Science news

• Lava lake visible atop Hawaii's Kilauea volcano

  11-09-2016 22:57
  The U.S. Geological Survey says a lake of lava has come into view atop Hawaii's Kilauea volcano, and a burst of seismic activity has shaken the summit in recent days.
  
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• Hepatitis A Outbreak: How Does a Virus Get into Strawberries?

  11-09-2016 21:07
  Berries of all types are actually a common conduit for viruses, said Benjamin Chapman, a food-safety specialist and an associate professor at North Carolina State University. One of the reasons for this is that berries are very delicate, and so unlike other, hardier fruits and vegetables, berries need to be harvested by hand, Chapman told Live Science. Because hepatitis A is spread through the "fecal-to-oral route," if workers picking berries were infected with hepatitis A and had not properly w
  
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• Leprosy Suspected in 2 California Kids: How Could They Contract It?

  11-09-2016 21:05
  
  Two schoolchildren in California are suspected of having leprosy, but where might they have caught the disease? This week, officials in Riverside Country (which is near Los Angeles) said they are investigating the suspected cases of leprosy, now usually called Hansen's disease, at an elementary school in the area. Nursing staff at the school first notified officials about the possible infections on Sept. 2, but it will take several weeks to confirm them, according to the Los Angeles Times.
  
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• What is space archeology, anyway?

  11-09-2016 16:31 via cbc.ca
  
  A pioneer in the field of space archeology explains her field of expertise - and no, it doesn't involve aliens.
  
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• Biologist stumbles upon 2 winged 'beasts' new to Manitoba

  11-09-2016 12:00 via cbc.ca
  
  A Winnipeg biologist has had not one, but two chance encounters with winged insect critters this summer that aren't supposed to be in Manitoba.
  
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• P.E.I. community in danger of going underwater due to climate change

  11-09-2016 11:00 via cbc.ca
  
  Lennox Island, a small First Nations community in Prince Edward Island, is beginning to disappear amid the rising waters of the Atlantic Ocean, having already lost 200 acres of land in a single generation
  
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• 'Cuteness culture' in space: Why we turn inanimate spacecraft into lovable explorers

  11-09-2016 11:00 via cbc.ca
  
  They have names and personalities, they go on exciting journeys, and we're sad when they die. Our tendency to give spacecraft human characteristics can be beneficial for science outreach, but it can distract us from ethical questions around space exploration.
  
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• WWI babies whose fathers were killed in action have shortened adult life expectancies

  11-09-2016 06:00
  
  (European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology) French children born between 1914 and 1916 whose fathers were killed or severely injured during the war lost approximately one year of adult life expectancy, according to research presented today at the 55th Annual Meeting of the European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology. The findings further our understanding of the long-term effects of maternal psychological stress on children.
  
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• One-pot synthesis towards sulfur-based organic semiconductors

  11-09-2016 06:00
  
  (Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (ITbM), Nagoya University) Thiophene-fused polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are known to be useful as organic semiconductors due to their high charge transport properties. Scientists at Nagoya University have developed a short route to form various thiophene-fused PAHs by simply heating mono-functionalized PAHs with sulfur. This new method is expected to contribute towards the efficient development of novel thiophene-based electronic materials.
  
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• Samsung urges consumers to 'immediately' stop using Galaxy Note 7 smartphone

  11-09-2016 04:23 via cbc.ca
  
  Samsung Electronics is urging consumers worldwide to stop using Galaxy Note 7 smartphones immediately and exchange them as soon as possible, as more reports of the phones catching fire emerged even after the company's global recall.
  
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• Drug Use in America: What the Numbers Say

  11-09-2016 02:56
  Among those with a substance use disorder, three out of four people (or about 15.7 million) had a substance use disorder related to alcohol, Kana Enomoto, the principal deputy administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), said at a news conference today (Sept. 8). In addition, 1 in 3 people with a substance use disorder had a disorder related to drug use, and 1 in 8 people had a disorder involving both drugs and alcohol, Enomoto said. For the report, th
  
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• Hospitals Jack Up Costs 'Strategically,' Study Finds

  11-09-2016 02:55
  Researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore found that many hospitals charged more than 20 times the cost of some services, particularly for certain services like CT scans and anesthesiology. "Hospitals apparently mark up higher in the departments with more complex services, because it is more difficult for patients to compare prices in these departments," Ge Bai, who led the study and is an assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, said in a statement. Other high-
  
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• Irregular Heartbeat May Have Wide-Ranging Effects in the Body

  11-09-2016 02:54
  
  The effects of an irregular heartbeat can ripple across the entire body, a new meta-analysis finds. The particular type of irregular heartbeat that researchers looked at, called atrial fibrillation, is a well-known cause of strokes, but the condition also increases a person's risk for complications such as heart failure, kidney disease and dying of heart disease, according to the meta-analysis. In the study, published Sept. 6 in the journal The BMJ, researchers analyzed 104 studies that included
  
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• Alcohol Dependence Can Be Reversed, Rat Study Suggests

  11-09-2016 02:54
  A specific group of brain cells appears to drive excessive alcohol drinking, and targeting these cells may reverses alcohol dependence, at least in rats, a new study finds. In the study, the researchers trained rats how to self-administer alcohol out of a chamber, and caused some rats to become dependent on alcohol. They found that inactivating these brain cells caused the rats to completely cease their compulsive drinking.
  
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• Group votes to urge countries to end domestic ivory trade

  11-09-2016 02:41
  
  HONOLULU (AP) — An international environmental group voted Saturday to call on every country to shut down domestic ivory markets that threaten elephants.
  
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• On the trail of Vikings: Latest search for Norse in North America

  11-09-2016 02:30 via cbc.ca
  
  An archeological dig for traces of the Vikings in southwestern Newfoundland this summer has been equal parts hope and heartbreak for an international team of experts.
  
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