Science news

• NASA'S Juno spacecraft finds chaotic weather, massive cyclones over Jupiter's poles

  25-05-2017 22:01 via cbc.ca
  
  Once it began skimming Jupiter's cloud tops last year, NASA's Juno spacecraft spotted chaotic weather, including enormous cyclones over the planet's poles, according to new research.
  
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• New research reveals what happens when adults learn to read

  25-05-2017 21:34 via cbc.ca
  
  New research found that brain regions associated with ancient functions are largely responsible for our ability to read.
  
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• Juno spacecraft reveals a more complex Jupiter

  25-05-2017 20:14
  
  NASA’s Juno spacecraft has sent back unexpected details about Jupiter, giving scientists their first intimate look at the giant planet.
  
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• Juno peers below Jupiter's clouds

  25-05-2017 20:09 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists say the Solar System's biggest planet is showing itself to be far more complex than anyone thought.
  
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• Obscure brain region linked to feeding frenzy in mice

  25-05-2017 20:00
  
  Nerve cells in a little-studied part of the brain exert a powerful effect on eating, a mouse study suggests.
  
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• Deep heat may have spawned one of the world’s deadliest tsunamis

  25-05-2017 20:00
  
  The 2004 Indonesian quake was surprisingly strong because of dried-out, brittle minerals far below.
  
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• Tudor-SN-mediated endonucleolytic decay of human cell microRNAs promotes G1/S phase transition

  25-05-2017 19:24
  MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs that regulate gene expression. The pathways that mediate mature miRNA decay are less well understood than those that mediate miRNA biogenesis. We found that functional miRNAs are degraded in human cells by the endonuclease Tudor-SN (TSN). In vitro, recombinant TSN initiated the decay of both protein-free and Argonaute 2–loaded miRNAs via endonucleolytic cleavage at CA and UA dinucleotides, preferentially at scissile bonds located more than five n
  
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• Submillihertz magnetic spectroscopy performed with a nanoscale quantum sensor

  25-05-2017 19:24
  Precise timekeeping is critical to metrology, forming the basis by which standards of time, length, and fundamental constants are determined. Stable clocks are particularly valuable in spectroscopy because they define the ultimate frequency precision that can be reached. In quantum metrology, the qubit coherence time defines the clock stability, from which the spectral linewidth and frequency precision are determined. We demonstrate a quantum sensing protocol in which the spectral precision goes
  
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• RNA polymerase motions during promoter melting

  25-05-2017 19:24
  All cellular RNA polymerases (RNAPs), from those of bacteria to those of man, possess a clamp that can open and close, and it has been assumed that the open RNAP separates promoter DNA strands and then closes to establish a tight grip on the DNA template. Here, we resolve successive motions of the initiating bacterial RNAP by studying real-time signatures of fluorescent reporters placed on RNAP and DNA in the presence of ligands locking the clamp in distinct conformations. We report evidence for
  
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• Ring attractor dynamics in the Drosophila central brain

  25-05-2017 19:24
  Ring attractors are a class of recurrent networks hypothesized to underlie the representation of heading direction. Such network structures, schematized as a ring of neurons whose connectivity depends on their heading preferences, can sustain a bump-like activity pattern whose location can be updated by continuous shifts along either turn direction. We recently reported that a population of fly neurons represents the animal’s heading via bump-like activity dynamics. We combined two-photon
  
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• Response to Comment on "Dissolved organic sulfur in the ocean: Biogeochemistry of a petagram inventory"

  25-05-2017 19:24
  Dittmar et al. proposed that mixing alone can explain our observed decrease in marine dissolved organic sulfur with age. However, their simple model lacks an explanation for the origin of sulfur-depleted organic matter in the deep ocean and cannot adequately reproduce our observed stoichiometric changes. Using radiocarbon age also implicitly models the preferential cycling of sulfur that they are disputing.
  
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• Release of mineral-bound water prior to subduction tied to shallow seismogenic slip off Sumatra

  25-05-2017 19:24
  Plate-boundary fault rupture during the 2004 Sumatra-Andaman subduction earthquake extended closer to the trench than expected, increasing earthquake and tsunami size. International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 362 sampled incoming sediments offshore northern Sumatra, revealing recent release of fresh water within the deep sediments. Thermal modeling links this freshening to amorphous silica dehydration driven by rapid burial-induced temperature increases in the past 9 million years. Compl
  
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• Rapid binge-like eating and body weight gain driven by zona incerta GABA neuron activation

  25-05-2017 19:24
  The neuronal substrate for binge eating, which can at times lead to obesity, is not clear. We find that optogenetic stimulation of mouse zona incerta (ZI) -aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurons or their axonal projections to paraventricular thalamus (PVT) excitatory neurons immediately (in 2 to 3 seconds) evoked binge-like eating. Minimal intermittent stimulation led to body weight gain; ZI GABA neuron ablation reduced weight. ZI stimulation generated 35% of normal 24-hour food intake in just 10 minu
  
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• Quantum sensing with arbitrary frequency resolution

  25-05-2017 19:24
  Quantum sensing takes advantage of well-controlled quantum systems for performing measurements with high sensitivity and precision. We have implemented a concept for quantum sensing with arbitrary frequency resolution, independent of the qubit probe and limited only by the stability of an external synchronization clock. Our concept makes use of quantum lock-in detection to continuously probe a signal of interest. Using the electronic spin of a single nitrogen-vacancy center in diamond, we demons
  
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• Jupiters magnetosphere and aurorae observed by the Juno spacecraft during its first polar orbits

  25-05-2017 19:24
  The Juno spacecraft acquired direct observations of the jovian magnetosphere and auroral emissions from a vantage point above the poles. Juno’s capture orbit spanned the jovian magnetosphere from bow shock to the planet, providing magnetic field, charged particle, and wave phenomena context for Juno’s passage over the poles and traverse of Jupiter’s hazardous inner radiation belts. Juno’s energetic particle and plasma detectors measured electrons precipitating in the pola
  
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• Jupiters interior and deep atmosphere: The initial pole-to-pole passes with the Juno spacecraft

  25-05-2017 19:24
  On 27 August 2016, the Juno spacecraft acquired science observations of Jupiter, passing less than 5000 kilometers above the equatorial cloud tops. Images of Jupiter’s poles show a chaotic scene, unlike Saturn’s poles. Microwave sounding reveals weather features at pressures deeper than 100 bars, dominated by an ammonia-rich, narrow low-latitude plume resembling a deeper, wider version of Earth’s Hadley cell. Near-infrared mapping reveals the relative humidity within prominent
  
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• Comment on "Dissolved organic sulfur in the ocean: Biogeochemistry of a petagram inventory"

  25-05-2017 19:24
  Ksionzek et al. (Reports, 28 October 2016, p. 456) provide important data describing the distribution of dissolved organic sulfur (DOS) in the Atlantic Ocean. Here, we show that mixing between water masses is sufficient to explain the observed distribution of DOS, concluding that the turnover time of refractory DOS that Ksionzek et al. present cannot be deduced from their data.
  
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• Ancestral alliances: Plant mutualistic symbioses with fungi and bacteria

  25-05-2017 19:24
  Within the plant microbiota, mutualistic fungal and bacterial symbionts are striking examples of microorganisms playing crucial roles in nutrient acquisition. They have coevolved with their hosts since initial plant adaptation to land. Despite the evolutionary distances that separate mycorrhizal and nitrogen-fixing symbioses, these associations share a number of highly conserved features, including specific plant symbiotic signaling pathways, root colonization strategies that circumvent plant im
  
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• An on/off Berry phase switch in circular graphene resonators

  25-05-2017 19:24
  The phase of a quantum state may not return to its original value after the system’s parameters cycle around a closed path; instead, the wave function may acquire a measurable phase difference called the Berry phase. Berry phases typically have been accessed through interference experiments. Here, we demonstrate an unusual Berry phase–induced spectroscopic feature: a sudden and large increase in the energy of angular-momentum states in circular graphene p-n junction resonators when a
  
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• A subcellular map of the human proteome

  25-05-2017 19:24
  Resolving the spatial distribution of the human proteome at a subcellular level can greatly increase our understanding of human biology and disease. Here we present a comprehensive image-based map of subcellular protein distribution, the Cell Atlas, built by integrating transcriptomics and antibody-based immunofluorescence microscopy with validation by mass spectrometry. Mapping the in situ localization of 12,003 human proteins at a single-cell level to 30 subcellular structures enabled the defi
  
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• Google AI wins 2nd game against Chinese go champion

  25-05-2017 17:19 via cbc.ca
  
  ​A computer beat China's top player of go, one of the last games machines have yet to master, for a second time Thursday in a competition authorities limited the Chinese public's ability to see.
  
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• Honeybee losses in U.S. decline, but some warn too early to celebrate

  25-05-2017 16:49 via cbc.ca
  
  There's a glimmer of hope for America's ailing honeybees as winter losses were the lowest in more than a decade, according to a U.S. survey of beekeepers released Thursday.
  
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• Tougher methane regulations to be phased in between 2020 and 2023 under Canada's climate change plan

  25-05-2017 16:35 via cbc.ca
  
  Canada plans to phase in tougher regulations on the emission of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, but it will take between three and six years for the new rules to kick in.
  
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• Russian spies may have backed email phishing campaign in effort to spread disinformation

  25-05-2017 14:56 via cbc.ca
  
  New evidence of a global espionage campaign involving email phishing attacks and leaked falsified documents emerged on Thursday, with clues suggesting the Russian government might have been involved.
  
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• Because It's Not There: Climbers May Face Danger If Everest's Hillary Step Collapsed

  25-05-2017 14:45 via rss.sciam.com
  
  A glacier scientist and expert climber weighs in on the high-altitude mystery surrounding the summit’s icy rock face
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Newly Found Exoplanet May Have Ring System Dwarfing Saturn's

  25-05-2017 13:00 via rss.sciam.com
  
  If confirmed, the  world’s rings would be some 200 times wider than Saturn’s and could reveal clues to our solar system’s early history
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Marijuana Treatment Reduces Severe Epileptic Seizures

  25-05-2017 12:45 via rss.sciam.com
  
  A rigorous study validates a cannabis-derived treatment for a rare, drug-resistant childhood epilepsy
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• New Zealand space launch is first from a private site

  25-05-2017 10:41 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The first ever launch from New Zealand is a step towards making it cheaper to get cargo into space.
  
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• The best teams of the engineering competition 'Capture the Flag' were awarded

  25-05-2017 06:00
  
  (Peter the Great Saint-Petersburg Polytechnic University) On May 24, at the plenary session of the International Polytechnic Week, the winners of the students' competition 'Capture the Flag' organized by Siemens LLC with the support of Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, were awarded. More than 60 students from various universities of St. Petersburg participated in the competition. Altogether, 11 teams competed in the framework of the event, eight of them successfully reached
  
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• Solving the riddle of the snow globe

  25-05-2017 06:00
  
  (American Friends of Tel Aviv University) A new Tel Aviv University study finds the sedimentation of asymmetric objects in liquid is very different from that of symmetrical objects like spheres. The research may have practical applications in improving water treatment and industrial processes.
  
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• Researchers find new way to control light with electric fields

  25-05-2017 06:00
  
  (North Carolina State University) Researchers from North Carolina State University have discovered a technique for controlling light with electric fields.
  
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• Research could bring 'drastically' higher resolution to your TV and smartphone

  25-05-2017 06:00
  
  (University of Central Florida) By developing a way to tune the color of individual pixels, researchers have eliminated the need for subpixels -- allowing a greater density of pixels and much higher resolution for video displays.
  
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• Preliminary: BRCA variations may work alongside COMT variation to reduce breast cancer

  25-05-2017 06:00
  
  (George Washington University) George Washington University researchers, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, find through looking at genetic data sets of presumed cancer-free women who carry BRCA 1/2 variants, the co-occurrence of a rare COMT genetic variant in some women. This research outlines a strategy for looking at large genetic data sets for clues as to why a genetic carrier may never develop the associated diseases.
  
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• MIT researchers engineer shape-shifting food

  25-05-2017 06:00
  
  (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Researchers from MIT's Tangible Media Group have concocted something akin to edible origami, in the form of flat sheets of gelatin and starch that, when submerged in water, instantly sprout into three-dimensional structures, including common pasta shapes such as macaroni and rotini.
  
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• Government transparency limited when it comes to America's conserved private lands

  25-05-2017 06:00
  
  (University of Wisconsin-Madison) A new study led by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison examined why private-land conservation data is sometimes inaccessible and found that limited capacity within some federal agencies as well as laws prohibiting others from disclosing certain information are to blame.
  
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• Expressing genetic interactions through music

  25-05-2017 06:00
  
  (Babraham Institute) An artistic collaboration between musician Max Cooper, visual artist Andy Lomas and researchers from the Babraham Institute in Cambridge has produced a new way to experience the elegance of DNA organization. Chromos captures the microscopic elegance of gene organization using evocative soundscapes.The music is inspired by the research of Dr Csilla Varnai at the Babraham Institute. Her work in computer modelling recreates how genetic information, recorded on DNA, is organised
  
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• eLearning Stakeholders and Researchers Summit 2017 is held in Moscow for the first time

  25-05-2017 06:00
  
  (National Research University Higher School of Economics) National Research University Higher School of Economics, in cooperation with the global online learning platform Coursera, is holding eLearning Stakeholders and Researchers Summit 2017 (eSTARS) -- the international conference focused on scientific and practical aspects of online education on Oct. 10-11, 2017, in Moscow.
  
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