Science news

• Alberta college fends off 'ransomware type of attack' by locking down computer systems

  21-06-2016 23:49 via cbc.ca
  
  Red Deer College says it managed to ward off a ransomware attack last Friday after an employee downloaded an infected file but quickly noticed something was amiss and alerted the school's IT help desk.
  
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• Blistering heat wave in Southern California stokes wildfires

  21-06-2016 23:33 via cbc.ca
  
  High winds and a blistering heat wave in Southern California are stoking wildfires from the coastal foothills of Santa Barbara to the parched deserts near the Mexican border.
  
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• Newborn brain has to learn how to feed itself

  21-06-2016 23:00
  
  Nerve cells in newborn mice can’t yet feed themselves.
  
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• In malaria battle, indoor bug spraying has unintended consequence

  21-06-2016 22:50
  
  Years of spraying indoors may inadvertently have push malaria-spreading mosquitoes to venture outdoors for a bite.
  
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• Delicious 'Strawberry Moon' Photos: Rare Solstice Lunar Show Wows Stargazers

  21-06-2016 22:20
  
  June's full moon — known in some cultures as a "Strawberry Moon" — greeted night sky watchers yesterday (June 20), and coincidentally fell on the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. The so-called "Strawberry Moon" may have gotten its name from Native American tribes because it arrives in June, when strawberry season is at its peak.
  
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• Researchers explore epigenetic influences of chronic pain

  21-06-2016 21:50
  New research shows how the DNA-binding protein MeCP2 can regulate the expression of a large number of genes that modulate pain. This study is a first step in identifying new, non-opioid drugs for treating the condition, say the scientists involved.
  
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• Pipeline device can treat challenging 'distal anterior' brain aneurysms

  21-06-2016 21:50
  A recently introduced technology called the Pipeline Embolization Device can provide a less-invasive approach for difficult-to-treat aneurysms of the arteries supplying blood to the front of the brain, reports a new study.
  
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• Improving key diagnostic measures for gastrointestinal disorders

  21-06-2016 21:50
  Diagnostic criteria questionnaires for functional GI disorders, which affect millions of people worldwide, have now been amended by researchers.
  
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• Estuaries like Chesapeake Bay could contribute more to global warming than once thought

  21-06-2016 21:49
  Estuaries and coastal systems are thought to be a relatively small source of atmospheric methane, as little as 3 percent. However, a new study has found that the methane building up in the Chesapeake Bay alone, if released, would be equal to the current estimates for all the estuaries in the world combined.
  
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• Baby Blanding's turtles, a threatened species, released in Rouge National Urban Park

  21-06-2016 21:48 via cbc.ca
  
  Toronto Zoo, Parks Canada and the Region Conservation Authority released 36 baby Blading's turtles, a provincially and nationally threatened species, to a wetland soon to be a part of Rouge National Urban Park in Scarborough.
  
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• [Research Article] Tolerogenic nanoparticles inhibit T cell-mediated autoimmunity through SOCS2

  21-06-2016 21:36 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Nanoparticles decrease disease severity and induce immune tolerance in a mouse model of type 1 diabetes.
  
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• [Research Article] The adaptor protein insulin receptor substrate 2 inhibits alternative macrophage activation and allergic lung inflammation

  21-06-2016 21:36 via stke.sciencemag.org
  An adaptor protein mediates feedback inhibition of cytokine receptor signaling to limit airway inflammation.
  
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• [Research Article] MET signaling in keratinocytes activates EGFR and initiates squamous carcinogenesis

  21-06-2016 21:36 via stke.sciencemag.org
  The receptor tyrosine kinase MET and oncogenic RAS both stimulate EGFR signaling to initiate skin cancer.
  
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• [Podcast] Science Signaling Podcast for 21 June 2016: Nanoparticles to treat type 1 diabetes

  21-06-2016 21:36 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Nanoparticles that promote immune tolerance improve symptoms of type 1 diabetes in mice.
  
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• [Podcast] Science Signaling Podcast for 21 June 2016: MET and skin cancer

  21-06-2016 21:36 via stke.sciencemag.org
  The tyrosine kinase receptor MET promotes squamous cell carcinoma by stimulating signaling through the epidermal growth factor receptor.
  
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• [Editors' Choice] New connections: Therapeutic nanoparticles

  21-06-2016 21:36 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Nanoparticles can retrain the immune system and rewire cancer cells.
  
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• [Editors' Choice] Maximizing anti-PD1 therapy

  21-06-2016 21:36 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Aberrations in the untranslated region of PD1 transcripts and increased stromal CXCR2 abundance provide markers to select patients for anti-PD1 immunotherapy.
  
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• [Editors' Choice] Fueling T cell biology

  21-06-2016 21:36 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Nutrient-dependent posttranslational modification of proteins supports T cell development, proliferation, and transformation.
  
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• [Editors' Choice] Akt regulates primary cilium dynamics

  21-06-2016 21:36 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Activated Akt functions at the basal body of primary cilia, a hub for cellular signaling.
  
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• [Editors' Choice] Active forgetfulness

  21-06-2016 21:36 via stke.sciencemag.org
  To make room for new memories, the scaffolding protein Scribble orchestrates a "forgetting signalosome" to suppress old memories in flies.
  
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• The U.S. Takes Its First Shot at Zika

  21-06-2016 21:35 via rss.sciam.com
  
  An NIH-backed vaccine is among several heading for human trials, but the timeline for large-scale deployment remains murky
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Digging up bones: Royal Ontario Museum moves to next stage of blue whale project

  21-06-2016 21:21 via cbc.ca
  
  Staff from the Royal Ontario Museum have moved on to the next phase in ensuring that two blue whales killed by sea ice in this province in 2014 will have a second life as research tools.
  
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• Multinational force conducting operations against Boko Haram - Niger general

  21-06-2016 20:34
  By Joe Bavier NIAMEY (Reuters) - A multinational force has begun operations against Boko Haram along the border between Niger and Nigeria, a general from Niger said on Tuesday. Brigadier-General Abdou Sidikou Issa, tactical chief of staff for troops based in Niger's southern zone of Diffa, a region plagued by the Islamist militant group, said troops from Chad and Nigeria were involved in the operation. This is not the first time the nations in the Lake Chad basin -- Niger, Nigeria, Chad and Came
  
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• Nigerian militants say no plan for Delta ceasefire

  21-06-2016 20:01
  By Tife Owolabi and Felix Onuah YENAGOA, Nigeria (Reuters) - The Niger Delta Avengers, a militant group that has claimed responsibility for attacks on oil and gas facilities in Nigeria's southern energy hub, said on Tuesday it never agreed a ceasefire with the government. Government officials told Reuters a one-month ceasefire had been agreed last week after talks between the oil minister, community groups and state governors in the Niger Delta, the source of most of Nigeria's crude oil. Militan
  
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• How watching YouTube taught a computer to predict human behaviour

  21-06-2016 19:51 via cbc.ca
  
  It sounds like the premise of a science fiction movie, but researchers at MIT are teaching computers to see into the future. They've created an algorithm that can forecast hugs, kisses, and high-fives — before they even happen, CBC Radio technology columnist Dan Misener reports.
  
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• Once labeled invasive, 'rock snot' algae now deemed native

  21-06-2016 19:33
  MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Researchers say an algae called "rock snot" that was thought to be an invasive species in the Northeast is actually native to the northern United States.
  
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• Iran says arrests ten 'terrorists' who planned to bomb 50 targets

  21-06-2016 19:31
  Iran has arrested 10 Sunni Muslim militants who were planning to bomb 50 targets across the country, Iranian intelligence minister Mahmoud Alavi said on Tuesday, according to the Fars News site. Officials in predominantly Shi'ite Iran have said in recent weeks that Sunni militants from Islamic State have been trying to target the country. Alavi said the arrests took place in the last week in Tehran and three other provinces in central Iran and along the border.
  
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• Scientists use CRISPR to discover Zika, dengue weaknesses

  21-06-2016 19:25
  Scientists have performed the first CRISPR/Cas9 screen to discover human proteins that Zika virus needs for replication. This work reveals new leads that may be useful for halting Zika, dengue and other emerging viral infections.
  
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• Present-day subsurface ocean on Pluto?

  21-06-2016 19:25
  An updated thermal model for Pluto suggests that a liquid water ocean beneath the dwarf planet's ice shell is a fairly likely scenario, and that the ocean is probably still there today.
  
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• Itchy inflammation of mosquito bites helps viruses replicate

  21-06-2016 19:25
  University of Leeds study has found that inflammation where a mosquito has bitten not only helps a virus such as Zika or dengue establish an infection in the body more quickly, but that it also helps it to spread around the body, increasing the likelihood of severe illness.
  
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• Grolar or pizzly? Nope, just a blonde grizzly bear

  21-06-2016 19:11 via cbc.ca
  
  DNA analysis has confirmed that an odd-looking bear shot and killed by a hunter in Arviat, Nunavut last month wasn’t the offspring of a polar bear and a grizzly bear — it was a blonde grizzly.
  
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• Grolar or pizzly? Nope, just a blond grizzly bear

  21-06-2016 19:11 via cbc.ca
  
  DNA analysis has confirmed that an odd-looking bear shot and killed by a hunter in Arviat, Nunavut last month wasn’t the offspring of a polar bear and a grizzly bear — it was a blond grizzly.
  
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• Europe's robots to become 'electronic persons' under draft plan

  21-06-2016 19:07
  
  MUNICH, Germany (Reuters) - Europe's growing army of robot workers could be classed as "electronic persons" and their owners liable to paying social security for them if the European Union adopts a draft plan to address the realities of a new industrial revolution.
  
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• Plane on way to South Pole for daring winter medical rescue

  21-06-2016 18:59
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — A daring South Pole medical rescue is underway. An airplane left a British base in Antarctica on Tuesday for the 1,500-mile trip to evacuate a sick worker from a remote U.S. science station.
  
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• Tour Secret WWII Lab with Manhattan Project App

  21-06-2016 18:36
  
  The efforts during World War II to develop an atomic bomb were once shrouded in secrecy, but today, the story of the so-called Manhattan Project isn't just public — you can now visit the project on your smartphone. A new app called "Los Alamos: Secret City of the Manhattan Project" takes users back to New Mexico in the 1940s, to the facilities where scientists, government administrators and the U.S. military convened to create the most devastating weapons known to humankind. "The new app p
  
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• Brain Tumor Risk Linked with Higher Education, Study Finds

  21-06-2016 18:35
  People with higher levels of education may be more likely to develop certain types of brain tumors, a new study from Sweden suggests. Researchers found that women who completed at least three years of university courses were 23 percent more likely to develop a type of cancerous brain tumor called glioma, compared with women who only completed up to nine years of mandatory education and did not go to a university.
  
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• Hot jupiter planet orbiting newborn star surprises scientists

  21-06-2016 18:29 via cbc.ca
  
  For the first time, scientists have found a giant planet snuggled up against a newborn star, a rare discovery offering a new glimpse at how such planets develop.
  
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• Mice fed more fiber have less severe food allergies

  21-06-2016 18:17
  The development of food allergies in mice can be linked to what their gut bacteria are being fed, reports a new study. Rodents that received a diet with average calories, sugar, and fiber content had more severe peanut allergies than those that received a high-fiber diet. The researchers show that gut bacteria release a specific fatty acid in response to fiber intake, which eventually impacts allergic responses via changes to the immune system.
  
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• Overweight, obese type 2 patients show improvements with structured nutrition therapy

  21-06-2016 18:16
  The results of a new study may change how nutrition therapy is delivered to overweight and obese patients with type 2 diabetes. The "Nutrition Pathway Study" compared three models of nutrition therapy and found that a highly structured nutrition plan provides the most significant impact on A1C, body weight and lipid profiles.
  
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• Bug Bite Saliva Hijacks Immune Cells to Spread Virus

  21-06-2016 18:00 via rss.sciam.com
  
  A victim’s immunological defenses may rush to puncture sites and help carry pathogens throughout the body
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Harsh parenting, food insecurity predicts obesity for young women

  21-06-2016 17:58
  The adolescent years can be full of changes. A new study now suggests that when these years include prolonged periods of food insecurity coupled with harsh parenting practices, females are prone to obesity in early adulthood.
  
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• Medicare ACOs have achieved savings in providing care to patients with multiple conditions

  21-06-2016 17:57
  There are now over 700 Accountable Care Organizations (ACO) in place across the country, making them one of the largest health care payment and delivery reforms underway in the United States. Until recently, little has been known about the effect of Medicare ACOs on overall spending. A new study found that Medicare ACOs are making modest, yet increasing, gains in these areas, particularly when it comes to treating patients with multiple conditions.
  
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• An ocean lies a few kilometers beneath Saturn's moon Enceladus's icy surface

  21-06-2016 17:57
  With eruptions of ice and water vapor, and an ocean covered by an ice shell, Saturn's moon Enceladus is one of the most fascinating in the Solar System, especially as interpretations of data provided by the Cassini spacecraft have been contradictory until now. Astronomers recently proposed a new model that reconciles different data sets and shows that the ice shell at Enceladus's south pole may be only a few kilometers thick. This suggests that there is a strong heat source in the interior of En
  
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• Airplanes make clouds brighter

  21-06-2016 17:57
  Contrails from airplanes make clouds brighter, shows new research. The researchers used a combination of flight tracking data and satellites equipped with sensitive lasers for detecting small changes in cloud optical thickness, i.e. the degree to which a cloud prevents light passing through it. When they looked at flight tracks from Honolulu to LA and Seattle to San Francisco, they found a significant increase in the optical thickness of the clouds close to the flight tracks compared to those fu
  
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• Pilot study successfully uses DNA sequencing to diagnose brain infections

  21-06-2016 17:56
  In a proof-of-principle study, a team of physicians and bioinformatics experts reports they were able to diagnose or rule out suspected brain infections using so called next-generation genetic sequencing of brain tissue samples.
  
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• Measuring Planck's constant, NIST's watt balance brings world closer to new kilogram

  21-06-2016 17:56
  A high-tech version of a balance scale has just brought scientists a critical step closer toward a new and improved definition of the kilogram. The scale, called the NIST-4 watt balance, has conducted its first measurement of a fundamental physical quantity called Planck's constant to within 34 parts per billion -- demonstrating the scale is accurate enough to assist the international scientific community with the redefinition of the kilogram, an event slated for 2018.
  
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• Mandatory treatment not effective at reducing drug use, violates human rights, researchers say

  21-06-2016 17:56
  Clinician researchers assessed current global evidence and found that mandatory treatment for people with substance use disorders is not effective in reducing their drug use.
  
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• How chameleons capture their prey

  21-06-2016 17:56
  The mucus secreted at the tip of a chameleon's tongue has a viscosity 400 times larger than the one of human saliva, report investigators.
  
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• Ultra-thin slices of diamonds reveal geological processes

  21-06-2016 17:54
  By using ultra-thin slices of diamonds, researchers have found the first direct evidence for the formation of diamonds by a process known as redox freezing. In this process, carbonate melts crystallize to form diamond.
  
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• The sound of music: How the songbird learns its melody

  21-06-2016 17:54
  In zebra finches, only males learn and sing songs, as this is the way they attract a mate. Therefore, learning a complex song to attract the lady zebra finches is crucial for reproduction. The juvenile zebra finches do this by listening to the father's song and memorizing it. The neurons associated with the memory of the father bird's song have now been pinpointed.
  
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