Science news

• Rare Newborn Planet May Be the Youngest Ever Detected

  20-06-2016 23:57
  
  A distant, Neptune-size planet 500 light-years from Earth appears to be the youngest fully formed exoplanet ever found crossing its star, raising questions about how it formed so close, so quickly. Researchers first found the planet, which whisks around its star every five days, using the Kepler space telescope currently orbiting Earth. "Our Earth is roughly 4.5 billion years old," Trevor David, a graduate student researcher at the California Institute of Technology and lead author of the n
  
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• 'Heroes & Legends' Astronaut Attraction to Include Videos Shared by Public

  20-06-2016 23:51
  
  NASA wants to put you in the new U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame. This fall, NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida will open "Heroes & Legends, Featuring the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame," a new attraction that replaces the original Hall's museum, which opened in 1990, with an immersive experience that will introduce guests to the American men and women who pioneered the space frontier. "We are here to inspire minds through a memorable space experience and this new attraction wil
  
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• Deadly Degrees: Why Heat Waves Kill So Quickly

  20-06-2016 23:09
  
  An intense heat wave that sent temperatures in Phoenix to 118 degrees Fahrenheit (47.7 degrees Celsius) this weekend has killed four people — and the heat could be worse today. Those killed so far were all hiking or biking outdoors, but heat waves can kill close to home, too. In 2003, during a major European heat wave, 14,802 people died of hyperthermia in France alone.
  
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• Global coral bleaching event expected to last through 2016

  20-06-2016 23:07
  
  HONOLULU (AP) — After the most powerful El Nino on record heated the world's oceans to never-before-seen levels, huge swaths of once vibrant coral reefs that were teeming with life are now stark white ghost towns disintegrating into the sea.
  
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• The Latest: Coral bleaching likely to last through 2016

  20-06-2016 23:03
  
  HONOLULU (AP) — The Latest on consecutive years of global coral bleaching, which has led to widespread mortality of reefs (all times local):
  
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• Power of supercomputing to find rare-earth refining alternatives

  20-06-2016 22:17
  Scientists have identified agents for the separation of rare-earth metals that are potentially much less costly and better-performing than those currently used.
  
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• Rediscovering a wasp after 101 years

  20-06-2016 22:11
  A species of wasp that is a natural enemy of a wood-boring beetle that kills black locust trees has been rediscovered, more than 100 years after the last wasp of this species was found.
  
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• Aspirin versus blood thinners in atrial fibrillation patients with stroke risk

  20-06-2016 22:11
  More than one in three atrial fibrillation (AF) patients at intermediate to high risk for stroke are treated with aspirin alone, despite previous data showing this therapy to be inferior to blood thinners, new research suggests.
  
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• Researchers find Highland East Asian origin for prehistoric Himalayan populations

  20-06-2016 22:10
  Researchers have conducted the first ancient DNA investigation of the Himalayan arc, generating genomic data for eight individuals ranging in time from the earliest known human settlements to the establishment of the Tibetan Empire. The findings demonstrate that the genetic make-up of high-altitude Himalayan populations has remained remarkably stable despite cultural transitions and exposure to outside populations through trade.
  
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• Manta rays are local commuters, not long-distance travelers, study finds

  20-06-2016 22:10
  Oceanic manta rays -- often thought to take epic migrations -- might actually be homebodies, according to a new study. A research team studied satellite-tracked manta rays to shed light on the lives of these mysterious ocean giants.
  
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• How China can ramp up wind power

  20-06-2016 22:10
  China has an opportunity to massively increase its use of wind power -- if it properly integrates wind into its existing power system, according to a new study. The research forecasts that wind power could provide 26 percent of China's projected electricity demand by 2030, up from 3 percent in 2015.
  
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• Tumor cells develop predictable characteristics that are not random, say researchers

  20-06-2016 22:02
  Tumors are composed of many subpopulations of cells. Some of these subpopulations of cancer cells can be predicted and do not develop randomly as previously thought, report investigators.
  
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• Scientists glimpse why life can't happen without water

  20-06-2016 22:02
  Scientists are getting closer to directly observing how and why water is essential to life as we know it.
  
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• Lessons on personalities help teens cope with social stressors, study says

  20-06-2016 22:02
  Teaching teens that social and personality traits can change helps them cope with social challenges such as bullying, which in turn can help mitigate stress and improve academic performance, according to a study.
  
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• Silencing of gene affects people's social lives

  20-06-2016 22:01
  Psychologists have found that the silencing of a specific gene may affect human social behavior, including a person's ability to form healthy relationships or to recognize the emotional states of others.
  
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• Whale carcass being studied by NB Museum

  20-06-2016 21:42 via cbc.ca
  
  The remains of a dead whale found near Campbellton have arrived at the New Brunswick Museum. the first time the carcass of a mature male Sowerby's beaked whale has been found in New Brunswick waters.
  
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• Sowerby's beaked whale carcass being studied by New Brunswick Museum

  20-06-2016 21:42 via cbc.ca
  
  The remains of a dead whale found near Campbellton have arrived at the New Brunswick Museum. the first time the carcass of a mature male Sowerby's beaked whale has been found in New Brunswick waters.
  
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• Rare whale carcass being studied by NB Museum

  20-06-2016 21:42 via cbc.ca
  
  The remains of a dead whale found near Campbellton have arrived at the New Brunswick Museum. the first time the carcass of a mature male Sowerby's beaked whale has been found in New Brunswick waters.
  
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• For cleanest hands, squirt and count to 30

  20-06-2016 21:16
  
  Rubbing hands for 30 seconds is the most effective way to use hand sanitizer, a study of health care workers finds.
  
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• Sweet! Electrical trick may lead to less fat in chocolate

  20-06-2016 21:09
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — Get a charge out of chocolate? New research suggests candy companies may be able to make lower fat versions of the tasty treat with a little electrical trick.
  
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• Rare Summer Solstice Full Moon, 1st Since 1948, Rises Tonight: Watch It Live

  20-06-2016 21:07
  
  On Monday (June 20), the full moon will fall on the solstice for the first time since 1948. To celebrate this special occasion, the online Slooh Community Observatory will broadcast views of the moon live from the Canary Islands. The broadcast starts at 8 p.m. EDT (0000 GMT Tuesday, June 21) and will include discussion between Slooh host Paul Cox and Slooh astronomer Bob Berman.
  
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• Squirrel study will compare urban rodents with their country cousins

  20-06-2016 20:54 via cbc.ca
  
  University of Guelph is studying squirrels to find out the effects of urbanization in wildlife. The study will be comparing urban squirrels and non urban squirrels to see the difference in stress and immune physiology.
  
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• For tooth decay microbes, many routes lead to kids’ mouths

  20-06-2016 20:51
  
  Mothers aren’t their children’s only source of bacteria that cause dental cavities, new research shows.
  
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• Research aims to make water-cycle modeling data more accessible

  20-06-2016 20:13
  Improved publication strategy for authors who use hydrological modeling software will make model data easier for readers to understand and reuse, according to an international team of researchers.
  
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• E-cigarette use can alter hundreds of genes involved in airway immune defense

  20-06-2016 20:13
  Smoking cigarettes alters dozens of genes important for immune defense in epithelial cells in the respiratory tract. These changes likely increase the risk of bacterial infections, viruses, and inflammation. Now, scientists report that e-cigarette use alters hundreds of genes, including the same ones that smoking suppress.
  
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• Disney princesses: Not brave enough, say researchers

  20-06-2016 20:13
  Gendered behavior can become problematic if girls avoid important learning experiences. A new article looks at how Disney Princesses play a role.
  
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• Breast cancer cells use newfound pathway to survive low oxygen levels in tumors

  20-06-2016 20:13
  Oxygen is important for the proper function of all human cells, but cancer cells thrive even when deprived of it. Now, researchers have identified a new signaling pathway that helps cancer cells cope with the lack of oxygen found inside tumors.
  
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• Better way to 'herd' electrons in solar fuel devices

  20-06-2016 20:13
  Researchers have discovered a new way to optimize electron transfer in semi-conductors used in solar fuel solutions.
  
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• Understanding the resistance to treatments against breast cancer

  20-06-2016 20:09
  Estrogens are responsible for the survival and proliferation of tumor cells in 70 percent of breast cancer cases. Nearly a third of the patients develop a resistance to anti-estrogen treatments such as tamoxifen after a few years. Biologists now reveal how tumor cells become refractory to the drug. They succeeded in identifying eight factors involved in the process of resistance to the treatment. The researchers also suggest various approaches for developing new therapies.
  
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• Stealth nanocapsules kill Chagas parasites in mouse models

  20-06-2016 20:09
  Lychnopholide, a substance isolated from a Brazilian plant, and formulated as part of 'nanocapsules' cured more than half of a group of mice that had been infected experimentally with Chagas disease parasites.
  
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• Marketing study shows lenient return policy may increase sales

  20-06-2016 20:09
  A meta-analysis of retail return policies may lead businesses to modify their policies to increase sales and reduce returns. The study found that return policies that offer consumers more monetary rewards are likely to increase their consumer purchases.
  
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• How early mammals evolved night vision to avoid predators

  20-06-2016 20:09
  Early mammals evolved in a burst during the Jurassic period, adapting a nocturnal lifestyle when dinosaurs were the dominant daytime predator. How these early mammals evolved night vision to find food and survive has been a mystery, but a new study suggests that rods in the mammalian eye, extremely sensitive to light, developed from color-detecting cone cells during this time to give mammals an edge in low-light conditions.
  
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• Brain markers of numeric, verbal and spatial reasoning abilities

  20-06-2016 20:09
  A new study begins to clarify how brain structure and chemistry give rise to specific aspects of 'fluid intelligence,' the ability to adapt to new situations and solve problems one has never encountered before.
  
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• A novel therapy for genital herpes engages immune cells to provide significant patient benefits

  20-06-2016 20:09
  A phase II clinical trial demonstrated that a new type of treatment for genital herpes, an immunotherapy called GEN-003, may reduce the activity of the virus and the number of days with recurrent herpes. This effect of treatment, given by a series of three injections, appears to last for up to at least one year.
  
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• Venezuela opposition lines up to seek Maduro recall

  20-06-2016 19:12
  By Sarah Dagher CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan opposition sympathizers lined up on Monday around the country to validate signatures as part of a painstaking process to request a recall referendum against President Nicolas Maduro, who is deeply unpopular due to the country's economic crisis. The elections council has required that those who signed for a recall vote against the 53-year-old former bus driver return to polling stations to verify their signatures through fingerprint detection. Advers
  
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• Mars Rover Panorama Shows Sweeping 'Marathon Valley' (Photo)

  20-06-2016 19:12
  
  An epic Mars panorama shows the snaking valley that NASA's long-lived Opportunity rover has been exploring for the last year — and will likely soon leave behind. The newly released photo — a composite of many images Opportunity captured in April and May — depicts Marathon Valley, a feature that cuts across the western rim of the 14-mile-wide (22 kilometers) Endeavour Crater. Opportunity arrived in the valley in July 2015 to hunt for clay minerals, signs of which
  
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• How early mammals evolved night vision to escape dinos

  20-06-2016 18:13 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Night-time vision evolved millions of years ago in early mammals, a study suggests.
  
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• When suppressing immunity is a good thing

  20-06-2016 18:05
  A receptor, first known for its role in mediating the harmful effects of the environmental pollutant dioxin in our body, is now understood to play other important roles in modulating the innate immune response.
  
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• Scientists discover on/off switch for obesity-associated cancer

  20-06-2016 18:04
  Having established that excessive fat tissue can fuel the growth of certain cancers, researchers have turned their attention to the molecular mechanisms involved in the process in the hopes of developing new cancer treatments. Now new research sheds light on the link between obesity and cancer.
  
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• Mystery of powerful lightning at sea not solved completely

  20-06-2016 18:04
  The mystery of why most of the most powerful lightning on Earth happens over the oceans isn't solved, but a few of the usual suspects are no longer in custody. It's possible the increased presence of salt in the atmosphere plays a role.
  
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• Threats to habitat connectivity as sea waters inundate coastal areas

  20-06-2016 18:03
  By the year 2100, sea levels might rise as much as 2.5 meters above their current levels, which would seriously threaten coastal cities and other low-lying areas. In turn, this would force animals to migrate farther inland in search of higher ground. But accelerated urbanization, such as the rapidly expanding Piedmont area that stretches from Atlanta to eastern North Carolina, could cut off their escape routes and create climate-induced extinctions.
  
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• Crowdsourcing platform makes public gene expression data more accessible

  20-06-2016 18:03
  Scientists have developed a free online platform that uses a crowdsourcing approach to make public gene expression data more accessible to biomedical researchers without computational expertise.
  
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• Shedding light on an assistant protein

  20-06-2016 18:02
  Scientists can now observe in-protein motions with high spatial and temporal resolution. This is made possible by a new technology, giving new insight into the functional mechanisms of very special proteins.
  
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• New brain map could enable novel therapies for autism,Huntington's disease

  20-06-2016 18:02
  Scientists have mapped an uncharted portion of the mouse brain to explain which circuit disruptions might occur in disorders such as Huntington's disease and autism. They looked at the connections of a part of the brain responsible for motor learning, the dorsal striatum. Researchers said they are the first to create the most comprehensive map of connections between the dorsal striatum and the cerebral cortex that is available for any mammal.
  
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• 'Holy grail' of breast cancer prevention in high-risk women may be in sight

  20-06-2016 18:02
  An existing medication could have promise in preventing breast cancer in women carrying a faulty BRCA1 gene, researchers have discovered.
  
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• Breathing space for the Gulf Stream

  20-06-2016 18:02
  The salinity of the waters around Greenland plays an important role in driving the Gulf Stream. There are concerns that a freshening by the increasing ice losses from the Greenland ice sheet could weaken the current system. New model calculations conducted by an international research team suggest, however, that a large fraction of this meltwater is removed from the most sensitive areas by boundary currents, delaying the influence on the Gulf Stream.
  
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• Solar plane takes on Atlantic as part of round-the-world bid

  20-06-2016 18:01
  
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - An airplane powered solely by energy from the sun headed across the Atlantic early on Monday, on one of the longest legs of the first-ever flight around the globe without using a drop of fuel.
  
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• What does Zika virus mean for the children of the Americas?

  20-06-2016 17:59
  A special communication article explores whether new paradigms in child health may emerge because of Zika virus. The article suggests revisiting how the specialty of pediatrics responded to the HIV/AIDS crisis 30 years ago as a possible road map for addressing this new virus infection.
  
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• Scientists engineer tunable DNA for electronics applications

  20-06-2016 17:59
  A team has been able to understand and manipulate DNA to more finely tune the flow of electricity through it. The key findings, which can make DNA behave in different ways -- cajoling electrons to smoothly flow like electricity through a metal wire, or hopping electrons about like the semiconductors materials that power our computers and cell phones, paves the way for an exciting new avenue of research advancements.
  
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• Has incidence of Parkinson's disease increased over past 30 years?

  20-06-2016 17:59
  A study of patients in a Minnesota county suggests the incidence (new cases) of parkinsonism and Parkinson's disease may have increased over the past 30 years but that trend may not be genuine and must be confirmed in other populations.
  
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