Science news

• Plan unveiled to protect vast swath of Western US sagebrush

  31-10-2016 23:52
  BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Federal officials on Monday released an ambitious wildfire-fighting and restoration plan to protect a wide swath of sagebrush country in much of the West that supports cattle ranching and is home to an imperiled bird.
  
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• People who use Facebook live longer, study finds

  31-10-2016 22:31 via cbc.ca
  
  Study after study has shown that people who have strong social connections live longer — but is the same true for folks who are well-connected online? New research says yes.
  
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• U.N. says tank shell hits its Aleppo office

  31-10-2016 22:30
  GENEVA (Reuters) - A tank shell hit the United Nations office in western Aleppo on Sunday, damaging the top floors of a building that is well known to be the U.N. base in the contested Syrian city, a U.N. statement said on Monday. “It is appalling that the building that houses the U.N. offices was directly targeted," the top U.N. official in Syria, Ali Al-Za’tari, said in a statement. “We strongly condemn the increased violence in all of Aleppo, east and west, which has resulte
  
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• Wetland archaeological sites at risk

  31-10-2016 22:23 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Archaeological remains at wetland sites across the world could be at risk of being degraded and lost to environmental change, say scientists.
  
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• Standing Rock protesters worry police watching Facebook check-ins

  31-10-2016 22:10 via cbc.ca
  
  Protesters of the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota believe that police are using Facebook to track who is at the camp, which is near the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe reservation.
  
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• Feds release plan to protect Western sagebrush country

  31-10-2016 22:05
  BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Federal officials on Monday released an ambitious wildfire-fighting and restoration plan to protect a wide swath of sagebrush country in the intermountain West that supports cattle ranching and is home to an imperiled bird.
  
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• Spooky new fungal disease on southern golf courses unmasked

  31-10-2016 21:51
  A downright spooky fungus has southern golfers teed off. But now the culprit has been identified, and a treatment has been found.
  
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• Brain regulates social behavior differently in males and females, study reveals

  31-10-2016 21:51
  The brain regulates social behavior differently in males and females, according to a new study. A team of researchers has discovered that serotonin (5-HT) and arginine-vasopressin (AVP) act in opposite ways in males and females to influence aggression and dominance. Because dominance and aggressiveness have been linked to stress resistance, these findings may influence the development of more effective gender-specific treatment strategies for stress-related neuropsychiatric disorders.
  
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• Study blames low 2015 Western snowpack on high temperatures

  31-10-2016 21:29
  SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — The western United States set records for low winter snowpack levels in 2015, and a new report blames high temperatures rather than low precipitation levels, according to a new study.
  
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• Deadly Measles Complication More Common Than Doctors Thought

  31-10-2016 21:26
  
  A deadly complication of the measles, which can occur years after a person is infected with the virus, is more common than researchers previously thought, according to a new study. The complication, called subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), is a progressive neurological disorder that involves inflammation in the brain. People with SSPE die, on average, within one or two years of being diagnosed with the disease.
  
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• Happy Birthday, JPL! Pioneering Rocket, Exploration Lab Turns 80

  31-10-2016 21:21
  
  NASA's hub of planetary exploration just turned 80 years old. Those 3 seconds helped launch the space age: The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) was born that day, more than 20 years before NASA came into existence. JPL engineers helped master the rocket technology that has fueled the American space program, and today the facility is NASA's leading center for the robotic exploration of deep space.
  
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• Canary Islands selected as alternate giant telescope site

  31-10-2016 21:14
  HONOLULU (AP) — The nonprofit organization that wants to build a giant telescope atop a Hawaii mountain has selected another site in case it can't be built on land many Native Hawaiians consider sacred.
  
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• Newly discovered California millipede is (almost) all legs

  31-10-2016 21:12
  SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK, California (AP) — What has 414 legs and four ways to procreate? Until recently, nothing. Or so it was thought.
  
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• Raising 'good cholesterol' not as effective as lowering 'bad cholesterol'

  31-10-2016 21:04
  Low and very high levels of HDL, or “good cholesterol” are associated with a higher risk of dying from heart disease, cancer and other causes, according to a study. The findings from the first of its kind study suggest that a low level of good cholesterol may not be a heart disease risk factor on its own and that raising HDL does not likely reduce a person’s risk of heart disease.
  
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• No horrors for trick-or-treaters with the warmest Halloween on record

  31-10-2016 19:51
  
  Temperatures were significantly higher than the UK average on the last day of October.
  
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• Oceans 'absolutely choked' by plastic bottles and microplastic fibres

  31-10-2016 19:30 via cbc.ca
  
  Our oceans are choking from plastic water bottles washing up on the beach to tiny microplastic fibres beneath the sea. It's not clear what the long-term effects will be. The Current explores the efforts to haul tons of plastic off Vancouver's west coast.
  
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• US approves 2 types of genetically engineered potatoes

  31-10-2016 19:18
  
  The U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved commercial planting of two types of potatoes that are genetically engineered to resist the pathogen that caused the Irish potato famine. The approval announced ...
  
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• Backers of Paris climate pact play down Trump threat to deal as election looms

  31-10-2016 19:06
  By Alister Doyle OSLO (Reuters) - Backers of a global accord to fight climate change that formally comes into force on Friday say they are confident the deal can survive any legal challenges by U.S. Republican candidate Donald Trump if he wins next week's presidential election. Trump has threatened to reject the accord negotiated by nearly 200 governments, including that of U.S. President Barack Obama. Trump once tweeted that global warming was a concept invented by the Chinese to harm U.S. indu
  
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• 'Bionic' plants can detect explosives

  31-10-2016 18:52 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists have transformed the humble spinach plant into a bomb detector.
  
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• New treatment leaves liver cancer cells in limbo

  31-10-2016 18:38
  Scientists have shown that a mutation in a gene called Arid1b can cause liver cancer. The gene normally protects against cancer by limiting cell growth, but when mutated it allows cells to grow uncontrollably. The researchers have shown that two existing drugs can halt this growth in human cells. This points to a new approach to treating liver cancer, say researchers.
  
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• Targeting the host to get rid of unwanted guests

  31-10-2016 18:37
  A new approach has been developed to combat diseases caused by herpesvirus infections, including everything from cold sores to cancer.
  
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• Ladybird invasion

  31-10-2016 18:18 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The last weekend of October sees ladybirds swarm public spaces, people's homes and ex-footballers.
  
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• Catalog of known near-Earth asteroids tops 15,000

  31-10-2016 17:59
  The number of discovered near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) now tops 15,000, with an average of 30 new discoveries added each week. The number of discovered near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) now tops 15,000, with an average of 30 new discoveries added each week. This milestone marks a 50 percent increase in the number of known NEAs since 2013, when discoveries reached 10,000 in August of that year. Surveys funded by NASA's Near Earth Object (NEO) Observations Program (NEOs include both asteroids and comets)
  
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• Weakness is good when controlling light

  31-10-2016 17:52
  Researchers have demonstrated a way to control light with light using one third — in some cases, even less — of the energy typically required. The advancement, coupled with other developments, could lead to more powerful, energy-efficient computer chips.
  
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• This new technology could prevent a leading cause of death

  31-10-2016 17:52
  Sepsis can kill a person in two days. Normal methods of detecting sepsis take at least that long. But researchers have found a new way to significantly reduce that detection time, giving medical professionals more time to treat the patient.
  
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• New study suggests way to slow skin fibrosis in scleroderma

  31-10-2016 17:50
  A possible mechanism behind the fibrosis that occurs in scleroderma has now been identified, a mechanism, researchers say, that may one day lead to a treatment for the disease.
  
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• Making sense of the senses: 'Context' matters when the brain interprets sounds

  31-10-2016 17:50
  The brain's interpretation of sound is influenced by cues from other senses, explaining more precisely how we interpret what we hear at a particular moment, according to a report.
  
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• First-in-human of new polymer-free stent demonstrates favorable angiographic, imaging-based outcomes at nine-months

  31-10-2016 17:50
  A first-in-human study of a new polymer-free drug-filled stent, which provides controlled drug elution from an internal lumen, indicated non-inferior in-stent late lumen loss at nine-months compared with historical zotarolimus-eluting stent (Resolute) data. In addition, there was no binary restenosis, and a high degree of early stent strut coverage with minimal malapposition.
  
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• Acupuncture lowers hypertension by activating opioids, study finds

  31-10-2016 17:50
  Regular electroacupunture treatment can lower hypertension by increasing the release of a kind of opioid in the brainstem region that controls blood pressure, investigators have found.
  
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• Artificial muscles show more flex

  31-10-2016 17:49
  Artificial muscles made significant gains when a literal twist in the development approach uncovered the tensile or stretchy abilities of polymer fibers once they were twisted and coiled into a spring-like geometry. In a similar manner to the powerful climbing tendrils of cucumber plants, the unique geometry gives the coil a flexing motion when fiber material shrinks a reaction that can be controlled with heat. Now, researchers have improved these tensile properties even further by focusing on t
  
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• Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson sued again over Uptown Funk

  31-10-2016 17:07
  US electro funk band Collage is suing Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson for allegedly copying parts of its song for use in their 2014 hit track Uptown Funk. The complaint, obtained by Pitchfork, was filed against the pop duo for "deliberately and clearly" copying their 1983 single Young Girls. Sony Music Entertainment, Warner/Chappell Music, Atlantic Records, RCA Records and others are listed alongside Mars and Ronson in the lawsuit.
  
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• Zika ravages testes of mice; study raises concern about men

  31-10-2016 17:06
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — Zika virus ravages the testes of male mice, sharply reducing sperm counts and fertility, says a study that raises a new specter about its threat to people.
  
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• Study: Drilling may have caused deadly 1933 California quake

  31-10-2016 17:03
  LOS ANGELES (AP) — New research suggests oil drilling decades ago may have triggered earthquakes in the Los Angeles region, including the 1933 quake that killed more than 100 people.
  
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• Violent, Vaporizing Impact May Explain Moon's Mysterious Tilt

  31-10-2016 17:01
  
  The mysterious tilt of the moon's orbit might come from an angled, giant impact that vaporized most of the early Earth, creating the moon in the process, a new study finds. Oddly, the moon's orbit is slightly inclined compared to Earth's orbit around the sun, by about 5 degrees. Until now, scientists could not reconcile the moon's tilt with the leading theory of how the moon formed.
  
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• Oil Production Could Have Caused Century-Old California Earthquakes

  31-10-2016 17:00 via rss.sciam.com
  
  If so, California’s “natural” quakes may be less frequent than thought
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• UAE jails seven for links to Hezbollah

  31-10-2016 16:49
  A United Arab Emirates court sentenced seven people to up to life in prison for establishing a cell linked to the Lebanese Shi'ite militant group Hezbollah, state media said on Monday. The charges included "handing over information about a government department" and "oil production in the UAE" as well as "maps of a gas field" to Hezbollah, WAM said. In February, the UAE along with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait - all U.S.-allied Sunni Muslim states - declared the Iran-backed Hezbo
  
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• Drones take off in plant ecological research

  31-10-2016 16:35
  Long-term, broad-scale ecological data are critical to plant research, but often impossible to collect on foot. Traditional data-collection methods can be time consuming or dangerous, and can compromise habitats that are sensitive to human impact. Micro-unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones, eliminate these data-collection pitfalls by flying over landscapes to gather unobtrusive aerial image data.
  
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• Understanding mind-wandering could shed light on mental illness

  31-10-2016 16:33
  If you think the mind grinds to a halt when you're doing nothing, think again. Spontaneous thought processes -- including mind-wandering, but also creative thinking and dreaming -- arise when thoughts are relatively free from deliberate and automatic constraints. Mind-wandering is not far from creative thinking.
  
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• Chinese medical education rising unevenly from Cultural Revolution rubble

  31-10-2016 16:32
  For scores of years after the first medical school opened in China in 1886, the country progressed in building a medical education system for its fast-growing population. Then 50 years ago, it not only came to a screeching halt, but to a full reversal with the Cultural Revolution.
  
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• Where is my mind? New study looks for the cortical conscious network

  31-10-2016 16:31
  Our brain is a very complex network, with approximately 100 billion neurons and 100 trillion synapses between the neurons. In order to cope with its enormous complexity, and understand how the brain works and eventually forms our conscious mind, science uses advanced mathematical tools. Ultimately, scientists seek to understand how a global phenomenon such as consciousness can emerge from our neuronal network.
  
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• Toyota to test car-sharing system using smartphones

  31-10-2016 16:29 via cbc.ca
  
  Toyota will test a new car-sharing system next year that lets users unlock doors and start cars with their smartphones.
  
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• Toyota to test car-sharing system that doesn't use keys

  31-10-2016 16:29 via cbc.ca
  
  Toyota will test a new car-sharing system next year that lets users unlock doors and start cars with their smartphones.
  
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• Vaccinating against dengue may increase Zika outbreaks

  31-10-2016 16:08
  Vaccinating against dengue fever could increase outbreaks of Zika, suggests new research. The study identifies a potentially serious public health concern. More than a third of the world's population lives in areas where dengue is endemic and cases of co-infection with Zika have already been reported.
  
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• Missing link between smoking and inflammation identified

  31-10-2016 16:08
  It's no secret that using tobacco is bad for you, but what has been a mystery until now is how tobacco causes increased inflammation throughout the body. Now, a team of researchers has learned why. Scientists show that nicotine activates certain white blood cells, called neutrophils, which in turn release molecules that lead to increased inflammation.
  
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• How pygmy moths started to diversify 100 million years ago

  31-10-2016 16:07
  The leaf-mining pygmy moths (family Nepticulidae) and the white eyecap moths (family Opostegidae) are among the smallest moths in the world with a wingspan of just a few millimeters. Their caterpillars make characteristic patterns in leaves: leaf mines. For the first time, the evolutionary relationships of the more than 1000 species have been analyzed on the basis of DNA, resulting in a new classification.
  
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• Man's Death from 'Heartland Virus' Shows Wide-Ranging Effects on the Body

  31-10-2016 15:51
  
  The death of a 68-year-old Tennessee man in 2015 sheds light on a rare tick-borne pathogen known as the Heartland virus, according to a new report of the man's case. The Heartland virus was first found in patients in Missouri in 2009. The 68-year-old man first came to the hospital because he had pain and a rash on his leg where he thought he had been bitten by a tick, said Dr. Mary-Margaret Fill, an epidemic intelligence service officer at the Tennessee Department of Health and the lead author o
  
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• Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Can Hitch a Ride on Hospital Scrubs

  31-10-2016 15:50
  
  Dangerous bacteria, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), can spread from sick patients in a hospital to the scrubs of health care workers, a new study finds. These pathogens can also find their way from the patient to items in their hospital room, such as the bed rail, according to the study, presented here at IDWeek 2016, a meeting of several organizations focused on infectious diseases. "We know there are bad germs in hospitals, but we're just beginning to understand h
  
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• Male Birth Control Shots Lower Pregnancy Odds, But Have Side Effects

  31-10-2016 15:49
  
  An experimental type of male birth control that uses shots of hormones to lower men's sperm counts works relatively well to prevent pregnancy, according to a new study. However, the study had to be stopped early because of the high rate of side effects seen in men who got the shots. The findings mean that more research is needed before this method of contraception could become available to men, said study co-author Dr. Mario Philip Reyes Festin, a medical officer on the human reproduction team a
  
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• Brain-Machine Tech Helps Relieve Mysterious 'Phantom Limb Pain'

  31-10-2016 15:47
  
  A new treatment appears to help relieve the "phantom limb pain" that people who have undergone amputations or have paralysis in a limb sometimes experience, a new study from Japan finds. In the study, the researchers used brain-machine-interface technology to treat patients who had phantom limb pain, which means they experience pain in a missing or paralyzed limb. The technology records a person's brain activity, and then translates that activity into the movement of a robotic prosthesis, accord
  
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• Why Kids Feel the Loss of a Pet So Deeply

  31-10-2016 15:43
  
  The new results show that kids "often see themselves as the center of their pet's affections," study author Joshua Russell, an assistant professor of environmental studies at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York, said in a statement. In the study, Russell asked 12 children between ages 6 and 13 in Toronto how they felt about the deaths of animals, including the deaths of their own pets. Although some of the children said they were devastated by the deaths of their furry friends for lo
  
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