Science news

• Too much information can be a good thing

  03-08-2017 23:43
  When does a person receive too much health information? What's the best way for health providers to convey information without consumers skipping over or forgetting key information? According to a new study, the answer lies in the goal of a specific health objective.
  
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• Sense of smell deficits are common, linked to malnutrition in patients with kidney disease

  03-08-2017 23:43
  A study has found that deficits in the sense of smell are important contributors to the frequently observed lack of appetite in patients with serious kidney disease.
  
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• Dual-surface graphene electrode splits water into hydrogen and oxygen

  03-08-2017 23:43
  Scientists have turned laser-induced graphene into a two-sided electrocatalyst that efficiently splits water into oxygen and hydrogen.
  
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• Aggressive breast cancers may contribute to racial survival disparities

  03-08-2017 23:43
  Young black women are more likely to have a type of breast cancer that does not express any of the receptors for targeted biologic therapies, an analysis of approximately 1,000 invasive breast tumors has confirmed. The study also identified variation by ethnicity within a clinical breast cancer type that has the greatest mortality disparity.
  
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• Ever-Elusive Neutrinos Spotted Bouncing Off Nuclei for the First Time

  03-08-2017 23:00 via rss.sciam.com
  A new technology for detecting neutrinos represents a “monumental” advance for science
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Mangroves vital for environmental decontamination

  03-08-2017 21:58
  Mangrove trees, particularly their leaf litter, filter copper out of soil and water in Indonesia.
  
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• Promising results for patients with endoscopic treatments

  03-08-2017 21:22
  A simpler procedure for collecting biopsy specimens during various procedures can improve patient care, research shows. Additionally, study indicates how a relatively new procedure, POEM, has been adapted to help an additional set of patients with gastroparesis, a troubling stomach problem.
  
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• Low-power cold-atom source developed for atomic clocks, physics experiments

  03-08-2017 21:22
  A reversible alkali atom source has been developed that runs at low power and low voltage, which is beneficial in applications such as smaller, more efficient, and ultimately portable atomic clocks that use cold atoms.
  
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• Of mice and cheeseburgers: Experimental drug reverses obesity-related liver disease

  03-08-2017 20:56
  An experimental drug protected mice from one of the many ills of our cheeseburger and milkshake-laden Western diet -- non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. The drug reversed liver inflammation, injury and scarring in animals fed a high fat, sugar and cholesterol diet. The diet was designed to replicate the Western fast food diet and recreate the features of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease found in people. The research team plans further testing to move it into human trials.
  
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• IT researcher Marcus Hutchins who helped stop WannaCry arrested

  03-08-2017 20:16 via cbc.ca
  The IT researcher who helped stop the spread of the WannaCry malware earlier this year has been indicted by the FBI for his alleged role in creating and spreading an unrelated piece of malicious software between 2014 and 2015.
  
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• Neutrinos seen scattering off an atom’s nucleus for the first time

  03-08-2017 20:10
  
  New type of interaction confirms that neutrinos play by the rules.
  
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• Ancient, spiky-headed worm discovered in B.C. fossils

  03-08-2017 20:02 via cbc.ca
  Researchers at the Royal Ontario Museum and Yale University have discovered the fossil of a spiky-headed worm that they believe would have struck fear in the hearts of other creatures swimming in ancient seas.
  
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• The solar system's earliest asteroids may have all been massive

  03-08-2017 20:00
  
  A team of astronomers says the original asteroids all came in one size: extra large.
  
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• Winter storms drive rapid phenotypic, regulatory, and genomic shifts in the green anole lizard

  03-08-2017 19:26
  Extreme environmental perturbations offer opportunities to observe the effects of natural selection in wild populations. During the winter of 2013–2014, the southeastern United States endured an extreme cold event. We used thermal performance, transcriptomics, and genome scans to measure responses of lizard populations to storm-induced selection. We found significant increases in cold tolerance at the species’ southern limit. Gene expression in southern survivors shifted toward patte
  
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• UBE2O remodels the proteome during terminal erythroid differentiation

  03-08-2017 19:26
  During terminal differentiation, the global protein complement is remodeled, as epitomized by erythrocytes, whose cytosol is ~98% globin. The erythroid proteome undergoes a rapid transition at the reticulocyte stage; however, the mechanisms driving programmed elimination of preexisting cytosolic proteins are unclear. We found that a mutation in the murine Ube2o gene, which encodes a ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme induced during erythropoiesis, results in anemia. Proteomic analysis suggested that U
  
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• UBE2O is a quality control factor for orphans of multiprotein complexes

  03-08-2017 19:26
  Many nascent proteins are assembled into multiprotein complexes of defined stoichiometry. Imbalances in the synthesis of individual subunits result in orphans. How orphans are selectively eliminated to maintain protein homeostasis is poorly understood. Here, we found that the conserved ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme UBE2O directly recognized juxtaposed basic and hydrophobic patches on unassembled proteins to mediate ubiquitination without a separate ubiquitin ligase. In reticulocytes, where UBE2O
  
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• The microbial metabolite desaminotyrosine protects from influenza through type I interferon

  03-08-2017 19:26
  The microbiota is known to modulate the host response to influenza infection through as-yet-unclear mechanisms. We hypothesized that components of the microbiota exert effects through type I interferon (IFN), a hypothesis supported by analysis of influenza in a gain-of-function genetic mouse model. Here we show that a microbially associated metabolite, desaminotyrosine (DAT), protects from influenza through augmentation of type I IFN signaling and diminution of lung immunopathology. A specific h
  
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• The biology of color

  03-08-2017 19:26
  Coloration mediates the relationship between an organism and its environment in important ways, including social signaling, antipredator defenses, parasitic exploitation, thermoregulation, and protection from ultraviolet light, microbes, and abrasion. Methodological breakthroughs are accelerating knowledge of the processes underlying both the production of animal coloration and its perception, experiments are advancing understanding of mechanism and function, and measurements of color collected
  
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• Systemic pan-AMPK activator MK-8722 improves glucose homeostasis but induces cardiac hypertrophy

  03-08-2017 19:26
  5'-Adenosine monophosphate–activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a master regulator of energy homeostasis in eukaryotes. Despite three decades of investigation, the biological roles of AMPK and its potential as a drug target remain incompletely understood, largely because of a lack of optimized pharmacological tools. We developed MK-8722, a potent, direct, allosteric activator of all 12 mammalian AMPK complexes. In rodents and rhesus monkeys, MK-8722–mediated AMPK activation in skeletal
  
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• Revealing hidden antiferromagnetic correlations in doped Hubbard chains via string correlators

  03-08-2017 19:26
  Topological phases, like the Haldane phase in spin-1 chains, defy characterization through local order parameters. Instead, nonlocal string order parameters can be employed to reveal their hidden order. Similar diluted magnetic correlations appear in doped one-dimensional lattice systems owing to the phenomenon of spin-charge separation. Here we report on the direct observation of such hidden magnetic correlations via quantum gas microscopy of hole-doped ultracold Fermi-Hubbard chains. The measu
  
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• Mechanochemical unzipping of insulating polyladderene to semiconducting polyacetylene

  03-08-2017 19:26
  Biological systems sense and respond to mechanical stimuli in a complex manner. In an effort to develop synthetic materials that transduce mechanical force into multifold changes in their intrinsic properties, we report on a mechanochemically responsive nonconjugated polymer that converts to a conjugated polymer via an extensive rearrangement of the macromolecular structure in response to force. Our design is based on the facile mechanochemical unzipping of polyladderene, a polymer inspired by a
  
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• Large-amplitude transfer motion of hydrated excess protons mapped by ultrafast 2D IR spectroscopy

  03-08-2017 19:26
  Solvation and transport of excess protons in aqueous systems play a fundamental role in acid-base chemistry and biochemical processes. We mapped ultrafast proton excursions along the proton transfer coordinate by means of two-dimensional infrared spectroscopy, both in bulk water and in a Zundel cation (H5O2)+ motif selectively prepared in acetonitrile. Electric fields from the environment and stochastic hydrogen bond motions induce fluctuations of the proton double-minimum potential. Within the
  
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• Genomic estimation of complex traits reveals ancient maize adaptation to temperate North America

  03-08-2017 19:26
  By 4000 years ago, people had introduced maize to the southwestern United States; full agriculture was established quickly in the lowland deserts but delayed in the temperate highlands for 2000 years. We test if the earliest upland maize was adapted for early flowering, a characteristic of modern temperate maize. We sequenced fifteen 1900-year-old maize cobs from Turkey Pen Shelter in the temperate Southwest. Indirectly validated genomic models predicted that Turkey Pen maize was marginally adap
  
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• Direct atomic-level insight into the active sites of a high-performance PGM-free ORR catalyst

  03-08-2017 19:26
  Platinum group metal–free (PGM-free) metal-nitrogen-carbon catalysts have emerged as a promising alternative to their costly platinum (Pt)–based counterparts in polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) but still face some major challenges, including (i) the identification of the most relevant catalytic site for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and (ii) demonstration of competitive PEFC performance under automotive-application conditions in the hydrogen (H2)–air fuel cell. Here
  
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• Complete measurement of helicity and its dynamics in vortex tubes

  03-08-2017 19:26
  Helicity, a topological measure of the intertwining of vortices in a fluid flow, is a conserved quantity in inviscid fluids but can be dissipated by viscosity in real flows. Despite its relevance across a range of flows, helicity in real fluids remains poorly understood because the entire quantity is challenging to measure. We measured the total helicity of thin-core vortex tubes in water. For helical vortices that are stretched or compressed by a second vortex, we found conservation of total he
  
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• Chemogenetics revealed: DREADD occupancy and activation via converted clozapine

  03-08-2017 19:26
  The chemogenetic technology DREADD (designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs) is widely used for remote manipulation of neuronal activity in freely moving animals. DREADD technology posits the use of "designer receptors," which are exclusively activated by the "designer drug" clozapine N-oxide (CNO). Nevertheless, the in vivo mechanism of action of CNO at DREADDs has never been confirmed. CNO does not enter the brain after systemic drug injections and shows low affinity for DRE
  
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• Giant armored dinosaur may have cloaked itself in camouflage

  03-08-2017 18:15
  
  An armored dinosaur the size of a Honda Civic also wore countershading camouflage, a chemical analysis of its skin suggests.
  
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• This newly discovered armoured dinosaur had to hide from bigger, meaner dinos

  03-08-2017 18:00 via cbc.ca
  Scientists have discovered a new genus and species of armoured dinosaur that they believe used camoflauge in order to protect itself.
  
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• Facebook to step up fact-checking in fight against fake news

  03-08-2017 17:55 via cbc.ca
  Facebook is to send more potential hoax articles to third-party fact checkers and show their findings below the original post, the world's largest online social network said on Thursday as it tries to fight so-called fake news.
  
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• Armoured tank-like dino used camouflage to hide

  03-08-2017 17:30 via bbc.co.uk
  A new species of mega-herbivore dinosaur discovered in Alberta, Canada preserves incredible details of its skin, scales and spines.
  
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• New map of Universe's dark matter

  03-08-2017 17:17 via bbc.co.uk
  Researchers have released the most accurate map ever produced of the dark matter in our Universe.
  
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• Striking Evidence Linking Football to Brain Disease Sparks Calls for More Research

  03-08-2017 16:00 via rss.sciam.com
  The biggest study of its kind offers the best evidence to date linking the sport to mood and cognitive impairments
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Brick by brick: satellite images could identify slave labor in India

  03-08-2017 15:29
  LONDON (Reuters) - Researchers in England are hoping to help root out modern day slavery in northern India by using detailed satellite imagery to locate brick kilns - sites that are notorious for using millions of slaves, including children.
  
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• Al Gore Says Climate's Best Hope Lies in Cities and Solar Power

  03-08-2017 12:45 via rss.sciam.com
  In an exclusive interview Gore also maintains that the Trump administration is relinquishing U.S. climate leadership to China and India
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• North Atlantic right whale deaths appear to be from collisions with ships, fishing gear

  03-08-2017 11:25 via cbc.ca
  This summer has been deadly for North Atlantic right whales in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
  
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• Our vacuums could share our data with third parties, but we don't seem to care

  03-08-2017 11:00 via cbc.ca
  iRobot, the makers of the popular automated vacuum, the Roomba, could to share the data it collects about people's houses to tech companies. In short, that would mean that your private decisions – where you want to put your couch in relation to your TV or fridge, for instance – are, to some extent, no longer private.
  
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• Our vacuums could sell our data to the highest bidder, but we don't seem to care

  03-08-2017 11:00 via cbc.ca
  iRobot, the makers of the popular automated vacuum, the Roomba, wants to sell the data it collects about people's houses to tech companies. In short, that would mean that your private decisions – where you want to put your couch in relation to your TV or fridge, for instance – are, to some extent, no longer private.
  
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• Forget the eclipse for a moment: Perseid meteor shower set to peak Aug. 12

  03-08-2017 11:00 via cbc.ca
  With all the talk about the coming solar eclipse, the Perseid meteor shower — one of the year's best — has been left in the dust. But it's time to forget about the sun for a while and focus on 'shooting stars.'
  
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• Born this way? Researchers explore the science of gender identity

  03-08-2017 07:30
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - While President Donald Trump has thrust transgender people back into the conflict between conservative and liberal values in the United States, geneticists are quietly working on a major research effort to unlock the secrets of gender identity.
  
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• Glitter-filled iPhone cases recalled after reports of chemical burns

  03-08-2017 07:28 via cbc.ca
  In Canada, more than 11,000 of the Chinese-made units were sold at Victoria's Secret retail stores, online and at airport duty-free shops.
  
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• Yoga effective at reducing symptoms of depression

  03-08-2017 06:00
  (American Psychological Association) People who suffer from depression may want to look to yoga as a complement to traditional therapies as the practice appears to lessen symptoms of the disorder, according to studies presented at the 125th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association.
  
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• World's smallest neutrino detector finds big physics fingerprint

  03-08-2017 06:00
  (DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory) After more than a year of operation at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), the COHERENT experiment, using the world's smallest neutrino detector, has found a big fingerprint of the elusive, electrically neutral particles that interact only weakly with matter. The research, performed at ORNL's Spallation Neutron Source and published in the journal Science, provides compelling evidence for a neutrino interaction process predicted by
  
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• Why Facebook is so hard to resist

  03-08-2017 06:00
  (Michigan State University) Why is social media such a hard habit to break? Because it makes us feel good, said Michigan State University's Allison Eden, assistant professor in the Department of Communication.
  
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• Why are doctors underusing a drug to treat opioid addiction?

  03-08-2017 06:00
  (American Psychological Association) A drug approved for private physicians to treat opioid addiction is being underprescribed, and a survey of addiction specialists suggests that many of them are not willing to increase their use of it, despite an expanding opioid addiction epidemic in the United States, according to research presented at the 125th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association.
  
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• Vertical axis wind turbines can offer cheaper electricity for urban and suburban areas

  03-08-2017 06:00
  (American Institute of Physics) Small vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs) possess the ability to effectively operate in the presence of high turbulent flow, which makes them ideal energy harvesting devices in urban and suburban environments. In this week's Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy, researchers present results indicating that an optimally designed VAWT system can financially compete with fossil-fuel based power plants in urban and suburban areas, and even spearhead the developm
  
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• USDA announces $400,000 to support agricultural science entrepreneurs

  03-08-2017 06:00
  (National Institute of Food and Agriculture ) The US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) today announced availability of $400,000 through a new competition to help university researchers bring their discoveries to the marketplace. The Innovations in Food and Agricultural Science and Technology (I-FAST) competition is a joint initiative of NIFA and the National Science Foundation (NSF).
  
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• Two sides to this energy story

  03-08-2017 06:00
  (Rice University) Rice University scientists turn laser-induced graphene into a two-sided electrocatalyst that efficiently splits water into oxygen and hydrogen.
  
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• Twilight observations reveal huge storm on Neptune

  03-08-2017 06:00
  (University of California - Berkeley) Striking images of a storm system nearly the size of Earth have astronomers doing a double-take after pinpointing its location near Neptune's equator, a region where no bright cloud has been seen before. The discovery was made at dawn on June 26 as UC Berkeley graduate student Ned Molter was testing the Keck telescope to see whether it could make useful observations during twilight, a time most astronomers consider unusable because it's not dark enough.
  
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• The future of search engines

  03-08-2017 06:00
  (University of Texas at Austin, Texas Advanced Computing Center) Researchers from The University of Texas at Austin and Northeastern University presented two papers at the 2017 Annual Meeting of the Association for Computational Linguistics that describe efforts to combine artificial intelligence with crowdsourced annotators and information encoded in domain-specific resources. The work has the potential to improve general search engines, as well as ones like those for medical knowledge or non-E
  
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• SwRI's Marchi to receive Farinella Prize for research on solar system evolution

  03-08-2017 06:00
  (Southwest Research Institute) Dr. Simone Marchi, a senior research scientist in the Space Science and Engineering Division of Southwest Research Institute, has been selected to receive the Farinella Prize for his research on the impact history and evolution of the inner solar system.
  
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