Science news

• 'Garnet Planets' Would Be Hostile to Life

  11-01-2017 23:18
  
  Earth's surface is ever-changing, with tectonic plates bumping together to cause earthquakes and volcanoes, grow mountains and replenish and redistribute elements — and that dynamic environment helps life thrive. Planets are mostly made of the same stuff as their stars, and researchers have used that fact to simulate two very different rocky planets: one whose upper mantleis mostly the mineral olivine, like Earth's, and one with a stiff upper mantle made of garnet. According to Johanna Tes
  
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• Beautiful Galaxy Collision Captured by Hubble Telescope

  11-01-2017 23:18
  
  The galaxy crash is known as IRAS 14348-1447 after the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) that discovered it and is seen here as imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope. Located more than a billion light-years from Earth, IRAS 14348-1447 is known as an ultraluminous infrared galaxy, a category of cosmic entities that shine distinctively —and unbelievably brightly — in the infrared spectrum, according to a NASA image description. IRAS 14348-1447 is gas-rich, which means the mass
  
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• It takes guts for a sea spider to pump blood

  11-01-2017 22:46
  
  Most sea spiders have hearts, but what really gets their blood flowing are gut contractions.
  
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• Pain promoter also acts as pain reliever

  11-01-2017 22:09
  
  A pain-sensing protein also regulates activity of pain-relieving opioids.
  
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• Monkey Say, Monkey Do: Baboons Can Make Humanlike Speech Sounds

  11-01-2017 21:30 via rss.sciam.com
  
  New research suggests our last common ancestor with these monkeys possessed the vocal machinery needed to speak
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• A tornado in California? Not as rare as you might think

  11-01-2017 21:20
  LOS ANGELES (AP) — The latest storm to wallop Northern California whipped up a small tornado that downed trees and fences near Sacramento.
  
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• Photographer captures amazing 'light pillars' phenomenon in North Bay, Ont. skyline

  11-01-2017 20:57 via cbc.ca
  
  Timothy Joseph Alzinga woke up in the middle of the night to see beams of brightly coloured lights dancing across the night sky.
  
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• Photographer captures amazing 'light pillars' phenomenon in North Bay, Ont.

  11-01-2017 20:57 via cbc.ca
  
  Timothy Joseph Elzinga woke up in the middle of the night to see beams of brightly coloured lights dancing across the sky.
  
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• Photo of dead Syrian boy boosts fundraising 100-fold – study

  11-01-2017 20:36
  By Luke Mintz LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - An iconic photo of three-year-old Syrian boy Aylan Kurdi washed up dead on a Turkish beach had a greater impact on fundraising efforts for Syrian refugees than hundreds of thousands of deaths, a study has shown. The photo of Kurdi appeared in media across the world in the days after he drowned in the Mediterranean Sea in September 2015. "People who had been unmoved by the relentlessly rising death toll in Syria suddenly appeared to care much mo
  
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• White House assails Trump 'secrecy' on financial dealings with Russia

  11-01-2017 20:35
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House on Wednesday said U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and his transition team have refused to make public information that would put to rest questions about his and his family's possible financial entanglements in Russia. "There's ample evidence that they could marshal, to make public to refute those claims, those accusations that they say are baseless. But they refuse to do so," spokesman Josh Earnest said at a news briefing. "That kind of secrecy only serve
  
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• Ancient oddball invertebrate finds its place on the tree of life

  11-01-2017 20:30
  
  Ancient marine invertebrates called hyoliths may be more closely related to modern horseshoe worms than mollusks, a fossil analysis finds.
  
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• Scientists: Moon over the hill at 4.51 billion years old

  11-01-2017 20:18
  
  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — It turns out the moon is older than many scientists suspected: a ripe 4.51 billion years old.
  
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• Study: Some bats showing resistance to deadly fungus

  11-01-2017 20:17
  
  CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — The little brown bat, a species that has been decimated by a deadly fungus, could be taking the first tentative steps to recovery, scientists say in a recent study published by Great Britain's Royal Society.
  
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• How Old Is the Moon? Scientists Say They Finally Know

  11-01-2017 20:01
  
  The moon is a very old soul, it turns out. A new analysis of lunar rocks brought to Earth by Apollo astronauts suggests that the moon formed 4.51 billion years ago — just 60 million years after the solar system itself took shape. Some previous studies have come up with similar estimates, while others have argued for a younger moon that coalesced 150 million to 200 million years after the solar system was born.
  
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• The moon is still old

  11-01-2017 20:00
  
  New analysis of moon rocks points to our satellite forming about 4.51 billion years ago, roughly 60 million years after the start of the solar system.
  
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• Hackers could remotely control defibrillator or pacemaker, U.S. warns

  11-01-2017 19:50 via cbc.ca
  
  The U.S. Homeland Security Department warned about an unusual cybersecurity flaw for one manufacturer's implantable heart devices that it said could allow hackers to remotely take control of a person's defibrillator or pacemaker.
  
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• 'Star Wars gibbon' is new primate species

  11-01-2017 19:40 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A gibbon living in the tropical forests of China is a new species of primate, scientists say.
  
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• Facebook wants to 'support journalism,' educate readers

  11-01-2017 19:22 via cbc.ca
  
  The move is intended to "establish stronger ties between Facebook and the news industry," an comes after months of criticism, in which Facebook has been widely blamed for enabling the spread of "fake news."
  
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• Mysterious fossils find place on the tree of life

  11-01-2017 19:04 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists say they have solved the mystery surrounding a sea creature that lived more than 500 million years ago.
  
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• Cone-shaped sea creatures finally get place on evolutionary tree

  11-01-2017 19:00 via cbc.ca
  
  Ancient sea creatures roamed Earth 530 million years ago. But until now, paleontologists didn't quite know where they belonged on the evolutionary tree.
  
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• Pile of Skeletons Found Inside 2,400-Year-Old Tomb in Iraq

  11-01-2017 18:31
  
  A 2,400-year-old tomb filled with the skeletons of at least six people has been discovered in northern Iraq. The tomb was constructed toward the end, or just after, the time of the Achaemenid Empire (550 to 330 B.C.), an empire in the Middle East that was conquered by Alexander the Great in a series of campaigns, according to the archaeologists, led by Michael Danti, a professor at Boston University. The excavation results were presented by Kyra Kaercher and Katie Downey, graduate students
  
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• Mapping the future of continents and batteries

  11-01-2017 18:18
  Editor in chief Eva Emerson discusses how science provides new perspectives on the past and the future.
  
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• Readers weigh in on dinos, dark matter and more

  11-01-2017 18:15
  Ancient bird calls, the search for dark matter and more in reader feedback.
  
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• Defect grounds Sukhoi Superjet planes

  11-01-2017 17:16
  
  A Sukhoi Superjet 100 performs during the International Aviation and Space Show, in Zhukovsky, outside Moscow, on August 25, 2015
  
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• Retracted result on network equivalence reinstated

  11-01-2017 16:47
  
  Graph isomorphism result still stands, despite error.
  
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• Antarctic Science Lab On the Move to Escape Breaking Ice

  11-01-2017 16:46
  
  A British scientific base in Antarctica is on the move to a new location, to avoid being cut adrift by a crack in a floating ice shelf. The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) announced on New Year's Eve that the first module of the Halley VI Research Station was towed by tractors to a new site on the Brunt Ice Shelf in Antarctica's Weddell Sea, 14 miles (23 kilometers) east of its former location. The remaining seven main buildings of the modular research base will be towed to the new site over the
  
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• The Hidden Trade in Our Medical Data: Why We Should Worry

  11-01-2017 16:45 via rss.sciam.com
  
  For-profit companies use our anonymized medical data in a huge secondary market. Advances in computing make it increasingly possible for outsiders to identify people from among the hundreds of...
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• Ancient Toy Inspires Low-Cost Medical Diagnostic Tool

  11-01-2017 16:44
  
  Modern medicine relies heavily on technology, like centrifuges, that are costly, bulky and require electricity. The centrifuge is the workhorse of modern medical laboratories. Most diagnostics "are like looking for a needle in a haystack," said Manu Prakash, lead researcher on the new study and an assistant professor of bioengineering at Stanford University.
  
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• Ageing Kazakh leader gives green light to constitutional reforms

  11-01-2017 16:39
  Kazakhstan's veteran leader Nursultan Nazarbayev gave the green light on Wednesday for constitutional reforms that could dilute the sweeping powers he has amassed as president and force his eventual successor to share power with other institutions. Kazakhstan, an exporter of oil and metals, is the only former Soviet republic that is still run by its communist-era leader. Now aged 76, Nazarbayev has so far not identified a clear successor and investors fear what may come after him.
  
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• Researchers reveal there are basically three types of selfie takers... and most of them aren't self-publicists

  11-01-2017 16:26
  
  “It’s important to recognise that not everyone is a narcissist.”
  
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• Zero-emission boat prepares for round-the-world trip

  11-01-2017 15:38 via cbc.ca
  
  The first self-sufficient boat powered only by emission-free energy will start a six-year trip around the world in the spring.
  
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• Ranking Romance: Here Are the Best (and Worst) States for Love

  11-01-2017 15:38
  
  If you're living in Virginia, you may be in the wrong state. In a study of positive relationships in all 50 U.S. states, researchers found that Virginia ― despite its slogan ― is not "for lovers." That travel slogan should belong to Mississippi, Utah or Wisconsin, which topped the rankings. Lead author William Chopik, an assistant psychology professor at Michigan State University, said the study results fit many state's stereotypes.
  
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• Playing an instrument could make your reactions faster

  11-01-2017 15:23
  
  Learning an instrument in your old age could improve your reflexes.
  
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• Dramatic Man-of-War Takes Top Ocean Art Photography Prize

  11-01-2017 15:15
  
  A dramatic Pacific man-of-war framed against a deep black sea is the subject of one of the winning photos in this year's Ocean Art Underwater Photo Competition. This year is the contest's sixth, and the top "Best in Show" prize went to a photo called "Blue Lasso" by Matty Smith. The photo, which also won the top prize in the wide-angle category, was shot in Bushrangers Bay in New South Wales, Australia.
  
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• Canadian scientists uncover how pregnant woman, unborn son died in ancient city of Troy

  11-01-2017 15:15 via cbc.ca
  
  A McMaster scientist led a team of international researchers that have sequenced the genome from bacteria found in the DNA of a pregnant woman in the ancient city of Troy.
  
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• Seahawks Score Touchdown, and Fans Shake Earthquake Monitors

  11-01-2017 15:13
  
  Seattle Seahawks fans' enthusiastic stomping and cheering at CenturyLink Field during the NFL playoff season is so powerful it can be felt by sensitive earthquake-detection equipment. The Pacific Northwest Seismic Network (PNSN) installed an array of seismometers (equipment that visualizes shaking as waves) at several stations throughout the stadium, in anticipation of the tremors that Seahawks followers have become famous for generating. Preliminary analysis of the Jan. 7 data revealed that the
  
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• Here's why you want to binge eat when you are drunk

  11-01-2017 14:54
  
  Sciencists may have an answer to why your booze-filled brain is telling you to order an Indian takeaway.
  
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• Evidence falls into place for once and future supercontinents

  11-01-2017 14:38
  
  Shifting landmasses have repeatedly reshaped Earth’s surface. Researchers piecing together the past are now picturing a new supercontinent, due in 250 million years.
  
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• Hubble Spies Exocomets Diving into Young Star

  11-01-2017 14:00
  
  NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has detected several comets diving toward a young star about 95 light-years from Earth. The star, known as HD 172555, is approximately 23 million years old and represents the third extrasolar system where astronomers have detected such comets, according to a statement from NASA. The presence of comets falling toward HD 172555 was determined based on observations of nearby gases, which astronomers say are the vaporized remnants of disintegrated comets after they have
  
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• From Lunar Wolves to Worms, These Are the Full Moon Names of 2017

  11-01-2017 13:30
  
  Full moon names date back to a few hundred years ago, when Native Americans lived in what is now the northern and eastern United States. Since the lunar ("synodic") month is roughly 29.5 days in length, on average, the dates of the full moon shift from year to year. Here is a list of all of the full moon names, dates and times (for the Eastern time zone) in 2017.
  
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• Air Force's Mysterious X-37B Space Plane Wings by 600 Days in Orbit

  11-01-2017 13:30
  
  The U.S. Air Force's mysterious X-37B space plane has now spent 600 days in Earth orbit on the vessel's latest mission, and is nearing a program record for longest time spent in space. The robotic X-37B lifted off atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on May 20, 2015, kicking off the program's fourth space mission (which is known as Orbital Test Vehicle-4, or OTV-4). The first OTV mission began on April 22, 2010, and concluded on Dec. 3 of t
  
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• A new species of gibbon has been identified and named after a major Star Wars character

  11-01-2017 13:23
  
  Meet the Skywalker hoolock gibbon.
  
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• Salsa Primeval: 52-Million-Year-Old Tomatillo Found

  11-01-2017 13:00 via rss.sciam.com
  
  The fossilized fruit, a cousin of tomatoes, potatoes, chilies and tobacco, dates the famous plant family 30 million years older than previously thought
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• How shopping bags made out of prawns could save us all

  11-01-2017 12:37
  
  This new invention sounds…fishy.
  
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• Nightmare on the pill

  11-01-2017 11:30 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Millions of women have no problem with the pill but some find it shatters their mental health. Here The Debrief's Vicky Spratt describes years of depression, anxiety and panic.
  
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• Inside the secret lives of polar bears

  11-01-2017 11:22 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A camera attached to the neck of a female polar bear shows two bears breaking through ice sheets to hunt for prey.
  
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• CFIA fast-tracked tests on genetically modified salmon eggs for exports, documents suggest

  11-01-2017 11:00 via cbc.ca
  
  It appears the Canadian Food Inspection Agency fast-tracked safety tests on eggs from genetically modified salmon to hit an export deadline last year. Documents shared with CBC News show the salmon eggs jumped the queue to speed up testing.
  
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• Blind mice have sight restored

  11-01-2017 11:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Blind mice regain partial vision after stem cell reprogramming
  
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• Big Brother collecting big data — and in China, it's all for sale

  11-01-2017 11:00 via cbc.ca
  
  Inside China's Great Firewall, the internet is designed to gather information. And there's an industry of private and state-owned high-tech enterprises serving it.
  
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• Why better choices depend on 'libertarian paternalism'

  11-01-2017 06:00
  
  (University of Florida) Nudging people toward better behavior through policy can be effective, but can face resistance if people feel their autonomy is threatened.
  
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