Science news

• Regulators study horseshoe crab survival in medical harvest

  16-08-2016 23:51
  
  PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Environmental regulators studying the harvesting of horseshoe crabs that are drained of some of their blood for biomedical use say they need to get a firmer handle on how many die as part of the process.
  
  Read more

• Lizard mom’s microbiome may protect her eggs

  16-08-2016 23:19
  
  Striped plateau lizard moms don’t do any parenting beyond laying eggs. But they may convey protection from pathogens with help from their microbiome.
  
  Read more

• From Hospitable to Hellish: Venus May Have Supported Life

  16-08-2016 23:18
  
  Present-day Venus, on the other hand, is not quite as hospitable. The barren planet is known for having a suffocating carbon dioxide atmosphere that is 90 times thicker than Earth's, with clouds of sulfuric acid and extremely hot surface temperatures that reach 864 degrees Fahrenheit (462 degrees Celsius).
  
  Read more

• Boeing Installs Crew Access Arm for New Starliner Space Taxi

  16-08-2016 23:18
  
  On Monday (Aug. 15), reporters gathered here at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 41 to witness the installation of the crew access arm for the Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft. The arm, spanning roughly 50 feet (15 meters) in length and weighing over 90,000 lbs. (40,800 kilograms), will form a deployable bridge for the Commercial Crew Program astronauts to walk across. The structure is designed to swing away when not in use and will connect the crew access tower to
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• External Combustion--Majority of U.S. Motorists Admit to Venting Road Rage

  16-08-2016 22:00 via rss.sciam.com
  
  From flipping the bird to physical confrontation, aggressive driving has become common, shows a new report. Where does the behavior come from? And can it be quelled? 
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
  Read more

• Navajo Nation sues feds over massive 2015 mine waste spill

  16-08-2016 21:32
  
  Leaders of one of the nation's largest American Indian tribes blasted the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as their attorneys sued Tuesday, claiming negligence in the cleanup of a massive mine waste spill that tainted rivers in three Western states.
  
  Read more

• Birmingham City Council could start using DNA to catch fly-tippers

  16-08-2016 20:25
  
  The council says it has to “prove beyond any reasonable doubt who is responsible and this is worth a try”.
  
  Read more

• 200 Rare Tarantulas Hatched in Captivity for First Time

  16-08-2016 20:21
  
  For the first time, scientists have managed to breed rare spiders known as Montserrat tarantulas. Little is known about these elusive, secretive creatures that live on the island of Montserrat, in the Caribbean. It's taken a lot of patience and care to reach this point," Gerardo Garcia, the curator of lower vertebrates and invertebrates at the Chester Zoo in the United Kingdom, said in a statement.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Police chiefs want new law that would compel people to reveal passwords

  16-08-2016 20:18 via cbc.ca
  
  Canada's police chiefs want a new law that would force people to hand over their electronic passwords with a judge's consent.
  
  Read more

• Russia May Trim Space Station Cosmonaut Crew Size to Two, NASA Says

  16-08-2016 19:35
  
  Russia is considering reducing its human presence on the International Space Station from three regular crewmembers down to two, NASA officials confirmed Monday (Aug. 15).
  
  Read more

• Mars Space Station Could Pave Way for 1st Footsteps on Red Planet

  16-08-2016 19:35
  
  Humanity may camp out for a year or so in Mars orbit to get ready for its epic first trek to the Red Planet's surface. The aerospace company Lockheed Martin recently proposed that NASA work with its international partners and private industry to set up a space station in Mars orbit by 2028. The astronauts working and living aboard this "Mars Base Camp" could help collect information that any future Red Planet explorer would need to know, the project's developers say.
  
  Read more

• Live Webcast Helps Kids Spot Planetary 'High 5' Tonight: How to Watch

  16-08-2016 19:35
  
  Kids can celebrate a planetary "high five" tonight by tuning in to the online Slooh Community Observatory's special broadcast to show off the five naked-eye planets, starting today (Aug. 16) at 6 p.m. EDT (2200 GMT). Slooh will also show the view from its Constellation Cam for 3 hours beforehand. Slooh is partnering with "Time For Kids" magazine to talk about Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn and Jupiter, all of which are in the sky right now at the same time.
  
  Read more

• Female fish have a fail-safe for surprise sperm attacks

  16-08-2016 19:30
  
  A Mediterranean fish provides evidence that, even after laying their eggs, females can still influence who fertilizes them.
  
  Read more

• Analysis - Putin hints at war in Ukraine but may be seeking diplomatic edge

  16-08-2016 19:29
  By Andrew Osborn MOSCOW (Reuters) - Ukraine says it thinks Vladimir Putin is planning a new invasion, and it's not hard to see why: the Russian leader has built up troops on its border and resumed the hostile rhetoric that preceded his annexation of Crimea two years ago. "It's about sanctions," Andrey Kortunov, director general of the Russian International Affairs Council, a Moscow-based foreign policy think tank close to the Russian Foreign Ministry, told Reuters. "It looks like a way of increa
  
  Read more

• A rare photo from the first moon landing signed by the Apollo 11 crew could be yours

  16-08-2016 18:51
  
  The photo is expected to sell for up to £1,500 when it goes up for auction this weekend.
  
  Read more

• Did Hydrogen Peroxide Really Turn Olympic Pools Green? Not So Fast

  16-08-2016 18:48
  Olympic officials in Rio de Janeiro announced this past weekend that they had found out why the water in two pools turned bright green, but their explanation has at least one chemist scratching her head. The confusion comes down to an understanding of basic chemistry and swimming pool maintenance, said Susan Richardson, a professor of chemistry at the University of South Carolina and a former pool owner. On Saturday (Aug. 13), Olympic officials said they had definitely found out why the water in
  
  Read more

• 'Zombie' honeybees make first appearance in Canada

  16-08-2016 18:15 via cbc.ca
  
  Honeybees infected with deadly parasitic maggots that make them behave like zombies have been found in Canada for the first time.
  
  Read more

• Scientists discover blue flame that could be answer to cleaning up oil spills

  16-08-2016 17:35 via cbc.ca
  
  Scientists at the University of Maryland have discovered a 'blue whirl' — a pure blue flame that produces less pollution than a yellow flame when it's ignited over fuel.
  
  Read more

• Mesmerizing 'blue whirl' from fire tornado could be cleaner solution for oil spills

  16-08-2016 17:35 via cbc.ca
  
  Scientists at the University of Maryland have discovered a "blue whirl" — a pure blue flame that produces less pollution than a yellow flame when it's ignited over fuel.
  
  Read more

• Long-term study links neonicotinoids to wild bee declines

  16-08-2016 17:25
  
  LONDON (Reuters) - Wild bees that forage from oilseed rape crops treated with insecticides known as neonicotinoids are more likely to undergo long-term population declines than bees that forage from other sources, according to the findings of an 18-year study.
  
  Read more

• Bad Timing: Biological Clock Linked to Infections

  16-08-2016 17:03
  There are plenty of old wives' tales about what gets you sick — the myth about going out in the cold, for example — but new research in mice suggests that the time of day at which an infection starts up could play a role in how sick you get. Researchers found that, in mice that were infected with a virus in the morning, the virus replicated within the cells of those mice much more than it did in the mice that were infected with the same virus later in the day. The difference may be d
  
  Read more

• Kids' Behavior Linked to Moms' Acetaminophen Use During Pregnancy

  16-08-2016 17:02
  Women who take acetaminophen during pregnancy may be more likely to give birth to children who later develop behavioral problems, a new study from England finds. At two points in time during their pregnancy — at 18 weeks and again at 32 weeks — researchers asked women whether they had recently taken acetaminophen.
  
  Read more

• Brain Region Associated with Generosity Uncovered

  16-08-2016 17:02
  This particular brain region seems to makes some people quicker to learn empathy for others, the study found. "A specific part of the brain called the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex was the only part of the brain that was activated when [the person was] learning to help other people," study co-author Patricia Lockwood, an experimental psychologist at the University of Oxford in England, said in a statement. Previous research has shown that this same brain region is smaller in those sufferin
  
  Read more

• Wild bee population declines linked to crop pesticide banned by EU

  16-08-2016 17:01
  
  The pesticide is currently the subject of an EU-wide two-year ban.
  
  Read more

• Neonic pesticide link to long-term wild bee decline

  16-08-2016 17:01 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The large-scale, long-term decline in wild bees across England has been linked to the use of neonicotinoid insecticides by a new study.
  
  Read more

• 'Mediterranean Lifestyle' Linked to Lower Depression Risk

  16-08-2016 17:01
  It's not only the Mediterranean diet, but the whole "Mediterranean lifestyle" that can make a difference in your mental health, a new study from Spain found. People in the study who ate a diet rich in fruit and veggies, and who also exercised and socialized a lot were less likely to develop depression than those who didn't follow this type of lifestyle, the findings showed. Previous studies have shown a link between adhering to the Mediterranean diet or other healthy dietary patterns and a lower
  
  Read more

• Culham Science Centre nuclear experts fear quarry dust

  16-08-2016 16:48 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists carrying out international nuclear fusion work are concerned dust from a planned quarry could affect their experiments.
  
  Read more

• What's the Most Challenging Gymnastics Event, According to Physics?

  16-08-2016 16:25
  Fans of the Summer Olympics can't seem to get enough of American gymnast Simone Biles. Biles may make it look easy, but between all the different events that gymnasts have to master — from balance beam to the vault for women, and the pommel horse to the rings for men — what's the most challenging apparatus, according to science? For example, the physics of the pommel horse, an apparatus that male gymnasts must tackle, is easy to understand, said Jonas Contakos, a gymnastics coach wit
  
  Read more

• Genes that control toxin production in C. difficile ID’d

  16-08-2016 16:00
  
  Pinpointing the genes behind Clostridium difficile toxin production could help researchers disarm the superbug without killing “good” bacteria.
  
  Read more

• July smashes record for hottest month in recorded history

  16-08-2016 15:35 via cbc.ca
  
  Earth just broiled to its hottest month in recorded history, according to NASA.
  
  Read more

• Mind-Controlled Robo-Skeleton Enables Paraplegics to Regain Some Motion

  16-08-2016 15:30 via rss.sciam.com
  
  Researchers were surprised when brain–machine interfaces resulted in paralyzed patients’ recovery of long-lost sensation and muscle control
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
  Read more

• Search resumes for Nazi gold train that might not even exist

  16-08-2016 15:08
  
  WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Explorers in Poland began digging Tuesday for a legendary Nazi train said to be laden with treasure and armaments.
  
  Read more

• Yukon has a new lake, thanks to a retreating glacier

  16-08-2016 15:00 via cbc.ca
  
  The area around Kluane Lake continues to change, thanks to the Kaskawulsh glacier. Cultus Bay is now a small lake, separated from Kluane Lake by a wide gravel bar.
  
  Read more

• China launches world's 1st quantum satellite

  16-08-2016 15:00 via cbc.ca
  
  China on Tuesday launched the world's first quantum satellite, designed to help it establish "hack-proof" communications between space and the ground.
  
  Read more

• This impressive picture of a fire whirl in Colorado will leave you marveling at nature

  16-08-2016 14:15
  Damn weather, you scary.
  
  Read more

• Google launches Duo video calling app

  16-08-2016 14:12 via cbc.ca
  
  Google's video chatting app, dubbed Duo, has arrived. It's Google's response to other popular video calling options, including Apple's FaceTime, Microsoft's Skype and Facebook's Messenger app.
  
  Read more

• The NHS is testing a cannabis product

  16-08-2016 13:32
  
  And it could be the first step towards a “properly regulated cannabis market” in the UK.
  
  Read more

• Days after giving birth, giant panda wows Vienna zoo with twins

  16-08-2016 13:10
  Giant panda Yang Yang gave birth nine days ago and CCTV monitoring at Vienna's Schoenbrunn Zoo did not show her secret until late last week - she had not one but two cubs keeping warm between her massive paws. "It sounded as though two cubs were squealing, but we only ever saw one," zoo director, Dagmar Schratter, said in a statement on Tuesday. "On Friday, the zookeepers were first able to make out two of them on the screen." Yang Yang is being monitored by cameras in a private pen so as not to
  
  Read more

• Mic'd Up on Mars! 2020 Rover Will Capture Sounds of Red Planet

  16-08-2016 13:06
  
  If all goes according to plan, the touchdown of NASA's next Mars rover will be the most documented planetary landing in history. The space agency's 2020 Mars rover will carry special cameras and microphones to capture stunning views and sounds of its dramatic descent to the Red Planet's surface in 2021. These cameras "are going to produce some of the most exciting imagery I think a planetary mission has ever provided," said Mars 2020 rover deputy project manager Matthew Wallace, of NASA's Jet Pr
  
  Read more

• Gold-Medal Views! Incredible Images Show Rio Summer Olympics from Space

  16-08-2016 13:06
  
  The Maracanã Stadium, which housed the opening ceremony on Aug. 5 and will host the closing ceremony on Aug. 21, is one structure that is clearly visible in a video that brings together multiple images taken by the UrtheCast sensors.
  
  Read more

• Does an Earth-Like Alien Planet Orbit the Sun's Closest Neighbor?

  16-08-2016 13:05
  
  Astronomers have found a rocky and possibly Earth-like planet circling the star closest to the sun, according to the German magazine Der Spiegel. On Friday (Aug. 12), Der Spiegel reported that the European Southern Observatory's (ESO) La Silla Observatory in Chile had spotted evidence of a rocky, potentially habitable world orbiting Proxima Centauri, a small, dim star that lies just 4.25 light-years from the sun. Scientists with the ESO will announce the find later this month, according to Der S
  
  Read more

• Blue Origin's Sweet Spot: An Untapped Suborbital Market for Private Spaceflight

  16-08-2016 13:05
  
  With multiple flights of its New Shepard vehicle under its belt, Blue Origin is appraising the research market for scientific and technological experiments that can be lofted to suborbital space. Blue Origin is run by billionaire Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, who has adopted the motto "Gradatim Ferociter" — Latin for "step by step, ferociously" — for the Washington-based company.
  
  Read more

• Olympic Gold May Depend on the Brain's Reward Chemical

  16-08-2016 13:00 via rss.sciam.com
  
  A new study reveals that dopamine may help propel athletes into elite mode
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
  Read more

• China launches quantum-enabled satellite Micius

  16-08-2016 12:49 via bbc.co.uk
  
  China successfully launches its first quantum-enabled satellite, named after the ancient Chinese scientist and philosopher Micius.
  
  Read more

• Sweden still wants 'invasive species' ban on Canada-U.S. lobster

  16-08-2016 12:00 via cbc.ca
  
  The country argues a "precautionary approach" justifies its claim that the presence of North American lobsters in European waters constitutes an invasive species risk.
  
  Read more

• Astronomers prepare for 2017 solar eclipse spectacle

  16-08-2016 12:00
  
  With one year to go, researchers are making plans for studying both the sun and Earth during the August 2017 total solar eclipse.
  
  Read more

• Simulated black hole experiment backs Hawking prediction

  16-08-2016 11:25 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Results from a lab experiment have lent support to one of Stephen Hawking's most important predictions about black holes.
  
  Read more

• Myanmar's Suu Kyi heads to China with dam project clouding ties

  16-08-2016 10:47
  By Antoni Slodkowski and Aung Hla Tun YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi is heading to China on Wednesday for what is likely to be her government's biggest diplomatic test, with the fate of a suspended dam project, backed by China but opposed by many people in Myanmar, in the balance. Myanmar's former military rulers were shunned by the West and close to China, which has been on a diplomatic offensive since Suu Kyi's government came to power in April, aiming to forge good ties wi
  
  Read more

• Climate change sceptic versus Cox

  16-08-2016 10:29 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Professor Brian Cox has verbally sparred with a newly elected Australian politician Malcolm Roberts who believes climate change is a global conspiracy.
  
  Read more

• China Launches Quantum Satellite That Could Banish Hackers

  16-08-2016 10:25
  China has launched the world's first quantum satellite in the hopes of creating encrypted long-distance communications that are impossible to hack. The launch of Micius - named after a 5th Century BC Chinese scientist - took place in the early hours of Tuesday in the southwestern Gobi Desert, according to Xinhua, China's state news service. It will be used in experiments aimed at proving the viability of quantum technology to communicate over long distances.
  
  Read more

Follow @ScienceUKnews on Twitter!