Science news

• Boreal forest starting to bounce back from Fort McMurray wildfire

  20-02-2017 23:10 via cbc.ca
  
  The drumming of black-backed woodpeckers is a sure sign the boreal forest is slowly bouncing back from the devastation caused by last spring's wildfire near Fort McMurray.
  
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• Double bed, favourite foods lined up for U.S.-born panda's flight to China

  20-02-2017 21:37 via cbc.ca
  
  The National Zoo in Washington D.C., is packing up its American-born panda cub Bao Bao for a one-way flight to China, where the 3-year-old will eventually join a panda breeding program.
  
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• Media ask judge to order release of San Bernardino iPhone records

  20-02-2017 20:51 via cbc.ca
  
  Three news organizations have asked a judge to force the U.S. government to reveal how much it paid for a tool to unlock an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino, California, shooters.
  
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• Make Pluto a planet again, NASA scientists argue

  20-02-2017 20:21 via cbc.ca
  
  Some people give up on a long-distance relationship. But our guest will never give up on his faraway love: Pluto. He and some NASA colleagues are proposing a new definition of the term "planet" that would let poor, demoted Pluto back into the fold.
  
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• Poaching drives 80 percent decline in elephants in key preserve

  20-02-2017 19:47
  Forest elephant populations in one of Central Africa's largest sanctuaries have declined between 78% and 81% because of poaching, a new study finds. More than 25,000 elephants in Gabon's Minkébé National Park may have been killed for their ivory between 2004 and 2014. With nearly half of Central Africa's forest elephants thought to live in Gabon, the loss of elephants from the park is a considerable setback for the preservation of the species.
  
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• Scientists 'solve' the ketchup problem

  20-02-2017 18:45 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A super-slippery coating for bottles could make getting liquids out much easier, US scientists say.
  
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• Slippery bottle solves ketchup problem

  20-02-2017 18:29 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists in Boston have found a way to get every last drop of ketchup out of the bottle.
  
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• California Dam Crisis Could Have Been Averted

  20-02-2017 17:35 via rss.sciam.com
  
  A dismissed lawsuit to strengthen the dam because of climate change effects predicted catastrophic flooding
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Tick 'cement' as a potential bioadhesive for human tissue

  20-02-2017 14:51
  Ticks are well known for their ability to anchor themselves firmly to the skin, so that they can suck blood for several days. This anchoring mechanism is so effective because it is based on a cement-like substance with excellent adhesive properties, so that it works like a dowel for the mouthparts of the tick. Researchers want to study this "tick cement" and recreate it chemically for use in biomaterial research.
  
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• Those who help each other can invade harsher environments

  20-02-2017 14:51
  Through cooperation, animals are able to colonize harsher living environments that would otherwise be inaccessible, according to a new study. The research community has long believed this was the other way around -- that species in tough environments had to cooperate to survive. As a result the established view of why animals cooperate is turned upside-down.
  
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• Prospect for more effective treatment of nerve pain

  20-02-2017 14:51
  Trigeminal neuralgia is characterized by sharp, lancinating pain in the teeth or facial area. The standard treatment for this chronic nerve pain can cause burdening side effects. A novel substance inhibits the pain effectively and is well tolerated, as documented by the initial results of an international study.
  
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• More warm-dwelling animals and plants as a result of climate change

  20-02-2017 14:51
  Since 1980, populations of warm-dwelling species in Germany have increased. The trend is particularly strong among warm-dwelling terrestrial species, as shown by the most comprehensive study across ecosystems in this regard to date. The most obvious increases occurred among warm-dwelling birds, butterflies, beetles, soil organisms and lichens according to a new study. Thus, it appears possible that rising temperatures due to the climate change have had a widespread impact on the population trend
  
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• Metabolism drives growth, division of cancer cells

  20-02-2017 14:51
  The metabolic state of tumor cells contributes to signals that control the proliferation of tumor cells. In the 1920s, scientists observed that tumor cells radically change their metabolism. This process was termed "Warburg Effect", however neglected until recently by cancer research, but the latest results show it is indeed of fundamental importance for the development of aggressive tumors.
  
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• Unsung hero of science: Assessment

  20-02-2017 14:42
  Assessment adds enormous value to the scientific landscape, creating foundations for government and society.
  
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• Study shows strong long-term survival rates for patients with GIST

  20-02-2017 14:42
  Nearly one in four patients with incurable gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) treated with Gleevec will survive 10 years, a new report outlines.
  
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• Only one-third of parents think they are doing a good job helping kids eat healthy foods

  20-02-2017 14:42
  If you know healthy eating is important for your kids, but you also feel like it's easier said than done, you're not alone. Many parents may not be following the recipe for encouraging healthy diets in their kids, and 1 in 5 don't think it's important to limit fast food and other junk food, outlines a new report.
  
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• Child obesity '35-40 percent' inherited from parents

  20-02-2017 14:42
  Around 35-40 percent of a child's BMI -- how fat or thin they are -- is inherited from their parents, a new study has found.
  
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• 'Tully monster' mystery is far from solved, group argues

  20-02-2017 14:41
  Last year, headlines in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Scientific American and other outlets declared that a decades-old paleontological mystery had been solved. The 'Tully monster,' an ancient animal that had long defied classification, was in fact a vertebrate, two groups of scientists claimed. Specifically, it seemed to be a type of fish called a lamprey. The problem with this resolution? According to a group of paleobiologists, it's plain wrong.
  
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• Basking sharks seek out winter sun

  20-02-2017 14:41
  The winter habits of Britain's basking sharks have been revealed for the first time. Scientists have discovered some spend their winters off Portugal and North Africa, some head to the Bay of Biscay and others choose a staycation around the UK and Ireland.
  
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• Politics-Wary Scientists Wade into the Trump Fray at Boston Rally

  20-02-2017 12:00 via rss.sciam.com
  
  Reluctant protesters say they no longer have the luxury of staying in the lab
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Salivating over history: Manitoba Museum gives artifacts the old spit shine

  20-02-2017 11:00 via cbc.ca
  
  How do you clean a nearly 140-year-old oil painting? Well, if you're Manitoba Museum conservator Carolyn Sirett, you roll up your sleeves, roll a cotton swab and put your muddy where your mouth is.
  
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• Salivating over history: Manitoba Museum curator gives artifacts the old spit shine

  20-02-2017 11:00 via cbc.ca
  
  How do you clean a nearly 140-year-old oil painting? Well, if you're Manitoba Museum conservator Carolyn Sirett, you roll up your sleeves, roll a cotton swab and put your muddy where your mouth is.
  
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• How saying yes to free Wi-Fi could mean 'you are the product' for businesses

  20-02-2017 11:00 via cbc.ca
  
  More businesses are turning to Wi-Fi marketing, whereby users give permission to be targeted with ads in exchange for free internet.
  
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• Government to weed out pesticides from foreign websites

  20-02-2017 11:00 via cbc.ca
  
  The federal government is moving to close a loophole that allows Canadians to make legal online purchases of pesticides not registered for use in Canada, and have them shipped into the country.
  
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• As Arctic warms, Canada's glaciers playing major role in sea level rise

  20-02-2017 11:00 via cbc.ca
  
  Canada's glaciers are responding rapidly to a warming Arctic and are a major contributor to sea level rise, a new study suggests.
  
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• UBC study links slot-machine addiction to immersion in the game

  20-02-2017 06:00
  
  (University of British Columbia) Gamblers who feel like they enter into a trance while playing slot machines are more likely to have gambling problems, according to new research from the Centre for Gambling Research at UBC.
  
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• Teflon subproducts recycled into valuable pharmaceuticals

  20-02-2017 06:00
  
  (Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ)) Both the US and the EU patent offices granted ICIQ the exclusive exploitation rights of a new waste valorization method. The process offers a sustainable alternative to the preparation of valuable pharmaceuticals (i.e. Prozac®) and agrochemicals from fluoroform, a sub-product obtained when preparing Teflon.
  
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• Switched-on DNA

  20-02-2017 06:00
  
  (Arizona State University) DNA, the stuff of life, may very well also pack quite the jolt for engineers trying to advance the development of tiny, low-cost electronic devices.Much like flipping your light switch at home -- only on a scale 1,000 times smaller than a human hair -- an ASU-led team has now developed the first controllable DNA switch to regulate the flow of electricity within a single, atomic-sized molecule.
  
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• Students more likely to succeed if teachers have positive perceptions of parents

  20-02-2017 06:00
  
  (University of Missouri-Columbia) Researchers have found that teacher ratings of parental involvement early in a child's academic career can accurately predict the child's academic and social success.
  
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• State same-sex marriage policies associated with reduced teen suicide attempts

  20-02-2017 06:00
  
  (The JAMA Network Journals) A nationwide analysis suggests same-sex marriage policies were associated with a reduction in suicide attempts by adolescents, according to a new study published online by JAMA Pediatrics.
  
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• Single-payer reform is 'the only way to fulfill the president's pledge' on health care

  20-02-2017 06:00
  
  (Physicians for a National Health Program) Proposals floated by Republican leaders won't achieve President Trump's campaign promises of more coverage, better benefits, and lower costs, but a single-payer health reform would, according to a commentary in Annals of Internal Medicine. A single-payer system could provide comprehensive first-dollar coverage to all Americans within the current budgetary envelope because of vast savings -- estimated at $504 billion annually -- on health care bureaucrac
  
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• Same-sex marriage legalization linked to reduction in suicide attempts among teens

  20-02-2017 06:00
  
  (Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health) The implementation of state laws legalizing same-sex marriage was associated with a significant reduction in the rate of suicide attempts among high school students -- and an even greater reduction among gay, lesbian and bisexual adolescents, new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health research suggests.
  
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• Researcher uncovers the secret history of self-harm

  20-02-2017 06:00
  
  (Queen Mary University of London) Taking the reader from the Victorian era to modern Britain, Psyche on the Skin challenges the idea that self-harm is a phenomenon that can be attributed to 'how we live now.'
  
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• Radial access, same-day cardiac procedure could save $300 million annually

  20-02-2017 06:00
  
  (American College of Cardiology) If hospitals can perform more transradial, same-day percutaneous coronary intervention, or PCIs, not only will patients benefit because it is associated with have less complications, but collectively, hospitals across the U.S. could save $300 million each year, according to research published today in JACC:Cardiovascular Interventions.
  
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• Pilot study finds youth more likely than adults to report seeing alcohol marketing online

  20-02-2017 06:00
  
  (Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health) Underage youth are nearly twice as likely to recall seeing alcohol marketing on the internet than adults, with almost one in three saying they saw alcohol-related content in the previous month, according to a new pilot survey led by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
  
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• Pest ant control improved with water-resistant bait

  20-02-2017 06:00
  
  (Entomological Society of America) Pest ants like the red imported fire ant could be controlled more effectively with insecticide baits that can withstand moisture, say researchers with the United States Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS). A comparison study soon to be published in Journal of Economic Entomology shows a water-resistant ant bait offers a significant advantage over currently available baits, which break down when wet.
  
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• Origin of spooky meteor noises reappraised by Sandia researchers

  20-02-2017 06:00
  
  (DOE/Sandia National Laboratories) Sound travels more slowly than light. Then why does the sound of a meteor entering Earth's atmosphere appear simultaneously, or even prior, to the sight of the meteor itself? Sandia scientists believe they have the answer.
  
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• Only one-third of parents think they are doing a good job helping kids eat healthy

  20-02-2017 06:00
  
  (Michigan Medicine - University of Michigan) If you know healthy eating is important for your kids but you also feel like it's easier said than done, you're not alone.
  
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• Online daters ignore wish list when choosing a match

  20-02-2017 06:00
  
  (Queensland University of Technology) Despite having a 'wish list' stating their preference for potential ideal matches, most online daters contact people bearing no resemblance to the characteristics they say they want in a mate, according to QUT research. The finding was revealed in the 'Preference vs Choice in Online Dating' study conducted by QUT behavioral economists Stephen Whyte and Professor Benno Torgler who analyzed the online dating preferences and contact behavior of more than 41,000
  
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• New hydronium-ion battery presents opportunity for more sustainable energy storage

  20-02-2017 06:00
  
  (Oregon State University) A new type of battery shows promise for sustainable, high-power energy storage.It's the world's first battery to use only hydronium ions as the charge carrier.
  
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• Many cancer survivors change their prescription drug use for financial reasons

  20-02-2017 06:00
  
  (Wiley) A new analysis indicates that many cancer survivors change their prescription drug use (including skipping doses or requesting cheaper medications) for financial reasons.
  
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• Majority of opioid medications not safely stored in homes with children, survey finds

  20-02-2017 06:00
  
  (Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health) Nearly 70 percent of prescription opioid medications kept in homes with children are not stored safely, a new study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health finds.
  
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• 'Gravitational noise' interferes with determining the coordinates of distant sources

  20-02-2017 06:00
  
  (Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology) A group of Russian astrophysicists from the Astro Space Center (ASC) of P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute, the Space Research Institute of the RAS, MIPT, and the Max-Planck-Institut fuer Astrophysik (Germany) attempted to improve the accuracy of implementing the coordinate reference system. But they reached a limitation that cannot be bypassed by improving the accuracy of the detecting instruments because, as they found out, the deviation depends on gra
  
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• Experiments call origin of Earth's iron into question

  20-02-2017 06:00
  
  (University of Texas at Austin) New research from The University of Texas at Austin reveals that the Earth's unique iron composition isn't linked to the formation of the planet's core, calling into question a prevailing theory about the events that shaped our planet during its earliest years.
  
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• Differences in the rhetorical styles of candidates in the 2016 US presidential election

  20-02-2017 06:00
  
  (Oxford University Press USA) A new paper published in Digital Scholarship in the Humanities reveals and quantifies dramatic differences in the speaking styles of candidates in the 2016 United States presidential election. Lexical analysis indicates that President Donald Trump had a distinct communication style, and it was far more direct than any of the other candidates.
  
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• Decision-making suffers when cancer patients avoid math

  20-02-2017 06:00
  
  (Ohio State University) Many of the toughest decisions faced by cancer patients involve knowing how to use numbers -- calculating risks, evaluating treatment options and figuring odds of medication side effects. But for patients who aren't good at math, decision science research can offer evidence-based advice on how to assess numeric information and ask the right questions to make informed choices.
  
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• Cutting-edge cameras reveal the secret life of dolphins

  20-02-2017 06:00
  
  (University of Sydney) A world-first study testing new underwater cameras on wild dolphins has given researchers the best view yet into their hidden marine world.
  
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• Changes of supermassive black hole in the center of NGC 2617 galaxy

  20-02-2017 06:00
  
  (Lomonosov Moscow State University) Scientists have been studying changes in the appearance of emission from around the supermassive black hole in the center of a galaxy known to astronomers as NGC 2617.
  
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• 'Champion of diversity' Michèle Lamont awarded Erasmus Prize

  20-02-2017 06:00
  
  (Canadian Institute for Advanced Research) Canadian cultural sociologist Michèle Lamont, founding Co-Director of CIFAR's Successful Societies program, has been named the 2017 Erasmus Prize winner.
  
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• Cedars-Sinai investigators identify human brain processes critical to short-term memory

  20-02-2017 06:00
  
  (Cedars-Sinai Medical Center) Cedars-Sinai neuroscientists have uncovered processes involved in how the human brain creates and maintains short-term memories. This study is the first clear demonstration of precisely how human brain cells work to create and recall short-term memories.
  
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