Science news

• 'Three centuries' to catalogue all Amazon tree species

  13-07-2016 23:26 via bbc.co.uk
  
  So many tree species are present in the Amazon basin that it would take 300 years to catalogue them all, scientists say.
  
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• Fearsome Argentine dinosaur had pitifully puny arms

  13-07-2016 23:12
  
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A newly discovered meat-eating dinosaur that prowled Argentina 90 million years ago would have had a hard time using strong-arm tactics against its prey. That's because the beast, though a fearsome hunter, possessed a pitifully puny pair of arms.
  
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• Juno snaps its first pic of Jupiter

  13-07-2016 22:39
  
  Jupiter and three of its moons take center stage in the first snapshot taken by the Juno spacecraft since arriving at the planet on July 4.
  
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• Tesla drops price of Model X crossover

  13-07-2016 21:50 via cbc.ca
  
  Tesla Motors Inc said on Wednesday it had discontinued its resale value guarantee program that assured buyers that cars would retain value over time, and lowered the starting price of its Model X crossover
  
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• U.N. ready to work on proposal for combat force in South Sudan

  13-07-2016 21:27
  By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations is ready to work with east African bloc IGAD to refine the group's proposal for an intervention force within the U.N. peacekeeping mission in South Sudan, U.N. peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous told the Security Council on Wednesday. After an outbreak of deadly violence between rival troops in South Sudan's capital Juba in the past week, IGAD demanded the creation of an intervention brigade, similar to a U.N. combat force in Democr
  
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• Surveys off Alaska lead to new types of soft-bodied fish

  13-07-2016 20:21
  
  ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Federal biologist Jay Orr never knows what's going to come up in nets lowered to the ocean floor off Alaska's remote Aleutian Islands, which separate the Bering Sea from the rest of the Pacific Ocean. Sometimes it's stuff he has to name.
  
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• Monstrous Tyrannosaurus rex's tiny claws were no mistake of nature

  13-07-2016 20:21
  
  Although scientists still struggle understand why its limbs were small, nature knew what she was doing.
  
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• First virus-hunter in space will test DNA-decoding device

  13-07-2016 20:03
  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The first virus-hunter in space is all set to conduct some cosmic, new DNA research.
  
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• In Cosmic First, Scientists Spy a Star's Snow Line

  13-07-2016 19:02
  
  For the first time, astronomers have caught a glimpse of the water snow line around a star — the point in the young star's orbiting disk of debris where snow and ice first appear. Normally, that boundary huddles too close to the star for astronomers to see it, but this particular star had a sudden burst of brightness that superheated its disk, obliterating ice further out than usual. Researchers are excited to spot their first stellar snow line because of the vital part it plays
  
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• Risk of travelers to Olympics sparking new Zika outbreaks low

  13-07-2016 18:26
  
  Just four countries — Chad, Djibouti, Eritrea and Yemen — bear a substantial risk of bringing Zika virus home from the Olympics and having it spread, the CDC says.
  
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• Self-driving technology in Nissan still requires driver's hands on wheel

  13-07-2016 18:05 via cbc.ca
  
  The Serena minivan equipped with ProPilot technology relies on a single camera in the back of the driver's rearview mirror.
  
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• First virus-hunter in space will test device to decode DNA

  13-07-2016 17:41
  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Newly arrived space station astronaut Kate Rubins wore top-level biosafety suits for her work on Earth, but that won't be needed when she fires up a pocket-sized device to decode DNA in space.
  
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• AIDS conference returns to a changed South Africa

  13-07-2016 17:33
  By Pete Vernon JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - The South Africa that hosts a global AIDS Conference next week has come a long way from the "AIDS pariah" that did so 16 years ago, when then President Thabo Mbeki stunningly dismissed the link between HIV and the disease. At the epicentre of the worldwide AIDS pandemic, South Africa now boasts the largest treatment programme in the world, with 3.4 million people receiving the antiretroviral (ARV) drugs that allow those living with HIV to lead normal lives
  
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• Still mysterious, aging may prove malleable

  13-07-2016 17:21
  Our editor in chief discusses the science of aging.
  
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• Many Beer Makers Will Start Listing Calories on Bottles & Cans

  13-07-2016 17:13
  Americans will soon start seeing calorie labels on many beer bottles and cans, thanks to new guidelines from the beer industry. Some of the biggest U.S. beer companies have agreed to list the number of calories, along with other nutritional information about their products, on their labels, according to a statement from the Beer Institute, a trade association of companies. Companies that have agreed to the new guidelines (which are voluntary) include Anheuser-Busch, MillerCoors, Heineken USA, Co
  
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• Why It's Harder to Recover from Jet Lag When You Fly East

  13-07-2016 17:12
  If you've ever found that recovery from jet lag took even longer than you expected it to, physicists have answers: A new mathematical model helps explain why flying east is tougher on jet-lag recovery. The model takes into account how certain cells in the human brain respond to crossing time zones, according to the study, published today (July 12) in the journal Chaos. These cells, called "neuronal oscillator cells," regulate people's circadian rhythm, or biological clock, by syncing up with one
  
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• A healthy old age may trump immortality

  13-07-2016 17:12
  
  Despite disagreements about what aging is and isn't, scientists have reached a radical consensus: It can be delayed.
  
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• 'Pokémon Go' Catches High Praise from Health Experts

  13-07-2016 17:11
  Whether it's lumbering up a giant hill to catch up with Pikachu, or trekking several blocks just to nab Magnemite, "Pokeman Go" players are getting some exercise. Indeed, the wildly popular new mobile game "Pokémon Go" is having an unintended side effect for some users: It's making them more physically active. "For a long time, the advances in technology have promoted reduced physical activity and increased time in sedentary behavior, which comes with well-known health risk," sa
  
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• The brain’s blueprint for aging is set early in life

  13-07-2016 17:10
  
  The brain's decline may mirror its beginning, offering clues to aging.
  
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• Organisms age in myriad ways — and some might not even bother

  13-07-2016 17:09
  
  There is great variety in how animals and plants deteriorate (or don’t) over time.
  
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• 7 Weird Facts About Balance

  13-07-2016 17:09
  Your inner ear plays an important role in balance. Several structures in the inner ear, together called the vestibular system, send signals to the brain that help you orient yourself and maintain balance. Many balance problems stem from conditions that affect the inner ear.
  
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• Microsoft Mines 'Minecraft' to Study Artificial Intelligence

  13-07-2016 16:57
  In the pixelated cube world of "Minecraft," players can create almost anything their hearts desire. Now, Microsoft is using the popular world-building game to build and test artificial intelligence in the fictional environment. Microsoft has made a platform for artificial intelligence (AI) research using a modified version of "Minecraft" that will become available to the public following a limited release to select researchers.
  
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• Corals 'Kiss' and Wage War, New Underwater Microscope Reveals

  13-07-2016 16:50
  
  The new imaging system — an underwater microscope and computer interface that can be operated by a diver — was developed by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography's Jaffe Laboratory for Underwater Imaging at the University of California, San Diego. Dubbed the Benthic Underwater Microscope (BUM), it is the first microscope to image the seafloor and its inhabitants at such a small scale. Researchers used the microscope to observe tiny coral polyps in the Red Sea and in Maui.
  
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• What animals’ life spans can tell us about how people age

  13-07-2016 16:45
  
  The animal world can offer insights into human longevity.
  
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• Readers mesmerized by 'Strange visions'

  13-07-2016 16:45
  Animal vision, ice-making microbes, brain maps and more reader feedback.
  
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• U.N. says initial South Sudan death toll likely 'tip of iceberg'

  13-07-2016 16:35
  UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - An initial South Sudanese government death toll of 272 people, including 33 civilians, from a recent eruption of fighting in the capital Juba is likely to be much higher, U.N. peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous told the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday. "I would believe that this is only the tip of the iceberg given alarming reports indicating over the last few days many civilians were barred from reaching safer ground," Ladsous said. (Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Ed
  
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• Solar-powered plane lands in Egypt after latest leg of globe-circling trip

  13-07-2016 15:40 via cbc.ca
  
  Flying low over haze-covered Pyramids in Giza, an experimental solar-powered airplane arrived on Wednesday in Egypt as part of its globe-circling voyage.
  
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• Microscope observes life of the ocean floor

  13-07-2016 15:31 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Marine scientists from Israel and California have developed a microscope that for the first time provides a window into the small scale behaviour of marine life.
  
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• Dutch firm to test floating turbine in tidal-power 'holy grail'

  13-07-2016 15:29 via cbc.ca
  
  A Dutch firm that calls the Bay of Fundy "the holy grail" aims to exploit the bay's powerful tidal currents by testing a floating turbine system starting next year.
  
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• TV subscribers dwindling, but prices rise, CRTC data shows

  13-07-2016 15:17 via cbc.ca
  
  About 200,000 Canadians cancelled their TV subscription last year, but the industry managed to offset that loss by charging their remaining customers more for their service.
  
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• Robots Could Hack Turing Test by Keeping Silent

  13-07-2016 15:16
  
  The Turing test, the quintessential evaluation designed to determine if something is a computer or a human, may have a fatal flaw, new research suggests. While it's not news that the Turing test has flaws, the new study highlights just how limited the test is for answering deeper questions about artificial intelligence, said study co-author Kevin Warwick, a computer scientist at Coventry University in England. "As machines are getting more and more intelligent, whether they're actually thinking
  
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• Solar plane flies over Egypt pyramids on globe-circling trip

  13-07-2016 15:07
  
  Flying through the haze over the pyramids of Giza, an experimental solar-powered airplane arrived on Wednesday in Egypt as part of its globe-circling voyage. The Solar Impulse 2 departed from the Seville ...
  
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• Rescued koala's rare condition

  13-07-2016 14:55 via bbc.co.uk
  
  This koala has heterochromia, so its rescuers called it Bowie; David Bowie actually had anisocoria, unequal pupil sizes.
  
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• Shining Silver-Blue Clouds Captured in Night Sky Photo

  13-07-2016 14:52
  
  Night sky photographer Ruslan Merzlyakov captured a series of nightscape images in the early morning of July 1, 2016. "The whole horizon over Nykøbing Mors from west to east was filled with silver light and it was very bright!" Merzlyakov wrote in an email to Space.com. Noctilucent clouds form in an upper layer of the Earth's atmosphere called the mesosphere, which is about 50 to 53 miles (80 to 85 kilometers) above ground.
  
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• Behold, Saturn! Planet's Rings and Moon Tethys Shine in Awesome Photo

  13-07-2016 14:51
  
  But it's all an illusion of perspective: Tethys actually orbits almost exactly around the gas giant's equatorial plane, NASA officials said in a statement unveiling the image on Monday (July 11). Follow Samantha Mathewson @Sam_Ashley13.
  
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• Old Eyes on the Sky: Touring Harvard's Shuttered Oak Ridge Observatory

  13-07-2016 14:50
  
  Harvard University's Oak Ridge Observatory, also known as the George R. Agassiz Station, hosts the largest U.S. optical telescope east of Texas. Unfortunately, the observatory shut down in 2005. Harvard senior astronomer David Latham and the last person to serve as director of the observatory, the now-retired Robert Stefanik, agreed to meet me one morning in April for a tour of the observatory, which sits about 30 miles (48 kilometers) west of Harvard, outside of Boston, in a rural area that mad
  
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• Damage to Pea-Size Gland May Cause PTSD-Like Symptoms

  13-07-2016 14:45 via rss.sciam.com
  
  Soldiers’ with traumatic brain injury might suffer from undiagnosed, but treatable hormonal disorders
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• It will take scientists 300 years to discover all the different trees growing in the Amazon rainforest

  13-07-2016 14:26
  They believe about 4,000 of the rarest Amazonian trees remain to be discovered and described.
  
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• South Sudan's vice president leaves Juba, not seeking war - spokesman

  13-07-2016 14:23
  By Denis Dumo JUBA (Reuters) - South Sudan's vice president has withdrawn with his troops to outside of Juba but is not planning for war, his spokesman said on Wednesday, as a ceasefire that ended heavy fighting with the president's forces entered its third day. Forces loyal to longtime rivals Vice President Riek Machar's forces and President Salva Kiir fought street battles in the capital during a five-day period until a ceasefire was reached on Monday. ...
  
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• Nigerian oil trade union suspends strike

  13-07-2016 14:11
  By Alexis Akwagyiram and Felix Onuah ABUJA (Reuters) - A Nigerian union representing oil workers has suspended a strike that some feared would lead to fuel shortages and disrupt crude production, one of its leaders said on Wednesday. The strike by about 10,000 members of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), which includes refinery workers and office staff, began on Thursday over issues that include oil sector reforms and pay. ...
  
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• When bird populations shrink, females fly away

  13-07-2016 13:41
  
  In small and shrinking populations of willow warblers, males outnumber females. That’s because girls choose to join bigger groups, a new study finds.
  
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• Do Pets Really Have Secret Lives?

  13-07-2016 13:32
  Fluffy and Fido may not party it up when you're away, as the spoiled terrier Max in the summer blockbuster "The Secret Life of Pets" would have you think. But that's not to say your pets live a dull, snoozeworthy existence when you head out.
  
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• Massive Florida Algae Bloom Can Be Seen from Space

  13-07-2016 13:30
  A huge bloom of toxic algae that took over Florida's largest freshwater lake has been captured in stunning images taken from space.
  
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• 'Ghost Fish' Seen Live for First Time

  13-07-2016 13:25
  A living, swimming "ghost fish" has been seen live for the first time ever.
  
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• The Psychology of 'Pokémon Go': What's Fueling the Obsession?

  13-07-2016 13:22
  Perhaps you've seen them: roving bands of (mostly) young people, gathering together with smartphones aloft, talking about something called Rattata or Squirtle.
  
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• 23 More Wrecks Found at Greek Hotspot for Sunken Ships

  13-07-2016 13:21
  
  A cluster of Greek islands in the Aegean Sea is giving up some of its deep secrets, as archaeologists have now found 45 shipwrecks there in less than a year's time. Back in September 2015, a team of Greek and American divers located an astonishing 22 shipwrecks over the course of a 13-day survey around Fourni, which is composed of 13 small islands, some too tiny to show up on maps. The team went back to the eastern Aegean islands in June to expand the search.
  
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• Is Pokémon GO Really Augmented Reality?

  13-07-2016 13:15 via rss.sciam.com
  
  The game app’s pocket monsters may be taking over the world—but they’re not quite part of it yet, a tech pioneer insists
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Is Pokemon Go Really Augmented Reality?

  13-07-2016 13:15 via rss.sciam.com
  
  The game app’s pocket monsters may be taking over the world—but they’re not quite part of it yet, a tech pioneer insists
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• South Sudan's vice president takes forces out of Juba, not preparing war - spokesman

  13-07-2016 11:26
  By Denis Dumo JUBA (Reuters) - South Sudan's vice president has withdrawn with his troops to outside of Juba but is not planning for war, his spokesman said on Wednesday, as a ceasefire that ended heavy fighting with the president's forces entered its third day. Forces loyal to longtime rivals Vice President Riek Machar's forces and President Salva Kiir fought street battles in the capital during a five-day period until a ceasefire was reached on Monday. The events mirror those of December 2013,
  
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• Nigerian oil union agrees to suspend strike - government sources

  13-07-2016 11:14
  A Nigerian trade union representing oil workers has agreed to suspend a strike that some feared would lead to fuel shortages and disrupt crude production, a petroleum ministry official and another at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation said on Wednesday. The strike by about 10,000 members of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), including refinery workers and office staff, began on Thursday over issues including oil sector reforms and pay. The pet
  
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