to mate. It turns out they may be wrong. In a forest in India, researchers ...
  
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• Movie viewers’ exhaled chemicals tell if scene is funny, scary

  14-06-2016 15:00
  
  Changes in trace gases exhaled by movie audiences could point the way to a subtle form of human communication.
  
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• 'Biblical' moth influx threatens to devastate crops

  14-06-2016 14:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists have learned that cabbage and cauliflower crops could potentially be "devastated" by an infestation of moths from continental Europe.
  
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• Weird Gaps Are 'Footprints' of Baby Alien Worlds (Images)

  14-06-2016 13:55
  
  Baby alien worlds are indeed likely slicing gaps in the disk of dust and gas swirling around the young star HL Tauri — a finding that could help reshape scientists' current understanding of how planets form.
  
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• Dark Matter May Be Made of Primordial Black Holes

  14-06-2016 13:55
  
  Could dark matter — the elusive substance that composes most of the material universe — be made of black holes? Alexander Kashlinsky, an astronomer at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, thinks that black holes that formed soon after the Big Bang can perfectly explain the observations of gravitational waves, or ripples in space-time, made by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) last year, as well as previous observations of the early universe.
  
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• Pluto's Underworld and Icy Heart Collide in New View

  14-06-2016 13:54
  
  The new, highly detailed image of the boundary area shows the icy plains that belong to the larger, heart-shaped region known informally as Sputnik Planum and the much darker highlands informally known as Krun Macula. The new image comes from NASA's New Horizons spacecraft, which made a close flyby of Pluto in July 2015.
  
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• Tim Peake's return: This is what the astronaut's journey will be like on the Soyuz TMA

  14-06-2016 13:33
  
  One astronaut has described the landing as a “head-on collision between a truck and a small car”.
  
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• UN weather agency warns of more global warming in May

  14-06-2016 13:15
  
  GENEVA (AP) — The U.N. weather agency is warning of "fundamental change" afoot in the global climate and continued warming, accompanied recently by unusually high rainfall in parts of the US and Europe.
  
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• ‘Kermit Sutra’ gets seventh amphibian mating position

  14-06-2016 13:00
  
  Bombay night frogs’ unusual mating protocol features indirect sperm transfer and female croaks.
  
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• 'We are ready to grow:' New greenhouse could be game changer in Naujaat, Nunavut

  14-06-2016 12:00 via cbc.ca
  
  A vertical hydroponics system is expected to provide fresh vegetables at well below the cost of buying produce shipped in from southern Canada.
  
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• Free TV for life? Cable giants go to court to stamp it out

  14-06-2016 11:00 via cbc.ca
  
  Cable giants have taken legal action in Federal Court against five Canadian vendors selling loaded Android boxes, which can be used for piracy. The cable companies have already won a temporary injunction, but that could be just the beginning.
  
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• Feds move to keep mercury-filled CFL bulbs out of landfills

  14-06-2016 11:00 via cbc.ca
  
  For years, the federal government has been encouraging consumers to choose compact fluorescent light bulbs. But there's been no strategy to safely dispose of them. That might soon change.
  
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• This is what is going to happen as Tim Peake prepares for his return to Earth

  14-06-2016 09:01
  
  The British astronaut is set to return home after a triumphant six months in space.
  
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• Scientific robots to swim in Bay of Bengal in monsoon study

  14-06-2016 08:59
  NEW DELHI (AP) — In an effort to better understand and predict South Asia's seasonal monsoon, British scientists are getting ready to release robots into the Bay of Bengal in a study of how ocean conditions might affect rainfall patterns.
  
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