Science news

• Ways to beat heat have hidden costs for birds

  22-08-2016 23:16
  
  Birds that look as if they’re coping with heat waves and climate change may actually be on a downward slide, with underappreciated disadvantages of panting and seeking shade.
  
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• Like Humans, Chimps Reward Cooperation and Punish Freeloaders

  22-08-2016 21:05 via rss.sciam.com
  
  Recent research challenges the notion that our closest animal relatives don’t like working as a team
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• Shocking find! Electricity helps trap invasive blood-sucking lampreys in Great Lakes

  22-08-2016 20:47 via cbc.ca
  
  Researchers with the Great Lakes Fishery Commission say they’ve found another effective weapon in the fight against the blood-sucking sea lamprey — electricity.
  
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• Salmon rescuers to blast rock to help fish spawn in Seymour River

  22-08-2016 20:40 via cbc.ca
  
  The Seymour River Salmonid Society will be drilling and blasting the debris from a 2014 rockslide that has prevented salmon from spawning properly on the Seymour River.
  
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• U of S vaccine could save millions of pigs and millions of dollars

  22-08-2016 20:08 via cbc.ca
  
  Field testing is underway, but it appears researchers at the University of Saskatchewan have developed a vaccine to combat a virus that has killed millions of pigs and cost the industry hundreds of millions.
  
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• Windows 10 anniversary update disables users' webcams

  22-08-2016 19:51 via cbc.ca
  
  Windows users are complaining that Skype and other apps that require a webcam are no longer working, thanks to a major Windows 10 update earlier this month. And Microsoft says a fix isn't expected until September.
  
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• No more Skype? Windows 10 update disables users' webcams

  22-08-2016 19:51 via cbc.ca
  
  Windows users are complaining that Skype and other apps that require a webcam are no longer working, thanks to a major Windows 10 update earlier this month. And Microsoft says a fix isn't expected until September.
  
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• DNA from these 200-year-old pigtails could shine new light on one of history's great stories

  22-08-2016 19:37
  
  Thank goodness hair fashion was so different in the 18th century…
  
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• Glass Half Empty? Why You May Be Less Optimistic Than You Think

  22-08-2016 18:19
  The studies that have suggested that people tend to be inherently optimistic may have had flawed methods of measuring this so-called "optimism bias," the researchers said. Optimism bias, for example, is thought to occur in people who are told their statistical chance of experiencing a bad life event such as cancer. "Previous studies, which have used flawed methodologies to claim that people are optimistic across all situations and that this bias is 'normal,' are now in serious doubt," Adam Harri
  
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• 'RNA World': Scientists Inch Closer to Recreating Primordial Life

  22-08-2016 17:48
  
  Scientists studying the origin of life think that the first molecules to replicate themselves — the very first living things — lived in what is called "RNA world." The RNA world hypothesis says that before there was DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, there was RNA (ribonucleic acid) serving as a kind of primitive genetic material and simple enzymes. This is simpler than the protein-based chemistry that governs life today, in which the genetic material and enzymes are separate. In the new
  
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• Smartphone-Connected Contact Lenses Give New Meaning to 'Eye Phone'

  22-08-2016 17:47
  Apps allow you to link your smartphone to anything from your shoes, to your jewelry, to your doorbell — and soon, you may be able to add your contact lenses to that list. Engineers at the University of Washington have developed an innovative way of communicating that would allow medical aids such as contact lenses and brain implants to send signals to smartphones. The new tech, called "interscatter communication," works by converting Bluetooth signals into Wi-Fi signals, the engineers wrot
  
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• 500-Year-Old Hidden Images Revealed in Mexican 'Manuscript'

  22-08-2016 17:45
  
  Storytelling images on a deer-hide "manuscript" from Mexico have been seen for the first time in 500 years, thanks to sophisticated scanning technology that penetrated layers of chalk and plaster. This "codex," a type of book-like text, originated in the part of Mexico that is now Oaxaca, and is one of only 20 surviving codices that were made in the Americas prior to the arrival of Europeans. Other Mexican codices recovered from this period contained colorful pictographs — images that repr
  
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• The weird mating habits of daddy longlegs

  22-08-2016 17:00
  
  Scientists studying the sex lives of daddy longlegs are finding there’s a lot of diversity among this group of arachnids.
  
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• Crab not seen in Devon for 30 years has been found living near Plymouth coastline

  22-08-2016 16:10
  
  St Piran’s crab suffered a decline in population because of rising pollution and sea temperatures.
  
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• Country split by weather as parts of north put on flood alert while the south sizzles in the heat

  22-08-2016 15:56
  The Environment Agency currently has 19 flood alerts in place across the north west.
  
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• Mystery stone structure under Neolithic dump on Orkney

  22-08-2016 15:42 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Archaeologists have uncovered a mysterious stone structure buried under what they describe as Scotland's "largest Neolithic rubbish dump".
  
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• Drones caught delivering phones, drugs to U.K. prison

  22-08-2016 15:23 via cbc.ca
  
  Police have recovered two drones carrying mobile phones and drugs near London’s Pentonville prison and have set up a special task force — Operation Airborne — to catch offenders trying to get contraband into the facility.
  
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• Historian traces rise of celebrity hominid fossils

  22-08-2016 15:00
  
  In Seven Skeletons, Lydia Pyne explores the cultural histories of the most iconic fossil figures in human evolution.
  
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• Maker Movement Turns Scientists into Tinkerers

  22-08-2016 14:45 via rss.sciam.com
  
  Researchers in growing numbers are starting to enlist do-it-yourself 3-D printers, cheap electronics, sensors and more to advance their work 
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• Scotland's Ancient Stone Circles Built to Align with Solstice Sun

  22-08-2016 14:13
  
  Scientists have statistically proven that two 5,000-year-old stone circles located on islands in Scotland have a series of astronomical alignments that ancient builders intentionally created. The circles also align with the moon during a "major lunar standstill," an event that happens once every 18.6 years. During a major lunar standstill (the next one will occur in 2025), the moon can move through the sky at points that appear very high or very lowon the horizon.
  
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• Earth's Oldest Oceanic Crust Uncovered in Mediterranean Sea

  22-08-2016 14:12
  The Mediterranean Sea is home to what could be the world's oldest oceanic crust, an undisturbed section of Earth's outermost shell that scientists say is about 340 million years old. Most oceanic crust is less than 200 million years old, because it is typically recycled back into the Earth's mantle at subduction zones (where two tectonic plates collide). In the new study, researchers used magnetic sensing equipment to profile areasof the eastern Mediterranean.
  
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• Vast Space Voids Help Fill in the Blanks of Cosmic Mysteries

  22-08-2016 13:58
  
  By analyzing the giant voids of the cosmos, scientists now have more precise maps of matter in the universe, a new study finds. This strategy of looking at what's not there (as opposed to what's actually present) might help solve cosmic mysteries such as the nature of dark matter and dark energy, and whether or not extra forces of the universe exist, scientists added. This pattern of voids and clusters, strings and sheets of galaxies originated with fluctuations in the density of matter when the
  
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• This Martian Landscape Looks Like the American Desert

  22-08-2016 13:58
  
  NASA's Curiosity Rover took this panorama on Aug. 5, the fourth anniversary of its nail-biting landing on the Red Planet. The view is comprised of more than 130 images taken by the rover's Mast Camera (Mastcam), according to a statement from NASA. The region was named after planetary scientist Bruce Murray, a former director of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), who passed away in 2013.
  
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• Mistaken Identity: Ancient Supernova Explosion Gets New Backstory

  22-08-2016 13:58
  
  New data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory revealed that dense clouds of gas lie between Earth and the supernova remnant G11.2-0.3. When a star reaches the end of its life, it creates a bright stellar explosion, also known as a supernova. The cloud of gas and debris left behind from this stellar event forms what is called a supernova remnant, like G11.2-.03.
  
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• Spider silk helps creates microscope superlens

  22-08-2016 13:27 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Spider silk is used to create a superlens for a microscope, allowing Bangor University scientists to view objects previously deemed "invisible".
  
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• Lack of nutrients stalled rebound of marine life post-Permian extinction

  22-08-2016 13:00
  
  Warm sea surface temperatures slowed the nitrogen cycle in Earth’s oceans and delayed the recovery of life following the Permian extinction, researchers propose.
  
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• NASA's Mars Rover Captures Stunning Vista Of Red Planet

  22-08-2016 12:54
  NASA has released a stunning 360-degree image of the surface of Mars, letting you feel like you're standing on the surface of the red planet. The vista was captured by the Curiosity rover on 5 August, and shows a flat desert-like foreground with hills and jagged mountains beyond. NASA says the dark, elevated flatlands to the left of Curiosity's robotic arm are about 15m (50ft) high, and stand about 90m from the rover's position.
  
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• The best ink job in ancient Egypt: Elaborately tattooed mummy brings archeologists to tears

  22-08-2016 11:54 via cbc.ca
  
  A Quebec researcher is celebrating the discovery of an intricate collection of tattoos found on the mummified body of a woman who lived more than 3,300 years ago. The markings are the first on a mummy from dynastic Egypt to show actual objects.
  
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• Ark-shaped museum to show evolutionary crossroads in Israel

  22-08-2016 11:45
  TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Legions of insects, sea creatures and ancient fossils are lining up in a new museum shaped liked a giant Noah's Ark, telling the story of a crucial evolutionary byway across Israel. Experts say all humans and other animals had to pass through Israel on their first journey out of Africa into Europe and Asia. Around five million specimens will go on show from next year in the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, based on Tel Aviv University campus and named after its main bac
  
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• World's most efficient AES crypto processing technology for IoT devices developed

  22-08-2016 06:00
  
  (Tohoku University) Our research group has discovered a new technique for compressing the computations of encryption and decryption operations known as Galois field arithmetic operations, and has succeeded in developing the world's most efficient Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) cryptographic processing circuit, whose energy consumption is reduced by more than 50% of the current level.
  
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• World's biggest telescope meets world's second fastest supercomputer

  22-08-2016 06:00
  
  (International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research) A prototype part of the software system to manage data from the Square Kilometre Array telescope has run on the world's second fastest supercomputer in China.The complete system, currently being designed by an international consortium, will process raw observations of distant stars and galaxies and turn them into a form that can be analyzed by astronomers around the world.
  
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• Why prisons continue to grow, even when crime declines

  22-08-2016 06:00
  
  (Ohio State University) A new study may help explain why the number of people in prison in the United States continued to rise, even as the crime rate declined significantly. Using data from Minnesota, an Ohio State University sociologist found that the US criminal justice system continues to feel the reverberations from the increase in violent crime and imprisonment that occurred from the 1960s to the early 1990s.
  
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• UA biomedical engineer sheds light on the mysteries of vision

  22-08-2016 06:00
  
  (University of Arizona College of Engineering) University of Arizona biomedical engineer Erika Eggers examines how eyes adapt to light and retinal signaling pathways that may lead to blindness in people with diabetes, with $2.8 million from the National Science Foundation and National Eye Institute.
  
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• Syracuse, Cal State Fullerton awarded grant to enhance diversity in astrophysics

  22-08-2016 06:00
  
  (Syracuse University) The five-year project is called 'Catching a New Wave: The CSUF-Syracuse Partnership for Inclusion of Underrepresented Groups in Gravitational-Wave Astronomy.' Sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the project aims to increase the representation of Hispanic and Latino/a students, populations traditionally underrepresented in the study and teaching of astronomy and physics.Starting this fall, 'Catching a New Wave' will fund multiple three-year fellowships, enabl
  
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• Survey finds vast majority of Americans think US is divided over values and politics

  22-08-2016 06:00
  
  (NORC at the University of Chicago) Americans see their country as deeply divided over values and politics -- a gap they do not expect to diminish any time soon, according to a new survey conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. But the survey also finds that most Americans report agreement on important values among members of their local communities.
  
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• Survey finds deep concerns among young people of color about crim justice and gun violence

  22-08-2016 06:00
  
  (NORC at the University of Chicago) A new survey released today highlights how race and ethnicity shape the opinions of the country's most diverse generation by exploring the most critical and timely political, social, and economic issues impacting the United States.
  
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• Sub-Saharan Africans satisfied with their sex lives, with 18 percent rating them a perfect 10

  22-08-2016 06:00
  
  (American Sociological Association) People in Africa's Sub-Sahara region, a relatively undeveloped area, are generally satisfied with their sex lives, with the most common rating --reported by 18 percent of respondents -- being a perfect '10,' according to Baylor University research.
  
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• Sub-Saharan Africans satisfied with their sex lives; 18 percent rate them a perfect 10

  22-08-2016 06:00
  
  (Baylor University) People in Africa's Sub-Sahara region, a relatively undeveloped area, are generally satisfied with their sex lives, with the most common rating --reported by 18 percent of survey respondents -- being a perfect '10,' according to Baylor University research to be presented Monday at the 111th Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association.
  
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• Study suggests ways to improved immunity in older people

  22-08-2016 06:00
  
  (University of Oxford) Researchers use new experimental models and analytical tools to investigate genes regulated by Foxn1, becoming the first to identify the DNA sequence bound by the transcription factor. Among the hundreds of genes whose expression is regulated by Foxn1 are genes essential to attract precursor cells in the blood to the thymus, that commit precursor cells to become T cells, and that provide the molecular machinery which allows T cell selection to best serve an individual.
  
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• Study sheds light on how to reduce fracture risk in elderly

  22-08-2016 06:00
  
  (The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy & Clinical Practice) Fragility fractures are a significant source of sickness and death among the elderly population in the United States. They are also associated with annual direct costs of over $16 billion.A team of researchers from The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy looked at whether there was an opportunity to reduce exposure to prescription drugs associated with fracture risk among one high-risk group -- older adults who have already ex
  
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• Strong external governance makes top managers more prone to cheat

  22-08-2016 06:00
  
  (Rice University) When top-level managers find governance mechanisms too coercive, they're more likely to commit fraud, according to a new paper by strategic management experts at Rice University's Jones Graduate School of Business, Auburn University's Harbert College of Business and Indiana University's Kelley School of Business.
  
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• Socioeconomic factors -- not race or ethnicity -- influence survival of younger patients with multiple myeloma

  22-08-2016 06:00
  
  (Wiley) Advances in the treatment of multiple myeloma, a cancer that forms in a type of white blood cell, have led to improved survival predominantly among young and white patients, with less of an increase in survival observed in patients of other ethnicities. A new study indicates that this gap is mostly due to socioeconomic differences between whites and ethnic minorities, not race itself. The findings are published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Societ
  
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• Sleep makes relearning faster and longer-lasting

  22-08-2016 06:00
  
  (Association for Psychological Science) Getting some sleep in between study sessions may make it easier to recall what you studied and relearn what you've forgotten, even six months later, according to new findings from Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
  
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• Sick animals limit disease transmission by isolating themselves from their peers

  22-08-2016 06:00
  
  (University of Zurich) Sick wild house mice spend time away from their social groups, leading to a decrease in their potential for disease transmission according to a new study by evolutionary biologists from the University of Zurich in collaboration with the ETH Zurich. The results can improve models focused on predicting the spread of infectious diseases like influenza or Ebola in humans.
  
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• Scientists challenge recommendation that men with more muscle need more protein

  22-08-2016 06:00
  
  (University of Stirling) Sports nutrition recommendations may undergo a significant shift after research from the University of Stirling has found individuals with more muscle mass do not need more protein after resistance exercise.
  
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• Researchers reduce expensive noble metals for fuel cell reactions

  22-08-2016 06:00
  
  (Washington State University) Washington State University researchers have developed a novel nanomaterial that could improve the performance and lower the costs of fuel cells by using fewer precious metals like platinum or palladium.
  
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• Researchers investigate environmental movements and neoliberalism

  22-08-2016 06:00
  
  (University of Kansas) Recent dynamics of global environmentalism, ranging from indigenous people's rights to the reliance on non-governmental organizations, have been marked by a resurgence in environmental movements that more aggressively resist natural resource extraction, according to two University of Kansas researchers.
  
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• Religious actions convey pro-social intent, finds study

  22-08-2016 06:00
  
  (Santa Fe Institute) A new study suggests that people who participate in regular religious acts send a clear signal to others that they're ready and willing to contribute to their communities.Eleanor Power, a Santa Fe Institute researcher, spent two years in southern India collecting evidence on religious involvement and community standing. Her observations support a theory which predicts that people will pay a price in time, money, or even physical pain to demonstrate something to others.
  
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• Ramen noodles supplanting cigarettes as currency among prisoners

  22-08-2016 06:00
  
  (American Sociological Association) Ramen noodles are supplanting the once popular cigarettes as a form of currency among state prisoners, but not in response to bans on tobacco products within prison systems, finds a new study.
  
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• Protecting plain tobacco packaging against industry influence

  22-08-2016 06:00
  
  (Canadian Medical Association Journal) Canada's public consultation on plain packaging for tobacco requires strict guidelines to protect against interference by the tobacco industry, and media must also be wary, according to a commentary in CMAJ.
  
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