Science news

• Tinder: Swiping self esteem?

  04-08-2016 23:24
  Whether they’re swiping left or swiping right, male users of the popular dating app Tinder appear to have lower levels of self-esteem and all users appear to have more negative perception of body image than those who don’t use the app.
  
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• 'Media contagion' is factor in mass shootings, study says

  04-08-2016 23:24
  People who commit mass shootings in America tend to share three traits: rampant depression, social isolation and pathological narcissism, according to a new article that calls on the media to deny such shooters the fame they seek.
  
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• Bioengineers grow living bone for facial reconstruction

  04-08-2016 23:24
  Researchers have engineered living bone tissue to repair bone loss in the jaw, a structure that is typically difficult to restore. They grafted customized implants into pig jaws that resulted in integration and function of the engineered graft into the recipient's own tissue.
  
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• Sharks get bad rap when viewed with ominous background music

  04-08-2016 23:16
  In a new study, researchers found that the background music in shark documentaries affects viewers' perceptions of sharks. The researchers suggest that ominous background music could hinder shark conservation efforts.
  
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• Scientists convert carbon dioxide, create electricity

  04-08-2016 23:16
  Scientists have developed an oxygen-assisted aluminum/carbon dioxide power cell that uses electrochemical reactions to both sequester the carbon dioxide and produce electricity.
  
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• Multitasking proteins: Unexpected properties of galectin-3

  04-08-2016 23:16
  Biochemistry research on lectins and proteoglycans have been around as long as Frank Sinatra tunes. So finding out that these proteins interact is like discovering Sinatra and Elvis started a band way back when. Researchers explain how this finding could impact cancer and immune system research.
  
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• Watch Jupiter's Last Marvelous Moon Dance Friday

  04-08-2016 23:02
  
  Jupiter teams up with the crescent moon in the evening twilight on Aug. 5, and the encounter will make for an eye-catching show. It's likely your last chance to see Jupiter and the moon in the evening sky this year, so you won't want to miss this! On Friday evening, the planet will rendezvous with a slender crescent moon — a moon so thin that, initially, it may be rather hard to detect in the sun's afterglow.
  
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• Turn CO2 back into fuel? It's like 'putting the genie back in the bottle,' researcher says

  04-08-2016 22:34 via cbc.ca
  
  What if you could capture carbon dioxide as it's released from a smokestack and recycle it back into fuels like diesel? A Canadian-led study brings us a step closer to making that a practical reality.
  
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• New doping test could detect steroids that Olympic testers don't know about yet

  04-08-2016 21:47 via cbc.ca
  
  Doping scandals at the Olympics go back decades. And the challenge has always been trying to keep up with the latest doping techniques. As CBC Radio science columnist Torah Kachur explains, that task could become a lot easier, thanks to some new science from the University of Alberta.
  
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• New X-Ray microscopy technique images nanoscale workings of rechargeable batteries

  04-08-2016 21:27
  An X-ray microscopy technique has given scientists the ability to image nanoscale changes inside lithium-ion battery particles as they charge and discharge. The real-time images provide a new way to learn how batteries work, and how to improve them.
  
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• Detailed structure of cell's garbage disposal unit reveals surprise in how it is targeted by cancer drugs

  04-08-2016 21:27
  Cancer cells are more dependent on a cellular garbage disposal unit -- the proteasome -- than healthy cells, and cancer therapies take advantage of this dependency. Scientists have determined the proteasome's 3D structure in unprecedented detail and have deciphered the exact mechanism by which inhibitor drugs block the proteasome. Their surprising results will pave the way to develop more effective treatments.
  
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• Vaccine candidates protect against Zika virus in rhesus monkeys

  04-08-2016 21:25
  A ZIKV purified inactivated virus Zika vaccine candidate provided robust protection against the virus in rhesus monkeys in a new preclinical study. Findings support advancing the candidate to human trials.
  
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• Hidden pollution exchange between oceans and groundwater revealed

  04-08-2016 21:25
  Researchers have uncovered previously hidden sources of ocean pollution along more than 20 percent of America's coastlines. The study offers the first-ever map of underground drainage systems that connect fresh groundwater and seawater, and also pinpoints sites where drinking water is most vulnerable to saltwater intrusion now and in the future.
  
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• Sunflowers move by the clock

  04-08-2016 21:24
  Plant biologists have discovered how sunflowers use their internal circadian clock, acting on growth hormones, to follow the sun during the day as they grow. Following the sun allows the plants to grow faster and put on more biomass.
  
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• Geological data provide support for legendary Chinese flood

  04-08-2016 21:24
  Researchers have provided geological evidence for China's 'Great Flood,' a disastrous event on the Yellow River from which the Xia dynasty is thought to have been born. The flood occurred in roughly 1920 BC, they say, which is several centuries later than traditionally thought -- meaning the Xia dynasty, and its renowned Emperor Yu, likely had a later start than Chinese historians have thought, too.
  
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• European Mars Probe Performs 1st Crucial Deep-Space Maneuver

  04-08-2016 20:28
  
  The European Space Agency's (ESA) ExoMars spacecraft has performed its first critical deep-space maneuver since launching toward the Red Planet on March 14. ExoMars fired up its main engine for nearly an hour on July 28, fine-tuning the probe's trajectory ahead of a planned Oct. 19 arrival at the Red Planet, ESA officials said. The ExoMars spacecraft consists of the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) and a landing demonstrator called Schiaparelli.
  
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• 'Sooner State' Shuttle: Stafford Museum to Display NASA Simulator in Oklahoma

  04-08-2016 20:27
  
  A space shuttle cockpit that was used to train all of the crews that launched on board the winged orbiters has landed in Oklahoma, where it will be displayed at a museum named for a veteran NASA astronaut. The Stafford Air & Space Museum, located in Weatherford, Oklahoma (known as the Sooner State), announced Wednesday (Aug. 3) its acquisition of the fixed-based simulator (FBS), a high-fidelity replica of the shuttle's flight deck and partial middeck, which was in use for three decades at NA
  
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• Death Dive! Comet Plunges into the Sun at Mind-Blowing Speed

  04-08-2016 20:27
  
  It is one of the brightest sungrazing comet events in over two decades, one scientist says. Video of the comet's death dive into the sun was captured by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) between Aug. 2 and Aug. 4. Comets like the one swallowed by the sun are known as Kreutz sungrazers, and are characterized by orbits that take them incredibly close to the sun.
  
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• Parks Canada kills another wolf that had become habituated to human food in Banff

  04-08-2016 20:23 via cbc.ca
  
  Parks Canada officials have killed a wolf that was repeatedly exhibiting bold behaviour around human beings after becoming habituated to food left out at Banff campgrounds in violation of national park rules.
  
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• Goodbye, implants rejection!

  04-08-2016 20:22
  A group of physicists developed a way to use the therapeutic effect of heating or cooling the tissues due to the magnetocaloric effect.
  
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• Rats offer clues to biology of alcoholism

  04-08-2016 20:15
  
  Heavy-drinking rats are giving scientists new genetic clues to alcoholism.
  
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• Melting ice sheet could expose frozen Cold War-era hazardous waste

  04-08-2016 20:12
  Climate change is threatening to expose hazardous waste at an abandoned camp thought to be buried forever in the Greenland Ice Sheet, new research has found. Camp Century, a United States military base built within the Greenland ice sheet in 1959, doubled as a top-secret site for testing the feasibility of deploying nuclear missiles during the Cold War. When the camp was decommissioned in 1967, its infrastructure and waste were abandoned.
  
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• Don't freestyle 'swimmer's shoulder' injuries

  04-08-2016 20:12
  Elite and competitive swimmers log between 60,000 and 80,000 meters weekly -- swimming the length of an Olympic-sized pool 1,200 times -- which places significant stress on their shoulder joints.
  
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• Computer modeling for designing drug-delivery nanocarriers

  04-08-2016 20:12
  Researchers have developed a computer model that will aid in the design of nanocarriers, microscopic structures used to guide drugs to their targets in the body. The model better accounts for how the surfaces of different types of cells undulate due to thermal fluctuations, informing features of the nanocarriers that will help them stick to cells long enough to deliver their payloads.
  
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• Despite expectations of privacy, one in four share sexts, study finds

  04-08-2016 20:10
  A new study from Indiana University researchers shows that although most people who engage in sexting expect their messages to remain private, nearly one in four people are sharing the sexual messages they receive.
  
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• Internal clock helps young sunflowers follow the sun

  04-08-2016 20:03
  
  A circadian clock helps sunflowers follow the sun’s daily path across the sky
  
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• Rocks tell story of China's great flood

  04-08-2016 20:01 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Geologists have found evidence for an ancient megaflood which they say could be the mythical flood at the dawn of the first Chinese dynasty.
  
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• Zika vaccines work in rhesus monkeys

  04-08-2016 20:00
  
  Three vaccines can protect rhesus monkeys from infection with Zika. One of them fended off viral strains from both Brazil and Puerto Rico.
  
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• China’s mythical ‘Great Flood’ possibly rooted in real disaster

  04-08-2016 20:00
  
  Folktales of an ancient flood that helped kick off Chinese civilization may reference a nearly 4,000-year-old deluge.
  
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• Whales' ultrasonic hearing has surprisingly ancient history, fossilized ear shows

  04-08-2016 19:59
  All living toothed whales rely upon echoes of their own calls to navigate and hunt underwater, a skill that works best in conjunction with high-frequency hearing. Now, researchers who studied one of the best-preserved ears of any ancient whale ever discovered find that whales' high-frequency hearing abilities arose earlier than anticipated.
  
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• Specific brain training reduces dementia risk across 10 years

  04-08-2016 19:58
  While many companies have long promised that their brain-training products can sharpen aging minds, only one type of computerized brain training so far has been shown to improve people's mental quickness and significantly reduce the risk of dementia, according to new research.
  
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• Vitamin D levels may drop when women stop using birth control

  04-08-2016 19:54
  Women risk having their vitamin D levels fall when they stop using birth control pills or other contraceptives containing estrogen, according to a new study.
  
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• Men may have evolved better 'making up' skills

  04-08-2016 19:18 via bbc.co.uk
  
  An analysis of sports events suggests men may be better at reconciliation after conflicts which could give them advantages in the workplace.
  
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• Mysterious light over Gateway Arch stumps St. Louis

  04-08-2016 19:01
  
  ST. LOUIS (AP) — A light that appeared high over St. Louis' Gateway Arch is perplexing officials.
  
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• Robot Hackers Could Be the Future of Cybersecurity

  04-08-2016 18:47 via rss.sciam.com
  
  The final round of DARPA’s Cyber Grand Challenge pits computers against one another as human programmers watch the future of cybersecurity unfold
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Huge lightning storm in Las Vegas illuminates night sky

  04-08-2016 18:43 via cbc.ca
  
  Storm rolls in after day of extreme temperatures
  
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• Hear! Hear! Exquisite fossils preserve ear of prehistoric whale

  04-08-2016 18:07
  
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Fossils unearthed in a South Carolina drainage ditch are providing insight into the development of ultrasonic hearing in prehistoric whales, a trait closely linked to their uncanny ability to hunt and navigate using sound waves and echoes.
  
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• Red blood cells sense low oxygen in the brain

  04-08-2016 18:00
  
  Red blood cells sense low oxygen and speed to the scene, a new study suggests.
  
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• Obese people's brains age more rapidly, research finds

  04-08-2016 18:00
  
  Studies showed overweight individuals had a widespread reduction in white matter compared with lean people.
  
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• Moon Express becomes the first private company to get approval for lunar landing

  04-08-2016 17:49
  
  The firm plans to send a lander to Earth’s satellite late next year.
  
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• Want to buy cheap, leftover food? There's an app for that

  04-08-2016 17:40 via cbc.ca
  
  It's a dirty little secret in the food industry that plenty of goods wind up in the trash. Now, businesses are trying to combat the issue by rescuing leftovers and peddling them to consumers at a discount.
  
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• Selling unwanted food at a discount, a growing trend you may want to bite into

  04-08-2016 17:40 via cbc.ca
  It's a dirty little secret in the food industry that plenty of goods wind up in the trash. Now, businesses are trying to combat the issue by rescuing leftovers and peddling them to consumers at a discount.
  
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• Ouch! Duck-Billed Dinosaur Had Arthritis in Its Elbow

  04-08-2016 17:19
  
  Arthritis is far from just a modern malady, said scientists who discovered the condition in the elbow of a 70-million-year-old duck-billed dinosaur. The finding is the oldest recorded case of septic arthritis — a condition in which a joint becomes inflamed, often from bacteria or fungus — the researchers said. "Our [duck-billed dinosaur] seems to have been afflicted with septic arthritis, which completely destroyed the elbow joint," said study lead researcher Jennifer Anné, a
  
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• Amid economic hard times, Venezuelans turn to city farming

  04-08-2016 16:48
  By Diego Ore CARACAS (Reuters) - Facing a national food crisis, Venezuela's pumpkin-growing socialist president is exhorting compatriots to grow fruit and vegetables on balconies and roofs and in barracks across the country. "We need to plant to ensure food sovereignty," President Nicolas Maduro said, recounting how he and his wife harvested pumpkins on their patio for a soup that tasted "like heaven." "He who learns to cultivate in his city, his school, his university, his factory, in his commu
  
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• Science of Politics: Why Trump and Clinton Should Be Nice to Each Other

  04-08-2016 16:38
  Here's a tactic you likely won't see much of during this year's electoral matchup between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton: Complimenting the opposition. A strategy of flattery is "very rare," said study researcher Nicoletta Cavazza, a professor of communication and economics at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia in Italy. In the new study, Cavazza looked at whether going positive could rebound on a candidate as well.
  
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• Blisters and Burns Prompt Fitness Tracker Recall

  04-08-2016 16:38
  One of the first fitness trackers to include a wrist-worn heart rate monitor, the Basis Peak, is now being recalled because of its potential to cause blisters or burns on the skin, the company said today. In June, Basis told users to stop wearing the Peak until the company could release a software update that would automatically shut down the device if it started to overheat. "Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we aren't able to develop such a solution without completely compromising the u
  
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• Why Amish Kids Get Less Asthma: It's the Cows

  04-08-2016 16:37
  One way to reduce children's rates of asthma may come from dairy farms, a new study finds. Kids who grow up in Amish communities have much lower rates of asthma than the general population, potentially thanks to their exposure to the communities' dairy farms at an early age, according to the study, published today (Aug. 3) in the New England Journal of Medicine.
  
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• Russian anthrax outbreak linked to climate change

  04-08-2016 16:28 via cbc.ca
  
  Scientists think an anthrax outbreak in northern Russia is linked to climate change, as abnormally warm weather caused permafrost melting and exposed a reindeer corpse infected by anthrax decades ago.
  
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• Art Nouveau masterpiece abandoned in decaying Brussels warehouse

  04-08-2016 16:27
  An Art Nouveau facade designed by the famous Belgian architect Victor Horta lies greening with mould and covered in trash in a Brussels warehouse, forgotten only five years after it was last exhibited to the public. The dismantled front of "Hotel Aubecq", a mansion designed by Horta in 1899 and torn down in 1950 three years after his death, was laid out on the floor of the warehouse in 2011 for an exhibition commemorating the architect's 150th birthday. "Authorities genuinely forgot that the fac
  
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• How proteins control gene expression by binding both DNA and RNA

  04-08-2016 16:23
  Proteins that bind DNA or RNA are usually put in different categories, but researchers recently showed how the p53 protein has the capacity to bind both and how this controls gene expression on the levels of both transcription (RNA synthesis) and mRNA translation (protein synthesis).
  
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