Science news

• Space station debris shield floats away during spacewalk

  30-03-2017 23:46
  
  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - A five-foot (1.5-meter) debris shield being installed on the International Space Station floated away on Thursday during a spacewalk by two veteran U.S. astronauts, a NASA TV broadcast showed.
  
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• Russia's Putin says climate change in Arctic good for economy

  30-03-2017 23:06 via cbc.ca
  
  Speaking at an Arctic forum in northern Russian city of Arkhangelsk, Putin also said Russia's shipping and energy projects in the Arctic were guided by the principle that they should do no harm to the environment.
  
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• Getting dengue first may make Zika infection much worse

  30-03-2017 22:26
  
  Experiments in cells and mice suggest that a previous exposure to dengue or West Nile can make a Zika virus infection worse.
  
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• Meditation's Calming Effects Pinpointed in Brain

  30-03-2017 22:00 via rss.sciam.com
  
  A new mouse study reveals a set of neurons that may point to physiological roots for the calming effects of breathing control
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• Extreme gas loss dried out Mars, MAVEN data suggest

  30-03-2017 20:46
  
  Over the planet’s history, the Martian atmosphere has lost 66 percent of its argon and a majority of its carbon dioxide, according to data from NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft.
  
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• Solar wind turned Mars into dry, cold planet: study

  30-03-2017 20:14
  
  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - Particles blasting out from the sun stripped away what was once a thick, Earth-like atmosphere on Mars, leaving behind a dry and cold world inhospitable to life, researchers said in a study released on Thursday.
  
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• U.S.-UK alliance targets the world's deadliest superbugs

  30-03-2017 19:06
  
  LONDON (Reuters) - Eleven biotech companies and research teams in Britain and the United States were awarded up to $48 million in funding on Thursday to speed development of new antibiotics powerful enough to take on the world's deadliest superbugs.
  
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• UBC researchers discover marijuana flavour genes, aim to create standards for taste

  30-03-2017 18:09 via cbc.ca
  
  Consumers can trust what varieties of wine taste like regardless of the store they buy it from, and they could soon have similar expectations for strains of marijuana, say researchers at the University of British Columbia.
  
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• World's oldest spacewoman sets spacewalking record

  30-03-2017 16:03 via cbc.ca
  
  The world's oldest and most experienced spacewoman, Peggy Whitson, broke another record Thursday as she floated out of the International Space Station to set up a new parking spot.
  
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• Astronauts complete 7-hour spacewalk to set up new parking spot on ISS

  30-03-2017 16:03 via cbc.ca
  
  Two astronauts are back inside the International Space Station following a spacewalk that took an unintended turn when a piece of equipment got away.
  
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• ​SpaceX launches first reused rocket, testing cost-cutting model

  30-03-2017 15:14 via cbc.ca
  
  SpaceX launched itself another space industry first on Thursday when it reused one of its rockets to launch a satellite into space.
  
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• New tyrannosaur had a sensitive side

  30-03-2017 15:00
  
  Tyrannosaurs may have had sensitive snouts that detected temperature and touch.
  
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• Red Planet versus Dead Planet: Scientists Debate Next Destination for Astronauts in Space

  30-03-2017 13:30 via rss.sciam.com
  
  Nearly a half-century after humans voyaged to the moon, NASA and private U.S. companies are once again setting their sights beyond low Earth orbit
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• Ghost in the Sell: Hollywood's Mischievous Vision of AI

  30-03-2017 13:00 via rss.sciam.com
  
  With the new sci-fi flick Ghost in the Shell hitting theaters this week, Scientific American asks artificial intelligence experts which movies, if any, have gotten AI right
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• For kids, daily juice probably won’t pack on the pounds

  30-03-2017 13:00
  
  An analysis of existing studies suggests that regular juice drinking isn’t linked to much weight gain in kids.
  
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• U.S. internet service providers get green light to sell user data — but what about Canada?

  30-03-2017 11:00 via cbc.ca
  
  You might be pleased to learn that Canada, which often follows the U.S. lead on technology issues, has taken a different approach on the privacy of user data.
  
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• Wispy remains of supernova explosion hide possible 'survivor'

  30-03-2017 06:00
  
  (NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) This image, taken with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, shows the supernova remnant SNR 0509-68.7, also known as N103B. It is located 160,000 light-years from Earth in a neighboring galaxy called the Large Magellanic Cloud. N103B resulted from a Type Ia supernova, whose cause remains a mystery.
  
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• Waves on sun give NASA new insight into space weather forecasting

  30-03-2017 06:00
  
  (NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) New research has uncovered a mechanism, similar to one that occurs on Earth, which may allow new insights into forecasting space weather and activity on the sun.
  
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• UTSA professors receive grant to create water-purifying nanomaterial

  30-03-2017 06:00
  
  (University of Texas at San Antonio) Heather Shipley, chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Burzik Professor in Engineering Design at The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), and Kelly Nash, associate professor of physics, have received a $65,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to develop a nanomaterial that can do the work of a water treatment plant.
  
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• UAB creates triple-threat cancer-fighting polymer capsules for guided drug delivery

  30-03-2017 06:00
  
  (University of Alabama at Birmingham) Chemists have designed triple-threat cancer-fighting polymer capsules that bring the promise of guided drug delivery closer to preclinical testing. These multilayer capsules show three traits that have been difficult to achieve in a single entity. They have good imaging contrast that allows detection with low-power ultrasound, they can stably and efficiently encapsulate the cancer drug doxorubicin, and both a low- and higher-power dose of ultrasound can trig
  
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• The Red Planet is severely gassed out

  30-03-2017 06:00
  
  (American Association for the Advancement of Science) New measurements of Mars' thin atmosphere show that most of it has been lost to space due to bombardment from solar wind; this was the likely driver of the transition in Martian climate from an early, warm, wet environment to today's cold, dry, thin atmosphere.
  
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• Speeding star gives new clues to breakup of multi-star system

  30-03-2017 06:00
  
  (Penn State) Three stars have been discovered that now hold the record as the youngest-known examples of a super-fast star category. The discovery, led by a Penn State University astronomer, is published in this month's edition of Astrophysical Journal Letters. Four colorful images plus an animated GIF are available.
  
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• Sensor warns when engine oil in CHP plant is no longer up to the job

  30-03-2017 06:00
  
  (Saarland University) Thanks to a new sensor system developed collaboratively by Professor Andreas Schütze and his research team at Saarland University and a group of industrial project partners, unnecessary oil changes could well be a thing of the past. The new system can provide operators of combined heat and power plants with reliable continuous feedback on the current state of the oil. And the system can warn the operator if the condition of the oil suddenly deteriorates.
  
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• Search for stellar survivor of a supernova explosion

  30-03-2017 06:00
  
  (ESA/Hubble Information Centre) Astronomers have used the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope to observe the remnant of a supernova explosion in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Beyond just delivering a beautiful image, Hubble may well have traced the surviving remains of the exploded star's companion.
  
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• Sculpting optical microstructures with slight changes in chemistry

  30-03-2017 06:00
  
  (Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences) In 2013, materials scientists at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and the Wyss Institute of Biologically Inspired Engineering, grew a garden of self-assembled crystal microstructures. Now, applied mathematicians at SEAS and Wyss have developed a framework to better understand and control the fabrication of these microstructures. Together, the researchers used that framework to grow s
  
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• Satellite galaxies at edge of Milky Way coexist with dark matter, says RIT study

  30-03-2017 06:00
  
  (Rochester Institute of Technology) Research conducted by scientists at Rochester Institute of Technology rules out a challenge to the accepted standard model of the universe and theory of how galaxies form by shedding new light on a problematic structure.
  
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• RIT researchers win USGS grant to improve Landsat 8 data

  30-03-2017 06:00
  
  (Rochester Institute of Technology) Rochester Institute of Technology researchers have won funding from the US Geological Survey to ensure accurate temperature data from NASA's Landsat 8 satellite. The agency awarded Aaron Gerace and Matthew Montanaro, senior scientists in RIT's Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science, a five-year, $500,000 grant to continue monitoring improvements they made to Landsat 8's Thermal Infrared Sensor, or TIRS.
  
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• Researchers watch blood vessels develop in whole Zebrafish embryos

  30-03-2017 06:00
  
  (The Optical Society) For the first time, researchers have followed the development of blood vessels in zebrafish embryos without using any labels or contrast agents, which may disturb the biological processes under study.
  
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• Proteins that can take the heat

  30-03-2017 06:00
  
  (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) Ancient proteins may offer clues on how to engineer proteins that can withstand the high temperatures required in industrial applications, according to new research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
  
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• Not a pipe dream anymore -- space-farming: A long legacy leading us to Mars

  30-03-2017 06:00
  
  (De Gruyter Open) Research into space farming has resulted in numerous Earth-based advances(e.g., LED lighting for greenhouse and vertical farm applications; new seed potato propagation techniques, etc.) There are still many technical challenges, but plants and associated biological systems can and will be a major component of the systems that keep humans alive when we establish ourselves on the moon, Mars and beyond.
  
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• New MAVEN findings reveal how Mars' atmosphere was lost to space

  30-03-2017 06:00
  
  (University of Colorado at Boulder) Solar wind and radiation are responsible for stripping the Martian atmosphere, transforming Mars from a planet that could have supported life billions of years ago into a frigid desert world, according to new results from NASA's MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Mission) spacecraft led by the University of Colorado Boulder.
  
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• New clinical trial for early-stage eye melanoma offers study of targeted therapy

  30-03-2017 06:00
  
  (Wills Eye Hospital) A first-of-its-kind, potentially groundbreaking new option for treating a form of eye cancer is now in its first phase-1 clinical research trial at Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia.
  
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• NASA examines the rainfall left behind from ex-Tropical Cyclone Debbie

  30-03-2017 06:00
  
  (NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) Tropical Cyclone Debbie generated a lot of rainfall before and after it made landfall in Queensland, Australia, and NASA analyzed how much rain fell from a vantage point of space. NASA's Terra satellite provided a look at the remnants early on March 30 is it lingered near Australia's Gold Coast.
  
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• Mysterious cosmic explosion surprises astronomers studying the distant x-ray universe

  30-03-2017 06:00
  
  (Penn State) A mysterious flash of X-rays has been discovered by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory in the deepest X-ray image ever obtained. This source likely comes from some sort of destructive event, but it may be of a variety that scientists have never seen before.
  
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• Method identified to boost detection of highly cancerous stem cells

  30-03-2017 06:00
  
  (Tokyo Medical and Dental University) Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU)-led researchers discovered a subpopulation of highly cancerous stem cells in a brain cancer cell line. The cells are not identified by standard tumor cell fluorescence detection methods. By investigating the pathways involved in breaking down the fluorescent labeling material, the research team discovered that by reducing the availability of iron they could enhance fluorescence detection of these cells.
  
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• Lung probe that spots infections aims to cut antibiotic overuse

  30-03-2017 06:00
  
  (University of Edinburgh) A new imaging tool that rapidly diagnoses bacterial lung infections could help prevent unnecessary use of antibiotics in intensive care units. Further development of the technology has received £2 million from Wellcome Trust and will receive up to £0.9 million (US $1.12 million) from CARB-X, a major international initiative to tackle antibiotic resistance co-funded by the US government and Wellcome.
  
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• Lighter, more efficient, safer lithium-ion batteries

  30-03-2017 06:00
  
  (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid) Researchers from Universidad Carlos III de Madrid and the Council for Scientific Research (initialed CSIC in Spanish) have patented a method for making new ceramic electrodes for lithium-ion batteries that are more efficient, cheaper, more resistant and safer than conventional batteries.
  
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• It's true -- the sound of nature helps us relax

  30-03-2017 06:00
  
  (University of Sussex) Researchers at Brighton and Sussex Medical School have discovered that playing 'natural sounds' affects the bodily systems that control the flight-or-fright and rest-digest autonomic nervous systems, with associated effects in the resting activity of the brain.
  
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• Internet crystal ball can predict risk of heart disease, diabetes, study finds

  30-03-2017 06:00
  
  (University of Virginia Health System) An online metabolic calculator predicts people's risk of developing heart disease and diabetes more accurately than traditional methods, a large new study has found. The tool's creator hopes it will prompt people to make lifestyle changes that would spare them the suffering and expense of avoidable illnesses.
  
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• Industry and occupation affect flu vaccination coverage

  30-03-2017 06:00
  
  (Elsevier Health Sciences) Not surprisingly, healthcare workers are almost twice as likely to get flu vaccines as those in other occupations. However, fewer than 30 percent of workers in other occupations in frequent contact with the public -- such as food preparation and serving, sales, personal care, and service occupations -- are likely to be vaccinated, according to a study published in the April issue of the American Journal of Infection Control (AJIC), the official journal of the Associati
  
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• Graphene mobile innovation wows at the GSMA Mobile World Congress

  30-03-2017 06:00
  
  (Graphene Flagship) The Graphene Experience Zone proved a show highlight to many at the 2017 GSMA Mobile World Congress (MWC). Containing an impressive collection of demonstrators and prototypes, it showcased graphene mobile innovation in a truly interactive way. Organized by the Graphene Flagship and curated by ICFO, with support from the GSMA, the Graphene Experience Zone highlighted the potential of graphene and related materials to the mobile community.
  
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• 'Fuzzy' fibers can take rockets' heat

  30-03-2017 06:00
  
  (Rice University) Rice University scientists collaborate with NASA to improve its composite materials for next-generation rocket engines by adding a 'fuzzy' silicon carbide fiber.
  
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• Follow-up study suggests group meditation reduced murder rates in large US cities

  30-03-2017 06:00
  
  (Maharishi University of Management) A follow-up study in the Journal of Health and Environmental Research examines a novel proposed approach to help reduce murder rates in large US urban areas. In a prospective social experiment from 2007 to 2010, practice of the Transcendental Meditation® and TM-Sidhi® program by a large group at Maharishi University of Management in Iowa was associated with a 28.4 percent reduction in murder rates in 206 US urban areas, preventing an estimated 4,136 d
  
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• Finding faces in a crowd: Context is key when looking for small things in images

  30-03-2017 06:00
  
  (Carnegie Mellon University) Spotting a face in a crowd, or recognizing any small or distant object within a large image, is a major challenge for computer vision systems. The trick to finding tiny objects, say researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, is to look for larger things associated with them. An improved method for coding that crucial context from an image has enabled CMU researchers to demonstrate a significant advance in detecting tiny faces.
  
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• Explaining the accelerating expansion of the universe without dark energy

  30-03-2017 06:00
  
  (Royal Astronomical Society) Enigmatic dark energy, thought to make up 68 percent of the universe, may not exist at all, according to a Hungarian-American team. The researchers believe that standard models of the universe fail to take account of its changing structure, but that once this is done the need for dark energy disappears. The team publish their results in a paper in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
  
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• Experts present advances in treating neurological disease at the INS 13th World Congress

  30-03-2017 06:00
  
  (International Neuromodulation Society) Experts will present diverse advances in neuromodulation from May 27 to June 1, 2017 at the 13th World Congress of the International Neuromodulation Society in Edinburgh, Scotland.
  
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• Engineer patents waterlike polymer to create high-temperature ceramics

  30-03-2017 06:00
  
  (Kansas State University) Using five ingredients -- silicon, boron, carbon, nitrogen and hydrogen -- a Kansas State University engineer has created a liquid polymer that can transform into a ceramic with valuable thermal, optical and electronic properties.
  
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• Clemson scientists receive $2.95M to improve and simplify large-scale data analysis

  30-03-2017 06:00
  
  (Clemson University) Clemson University scientists Alex Feltus and Melissa Smith have received a $2.95 million collaborative award from the National Science Foundation to develop cyberinfrastructure aimed at providing researchers around the nation and world with a more fluid and flexible system of analyzing large-scale data.
  
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• Built from the bottom up, nanoribbons pave the way to 'on-off' states for graphene

  30-03-2017 06:00
  
  (DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory) A new way to grow narrow ribbons of graphene, a lightweight and strong structure of single-atom-thick carbon atoms linked into hexagons, may address a shortcoming that has prevented the material from achieving its full potential in electronic applications. Graphene nanoribbons, mere billionths of a meter wide, exhibit different electronic properties than two-dimensional sheets of the material. 'Confinement changes graphene's behavior,' said An-Ping Li, a physi
  
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• Book pays homage to August Vollmer, father of American policing

  30-03-2017 06:00
  
  (Sam Houston State University) After 10 years of research and a bookcase full of documents, Professor Willard Oliver of Sam Houston State University, College of Criminal Justice published a comprehensive biography of August Vollmer, known as the 'Father of American Policing.'
  
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