Science news

• 'Star Trek' fans become more than Trekkies

  30-06-2016 23:45
  "Star Trek" fans can boldly go where they have never gone before at a new exhibit that allows them to step into the role of a Starfleet Academy cadet. "Star Trek: The Starfleet Academy Experience," at New York’s Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum Complex from July 9 until October 31, provides an interactive experience for visitors to experience the Starfleet Academy, a fictional organization from the popular TV and film franchise. Highlights include Leap Motion, a Medical Tricorder table w
  
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• Juno Spacecraft Enters Jupiter's Realm

  30-06-2016 23:12
  
  NASA's Juno spacecraft is now in Jupiter's backyard. Juno, which is scheduled to begin orbiting the giant planet on Monday (July 4), entered Jupiter's sphere of influence last week, mission team members said. "We've just crossed the boundary into Jupiter's home turf," Juno principal investigator Scott Bolton, of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, said in a statement today (June 30).
  
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• U.S. to probe Tesla Model S after death of driver using autopilot

  30-06-2016 23:01 via cbc.ca
  
  The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Thursday it is opening a preliminary investigation into 25,000 Tesla Motors Model S cars after a fatal crash involving a vehicle using the autopilot mode.
  
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• Analysis of anatomy and diet finds evolution follows least resistant path

  30-06-2016 22:38
  Evolution follows the path of least resistance, which can result in suboptimal physical traits that don't ideally match the functional need, according to a new analysis.
  
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• Tracking brain atrophy in MS could become routine, thanks to new software

  30-06-2016 22:37
  The loss of brain tissue, called brain atrophy, is a normal part of aging, but multiple sclerosis (MS) accelerates the process. Such atrophy is a critical indicator of physical and cognitive decline in MS, yet because measuring brain atrophy is expensive and complicated, it’s done primarily in research settings. That may be changing, say scientists.
  
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• This sports psychologist believes Heather Watson's Twitter 'punishment' might make her a better player

  30-06-2016 22:24
  
  Can negative emotion be a tool for motivation?
  
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• 'Healing' detected in Antarctic ozone hole

  30-06-2016 22:23 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Researchers say they have found the first clear evidence that the thinning in the ozone layer above Antarctica is starting to heal.
  
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• US needs greater preparation for next severe public health threats, panel finds

  30-06-2016 21:54
  An Independent Panel formed to review the US Department of Health and Human Service's response to Ebola calls for increased coordination both within HHS and across all involved federal agencies and strengthened coordination and collaboration with state and local governments and their private-sector partners.
  
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• New technology helps ID aggressive early breast cancer

  30-06-2016 21:54
  Researchers have developed a new technology that can identify aggressive forms of ductal carcinoma in situ, or stage 0 breast cancer, from non-aggressive varieties.
  
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• New farming strategies can help prevent soil runoff while maintaining high crop yields

  30-06-2016 21:54
  Scientists found that the most effective tactic to prevent soil runoff yet maintain high crop yields is to utilize Conservation Reserve Program land strategically to create buffers between the trees and crops depending on the size of the trees.
  
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• Climate change's effect on Rocky Mountain plant is driven by sex

  30-06-2016 21:54
  For the valerian plant, higher elevations in the Colorado Rocky Mountains are becoming much more co-ed. And the primary reason appears to be climate change.
  
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• Telomere length is indicator of blood count recovery in treatment of Acute Myeloid Leukemia

  30-06-2016 21:53
  The chemotherapy treatments necessary to treat Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) in children can be grueling on the body, and can cause health-related complications during therapy, as well as long down the road after remission. Children receiving chemotherapy for AML receive 4 to 5 intensive chemotherapy courses, and while some children recover quickly from each course, others may take several months or more, which increases their risk for life-threatening infections.
  
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• Natural metabolite can suppress inflammation

  30-06-2016 21:53
  An international research team has revealed a substance produced in humans that can suppress the pro-inflammatory activity of macrophages -- specific immune cells. The substance known as itaconate is released in large quantities by macrophages themselves and according to the scientists, acts as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent. These properties make itaconate promising for the treatment of such pathologies as cardiac ischemia, metabolic disorders and autoimmune diseases which may be as
  
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• Juno spacecraft is on its final approach to Jupiter

  30-06-2016 21:42
  
  Everything looks good for the Juno spacecraft, which arrives at Jupiter on July 4.
  
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• Nigeria's Buhari urges Delta leaders to calm region after attacks

  30-06-2016 21:35
  Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday urged community leaders from the Niger Delta to pacify people in the restive southern region, which has been hit by a series of attacks on oil and gas facilities in the last few months. Nigeria, an OPEC member which was until recently Africa's biggest oil producer, relies on crude sales for around 70 percent of national income. Most of its oil comes from the impoverished swampland Delta region.
  
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• A bewildering form of sand dune discovered on Mars

  30-06-2016 21:02
  Some of the wind-sculpted sand ripples on Mars are a type not seen on Earth, and their relationship to the thin Martian atmosphere provides new clues about the atmosphere's history.
  
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• [Working Life] The measure of success

  30-06-2016 20:57
  Author: Melanie L. Blanchette
  
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• [This Week in Science] Unexpected forms of sand dunes on Mars

  30-06-2016 20:57
  Author: Keith T. Smith
  
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• [This Week in Science] Stargazin and the AMPA receptor

  30-06-2016 20:57
  Author: Stella M. Hurtley
  
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• [This Week in Science] Spatial structure of RNA expression

  30-06-2016 20:57
  Author: Laura M. Zahn
  
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• [This Week in Science] Scales, feathers, and hair have a lot in common

  30-06-2016 20:57
  Author: Shahid Naeem
  
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• [This Week in Science] Mapping ADP-ribosylation by PARPs

  30-06-2016 20:57
  Author: Beverly A. Purnell
  
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• [This Week in Science] MANF enough for tissue repair

  30-06-2016 20:57
  Author: Stella M. Hurtley
  
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• [This Week in Science] Making and maintaining a healthy proteome

  30-06-2016 20:57
  Author: Stella M. Hurtley
  
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• [This Week in Science] Kicking out an unwanted centrosome

  30-06-2016 20:57
  Author: Stella M. Hurtley
  
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• [This Week in Science] Fungi relieve nitrogen limitation

  30-06-2016 20:57
  Author: H. Jesse Smith
  
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• [This Week in Science] Female-fatal product of the Yob gene

  30-06-2016 20:57
  Author: Caroline Ash
  
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• [This Week in Science] Evolutionary lessons from hominin teeth

  30-06-2016 20:57
  Author: Julia Fahrenkamp-Uppenbrink
  
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• [This Week in Science] Cloud-gliding frigate birds

  30-06-2016 20:57
  Author: Sacha Vignieri
  
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• [This Week in Science] Clocking electrons as they exit a metal

  30-06-2016 20:57
  Author: Jake Yeston
  
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• [This Week in Science] Changing sex ratios

  30-06-2016 20:57
  Author: Sacha Vignieri
  
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• [This Week in Science] Building the route to metastasis

  30-06-2016 20:57
  Author: Leslie K. Ferrarelli
  
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• [This Week in Science] Better in a flash of perovskite

  30-06-2016 20:57
  Author: Phil Szuromi
  
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• [This Week in Science] Adding two fluorines to just one carbon

  30-06-2016 20:57
  Author: Jake Yeston
  
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• [This Week in Science] A new type of cancer cluster

  30-06-2016 20:57
  Author: Megan Frisk
  
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• [Review] In vivo aspects of protein folding and quality control

  30-06-2016 20:57
  Most proteins must fold into unique three-dimensional structures to perform their biological functions. In the crowded cellular environment, newly synthesized proteins are at risk of misfolding and forming toxic aggregate species. To ensure efficient folding, different classes of molecular chaperones receive the nascent protein chain emerging from the ribosome and guide it along a productive folding pathway. Because proteins are structurally dynamic, constant surveillance of the proteome by an i
  
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• [Research Article] Immune modulation by MANF promotes tissue repair and regenerative success in the retina

  30-06-2016 20:57
  Regenerative therapies are limited by unfavorable environments in aging and diseased tissues. A promising strategy to improve success is to balance inflammatory and anti-inflammatory signals and enhance endogenous tissue repair mechanisms. Here, we identified a conserved immune modulatory mechanism that governs the interaction between damaged retinal cells and immune cells to promote tissue repair. In damaged retina of flies and mice, platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)–like signaling induce
  
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• [Research Article] Chemical genetic discovery of PARP targets reveals a role for PARP-1 in transcription elongation

  30-06-2016 20:57
  Poly[adenosine diphosphate (ADP)–ribose] polymerases (PARPs) are a family of enzymes that modulate diverse biological processes through covalent transfer of ADP-ribose from the oxidized form of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) onto substrate proteins. Here we report a robust NAD+ analog–sensitive approach for PARPs, which allows PARP-specific ADP-ribosylation of substrates that is suitable for subsequent copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition reactions. Using this approach, we m
  
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• [Research Article] A mechanism for the elimination of the female gamete centrosome in Drosophila melanogaster

  30-06-2016 20:57
  An important feature of fertilization is the asymmetric inheritance of centrioles. In most species it is the sperm that contributes the initial centriole, which builds the first centrosome that is essential for early development. However, given that centrioles are thought to be exceptionally stable structures, the mechanism behind centriole disappearance in the female germ line remains elusive and paradoxical. We elucidated a program for centriole maintenance in fruit flies, led by Polo kinase a
  
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• [Report] Visualization and analysis of gene expression in tissue sections by spatial transcriptomics

  30-06-2016 20:57
  Analysis of the pattern of proteins or messengerRNAs (mRNAs) in histological tissue sections is a cornerstone in biomedical research and diagnostics. This typically involves the visualization of a few proteins or expressed genes at a time. We have devised a strategy, which we call “spatial transcriptomics,” that allows visualization and quantitative analysis of the transcriptome with spatial resolution in individual tissue sections. By positioning histological sections on arrayed reverse tra
  
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• [Report] Sex-specific responses to climate change in plants alter population sex ratio and performance

  30-06-2016 20:57
  Males and females are ecologically distinct in many species, but whether responses to climate change are sex-specific is unknown. We document sex-specific responses to climate change in the plant Valeriana edulis (valerian) over four decades and across its 1800-meter elevation range. Increased elevation was associated with increased water availability and female frequency, likely owing to sex-specific water use efficiency and survival. Recent aridification caused male frequency to move upslope a
  
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• [Report] Mycorrhizal association as a primary control of the CO2 fertilization effect

  30-06-2016 20:57
  Plants buffer increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations through enhanced growth, but the question whether nitrogen availability constrains the magnitude of this ecosystem service remains unresolved. Synthesizing experiments from around the world, we show that CO2 fertilization is best explained by a simple interaction between nitrogen availability and mycorrhizal association. Plant species that associate with ectomycorrhizal fungi show a strong biomass increase (30 ± 3%,
  
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• [Report] Large wind ripples on Mars: A record of atmospheric evolution

  30-06-2016 20:57
  Wind blowing over sand on Earth produces decimeter-wavelength ripples and hundred-meter–to kilometer-wavelength dunes: bedforms of two distinct size modes. Observations from the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter reveal that Mars hosts a third stable wind-driven bedform, with meter-scale wavelengths. These bedforms are spatially uniform in size and typically have asymmetric profiles with angle-of-repose lee slopes and sinuous crest lines, making them un
  
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• [Report] Frigate birds track atmospheric conditions over months-long transoceanic flights

  30-06-2016 20:57
  Understanding how animals respond to atmospheric conditions across space is critical for understanding the evolution of flight strategies and long-distance migrations. We studied the three-dimensional movements and energetics of great frigate birds (Fregata minor) and showed that they can stay aloft for months during transoceanic flights. To do this, birds track the edge of the doldrums to take advantage of favorable winds and strong convection. Locally, they use a roller-coaster flight, relying
  
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• [Report] Elucidation of AMPA receptor–stargazin complexes by cryo–electron microscopy

  30-06-2016 20:57
  AMPA-subtype ionotropic glutamate receptors (AMPARs) mediate fast excitatory neurotransmission and contribute to high cognitive processes such as learning and memory. In the brain, AMPAR trafficking, gating, and pharmacology is tightly controlled by transmembrane AMPAR regulatory proteins (TARPs). Here, we used cryo–electron microscopy to elucidate the structural basis of AMPAR regulation by one of these auxiliary proteins, TARP γ2, or stargazin (STZ). Our structures illuminate the variable i
  
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• [Report] Direct time-domain observation of attosecond final-state lifetimes in photoemission from solids

  30-06-2016 20:57
  Attosecond spectroscopic techniques have made it possible to measure differences in transport times for photoelectrons from localized core levels and delocalized valence bands in solids. We report the application of attosecond pulse trains to directly and unambiguously measure the difference in lifetimes between photoelectrons born into free electron–like states and those excited into unoccupied excited states in the band structure of nickel (111). An enormous increase in lifetime of 212 ± 30
  
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• [Report] Catalytic, asymmetric difluorination of alkenes to generate difluoromethylated stereocenters

  30-06-2016 20:57
  Difluoromethyl groups possess specific steric and electronic properties that invite their use as chemically inert surrogates of alcohols, thiols, and other polar functional groups important in a wide assortment of molecular recognition processes. We report here a method for the catalytic, asymmetric, migratory geminal difluorination of β-substituted styrenes to access a variety of products bearing difluoromethylated tertiary or quaternary stereocenters. The reaction uses commercially available
  
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• [Report] A vacuum flash–assisted solution process for high-efficiency large-area perovskite solar cells

  30-06-2016 20:57
  Metal halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs) currently attract enormous research interest because of their high solar-to-electric power conversion efficiency (PCE) and low fabrication costs, but their practical development is hampered by difficulties in achieving high performance with large-size devices. We devised a simple vacuum flash–assisted solution processing method to obtain shiny, smooth, crystalline perovskite films of high electronic quality over large areas. This enabled us to fabrica
  
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• [Report] A maleness gene in the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae

  30-06-2016 20:57
  The molecular pathways controlling gender are highly variable and have been identified in only a few nonmammalian model species. In many insects, maleness is conferred by a Y chromosome–linked M factor of unknown nature. We have isolated and characterized a gene, Yob, for the M factor in the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae. Yob, activated at the beginning of zygotic transcription and expressed throughout a male’s life, controls male-specific splicing of the doublesex gene. Silencing embry
  
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• [Policy Forum] Reforms to improve U.S. government accountability

  30-06-2016 20:57
  Five decades after the United States first enacted the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), Congress has voted to make the first major reforms to the statute since 2007. President Lyndon Johnson signed the first FOIA on 4 July 1966, enshrining in law the public's right to access to information from executive branch government agencies. Scientists and others around the world can use the FOIA to learn what the U.S. government has done in its policies and practices. Proposed reforms should be a net b
  
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