Science news

• Saudi-led coalition air strike kills at least 19 in Yemen -residents

  21-09-2016 23:46
  At least 19 civilians were killed on Wednesday when a Saudi-led coalition air strike hit a house in western Yemen, according to residents, medics and a local official. Fighter jets of an Arab alliance launched missiles on Wednesday at a presidential palace in the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah occupied by leaders of the Iran-allied Houthi militia, a resident told Reuters. A raid hit a house in a neighbourhood populated by workers adjacent to the palace killing 19 civilians and wounding dozens, ac
  
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• Kerry demands Russia, Syria ground warplanes to save truce

  21-09-2016 23:37
  By Michelle Nichols and Tom Perry UNITED NATIONS/BEIRUT (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry demanded on Wednesday that Russia and the Syrian government immediately halt flights over Syrian battle zones, in what he called a last chance to salvage a collapsing ceasefire and find a way "out of the carnage". An impassioned Kerry faced off with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the U.N. Security Council in New York, during a tense televised showdown, saying the bombing of an aid co
  
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• Biological 'dark matter' molecule plays surprise role in heart failure

  21-09-2016 23:19
  A molecule that appears to play a key role in the development of heart failure has been discovered by researchers. The scientists found that blocking the molecule, known as chaer, in animal studies prevented the animals from developing heart failure.
  
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• How can we make tomorrow's doctors healthier now?

  21-09-2016 23:09
  A randomized study aims to learn whether wearing activity trackers and incorporating physical activity education helps student-physicians improve their activity levels. Researchers say they're motivated by studies suggesting that physical activity habits of medical students influence how they treat and counsel patients after graduation.
  
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• Getting ahead of the 'curve' in magnetic study

  21-09-2016 23:09
  Scientists noticed that magnetic skyrmions – small electrically uncharged circular structures with a spiraling magnetic pattern – do get deflected by an applied current, much like a curveball gets deflected by airflow.
  
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• Drug may prevent, reduce progression of MS in mice

  21-09-2016 23:09
  The experimental drug laquinimod may prevent the development or reduce the progression of multiple sclerosis (MS) in mice, according to new research.
  
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• Working mothers most in need of social support are less likely to receive it

  21-09-2016 23:08
  A new study links nonstandard work schedules to weaker private safety nets, particularly for African-Americans, the less educated and those who don't work 9-to-5. However, there also is evidence that switching from a standard to a nonstandard schedule increases the safety net. These mixed results suggest that the working mothers most in need social support are the least likely to actually have access to it.
  
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• Twin jets pinpoint the heart of an active galaxy

  21-09-2016 23:01
  Two particle jets shoot out from the heart of active galaxy NGC 1052 at the speed of light, apparently originating in the vicinity of a massive black hole. Researchers have now measured the magnetic fields in this area. They observed the bright, very compact structure of just two light days in size using a global ensemble of millimeter-wavelength telescopes. The magnetic field value recorded at the event horizon of the black hole was between 0.02 and 8.3 tesla. The team concludes that the magnet
  
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• Russian 'lies' worse than Soviet era, Ukraine's Poroshenko tells U.N.

  21-09-2016 22:45
  By John Irish UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko made a scathing attack on neighbouring Russia on Wednesday, accusing it of "lies and manipulations" that even Soviet leaders at the height of the Cold War had not dared. Relations between Kiev and Moscow have never been worse since Russia annexed Crimea more than two years ago and Russian-backed separatist fighters subsequently took up arms against Ukrainian government forces in the east of the country. Poroshenko used
  
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• Greenland ice loss 40 trillion pounds bigger than thought

  21-09-2016 21:34
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Greenland is losing about 40 trillion pounds more ice a year than scientists had thought, according to a new study that used GPS to help estimate how much is melting.
  
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• Single exodus from Africa gave rise to today’s non-Africans

  21-09-2016 21:28
  
  Genetics and climate studies differ on when modern humans left Africa.
  
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• To Be or Not To Be? Monkeys Type Shakespeare Using Brain Waves

  21-09-2016 21:25
  
  Monkeys with brain implants are able to type out sections of the Shakespeare play "Hamlet," new research shows. What's more, the macaques are able to type at a relatively fast 12 words per minute, with fewer typos than past brain-computer interfaces. The new brain implants could one day improve communication for those who are almost completely paralyzed, such as the polymath Stephen Hawking.
  
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• Zuckerberg, Chan pledge $3B to cure and manage disease

  21-09-2016 21:21 via cbc.ca
  
  Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Dr. Priscilla Chan want to help eradicate all disease by the end of this century.
  
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• Mark Zuckerberg, Priscilla Chan pledge $3B to 'cure, prevent and manage' disease

  21-09-2016 21:21 via cbc.ca
  
  Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Dr. Priscilla Chan want to help eradicate all disease by the end of this century.
  
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• Modern Alligator Looks a Lot Like Its 8-Million-Year-Old Cousin

  21-09-2016 21:19
  Modern American alligators crawling around today in the swampy grounds of the Southeast U.S. don't look much different than their ancient ancestors did, recent research suggests. With the exception of sharks and a few other animal species, there are not many other living vertebrates that have changed as little as the gators have, the researchers said. "If we could step back in time 8 million years, you'd basically see the same animal crawling around then as you would see today in the Southeast,"
  
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• Mysterious Branch of Humanity Possibly Discovered

  21-09-2016 21:18
  
  A group of humans migrating out of Africa some 40,000 to 70,000 years ago mingled with an as-yet unknown branch of humanity, researchers say. Nearly everyone outside Africa descended from an exodus that occurred between 40,000 and 70,000 years ago, but recent archaeological findings and climate models suggest that migrations of modern humans from Africa began at least 100,000 years ago. One way to find out whether, in the past, modern humans dispersed from Africa in one wave or many — and
  
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• Earth Wobbles May Have Driven Ancient Humans Out of Africa

  21-09-2016 21:18
  
  Ancient human migrations out of Africa may have been driven by wobbles in Earth's orbit and tilt that led to dramatic swings in climate, a new study finds. Modern humans first appeared in Africa about 150,000 to 200,000 years ago. Recent archaeological and genetic findings suggest that migrations of modern humans out of Africa began at least 100,000 years ago, but most humans outside of Africa most likely descended from groups who left the continent more recently — between 40,000 and
  
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• Watch what happens when a 6-metre python swallows an entire antelope

  21-09-2016 21:09 via cbc.ca
  
  Ever been so full you couldn't move? If so, you'll probably relate to this rock python whose eyes were bigger than its stomach.
  
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• U.N. Leaders Plead for Immediate Action against Superbugs

  21-09-2016 20:30 via rss.sciam.com
  
  A United Nations meeting opens with a political agreement on antibiotic resistance
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• Digital rehab exposes Biblical roots of ancient Israeli scroll

  21-09-2016 20:00
  
  Virtual unwrapping reveals Biblical text on charred remains of ancient Israeli scroll.
  
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• 'Like breathing through a straw': British vets urge people to stop buying flat-faced dogs

  21-09-2016 19:39 via cbc.ca
  
  British Veterinary Association president, Sean Wensley, is trying to dissuade prospective dog owners from buying "flat-faced" breeds because the physical characteristics we find so adorable actually make the animals suffer.
  
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• Native Australian DNA reveals ancient interbreeding

  21-09-2016 19:38
  
  A study also suggests indigenous tribes from Australia and Papua New Guinea have one of the oldest human pedigrees on the planet.
  
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• Jack Garman, NASA Engineer Who 'Saved' Apollo 11 from Alarms, Dies at 72

  21-09-2016 19:37
  
  John "Jack" Garman, a NASA engineer whose knowledge of the computer aboard Apollo 11 saved the historic first lunar landing from a last-minute abort, died on Tuesday (Sept. 20). Garman's death came after a several year battle with bone marrow cancer, according to an email by his wife that was forwarded to the Johnson Space Center retiree community and then shared with collectSPACE.com. "Sad to hear of the passing of Jack Garman," Wayne Hale, a former flight director and shuttle program manager,
  
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• Orbital ATK Targets Mid-October Night Launch for Antares Rocket's Next Flight

  21-09-2016 19:23
  
  The commercial spaceflight company Orbital ATK is officially an Oct. 9 launch date for its first Antares rocket since a 2014 explosion, a return-to-flight mission that will deliver NASA cargo to the International Space Station. 
  
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• Human DNA tied mostly to single exodus from Africa long ago

  21-09-2016 19:10
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — The genetic ancestry of people living outside Africa can be traced almost completely to a single exodus of humans from that continent long ago, new studies suggest.
  
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• Kerry demands Russia, Syria ground warplanes to salvage ceasefire

  21-09-2016 18:54
  By Yara Bayoumy and Tom Perry UNITED NATIONS/BEIRUT (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry demanded on Wednesday that Russia and the Syrian government immediately halt flights over Syrian battle zones, in what he called a last chance to salvage a collapsing ceasefire and find a way "out of the carnage". An impassioned Kerry faced off with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the U.N. Security Council in New York, in an unusually heated televised showdown, saying the bombing of an a
  
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• Tesla updates software to improve radar in wake of Autopilot crash

  21-09-2016 18:51 via cbc.ca
  
  Tesla Motors customers will get enhanced radar and other features in an over-the-air software update that starts Wednesday night.
  
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• Gabon warns opposition against violence ahead of court ruling

  21-09-2016 18:24
  By Edward McAllister LIBREVILLE (Reuters) - Government officials in Gabon warned opposition leader Jean Ping on Wednesday that he risked arrest if renewed unrest erupts when the Constitutional Court rules on his challenge to last month's presidential election result. The government said six people died in riots that erupted this month when results from the Aug. 27 poll handed victory to incumbent President Ali Bongo by less than 6,000 votes, extending his family's half-century grip on power. Pin
  
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• Paris climate change deal passes key threshold

  21-09-2016 17:37 via cbc.ca
  
  Thirty-one countries formally joined the Paris Agreement today, bringing the total number of countries ratifying the treaty to 60 and raising hopes that it will enter into effect by the end of the year.
  
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• Science relies on work of young research standouts

  21-09-2016 17:12
  Editor in chief Eva Emerson discusses 10 up-and-coming researchers who will be answering science's biggest questions in the decades to come.
  
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• The SN 10: Meet the scientists making the next big discoveries

  21-09-2016 17:09
  
  Science News spotlights 10 rising scientists who will transform their research fields over the coming decades.
  
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• Phil Baran finds simple recipes for complex molecules

  21-09-2016 17:08
  
  Chemist Phil Baran draws on artistry and creativity to efficiently synthesize molecules that could improve people's lives.
  
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• Aneil Agrawal unites math and mess

  21-09-2016 17:08
  
  Evolutionary geneticist Aneil Agrawal is equally at home with real and hypothetical fruit flies.
  
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• Qian Chen makes matter come alive

  21-09-2016 17:07
  
  Materials scientist Qian Chen is coaxing nanomaterials to self-assemble in new and unexpected ways.
  
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• Jessica Cantlon seeks the origins of numerical thinking

  21-09-2016 17:07
  
  Cognitive neuroscientist Jessica Cantlon wants to find out how humans understand numbers and where that understanding comes from.
  
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• Lawrence David’s gut check gets personal

  21-09-2016 17:06
  
  Computational biologist Lawrence David regularly opens himself to new scientific challenges, including tracking his own microbiome.
  
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• Jeremy Freeman seeks to simplify complex brain science

  21-09-2016 17:05
  
  As a group leader at the Janelia Research Campus, Jeremy Freeman is equal parts neuroscientist, computer coder and data visualization whiz.
  
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• Anna Frebel digs a young universe

  21-09-2016 17:05
  
  Astronomer Anna Frebel has discovered record-breaking stars, including the most pristine in the galaxy.
  
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• Shayan Oveis Gharan finds the shortest route to success

  21-09-2016 17:04
  
  Theoretical computer scientist Shayan Oveis Gharan has identified connections between unrelated fields to tackle the traveling salesman problem.
  
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• Melissa Omand’s clever tech follows the fate of ocean carbon

  21-09-2016 17:04
  
  Drawn to the water early, oceanographer Melissa Omand now leads research cruises studying how carbon and nutrients move through the seas.
  
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• Tenio Popmintchev fits X-ray laser on a tabletop

  21-09-2016 17:03
  
  Laser physicist Tenio Popmintchev has created a Swiss-army-knife tool made of light.
  
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• How one scientist's gut microbes changed over a year

  21-09-2016 17:03
  
  Computational biologist Lawrence David chronicled changes in his gut microbes for a year.
  
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• So long, summer — tomorrow marks the 1st day of fall

  21-09-2016 17:00 via cbc.ca
  
  Even though it may not feel like it in parts of Canada, summer is officially coming to an end. Tomorrow is the first day of autumn.
  
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• Obama Guidelines Aim to Get More Self-Driving Cars on the Road

  21-09-2016 17:00 via rss.sciam.com
  
  The Department of Transportation tries to pave the way for autonomous vehicle technology, without relegating safety to the backseat
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Giant Green Space Blob Mystery Solved

  21-09-2016 16:50
  
  Two huge galaxies were observed in the blob's core, and they're surrounded by a swarm of smaller galaxies in what appears to be the birth of a massive cluster of galaxies. Astronomers spotted the blob's central galaxies using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and the Very Large Telescope at the European Southern Observatory in Chile. Further observations by the Hubble Space Telescope and the Keck Observatory in Hawaii revealed the swarm of small, faint galaxies surroun
  
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• Watching emotional films can raise your pain threshold, study shows

  21-09-2016 16:45
  
  Someone grab the tissues.
  
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• How a giant green space blob can teach us about the birth of galaxies

  21-09-2016 16:44 via cbc.ca
  
  Scientists believe they have figured out why a mysterious giant ball of gas in the distant universe glows so brightly, and the answers may help explain how galaxies are formed.
  
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• Astronomers unravel the mystery of the 'giant space blob'

  21-09-2016 16:44 via cbc.ca
  
  An international team of scientists has figured out why a giant ball of gas in a distant universe glows so brightly. More than a pretty light show, it may be indicative of the birth of a massive cluster of galaxies.
  
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• Could fitness trackers actually be bad for you?

  21-09-2016 16:21
  
  New research suggests wearable tech might not help you lose weight.
  
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• Climate deal comes one step closer to effect at United Nations

  21-09-2016 15:56
  By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - An agreement to fight global warming came one step closer to taking effect on Wednesday when dozens of countries deposited their ratification of the deal at the United Nations, taking the total to 60, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said. The deal, agreed by nearly 200 countries in Paris last December, needs ratification by at least 55 countries representing 55 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions to take effect. The United Nations said 14
  
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