Science news

• 'Rotten Egg' Nebula Hosts Flashy Star Death (Photo)

  08-02-2017 23:29
  
  The image captures the Calabash Nebula, which is 1.4 light-years across and located 5,000 light-years from Earth. It's better known as the Rotten Egg Nebula, because it contains large amounts of sulfur, the compound that gives sulfur springs and rotten eggs the same unfortunate smell. The system is in the middle of a violent transition: A red giant star began to shed its outer layers of gas and dust rapidly, accelerating them in opposite directions.
  
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• Bill Nye's Back! Netflix's New Science Show Promises Nerdy Fun

  08-02-2017 23:29
  Get ready science fans: Bill Nye is coming back to the small screen.  
  
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• Study finds new bacterial strain can contaminate shellfish

  08-02-2017 23:24
  
  CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Scientists studying oysters along the Atlantic Coast have discovered a critical clue to understanding why more seafood lovers are getting sick from eating shellfish.
  
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• SpaceX Targets Feb. 18 for 1st Launch from Historic NASA Pad

  08-02-2017 23:21
  
  SpaceX is preparing to launch its 10th cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station for NASA, which is now set for Feb. 18.
  
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• Watch Live Friday: Lunar Eclipse & Close Comet Encounter Webcasts by Slooh

  08-02-2017 23:00
  
  The online Slooh Community Observatory will host live, back-to-back webcasts on Friday (Feb. 10) to discuss the first lunar eclipse of the year and the close approach of Comet 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusáková. Then at 10:30 p.m. EST (0330 GMT), Slooh will focus on Comet 45P, which will come closer to Earth than any other comet in the last 34 years. You can go to Slooh.com to join and watch this live broadcast, snap and share your own photos during the event, chat with audience
  
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• Republicans Offer to Tax Carbon Emissions

  08-02-2017 22:00 via rss.sciam.com
  
  But would a price of $40 per ton hold back climate change as much as Obama policies would have?
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Dragonfly wings kill bacteria by tearing them apart if they move

  08-02-2017 21:46
  
  Scientists want to recreate them to make anti-bacterial surfaces.
  
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• Scientists propose vast network of wildlife cameras to track animal movement

  08-02-2017 21:05 via cbc.ca
  
  A Banff-based Parks Canada biologist is proposing a vast network of interconnected remote cameras that could revolutionize the study of bears, moose, caribou, cougars and other large animals across North America.
  
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• Number of species depends how you count them

  08-02-2017 21:00
  
  Genetic evidence alone may overestimate numbers of species, researchers warn.
  
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• Israel finds cave said to have contained Dead Sea scrolls

  08-02-2017 20:58
  JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's Hebrew University says archaeologists have found a cave that once contained Dead Sea scrolls.
  
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• First Atomic Blast Reveals Clues About Moon Formation

  08-02-2017 20:54
  
  On July 16, 1945, the U.S. Army detonated the first-ever nuclear bomb, conducting the event at the Trinity test site in southern New Mexico. The extreme heat of the blast melted the surrounding sandy soil's top layer into a green, radioactive glass known as trinitite for about 1,150 feet (350 meters) in all directions from ground zero. Now, a new study shows that water and other "volatile" compounds are scarce in this trinitite, just as they are in moon rocks.
  
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• Hidden Black Hole in Globular Cluster May Be a Cosmic Middle Child

  08-02-2017 20:51
  
  For decades, astronomers have tracked black holes with masses millions of times that of the sun, as well as those with tens of solar masses. Now, astronomers studying a globular cluster have found just such a black hole at its center, showing that intermediate-mass black holes could be hiding out in these compact agglomerations of stars. Lead study author Bülent Kiziltan, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA), and his co-authors Holger Baumgardt (of Aus
  
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• House Science Committee May Soon Try to Weaken the EPA

  08-02-2017 20:45 via rss.sciam.com
  
  Panel will likely push reforms that many fear will meddle with the scientific process 
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Scientists have proved that time really does fly when you're on Facebook

  08-02-2017 20:01
  
  One minute you’re having a little scroll through your timeline, the next minute it’s 3am.
  
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• Zika virus ‘spillback’ into primates raises risk of future human outbreaks

  08-02-2017 20:00
  
  Spillback of Zika virus into monkeys may complicate eradication efforts.
  
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• Satellite Sees Louisiana Tornado Storm System from Space

  08-02-2017 19:56
  
  Severe thunderstorms and several tornadoes struck the state of Louisiana on Tuesday (Feb. 7). A weather satellite operated by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) captured this overhead view of the weather system responsible for the storms.
  
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• Quinoa genome could see 'super-food' prices tumble

  08-02-2017 19:15 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists say that decoding the quinoa genome could cut the cost of this nutritious but underutilised crop.
  
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• Middling black hole may be hiding in star cluster

  08-02-2017 19:00
  
  A black hole with about 2,200 times the mass of the sun has been detected. If confirmed, it could represent a new type of gas-starved black holes and hint at how supermassive ones may form.
  
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• Supernova story continues, just like science journalism

  08-02-2017 18:45
  Acting Editor in Chief Elizabeth Quill discusses science's enduring legacy and that of Science News.
  
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• Readers respond to antibiotics, carbon bonds and more

  08-02-2017 18:42
  Allergic overreactions, the possibility of silicon-based life and more in reader feedback.
  
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• Family's return to rebuild Aleppo street points to Syria's future

  08-02-2017 18:29
  By Angus McDowall ALEPPO, Syria (Reuters) - The Batash family are working with their bare hands to clear debris from Aleppo's al-Mouassassi Street, rebuilding their wrecked neighbourhood after years of fighting that came to an end in December. Heyam Batash, 56, has sores on her fingers from scrubbing clothes in freezing water, her sons Ayad and Youssef forage firewood from wrecked houses and her grandchildren fetch bread from a charity-run bakery nearby. Syria's civil war has not only unleashed
  
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• New species of gecko sheds scales, skin to avoid predators

  08-02-2017 18:02 via cbc.ca
  
  Scientists have found a new species of gecko that sheds its large, fish-like scales — and part of its skin — in order to avoid being eaten by predators.
  
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• Smashing gold ions creates most swirly fluid ever

  08-02-2017 18:00
  
  Collisions of gold ions create a fluid with more vorticity than any other known.
  
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• NASA Begins Tornado Recovery at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans

  08-02-2017 17:58
  
  NASA has begun recovery efforts at its Michoud Assembly Facility after a tornado hit the New Orleans location yesterday. The twister, which NASA captured on camera, hit at 11:25 a.m. local time (12:25 p.m. EST/1725 GMT) Tuesday (Feb. 7). All of the facility's 3,500 employees survived, but five suffered minor injuries from the weather event, NASA officials said in a statement yesterday.
  
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• European space agency to help NASA take humans beyond moon

  08-02-2017 17:58
  BERLIN (AP) — The European Space Agency says it will contribute key components for a future NASA mission to take humans around the moon within the next few years.
  
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• Full moon, comet starring in night sky show this weekend

  08-02-2017 17:56
  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A full moon and comet share double billing in a special night sky show this weekend.
  
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• Observers caught these stars going supernova

  08-02-2017 17:47
  
  Thirty years ago, astronomers witnessed a nearby stellar explosion, but it wasn’t the first. Humanity has been recording local supernovas for nearly two millennia.
  
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• Yellow fever kills 600 monkeys in Brazil's Atlantic rainforest

  08-02-2017 17:46 via cbc.ca
  
  An outbreak of yellow fever has claimed the lives of more than 600 monkeys and dozens of humans in Brazil's Atlantic rainforest region.
  
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• SpaceX readies for its fastest launch pace with new Florida site

  08-02-2017 17:44 via cbc.ca
  
  SpaceX plans to launch its Falcon 9 rockets every 2 to 3 weeks, its fastest rate since starting launches in 2010, once a new launch pad is put into service in Florida next week.
  
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• Ancient undersea landslide discovered in Australia

  08-02-2017 15:44 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists say the collapse next to the Great Barrier Reef dates back more than 300,000 years.
  
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• This tiny device is powered by stomach acids

  08-02-2017 15:21
  
  It could be the future of how we take medication.
  
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• When a nearby star goes supernova, scientists will be ready

  08-02-2017 14:00
  
  Scientists hope to detect neutrinos and gravitational waves from a nearby supernova.
  
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• 30 years later, supernova 1987A is still sharing secrets

  08-02-2017 14:00
  
  The 1987 explosion of a star near the Milky Way 30 years ago set off years of fascinating findings.
  
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• International Space Station Will Get a Commercial Airlock in 2019

  08-02-2017 13:45
  
  The International Space Station (ISS) will soon feature its first commercially funded airlock, which NASA officials said will allow more small satellites to be deployed from the orbiting lab. NASA has agreed to let the Houston-based company NanoRacks develop the airlock, which is expected to launch in 2019. "We want to utilize the space station to expose the commercial sector to new and novel uses of space, ultimately creating a new economy in low-Earth orbit for scientific research, technology
  
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• Mysterious Stonehenge-like 'geoglyphs' found in Amazon rainforest point to ancient human settlements

  08-02-2017 13:44
  
  The earthworks remained hidden amongst the rainforest trees until modern deforestation allowed the discovery.
  
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• Waves on Mars? Sand Ripples in Striking Red Planet Photos

  08-02-2017 13:30
  
  Waves of sand on the parched surface of Mars, spotted by NASA's Curiosity rover, are reminiscent of ripples on the surface of a lake. While there may have once been lakes, rivers and oceans on the surface of Mars, today the Red Planet is more parched than the driest deserts on Earth. But new images from the Curiosity rover, released today (Feb. 6), show windswept stretches of sand that look like waves cresting on a body of water.
  
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• Jupiter's 'Antarctica' Swirls in New Flyby Photo

  08-02-2017 13:30
  
  NASA's Juno spacecraft caught this mesmerizing image of cyclones on Jupiter's south pole during a close flyby on Thursday, Feb. 2 — one specific "point of interest" that the public voted for. The image was taken 47,600 miles (76,600 kilometers) above Jupiter. During the flyby, Jupiter approached much closer: to within 2,670 miles (4,300 km) of the planet's cloud tops, NASA officials said in a statement.
  
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• Cool Cosmos: Winter Night Sky Offers Rare Treats

  08-02-2017 13:30
  
  I first began to learn the constellations as a young boy, right after I moved from the Upper East Side of Manhattan to one of the so-called "outer boroughs," the Bronx. Fifty years ago, there was a very distinct difference between the night sky as seen from Manhattan and the view from the four other boroughs, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island. Manhattan (as it is now) was brilliantly lit up, especially in Midtown and around Times Square.
  
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• 'Amazing Stories of the Space Age': Q&A with Author Rod Pyle

  08-02-2017 13:30
  
  The book, "Amazing Stories of the Space Age: True Tales of Nazis in Orbit, Soldiers on the Moon, Orphaned Martian Robots, and Other Fascinating Accounts from the Annals of Spaceflight," is now available in paperback and as an e-book. "Amazing Stories of the Space Age: True Tales of Nazis in Orbit, Soldiers on the Moon, Orphaned Martian Robots, and Other Fascinating Accounts from the Annals of Spaceflight," by Rod Pyle. Space.com: This book is a collection of stories about strange and amazin
  
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• Stray Black Hole Turned Cosmic Gas Cloud into Speeding 'Bullet'

  08-02-2017 13:00
  
  A stray black hole may be responsible for turning a gas cloud into a speeding cosmic bullet trillions of miles long. The wandering black hole was discovered lurking just outside a supernova remnant, a shell of expelled material left behind after a massive star explodes. The cloud itself has now been named "the Bullet," because of its long, cone shape and its incredible speed — part of the cloud is moving away from the supernova remnant at more than 60 miles per second [100 kilometers per s
  
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• Mysteries of time still stump scientists

  08-02-2017 13:00
  
  The new book "Why Time Flies" is an exploration of how the body perceives time.
  
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• Florida Has Seen Bad Effects from Trump-Like Climate Gag Orders

  08-02-2017 13:00 via rss.sciam.com
  
  The state, and North Carolina, had trouble planning for damaging erosion after orders similar to White House moves
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Kuwait welcomes Iran's readiness for dialogue with Gulf - Kuwaiti state news

  08-02-2017 12:57
  Kuwait has welcomed Iran's willingness for dialogue with its Gulf Arab neighbours, saying any talks are likely to help resolve civil wars in Syria and Yemen, according to Kuwaiti state news agency KUNA. Iran and U.S. ally Saudi Arabia, which dominates the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), back opposite sides in Syria and Yemen. U.S. President Donald Trump has added extra strain by ratcheting up pressure on Iran over its missile programme.
  
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• Face of Orkney's St Magnus reconstructed

  08-02-2017 10:50 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A facial reconstruction has been made of Orkney's St Magnus by a forensic artist to help mark the 900th anniversary of his death.
  
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• Swede who made numbers and facts entertaining dies at 68

  08-02-2017 10:45
  COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A Swedish foundation says Hans Rosling, a global health professor known for his ability to make numbers and facts entertaining, has died. He was 68.
  
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• David Attenborough has had a species of snail named after him and he couldn't be happier about it

  08-02-2017 08:50
  
  The naturalist added a snail to the swathe of animals named after him.
  
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• Angolan rebels call on oil region to boycott election

  08-02-2017 07:23
  Separatist rebels have called on Angola's oil region to boycott parliamentary elections in August that are likely to be the most closely watched in decades as President Jose Eduardo dos Santos ends 38 years in power. The Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC), which fought a low-level insurgency for four decades in the thin enclave sandwiched between Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Congo, said it would not participate in a "foreign" election. "The FLEC does no
  
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• 'Who needs a flu shot? -- not me'

  08-02-2017 06:00
  
  (Drexel University) What impact do public health messages actually have on us? Are we going to race out and get our flu shot? According to a Drexel University communication researcher, probably not. And it's not because we think we're invincible, it's because we like to think we're immune to the influences of messages in the mass media -- a communications theory termed the 'third-person effect.'
  
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• Want to help your mate beat the blues? Show them the love

  08-02-2017 06:00
  
  (University of Alberta) The more depressed your romantic partner may be, the more love you should give them, according to new University of Alberta research.
  
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• UNIST to engineer new eco-battery, using seawater

  08-02-2017 06:00
  
  (Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology(UNIST)) South Korea's Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology has secured $5 billion won in research funding to produce new battery, using abundant and readily available seawater.
  
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