Science news

• Howler monkeys may owe their color vision to leaf hue

  21-02-2017 23:59
  
  Better color vision gives howler monkeys an edge at finding food.
  
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• Power may have passed via women in ancient Chaco Canyon society

  21-02-2017 23:15
  
  DNA points to a 330-year-long reign of a maternal dynasty centered in New Mexico’s Chaco Canyon.
  
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• Selfie paradox: People want fewer selfies on social media but keep posting selfies themselves

  21-02-2017 21:26 via cbc.ca
  
  Approximately one in every three photos taken these days is a selfie. Despite their popularity, new research suggests most people wish there were fewer.
  
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• Brain–Computer Interface Allows Speediest Typing to Date

  21-02-2017 21:15 via rss.sciam.com
  
  A new interface system allowed three paralyzed individuals to type words up to four times faster than the speed that had been demonstrated in earlier studies
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• Canada's grasslands: 'most endangered, least protected ecosystems'

  21-02-2017 19:37 via cbc.ca
  
  The grasslands that stretch across Alberta through Saskatchewan and into Manitoba used to be monitored and managed by federally-funded cowboys. Now control over Canada's grasslands is shifting with the winds of political change.
  
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• Meet the frog that can sit on a thumbnail

  21-02-2017 19:19 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Seven new species of night frog have been discovered in India, including four miniature forms.
  
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• Yahoo salvages Verizon deal with $350M US discount

  21-02-2017 18:33 via cbc.ca
  
  ​Yahoo is taking a $350 million US hit on its previously announced $4.8 billion US sale to Verizon in a concession for security lapses that exposed personal information stored in more than 1 billion Yahoo user accounts.
  
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• Low-status chimps revealed as trendsetters

  21-02-2017 17:00
  
  Outranked chimpanzees trigger spread of useful new behaviors among their comrades.
  
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• Hospital saves dehydrated baby hippo at Cincinnati Zoo

  21-02-2017 16:46 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Cincinnati Zoo's premature baby hippo Fiona needed urgent treatment for dehydration.
  
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• New, greener catalysts are built for speed

  21-02-2017 15:00
  
  Researchers are designing catalysts to move chemical reactions without using precious metals, or at least using less of them.
  
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• Hot Dispute Emerges over First Land Bridge from North to South America

  21-02-2017 15:00 via rss.sciam.com
  
  New dates push the age back millions of years, creating a mystery about ice ages and animal migrations—if scientists are right
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• Thousands of spills at US oil and gas fracking sites

  21-02-2017 14:03 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Up to 16% of hydraulically fractured oil and gas wells spill liquids each year, according to new data.
  
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• Lemur facial recognition tool developed

  21-02-2017 13:41 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A method that can identify individual lemurs could improve the way the endangered species is tracked.
  
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• Coconut crab pinches like a lion, eats like a dumpster diver

  21-02-2017 13:00
  
  Coconut crabs use their surprisingly powerful claw for more than cracking coconuts.
  
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• Brain Imaging Identifies Different Types of Depression

  21-02-2017 13:00 via rss.sciam.com
  
  Biological markers could enable tailored therapies that target individual differences in symptoms
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• 'Cosmic shoutout' for Thunder Bay; asteroid now bears name of Ontario city

  21-02-2017 12:30 via cbc.ca
  
  The city of Thunder Bay, Ont., is getting a "cosmic shoutout" from the International Astronomical Union, which has accepted a proposal to name an asteroid after the city.
  
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• What future for E numbers after Brexit?

  21-02-2017 11:28 via bbc.co.uk
  
  How Brexit might create complications for the way food in the UK is labelled.
  
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• William Julius Wilson to receive 2017 SAGE-CASBS Award

  21-02-2017 06:00
  
  (SAGE) SAGE Publishing and the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) at Stanford University are pleased to announce that William Julius Wilson is the 2017 recipient of the SAGE-CASBS Award.
  
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• Using a rabbit virus to treat multiple myeloma

  21-02-2017 06:00
  
  (Medical University of South Carolina) Treating multiple myeloma (MM) with myxoma virus (MYXV) eliminated a majority of malignant cells in preclinical studies, report investigators at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and elsewhere in an article published online on Dec. 7, 2016 by Molecular Therapy -- Oncolytics. Furthermore, introduction of MYXV had no impact on the bone marrow compartment and elicited a strong immune response that eradicated disease in some animals.
  
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• Understanding 'glass relaxation' and why it's important for next-generation displays

  21-02-2017 06:00
  
  (American Institute of Physics) Display manufacturers can account for a certain level of relaxation in the glass, referring to the intermolecular rearrangement, if it's known and reproducible. But fluctuations in this relaxation behavior tend to introduce uncertainty into the manufacturing process, possibly leading to misalignment of pixels within displays. Now, researchers reports on a new modeling technique to quantify and predict glass relaxation fluctuations, important for next-generation di
  
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• UC Riverside gets $5.1 million to fight citrus killer

  21-02-2017 06:00
  
  (University of California - Riverside) RIVERSIDE, Calif. has received a five-year, $5.1 million grant from the US Department of Agriculture to fight a disease that is devastating the citrus industry.
  
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• Twitter researchers offer clues as to why Trump won

  21-02-2017 06:00
  
  (University of Rochester) University of Rochester computer scientists were able to shed light on how Trump won the presidential election by using data science to track the millions of Twitter followers who liked or 'unliked' the candidates throughout the campaign.
  
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• Tune your radio: Galaxies sing when forming stars

  21-02-2017 06:00
  
  (Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC)) A team led from the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) has found the most precise way ever to measure the rate at which stars form in galaxies using their radio emission at 1-10 Gigahertz frequency range.
  
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• Transgender political candidates still likely face an uphill battle, study finds

  21-02-2017 06:00
  
  (University of Kansas) A new study led by a University of Kansas political scientist found 35 percent-40 percent of adults would oppose a transgender candidate for office, which was higher than the 30 percent who would likely oppose a gay or lesbian candidate.
  
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• The smallest Cas9 genetic scissors (so far)

  21-02-2017 06:00
  
  (Institute for Basic Science) IBS scientists present the smallest member of the CRISPR-Cas9 family developed to date and show that it can fit inside adeno-associated viruses and mutate blindness-causing genes
  
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• Testosterone treatments may increase cardiac risks

  21-02-2017 06:00
  
  (LA BioMed) A new JAMA study found a 20 percent increase in arterial plaque among men aged 65 and older who received testosterone replacement therapy for a year,
  
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• Testosterone treatment improves bone density, anemia in men over 65

  21-02-2017 06:00
  
  (LA BioMed) Research published today found testosterone treatment improved bone density and anemia for men over 65 with low testosterone. But the treatment didn't improve patients' cognitive function, and it increased the amount of plaque buildup in participants' coronary arteries.
  
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• Teens with PTSD and conduct disorder have difficulty recognizing facial expressions

  21-02-2017 06:00
  
  (New York University) Adolescents with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms are more likely to misidentify sad and angry faces as fearful, while teens with symptoms of conduct disorder tend to interpret sad faces as angry, finds a study by NYU's Steinhardt School.
  
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• Study finds significant limitations of physician-rating websites

  21-02-2017 06:00
  
  (The JAMA Network Journals) An analysis of 28 commercial physician-rating websites finds that search mechanisms are cumbersome, and reviews scarce, according to a study appearing in the Feb. 21 issue of JAMA.
  
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• Stanford-developed nanostraws sample a cell's contents without damage

  21-02-2017 06:00
  
  (Stanford University) Tiny nanostraws that sample the contents of a cell without causing damage may improve our ability to understand cellular processes and lead to safer medical treatments.
  
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• Stabilizing energy storage

  21-02-2017 06:00
  
  (University of Utah) University of Utah and University of Michigan chemists, participating in a US Department of Energy consortium, predict a better future for these types of batteries, called redox flow batteries. Using a predictive model of molecules and their properties, the team has developed a charge-storing molecule around 1,000 times more stable than current compounds.
  
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• Seizures tracked with apple watch app linked to stress, missed sleep

  21-02-2017 06:00
  
  (American Academy of Neurology) New research using an Apple Watch app to track seizures in people with epilepsy finds triggers are often stress and missed sleep, according to a preliminary study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 69th Annual Meeting in Boston, April 22 to 28, 2017.
  
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• Scientists remove reliance on seasonality in new broccoli line, potentially doubling yield

  21-02-2017 06:00
  
  (John Innes Centre) Scientists at the John Innes Centre are developing a new line of fast-growing sprouting broccoli that goes from seed to harvest in 8-10 weeks. It has the potential to deliver two full crops a season in-field or it can be grown all year round in protected conditions, which could help with continuity of supply, as growers would no longer be reliant on seasonal weather conditions.
  
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• Research teams hone in on Zika vaccines, but challenges remain

  21-02-2017 06:00
  
  (Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center) Public health officials warn that spring's warmer temperatures may herald another increase of Zika virus infections in the Americas. Researchers around the world are racing to develop safe and effective measures to prevent the disease. In a review paper in the journal Immunity, a group of leading vaccine scientists - including Dan H. Barouch, MD, PhD, of BIDMC - outline advances in the hunt for a Zika vaccine and the challenges that still lie ahead.
  
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• Prediction: More gas-giants will be found orbiting Sun-like stars

  21-02-2017 06:00
  
  (Carnegie Institution for Science) New planetary formation models from Carnegie's Alan Boss indicate that there may be an undiscovered population of gas giant planets orbiting around Sun-like stars at distances similar to those of Jupiter and Saturn.
  
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• Peptide reverses cardiac fibrosis in a preclinical model of congestive heart failure

  21-02-2017 06:00
  
  (Medical University of South Carolina) Cardiac fibrosis, an abnormal thickening of the heart wall leading to congestive heart failure, was not only halted but also reversed by a caveolin-1 surrogate peptide (CSD) in a preclinical model, report researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina in an article published online on Jan. 23, 2017 by Laboratory Investigation. CSD was able to decrease the fibrotic ventricular wall thickness and improve heart function, all with apparently no toxicit
  
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• Penn/Wistar study finds 'sweet spot' where tissue stiffness drives cancer's spread

  21-02-2017 06:00
  
  (University of Pennsylvania) Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and The Wistar Institute have now found that physical forces exerted between cancer cells and the ECM are enough to drive a shape change necessary for metastasis. Those forces converge on an optimal stiffness that allows cancer cells to spread.
  
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• Penn engineers overcome a hurdle in growing a revolutionary optical metamaterial

  21-02-2017 06:00
  
  (University of Pennsylvania) Engineers in UPenn's School of Engineering and Applied Science produced an elusive diamond crystal structure that could revolutionize photonics. This put them on the path to achieving a material that is the 'holy grail of directed particle self-assembly.' Such materials could be used to make lenses, cameras and microscopes with better performance, or possibly even 'invisibility cloaks,' solid objects that would redirect all light rays around a central compartment, re
  
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• Over time, nuisance flooding can cost more than extreme, infrequent events

  21-02-2017 06:00
  
  (University of California - Irvine) Global climate change is being felt in many coastal communities of the United States, not always in the form of big weather disasters but as a steady drip, drip, drip of nuisance flooding.
  
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• Osteopathic technique helps locate ectopic pregnancies when imaging fails

  21-02-2017 06:00
  
  (American Osteopathic Association) The location of an ectopic pregnancy can be determined quickly and easily with a simple, noninvasive physical examination technique used by osteopathic physicians. The method can be helpful in emergency situations, like ruptured ectopic pregnancies, when bleeding obscures traditional imaging. Ectopic pregnancies account for nearly 2 percent of all pregnancies in North America and are the leading cause of maternal mortality in the first trimester.
  
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• New Year's resolutions: Have yours gone up in smoke?

  21-02-2017 06:00
  
  (Queensland University of Technology) It's more than halfway through February and for many those hopeful New Year's resolutions to make some positive changes have fallen by the wayside. A QUT neuroscientist has published a new book on how to train your brain to stick with them long-term.
  
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• New window into the nanoworld

  21-02-2017 06:00
  
  (University of Alberta) For the first time ever, scientists have captured images of terahertz electron dynamics of a semiconductor surface on the atomic scale. The successful experiment indicates a bright future for the new and quickly growing sub-field called terahertz scanning tunneling microscopy (THz-STM), pioneered by the University of Alberta in Canada. THz-STM allows researchers to image electron behaviour at extremely fast timescales and explore how that behaviour changes between differe
  
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• New technique generates high volume of sensory cells needed for hearing

  21-02-2017 06:00
  
  (Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary) In 2013, Mass. Eye and Ear researchers restored partial hearing to mice by converting stem cells into hair cells. However, the success of this approach was limited by the small number of stem cells in the ear. In a new study, the researchers have shown that they can augment the number of those cells, and then convert them into hair cells, lending hope that full hearing can be restored to those with acquired hearing loss.
  
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• New design for longer lasting night-vision cameras

  21-02-2017 06:00
  
  (Northwestern University) Northwestern University's Manijeh Razeghi and her team have developed a new approach to improving the technologies in night-vision cameras -- potentially making their all-too-frequent breakdowns a thing of the past.
  
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• New data about 2 distant asteroids give a clue to the possible 'Planet Nine'

  21-02-2017 06:00
  
  (Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC)) The dynamical properties of these asteroids, observed spectroscopiccally for the first time using the Gran Telescopio CANARIAS, suggest a possible common origin and give a clue to the existence of a planet beyond Pluto, the so-called 'Planet Nine.'
  
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• New behavioral therapy to support Japanese mothers of children with ADHD

  21-02-2017 06:00
  
  (Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) Graduate University) OIST researchers are working to develop culturally appropriate parent-training programs for Japanese families of children with ADHD.
  
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• Negative health impact of economic recession unevenly distributed among groups in Spain

  21-02-2017 06:00
  
  (Umea University) A study carried out in Andalusia, Southern Spain, following the 2007/2008 economic recession detected increasing inequalities in male mortality rates. Men with lower educational levels saw an increase in mortality compared to men with university level education. In addition, 5,000 additional suicide attempts were registered among middle aged men and women between 2008 and 2012. High unemployment and financial strain played a key role in these findings, according to research fro
  
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• NASA's SnowEx challenges the sensing techniques...'until they break'

  21-02-2017 06:00
  
  (NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) A NASA-led team will kick off an ambitious airborne campaign to determine which combination of sensors would work best at collecting global snow-water measurements from space -- critical for understanding and managing the world's freshwater resources. Scientists at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland are providing technology to the mission.
  
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• NASA's fermi finds possible dark matter ties in andromeda galaxy

  21-02-2017 06:00
  
  (NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has found a signal at the center of the neighboring Andromeda galaxy that could indicate the presence of the mysterious stuff known as dark matter. The gamma-ray signal is similar to one seen by Fermi at the center of our own Milky Way galaxy.
  
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• NASA spots short-lived Tropical Cyclone Alfred

  21-02-2017 06:00
  
  (NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite captured a visible image of the Southern Pacific Ocean's newly formed tropical cyclone in the Gulf of Carpentaria. By the next day Alfred made landfall and weakened to a remnant low pressure area.
  
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