Science news

• Gene Cernan, last astronaut to walk on moon, dies at 82

  16-01-2017 23:46
  (Reuters) - Eugene Cernan, the last astronaut to walk on the moon - an experience that he said made him "belong to the universe," died on Monday at the age of 82, the U.S. space agency said. Cernan, who was also the second man to walk in space, died surrounded by his family, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said in a statement without providing details. A separate statement from his family and released by NASA said his death came after "ongoing health issues." Cernan and fellow
  
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• Factbox: Eugene Cernan, last man to walk on moon, dies at 82

  16-01-2017 23:46
  (Reuters) - Facts about retired U.S. astronaut Eugene Cernan, the last man to walk on the moon, who died on Monday: * In addition to being one of 12 men to walk on the moon, Cernan was the third person to walk in space, following Russian Alexei Leonov and American Ed White. Cernan spent two hours and seven minutes outside the Gemini 9 spacecraft on the 1966 mission but had to come in early because his helmet visor was fogging up due to exertion. Because the spacewalk was shortened, Cernan did no
  
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• Gene Cernan, last man to walk on Moon, dies aged 82

  16-01-2017 23:36 via bbc.co.uk
  
  US astronaut Gene Cernan, commander of Apollo 17, has died, his family and Nasa announce.
  
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• Eugene Cernan, the last man to walk on the moon, dies aged 82

  16-01-2017 23:19
  Astronaut Eugene Cernan, the last man to walk on the moon, has died aged 82, NASA has announced. Cernan was the 11th person to walk on the surface of the moon when he stepped from the lunar module “Challenger”.
  
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• Britain's Antarctic base Halley VI to shut over ice crack concerns

  16-01-2017 23:02
  A British research base in Antarctica is being shut down for eight months because it is perched on an ice shelf which is cracking. The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) is withdrawing all staff from its space-age Halley VI base from March to November. BAS says a new crack in the floating Brunt ice shelf presents "a complex glaciological picture" and scientists are unable to predict what will happen during the Antarctic winter.
  
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• Text 911 for help? CRTC holds hearing on upgrading emergency services

  16-01-2017 22:44 via cbc.ca
  
  You may soon be able to text 911 for help, send a photo depicting damage from an emergency or even share video of a bad guy fleeing a scene. But a public health expert says Canadians should be questioning the reliability of the 911 service we already have.
  
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• Piccadilly Circus goes dark as billboards switched off

  16-01-2017 21:03
  
  The giant billboards that have lit up London's Piccadilly Circus for more than 100 years have been switched off for renovation. The six famous screens, which have long been a tourist attraction in the capital, are to be replaced by a single, large curved screen. Coca-Cola, which has had its name up in lights on the corner of Regent Street and Piccadilly since 1954, will share the new space with five other advertisers.
  
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• Saudi says Trump stance on Iran and IS cause for optimism

  16-01-2017 21:00
  By John Irish PARIS (Reuters) - Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said on Monday he was positive about the way the incoming U.S. administration wanted to restore American influence in the world, contain Iran and fight Islamic State. "We will look at the Trump administration's view as articulated. Wanting to defeat ISIS (Islamic State), absolutely.
  
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• #DoesItFart? Scientists compile database of which animals pass gas

  16-01-2017 20:19 via cbc.ca
  
  Researchers from around the world have contributed their animal fart knowledge through a Google spreadsheet and Twitter hashtag. Guest host Helen Mann speaks
  
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• Venus wave may be Solar System's biggest

  16-01-2017 20:16 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A giant wave in the atmosphere of Venus may be the biggest of its kind in the Solar System.
  
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• Just 20 Minutes of Walking May Reduce Inflammation in Your Body

  16-01-2017 20:16
  
  Just 20 minutes of exercise may help fight inflammation in the body, a new study suggests. In the study, 47 people walked on a treadmill at a brisk pace for 20 minutes, and had blood samples taken before and after this exercise session. The researchers found that this amount of exercise reduced markers of inflammation in the body.
  
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• Just How Safe Are Vaccines? Here Are the Numbers

  16-01-2017 20:14
  
  Anti-vaccine advocate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said that President-elect Donald Trump asked him to lead a new government commission on vaccine safety. On Tuesday (Jan. 10), Kennedy met with the president-elect at Trump Tower, and later told reporters about the new commission. A spokesperson for Trump said only that the president-elect was "exploring the possibility of forming a committee on autism," according to The New York Times.
  
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• How Healthy Is Your Diet? New Urine Test Can Tell

  16-01-2017 20:14
  
  The test detects and measures the levels of certain biological markers that are created when foods such as meat, fruit and vegetables are broken down by the body after a person eats them, the researchers found. These markers can more objectively indicate whether a person eats a healthy diet — for example, one that is rich in fruits and vegetables, said lead study author Isabel Garcia-Perez, a research associate in the Imperial College London Department of Medicine. In the study, the resear
  
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• Trump team moving away from supporters on climate science

  16-01-2017 18:46 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The incoming Trump administration accepts far more of the research on climate change than many of their political supporters, say British scientists.
  
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• Scientists are designing a solar-powered system that could give remote Indian villages safe drinking water

  16-01-2017 17:39
  
  The team is currently adapting existing technologies to power the second stage in the decontamination process.
  
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• Ice crack to put UK Antarctic base in shut-down

  16-01-2017 17:38 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The British Antarctic Survey is pulling all staff out of the space-age Halley base in March because of a big crack in nearby ice.
  
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• Why a Canadian teen joined American youth in suing U.S. over climate change

  16-01-2017 17:23 via cbc.ca
  
  All his life, Jacob Lebel has felt a special connection to the land, in rural Quebec where he was born and in Oregon where he now farms. Lebel, 19, has joined a group of American young people who are suing the U.S. government, alleging their constitutional rights are being violated because it supports the fossil fuel industry.
  
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• Blue Monday: Real thing or ridiculous myth?

  16-01-2017 15:13
  
  Here’s the science and history behind this so-called most depressing day of the year.
  
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• Football Physics: Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers Got Tips from Astronaut Mark Kelly

  16-01-2017 14:19
  
  Advice from an astronaut might have helped Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers perfect his Hail Mary technique.
  
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• Police Programs to Help Treat Addicts Face Uncertain Future

  16-01-2017 13:30 via rss.sciam.com
  
  The Trump administration may not be as supportive as Obama was of successful “ANGEL” programs
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Yukon home to 1st traces of humans in North America 24,000 years ago, research suggests

  16-01-2017 13:00 via cbc.ca
  
  Humans may have been living in Yukon’s Bluefish Caves 10,000 years earlier than previously thought and may have been the first people in North America, new research from the University of Montreal suggests.
  
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• Gaza power crisis eases as Qatar donates $12 million to buy fuel

  16-01-2017 12:41
  By Nidal al-Mughrabi GAZA (Reuters) - An electricity crisis that has caused protests and unrest in the Gaza Strip eased on Monday after Qatar donated $12 million (£9.9 million) to buy fuel for the Palestinian enclave's lone power plant, officials said. For weeks, Gaza's population of 2 million has been making do with barely a few hours a day of electricity - less than half its usual supply. The Energy Authority run by the enclave's governing Hamas Islamist group said the Qatari-funded fuel
  
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• Chin up! Blue Monday is not the saddest day of the year

  16-01-2017 11:00 via cbc.ca
  
  Hype about Blue Monday, which some claim to be the most depressing day of the year, makes light of the seriousness of mental illness, says a Horizon Health mental health manager.
  
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• UV light can aid hospitals' fight to wipe out drug-resistant superbugs

  16-01-2017 06:00
  
  (Duke University Medical Center) A new tool -- a type of ultraviolet light called UVC -- could aid hospitals in the ongoing battle to keep drug-resistant bacteria from lingering in patient rooms and causing new infections.
  
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• Theory lends transparency to how glass breaks

  16-01-2017 06:00
  
  (Rice University) Rice University scientists explain how and why shear bands form in metallic glasses and make them more prone to break.
  
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• The lasting effects of ministrokes may contribute to dementia

  16-01-2017 06:00
  
  (Medical University of South Carolina) Medical University of South Carolina investigators report preclinical research showing that microinfarcts induce prolonged dysfunction in brain areas estimated to be 12-times larger than the visible injury site in an article published online on Jan. 16, 2017, by the Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism. Data from c-Fos assays and in vivo hemodynamic imaging reveal how individually miniscule microinfarcts might collectively contribute to broader b
  
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• The first humans arrived in North America a lot earlier than believed

  16-01-2017 06:00
  
  (University of Montreal) Anthropologists at Université de Montréal have dated the oldest human settlement in Canada back 10,000 years.
  
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• Study tracks 'memory' of soil moisture

  16-01-2017 06:00
  
  (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) SMAP's first year of observational data has now been analyzed and is providing some significant surprises that will help in the modeling of climate, forecasting of weather, and monitoring of agriculture around the world.
  
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• Study finds high survival rate for elderly patients with implantable defibrillator

  16-01-2017 06:00
  
  (American College of Cardiology) Of patients over age 65 who received an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) after surviving sudden cardiac arrest or a near-fatal arrhythmia, almost 80 percent survived two years -- a higher rate than found in past trials performed to demonstrate the efficacy of the devices in this situation, according to a study today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
  
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• Study applies game theory to genomic privacy

  16-01-2017 06:00
  
  (Vanderbilt University Medical Center) A new study from Vanderbilt University presents an unorthodox approach to protect the privacy of genomic data, showing how optimal trade-offs between privacy risk and scientific utility can be struck as genomic data are released for research. The framework can be used to suppress just enough genomic data to persuade would-be snoops that their best privacy attacks will be unprofitable.
  
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• Solar power plan set to bring fresh water to out-of-reach villages

  16-01-2017 06:00
  
  (University of Edinburgh) A solar-powered purification system could provide remote parts of India with clean drinking water for the first time.
  
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• SMiLE-seq: A new technique speeds up genetics

  16-01-2017 06:00
  
  (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) Scientists at EPFL have developed a technique that can be a game-changer for genetics by making the characterization of DNA-binding proteins much faster, more accurate, and efficient.
  
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• Self-assembling particles brighten future of LED lighting

  16-01-2017 06:00
  
  (Princeton University, Engineering School) Researchers have illuminated another path forward for LED technologies by refining the manufacturing of light sources made with crystalline substances known as perovskites, a more efficient and potentially lower-cost alternative to materials used in LEDs found on store shelves.
  
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• Retail therapy for jealous partners

  16-01-2017 06:00
  
  (Society for Consumer Psychology) When people in a relationships fees jealous about the attention their partners are receiving, they are more likely to purchase eye-grabbing products. This is an attempt to recapture the attention of their partners.
  
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• Rapidly meeting the mental health needs of older adults

  16-01-2017 06:00
  
  (Indiana University) There is only one geriatric psychiatrist for every 23,000 older Americans. How is health care system expected to meet mental health needs of older adults? The new DSM-5 Pocket Guide for Elder Mental Health ensures information -- critical to the diagnosis and treatment of older adult--is accessible to everyone (including family caregivers) who is involved in caring for an older adult--not just to those with geriatrics training.
  
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• Presumed young star turns out to be a galactic senior citizen

  16-01-2017 06:00
  
  (Ruhr-University Bochum) 49 Lib, a relatively bright star in the southern sky, is twelve billion years old rather than just 2.3 billion. For many decades, researchers were stumped by conflicting data pertaining to this celestial body, because they had estimated it as much younger than it really is. Determining its age anew, astronomers at Ruhr-Universität Bochum have now successfully resolved all inconsistencies. Dr. Klaus Fuhrmann and Professor Dr. Rolf Chini published their results in the
  
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• Poll: Parents struggle with when to keep kids home sick from school

  16-01-2017 06:00
  
  (University of Michigan Health System) Opinions differ when it comes to how sick is too sick to go to school, or the importance of sick day consequences such as parents missing work or kids missing tests, according to a new national poll.
  
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• Patients recovering from depression show improvements in memory from the drug modafinil

  16-01-2017 06:00
  
  (University of Cambridge) Modafinil, a drug used to treat narcolepsy -- excessive daytime sleepiness -- can improve memory in patients recovering from depression, according to new research from the University of Cambridge. The findings, published today in the journal Biological Psychiatry: CNNI, result from a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study and offer hope of a treatment for some of the cognitive symptoms of depression.
  
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• Nanoscale view of energy storage

  16-01-2017 06:00
  
  (Stanford University) Through long shifts at the helm of a highly sophisticated microscope, researchers at Stanford recorded reactions at near-atomic-scale resolution. Their success is another step toward building a better battery.
  
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• Maternal micronutrients, nurturing environment boost child development

  16-01-2017 06:00
  
  (Grand Challenges Canada) A new study offers a recipe for parents who want smarter kids: maternal micronutrient supplements during pregnancy, early life nurturing, happy moms, and educated parents.
  
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• Liverpool scientists to develop liquid antennas

  16-01-2017 06:00
  
  (University of Liverpool) University of Liverpool researchers have been awarded £578k funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to develop liquid antennas which have the potential to transform modern radio communications and radar.
  
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• Light source discovery 'challenges basic assumption' of physics

  16-01-2017 06:00
  
  (University of Strathclyde) A widely-held understanding of electromagnetic radiation has been challenged in newly published research led at the University of Strathclyde.
  
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• Lessons learned when commercialization of a new soft robot fails

  16-01-2017 06:00
  
  (Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News) Commercializing a new, innovative product is often the greatest challenge across the research and development landscape, as is evident in the failed attempt to bring jamming-based robotic gripper technology to market. The company developing the VERSABALL® tells the story of its demise and the valuable lessons learned in a compelling article published in Soft Robotics.
  
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• KAIST to participate in the 2017 Davos Forum

  16-01-2017 06:00
  
  (The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)) KAIST President Sung-Mo Kang and Distinguished Professor Sang Yup Lee of the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department will participate in the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting (a.k.a., Davos Forum) on Jan. 17-20, 2017, in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland.
  
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• Inception of the last ice age

  16-01-2017 06:00
  
  (CAGE - Center for Arctic Gas Hydrate, Climate and Environment) A new model reconstruction shows in exceptional detail the evolution of the Eurasian ice sheet during the last ice age. This can help scientists understand how climate and ocean warming can effect the remaining ice masses on Earth.
  
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• Galaxy murder mystery

  16-01-2017 06:00
  
  (International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research) Across the universe, galaxies are being killed and the question scientists want answered is, what's killing them?New research published today by a global team of researchers, based at the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, seeks to answer that question. The study reveals that a phenomenon called ram-pressure stripping is more prevalent than previously thought, driving gas from galaxies and sending them to an early death by depri
  
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• Eating disorders are affecting more UK women in their 40s and 50s

  16-01-2017 06:00
  
  (BioMed Central) In a UK study of 5,320 women, 3 percent were found to have an active eating disorder in mid-life, a figure higher than expected as eating disorders are primarily associated with adolescence or early adulthood. The research was published in the open-access journal BMC Medicine.
  
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• Drug-resistant 'nightmare bacteria' show worrisome ability to diversify and spread

  16-01-2017 06:00
  
  (Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health) A family of highly drug-resistant and potentially deadly bacteria may be spreading more widely -- and more stealthily -- than previously thought, according to a new study from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.
  
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• Dressing a metal in various colors

  16-01-2017 06:00
  
  (DGIST (Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology)) DGIST research team developed a technology to coat metal with several nanometers of semiconducting materials. This technology can be applied to solar cells, wearable devices, displays, and the like.
  
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• Climate change forecast: More intense deluges and downpours Down Under

  16-01-2017 06:00
  
  (University of New South Wales) Expect strong increases in rainfall during extreme precipitation events in Australia as a result of global warming making Dorothy Mackellar's now classic view of Australia as a country of droughts and flooding rains truer than ever.
  
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