Science news

• Humans Really Are Made of Stardust, and a New Study Proves It

  10-01-2017 23:10
  
  The crucial elements for life on Earth, often called the building blocks of life, can be abbreviated as CHNOPS: carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and sulfur. The researchers used stellar measurements from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey's (SDSS) Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) spectrograph in New Mexico. APOGEE can peer through the dust in the Milky Way because it uses infrared wavelengths, which pass through dust.
  
  Read more

• Battling a bat infestation? Give your guano to science

  10-01-2017 23:00 via cbc.ca
  
  Guano — or, bat poop — could be the key to protecting Alberta’s bat populations, which are being wiped out by the thousands from a fungal disease.
  
  Read more

• 2017 Total Solar Eclipse: A Magnet for Scientists ... and Hordes of People

  10-01-2017 22:55
  
  The 2017 total solar eclipse, which will be visible across the contiguous United States, will be a scientific marvel and a potentially life-changing experience for people who view it. The eclipse was a hot topic of discussion Dec. 3 through Dec. 8 at the 229th meeting of the American Astronomical Society.
  
  Read more

• U.S. lists first bumble bee species as endangered

  10-01-2017 22:29
  
  (Reuters) - The rusty patched bumble bee, a prized but vanishing pollinator once familiar to much of North America, was listed on Tuesday as an endangered species, becoming the first wild bee in the continental United States to gain such federal protection.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Researchers identify monarch butterfly birthplaces to help conserve species

  10-01-2017 22:10
  Researchers have pinpointed the North American birthplaces of migratory monarch butterflies that overwinter in Mexico, vital information that will help conserve the dwindling species. The researchers analyzed 'chemical fingerprints' in the wings of butterflies collected as far back as the mid-1970s to learn where monarchs migrate within North America each autumn.
  
  Read more

• Dual-purpose biofuel crops could extend production, increase profits

  10-01-2017 22:09
  Dual-purpose biofuel crops could extend production by two months, decreasing the cost of each gallon of fuel and increasing profits by as much as 30 percent.
  
  Read more

• Giant telescope to seek habitable planets in nearby star system

  10-01-2017 22:08 via cbc.ca
  
  The European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile will be modified in order to allow it to search more effectively for potentially habitable planets in Alpha Centauri, the nearest star system to Earth.
  
  Read more

• [Research Article] Synergistic regulation of serotonin and opioid signaling contribute to pain insensitivity in Nav1.7 knockout mice

  10-01-2017 22:03 via stke.sciencemag.org
  The voltage-gated Na+ channel Nav1.7 controls the balance of pain-promoting and AQ3 pain-relieving receptor input.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• [Research Article] Signaling by two-component system noncognate partners promotes intrinsic tolerance to polymyxin B in uropathogenic Escherichia coli

  10-01-2017 22:03 via stke.sciencemag.org
  A single stimulus triggers cross-talk between two signaling systems that promotes antibiotic resistance in uropathogenic Escherichia coli.
  
  Read more

• [Research Article] Reduced abundance of the E3 ubiquitin ligase E6AP contributes to decreased expression of the INK4/ARF locus in non-small cell lung cancer

  10-01-2017 22:03 via stke.sciencemag.org
  E6AP exhibits tumor suppressor activity that may help stratify NSCLC patients.
  
  Read more

• [Research Article] Autocrine Wnt regulates the survival and genomic stability of embryonic stem cells

  10-01-2017 22:03 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Wnt signaling ensures proper chromosome segregation and genomic stability in proliferating embryonic stem cells.
  
  Read more

• [Editors' Choice] Tumors block pain with CXCL12

  10-01-2017 22:03 via stke.sciencemag.org
  The chemokine CXCL12 released from early stage pancreatic cancer recruits Schwann cells and suppresses pain signaling.
  
  Read more

• [Editors' Choice] New connections: NHERF gates activity

  10-01-2017 22:03 via stke.sciencemag.org
  The NHERF molecular adaptors serve as gates for TRPC4 and TRPC5 regulation by diacylglycerol and recognition of CFTR by the quality control checkpoint.
  
  Read more

• Space Shuttle Endeavour Exhibit Gains Flight-Worthy Solid Rocket Boosters

  10-01-2017 21:55
  
  The space shuttle Endeavour exhibit at the California Science Center is getting a "boost" in the form of two very large, flight-worthy additions. Orbital ATK and NASA are donating a pair of solid rocket boosters for the Los Angeles museum's vertical display of the retired orbiter. The two boosters, together with NASA's last existing built-for-flight external tank, will be mounted to Endeavour in the Science Center's new Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, creating the world's only fully-authenti
  
  Read more

• Odd Shadow Around Young Star May Be Sign of Newborn Planet

  10-01-2017 21:55
  
  Astronomers might have just found a new way to discover alien planets. A bizarre shadow cast on the disk of dust and gas surrounding the young star TW Hydrae is likely evidence of an unseen exoplanet orbiting within the disk, astronomers report in a new study. The research team noticed the shadow after analyzing 18 years' worth of observations of TW Hydrae, which is about 8 million years old and lies 192 light-years from Earth, in the constellation Hydra.
  
  Read more

• NASA's Historic First Mission Control Center Recreated for 'Hidden Figures'

  10-01-2017 21:55
  
  NASA's original mission control briefly returns to service, recreated for the 20th Century Fox film "Hidden Figures," seven years after the historic facility was demolished and two months after its contents reopened on public display as part of a new attraction. The Mercury Control Center (MCC), which was founded at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, was active for the first seven U.S. human spaceflights, from May 1961 to March 1965. As the first of its kind, the MCC debuted the now ic
  
  Read more

• Researchers reveal connection between female estrogen cycle, addictive potential of cocaine

  10-01-2017 21:44
  A new study shows how high estrogen release during the estrus cycle increases the pleasure felt via the brain’s reward pathway.
  
  Read more

• Microscopic spaces between heart cells may play role in sudden cardiac death

  10-01-2017 21:44
  Sudden cardiac death in patients with heart failure is a major concern in the United States. A research team will investigate how the microscopic spaces surrounding heart cells affect connections called gap junctions.
  
  Read more

• Computer models could help design physical therapy regimens

  10-01-2017 21:44
  Researchers have developed a computational walking model that could help guide patients to their best possible recovery after a stroke.
  
  Read more

• Unique gene signature predicts potentially lethal prostate cancers

  10-01-2017 21:41
  Standard therapy for prostate cancer, the third-leading cause of cancer-related deaths in American men, is based on blocking androgens, the male sex hormones. However, for some men, prostate cancer recurs despite androgen-deprivation therapy. A team of scientists has identified an 11-gene signature unique to advanced recurrent prostate cancer that they believe will help to identify these aggressive and potentially fatal prostate cancers sooner.
  
  Read more

• Repeat cesarean deliveries less cost-effective in low-risk women, investigators find

  10-01-2017 21:41
  For women with a prior low transverse incision cesarean delivery, the decision to undergo a vaginal delivery or elect to have a repeat cesarean delivery has important clinical and economic ramifications.
  
  Read more

• Plus-sized fly: A model to understand the mechanisms underlying human obesity

  10-01-2017 21:41
  A new fly model sheds light on how the brain acts to signal 'fullness' and the possibility of conferring resilience against the impact of high-fat diets.
  
  Read more

• Eastern Russian plant collection could improve cold hardiness in miscanthus

  10-01-2017 21:39
  Winters in eastern Russia are intensely cold, with air temperatures regularly reaching -30 degrees Fahrenheit in some locations. It is a seemingly inhospitable climate, but native plants have found ways to thrive there. A plant geneticist suspected one of these plants may hold the key to breeding cold-tolerant food and biomass crops. To find out, the modern-day botanical explorer set off across eastern Russia to collect specimens of the perennial grass Miscanthus sacchariflorus.
  
  Read more

• Wastewater treatment upgrades result in major reduction of intersex fish

  10-01-2017 21:14
  Upgrades to a wastewater treatment plant along Ontario's Grand River, led to a 70 per cent drop of fish that have both male and female characteristics within one year and a full recovery of the fish population within three years, according to researchers.
  
  Read more

• Postdoc jobs in biomedicine don't yield positive returns in the labor market

  10-01-2017 21:14
  Postdoc jobs don't yield a positive return in the labor market, research has concluded. Additionally, the investigators found that these positions likely cost graduates roughly three years' worth of salary in their first 15 years of their careers.
  
  Read more

• Innovative imaging, surgery treats lymph condition in adults

  10-01-2017 21:14
  Researchers who developed a safe and effective procedure to remove thick clogs in children's airways are now reporting similar success in adult patients. In this rare condition, called plastic bronchitis, patients develop thick, caulk-like casts that form in the branching paths of their airways.
  
  Read more

• For viral predators of bacteria, sensitivity can be contagious

  10-01-2017 21:14
  Scientists have shown for the first time how bacteria with resistance to a viral predator can become susceptible to it after spending time in the company of other susceptible or 'sensitive' bacteria. This 'contagious' sensitivity, enabling bacteriophage invasion into previously resistant cells, could have a major impact on the transfer of antibiotic resistance genes among bacteria.
  
  Read more

• Researchers discover new subtype of cervical cancer

  10-01-2017 21:13
  Scientists have identified a new subtype of cervical cancer that may explain why a fraction of cervical cancer patients do not respond to standard treatment.
  
  Read more

• Pretty in pink: Some algae like it cold

  10-01-2017 21:13
  Scientific efforts are aimed at learning more about the effects of pink snow algae on glaciers and snowfields covering Pacific Northwest stratovolcanoes.
  
  Read more

• Gene mutations behind lack of a nose identified

  10-01-2017 21:13
  Researchers have identified gene mutations associated with a rare congenital condition involving the absence of a nose and often accompanied by defects involving the eye and reproductive systems. Mutations in the same gene have previously been associated with a form of muscular dystrophy.
  
  Read more

• 2017 Detroit auto show presents new and electrifying ideas

  10-01-2017 20:38 via cbc.ca
  
  The North American International Auto Show begins with a press preview. Here's a look at new models and concepts at the show in Detroit that opens to the public on Saturday.
  
  Read more

• Giant telescope in Chile to seek habitable planets in Alpha Centauri

  10-01-2017 20:15
  
  SANTIAGO (Reuters) - The European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile will be modified in order to allow it to search more effectively for potentially habitable planets in Alpha Centauri, the nearest star system to Earth.
  
  Read more

• Putting a kid-friendly filter on Instagram's terms of use

  10-01-2017 19:58 via cbc.ca
  
  Dan Misener explains why a task force rewrote Instagram's terms of service to make them easier for kids to understand.
  
  Read more

• What does it take for an AIDS virus to infect a person?

  10-01-2017 19:48
  Researchers examined the characteristics of HIV-1 strains that were successful in traversing the genital mucosa that forms a boundary to entry by viruses and bacteria. Studying viral isolates from the blood and genital secretions of eight chronically HIV-1 infected donors and their matched recipients, the researchers identified a sub-population of HIV-1 strains with biological properties that predispose them to establish new infections more efficiently.
  
  Read more

• Researchers find protein that weakens severe sepsis immune reaction

  10-01-2017 19:47
  No effective therapy exists today for sepsis, an inflammatory storm that afflicts about 3 million Americans a year, killing up to half. But now, investigators have identified a key molecule that, in mice, helps protect the body’s central nervous system against the runaway inflammation.
  
  Read more

• Daily folic acid supplementation remains important for prevention of birth defects

  10-01-2017 19:35
  Despite the mandatory addition of folic acid to enriched grain products in the United States, many women still do not consume adequate amounts of this important vitamin, according to a new editorial.
  
  Read more

• University of Waterloo team trains autonomous car to drive in winter weather

  10-01-2017 19:08 via cbc.ca
  
  As motorists across much of southwestern Ontario endured poor road conditions Tuesday, the "autonomoose" - a driverless Lincoln MKZ - is also getting a lesson in winter weather driving.
  
  Read more

• 11 frosty photos of the UK that prove cold weather is actually really beautiful

  10-01-2017 18:50
  
  January has brought some chilly weather but nothing says winter like snow, and it’s coming later this week.
  
  Read more

• Japanese monkey tries to mate with deer

  10-01-2017 18:46 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A male Japanese monkey has been filmed trying to mount and mate with a Sika deer.
  
  Read more

• U.S. declares rusty-patched bumblebee endangered

  10-01-2017 18:43 via cbc.ca
  
  The rusty-patched bumblebee has become the first bee species in the continental U.S. to be declared endangered after suffering a dramatic population decline over the past 20 years, federal officials said Tuesday.
  
  Read more

• Summer heat for the winter

  10-01-2017 18:11
  Can thermal solar energy be stored until wintertime? Within a European research consortium, scientists have spent four years studying this question by pitting three different techniques against each other.
  
  Read more

• Portable device for early diabetes detection being developed

  10-01-2017 18:11
  Researchers are developing a portable device for detecting type 1 or type 2 diabetes at an early stage. The ultimate aim of the project is to develop a prototype of the device. 
  
  Read more

Follow @ScienceUKnews on Twitter!