Science news

• Predicting throat cancer recurrence with a blood test

  15-12-2016 23:53
  Researchers found that patients whose oropharyngeal cancer recurred had higher levels of antibodies for two proteins, E6 and E7, which are found in HPV-fueled cancers. The finding suggests a potential blood-based marker that could predict when cancer is likely to return.
  
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• New finding reveals battle behind gene expression

  15-12-2016 23:53
  The complex process regulating gene expression is often compared to following a recipe. Miss a genetic ingredient, or add it in the wrong order, and you could have a disaster on your hands.
  
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• Antarctic 'pole of ignorance' finally addressed

  15-12-2016 23:01 via bbc.co.uk
  
  European scientists have flown instruments back and forth across the South Pole to map its hidden depths.
  
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• Who would want access to 1 billion Yahoo accounts?

  15-12-2016 21:42 via cbc.ca
  
  What will happen — or has already happened — to Yahoo's one billion compromised accounts will depend on who has control of the data: a foreign government or an independent attacker.
  
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• Ship to mash, ram polar ice as US aims to update aging fleet

  15-12-2016 21:41
  
  PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (AP) — The only U.S. ship capable of breaking through Antarctica's thick ice is getting scrubbed down, fixed up and loaded with goods in balmy Hawaii this week as it prepares to head to the frigid south.
  
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• 50 years ago, alcohol use was linked to several gene variants

  15-12-2016 21:30
  
  50 years later, scientists are still searching for genes that influence drinking.
  
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• Supercomputer simulations confirm observations of 2015 India/Pakistan heat waves

  15-12-2016 21:21
  New evidence of human influence on extreme weather events. After examining observational and simulated temperature and heat indexes, the research team concluded that two separate deadly heat waves that occurred in India and Pakistan in the summer of 2015 'were exacerbated by anthropogenic climate change.'
  
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• Researchers combat antimicrobial resistance using smartphones

  15-12-2016 21:21
  An automated diagnostic test reader for antimicrobial resistance using a smartphone has now been developed by researchers. The technology could lead to routine testing for antimicrobial susceptibility in areas with limited resources.
  
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• Does good-tasting food cause weight gain?

  15-12-2016 21:21
  Does eating good-tasting food make you gain weight? Despite the common perception that good-tasting food is unhealthy and causes obesity, new research using a mouse model suggests that desirable taste in and of itself does not lead to weight gain.
  
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• Jingle Bytes? Artificial Intelligence Writes a Christmas Song

  15-12-2016 20:37
  
  You might find yourself wishing for a silent night after you hear the first Christmas carol written by artificial intelligence. The new tune makes its holiday season debut courtesy of a team of computer scientists in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Toronto. The researchers fed 100 hours of pop songs to a type of artificial intelligence (AI) known as a recurrent neural network, which learns and performs by building connections between input data, much like the human brain
  
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• Cold War-Era Satellites Spy on Himalayan Glaciers

  15-12-2016 20:37
  
  The Cold War may have ended decades ago, but spy satellites' data from that era are now being used for a new mission: tracking environmental change in the Himalayas. Using declassified spy satellite data, researchers have created 3D images of glaciers across the Himalayas, scientists said. The new 3D maps revealed how the Himalayas' glaciers have behaved in a changing climate.
  
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• Underwater volcano's eruption captured in exquisite detail by seafloor observatory

  15-12-2016 20:35
  Seismic data from the 2015 eruption of Axial Volcano, an underwater volcano about 300 miles off the Oregon coast, has provided the clearest look at the inner workings of a volcano where two ocean plates are moving apart.
  
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• Two major groups of rabies virus display distinct evolutionary trends

  15-12-2016 20:35
  Using hundreds of viral genome sequences, scientists have shown that two major groups of rabies virus have unique evolutionary tendencies.
  
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• Researchers achieve meter-scale optical coherence tomography for first time

  15-12-2016 20:35
  An industry-academic collaboration has achieved the first optical coherence tomography (OCT) images of cubic meter volumes. With OCT's ability to provide difficult-to-obtain information on material composition, subsurface structure, coatings, surface roughness and other properties, this advance could open up many new uses for OCT in industry, manufacturing and medicine. The achievement also represents important progress toward developing a high-speed, low-cost OCT system on a single integrated c
  
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• Research locates absence epilepsy seizure 'choke point' in brain

  15-12-2016 20:35
  Researchers used a rodent model to discover that shifting the firing pattern of a particular set of brain cells is all it takes to initiate, or to terminate, an absence seizure.
  
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• One gene mutation, two diseases, many insights into human heart function

  15-12-2016 20:35
  Scientists have linked a single gene mutation to two types of heart disease: one causes a hole in the heart of infants, and the other causes heart failure. Using cells donated by a family with the mutation, the researchers gained insight into congenital heart disease, human heart development, and healthy heart function.
  
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• New research paper challenges dogma of cell cycle control

  15-12-2016 20:35
  All textbooks describe the cyclin-dependent kinase complex as the one and only/exclusive regulator of the eukaryotic cell cycle. But now scientists have found evidence that a metabolic oscillator acts as the 'conductor' of cell division.
  
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• Key benefits of large-scale use of universal over conventional flu vaccines

  15-12-2016 20:35
  Universal vaccines that protect against multiple strains of influenza virus at once could offer key population-level benefits over conventional seasonal vaccines, according to a new study.
  
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• Facebook introduces tools to combat fake news

  15-12-2016 20:35 via cbc.ca
  
  Facebook is taking new measures to curb the spread of fake news on its huge and influential social network, focusing on the "worst of the worst" offenders and partnering with outside fact-checkers to sort honest news reports from made-up stories that play to people's passions and preconceived notions.
  
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• Blocking hormone activity in mosquitoes could help reduce malaria spread

  15-12-2016 20:35
  Disruption of hormone signaling in mosquitoes may reduce their ability to transmit the parasite that causes malaria, according to a new study. The findings suggest a potential new approach to combat spread of the disease.
  
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• [Working Life] Living up to my mentors

  15-12-2016 20:34
  Author: Barbara Gastel
  
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• [This Week in Science] Volcano monitoring goes into the deep

  15-12-2016 20:34
  Author: Brent Grocholski
  
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• [This Week in Science] Triggered quakes get unconventional

  15-12-2016 20:34
  Author: Brent Grocholski
  
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• [This Week in Science] Too many roads

  15-12-2016 20:34
  Author: Sacha Vignieri
  
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• [This Week in Science] The seas will rise, but by how much?

  15-12-2016 20:34
  Author: Julia Fahrenkamp-Uppenbrink
  
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• [This Week in Science] Structural insights into capsid flexibility

  15-12-2016 20:34
  Author: Kristen L. Mueller
  
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• [This Week in Science] Rescuing stalled ribosomes

  15-12-2016 20:34
  Author: Valda Vinson
  
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• [This Week in Science] Preventing vascular calcification

  15-12-2016 20:34
  Author: Annalisa VanHook
  
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• [This Week in Science] Getting rid of faulty mRNA

  15-12-2016 20:34
  Author: Guy Riddihough
  
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• [This Week in Science] Engineering control of cellular proteins

  15-12-2016 20:34
  Author: Valda Vinson
  
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• [This Week in Science] Dueling for sugars

  15-12-2016 20:34
  Author: Pamela J. Hines
  
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• [This Week in Science] Diamonds rock their metal roots

  15-12-2016 20:34
  Author: Brent Grocholski
  
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• [This Week in Science] Defying the onslaught of antibiotics

  15-12-2016 20:34
  Author: Caroline Ash
  
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• [This Week in Science] Blowing harder and more often

  15-12-2016 20:34
  Author: H. Jesse Smith
  
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• [This Week in Science] Asymmetric catalysis by tuning triplets

  15-12-2016 20:34
  Author: Jake Yeston
  
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• [This Week in Science] An activity lift for platinum

  15-12-2016 20:34
  Author: Phil Szuromi
  
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• [This Week in Science] A joint effect of bacteria and genetics

  15-12-2016 20:34
  Author: Yevgeniya Nusinovich
  
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• [Review] Mechanisms of bacterial persistence during stress and antibiotic exposure

  15-12-2016 20:34
  Bacterial persister cells avoid antibiotic-induced death by entering a physiologically dormant state and are considered a major cause of antibiotic treatment failure and relapsing infections. Such dormant cells form stochastically, but also in response to environmental cues, by various pathways that are usually controlled by the second messenger (p)ppGpp. For example, toxin-antitoxin modules have been shown to play a major role in persister formation in many model systems. More generally, the di
  
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• [Retrospective] John D. Roberts (1918–2016)

  15-12-2016 20:34
  John D. (“Jack”) Roberts, Professor of Chemistry, Emeritus, at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), died on 29 October at the age of 98. Roberts led organic chemistry's transition from a field that studied what reactions did to one that also studied how reactions happened. He was an explorer with boundless curiosity who was untiring in his efforts to bring new and useful ideas, tools, and experimental designs to chemistry. He thrived on convincing chemists that his opinions on b
  
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• [Report] Ultrafine jagged platinum nanowires enable ultrahigh mass activity for the oxygen reduction reaction

  15-12-2016 20:34
  Improving the platinum (Pt) mass activity for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) requires optimization of both the specific activity and the electrochemically active surface area (ECSA). We found that solution-synthesized Pt/NiO core/shell nanowires can be converted into PtNi alloy nanowires through a thermal annealing process and then transformed into jagged Pt nanowires via electrochemical dealloying. The jagged nanowires exhibit an ECSA of 118 square meters per gram of Pt and a specific acti
  
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• [Report] Translational termination without a stop codon

  15-12-2016 20:34
  Ribosomes stall when they encounter the end of messenger RNA (mRNA) without an in-frame stop codon. In bacteria, these “nonstop” complexes can be rescued by alternative ribosome-rescue factor A (ArfA). We used electron cryomicroscopy to determine structures of ArfA bound to the ribosome with 3′-truncated mRNA, at resolutions ranging from 3.0 to 3.4 angstroms. ArfA binds within the ribosomal mRNA channel and substitutes for the absent stop codon in the A site by specifically recruiting rele
  
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• [Report] The structure and flexibility of conical HIV-1 capsids determined within intact virions

  15-12-2016 20:34
  HIV-1 contains a cone-shaped capsid encasing the viral genome. This capsid is thought to follow fullerene geometry—a curved hexameric lattice of the capsid protein, CA, closed by incorporating 12 CA pentamers. Current models for core structure are based on crystallography of hexameric and cross-linked pentameric CA, electron microscopy of tubular CA arrays, and simulations. Here, we report subnanometer-resolution cryo–electron tomography structures of hexameric and pentameric CA within intac
  
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• [Report] The cryo-EM structure of a ribosome–Ski2-Ski3-Ski8 helicase complex

  15-12-2016 20:34
  Ski2-Ski3-Ski8 (Ski) is a helicase complex functioning with the RNA-degrading exosome to mediate the 3′-5′ messenger RNA (mRNA) decay in turnover and quality-control pathways. We report that the Ski complex directly associates with 80S ribosomes presenting a short mRNA 3′ overhang. We determined the structure of an endogenous ribosome-Ski complex using cryo–electron microscopy (EM) with a local resolution of the Ski complex ranging from 4 angstroms (Å) in the core to about 10 Å for int
  
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• [Report] Seismic constraints on caldera dynamics from the 2015 Axial Seamount eruption

  15-12-2016 20:34
  Seismic observations in volcanically active calderas are challenging. A new cabled observatory atop Axial Seamount on the Juan de Fuca ridge allows unprecedented real-time monitoring of a submarine caldera. Beginning on 24 April 2015, the seismic network captured an eruption that culminated in explosive acoustic signals where lava erupted on the seafloor. Extensive seismic activity preceding the eruption shows that inflation is accommodated by the reactivation of an outward-dipping caldera ring
  
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• [Report] Regulation of sugar transporter activity for antibacterial defense in Arabidopsis

  15-12-2016 20:34
  Microbial pathogens strategically acquire metabolites from their hosts during infection. Here we show that the host can intervene to prevent such metabolite loss to pathogens. Phosphorylation-dependent regulation of sugar transport protein 13 (STP13) is required for antibacterial defense in the plant Arabidopsis thaliana. STP13 physically associates with the flagellin receptor flagellin-sensitive 2 (FLS2) and its co-receptor BRASSINOSTEROID INSENSITIVE 1–associated receptor kinase 1 (BAK1). BA
  
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• [Report] More tornadoes in the most extreme U.S. tornado outbreaks

  15-12-2016 20:34
  Tornadoes and severe thunderstorms kill people and damage property every year. Estimated U.S. insured losses due to severe thunderstorms in the first half of 2016 were $8.5 billion (US). The largest U.S. effects of tornadoes result from tornado outbreaks, which are sequences of tornadoes that occur in close succession. Here, using extreme value analysis, we find that the frequency of U.S. outbreaks with many tornadoes is increasing and that it is increasing faster for more extreme outbreaks. We
  
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• [Report] Large gem diamonds from metallic liquid in Earth’s deep mantle

  15-12-2016 20:34
  The redox state of Earth’s convecting mantle, masked by the lithospheric plates and basaltic magmatism of plate tectonics, is a key unknown in the evolutionary history of our planet. Here we report that large, exceptional gem diamonds like the Cullinan, Constellation, and Koh-i-Noor carry direct evidence of crystallization from a redox-sensitive metallic liquid phase in the deep mantle. These sublithospheric diamonds contain inclusions of solidified iron-nickel-carbon-sulfur melt, accompanied
  
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• [Report] Inflation-predictable behavior and co-eruption deformation at Axial Seamount

  15-12-2016 20:34
  Deformation of the ground surface at active volcanoes provides information about magma movements at depth. Improved seafloor deformation measurements between 2011 and 2015 documented a fourfold increase in magma supply and confirmed that Axial Seamount’s eruptive behavior is inflation-predictable, probably triggered by a critical level of magmatic pressure. A 2015 eruption was successfully forecast on the basis of this deformation pattern and marked the first time that deflation and tilt were
  
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• [Report] Fault activation by hydraulic fracturing in western Canada

  15-12-2016 20:34
  Hydraulic fracturing has been inferred to trigger the majority of injection-induced earthquakes in western Canada, in contrast to the Midwestern United States, where massive saltwater disposal is the dominant triggering mechanism. A template-based earthquake catalog from a seismically active Canadian shale play, combined with comprehensive injection data during a 4-month interval, shows that earthquakes are tightly clustered in space and time near hydraulic fracturing sites. The largest event [m
  
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• [Report] Engineering extrinsic disorder to control protein activity in living cells

  15-12-2016 20:34
  Optogenetic and chemogenetic control of proteins has revealed otherwise inaccessible facets of signaling dynamics. Here, we use light- or ligand-sensitive domains to modulate the structural disorder of diverse proteins, thereby generating robust allosteric switches. Sensory domains were inserted into nonconserved, surface-exposed loops that were tight and identified computationally as allosterically coupled to active sites. Allosteric switches introduced into motility signaling proteins (kinases
  
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