Science news

• Specific trauma experiences contribute to women's alcohol use, differs by race

  22-09-2016 23:46
  Trauma exposure has consistently been reported as a risk factor for alcohol use and related problems. Further, racial differences in alcohol use, alcohol use disorder (AUD), and trauma exposure between European American (EA) and African American (AA) women have been reported previously. This study sought to identify racial differences in alcohol involvement, and to examine the risk conferred by specific trauma exposures and PTSD for different stages of alcohol involvement in EA and AA women.
  
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• Older adults with long-term alcohol dependence lose neurocognitive abilities

  22-09-2016 23:46
  Heavy drinking can lead to neurophysiological and cognitive changes ranging from disrupted sleep to more serious neurotoxic effects. Aging can also contribute to cognitive decline. Several studies on the interaction of current heavy drinking and aging have had varied results. This study sought to elucidate the relations among age, heavy drinking, and neurocognitive function.
  
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• Hard-headed: prehistoric Texas reptile boasted bony domed skull

  22-09-2016 22:58
  
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a warm, lush region of West Texas crisscrossed with rivers, a bizarre reptile roamed the Triassic Period landscape about 228 million years ago, boasting a bony domed head unlike almost any creature that ever appeared on Earth.
  
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• YouTube Heroes program seeks crowdsourced moderation, but panned as censorship

  22-09-2016 22:47 via cbc.ca
  
  YouTube is looking for 'heroes' to help moderate its content and comments sections, but early feedback has been overwhelmingly negative with users describing it as crowdsourced censorship.
  
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• Alien Planet Has 2 Suns Instead of 1, Hubble Telescope Reveals

  22-09-2016 22:45
  
  Astronomers have done just that, announcing today (Sept. 22) that they have spotted a planet orbiting two stars instead of one, as previously thought, using the Hubble Space Telescope. When one star passes in front of the other from our perspective on Earth, gravity from the closer star bends and magnifies the light coming from the star in the background. The exoplanet in this study, named OGLE-2007-BLG-349, is located 8,000 light-years from Earth toward the center of the Milky Way.
  
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• Anti-Muslim 'bias' shown towards asylum seekers in Europe, study suggests

  22-09-2016 22:36
  
  Humanitarian and economic concerns were also impacted preferences.
  
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• How your morning brew could help clean contaminated water

  22-09-2016 22:28 via cbc.ca
  
  A new study suggests an unconventional use for the millions of tonnes of used coffee grounds we throw out every day — pulling lead out of contaminated drinking water.
  
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• Resonance in Rainbow Bridge

  22-09-2016 22:12
  Utah's iconic Rainbow Bridge hums with natural and human-made vibrations, according to a new study. The study characterizes the different ways the bridge vibrates and what frequencies and energy sources cause the rock structure to resonate. The vibrations are small, according to a geology and geophysics professor, but the study provides a baseline measure of the bridge's structural integrity and shows how human activities can rattle solid rock.
  
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• 100 million prescription opioids go unused each year following wisdom teeth removal, study estimates

  22-09-2016 22:12
  More than half of opioids prescribed to patients following surgical tooth extraction – such as the removal of impacted wisdom teeth – were left unused by patients, research shows. The authors say the surplus is troubling given the ongoing opioid epidemic and evidence showing that individuals who abuse prescription opioids often use leftover pills that were prescribed for friends or family members.
  
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• Why the controversial science of cold fusion is getting hot again

  22-09-2016 22:02 via cbc.ca
  
  Mention cold fusion to physicists and expect to get laughed out of the room. The technology was thought to have been debunked in the 1980s - but new interest from the U.S. government is heating things up.
  
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• Why Apple may be kicking the tires on the hottest 'supercar' company in the world

  22-09-2016 21:56 via cbc.ca
  
  British supercar company McLaren has denied a report that tech giant Apple is considering buying the company to kick-start its automotive ambitions.
  
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• Four rare white lions cubs born in Poland

  22-09-2016 21:50 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Four rare white lion cubs have been born in a zoo in Poland.
  
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• Gabon constitutional court starts hearing on disputed election

  22-09-2016 21:38
  Gabon's Constitutional Court began hearing arguments on Thursday in advance of its ruling on an election that opposition leader Jean Ping said was rigged to give President Ali Bongo victory. The election has drawn unwelcome scrutiny on Bongo, whose family has ruled the oil-producing country for almost half a century. France has called for a recount and the European Union questioned the integrity of the results.
  
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• Pioneering California physicist dies; built important tool

  22-09-2016 21:33
  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A pioneering physicist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has died.
  
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• Yahoo confirms 500 million email accounts hacked in 2014

  22-09-2016 21:28 via cbc.ca
  
  A "state-sponsored" hacker managed to steal access to half a billion Yahoo email accounts in 2014, the company admitted Thursday.
  
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• Fracking causes earthquakes, but new research finds way to make it safer

  22-09-2016 21:06
  Injecting wastewater deep underground as a byproduct of oil and gas extraction techniques that include fracking causes human-made earthquakes, new research has found. The study, which also showed that the risk can be mitigated, has the potential to transform oil and gas industry practices.
  
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• Satellite Radar May Help Predict Human-Caused Earthquakes

  22-09-2016 21:00 via rss.sciam.com
  
  Ground that deforms above wells where wastewater is injected could be a telltale sign of trouble to come
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• [Working Life] Managing my fear of missing out

  22-09-2016 20:48
  Author: Shane M. Hanlon
  
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• [This Week in Science] Unfolded in vivo

  22-09-2016 20:48
  Author: Guy Riddihough
  
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• [This Week in Science] Stemming MRSA-induced pneumonia

  22-09-2016 20:48
  Author: Orla M. Smith
  
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• [This Week in Science] Services for successful adaptation

  22-09-2016 20:48
  Author: Julia Fahrenkamp-Uppenbrink
  
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• [This Week in Science] Seeing the disorder in the ordered

  22-09-2016 20:48
  Author: Marc S. Lavine
  
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• [This Week in Science] Rapidly reducing graphene oxide

  22-09-2016 20:48
  Author: Phil Szuromi
  
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• [This Week in Science] Protective liquid motions

  22-09-2016 20:48
  Author: Phil Szuromi
  
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• [This Week in Science] Oxygen deficit

  22-09-2016 20:48
  Author: H. Jesse Smith
  
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• [This Week in Science] Microbes teach tolerance in the gut

  22-09-2016 20:48
  Author: Kristen L. Mueller
  
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• [This Week in Science] Less storage sinks soil models

  22-09-2016 20:48
  Author: H. Jesse Smith
  
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• [This Week in Science] Keeping the spliceosome in check

  22-09-2016 20:48
  Author: Valda Vinson
  
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• [This Week in Science] How brain neurons turn down the heat

  22-09-2016 20:48
  Author: L. Bryan Ray
  
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• [This Week in Science] Genetic convergence to the extreme

  22-09-2016 20:48
  Author: Laura M. Zahn
  
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• [This Week in Science] G proteins diverge and conquer

  22-09-2016 20:48
  Author: Annalisa VanHook
  
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• [This Week in Science] Finding the weak spots of subduction

  22-09-2016 20:48
  Author: Brent Grocholski
  
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• [This Week in Science] Diversity in neotropical dry forests

  22-09-2016 20:48
  Author: Andrew M. Sugden
  
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• [This Week in Science] Cultured guts combat gastroenteritis

  22-09-2016 20:48
  Author: Caroline Ash
  
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• [This Week in Science] Catching earthquakes from the sky

  22-09-2016 20:48
  Author: Brent Grocholski
  
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• [This Week in Science] A global genetic interaction network

  22-09-2016 20:48
  Author: Laura M. Zahn
  
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• [This Week in Science] A change in the wind

  22-09-2016 20:48
  Author: H. Jesse Smith
  
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• [Review] Atomic electron tomography: 3D structures without crystals

  22-09-2016 20:48
  Crystallography has been fundamental to the development of many fields of science over the last century. However, much of our modern science and technology relies on materials with defects and disorders, and their three-dimensional (3D) atomic structures are not accessible to crystallography. One method capable of addressing this major challenge is atomic electron tomography. By combining advanced electron microscopes and detectors with powerful data analysis and tomographic reconstruction algor
  
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• [Research Article] The TRPM2 channel is a hypothalamic heat sensor that limits fever and can drive hypothermia

  22-09-2016 20:48
  Body temperature homeostasis is critical for survival and requires precise regulation by the nervous system. The hypothalamus serves as the principal thermostat that detects and regulates internal temperature. We demonstrate that the ion channel TRPM2 [of the transient receptor potential (TRP) channel family] is a temperature sensor in a subpopulation of hypothalamic neurons. TRPM2 limits the fever response and may detect increased temperatures to prevent overheating. Furthermore, chemogenetic a
  
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• [Research Article] RNA G-quadruplexes are globally unfolded in eukaryotic cells and depleted in bacteria

  22-09-2016 20:48
  In vitro, some RNAs can form stable four-stranded structures known as G-quadruplexes. Although RNA G-quadruplexes have been implicated in posttranscriptional gene regulation and diseases, direct evidence for their formation in cells has been lacking. Here, we identified thousands of mammalian RNA regions that can fold into G-quadruplexes in vitro, but in contrast to previous assumptions, these regions were overwhelmingly unfolded in cells. Model RNA G-quadruplexes that were unfolded in eukaryoti
  
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• [Research Article] Replication of human noroviruses in stem cell–derived human enteroids

  22-09-2016 20:48
  The major barrier to research and development of effective interventions for human noroviruses (HuNoVs) has been the lack of a robust and reproducible in vitro cultivation system. HuNoVs are the leading cause of gastroenteritis worldwide. We report the successful cultivation of multiple HuNoV strains in enterocytes in stem cell–derived, nontransformed human intestinal enteroid monolayer cultures. Bile, a critical factor of the intestinal milieu, is required for strain-dependent HuNoV replicati
  
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• [Research Article] Plant diversity patterns in neotropical dry forests and their conservation implications

  22-09-2016 20:48
  Seasonally dry tropical forests are distributed across Latin America and the Caribbean and are highly threatened, with less than 10% of their original extent remaining in many countries. Using 835 inventories covering 4660 species of woody plants, we show marked floristic turnover among inventories and regions, which may be higher than in other neotropical biomes, such as savanna. Such high floristic turnover indicates that numerous conservation areas across many countries will be needed to prot
  
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• [Research Article] Molecular architecture of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae activated spliceosome

  22-09-2016 20:48
  The activated spliceosome (Bact) is in a catalytically inactive state and is remodeled into a catalytically active machine by the RNA helicase Prp2, but the mechanism is unclear. Here, we describe a 3D electron cryomicroscopy structure of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Bact complex at 5.8-angstrom resolution. Our model reveals that in Bact, the catalytic U2/U6 RNA-Prp8 ribonucleoprotein core is already established, and the 5′ splice site (ss) is oriented for step 1 catalysis but occluded by prot
  
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• [Research Article] A global genetic interaction network maps a wiring diagram of cellular function

  22-09-2016 20:48
  We generated a global genetic interaction network for Saccharomyces cerevisiae, constructing more than 23 million double mutants, identifying about 550,000 negative and about 350,000 positive genetic interactions. This comprehensive network maps genetic interactions for essential gene pairs, highlighting essential genes as densely connected hubs. Genetic interaction profiles enabled assembly of a hierarchical model of cell function, including modules corresponding to protein complexes and pathwa
  
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• [Report] Tomography reveals buoyant asthenosphere accumulating beneath the Juan de Fuca plate

  22-09-2016 20:48
  The boundary between Earth’s strong lithospheric plates and the underlying mantle asthenosphere corresponds to an abrupt seismic velocity decrease and electrical conductivity increase with depth, perhaps indicating a thin, weak layer that may strongly influence plate motion dynamics. The behavior of such a layer at subduction zones remains unexplored. We present a tomographic model, derived from on- and offshore seismic experiments, that reveals a strong low-velocity feature beneath the subduc
  
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• [Report] Surface uplift and time-dependent seismic hazard due to fluid injection in eastern Texas

  22-09-2016 20:48
  Observations that unequivocally link seismicity and wastewater injection are scarce. Here we show that wastewater injection in eastern Texas causes uplift, detectable in radar interferometric data up to >8 kilometers from the wells. Using measurements of uplift, reported injection data, and a poroelastic model, we computed the crustal strain and pore pressure. We infer that an increase of >1 megapascal in pore pressure in rocks with low compressibility triggers earthquakes, including the 4
  
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• [Report] Screening in crystalline liquids protects energetic carriers in hybrid perovskites

  22-09-2016 20:48
  Hybrid lead halide perovskites exhibit carrier properties that resemble those of pristine nonpolar semiconductors despite static and dynamic disorder, but how carriers are protected from efficient scattering with charged defects and optical phonons is unknown. Here, we reveal the carrier protection mechanism by comparing three single-crystal lead bromide perovskites: CH3NH3PbBr3, CH(NH2)2PbBr3, and CsPbBr3. We observed hot fluorescence emission from energetic carriers with ~102-picosecond lifeti
  
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• [Report] Radiocarbon constraints imply reduced carbon uptake by soils during the 21st century

  22-09-2016 20:48
  Soil is the largest terrestrial carbon reservoir and may influence the sign and magnitude of carbon cycle–climate feedbacks. Many Earth system models (ESMs) estimate a significant soil carbon sink by 2100, yet the underlying carbon dynamics determining this response have not been systematically tested against observations. We used 14C data from 157 globally distributed soil profiles sampled to 1-meter depth to show that ESMs underestimated the mean age of soil carbon by a factor of more than s
  
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• [Report] High-quality graphene via microwave reduction of solution-exfoliated graphene oxide

  22-09-2016 20:48
  Efficient exfoliation of graphite in solutions to obtain high-quality graphene flakes is desirable for printable electronics, catalysis, energy storage, and composites. Graphite oxide with large lateral dimensions has an exfoliation yield of ~100%, but it has not been possible to completely remove the oxygen functional groups so that the reduced form of graphene oxide (GO; reduced form: rGO) remains a highly disordered material. Here we report a simple, rapid method to reduce GO into pristine gr
  
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• [Report] Convergent local adaptation to climate in distantly related conifers

  22-09-2016 20:48
  When confronted with an adaptive challenge, such as extreme temperature, closely related species frequently evolve similar phenotypes using the same genes. Although such repeated evolution is thought to be less likely in highly polygenic traits and distantly related species, this has not been tested at the genome scale. We performed a population genomic study of convergent local adaptation among two distantly related species, lodgepole pine and interior spruce. We identified a suite of 47 genes,
  
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