Science news

• Tesla website starts selling solar roofs

  10-05-2017 23:13 via cbc.ca
  
  Electric car maker Tesla has added another product to its lineup: Solar roof tiles.
  
  Read more

• Breast cancer cells spread in an already-armed mob

  10-05-2017 23:09
  
  Source tumors may already contain the mutations that drive aggressive cancer spread.
  
  Read more

• ‘Exercise pill’ turns couch potato mice into marathoners

  10-05-2017 22:08
  
  An experimental "exercise in a pill" increases running endurance in mice before they step foot on a treadmill.
  
  Read more

• Astronaut's helmet-cam gives spectacular view of Earth during spacewalk

  10-05-2017 21:52 via cbc.ca
  
  It's just another workday at the International Space Station.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• New rules for cellular entry may aid antibiotic development

  10-05-2017 19:00
  
  A new study lays out several rules to successfully enter gram-negative bacteria, which could lead to the development of sorely needed antibiotics.
  
  Read more

• Shares in Snapchat owner fall after disappointing first earnings report

  10-05-2017 18:10 via cbc.ca
  
  Shares in Snap Inc., the parent company of photo-messaging app Snapchat, plunged in after-hours trading on Wednesday after the release of the company's first-ever quarterly earnings report.
  
  Read more

• Marijuana May Boost, Rather Than Dull, the Elderly Brain

  10-05-2017 14:00 via rss.sciam.com
  
  Senior mice treated with THC improved on learning and memory tests
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
  Read more

• New Evidence of Mysterious Homo naledi Raises Questions about How Humans Evolved

  10-05-2017 13:30 via rss.sciam.com
  
  The much-anticipated dating of the enigmatic species, along with stunning new fossils, challenge key assumptions about human evolution
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Ice particles shaped like lollipops fall from clouds

  10-05-2017 13:00
  
  Small ice particles called ice-lollies, because of their lollipop-like appearance, can form in clouds.
  
  Read more

• Trump's Wall May Threaten Thousands of Plant and Animal Species on the U.S.–Mexico Border

  10-05-2017 12:45 via rss.sciam.com
  
  The region—called the Sky Islands—harbors more than 7,000 species, many of which struggle to cross human-made obstructions
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
  Read more

• Radioactive railcars? Here's what's happening at the Hanford nuclear waste site

  10-05-2017 11:00 via cbc.ca
  
  When workers at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in southeastern Washington state found a partially collapsed storage tunnel on Tuesday, there was cause for concern. Nowhere in the U.S. is there more nuclear waste and radioactive contamination than at the Hanford site.
  
  Read more

• Facebook kind of, somewhat continues to crack down on fake news

  10-05-2017 11:00 via cbc.ca
  
  Facebook still can't manage to get things straight: Is it responsible for the fake news posted on its platform, or not? Is the onus on them, or on users?
  
  Read more

• Climate change playing a role in growing list of species at risk

  10-05-2017 11:00 via cbc.ca
  
  The list of species at risk of extinction has grown to 751, and the effects of climate change may put those species even more at risk — especially the 62 species in Canada's North.
  
  Read more

• Women in East Germany will be more likely to die from smoking than those in West Germany

  10-05-2017 06:00
  
  (Max-Planck-Gesellschaft) Due to a silent but dramatic increase in the number of young East German women smoking after reunification, their death rates are forecasted to exceed those in the West within the next few decades according to forecasts up to the year 2036 by scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) in Rostock. The deadly trend is hidden beneath a currently favorable trend in life expectancy.
  
  Read more

• Waves of lava seen in Io's largest volcanic crater

  10-05-2017 06:00
  
  (University of California - Berkeley) The most active volcanic crater in the solar system, Loki Patera on Jupiter's moon Io, is thought to be a lava lake that periodically brightens because of overturning lava. A UC Berkeley team regularly monitors Io, and took advantage of a rare 2015 event, Europa passing in front of Io, to map the surface of the lake in detail. They found evidence for two massive waves of overturning lava converging toward the lake's southeast corner.
  
  Read more

• Virtual support groups help grieving spouses with depression

  10-05-2017 06:00
  
  (University of Arizona) For older adults who can't attend a grief support group after losing a spouse, a virtual version may be effective, helping with loneliness, stress, sleep problems and depressive symptoms, University of Arizona research found.
  
  Read more

• Trigger for autoimmune disease identified

  10-05-2017 06:00
  
  (National Jewish Health) Researchers at National Jewish Health have identified a trigger for autoimmune diseases such as lupus, Crohn's disease and multiple sclerosis. The findings help explain why women suffer autoimmune disease more frequently than men, and suggest a therapeutic target to prevent autoimmune disease in humans.
  
  Read more

• Through a child's eyes: Classroom study measures vision and academic achievement

  10-05-2017 06:00
  
  (Queensland University of Technology) QUT researchers have investigated how vision can affect a child's ongoing learning, with results showing 30 per cent of Year 3 students tested had uncorrected eye problems that could affect their academic performances.
  
  Read more

• The dark side of helping coworkers

  10-05-2017 06:00
  
  (Michigan State University) If you show up at work tired, you may want to focus strictly on your own tasks. New research suggests helping coworkers in the morning can lead to mental exhaustion and self-serving behavior in the afternoon that ultimately can create a toxic work environment.
  
  Read more

• The continuum of HIV care: What does it mean and how is Europe doing?

  10-05-2017 06:00
  
  (European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)) From diagnosis of HIV to successful viral suppression: this new ECDC report summarizes key findings concerning and the Continuum of HIV Care in Europe based on data reported by countries in Europe and Central Asia. In the 37 countries reporting data, an estimated 1.2 million people are living with HIV, 898 000 of whom (75 percent) have been diagnosed. 88 percent of these are estimated to be virally suppressed.
  
  Read more

• Study: The family dog could help boost physical activity for kids with disabilities

  10-05-2017 06:00
  
  (Oregon State University) The family dog could serve as a partner and ally in efforts to help children with disabilities incorporate more physical activity into their daily lives. A case study of one 10-year-old boy with cerebral palsy and his family's dog,found the intervention program led to a wide range of improvements for the child.
  
  Read more

• Study finds worsening outcomes in service members 5 years after mild blast-induced concussion

  10-05-2017 06:00
  
  (NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) According to a new study in JAMA Neurology, US military service members who endured a mild concussion after blast injury while deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan may continue to experience mental health symptoms as well as decreases in quality of life for at least five years after their injury. The study was supported by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and the Department of Defense. NINDS is part of th
  
  Read more

• Study beefs up support for brain cells that control protein hunger

  10-05-2017 06:00
  
  (NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) Have you ever found yourself craving a steak or a burger? The brain controls our feelings of hunger and also determines the types of nutrients we should be seeking out. Not much is understood about the brain's regulation of nutrient-specific hunger, but in a new study published in Science, researchers identified the brain cells in fruit flies that regulate protein hunger and were able to control those cells, affecting what the animals
  
  Read more

• Study: Access to long-lasting contraception after childbirth lags behind demand

  10-05-2017 06:00
  
  (Michigan Medicine - University of Michigan) Before leaving the hospital after childbirth, more women are opting to check one thing off their list: birth control.
  
  Read more

• Researchers develop software to convene rapid, on-demand 'flash organizations'

  10-05-2017 06:00
  
  (Stanford University) Flash organizations are a new crowdsourcing technique that enables anyone to assemble an entire organization from a paid crowdsourcing marketplace and lead that organization in pursuit of complex, open-ended goals.
  
  Read more

• Quit-smoking drug safe for patients with lung disease, study finds

  10-05-2017 06:00
  
  (University of Edinburgh) Medication that helps smokers to quit is safe for use by people with chronic lung conditions, research led by the Universities of Edinburgh and Dusseldorf suggests.
  
  Read more

• Pet dogs help kids feel less stressed, study finds

  10-05-2017 06:00
  
  (University of Florida) Pet dogs provide valuable social support for kids when they're stressed, according to a study by researchers from the University of Florida, who were among the first to document stress-buffering effects of pets for children.
  
  Read more

• Penn expert probes possible reasons for loss of smell

  10-05-2017 06:00
  
  (University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine) Studies have shown that loss of the sense of smell can be among the first warning signs of diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Now a researcher at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania wants to shift the search for clues about this process back even further, to find out if there is a common factor responsible for the loss of smell that may also serve as an early warning signal for a number of neurodegenerative
  
  Read more

• Our taste in movies is highly idiosyncratic -- and at odds with critics' preferences

  10-05-2017 06:00
  
  (New York University) Our taste in movies is notably idiosyncratic, and not linked to the demographic traits that studios target, finds new study on film preferences. The work also shows that moviegoers' ratings are not necessarily in line with those of critics.
  
  Read more

• Observatories combine to crack open the Crab Nebula

  10-05-2017 06:00
  
  (NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) Astronomers have produced a highly detailed image of the Crab Nebula, by combining data from telescopes spanning nearly the entire breadth of the electromagnetic spectrum.
  
  Read more

• NASA spots Eastern Pacific season's earliest first tropical storm in satellite era

  10-05-2017 06:00
  
  (NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) The first tropical storm in the Eastern Pacific Ocean has formed west of Costa Rica as NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP Satellite passed overhead. Tropical Storm Adrian's formation has already made a mark in hurricane history.
  
  Read more

• NASA sees Tropical Cyclone Ella affecting American Samoa

  10-05-2017 06:00
  
  (NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) NASA's Terra satellite passed over Tropical Cyclone Ella in the Southern Pacific Ocean and visible light imagery on May 9 revealed thick bands of thunderstorms over the islands of American Samoa.Terra image of Ella
  
  Read more

• NASA sees Tropical Cyclone Donna shearing apart

  10-05-2017 06:00
  
  (NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) NASA's Terra satellite captured an infrared image of Tropical Cyclone Donna as it was being sheared apart by winds southeast of New Caledonia.
  
  Read more

• Mapping reveals reactions differ in male and female brains during cardiovascular activity

  10-05-2017 06:00
  
  (University of California - Los Angeles) A region of the brain that helps to manage body functions including stress, heart rate and blood pressure reacts differently between men and women when presented with certain stimuli, according to a new study from the UCLA School of Nursing.
  
  Read more

• Live interactions with robots increase their perceived human likeness

  10-05-2017 06:00
  
  (International Communication Association) A recent study by researchers at the University of Koblenz-Landau, University of Wurzburg, and Arts Electronica Futurelab, found that people who watched live interactions with a robot were more likely to consider the robot to have more human-like qualities.
  
  Read more

• Laundered in space

  10-05-2017 06:00
  
  (University of Arizona College of Engineering) UA College of Engineering senior Christina Morrison is seeking solutions to a down-to-earth problem for space travelers: How to keep their clothes clean.
  
  Read more

• Kids, parents alike worried about privacy with internet-connected toys

  10-05-2017 06:00
  
  (University of Washington) University of Washington researchers have conducted a new study that explores the attitudes and concerns of both parents and children who play with internet-connected toys. Through a series of in-depth interviews and observations, the researchers found that kids didn't know their toys were recording their conversations, and parents generally worried about their children's privacy when they played with the toys.
  
  Read more

• In brain evolution, size matters -- most of the time

  10-05-2017 06:00
  
  (Cornell University) Which came first, overall bigger brains or larger brain regions that control specialized behaviors? Neuroscientists have debated this question for decades, but a new Cornell University study settles the score.
  
  Read more

• Image release: Telescopes team up for dramatic new look at the crab nebula

  10-05-2017 06:00
  
  (National Radio Astronomy Observatory) Multiwavelength image with VLA, Spitzer, Hubble, XMM-Newton, and Chandra observatories shows the 'whole picture' of the famous Crab Nebula supernova remnant, and provides astronomers with new insights into the object's complex physics.
  
  Read more

• High levels of exercise linked to 9 years of less aging at the cellular level

  10-05-2017 06:00
  
  (Brigham Young University) Despite their best efforts, no scientist has ever come close to stopping humans from aging. Even anti-aging creams can't stop Old Father Time.But new research from Brigham Young University reveals you may be able to slow one type of aging -- the kind that happens inside your cells. As long as you're willing to sweat.
  
  Read more

• First year of grade school sharpens kids' attention skills

  10-05-2017 06:00
  
  (University of California - Berkeley) The first year of elementary school markedly boosts a child's attentiveness, according to new research from the University of California, Berkeley, and the Max Planck Institute in Germany.
  
  Read more

• Does HIV infection affect brain connectivity and cognitive performance?

  10-05-2017 06:00
  
  (Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News) A new study has shown that compared to HIV-negative young adults, those positive for HIV infection with limited or no treatment history had significant disruptions in whole brain structural networks, poorer strength and efficiency of connections, and corresponding reductions in cognitive performance.
  
  Read more

• Do red Smarties make you happier? 'Live the trial' class debunks the myth

  10-05-2017 06:00
  
  (Queensland University of Technology) A test to assess the effect of red Smarties on happiness has been used to teach the often 'dull' or 'boring' concepts of clinical research. The study, published in the Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health, was based on a mock randomised control trial across three countries and involved students at QUT and health professionals in Canada and Malaysia.
  
  Read more

• Decrease in the number of fatalities, but great power involvement worries researchers

  10-05-2017 06:00
  
  (Uppsala University) According to new data from the Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP), the number of fatalities in organized violence decreased for the second consecutive year in 2016. However, the large share of conflicts with external involvement is a source of concern.
  
  Read more

• Astrophysicists find that planetary harmonies around TRAPPIST-1 save it from destruction

  10-05-2017 06:00
  
  (University of Toronto) U of T astrophysicists create a digital symphony to highlight the unique configuration of the recently discovered TRAPPIST-1 system.
  
  Read more

• As heat index climbs, emergency visits, deaths rise in New England

  10-05-2017 06:00
  
  (Brown University) New research shows that New Englanders are susceptible to serious health effects even when the heat index is below 100, a finding that has helped to change the National Weather Service threshold for heat warnings.
  
  Read more

• ROM scientists name new dinosaur species after Ghostbusters villain

  10-05-2017 01:00 via cbc.ca
  
  Scientists from the Royal Ontario Museum have recently discovered the fossil of a 75-million-year-old species of armoured dinosaur, or ankylosaur, which was unusually well-preserved — and oddly familiar to a Ghostbuster fan.
  
  Read more

Follow @ScienceUKnews on Twitter!