Science news

• California's drought divide _ rainy north, dry south

  04-11-2016 23:58
  
  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Among the changing red and yellow fall leaves of Yosemite National Park, nature artist Penny Otwell is marveling at the fullest rushing waterfalls and rivers she's ever painted there in autumn. But down in the dry Southern California suburbs, David Cantuna laments the same dead and dying grass in his backyard.
  
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• What you need to know about the CSIS metadata ruling

  04-11-2016 22:19 via cbc.ca
  
  CSIS has been illegally retaining data for more than a decade, a Federal Court judge has ruled. The ruling is complex, but essentially the domestic spy agency has been holding on to information it calls "associated data," which is material obtained through an investigation that is not directly related to a security threat.
  
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• Veil Nebula Glows Red and Blue in Stunning Stargazer Photo

  04-11-2016 22:15
  
  These red and blue glowing tendrils of gas are part of a huge supernova remnant known as the Veil Nebula.
  
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• 'Shaky' Solar Eclipse Spotted from Space (Video)

  04-11-2016 22:15
  
  A "shaky" solar eclipse in space was captured by one of NASA's sun-gazing spacecraft. The agency's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) caught the eclipse on camera on Sunday (Oct. 30). SDO's footage of the partial solar eclipse shows the sun appearing to have tremors, but the shivering wasn't due to worries about Halloween.
  
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• How to get an Indonesian Komodo dragon out of your bathroom

  04-11-2016 21:54 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Planet Earth II's camera crew came back from filming to find an unwanted visitor.
  
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• Space and conservation are 2 sides of the same coin: Bob McDonald

  04-11-2016 21:13 via cbc.ca
  After witnessing our planet from space, Canadian astronaut Roberta Bondar dedicated herself to conservation. Her public speaking on environmental issues prompted the Canadian Mint honour with her coin that depicts Canada from space.
  
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• Why quantum mechanics might need an overhaul

  04-11-2016 20:37
  
  Nobel laureate Steven Weinberg says current debates in quantum mechanics need a new approach to comprehend reality.
  
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• Moratorium on crude oil tanker traffic coming soon: Garneau

  04-11-2016 20:00 via cbc.ca
  
  Federal Transportation Minister Marc Garneau is promising a moratorium on crude oil tanker traffic off British Columbia’s North Coast by the end of this year, which would coincide with the government’s cabinet decision on the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project.
  
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• Study challenges model of Alzheimer's disease progression

  04-11-2016 19:58
  Researchers provide unprecedented evidence that basal forebrain pathology precedes and predicts both entorhinal pathology and memory impairment in people with Alzheimer's disease.
  
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• Rubella virus persists after vaccination in some patients with immunodeficiency disorders

  04-11-2016 19:58
  Some patients with rare primary immunodeficiency disorders may be at risk for infection by rubella virus, and possibly serious skin inflammation, after receiving the rubella vaccine, usually administered as part of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine. Although the vaccine for rubella (German measles) has an established record of safety and effectiveness in the general population, patients with severe deficiencies in their immune defenses may be susceptible to side effects from the vaccine, s
  
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• Physical stature as a teen could predict future stock choices

  04-11-2016 19:58
  Researchers find that people who were relatively tall as teens are more likely to invest in stocks, and those who were overweight are more risk-averse and less likely to participate in the market.
  
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• Brain needs to be retrained after ACL injury

  04-11-2016 19:58
  Regaining full function after an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury is more than just physical -- it requires retraining the brain, say researchers.
  
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• Universal principles of phase transitions confirmed

  04-11-2016 19:57
  New research has confirmed a decades-old theory describing the dynamics of continuous phase transitions. The findings provide the first clear demonstration of the Kibble-Zurek mechanism for a quantum phase transition in both space and time. Physicists observed the transition in gaseous cesium atoms at temperatures near absolute zero.
  
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• How each one of us contribute to Arctic sea ice melt

  04-11-2016 19:57
  Measurements reveal the relationship between individual CO2 emissions and the Arctic's shrinking summer sea ice. For each ton of carbon dioxide that any person on our planet emits, three square metres of Arctic summer sea ice disappear.
  
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• Canada military probes mysterious Arctic pinging noise

  04-11-2016 19:48 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Canadian military probes a mysterious Arctic pinging sound, officials tell the BBC.
  
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• Why hackers might be drawn to your smart light bulbs

  04-11-2016 19:17 via cbc.ca
  
  Smart-bulb lights in a household, or even an apartment building, could be taken over by hackers, with one device being used to get into next, research by Dalhousie University PhD student Colin O'Flynn and colleagues in Israel has found.
  
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• Find out how much Arctic sea ice you melt every day

  04-11-2016 17:47 via cbc.ca
  
  Researchers have developed a formula to calculate exactly how much Arctic sea ice you, as an individual, destroy every day — and it's surprisingly simple.
  
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• Widnes worm Dave wriggles into record books

  04-11-2016 17:42 via bbc.co.uk
  
  An earthworm named Dave wriggles into the record books as the largest ever found in the UK - measuring a whopping 40cm (15.7in).
  
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• Chicago wouldn’t last long under zombie invasion, model finds

  04-11-2016 17:05
  In the unlikely event of the zombie apocalypse, it would take less than two months for the undead to take control of the city, says a new study.
  
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• Exercise during pregnancy may reduce markers of aging in offspring

  04-11-2016 17:04
  Exercise during pregnancy may be as effective in protecting the next generation from age-related health risks as efforts made during the offspring's own adulthood. Researchers think that short-term lifestyle changes during pregnancy may have a long-lasting effect on future generations.
  
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• Dad’s preconception exercise may increase obesity, insulin resistance risk in offspring

  04-11-2016 17:04
  Fathers who exercise regularly before their children are conceived may program their offspring's genes with an increased risk for metabolic disorders, according to new research. The surprising results point to the identification of epigenetic markers that may change the process of diagnosis and management of chronic disease.
  
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• Researchers find immunotherapy treatments better for advanced skin cancer

  04-11-2016 16:36
  A research team evaluated 15 randomized controlled trials published between 2011 and 2015, assessing the benefits and harms of targeted or immune checkpoint inhibitors in 6,662 patients with cancer that had spread to the lymph nodes and surgery was not an option, or distant metastatic melanoma.
  
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• Physicists gain new understanding of how materials break

  04-11-2016 16:36
  Scientists could eventually help create materials that resist breaking or crack in a predictable fashion. The findings were the result of experiments and computer simulations in which researchers examined the effects of varying the rigidity of a material. Using both a simulation and artificial structures called metamaterials, they found material failure can be continuously tuned through changes in its underlying rigidity.
  
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• Elon Musk: Artificial intelligence could become smart enough to take down the internet

  04-11-2016 15:57
  
  Could AI vs AI cyber warfare become a reality in the future?
  
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• Paris climate change deal becomes international law

  04-11-2016 15:54
  
  The Paris Agreement to combat climate change became international law on Friday — a landmark deal about tackling global warming amid growing fears that the world is becoming hotter even faster than scientists ...
  
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• Scientists apply for GM wheat trial in UK

  04-11-2016 15:47 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Researchers apply for a licence to carry out a trial of a genetically modified wheat crop in a small field in Hertfordshire.
  
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• Impact of sea smell overestimated by present climate models

  04-11-2016 15:32
  The most comprehensive study on the atmospheric oxidation of the natural climatic gas dimethyl sulfide has been published in a new report.
  
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• NASA's NavCube could support an X-ray communications demonstration in space

  04-11-2016 15:31
  Two proven technologies have been combined to create a promising new technology that could meet future navigational challenges in deep space. It also may help demonstrate -- for the first time -- X-ray communications in space, a capability that would allow the transmission of gigabits per second throughout the solar system.
  
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• The destructive effects of supercooled liquid water on airplane safety and climate models

  04-11-2016 15:25
  Exploring the properties of supercooled liquid water - the bane of airplane wings and climate theorists - investigators are mounting an expedition to fly huge tethered balloons in Alaska this coming winter, where temperatures descend to 40 degrees below zero and it’s dark as a dungeon for all but a few hours of the day.
  
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• Physicists demonstrate existence of 'unlikely' new subatomic structure

  04-11-2016 15:25
  Researchers have demonstrated the existence of a tetraneutron, a subatomic structure once thought unlikely to exist.
  
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• The brain can reveal drinking status even after death

  04-11-2016 15:24
  Scientists who use postmortem brain tissue to study alcohol’s effects on brain structure and function will find this research interesting. Phosphatidylethanol (PEth) is an alcohol metabolite and its concentration in whole blood samples is a biomarker of drinking habits. For this study, scientists examined PEth levels in postmortem brains of individuals known to have had alcohol use disorders (AUDs).
  
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• Regular exercisers still face health risks from too much sitting

  04-11-2016 15:24
  People who meet recommended weekly physical activity guidelines are still at risk of developing chronic disease if they spend too much non-exercising time sitting. Researchers found that women sit more as they grow older, raising their risks even more.
  
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• Receptor that may allow HIV to infect kidney cells identified

  04-11-2016 15:24
  New research suggests that transmembrane TNF-alpha may allow HIV to infect kidney cells that not express the major HIV-1 CD4 receptor. The findings could provide insights on how patients develop HIV-1 associated nephropathy.
  
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• Hate exercise? It may be in your genes

  04-11-2016 15:24
  Genes, specifically those that modulate dopamine in the brain, may play a role in a person’s propensity to embrace or avoid exercise.
  
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• Graphic pictures on cigarette packs would significantly reduce smoking death rate

  04-11-2016 15:24
  Using prominent, graphic pictures on cigarette packs warning against smoking could avert more than 652,000 deaths, up to 92,000 low birth weight infants, up to 145,000 preterm births, and about 1,000 cases of sudden infant deaths in the U.S. over the next 50 years, say researchers.
  
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• Exercise may shield against the health fallout of a weeklong overindulgence

  04-11-2016 15:24
  Previous studies show that as little as one week of overeating can impair glycemic control and insulin sensitivity. Just in time for holiday feasting, a new study finds that exercise can protect fat tissue from changes in inflammation levels and fat metabolism caused by a brief period of eating too many calories.
  
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• No iron benefit from eating placenta, study finds

  04-11-2016 15:23
  The first clinical study of its kind finds no benefit for women who eat their placenta as a source of needed iron after giving birth.
  
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• New study shows balloon in a capsule helps patients lose nearly twice as much weight than diet, exercise and lifestyle therapy alone

  04-11-2016 15:23
  Patients with obesity who swallowed gas-filled balloon capsules designed to help them eat less, lost 1.9 times more weight than patients who relied on diet, exercise and lifestyle therapy alone, according to new research.
  
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• Informing action on a historic climate agreement

  04-11-2016 15:23
  The Paris Agreement on climate change goes into effect today, but while the agreement set ambitious targets for tackling climate change, scientists say there is a long way to go to achieve it. Research suggests pathways to get the world on track.
  
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• Hip fracture patients fare best during recovery in high-occupancy nursing homes with higher level physician staffing

  04-11-2016 15:23
  Hip fractures are a common and disabling condition that occurs more than 300,000 times each year in the United States in those 65 and older—1.6 million times worldwide. A new study, which compared outcome variations in acute and post-acute care facilities, suggests that for older adults hospitalized with hip fracture, the quality of the post-acute care they receive has a greater impact on long-term recovery than the care they received at the hospital.
  
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• Tumor cells in blood samples could predict prostate cancer spread

  04-11-2016 15:21
  Researchers have found a group of circulating tumor cells in prostate cancer patient blood samples that are linked to the spread of the disease, according to new research.
  
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• Significant Bronze Age city discovered in Northern Iraq

  04-11-2016 15:21
  Archeologists have uncovered a large Bronze Age city not far from the town of Dohuk in northern Iraq. The excavation work has demonstrated that the settlement, which is now home to the small Kurdish village of Bassetki in the Autonomous Region of Kurdistan, was established in about 3000 BC and was able to flourish for more than 1200 years. The archeologists also discovered settlement layers dating from the Akkadian Empire period (2340-2200 BC), which is regarded as the first world empire in huma
  
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• Remote-controlled drone helps in designing future wireless networks

  04-11-2016 15:21
  Aerial photographs and photogrammetry together provide an accurate 3D model, which improves the prediction of the propagation of radio waves at millimetre-wave frequencies.
  
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• Children's health, privacy at risk from digital marketing

  04-11-2016 15:21
  For the first time, researchers and health experts have undertaken a comprehensive analysis of the concerning situation in the World Health Organisation European Region regarding digital marketing to children of foods high in fats, salt and sugars.
  
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• Male sleep habits may increase risk of cancer

  04-11-2016 15:20
  Men who have worked night shifts for more than 20 years, or who work night shifts without daytime napping, or sleep for more than ten hours per night on average may have an increased risk of cancer, according to a new study.
  
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• Genetic mutations that lead to macular degeneration blindness mapped by new research

  04-11-2016 15:20
  Two gene mutations that trigger a retinal disease that causes blindness in one in 5,000 males have been mapped, leading to the potential for new therapeutic treatments.
  
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• Genes and age determine susceptibility to Lyme disease

  04-11-2016 15:20
  People react very differently to an infection with the Borrelia bacterium that causes Lyme disease. Researchers have investigated this varying response, concluding that age, genetic disposition and previous Lyme infections play an important role. However, despite the large differences observed, the Borrelia bacterium has a clear effect on the immune system’s energy regulation, opening up opportunities for research into better detection of Borrelia infections.
  
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• Algal fat opens window to past Arctic temperatures

  04-11-2016 15:20
  A new paper uses alkenones from the Svalbard islands and is among the first studies that present Arctic summer temperature change over the period from the end of the last Ice Age some 12,000 years ago. Its results show a large range of natural summer temperature variability and identify distinct phases of rapid change. 
  
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• Identification of gene defects helps treatment of prostate cancer

  04-11-2016 15:19
  The current method of treating prostate cancer involves identifying gene defects, which could help with the diagnosis of cancer and the development of individualized cancer treatments for patients. Researchers are studying the molecular biology of prostate cancer; the goal is to obtain a holistic picture of the disease’s mechanisms and use those mechanisms as a basis for developing new treatments.
  
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• Successful calculation of human and natural influence on cloud formation

  04-11-2016 15:18
  When new particles develop in the atmosphere, this influences cloud formation and with that the climate too. Since a few years, these complex processes have been reproduced in a large air chamber within the CLOUD experiment at CERN. Researchers have now used the results for the first time to calculate the production of aerosol particles in all the Earth's regions and at different heights. The study deciphers the role of the various chemical systems which are responsible for particle formation. T
  
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