Science news

• Astronaut Celebrates 100 Years of US National Parks...from Space (Photos)

  25-08-2016 23:49
  
  America's national parks offer some of the most incredible views of beautiful landscapes here on Earth — so imagine what these spectacular scenes look like from space. "Many of the large-scale parks are easily seen from the space station — their rugged beauty and unspoiled terrains reveal a geographical landscape as diverse as America itself," Williams said in his video.
  
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• Symmetry crucial for building key biomaterial collagen in the lab

  25-08-2016 23:23
  Functional human collagen has been impossible to create in the lab. Now, a team of researchers describes what may be the key to growing functional, natural collagen fibers outside of the body: symmetry.
  
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• Neuroscientists stand up for basic cell biology research

  25-08-2016 23:23
  Clinical trials and translational medicine have certainly given people hope and rapid pathways to cures for some of humankind's most troublesome diseases, but now is not the time to overlook the power of basic research, says a neuroscientist.
  
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• In sub-Saharan Africa, cancer can be an infectious disease

  25-08-2016 23:23
  In a new report, a researcher shows that mothers who contract malaria during pregnancy may have children with increased risk of Burkitt's lymphoma.
  
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• Fused genes found in esophageal cancer cells offer new clues on disease mechanisms

  25-08-2016 23:23
  Scientists have characterized structurally abnormal genes in esophageal adenocarcinoma, the findings of which could pave way for developing new biomarkers in this fatal disease, they say.
  
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• Solving a 48 year old mystery: Scientists grow noroviruses in human intestinal cell cultures

  25-08-2016 23:22
  For the first time, scientists have grown human noroviruses, the leading viral cause of acute diarrhea worldwide, in human intestinal cell cultures in the lab.
  
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• Rosetta Probe Gets Rare Close-Up of Comet Eruption (Video)

  25-08-2016 22:57
  
  Europe's Rosetta spacecraft has captured dramatic imagery of a comet outburst that may have been caused by a landslide on the icy body. The outburst occurred Feb. 19 on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, which Rosetta has been orbiting since August 2014. The spacecraft observed the eruption of gas and dust with nine of its 11 science instruments, from a distance of 21.7 miles (35 kilometers), European Space Agency (ESA) officials said.
  
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• Researchers find roots of modern humane treatment

  25-08-2016 22:20
  Researchers have traced the roots of humane medical practices to a pioneering French physician who treated people with deformities as humans instead of 'monsters,' as they were commonly called.
  
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• SpaceX Dragon Spacecraft Leaving Space Station Friday: Watch It Live

  25-08-2016 22:14
  
  Early Friday morning (Aug. 26), SpaceX's robotic Dragon cargo spaceship will separate from the International Space Station, ferrying essential science specimens on a nearly 6-hour journey back to Earth. You can watch the spacecraft leave the station live online on Space.com, courtesy of NASA TV. Afterward, in a deorbit burn and landing process that will not be aired on NASA TV, the uncrewed Dragon will move a safe distance away from the station, then fire its engines to head back to Earth at 10:
  
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• Why Did It Take So Long to Find Proxima b?

  25-08-2016 21:40
  
  Astronomers announced today (Aug. 24) that they've discovered an alien planet orbiting Proxima Centauri, a red dwarf just over 4 light-years away that is the nearest star to the sun. "I was looking exactly for this," said Michael Endl, an astronomer at the McDonald Observatory at the University of Texas at Austin. Endl, who was part of the discovery team, previously led a seven-year campaign in the early 2000s to look for planets with similar masses to Earth's in the so-called habitable zone aro
  
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• What's It Like On Our Neighbor, Proxima b?

  25-08-2016 21:40
  
  The newfound planet Proxima b is the closest planet outside our solar system ever discovered, and scientists think it might be amenable to life. The rest is up to probability and future measurements, but the results look promising — especially because of its 4.2 light-year distance from Earth at Proxima Centauri, the closest neighbor star to the sun. "It's not only the closest terrestrial planet found, it's probably the closest planet outside our solar system that will ever
  
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• Rare Sight! Venus and Jupiter Will Appear to Nearly Touch on Saturday

  25-08-2016 21:40
  
  Shortly after sunset, Venus and Jupiter will get so close to one another in the sky that, from some locations, they will appear to almost touch. At their closest approach, the two planets will be separated by less than one-eighth the width of the full moon. Space.com columnist and skywatching expert Joe Rao reported that different sources vary in their calculation for when Venus and Jupiter will reach their very closest approach: either 6 p.m. EDT (2200 GMT) or 6:31 p.m. EDT
  
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• U.S. Homeland Security investigating Leslie Jones website hack

  25-08-2016 21:23 via cbc.ca
  
  Department of Homeland Security investigators said Thursday they are investigating the hack of Leslie Jones' website that revealed several private details of the actress-comedian's life.
  
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• Manufacturing pharmaceutical and other valuable chemicals: Better decisions

  25-08-2016 21:20
  A new decision-making tool helps producers of pharmaceutical and other valuable chemicals make the leap to an entirely new way of manufacturing.
  
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• Admitting visible light, rejecting infrared heat

  25-08-2016 21:20
  The transparency of glass to visible light makes it the most common way to let light into a building. But because glass is also transparent to near-infrared radiation -- windows also let in heat, giving rise to the well-known greenhouse effect. A coating that blocks 90 per cent of the heat from sunlight could be used to develop smart windows, say scientists.
  
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• New study finds low transfer rates of pediatric burn patients in the United States

  25-08-2016 21:19
  Nearly 127,000 kids in the U.S had burn injuries in 2012, research shows. Over half or 69,000 of these children had burns that are considered significant injuries by the American Burn Association.
  
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• Baby simulator program may make teenage girls more, not less, likely to become pregnant

  25-08-2016 21:19
  A teenage pregnancy prevention program involving a baby simulator does not appear to have any long-term effect on reducing the risk of teenage pregnancy, according to the first randomized controlled trial to test the effectiveness of this intervention. In fact, the study found that teenage girls who took part were more, not less, likely to become pregnant compared to girls who did not take part.
  
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• Finding new targets to treat vascular damage

  25-08-2016 21:17
  There are no established drugs to improve angiogenesis in diabetes. However, researchers now have identified a gene called CITED2 in a molecular pathway that may offer targets for drugs that treat these conditions by strengthening angiogenesis.
  
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• X-raying the Earth with waves from stormy weather 'bombs'

  25-08-2016 21:16
  Using a detection network based in Japan, scientists have uncovered a rare type of deep-earth tremor that they attribute to a distant North Atlantic storm called a 'weather bomb.' The discovery marks the first time scientists have observed this particular tremor, known as an S wave microseism.
  
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• Vouchers help get health goods to those most in need

  25-08-2016 21:16
  Distributing health products through a simple voucher system is effective for screening out people who would otherwise accept but not use the free product, a study conducted in Kenya reports.
  
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• Finally, the brain sensor that turns down the heat

  25-08-2016 21:16
  At long last, researchers have zeroed in on the neurons that act as the brain's internal thermostat.
  
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• Face shape is in the genes

  25-08-2016 21:16
  Many of the characteristics that make up a person's face, such as nose size and face width, stem from specific genetic variations, reports a team of scientists.
  
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• Whirling fish disease found in Banff lake 1st in Canada, officials say

  25-08-2016 21:02 via cbc.ca
  
  The first known Canadian case of whirling disease in fish has been found in Johnson Lake in Banff National Park.
  
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• Whirling fish disease found in Banff area lake 1st in Canada, officials say

  25-08-2016 21:02 via cbc.ca
  
  The first known Canadian case of whirling disease in fish has been found in Johnson Lake in Banff National Park.
  
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• Whirling disease in fish found in Banff lake a 1st in Canada, officials say

  25-08-2016 21:02 via cbc.ca
  
  The first known Canadian case of whirling disease in fish has been found in Johnson Lake in Banff National Park.
  
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• Update your iPhone: Serious vulnerabilities revealed by spyware discovery

  25-08-2016 21:02 via cbc.ca
  
  A botched attempt to break into the iPhone of an Arab activist using hitherto unknown espionage software has triggered a global upgrade of Apple's mobile operating system, researchers said Thursday.
  
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• Apple boosts iPhone security after Mideast spyware discovery

  25-08-2016 21:02 via cbc.ca
  
  A botched attempt to break into the iPhone of an Arab activist using hitherto unknown espionage software has triggered a global upgrade of Apple's mobile operating system, researchers said Thursday.
  
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• Visits to Proxima Centauri’s planet are probably millennia away

  25-08-2016 21:00
  
  A trip to Proxima Centauri’s planet would take millennia, even with alpha particle propulsion.
  
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• WhatsApp is going to share your phone number with Facebook

  25-08-2016 20:45 via cbc.ca
  
  Global messaging service WhatsApp says it will start sharing the phone numbers of its users with Facebook, its parent company. That means WhatsApp users could soon start seeing more targeted ads and friend suggestions on Facebook.
  
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• Cool nerve cells help mice beat heat

  25-08-2016 20:11
  
  A new study pinpoints fever-busting cells in mice’s brains.
  
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• Wave-thumping ‘weather bomb’ storms send elusive S waves through Earth

  25-08-2016 20:00
  
  A rare type of deep-Earth tremor called an S wave generated by a rapidly strengthening storm could help scientists map the planet’s mantle and core.
  
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• A massive 'ghost' galaxy made of 99.99% dark matter has been discovered by astronomers

  25-08-2016 19:20
  
  Dark matter is one of the great unsolved mysteries of the universe.
  
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• Hundreds of displaced in Nigeria's northeast demand more food

  25-08-2016 18:59
  By Lanre Ola MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) - Hundreds of people displaced by a Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria's northeast staged a protest in the region's main city on Thursday to demand more aid, accusing officials of stealing food rations, witnesses said. The U.N. food program WFP last week warned that up to 5.5 million people in the volatile northeast might need food aid by next month as soaring inflation was pushing up food prices. The Nigerian army, backed by its neighbours, has retaken mo
  
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• Extinct 'lion' named after Attenborough

  25-08-2016 18:40 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A tiny marsupial lion, extinct for at least 18 million years, is named after Sir David Attenborough after fossilised remains are found in remote Australia.
  
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• Auction house to sell composite skeleton of a dodo bird

  25-08-2016 18:32
  
  The dodo bird is extinct — but one collector can now have their own dodo skeleton. Summers Place Auctions is selling what it describes as a rare composite skeleton of a dodo bird, a creature once found ...
  
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• Genes help snub-nosed monkeys live the high life

  25-08-2016 18:30
  
  Snub nosed monkeys have certain genetic variants that help them breathe easy in low oxygen.
  
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• Lyme bacteria swap ‘catch bonds’ to navigate blood vessels

  25-08-2016 18:01
  
  Lyme bacteria use same tricks as white blood cells to navigate blood stream.
  
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• Tanmay Bakshi, 12, spent his summer learning from IBM developers, and teaching them, too

  25-08-2016 18:00 via cbc.ca
  
  Tanmay Bakshi is not your average pre-teen. The 12-year-old is fluent in several programming languages and built his first app by the age of nine.
  
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• Something to Grapple with: How Wily Lyme Disease Prowls the Body

  25-08-2016 18:00 via rss.sciam.com
  
  The sneaky germ uses a mechanism like that of white blood cells to reach vulnerable tissues and hide from antibiotics
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Happy Anniversary, Voyager 2! NASA Probe Flew by Saturn 35 Years Ago

  25-08-2016 18:00
  
  Thirty-five years ago today, a NASA spacecraft got an up-close look at beautiful, enigmatic Saturn. The discoveries made by Voyager 2 — and by its twin, Voyager 1, which had flown past Saturn nine months earlier — reshaped scientists' understanding of the Saturn system and planted the seed for NASA's Cassini mission, which began orbiting the ringed planet in 2004, NASA officials said. "Saturn, like all of the planets the Voyagers visited, was full of exciting discoveries and sur
  
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• 'We didn't want to cry wolf,' Environment Canada says in defending late tornado warning

  25-08-2016 17:53 via cbc.ca
  
  Residents and a local politician are among those criticizing Environment Canada's tornado warning methodology after possibly two different twisters ripped through Windsor, Ont., and the neighbouring bedroom community of LaSalle on Wednesday night.
  
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• Rosetta space probe sees bright flares, landslide on comet

  25-08-2016 17:40
  
  BERLIN (AP) — The European Space Agency's Rosetta space probe has captured images of a bright burst of light on the comet it is orbiting, apparently caused by a landslide.
  
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• World's first self-driving taxis start taking passengers

  25-08-2016 17:16 via cbc.ca
  
  The world's first self-driving taxis will be picking up passengers in Singapore starting Thursday.
  
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• Iran minister defends encounter with U.S. warship

  25-08-2016 17:07
  Iran's defence minister said on Thursday four of his country's vessels accused of harassing a U.S. warship were only doing their job, and Tehran would contront any American ship that entered its waters. The vessels from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) conducted what a U.S. defence official described as a "high speed intercept" of the warship on Tuesday in the Strait of Hormuz. The official said two of the Iranian vessels came within 300 yards of the USS Nitze in an incident that
  
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• Computers refine epilepsy treatment

  25-08-2016 17:00
  
  Surgeons harnessed computers in 1966 to pinpoint source of epilepsy in the brain.
  
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• In Babies, Zika Can Linger for Months, Brazilian Case Suggests

  25-08-2016 16:44
  A baby in Brazil who became infected with Zika in the womb still had the virus in his body for months after he was born, according to a new report of the case. The baby's mother, who lived in São Paulo, showed symptoms of Zika when she was 26 weeks pregnant, according to the report, published today (Aug. 24) in the New England Journal of Medicine. This congenital condition can be caused by the Zika virus if a woman is infected during pregnancy.
  
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• How Do EpiPens Work?

  25-08-2016 16:42
  The price of EpiPens has increased more than 400 percent since 2007. People who need to keep them on hand — often because they may need the emergency drug in case they have a life-threatening allergic reaction — brought the price increase to light, and eventually it reached Congress: In a letter to Mylan, the company that makes EpiPens, Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa has now asked the company to explain its pricing. But how do EpiPens work?
  
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• America's No. 1 Killer Is Changing

  25-08-2016 16:41
  Cancer has passed heart disease as the leading cause of death in nearly half of U.S. states, according to a new report. In 2014, cancer was the leading cause of death in 22 states, including many in the West and Northeast. In the rest of the 28 states, heart disease remained the leading cause of death in 2014.
  
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• Weight-Loss Supplement May Induce Mania in Certain People

  25-08-2016 16:40
  The weight-loss supplement garcinia cambogia may have the unwanted side effect of inducing mania, which is a feeling of an abnormally high level of energy, agitation and euphoria, according to a recent report of three separate cases. Despite an increase in popularity in recent years, garcinia cambogia has not really been on psychiatrists' radar as a possible trigger of mania, said Dr. Brian Hendrickson, a psychiatry resident at New York Presbyterian Hospital and the lead author of the report. In
  
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• Surface water shifting around the Earth

  25-08-2016 16:24 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists have used satellite images to study how the water on the Earth's surface has changed over the last 30 years.
  
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