Science news

• Nigeria militants say readying fighters to hit 'enemy' in Niger Delta

  06-01-2017 23:53
  A Nigerian militant group, which has claimed a wave of attacks on oil pipelines in the Niger Delta, said on Friday that it had asked its fighters to prepare to fight the "enemy" as authorities were not ready for dialogue. The Niger Delta Avengers had declared a ceasefire last year after staging major attacks on oil facilities crippling the OPEC member's oil output in a fight for more oil revenues to give dialogue with authorities a chance. The government has been holding talks for more than six
  
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• Preparing for the big strike: Bob McDonald

  06-01-2017 23:43 via cbc.ca
  
  Our living world has been sterilized by encounters with large space rocks that slammed into us. It's time to prepare.
  
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• FAA grants SpaceX license to resume rocket launches on Monday

  06-01-2017 23:21
  
  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - Elon Musk’s SpaceX rocket company has been cleared to resume flying following a launch pad explosion four months ago, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said on Friday.
  
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• New Year's 'Detox' Lands Woman in the ER

  06-01-2017 23:13
  
  The 47-year-old woman was healthy when she began consuming more fluids and herbal remedies than usual, the report said. "It may well be that the valerian root altered this threshold [of fluid intake], allowing severe hyponatremia to develop at an earlier stage," the doctors wrote.
  
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• Low Vitamin D Linked to Frequent Headaches

  06-01-2017 23:13
  
  Men who have low levels of vitamin D may be at increased risk for frequent headaches, a new study from Finland suggests. The study analyzed information from about 2,600 Finnish men ages 42 to 60 who gave blood samples and answered questions about the frequency of their headaches. Nearly 70 percent of the men in the study had blood vitamin D levels below 20 nanograms per milliliter (50 nanomoles per liter), which is generally considered the threshold for vitamin D deficiency.
  
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• How 1 Sip of Vodka Tonic Sent a Woman to the ER

  06-01-2017 23:13
  
  One sip of a vodka tonic landed a 35-year-old woman in the emergency room, and seven years later, she's still dealing with the damage caused by the drink, according to a new report of her case. The woman had a rare condition called "quinine-induced thrombotic microangiopathy," which caused a body-wide reaction to quinine, a chemical found in tonic water, the doctors who treated her wrote in the case report, published today (Jan. 4) in The New England Journal of Medicine. The illness "hit like li
  
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• China pollution: 'It can be completely dark'

  06-01-2017 23:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A look at life inside China's most polluted city. Shijiazhuang is currently underneath a thick layer of toxic smog.
  
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• FAA Grants License for SpaceX Falcon 9 Return to Flight

  06-01-2017 22:39
  
  The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a launch license to SpaceX for the upcoming return to flight of its Falcon 9, although its planned launch has been delayed by at least one day. FAA spokesman Hank Price said in a Jan. 6 statement that the agency had reviewed and accepted SpaceX’s investigation into its Sept. 1 pad explosion. "SpaceX applied for a license to launch the Iridium Next satellites from Vandenberg Air Force Base.
  
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• Drug that improves blood flow in damaged heart might also fight breast cancer

  06-01-2017 22:33
  Researchers are looking at a drug once used to improve blood flow in damaged hearts in thousands of patients as a possible treatment option for triple negative breast cancer.
  
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• Large-scale tornado outbreaks increasing in frequency

  06-01-2017 22:29
  The frequency of large-scale tornado outbreaks is increasing in the United States, particularly when it comes to the most extreme events, according to new research.
  
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• Scientists watch growing Antarctic crack but aren't alarmed

  06-01-2017 22:23
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Scientists are watching, but not alarmed by, a growing crack at the edge of a key floating ice shelf in Antarctica.
  
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• Second red panda triplet dies at suburban Philadelphia zoo

  06-01-2017 22:18
  
  NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A red panda, a species listed as endangered, has died at a suburban Philadelphia zoo.
  
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• Spacewalking Astronauts Tackle Space Station Power System Upgrade

  06-01-2017 22:15
  
  Expedition 50 commander Shane Kimbrough led the way as he and flight engineer Peggy Whitson ventured outside the space station into the void of space at 7:23 a.m. EST (1223 GMT). Kimbrough and Whitson then spent more than six hours outside the space station on a mission to install three adapter plates and configure electrical connections in preparation for a new set of batteries that will be installed on the space station. This was the first of two spacewalks astronauts will perform th
  
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• Amazon's 'Mothership': Retailer Gets Patent for Mega-Drone

  06-01-2017 22:10
  
  What happens when you connect a flock of flying drones? You get a "collective unmanned aerial vehicle" that's capable of lifting heavier burdens and flying greater distances than smaller drones can, according to a patent recently granted to online retailer Amazon. The Amazon Technologies Inc. patent describes a large and robust flying drone made up of numerous smaller drones, designed to make long-distance flights or to carry heavy packages.
  
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• NASA spacecraft captures spectacular image of Earth, the moon from Mars

  06-01-2017 21:43 via cbc.ca
  
  NASA has released a breathtaking image of Earth and the moon taken from its HiRISE spacecraft in orbit around Mars.
  
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• First-ever direct observation of collisional plasmoid instability during magnetic reconnection in a laboratory setting

  06-01-2017 21:12
  Physicists have for the first time directly observed a phenomenon that had previously only been hypothesized to exist. The phenomenon, plasmoid instabilities that occur during collisional magnetic reconnection, had until this year only been observed indirectly using remote-sensing technology.
  
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• Study compiles data on 958 types of South American jellyfish

  06-01-2017 21:09
  Detailed information on 958 distinct morphological types of jellyfish that inhabit the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of South America has been compiled by scientists. The study involved scientists from Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia and Uruguay.
  
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• Study characterizes key molecular tool in DNA repair enzymes

  06-01-2017 21:09
  Oxidative damage to a cell's DNA is constant and destructive and a complex suite of enzymes have evolved to repair and maintain it. In an important new step in teasing out these complex processes, an enzyme component known as Zf-GRF, which is highly conserved in several enzymes and across species, has been shown to be a key molecular tools that binds and orients repair enzymes to DNA.
  
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• Solar storms could spark soils at moon's poles

  06-01-2017 21:09
  Powerful solar storms can charge up the soil in frigid, permanently shadowed regions near the lunar poles, and may possibly produce 'sparks' that could vaporize and melt the soil, perhaps as much as meteoroid impacts, according to new research. This alteration may become evident when analyzing future samples from these regions that could hold the key to understanding the history of the moon and solar system.
  
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• Clues into how brain shapes perception to control behavior

  06-01-2017 21:09
  Some of the visual information our brains receive is potentially misleading. New research on fruit flies demonstrates how even a simple brain can filter out such misinformation, hinting at how our own brains might shape how we see the world -- and how we react to it.
  
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• Wow! Mars Probe Snaps Stunning Photo of Earth and Moon

  06-01-2017 20:57
  
  A NASA spacecraft has given humanity a breathtaking, Mars-eye view of Earth and its moon. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) used its High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera to capture this new telescopic image of our planet and its natural satellite on Nov. 20, 2016. At the time, Mars and Earth were about 127 million miles (205 million kilometers) apart, NASA officials said.
  
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• London has already breached annual legal air pollution limits just five days into 2017

  06-01-2017 20:44
  
  The hourly NO2 limit was broken in Brixton Road, Lambeth on Thursday.
  
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• Spacewalking astronauts upgrade station with new batteries

  06-01-2017 20:17
  
  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Spacewalking astronauts hooked up fancy new batteries Friday on the International Space Station's sprawling power grid.
  
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• Automakers take differing routes to self-driving future

  06-01-2017 19:39 via cbc.ca
  
  Ford and BMW expect self-driving cars for commercial use won't arrive until 2021, but you can buy an Audi with limited autonomous capabilities later this year, writes Matthew Braga.
  
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• Competition Bureau drops probe into Apple's iPhone deals with carriers

  06-01-2017 19:34 via cbc.ca
  
  Canada's competition watchdog is dropping its investigation into Apple's iPhone contracts with the country's wireless carriers, saying it hasn't found sufficient evidence that the contract terms had a significant effect on competition.
  
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• Why is asthma worse in black patients?

  06-01-2017 19:30
  African Americans may be less responsive to asthma treatment and more likely to die from the condition, in part, because they have a unique type of airway inflammation, according to a study. The study is one of the largest and most diverse trials conducted in the U.S. on race and asthma, with 26 percent of the patients self-identifying as African American. Researchers found that black patients were more likely to exhibit eosinophilic airway inflammation than whites, despite taking comparable dos
  
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• A.I. expert David Levy says a human will marry a robot by 2050

  06-01-2017 19:24 via cbc.ca
  
  This year, a California company plans to start selling a high-tech sex robot. A.I. expert David Levy predicted this would happen — and he says that by 2050, humans will be marrying robots too.
  
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• Giant iceberg, 5,000 square kilometers, set to calve from Larsen C Ice Shelf, Antarctica

  06-01-2017 19:19
  A huge iceberg looks set to break away from the Larsen C ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula. Satellite observations from December 2016 show a growing crack in the ice shelf which suggests that an iceberg with an area of up to 5,000 square kilometers is likely to calve soon.
  
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• Researchers find key genetic driver for rare type of triple-negative breast cancer

  06-01-2017 19:09
  By developing a new mouse model to study a poorly understood protein, researchers uncovered its link to metaplastic breast cancer, opening the door to better understanding of this challenging breast cancer subtype.
  
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• New treatment for a rare form of encephalitis

  06-01-2017 19:09
  Anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis is an inflammatory disease that affects the central nervous system. It is a rare autoimmune disease that results in the body producing antibodies against the NMDA receptor, a protein that plays an important role in signal transduction in the brain. Using a new treatment regimen, researchers have recorded significant progress in treating the disease, including in patients who did not previously respond to treatment.
  
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• New study finds one in five US gun owners obtained firearm without background check

  06-01-2017 19:09
  One in five US gun owners who obtained a firearm in the past two years did so without a back­ground check, according to a new, American national survey.
  
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• Why 'Hidden Figures' is a Movie Everyone Should Watch

  06-01-2017 19:00
  "Hidden Figures" hits the movie theaters for its wide release in the U.S. today (Jan. 6), and I highly recommend that everyone go see it. Specifically, it recounts the triumphs and struggles of three black women whose work was crucial to NASA in the early 1960s — a time when racial segregation was the law of the land, and gender discrimination was still the norm. Especially in Virginia, where the story takes place, local Jim Crow laws enforced segregation and discrimination against African
  
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• Research reveals help for eating disorder patients

  06-01-2017 18:58
  More people are dying from eating disorders than any other psychiatric disorder, and professor has discovered a way to help women by significantly reducing eating disorder symptoms in those who are struggling.
  
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• Hitler's 'Mein Kampf' Reprint Races Up German Best-Seller Chart

  06-01-2017 18:53
  
  A critical version of Hitler's notorious autobiography, "Mein Kampf," is now a best-seller in Germany. The publishing of "Mein Kampf" (or "My Struggle") was not without controversy. Some argued that the book, which laid out Adolf Hitler's poisonous ideology about an Aryan master race, would fuel the rise of white supremacists and neo-Nazis.
  
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• Where's 'Granny'? Oldest Orca Is Missing, and the Worst Is Feared

  06-01-2017 18:52
  
  A killer whale thought to be over 100 years old and known affectionately as "Granny" has not been sighted in several months and is thought to be deceased. The orca was described as "officially missing" from the local population — and likely dead, as she had not been seen since Oct. 12, 2016 — in a memorial post shared online Dec. 31, 2016, by marine biologist Ken Balcomb, a principal investigator at the Center for Whale Research (CWR) in Washington. Granny was identified as "J2" deca
  
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• Bull's-Eye: Geographer Pinpoints Center of North America

  06-01-2017 18:51
  
  The town of Center, North Dakota, is taking center stage, thanks to a geographer who has figured out that it's in the dead center of North America. Not much progress has been made since then, although the USGS has certainly tried. In 1931, the USGS called a spot near the town of Rugby, North Dakota (population 2,900), the geographic center of North America, only to update it in 1995 to a small body of water about 20 miles (32 kilometers) to the southwest of the town, according to the Wall Street
  
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• Study documents tree species' decline due to climate warming

  06-01-2017 18:48
  
  ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A type of tree that thrives in soggy soil from Alaska to Northern California and is valued for its commercial and cultural uses could become a noticeable casualty of climate warming over the next 50 years, an independent study has concluded.
  
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• Brixton Road breaches annual air pollution limit in five days

  06-01-2017 18:48 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A south London road breaches its EU annual air pollution limit for 2017 in just five days.
  
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• Jeanette Epps is set to become first African-American astronaut on the ISS

  06-01-2017 18:41
  
  She will be joined by veteran astronaut Andrew Feustel when she heads into space next year.
  
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• NASA chooses Canadian company to participate in asteroid mission

  06-01-2017 18:23 via cbc.ca
  
  NASA has chosen MDA to build a spacecraft platform that will venture to a metallic asteroid called 16 Psyche.
  
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• Unexpected role for epigenetic enzymes in cancer

  06-01-2017 17:38
  A new study focused on a family of enzymes — known as KDM5 — that have been shown in previous studies to be involved in cancer cell growth and spreading.
  
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• Time-restricted feeding study shows promise in helping people shed body fat

  06-01-2017 17:38
  For the first time in humans, it has been reported that eating early in the day lessens daily swings in hunger and changes the 24-hour pattern of fat oxidation and energy metabolism, which may aid in weight loss
  
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• Get down with the digital

  06-01-2017 17:36
  Music improvisation is all about the emotion, says one expert, but researchers have now found a way to understand the complex interactions that take place between instrumentalists and singers during a jam with the aim of using those insights to add greater emotional expression to a performance involving digital instruments.
  
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• Accelerated discovery a triple threat to triple negative breast cancer

  06-01-2017 17:11
  Researchers have advanced a potential treatment for metaplastic breast cancer--the most aggressive subtype of triple negative breast cancer, into patients in just under four years.
  
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• A huge iceberg is poised to break off in Antarctica

  06-01-2017 17:02
  
  The existing rift suddenly grew over Christmas time.
  
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• Huge iceberg ready to break off Antarctica: scientists

  06-01-2017 16:43 via cbc.ca
  
  A vast iceberg, expected to be one of the biggest ever recorded, with an area almost the size of Prince Edward Island, is poised to break off Antarctica.
  
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• Ancient 'Plain of Jars' Burial Site Recreated in Virtual Reality

  06-01-2017 16:41
  
  Archaeologists have recreated an ancient burial site in virtual reality, to help them study hard-to-access locations at the so-called Plain of Jars site in Laos and the millennia-old relics it contains. The researchers will also use virtual reality to study other archaeological sites at the Plain of Jars, many of them located where undetonated American bombs left over from the Vietnam War make it too dangerous to dig. It aims to create a virtual record of the unique landscape and its hundreds of
  
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• Debate heats up over claims that hot water sometimes freezes faster than cold

  06-01-2017 16:37
  
  A team of chemists has a new explanation for the Mpemba effect, while other scientists debate if it is even real.
  
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• Seattle Space Race Exhibit to Feature Jeff Bezos’ Recovered Moon Rocket Engines

  06-01-2017 16:00
  
  A new museum exhibit will feature space exploration artifacts retrieved from both the surface of the moon and the ocean floor when it opens in Seattle. The Museum of Flight announced on Wednesday (Jan. 4) that its new space race exhibit will debut to the public on May 20, with moon rocks and once-sunken rocket engines on display. "This exhibit is really going to focus on the space race, up through the post-Apollo 1970s," said Geoff Nunn, adjunct curator for space history at the Museum of Flight.
  
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• Astronauts perform spacewalk to replace space station batteries

  06-01-2017 15:53 via cbc.ca
  
  Astronauts conducted a six-and-a-half hour spacewalk Friday to hook up new batteries on the International Space Station.
  
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