Science news

• At-Home Male Fertility Test App Takes Sperm Selfies

  22-03-2017 21:00 via rss.sciam.com
  
  A device that interfaces with a smartphone can accurately measure sperm concentration and movement
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• Female guppies with bigger brains pick more attractive guys

  22-03-2017 20:54
  
  A larger-brained female guppy may pick primo males, but all that mental machinery costs her in other ways.
  
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• New wintertime low for Arctic sea ice: scientists

  22-03-2017 20:29 via cbc.ca
  
  The extent of sea ice in the Arctic Ocean has set a new record low for the wintertime in a region strongly affected by long-term trends of global warming, according to U.S. and European scientists.
  
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• New categories of dinosaur family tree proposed by scientists

  22-03-2017 20:27 via cbc.ca
  
  Some of the best-known dinosaurs, like Tyrannosaurus rex and Brontosaurus, may be headed for a divorce due to irreconcilable differences.
  
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• Lip-reading program more accurate than humans could help hearing-impaired

  22-03-2017 20:22 via cbc.ca
  
  Scientists have built a computer program that can lip-read better than humans. But why? Tech columnist Dan Misener has the answers.
  
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• Revolutionary overhaul of dinosaur family tree proposed

  22-03-2017 19:09
  
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Some of the best-known dinosaurs, like Tyrannosaurus rex and Brontosaurus, may be headed for a divorce due to irreconcilable differences.
  
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• Anatomy analysis suggests new dinosaur family tree

  22-03-2017 19:06
  
  A new analysis rewrites the dinosaur family tree, splitting up long-recognized groups.
  
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• Waste not on World Water Day: Bob McDonald

  22-03-2017 18:21 via cbc.ca
  
  Our water supplies seem to be running low because we keep taking from the source. It's time to turn our attention to another huge source, the water we throw away.
  
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• Brazil ramps up domestic space satellite, rocket programs

  22-03-2017 17:36
  
  KOUROU, French Guiana (Reuters) - Brazil is developing technology to send domestically-made satellites into space with its own rockets by the end of the decade, aerospace executives and officials said ahead of the launch of the nation's first defense and communications satellite.
  
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• Touches early in life may make a big impact on newborn babies’ brains

  22-03-2017 17:30
  
  The type and amount of touches a newborn baby gets in the first days of life may shape later responses to touch perception, a study suggests.
  
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• Lab tests aren’t the answer for every science question

  22-03-2017 17:15
  Acting Editor in Chief Elizabeth Quill discusses the value of observational science.
  
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• Readers question supernova physics

  22-03-2017 17:10
  Star-destroying neutrinos, heart-hugging robots and more in reader feedback.
  
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• Earthquakes could cause Los Angeles area to sink abruptly: study

  22-03-2017 16:28 via cbc.ca
  
  The Big One may be overdue to hit California, but scientists near Los Angeles have found a new risk for the area during a major earthquake: abrupt sinking of land, potentially below sea level.
  
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• How Pluto’s haze could explain its red spots

  22-03-2017 14:41
  
  Pluto’s collapsing atmosphere may explain the dwarf planet’s seemingly random ruddy spots.
  
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• Rusty-patched bumblebee first of species declared endangered in continental U.S.

  22-03-2017 13:54 via cbc.ca
  
  ​The rusty patched bumblebee on Tuesday became the first officially endangered bee species in the continental U.S., overcoming objections from some business interests and a last-minute delay ordered by the Trump administration.
  
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• Colorful pinwheel puts a new spin on mouse pregnancy

  22-03-2017 12:00
  
  Among the winners of the 2017 Wellcome Image Awards is a rainbow of mouse placentas that shows how a mother’s immune system affects placental development.
  
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• UK royals' sibling rivalry? Princess Anne says GMO crops have benefits

  22-03-2017 11:36
  
  LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Princess Anne may have sparked some royal sibling rivalry after saying genetically modified crops had real benefits to offer, putting her at odds with her older brother Charles who says they would be an environmental disaster.
  
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• [Research Resource] Neuropathic pain promotes adaptive changes in gene expression in brain networks involved in stress and depression

  22-03-2017 10:13 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Common changes in signaling pathway-associated gene expression may explain why chronic pain or stress can lead to depression.
  
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• [Research Article] Structural basis for chemokine recognition by a G protein-coupled receptor and implications for receptor activation

  22-03-2017 10:13 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Structural analysis of the interactions between a receptor and monomeric or dimeric forms of its ligand may aid in drug design.
  
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• [Research Article] Phosphorylation of the exocyst protein Exo84 by TBK1 promotes insulin-stimulated GLUT4 trafficking

  22-03-2017 10:13 via stke.sciencemag.org
  An inflammation-associated kinase also stimulates glucose uptake through plasma membrane translocation of GLUT4 in response to insulin.
  
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• [Editors' Choice] New connections: Getting the good without the bad, opiate edition

  22-03-2017 10:13 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Researchers identify strategies to limit the adverse effects and liabilities of opioid receptor-targeting drugs.
  
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• [Editors' Choice] Autophagy and vitamin D

  22-03-2017 10:13 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Vitamin D receptor represses basal autophagy in breast tissue, which is derepressed by vitamin D, slowing cancer progression.
  
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• Canada, NATO attempt to define boundaries of response to cyberattacks

  22-03-2017 10:00 via cbc.ca
  
  Military planners in both Ottawa and Brussels are wrestling with the notion that keystrokes are as much of a threat as Kalashnikovs in this summer's deployment of the Canadian-led NATO battle group to Latvia.
  
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• Princess Anne: GM crops 'have real benefits'

  22-03-2017 09:55 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Princess Anne has told the BBC's Farming Today she believes gene technology has important benefits to offer in terms of providing food.
  
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• Genetically-modified crops have benefits - Princess Anne

  22-03-2017 09:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Princess Royal's views in a BBC radio show appear to be at odds with those of the Prince of Wales.
  
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• Plans for coal-fired power plants drop by almost half in 2016

  22-03-2017 08:44 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A report suggests a "dramatic" decline in the number of coal-fired power plants in pre-construction.
  
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• Visualizing nuclear radiation

  22-03-2017 05:00
  
  (Kyoto University) Extraordinary decontamination efforts are underway in areas affected by the 2011 nuclear accidents in Japan. The creation of total radioactivity maps is essential for thorough cleanup, but the most common methods do not 'see' enough ground-level radiation.
  
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• Tracing aromatic molecules in the early universe

  22-03-2017 05:00
  
  (University of California - Riverside) A molecule found in car engine exhaust fumes that is thought to have contributed to the origin of life on Earth has made astronomers heavily underestimate the amount of stars that were forming in the early universe, a University of California, Riverside-led study has found. That molecule is called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon. On Earth it is also found in coal and tar. In space, it is a component of dust.
  
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• Sea ice extent sinks to record lows at both poles

  22-03-2017 05:00
  
  (NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) The Arctic sea ice maximum extent and Antarctic minimum extent are both record lows this year. Combined, sea ice numbers are at their lowest point since satellites began to continuously measure sea ice in 1979.
  
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• New study maps space dust in 3-D

  22-03-2017 05:00
  
  (DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) A new Berkeley Lab-led study provides detailed 3-D views of space dust in the Milky Way, which could help us understand the properties of this dust and how it affects views of distant objects.
  
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• NASA taking first steps toward high-speed space 'internet'

  22-03-2017 05:00
  
  (NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) NASA is developing a trailblazing, long-term technology demonstration of what could become the high-speed internet of the sky. Laser communication offers data rates that are 10 to 100 times better than current radio-frequency systems.
  
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• Fledgling stars try to prevent their neighbors from birthing planets

  22-03-2017 05:00
  
  (Imperial College London) Stars don't have to be massive to evaporate material from around nearby stars and affect their ability to form planets, a new study suggests.
  
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• Fossil named after Sir David Attenborough

  22-03-2017 04:25 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The ancient arthropod, found in Herefordshire, joins a long list of items named after the TV legend.
  
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• 'Dispersal machines'

  22-03-2017 04:25 via bbc.co.uk
  
  How the toxic pests, described as "dispersal machines", are thwarting efforts to halt their advance.
  
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• Sea otters ahead of dolphins in using tools

  22-03-2017 02:16 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Sea otters may have been using stone tools for thousands or even millions of years, say scientists.
  
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• Tool use in sea otters doesn't run in the family

  22-03-2017 01:44
  
  A genetic study suggests that tool-use behavior isn’t hereditary in sea otters, and that only some animals need to use tools due to the type of food available in their ecosystem.
  
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• Nasa 'smallsats' open up new planetary frontier

  22-03-2017 01:23 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Nasa plans small satellite missions, which could open up new ways of exploring the Solar System.
  
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• Ancient quakes may point to sinking risk for part of California coast

  22-03-2017 00:35
  
  SEATTLE (Reuters) - The Big One may be overdue to hit California but scientists near Los Angeles have found a new risk for the area during a major earthquake: abrupt sinking of land, potentially below sea level.
  
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