Science news

• China plans to land probes on moon and Mars by 2020

  27-12-2016 20:55 via cbc.ca
  
  China vows to accelerate its space efforts as it sets out plans to become the first country to soft land a probe on the far side of the moon, by around 2018, and to launch a Mars probe by 2020.
  
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• Actress Carrie Fisher, 'Star Wars' Icon, Dies at 60

  27-12-2016 19:32
  
  Carrie Fisher, the actress best known as Princess Leia from the "Star Wars" films, has passed away at age 60. "It is with a very deep sadness that Billie Lourd confirms that her beloved mother Carrie Fisher passed away at 8:55 this morning," read the statement, issued to People. Carrie Fisher was born October 21, 1956, to singer Eddie Fisher and actress Debbie Reynolds, and landed her first major role in "Star Wars" at age 19.
  
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• Iraqi PM says three months needed to rout Islamic State

  27-12-2016 17:14
  Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Tuesday it would take three months to rout Islamic State, as U.S.-backed forces battle to dislodge the militants from their city stronghold of Mosul. Asked to respond to comments by a commander of the U.S.-led coalition that it would take as long as two years to eliminate Islamic State and its cells in Iraq and Syria, Abadi said: "The Americans were very pessimistic. A U.S. battlefield commander told Reuters on Monday Iraqi forces would resume their o
  
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• Hospital ICUs overused

  27-12-2016 17:07
  ICUs are being used too often for patients who don’t need that level of care, according a new research.
  
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• 'Hidden Figures': 'The Right Stuff' vs. Real Stuff in New Film About NASA History

  27-12-2016 17:07
  
  There is a scene in the new feature film "Hidden Figures" where Octavia Spencer, portraying a real-life NASA mathematician, leads a group of her fellow African American women "computers" down a hall towards their new assignment. In "The Right Stuff," it is original astronaut John Glenn and the other members of NASA's Mercury 7 who march down the hall, dressed in their silver spacesuits.
  
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• Fertility: Out of gas and low on sperm?

  27-12-2016 17:02
  Sperm are constantly replenished in the adult male body. Understanding the workings of stem cells responsible for this replenishment is expected to shed light on why male fertility diminishes with age, and possibly lead to new treatments for infertility.
  
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• 'Ant-like' bees among newly discovered desert species

  27-12-2016 17:02
  Entomologists report nine newly identified species of the desert bee genus Perdita, including two species with 'ant-like' males completely different in appearance from their mates.
  
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• Why are dead lobsters, crabs and herring washing up along this Nova Scotia shore?

  27-12-2016 16:46 via cbc.ca
  
  After weeks of reports of dead herring washing up along shores in Nova Scotia, the latest finding also includes lobsters, crabs, starfish and clams.
  
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• Nigeria's army says 3,000 people who fled Boko Haram return to hometown

  27-12-2016 16:39
  More than 3,000 people in northeast Nigeria who were forced to flee the seven-year insurgency waged by Islamist militants have returned to their hometown following the reopening of major roads in the area, the army said on Tuesday. Damasak - in the northwest of Borno, the state worst hit by the militants - was taken over by Boko Haram in late 2014, when it controlled an area the size of Belgium in northeast Nigeria. President Muhammadu Buhari said on Saturday that the army had taken back Boko Ha
  
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• Treating cancer with drugs for diabetes and hypertension

  27-12-2016 14:35
  A combination of a diabetes medication and an antihypertensive drug can effectively combat cancer cells. The team of researchers has also reported that specific cancer cells respond to this combination of drugs.
  
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• Shoulder pain linked to increased heart disease risk

  27-12-2016 14:35
  After all the lifting, hauling and wrapping, worn out gift givers may blame the season’s physical strain for any shoulder soreness they are feeling. It turns out there could be another reason. A new study finds that individuals with symptoms that put them at increased risk for heart disease could be more likely to have shoulder problems, including joint pain and rotator cuff injury.
  
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• Preventing too much immunity

  27-12-2016 14:35
  Scientists report a new molecular mechanism that could explain the cause of some autoimmune diseases.
  
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• Novel insights into neuronal activity-dependent gene expression by CREB

  27-12-2016 14:35
  Researchers have investigated how neuronal activity influences cAMP response element binding protein (CREB) dynamics.
  
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• New mathematical model provides 'disease causation index'

  27-12-2016 14:34
  Patients with complex diseases have a higher risk of developing another. Multi-morbidity represents a huge problem in everyday clinical practice, because it makes it more difficult to provide successful treatment. By analysing data from all over Austria, scientists have managed to develop a mathematical model that can be used to distinguish whether a disease has a genetic or environmental cause.
  
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• The 10 Biggest Spaceflight Stories of 2016

  27-12-2016 13:33
  
  And the Washington-based company Blue Origin launched and landed the same suborbital New Shepard rocket four times this year, finally retiring the booster after a successful October test flight. Both SpaceX and Blue Origin — which are headed by billionaire entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, respectively — aim to develop fully reusable rockets as a way to slash the cost of spaceflight and open up the heavens to exploration.
  
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• Out of This World! The Most Amazing Space Discoveries of 2016

  27-12-2016 13:33
  
  There were monumental new discoveries, including the first-ever direct detection of gravitational waves, which gives scientists access to a whole new realm of information about cosmic events. The ExoMars mission sent both an orbiter and a lander to the Red Planet, but the lander crashed into the planet's surface before it could begin its science mission. In February, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) collaboration made physics history when it announced the first dire
  
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• NASA's Europa Lander May Drill to Find Pristine Samples on Icy Moon

  27-12-2016 13:33
  
  An ocean containing twice as much water as all of Earth's seas is thought to slosh beneath Europa's 10-to-15-mile-thick (15 to 25 kilometers) ice shell. Furthermore, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has spotted evidence of water-vapor plumes emanating from Europa's south polar region, suggesting that material from the ocean may fall back onto the moon's icy surface. That's an exciting prospect for NASA, which aims to put a lander on Europa in the 2020s to look for chemical evidence that the moon co
  
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• Dwarf Planet Ceres Likely Had Ocean Long Ago

  27-12-2016 13:33
  
  Ceres, the largest body in the main asteroid belt, is pocketed with cold, dark craters, several of which are layered in ice, raising the prospects that this frigid dwarf planet once had perhaps an ocean's worth of liquid water early in its history when the solar system was still forming. Scientists from NASA's Dawn mission to Ceres and Vesta presented these findings last week at the American Geophysical Union's annual fall meeting in San Francisco. As the closest dwarf planet to the sun and abou
  
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• The Search Is on for Pulling Carbon from the Air

  27-12-2016 13:15 via rss.sciam.com
  
  Scientists are investigating a range of technologies they hope can capture lots of carbon without a lot of cost
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Cheetahs heading for extinction, study says

  27-12-2016 11:19 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Urgent action is needed to stop the cheetah - the world's fastest land animal - becoming extinct, scientists say.
  
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• China renews calls for tighter cyberspace security - CAC

  27-12-2016 08:21
  China's top cybersecurity body reaffirmed its commitment to heightened cybersecurity surveillance on Tuesday, calling for increased scrutiny of local and foreign technology used in industries deemed critical to the national interest. A strategy document, released by the Cybersecurity Administration of China (CAC), laid out the framework for a controversial cybersecurity law released in November, which foreign business groups say could bar overseas firms from competing in the market. The latest s
  
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• China plans to land probes on far side of moon, Mars by 2020

  27-12-2016 06:21
  
  BEIJING (AP) — China vowed Tuesday to speed up the development of its space industry as it set out its plans to become the first country to soft land a probe on the far side of the moon, around 2018, and launch its first Mars probe by 2020.
  
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• When it comes to reducing hospital readmissions, financial penalties work

  27-12-2016 06:00
  
  (Yale University) Hospitals that were financially penalized for too many readmissions were more likely than non-penalized institutions to subsequently reduce readmissions for all conditions, according to a new study by Yale School of Medicine researchers and colleagues in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
  
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• This is your brain on alcohol (video)

  27-12-2016 06:00
  
  (American Chemical Society)It's almost time to ring in 2017. And since most New Year's celebrations include alcohol, Reactions' latest episode explains the chemistry behind its effects -- drunkenness, frequent bathroom breaks and occasionally poor decision-making. Find out how it all comes down to ethanol (which, like all things, should be enjoyed in moderation) here: https://youtu.be/1xVqwYxe4Gw.
  
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• Shift in some teens' use and perceptions of marijuana after recreational marijuana is legalized

  27-12-2016 06:00
  
  (University of California - Davis Health System) Marijuana use significantly increased and its perceived harm decreased among eighth- and 10th-graders in Washington state following enactment of recreational marijuana laws, according to a UC Davis and Columbia University study. There was no change in use or perceived harm among 12th graders or among similar grades in Colorado.
  
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• Registration now open for the 2017 Naval Future Force S&T Expo

  27-12-2016 06:00
  
  (Office of Naval Research) Interested in seeing the future of Navy and Marine Corps technology? Want to discuss research opportunities with some of the brightest minds in the military, federal government, industry and academia? Registration is now open for those wishing to attend the Office of Naval Research's (ONR) biennial 2017 Naval Future Force Science and Technology (S&T) Expo.
  
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• Realistic training for extreme flight conditions

  27-12-2016 06:00
  
  (Technical University of Munich (TUM)) Missions at sea, in mountainous regions or close to skyscrapers are extremely risky for helicopter pilots. The turbulent air flows near oil rigs, ships, cliffs and tall buildings can throw a helicopter off balance and cause a crash. To provide pilots with optimal preparation for these challenging conditions, engineers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) are developing new simulation software.
  
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• Out of gas and low on sperm?

  27-12-2016 06:00
  
  (Kyoto University) Sperm are constantly replenished in the adult male body. Understanding the workings of stem cells responsible for this replenishment is expected to shed light on why male fertility diminishes with age, and possibly lead to new treatments for infertility.
  
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• NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite spots Tropical Storm Nock-ten weakening

  27-12-2016 06:00
  
  (NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite flew over the South China Sea and captured a visible image of Tropical Storm Nock-ten elongating as it continued getting weaker from wind shear.
  
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• Investigations of the skyrmion Hall effect reveal surprising results

  27-12-2016 06:00
  
  (Johannes Gutenberg Universitaet Mainz) Researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have made another important breakthrough in the field of future magnetic storage devices.
  
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• Investigational new drug for Alzheimer's scheduled for first study in humans

  27-12-2016 06:00
  
  (Vanderbilt University Medical Center) Vanderbilt University scientists have received notification from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that testing in humans may proceed for an investigational new drug for Alzheimer's disease after more than 10 years of research by scientists at Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
  
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• ImageSat International and Ben-Gurion University to collaborate on miniature hyperspect

  27-12-2016 06:00
  
  (American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev) 'This new technology based on BGU research could lead to a new generation of spectral systems for flight and space-based remote sensing' says Prof. Dan Blumberg. 'The collaboration between academia and industry is a sterling example of the 'NewSpace' concept, which promotes innovation and creativity in the space industry and will enable ImageSat to become the leader in the field of hyperspectral imaging.'
  
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• 'Friendship Bench' program proves effective at alleviating mental illness symptoms

  27-12-2016 06:00
  
  (Grand Challenges Canada) Brief psychological treatment delivered by Zimbabwean lay health workers dramatically improved the symptoms of patients with mental health problems, according to new research published in JAMA.
  
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• Did teen perception, use of marijuana change after recreational use legalized?

  27-12-2016 06:00
  
  (The JAMA Network Journals) Marijuana use increased and the drug's perceived harmfulness decreased among eighth- and 10th-graders in Washington after marijuana was legalized for recreational use by adults but there was no change among 12th-graders or among students in the three grades in Colorado after legalization for adults there, according to a new study published online by JAMA Pediatrics.
  
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• Diabetes, heart disease, and back pain dominate US health care spending

  27-12-2016 06:00
  
  (Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation) Just 20 conditions make up more than half of all spending on health care in the United States, according to a new comprehensive financial analysis that examines spending by diseases and injuries.
  
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• Control algorithms could keep sensor-laden balloons afloat in hurricanes for a week

  27-12-2016 06:00
  
  (University of California - San Diego) Controls engineers at UC San Diego have developed practical strategies for building and coordinating scores of sensor-laden balloons within hurricanes.Using onboard GPS and cellphone-grade sensors, each drifting balloon becomes part of a 'swarm' of robotic vehicles, which can periodically report, via satellite uplink, their position, the local temperature, pressure, humidity and wind velocity.
  
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• Bat calls contain wealth of discernible information

  27-12-2016 06:00
  
  (American Friends of Tel Aviv University) A new Tel Aviv University study extracts critical information from bat vocalizations to offer a rare, informative look into the world of bat communication.
  
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• A cloud-screening scheme for the Chinese Carbon Dioxide Observation Satellite (TanSat)

  27-12-2016 06:00
  
  (Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences) Carbon dioxide (CO2) is one of the major greenhouse gases, and causes great concern due to the rapid increase in its atmospheric concentrations. China launched its first minisatellite dedicated to the carbon dioxide detection and monitoring at 15:22 UTC on December 22. The Chinese Carbon Dioxide Observation Satellite (TANSAT) was designed to focus on the global observation of CO2. For retrieving carbon dioxide from TANSAT observatio
  
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• A cloud-screening scheme for for the Chinese Carbon Dioxide Observation Satellite (TanSat)

  27-12-2016 06:00
  
  (Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences) Carbon dioxide (CO2) is one of the major greenhouse gases, and causes great concern due to the rapid increase in its atmospheric concentrations. China launched its first minisatellite dedicated to the carbon dioxide detection and monitoring at 15:22 UTC on December 22. The Chinese Carbon Dioxide Observation Satellite (TANSAT) was designed to focus on the global observation of CO2. For retrieving carbon dioxide from TANSAT observatio
  
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• Science selection

  27-12-2016 05:36 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A selection of the best science and environment reads this year.
  
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• China says space programme must help protect national security

  27-12-2016 05:06
  China's space programme must help protect the country's national security, but China is dedicated to the peaceful use of space and opposes a space arms race, the government said in a policy paper issued on Tuesday. President Xi Jinping has called for China to establish itself as a space power, and it has tested anti-satellite missiles, in addition to its civilian aims China has repeatedly said its space programme is for peaceful purposes, but the U.S. Defense Department has highlighted its incre
  
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• China says space program must help protect national security

  27-12-2016 05:06
  
  BEIJING (Reuters) - China's space program must help protect the country's national security, but China is dedicated to the peaceful use of space and opposes a space arms race, the government said in a policy paper issued on Tuesday.
  
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• How to See Saturn and the Moon in Tuesday's Pre-dawn Sky

  27-12-2016 03:31
  
  Early Tuesday morning (Dec. 27) we all have an opportunity to get our first look at the ringed wonder of the solar system, Saturn, in the early morning sky. You’ll have to wait several more weeks for Saturn to climb high enough in the sky and far enough from the dawn glow to make it worthwhile to look at through a small telescope.
  
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• Vera Rubin, pioneering U.S. dark matter astronomer, dies at 88

  27-12-2016 01:55
  
  (Reuters) - Vera Rubin, a U.S. astronomer who pioneered work on invisible dark matter in the universe and who some colleagues felt was overlooked for a Nobel Prize, has died at 88, her son said on Monday.
  
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