Science news

• Scientists have created a quantum computer that can be reprogrammed with laser beams

  03-08-2016 22:43
  
  Researchers from the University of Maryland built and tested the machine.
  
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• Desert elephants pass on knowledge -- not mutations -- to survive

  03-08-2016 22:16
  Despite reported differences in appearance and behavior, DNA evidence finds that Namibian desert elephants share the same DNA as African savanna elephants. However, Namibian desert-dwelling elephants should be protected so they can continue to pass on their unique knowledge and survival skills to future generations.
  
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• Rocky Cosmic Crashes Can Forge Space Crystals, Laser Test Suggests

  03-08-2016 22:02
  
  When rocky bodies collide in space, they produce a tremendous shock wave, abruptly increasing the pressure on the minerals within. In a new study, researchers zapped a main component of rocky planets with a laser and discovered something unexpected: Instead of simply melting under suddenly high temperature and pressure, crystals form in liquid as well. Forsterite is a mineral made from magnesium, silicon and oxygen, and it's extremely common on rocky planets: Earth's upper mantle is 70 percent t
  
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• Moon Express Approved for Private Lunar Landing in 2017, a Space First

  03-08-2016 22:02
  
  For the first time ever, a private company has permission to land on the moon. The U.S. government has officially approved the planned 2017 robotic lunar landing of Florida-based Moon Express, which aims to fly commercial missions to Earth's nearest neighbor and help exploit its resources, company representatives announced today (Aug. 3). "This is not only a milestone, but really a threshold for the entire commercial space industry," Moon Express co-founder and CEO Bob Richards told Space.com.
  
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• Pokemon statue mysteriously appears in New Orleans

  03-08-2016 21:38 via cbc.ca
  
  Amid the craze over virtual characters in the smartphone-based Pokemon Go game, a Pokemon that people can touch in the physical world has mysteriously appeared in New Orleans.
  
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• Bold wolf prompts tent camping ban in Banff National Park

  03-08-2016 21:17 via cbc.ca
  
  More than 200 campers staying in tents had to be relocated from Two Jack Main and Lakeside campgrounds in Banff National Park due to the bold behaviour of a wolf.
  
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• New dementia app helps memory loss patients find memories

  03-08-2016 21:14
  People suffering from Alzheimer’s and other forms of age-related dementia sometimes have trouble recognizing friends and family or knowing what to talk about when they visit. A new app offers to help patients stay connected to their memories – and thus to their friends and family – and perhaps will even help them keep a conversation going.
  
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• Drugs already on market prevent light-induced retinal degeneration in mice

  03-08-2016 21:14
  Combinations of Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs protect against the loss of cells required for vision in a mouse model of the damage caused by blinding retinal diseases, report investigators.
  
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• Astronomers make first accurate measurement of oxygen in distant galaxy

  03-08-2016 21:11
  Astronomers have made the first accurate measurement of the abundance of oxygen in a distant galaxy, essentially looking back in time at this galaxy as it appeared 12 billion years ago.
  
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• Asian giant honeybees may move in synchrony to ventilate nests

  03-08-2016 21:11
  The Asian giant honeybee, Apis dorsata, builds its large single-comb nests out in the open, making them potentially vulnerable to extremes of temperature that may threaten survival. New research shows that these giant honeybees may use synchronized movements to ventilate and cool their nests.
  
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• Fly me to the moon: Feds OK private firm's lunar flight plan

  03-08-2016 20:49
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal government for the first time has given permission to a private Florida company to fly a spaceship beyond Earth's orbit and land on the moon.
  
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• Flight to moon by private firm approved by U.S. for 1st time

  03-08-2016 20:45 via cbc.ca
  
  A Florida-based company won U.S. government permission on Wednesday to send a robotic lander to the moon next year, the firm's founder said, marking the first time the United States has cleared a private space mission to fly beyond Earth's orbit.
  
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• Pregnancy procedure may be associated with increased risk of premature birth and neonatal loss

  03-08-2016 20:31
  Researchers are urging surgeons to reconsider using a particular type of thread for a procedure to prevent premature birth, after new research found this thread was associated with an increased rate of premature birth and baby death compared with a thinner thread.
  
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• Moon Express cleared for lunar landing

  03-08-2016 20:21 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Moon Express becomes the first private firm to win US approval for an unmanned mission to the moon.
  
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• The keys to a major process in DNA repair

  03-08-2016 20:02
  For the first time, researchers describe in its totality the mechanisms by which DNA damaged by UV radiation is repaired, and how the proteins involved in this process cooperate to ensure its efficiency. This work opens new perspectives not only in the fight against cancer but also in combating certain bacterial infections.
  
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• Trading farmland for nitrogen protection

  03-08-2016 20:01
  Excess nitrogen from agricultural runoff can enter surface waters with devastating effects. Algal blooms and fish kills are a just a couple of possible consequences. But riparian buffer zones -- areas of grasses, perennials, or trees -- between farmlands and streams or rivers can help.
  
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• 'Sandman's' role in sleep control discovered

  03-08-2016 20:01
  Researchers have discovered what causes the sleep homeostat -- a switch in our brains -- to flip and wake us up. The discovery brings us closer to understanding the mystery of sleep.
  
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• Recycling carbon dioxide: Researchers reduce climate-warming CO2 to building blocks for fuels

  03-08-2016 20:01
  Turning carbon dioxide into stored energy sounds like science fiction: researchers have long tried to find simple ways to convert this greenhouse gas into fuels and other useful chemicals. Now, engineers has developed a technique powered by renewable energies such as solar or wind.
  
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• Deadly bat fungus in Washington state likely originated in Eastern US

  03-08-2016 20:01
  The White-nose Syndrome fungus recently detected for the first time in western North America is genetically similar to strains found in the eastern United States and did not likely originate in Eurasia, according to a study.
  
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• A Rosy View: Dinosaurs Likely Saw Shades of Red

  03-08-2016 20:01
  
  Dinosaurs likely had a gene that gave them a double win — red coloring and the ability to see the color red, a new study finds. This so-called "red gene" gives living dinosaur relatives, including birds and turtles, red coloring on their bodies and the ability to see more colors within the red spectrum than people can see, the researchers said. The gene, called CYP2J19, allows birds and turtles to convert yellow pigments they eat into red hues on their bodies, shells or beaks.
  
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• Smart mice have better odds of survival

  03-08-2016 20:00
  
  African striped mice (Rhabdomys pumilio) may survive summer droughts by their wits, a study suggests.
  
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• Lifestyles of the Rich Attract a Wealth of Insects

  03-08-2016 19:56
  
  New research finds that the homes in the wealthiest neighborhoods have more diverse creepy-crawlies living indoors than homes in poorer ZIP codes. It's not entirely clear why affluence also equals diverse arthropods (the group including insects, spiders, millipedes and centipedes), but landscaping in wealthy neighborhoods seems to play a large role, said study researcher Misha Leong, a postdoctoral researcher in entomology at the California Academy of Sciences. Leong and her colleagues used data
  
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• Icy Dwarf Planet Ceres May Have a Warm Heart

  03-08-2016 19:31
  
  Under the surface of the dwarf planet Ceres are strange jumbled zones that are mixes of ice and rock, a new study finds. This research suggests that Ceres might still be warmed by radioactive material in its interior, scientists say. With a diameter of about 585 miles (940 kilometers), Ceres is by far the biggest member of the asteroid belt located between Mars and Jupiter.
  
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• Milky Way's 'Halo' Spins at Dizzying Speed

  03-08-2016 19:29
  
  The cloud, called the Milky Way's halo, extends hundreds of thousands of light-years across. Using archived data from the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton telescope, astronomers found the halo is spinning in the same direction as the galaxy and almost as fast. "People just assumed that the disk of the Milky Way spins while this enormous reservoir of hot gas is stationary — but that is wrong.
  
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• Vibrations bring still photos to life

  03-08-2016 19:26 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Photographs in which still objects can be manipulated are developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
  
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• Why are crying babies so hard to ignore?

  03-08-2016 19:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A neuroscientist explains why Donald Trump found a crying baby at his rally so distracting.
  
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• Ceres is more than just a space rock

  03-08-2016 19:00
  
  Dawn spacecraft reveals that the dwarf planet Ceres hides a core of solid rock beneath an outer crust of minerals, salts and ices.
  
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• Humans didn't kill off these mammoths, but scientists know what did

  03-08-2016 18:54 via cbc.ca
  
  Humans definitely weren't to blame for killing off one of the last surviving woolly mammoth populations — so what is? Scientists finally have the answer, and it's a bit of a surprise.
  
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• Scientists keep a molecule from moving inside nerve cells to prevent cell death

  03-08-2016 18:45
  A groundbreaking scientific study has found one way an RNA binding protein may contribute to ALS disease progression.
  
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• Routinely measured lipids show contrasting associations with risk of coronary artery disease, diabetes

  03-08-2016 18:44
  An analysis using genetics finds that increased low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and possibly triglyceride (TG) levels are associated with a lower risk of diabetes, and increased LDL-C and TG levels are associated with an increased risk of coronary artery disease, according to a study.
  
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• Researchers shed new light on signals that trigger labor and delivery

  03-08-2016 18:44
  In a normal full-term pregnancy, signals from the mature organs of the fetus and the aging placental membranes and placenta prompt the uterus' muscular walls to begin the labor and delivery process. It's still unclear how these signals accomplish this goal or how they reach from the fetal side to the maternal side. A team of researchers has now unlocked key clues in understanding what triggers the birthing process.
  
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• New neurons created through exercise don't cause you to forget old memories

  03-08-2016 18:44
  Research has found that exercise causes more new neurons to be formed in a critical brain region, and contrary to an earlier study, these new neurons do not cause the individual to forget old memories, according to new research.
  
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• Is there difference in surgical site infection using sterile vs. nonsterile gloves?

  03-08-2016 18:44
  Outpatient cutaneous surgical procedures are common and surgical gloves are standard practice to prevent postoperative surgical site infection. But, is there a difference in SSIs when sterile vs. nonsterile gloves are used for these minor procedures? A systematic review and meta-analysis of the medical literature examined that question, according to a new article.
  
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• Inosine treatment helps recovery of motor functions after brain injury

  03-08-2016 18:44
  Brain tissue can die as the result of stroke, traumatic brain injury, or neurodegenerative disease. When the affected area includes the motor cortex, impairment of the fine motor control of the hand can result. Researchers found that inosine, a naturally occurring purine nucleoside that is released by cells in response to metabolic stress, can help to restore motor control after brain injury.
  
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• Consumption of natural estrogens in cow's milk does not affect blood levels or reproductive health

  03-08-2016 18:44
  A new study investigated cow milk's effects on blood hormone levels in adult mice and found that naturally occurring levels, and even levels as high as 100 times the average, had no effect on the mice. The study further determined that only when the mice were given 1,000 times more estrogen than average did it have any impact on reproductive health.
  
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• Turkey sees swift overhaul of intelligence agency, gendarmerie after coup

  03-08-2016 18:36
  By Ece Toksabay and Tuvan Gumrukcu ANKARA/ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey will soon complete an overhaul of its intelligence agency and make new appointments to its gendarmerie as it tries to rid its security apparatus of the followers of a U.S.-based cleric blamed for an attempted coup, officials said on Wednesday. President Tayyip Erdogan said new appointments in the gendarmerie, responsible for security in rural areas and key in the fight against Kurdish militants, would come within 48 hours. Int
  
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• Hezbollah sees no immediate end to Syria war, partition in Iraq and Syria a possible outcome

  03-08-2016 18:11
  By Samia Nakhoul, Laila Bassam and Suleiman Al-Khalidi Beirut (Reuters) - Lebanon’s Hezbollah said the partition of Iraq and Syria was a possible outcome of sectarian fighting across the region and there was no prospect of any end to the war in Syria until after November's U.S. presidential election. Sheikh Naim Qassem, deputy leader of the Iran-backed group, whose forces are fighting alongside President Bashar al-Assad against rebels supported by Western and regional powers, said Hezbolla
  
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• Insight into how cancer cells behave abnormally

  03-08-2016 18:01
  Scientists have shed light on the metabolic switch observed in abnormal cells like cancer. Based on experimental evidence of metabolic oscillations, they show that changes in metabolic state can be described robustly by alterations in the ability of the oscillator to resist external perturbations.
  
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• New York attorney general targets phony Zika-protection products

  03-08-2016 17:30
  By Jessica Dye NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York state's top prosecutor said on Wednesday his office has sent cease-and-desist letters to seven companies accused of deceptively marketing ineffective Zika-protection products amid growing concern over the mosquito-borne virus. Attorney General Eric Schneiderman also issued a consumer alert warning against the companies' advertisements, which are mainly for ultrasonic and botanical oil-based mosquito repellants. The products targeted by Schneiderman in
  
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• Method to study critical HIV protein

  03-08-2016 17:18
  Researchers are studying a protein called Nef involved in HIV progression to AIDS with the ultimate goal of blocking it. He and his collaborators have developed a new hybrid method to study this HIV protein that compromises the immune system. The method also could work on many other proteins that damage cellular processes and cause diseases.
  
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• Foraging strategies of smallest seals revealed in first ever satellite tracking study

  03-08-2016 17:18
  The first ever satellite tracking study of one the world's endangered seal species has revealed new information about their migration habits and hunting patterns.
  
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• Researchers work to understand causes of search and rescue in the Arctic

  03-08-2016 17:17
  Search and rescue operations in Nunavut have more than doubled over the past decade. In the communities of the vast northern Canadian territory, it's commonly felt that climate change is one factor making hunting riskier in the spring and fall. A new study shows a strong link between environmental conditions and search and rescues cases across Nunavut, moving scientists closer to understanding the impact of climate change on Inuit.
  
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• How an enzyme in fireflies, click beetles and glow worms yields different colors

  03-08-2016 17:17
  The glow of fireflies at dusk is a welcome sign of summer. The same enzyme that helps give these familiar bugs their characteristic flash of yellow, yields red light in acidic conditions. Similar enzymes are responsible for red and green lights in other beetles. Despite years of study, however, scientists still don't know the molecular details of how the enzyme works. Now one team reports new insights into this mystery.
  
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• Birds engage in all types of sleep in flight, but in remarkably small amounts

  03-08-2016 17:17
  For the first time, researchers have discovered that birds can sleep in flight. They measured the brain activity of frigatebirds and found that they sleep in flight with either one cerebral hemisphere at a time or both hemispheres simultaneously. Despite being able to engage in all types of sleep in flight, the birds slept less than an hour a day, a mere fraction of the time spent sleeping on land. How frigatebirds are able to perform adaptively on such little sleep remains a mystery.
  
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• Did Rembrandt Use Mirrors and Optical Tricks to Create His Paintings?

  03-08-2016 17:11
  
  Rembrandt may have traced his celebrated self-portraits from optical projections created by assemblies of mirrors or lenses, a new analysis suggests. "The evidence suggests he used lenses and projections," O'Neill and Palazzo Corner wrote in a paper published online July 13 in the Journal of Optics. O'Neill told Live Science that the new findings follow the work of British artist David Hockney and American physicist Charles Falco, who proposed in 2001 that Rembrandt and other artists had used op
  
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• New Tech Lets You Watch 3D Movies Without the Funky Glasses

  03-08-2016 17:10
  
  Someday, moviegoers may be able to watch 3D films from any seat in a theater without having to wear 3D glasses, thanks to a new kind of movie screen. The new technology, named Cinema 3D, overcomes some of the barriers to implementing glasses-free 3D viewing on a larger scale, but it's not commercially viable yet, the researchers said when describing their findings. Although glasses-free 3D strategies already exist, these technologies currently cannot be scaled up to movie theaters.
  
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• How Skydiver Jumped Without a Parachute (and Survived)

  03-08-2016 17:09
  
  Skydiver Luke Aikins became the first person to jump from a plane without a parachute or wingsuit this past weekend, carrying out the daring stunt on live television. To accomplish such a jump with a parachute, a skydiver would typically jump from the plane, free-fall at 120 mph (190 km/h) or faster and then, at higher than 2,500 feet (760 m) above the ground, deploy the parachute, according to Nancy Koreen, spokeswoman for the U.S. Parachute Association. The parachute works to slow the skydiver
  
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• Major quake could pose systemic risk to Canada's financial sector, report says

  03-08-2016 16:48 via cbc.ca
  
  A major earthquake could pose a serious risk to Canada's economy, says a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute that calls for action to bolster the financial system so it could better handle the aftermath of such a disaster.
  
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• Novel porous materials made from flexible 'spaghetti-like' molecules

  03-08-2016 16:40
  Scientists changed our understanding of metal-organic frameworks. They uprooted the belief that these frameworks must be made from rigid starting materials.
  
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• New biochip-based blood test detects elevated risk for Alzheimer’s disease

  03-08-2016 16:40
  Researchers today unveiled results from a new blood test to help identify which patients are at an elevated risk of Alzheimer’s disease. The findings showed that the biochip test, which allows multiple tests to be run on one blood sample, was as accurate as existing molecular tests that analyze DNA.
  
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