Science news

• Scientists find deadly scrub typhus bacteria in South America

  07-09-2016 23:01
  
  LONDON (Reuters) - Scrub typhus, a deadly disease common in southeast Asia and spread by microscopic biting mites known as chiggers, has now taken hold in a part of South America and may have become endemic there, scientists said on Wednesday.
  
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• Proxima b deserves buzz, even if some didn’t notice

  07-09-2016 22:45
  Editor in chief Eva Emerson discusses Earth's newest potentially habitable neighbor.
  
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• Readers contemplate aging research

  07-09-2016 22:30
  Aging research, dino guts and Earth's quasisatellite in reader feedback.
  
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• Climate change blamed for collapse of Hawaiian forest birds

  07-09-2016 22:29
  
  HONOLULU (AP) — Native forest birds on the Hawaiian island of Kauai are rapidly dying off and facing the threat of extinction as climate change heats up their habitat and allows mosquito-borne diseases to thrive, according to a study released Wednesday.
  
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• Fish escapes from marine farms raise concerns about wildlife

  07-09-2016 22:12
  
  Farmed salmon, sea bass and other fish frequently escape from sea cages into the ocean. Will these runaways harm native wildlife?
  
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• A Bus-Size Asteroid Just Gave Earth a Close Shave

  07-09-2016 22:07
  
  The newfound asteroid, named 2016 RB1, is between 13 and 46 feet (4 to 14 meters) wide. According to NASA's Near Earth Object Program, RB1 zoomed past Earth at a relative speed of over 18,000 mph (8.13 km/s) and passed within 23,900 miles (38,463 kilometers) of the Earth's surface. The rock came particularly close to Earth's communication satellites, which orbit at an altitude of 22,300 miles (35,900 km).
  
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• New high-resolution Sony PlayStation 4 Pro console announced

  07-09-2016 21:34 via cbc.ca
  
  Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Andrew House announced the PlayStation 4 Pro, a more powerful version of its current gaming console at a media event Wednesday.
  
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• US clears way for cleanup of Colorado mine after huge spill

  07-09-2016 20:35
  DENVER (AP) — A Colorado mine that spilled 3 million gallons of contaminated wastewater into rivers in three Western states was designated a Superfund site Wednesday, clearing the way for a multimillion-dollar federal cleanup.
  
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• Can you solve this simple maths puzzle that has the internet completely baffled?

  07-09-2016 20:33
  
  A math problem that contains pictures of horses, horseshoes and cowboy boots should be easy, right?
  
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• Smartphone study on weather and pain reveals early data

  07-09-2016 20:24 via bbc.co.uk
  
  An 18-month study looking at how the weather affects chronic pain reveals some surprising preliminary results.
  
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• Asteroid Bennu getting first visitor in billions of years

  07-09-2016 20:23
  
  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — An asteroid that may hold the key to life is getting its first visitor in billions of years.
  
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• Nintendo's Super Mario coming to the new Apple iPhone

  07-09-2016 19:31 via cbc.ca
  
  The video game character Mario is coming to iPhones. CEO Tim Cook said the popular Japanese game had been missing until now.
  
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• New iPhone to be water resistant, dust-proof — and say goodbye to the headphone jack

  07-09-2016 19:31 via cbc.ca
  
  Apple's next iPhones will come without the analog headphone jack that's been standard on iPhones and most other electronic devices for years.
  
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• New iPhone 7 water resistant, dustproof — and say goodbye to the headphone jack

  07-09-2016 19:31 via cbc.ca
  
  Apple's next iPhones will come without the analog headphone jack that has been standard on iPhones and most other electronic devices for years — making room for dual speakers.
  
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• New iPhone 7 to be water resistant, dustproof — and say goodbye to the headphone jack

  07-09-2016 19:31 via cbc.ca
  
  Apple's next iPhones will come without the analog headphone jack that's been standard on iPhones and most other electronic devices for years.
  
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• New iPhone 7 to be water resistant, dust-proof — and say goodbye to the headphone jack

  07-09-2016 19:31 via cbc.ca
  
  Apple's next iPhones will come without the analog headphone jack that's been standard on iPhones and most other electronic devices for years.
  
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• How NASA Is Making 'Star Trek' Tech a Reality

  07-09-2016 19:02
  
  While the tech for warp drives and transporters remains elusive, NASA is using some technology in space that would be at home on the starship Enterprise. One key way NASA is emulating "Star Trek" is by finding ways for humans to spend years in space without requiring constant resupply missions from Earth, said Jason Crusan, NASA's director for advanced exploration systems. This means using the International Space Station as a test bed for technology that can extend an astronaut's stay in sp
  
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• Astronauts and 'Star Trek': How a TV Show Inspired Real Space Travelers

  07-09-2016 19:02
  
  Terry Virts was halfway through an International Space Station mission when the lifelong Trekkie received some sad news: Leonard Nimoy, who played the beloved Vulcan character Spock, had died at age 83. During a busy day on Feb. 28, 2015, Virts, an Expedition 42-43 spaceflyer, received an email with the news from a friend in NASA's astronaut office. Then inspiration struck while Virts was in the cupola, the International Space Station's seven-windowed room that provides constant views of Earth.
  
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• Touching an Asteroid: The Science Behind NASA's OSIRIS-REx Mission

  07-09-2016 19:01
  
  The Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft, launching tomorrow (Sept. 8), will explore the asteroid Bennu, searching for traces of the material that helped to build the sun and the early planets. Eventually, the spacecraft will return to Earth with a sample of the asteroid for scientists to analyze in exquisite depth. "Sample return is really at the forefront of scientific exploration," OSIRIS-REx principal investigator Dant
  
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• NASA Asteroid-Sampling Probe's Rocket Rolls Out to Launchpad (Photos)

  07-09-2016 19:01
  
  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA's OSIRIS-REx asteroid-sampling spacecraft is now on the launchpad, ready for its planned Thursday (Sept. 8) liftoff.
  
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• Preteen tetrapods identified by bone scans

  07-09-2016 19:00
  
  Roughly 360 million years ago, young tetrapods may have schooled together during prolonged years as juveniles in the water.
  
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• Asteroid to fly past Earth... 10 times nearer than the moon

  07-09-2016 18:40
  
  The asteroid 2016 RB1 will make an exceptionally close encounter with Earth.
  
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• NOAA: Global warming increased odds for Louisiana downpour

  07-09-2016 18:26
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Man-made climate change about doubled the chances for the type of heavy downpours that caused devastating Louisiana floods last month, a new federal study finds.
  
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• Gluten-Free Diets Surge in Popularity, Yet Celiac Rates Remain Stable

  07-09-2016 17:54
  Researchers found that between 2009 and 2014, the percentage of people in the U.S. with celiac disease remained steady, while the percentage of Americans without the condition who stick to a gluten-free diet rose steadily over the same period. Celiac disease is a disorder in which people can't digest gluten normally. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley and rye.
  
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• Pediatricians Issue New Flu Shot Recommendations for Kids

  07-09-2016 17:53
  
  Children ages 6 months and older should receive the flu vaccine by an injection this flu season, and should not get the nasal flu spray because it doesn't provide enough protection against the virus, according to new recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics. Research conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the nasal spray version of the flu vaccine did not protect children against certain strains of the flu virus that were among t
  
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• Driven to Drink: Brain Enzyme Linked to Alcohol Dependency

  07-09-2016 17:53
  
  The ability to resist drinking alcohol when the urge strikes may partly rely on a certain enzyme in the brain, and alcohol use and dependency may reduce the levels of this enzyme, a new study in rats finds. In the new study, researchers discovered that restricting the brain's production of an enzyme — called Prdm2 and found in the brain's frontal lobes — disrupted rats' impulse control. Although scientists have long suspected that brain activity in the frontal lobes was connected to
  
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• How to Help Shy Kids Without Harming Them

  07-09-2016 17:52
  Studies have linked behavioral inhibition in children — a trait referring not only to shyness but also to extreme caution about new situations — with an increased chance of developing anxiety disorders later. But psychologists and child development specialists have also come up with ways to support shy kids. The key, said Sandee McClowry, a psychologist at New York University, is to nudge children out of their comfort zones without trying to change their fundamental natures.
  
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• Nix Homework to Help Students? What the Science Says

  07-09-2016 17:51
  A Texas teacher's note to parents about her newly implemented "no formal homework policy" in her second-grade class went viral last week, opening up the floodgates for parents, teachers and school administrators to weigh in on this controversial topic. In the note, teacher Brandy Young told parents that her students' only homework would be work that they did not finish during the school day. Instead of having kids spend time on homework, parents should "spend your evenings doing things that are
  
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• Why NASA Picked Space Rock Bennu for Its Asteroid-Sampling Mission

  07-09-2016 17:34
  
  NASA had literally thousands of potential targets for its asteroid-sampling OSIRIS-REx mission, which is scheduled to launch Thursday (Sept. 8) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station here. "Bennu's size, primitive and carbon-rich composition and orbit make it one of the most fascinating and accessible asteroids, and that is why it was ultimately chosen as the target asteroid for the OSIRIS-REx mission," Christina Richey, OSIRIS-REx deputy program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington,
  
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• NASA to launch asteroid mission with ambitious goal: to learn the origins of life on Earth

  07-09-2016 17:00 via cbc.ca
  
  NASA will send a spacecraft barrelling towards an asteroid, in a seven-year round trip launching Thursday to scoop up and bring back samples from the rock’s surface.
  
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• An invasion of 200 billion daddy longlegs is on its way, experts warn

  07-09-2016 16:34
  
  Crane flies are set to hit our houses because of recent warm summer and rain.
  
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• Dust-sized 'fitbits' offer new way to monitor the body from within

  07-09-2016 16:16 via cbc.ca
  
  Scientists are developing dust-sized wireless sensors implanted inside the body to track neural activity in real time, offering a potential new way to monitor or treat a range of conditions, including epilepsy and control next-generation prosthetics.
  
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• New 'Gel' May Be Step Toward Clothing That Computes

  07-09-2016 15:51
  
  A gel-like material that can carry out pattern recognition could be a major step toward "materials that compute," with possible applications for "smart" clothing or sensing skins for robots, according to a new study. Recent advances in both materials and computer science have prompted researchers to look beyond standard silicon-based electronics and exploit the inherent properties of materials to create systems where the material itself is the computer. Now, a team from the University of Pittsbu
  
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• Jurassic ichthyosaur dubbed ‘Storr Lochs Monster’ unveiled

  07-09-2016 15:26
  
  A rare, 170-year-old skeleton discovered in Scotland is one of the best-preserved ichthyosaur fossils from the Middle Jurassic.
  
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• Double Eclipse! Earth and Moon Cross in Front of Sun (Photo)

  07-09-2016 15:13
  
  A NASA satellite captured a far-out view last week when the moon and the Earth passed in front of the sun simultaneously. The double eclipse was captured by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), a satellite designed to monitor the sun and its atmosphere. The SDO is in geosynchronous orbit above a ground station in New Mexico, to which the satellite transmits its data.
  
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• Giant Panda Is No Longer Endangered Species

  07-09-2016 15:08
  
  The giant panda, commonly a symbol for conservation, is no longer considered an endangered species, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). A nationwide census in 2014 found 1,864 giant pandas in the wild in China, excluding cubs — an increase from 1,596 in 2004, according to the IUCN.
  
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• Ontario uilities company starts using drones for inspections, maintenance

  07-09-2016 15:07 via cbc.ca
  
  EnWin has received a standing Special Flight Operations Certificate from Transport Canada, and is now fully licensed to employ the technology for infrastructure assessment and inspection, the publicly owned utility announced.
  
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• World's Largest Gorilla Species at Risk of Extinction

  07-09-2016 15:02
  
  The population of the world's largest ape has collapsed over the last two decades. Officials from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) announced Sunday (Sept. 4) that they're raising the threatened status of the Grauer's gorilla from "endangered" to "critically endangered," the highest category before extinction. "Critical endangered status will raise the profile of this gorilla subspecies and bring attention to its plight," Andrew Plumptre, the lead author of the new listin
  
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• Samsung releases Canadian details of smartphone recall for overheated batteries

  07-09-2016 14:59 via cbc.ca
  
  Samsung has released Canadian details for the 10-country recall of 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7 smartphones, following reports that some of their batteries have exploded or caught fire.
  
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• Superbug Explosion Triggers U.N. General Assembly Meeting

  07-09-2016 14:30 via rss.sciam.com
  
  Antibiotic resistance has grown so dire that it will be the subject of a dedicated global summit later this month
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Solar tuk-tuk journey halted by robbery in France

  07-09-2016 14:15 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A seven-month solo journey from India to the UK in a solar and electric-powered tuk-tuk has been paused after the driver's passport was stolen near Paris.
  
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• Proxima b: Is There Alien Life Just 'Down the Block,' or Even Closer?

  07-09-2016 14:00
  
  Leroy Chiao served as a NASA astronaut from 1990-2005. During his 15-year career, he flew four missions into space, three times on space shuttles and once as the co-pilot of a Russian Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station. Chiao has performed six spacewalks, in both U.S. and Russian spacesuits, and has logged nearly 230 days in space. You can read more of Chiao's Expert Voices Op-Eds and film reviews on his Space.com landing page.
  
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• Superheroes for Science: Marvel Comic Book Covers Promote STEAM Fields

  07-09-2016 13:59
  
  Marvel Entertainment is kicking off the new school year with a special release of new comic book covers that promote science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM) while featuring five of its favorite, classic superhero characters. The comics will hit the shelves of comic book shops in November. Marvel's STEAM variants include re-creations of its classic characters and superheroes. Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur appear on the science cover peering at the cosmos through a dino hea
  
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• Leonard Nimoy's Deadly Disease Focus of New Documentary Trailer

  07-09-2016 13:59
  
  The declining health of Leonard Nimoy — the famous "Star Trek" actor who played Spock in the original series and died at age 83 in February 2015 — comes into sharp focus in a new trailer for "Highly Illogical: A Special Tribute to Leonard Nimoy," a documentary about the disease that killed him. Nimoy died of complications of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which occurs when the lungs are chronically inflamed and the patient finds it hard to breathe. In a new trailer for
  
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• Adventure's End: Space Center Houston Removing Mock Shuttle Nose

  07-09-2016 13:59
  
  For almost 25 years, visitors entering Space Center Houston have been greeted by the sight of a space shuttle emerging from between two doors. The shuttle mockup, or at least the orbiter's nose-section protruding from a façade designed to look like NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building in Florida, gave the public in Texas a chance to see the sheer size of the spacecraft's crew cabin, inside and out.
  
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• Nigerian army says arrests Avengers leader, other militants

  07-09-2016 13:16
  Nigeria's military said on Wednesday it had arrested a suspected leader of the Niger Delta Avengers militant group and other men accused of attacking oil and gas infrastructure. Soldiers, backed up by the air force and security officers, detained Isaac Romeo with two other men over the weekend in Calabar, the capital of Cross River state in the Delta region, the military said.
  
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• Moose minds of the world visit Manitoba, where Bullwinkle is 'in deep trouble'

  07-09-2016 13:15 via cbc.ca
  
  Moose aren’t doing well in most parts of the province and are in “deep trouble,” Manitoba Wildlife Federation managing director Rob Olson says.
  
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• 'An issue around the world': Arctic microplastics study hopes to 'not see much at all'

  07-09-2016 13:01 via cbc.ca
  
  Researchers with the Vancouver Aquarium are collecting water samples from four Arctic regions to determine just how far microplastics have reached into Canada’s Arctic.
  
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• Microbial matter comes out of the dark

  07-09-2016 13:00
  
  Undiscovered bacteria challenge what scientists know about microbial life.
  
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• Is Apple's innovation era over? Headphone jack uproar may be telling

  07-09-2016 11:00 via cbc.ca
  
  Apple will unveil its latest iPhones today, and the biggest buzz out there is over the fate of the headphone jack — a sign that the company's salad days of world-changing products may soon be a thing of the past.
  
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