Science news

• Facebook tweaks its news feed formula - again

  29-06-2016 23:17 via cbc.ca
  
  Facebook says it updated the news feed so that people will see more posts from their friends and family and not, say, the New York Times or Buzzfeed.
  
  Read more

• Amazon fires: Humans make rainforest more flammable

  29-06-2016 23:04 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Human disturbances are putting the Amazon rainforest at greater risk of fire, say researchers.
  
  Read more

• Animals in the middle of the food chain are most affected by climate change according to new study

  29-06-2016 22:44
  
  Other members of the food chain feel the impact less.
  
  Read more

• Apple patents technology that could stop you from recording concerts

  29-06-2016 22:38 via cbc.ca
  
  The latest patent awarded to Apple could mean the end of blurry concert videos from friends in your social media feeds. The company's patent covers a camera system with infrared technology that could allow third parties to disable photo and video recording.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Jewish Escape Tunnel Uncovered at Nazi Massacre Site

  29-06-2016 20:05
  
  A 115-foot-long escape tunnel hand-dug by Jewish prisoners has been discovered at a Nazi execution site in Lithuania, a team of archaeologists and geoscientists announced today. Using a remote-sensing technique, a group of researchers was able to relocate the narrow tunnel at Ponar without ever breaking ground. Soon afterward, the military established Jewish ghettos in the city and began periodic killings at Ponar.
  
  Read more

• Wow! Space Station Crosses Sun's Face in Amazing Photo

  29-06-2016 20:04
  
  A stunning skywatcher photo shows the International Space Station (ISS) crossing the face of the sun earlier this month.
  
  Read more

• Cheaper fibre internet packages possible after Bell loses 2nd appeal

  29-06-2016 19:56 via cbc.ca
  
  Cheaper fibre internet packages could aoon be available to Canadians, after Bell lost a second appeal of a ruling forcing it to sell fibre internet access to independent competitors.
  
  Read more

• Mistaken Identity: Ceres' Mysterious Bright Spots Aren't Epsom Salt After All

  29-06-2016 19:49
  
  It's a case of mistaken identity: The mysterious bright spots on the surface of the dwarf planet Ceres were thought to be composed of hydrated magnesium sulfate (similar to the magnesium sulfate sold as Epsom salt), but new work reveals a different chemical signature in these bright dots, cooked up in watery conditions beneath its crust.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Closing in on Jupiter: 7 Fun Facts About Juno's Mission

  29-06-2016 19:47
  
  NASA's Juno spacecraft will reach Jupiter Monday (July 4) after a five-year journey through deep space. The probe will study the structure and evolution of the solar system's largest planet from orbit, taking measurements for at least a year despite Jupiter's intense radiation environment. One is to learn how much water is inside Jupiter, which should yield insights about the amounts of water that were present in the solar system's early days.
  
  Read more

• Mars' Atmosphere Was Likely More Oxygen-Rich Long Ago

  29-06-2016 19:46
  
  Ancient Mars was even more Earth-like than scientists had thought, a new study suggests. NASA's Curiosity rover has detected high concentrations of manganese oxide minerals in Red Planet rocks, suggesting that the Martian atmosphere contained more oxygen billions of years ago than it does today, researchers said. "The only ways on Earth that we know how to make these manganese materials involve atmospheric oxygen or microbes," study lead author Nina Lanza, a planetary scientist at Los Alamos Nat
  
  Read more

• Asteroid Day is a chance to learn about space and plan for disaster

  29-06-2016 19:30
  
  Asteroid Day on June 30 tries to raise awareness about the hazards of an asteroid impact and what we could do to stop it.
  
  Read more

• New cameras keep electronic eye on Western wildfires

  29-06-2016 19:29
  
  ELDORADO NATIONAL FOREST, Calif. (AP) — As the summer wildfire season heats up in the West, a growing network of online cameras installed on forested mountaintops is changing the way crews fight fires by allowing early detection that triggers quicker, cheaper and more tactical suppression.
  
  Read more

• Meteorites from fireball seen over Arizona found

  29-06-2016 19:28
  TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Arizona State University says researchers have found pieces of a small asteroid that left a fiery trail in the sky over eastern Arizona earlier this month.
  
  Read more

• Amazon fires: how we make rainforest more flammable

  29-06-2016 19:10 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Human disturbances are making the Amazon rainforest 'more flammable' say researchers.
  
  Read more

• World will struggle to keep warming to 2 degrees by 2100

  29-06-2016 19:00
  
  Current plans to curb climate change aren’t ambitious enough to limit global warming below 2 degrees Celsius by 2100, new research shows.
  
  Read more

• Unlocking the Mystery of How the Brain Creates Vision

  29-06-2016 19:00 via rss.sciam.com
  
  Neuro-researcher Elissa Aminoff says computer models can help understand how we process a dizzying onslaught of visual information 
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
  Read more

• Scientists Get to the Bottom of the Bright Spots on Ceres

  29-06-2016 19:00 via rss.sciam.com
  
  New results from Dawn spacecraft fuel debate on whether the dwarf planet is a habitable oasis between Mars and Jupiter
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
  Read more

• 'Super swimmer' sperm discovered in birds could help human fertility

  29-06-2016 18:55
  
  Short heads and longer tails are the perfect combination.
  
  Read more

• Grand Canyon visitors may face citation for picking up deer

  29-06-2016 18:38
  GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Ariz. (AP) — Grand Canyon officials say they'll likely cite visitors who thought they were rescuing a baby deer by wrapping it in a T-shirt and bringing it to rangers — another instance of well-meaning tourists putting wildlife at risk.
  
  Read more

• China slams South China Sea case as court set to rule

  29-06-2016 18:36
  By Ben Blanchard and Anthony Deutsch BEIJING/AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - China said on Wednesday an arbitration court hearing the dispute between China and the Philippines over the South China Sea had no jurisdiction in the case and that Beijing would not accept any forced dispute resolution. The Philippines has asked the Netherlands-based court to rule in a case that pits China against several South Asian countries with overlapping claims. China has not taken part in the proceedings and rejects the c
  
  Read more

• Readers debate gun violence research and more

  29-06-2016 18:15
  Gun violence research, plaque-busting sugar and more in reader feedback.
  
  Read more

• Problem-solving insights enable new technologies

  29-06-2016 18:00
  Our editor in chief discusses science's role in solving society's most pressing issues.
  
  Read more

• Sounds from gunshots may help solve crimes

  29-06-2016 17:30
  
  Sound wave analysis may help forensic scientists figure out what types of guns were fired at a crime scene.
  
  Read more

• Pat Summitt's Death: Why Alzheimer's Disease Is Deadly

  29-06-2016 17:25
  Hall of Fame women's basketball coach Pat Summitt died today (June 28) at age 64 after a five-year battle with early-onset Alzheimer's disease. Although Alzheimer's disease shortens people's life spans, it is usually not the direct cause of a person's death, according to the Alzheimer's Society, a charity in the United Kingdom for people with dementia. Alzheimer's is a progressive brain disease in which abnormal protein deposits build up in the brain, which causes brain cells to die.
  
  Read more

• Solar-powered robot boat adrift off Nova Scotia picked up by Canadian navy

  29-06-2016 17:17 via cbc.ca
  
  A team of engineers is relieved their unmanned solar-powered boat has been rescued, after it got snagged in fishing gear while attempting the first autonomous transatlantic crossing.
  
  Read more

• Hague arbitration court to rule in South China Sea case on July 12

  29-06-2016 17:16
  An arbitration court hearing the dispute between China and the Philippines over the South China Sea will deliver its decision on July 12, it said in a statement on Wednesday. The Philippines has asked the Netherlands-based court to rule in the case, which pits China against several South Asian countries with overlapping claims. China has not taken part in the proceedings and rejects the court's jurisdiction in the matter.
  
  Read more

• Clicking 'I accept' doesn't mean you surrender right to know how a company uses your data

  29-06-2016 17:00 via cbc.ca
  
  Have you ever thought about what app companies do with your data once you share it with them? Do you wonder if they track your location, or your social networks or something else? If any of those thoughts have ever crossed your mind — and there are good reasons why they should — there's an easy way to get some answers.
  
  Read more

• Can You 'Catch' Stress in a Classroom? Science Says Yes

  29-06-2016 16:42
  Researchers found that when 4th- to 7th-grade teachers reported feeling "burned out," their students also had elevated stress levels. The study "is the first of its kind connecting teachers' stress-related experiences to students' stress physiology in a real-life setting," the researchers wrote in their study, published today (June 27) in the journal Social Science & Medicine. Teacher burnout is likely the leading reason for which teachers leave the profession, according to the study.
  
  Read more

• Salmon fishing closures needed to save killer whales, says report

  29-06-2016 16:28 via cbc.ca
  
  Strategic fishery closures and marine habitat protection are part of a proposed plan by the federal government to protect the threatened killer whales off B.C.'s West Coast.
  
  Read more

• Windows 10 is about to get some new features. Here's what to expect.

  29-06-2016 16:23 via cbc.ca
  
  Microsoft is releasing a major update for Windows 10 on Aug. 2. Here's a look at some of the new features the 'Anniversary Update' will bring.
  
  Read more

• What to expect from Microsoft's Windows 10 Anniversary Update

  29-06-2016 16:23 via cbc.ca
  
  Microsoft is releasing a major update for Windows 10 on Aug. 2. Here's a look at some of the new features it will bring.
  
  Read more

• More Victims of Vesuvius Eruption Found Near Pompeii

  29-06-2016 16:17
  
  Recent excavations on the outskirts of Pompeii in southern Italy have revealed more victims of the volcanic eruption that buried the ancient city in ash nearly 2,000 years ago. The group of people seem like they tried to take shelter in the backroom of the shop when Mount Vesuvius unleashed a deadly eruption in A.D. 79. The skeletons appear to have been disturbed by looters who went digging through the ash in search of valuables some time after the volcanic eruption, according to the archaeologi
  
  Read more

• Alleged Hacker Lauri Love's Suicide Fears

  29-06-2016 16:02
  
  Lauri Love is accused of being involved in a hack called #OpLastResort, which targeted parts of the US Army, the US Federal Reserve and NASA, as part of Anonymous in early 2013. Before the hearing, Love told Sky News: "It's been difficult … Luckily I've got a great support network of friends and family, and the Courage Foundation, and lots of people on the internet who have got my back and are in my corner, which helps, but I wouldn't wish this on anyone.
  
  Read more

• Bedbug-sniffing dogs get Calgary hotels Stampede-ready

  29-06-2016 15:59 via cbc.ca
  
  As Calgary readies itself for Stampede, a team of canines are helping make sure the city's hotels are bedbug-free.
  
  Read more

• U.N.-backed Yemen peace talks adjourn until July 15 - envoy

  29-06-2016 15:43
  United Nations-mediated talks to end more than a year of war in Yemen have adjourned and will reconvene in Kuwait on July 15 after the Muslim Eid holiday, the U.N. envoy, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, said on Wednesday. A shaky ceasefire coinciding with negotiations has paused fighting which raged across the country, though Saudi-led air strikes have increased as Iran-allied Houthis have made ground advances while Islamic State has taken advantage of a security vacuum to launch a string of bombings.
  
  Read more

• California Has Way More Water Than Thought

  29-06-2016 15:38
  
  California has more water in reserve than previous estimates suggested, new research finds — but it will be expensive to pump it from the ground and treat it for use. Deep groundwater aquifers under California's Central Valley contain enough usable water to bring the Central Valley's groundwater stores to about 650 cubic miles (2,700 cubic kilometers), Stanford University researchers reported June 27 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The additional water is de
  
  Read more

• Record-Breaking Electric Car Goes from 0 to 62 Mph in 1.5 Seconds

  29-06-2016 15:35
  
  In a record-setting feat, an electric car zoomed from 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) in just 1.513 seconds last week, making it the fastest known electric car in the world. The "Grimsel" electric car took less than 98 feet (30 meters) to reach 62 mph, according to ETH Zurich, a science, technology, engineering and mathematics university in Zurich, Switzerland. The new record was set at the Dübendorf Air Base near Zurich on June 22.
  
  Read more

• Mummified, 99-Million-Year-Old Wings Caught in Amber

  29-06-2016 15:34
  
  About 99 million years ago, a hummingbird-size bird likely fought for its life after getting stuck in a glob of tree resin, but it couldn't tear itself away and eventually died, leaving its feathers to mummify in what became a lump of amber, a new study finds. "There appear to be claw marks in the resin, which would suggest a struggle," said co-lead study researcher Ryan McKellar, a curator of invertebrate paleontology at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum in Canada. Another preserved wing found in t
  
  Read more

• The Beauty of Black Hole Collisions

  29-06-2016 15:00 via rss.sciam.com
  
  LIGO researcher Nergis Mavalvala talks about measuring spacetime shifts from the gravitational superpowers at the center of galaxies
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
  Read more

• Automated amphibian teaches us to walk

  29-06-2016 14:15 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists in Switzerland have created a robotic salamander that mimics the gait of the ancient amphibian in great detail.
  
  Read more

• Kind-hearted Canadians 'fawn-napping' baby deer by mistake

  29-06-2016 14:14 via cbc.ca
  
  Wildlife experts across the country are urging people to let sleeping fawns lie as several people from Windsor, Ont., to Edmonton, Alb., have delivered the babies to shelters.
  
  Read more

• LIGO Discoveries Will Help Scientists Run Stellar Autopsies on Colliding Black Holes

  29-06-2016 13:00 via rss.sciam.com
  
  Now that astronomers have detected gravitational waves, they are seeking the origins behind the black hole duos that give rise to them
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
  Read more

• Empathy for animals is all about us

  29-06-2016 13:00
  
  We extend our feelings to what we think animals are feeling. Often, we’re wrong. But anthropomorphizing isn’t about them. It’s about us.
  
  Read more

• Biden hosting cancer summit to try to accelerate research

  29-06-2016 12:02
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Joe Biden will try to give efforts to cure cancer a jolt during a summit in Washington that's casting a spotlight on research and innovative trials taking place across the country.
  
  Read more

• Pollution has been causing springtime to come early

  29-06-2016 11:50
  
  According to researchers at the University of Exeter.
  
  Read more

• The NY entrepreneur swapping start-ups for charity

  29-06-2016 11:08
  
  Alexandre Mars, founder and CEO of Epic Foundation, speaks at the 'Fast-Track cities: ending the AIDS epidemic' event in New York, on June 6, 2016
  
  Read more

• A unique buoy will eavesdrop on whale songs to help us understand them better

  29-06-2016 08:34
  
  “We know they’re there, but we know very little about them”.
  
  Read more

• Vision through the clouds

  29-06-2016 06:00
  
  (Technical University of Munich (TUM)) Poor weather can often make the operation of rescue helicopters a highly risky business, and sometimes even impossible. A new helmet-mounted display, developed by researchers at the Technical University of Munich, may in the future be able to help pilots detect hazards at an early stage, even when their visibility is severely impaired: the information required to do this is created in an on-board computer and imported into digital eye glasses.
  
  Read more

• Universe becoming cleaner as cosmic dust gets mopped up by stars, astronomers reveal

  29-06-2016 06:00
  
  (Cardiff University) The universe is becoming gradually cleaner as more and more cosmic dust is being mopped up by the formation of stars within galaxies, an international team of astronomers has revealed.
  
  Read more

• To improve global health, experts call for a standard list of essential diagnostic tests

  29-06-2016 06:00
  
  (University of Michigan Health System) A team of experts has put together a list of the key diagnostic tests that every country should have available, with high quality standards, in order to make the best use of the World Health Organization's list of essential medicines. Many developing countries will need help with establishing high-quality labs to use them, but in the end it may be cost effective.
  
  Read more

Follow @ScienceUKnews on Twitter!