Science news

• Generic drug prices increase when market competition decreases

  03-07-2017 23:04
  Decreased market competition causes generic drug prices to rise significantly, according to an article.
  
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• Freeze-frames of enzymes in action have implications for a new cancer treatment concept

  03-07-2017 23:04
  Structural biologists shed light on how a family of enzymes called TUTases regulate let-7, an essential regulator of development that is dyregulated in lung and kidney cancers, among others. The team used x-ray crystallography to capture the equivalent of freeze-frames of TUTases, at the resolution of individual atoms, interacting with other molecules to regulate the activity of let-7. this work will aid efforts to target TUTases as a way of increasing expression of let-7 in cancer cells.
  
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• Ribbiting stuff

  03-07-2017 22:48 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The huge diversity of frogs we see today is mainly a consequence of the asteroid strike that killed off the dinosaurs, a study suggests.
  
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• Frog evolution linked to dinosaur asteroid strike

  03-07-2017 22:48 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The huge diversity of frogs we see today is mainly a consequence of the asteroid strike that killed off the dinosaurs, a study suggests.
  
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• The most detailed scan of the wiring of the human brain

  03-07-2017 21:04 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The brain's wiring as never seen before.
  
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• 'The whole thing smells bad': Security of U.S. nukes now secret

  03-07-2017 19:54 via cbc.ca
  
  The Pentagon has thrown a cloak of secrecy over assessments of the safety and security of its nuclear weapons operations — a part of the military with a history of periodic inspection failures and lapses in morale.
  
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• Ancient concrete: Learning to do as the Romans did

  03-07-2017 19:20
  A new look inside 2,000-year-old Roman concrete has provided new clues to the evolving chemistry and mineral cements that allow ancient harbor structures to withstand the test of time.
  
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• Molecular electronics scientists shatter 'impossible' record of rectification rate

  03-07-2017 19:19
  Researchers have far surpassed a theoretical limit on the rectification rate in the field of molecular electronics -- an accomplishment that was thought to be impossible.
  
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• Samsung to sell recycled Note 7 phone in South Korea, this time without fire

  03-07-2017 18:51 via cbc.ca
  
  Samsung Electronics has refurbished its fire-prone Galaxy Note 7 phones with salvaged unused parts, and plans to start selling them in South Korea later this week.
  
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• 'Perfect storm' led to 2016 Great Barrier Reef bleaching

  03-07-2017 18:11
  Researchers say unprecedented oceanographic conditions in 2016 produced the perfect storm of factors that lead to a mass coral bleaching.
  
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• What are outcomes later in life for high school football players?

  03-07-2017 18:10
  In a study of men who graduated from Wisconsin high schools in 1957, playing high school football was not adversely associated with cognitive impairment or depression later in life, according to an article.
  
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• Studies compare types of insulin for reducing episodes of low blood sugar for patients with Type 1 or 2 diabetes

  03-07-2017 18:10
  Treatment with the insulin degludec compared to glargine U100 for 32 weeks resulted in a reduced rate of hypoglycemic (low blood sugar) episodes among patients with type 1 or 2 diabetes and at least one risk factor for hypoglycemia, according to two studies.
  
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• Is concussion associated with abnormal menstrual patterns in young women?

  03-07-2017 18:10
  Concussion is associated with increased risk of having two or more abnormal menstrual bleeding patterns, according to an article and based on a study of nearly 130 girls and young women.
  
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• Certain OTC, less expensive hearing aids provide benefit similar to conventional hearing aid

  03-07-2017 18:10
  A comparison between less-expensive, over-the-counter hearing assistance devices and a conventional hearing aid found that some of these devices were associated with improvements in hearing similar to the hearing aid.
  
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• Tesla says its Model 3 car will go on sale on Friday

  03-07-2017 16:42 via cbc.ca
  
  Tesla says its Model 3, which will go on sale on Friday, will be five-seat car able to go 345 kilometres on a single charge and will be sporty, accelerating from zero to almost 100 km/h in under six seconds.
  
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• Tesla: 1st Model 3 to be built Friday, sales start July 28

  03-07-2017 16:42 via cbc.ca
  
  Tesla says its Model 3, which will go on sale on Friday, will be five-seat car able to go 345 kilometres on a single charge and will be sporty, accelerating from zero to almost 100 km/h in under six seconds.
  
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• SpaceX craft returns to Earth after 2nd space station trip

  03-07-2017 16:09 via cbc.ca
  
  A SpaceX Dragon capsule that brought supplies to the International Space Station has splashed down as planned in the Pacific Ocean.
  
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• Alberta man brings affordable Wi-Fi to Maskwacis reserve

  03-07-2017 15:00 via cbc.ca
  
  Bruce Buffalo built two internet hot spots for his small rural Alberta town to service residents that cannot afford cellular data or internet plans.
  
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• Snow and rain tug on earthquake faults in California

  03-07-2017 13:00
  
  California’s water cycle is linked to periodic increases in small earthquakes.
  
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• Meet the young scientists who hope to save N.L.'s fishery

  03-07-2017 11:00 via cbc.ca
  
  After years of devastating cuts to fisheries and oceans science, new funding is bringing young scientists with new tools and different perspectives to the waters of Newfoundland and Labrador.
  
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• Eastlink customer's 20-year-old email account shut down over unusual address

  03-07-2017 11:00 via cbc.ca
  
  'I just want to tell people be aware that your email address may not be your own,' said Steve Morshead of Halifax.
  
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• Male river fish show feminised traits due to chemicals flushed away

  03-07-2017 08:28 via bbc.co.uk
  
  About 20 per cent of male fish in UK rivers are now showing female characteristics.
  
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• Tower of human skulls in Mexico casts new light on Aztecs

  03-07-2017 07:30
  
  MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A tower of human skulls unearthed beneath the heart of Mexico City has raised new questions about the culture of sacrifice in the Aztec Empire after crania of women and children surfaced among the hundreds embedded in the forbidding structure.
  
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• What's in a name? Big Data reveals distinctive patterns in higher education systems

  03-07-2017 06:00
  
  (University of Chicago Medical Center) Using lists of names collected from publicly available websites, two University of Chicago researchers have revealed distinctive patterns in higher education systems, ranging from ethnic representation, to gender imbalance in the sciences, to nepotism in Italian universities.
  
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• Utah is home to earliest use of a wild potato in North America

  03-07-2017 06:00
  
  (University of Utah) Researchers have discovered potato starch residues in the crevices of a 10,900-year-old stone tool in Escalante, Utah -- the earliest evidence of wild potato use in North America. This is the first archaeological study to identify Solanum jamesii, a wild species native to the southwestern United States, as an important part of ancient human diets. The long history could mean that the species was transported, cultivated or even domesticated.
  
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• The more eggs the better in IVF?

  03-07-2017 06:00
  
  (European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology) A higher number of eggs retrieved in an IVF treatment cycle is independently associated with more chromosomally normal embryos available for transfer, according to a new Australian study. However, the benefit of a greater oocyte yield decreases significantly with advancing female age.
  
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• Superstretchable, supercompressible supercapacitors

  03-07-2017 06:00
  
  (Wiley) Flexible, wearable electronics require equally flexible, wearable power sources. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, Chinese scientists have introduced an extraordinarily stretchable and compressible polyelectrolyte which, in combination with carbon nanotube composite paper electrodes, forms a supercapacitor that can be stretched to 1,000 percent in length and compressed to 50 percent in thickness with even gaining, not losing capacity.
  
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• Study shows childhood psychiatric disorders increase risk for later adult addiction

  03-07-2017 06:00
  
  (Elsevier) Children's health and well-being while growing up can be indicators of the potential health issues they may encounter years later. A study published in the July 2017 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (JAACAP) suggests that a childhood psychiatric disorder increases the risk of developing addiction later in life.
  
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• Study sheds new light on extinction risk in mammals

  03-07-2017 06:00
  
  (Colorado State University) An international research team led by Colorado State University successfully measured habitat fragmentation for over 4,000 species of land-dwelling mammals. They discovered that species with more habitat fragmentation are at greater risk of extinction.
  
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• Study calls into question theories on pulsar phenomena

  03-07-2017 06:00
  
  (University of Southampton) Researchers at the University of Southampton have cast doubt over established explanations for certain behaviors in pulsars -- highly magnetized rotating neutron stars, formed from the remains of supernovae.
  
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• Size of animals dating back 100-350 million years ago inferred from resurrected proteins

  03-07-2017 06:00
  
  (Elhuyar Fundazioa) The Ikerbasque researcher Raúl Pérez-Jiménez of nanoGUNE's Nanobiomechanics group has led a piece of research in which, starting from the sequences of the titin protein of a selection of modern day animals, they inferred the phylogenetic tree of tetrapods (all animals with four limbs including mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians), and reconstructed the sequence that this protein would have had in the common ancestors of these animal groups.
  
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• Seeing the colored light: Bee brains open way for better cameras

  03-07-2017 06:00
  
  (RMIT University) Cameras in drones and robots have trouble dealing with detecting color when the light is changing. But bees, it turns out, have a mechanism that solves this problem and that can be used to improve cameras.
  
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• Research examines how insect outbreaks affect forests and bats

  03-07-2017 06:00
  
  (Wiley) New research indicates that bark beetle outbreaks in forests create several new roosting and foraging possibilities for the protected bat species Barbastella barbastellus.
  
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• Regional disparity in way local authorities and family courts deal with children

  03-07-2017 06:00
  
  (Lancaster University) A North-South divide in the way children are dealt with by local authorities and the family courts has been uncovered by researchers from the Centre for Child and Family Justice Research at Lancaster University.
  
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• Quick test finds signs of sepsis in a single drop of blood

  03-07-2017 06:00
  
  (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) A new portable device can quickly find markers of deadly, unpredictable sepsis infection from a single drop of blood. The device is the first to provide rapid, point-of-care measurement of the immune system's response, without any need to process the blood.This can help doctors identify sepsis at its onset, monitor infected patients and could even point to a prognosis.
  
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• Quantum probes dramatically improve detection of nuclear spins

  03-07-2017 06:00
  
  (Centre for Quantum Computation & Communication Technology) Researchers have demonstrated a way to detect nuclear spins in molecules noninvasively, providing a new tool for biotechnology and materials science.Important research in medicine and biology relies on nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, but until now, it has been limited in spatial resolution and typically requires powerful microwave fields. A CQC2T team at the University of Melbourne has used a quantum probe to perform
  
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• Owls' wings could hold the key to beating wind turbine noise

  03-07-2017 06:00
  
  (IOP Publishing) A new study has revealed how inspiration from owls' wings could allow aircraft and wind turbines to become quieter.Researchers from Japan and China studied the serrations in the leading edge of owls' wings, gaining new insight into how they work to make the birds' flight silent. Their results, published today in the journal Bioinspiration and Biomimetics, point towards potential mechanisms for noise suppression in wind turbines, aircraft, multi-rotor drones and other machines.
  
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• New technique 'sees' radioactive material even after it's gone

  03-07-2017 06:00
  
  (North Carolina State University) A new technique allows researchers to characterize nuclear material that was in a location even after the nuclear material has been removed -- a finding that has significant implications for nuclear nonproliferation and security applications.
  
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• NASA examines Tropical Storm Nanmadol inside and out

  03-07-2017 06:00
  
  (NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) Two NASA satellites provided a look at the Northwestern Pacific Ocean's latest tropical storm from outside and inside. NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite provided an outside look at Nanmadol when it's maximum sustained winds peaked, and the GPM Core satellite provided an inside look at the rainfall within the storm.
  
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• Musical sun reduces range of magnetic activity

  03-07-2017 06:00
  
  (Royal Astronomical Society) A study of the sun using sound waves suggests that the layer in which the significant magnetic activity is located has grown thinner in recent years. Professor Yvonne Elsworth will present results at the National Astronomy Meeting at the University of Hull on Tuesday, July 4.
  
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• Molecular electronics scientists shatter 'impossible' record

  03-07-2017 06:00
  
  (University of Central Florida) Researchers have far surpassed a theoretical limit on the rectification rate in the field of molecular electronics -- an accomplishment that was thought to be impossible.
  
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• Making waves

  03-07-2017 06:00
  
  (Institute of Science and Technology Austria) Computer scientists at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria) and Nvidia have introduced a novel representation of waves that improves computational efficiency by at least an order of magnitude. Based on principles of theoretical physics, their method allows for significantly more visual detail as well as a greater degree of user control.
  
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• Long duration experiments reach 1,000th day

  03-07-2017 06:00
  
  (Diamond Light Source) The first experiment placed on Diamond's Long Duration Experimental (LDE) facility, on beamline I11, has now been in place for 1,000 days. The experiment, led by Dr. Claire Corkhill from the University of Sheffield, has used the world-leading capabilities of the beamline to investigate the hydration of cements used by the nuclear industry for the storage and disposal of waste.
  
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• 'Little Cub' gives astronomers rare chance to see galaxy demise

  03-07-2017 06:00
  
  (Durham University) A primitive galaxy that could provide clues about the early universe has been spotted by astronomers as it begins to be consumed by a gigantic neighboring galaxy.
  
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• Key genes in nitrogen utilization in tobacco identified

  03-07-2017 06:00
  
  (R&D at British American Tobacco) A newly created genetic roadmap for tobacco has been used to identify two mutated genes implicated in the way some types of tobacco use nitrogen. This could help in the development of tobacco and ultimately tobacco products containing lower levels of toxicants. This could also aid in the development of crops that require less chemical fertilizers. This roadmap lays out 64 percent of the tobacco genome, compared to just 20 percent in previous attempts.
  
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• Increased air pollution cuts victims' lifespan by a decade, costing billions

  03-07-2017 06:00
  
  (Elsevier) One of the benefits to cutting fossil fuel consumption is lowering air pollution. A new study in the August issue of Ecological Indicators shows that, on average, an increase in pollution particles in the air of 10 micrograms per cubic meter cuts victims' life expectancy by 9-11 years -- more than previously thought. But the estimated economic cost of this differs wildly between the US and the EU because of the calculations used.
  
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• How seawater strengthens ancient Roman concrete

  03-07-2017 06:00
  
  (University of Utah) While modern marine concrete structures crumble within decades, 2,000-year-old Roman piers and breakwaters endure to this day, and are stronger now than when they were first constructed. University of Utah geologist Marie Jackson studies the minerals and microscale structures of Roman concrete as she would a volcanic rock. She and her colleagues have found that seawater filtering through the concrete leads to the growth of interlocking minerals that lend the concrete added c
  
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• How babies' environments lead to poor health later

  03-07-2017 06:00
  
  (Northwestern University) New Northwestern University research underscores how environmental conditions early in development can cause inflammation in adulthood -- an important risk factor for a wide range of diseases of aging, including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, autoimmune diseases and dementia. Beyond that, the research helped to explain a key unanswered question about the poorly understood mechanisms shaping the development and regulation of inflammation.
  
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• Greening the city -- a measurement for a mindful environment

  03-07-2017 06:00
  
  (University of Bradford) Scientists at the University of Bradford have developed the world's first Tranquillity Rating Prediction Tool (TRAPT), a scientific process for measuring how relaxing urban environments and public spaces are.
  
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• First large-scale genomic analysis of key acute leukemia will likely yield new therapies

  03-07-2017 06:00
  
  (St. Jude Children's Research Hospital) Charting the genomic landscape of T-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients revealed insights that will guide research and help to lay the foundation for more targeted therapy.
  
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