Science news

• What Curiosity has yet to tell us about Mars

  04-08-2017 22:29
  
  Curiosity has revealed a lot about Mars in the last five years. But NASA’s rover still has work to do on the Red Planet.
  
  Read more

• Drug short-circuits cancer signaling

  04-08-2017 19:18
  A new drug zeroes in on mutated nuclear receptors found in cancer and leaves normal proteins alone.
  
  Read more

• Immune cells may be key to better allergy, infection therapies

  04-08-2017 18:40
  By learning how a recently discovered immune cell works in the body, researchers hope to one day harness the cells to better treat allergies and infections.
  
  Read more

• Prior dengue or yellow fever exposure does not worsen Zika infection in monkeys

  04-08-2017 18:39
  Rhesus macaques previously infected with dengue or yellow fever viruses appear to be neither more nor less susceptible to severe infection with Zika virus, according to new research.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Multiple roles of glucose metabolism identified in platelet activation and survival

  04-08-2017 18:39
  Platelets, the cells in blood that enable clotting, are highly reliant on their ability to metabolize glucose, according to a new study.
  
  Read more

• One creature’s meal is another’s pain in the butt

  04-08-2017 18:30
  
  Kelp and dolphin gulls in Patagonia have found a new food source. But they accidentally injure fur seal pups to get it.
  
  Read more

• The man who makes animals 'fly'

  04-08-2017 18:05 via bbc.co.uk
  This Turkish animal lover was so affected by injured animals, he set out to help them.
  
  Read more

• Alligator found at Somerset lake

  04-08-2017 18:04 via bbc.co.uk
  A Bristol Water engineer spotted an alligator roaming around the Chew Valley Lake site.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Spread of misfolded proteins could trigger type 2 diabetes

  04-08-2017 17:30
  
  Experiments in mice raise the question of whether type 2 diabetes might be transmissible.
  
  Read more

• When kids imitate others, they’re just being human

  04-08-2017 16:30
  
  In imitation tests, kids readily performed nonsensical actions, but bonobos didn’t. The results hint that excessive imitation may be a uniquely human trait.
  
  Read more

• Game of Thrones episode leaks amid HBO's hacker crisis

  04-08-2017 16:21 via cbc.ca
  As hackers continue with threats against HBO, the cable network has a fresh headache to deal with: a low-quality version of Sunday's episode of Game of Thrones has surfaced online.
  
  Read more

• Verbal aggression by patients linked with higher level of anger among mental health nurses than physical advances, new research shows

  04-08-2017 16:14
  Exposure to targeted, personal and verbal aggression by patients can adversely affect mental health nurses decision-making regarding physical restraint, new research reveals.
  
  Read more

• Bell, Telus service restored in Atlantic Canada

  04-08-2017 16:12 via cbc.ca
  Widespread landline and cellphone outages hit Bell's network in Atlantic Canada for several hours Friday, disrupting air travel across the region and hampering some people's access to emergency services.
  
  Read more

• Bell, Telus phone service being restored in parts of Atlantic region

  04-08-2017 16:12 via cbc.ca
  Phone service is being restored after widespread landline and cellphone outages hit Bell's network in Atlantic Canada, cutting off some users from 911 service and impacting police and paramedics in the region.
  
  Read more

• Wildlife royalties: A future for conservation?

  04-08-2017 16:04
  Should people who profit from the cultural representation of wildlife pay towards conservation? That is the question asked in a new research study.
  
  Read more

• Unknown virus discovered in 'throwaway' DNA

  04-08-2017 16:04
  A chance discovery has opened up a new method of finding unknown viruses. Researchers have revealed that Next-Generation Sequencing and its associated online DNA databases could be used in the field of viral discovery. They have developed algorithms that detect DNA from viruses that happen to be in fish blood or tissue samples, and could be used to identify viruses in a range of different species.
  
  Read more

• Lightweight catalyst for artificial photosynthesis

  04-08-2017 16:04
  Nanochemistry meets macrostructures: Scientists report the synthesis of a macroscopic aerogel from carbonitride nanomaterials which is an excellent catalyst for the water-splitting reaction under visible-light irradiation. The study adds new opportunities to the material properties of melamine-derived carbonitrides.
  
  Read more

• Drug safety for penguins

  04-08-2017 16:04
  Researchers have determined the most effective drug dose to help penguins in managed care fight off disease.
  
  Read more

• Clues about immune resolution identified in blood

  04-08-2017 16:04
  Using a new profiling procedure invented by investigators permitted them to elucidate the role of immunoresolvents -- molecules that help resolve inflammation and infections -- in blood coagulation, identifying a new cluster of these molecules that are produced when blood coagulates.
  
  Read more

• Bizarro Life-Forms Inhabiting Deep-Sea Vents May Be at Risk

  04-08-2017 16:00 via rss.sciam.com
  New findings add a layer of complexity to how highly specialized animals colonized these unique environments
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
  Read more

• Fewer cars not cleaner ones key to tackling air quality

  04-08-2017 15:48 via bbc.co.uk
  Plans to promote electric vehicles in the UK are not enough tackle air pollution says leading adviser.
  
  Read more

• Materials governed by light

  04-08-2017 15:20
  A researcher has developed and characterized hybrid materials that respond differently to light, and which have the potential for use in highly different areas ranging from optics to biomedicine. One of the types of materials obtained are inorganic, channeled structures that have incorporated into them fluorescent organic dyes in a structure that firstly offers the dye stability and secondly gives the system rigidity, thus increasing its photophysical properties.
  
  Read more

• Countering atopic dermatitis immune reactions

  04-08-2017 15:20
  A protein which protects the fetus during pregnancy, HLA-G1, shows high potential for treating atopic dermatitis and other related diseases.
  
  Read more

• Source of Human Heartbeat Revealed in 3-D

  04-08-2017 15:13
  A new way of producing 3-D data has been developed to show the cardiac conduction system -- the special cells that enable our hearts to beat -- in unprecedented detail.
  
  Read more

• Skin-ditching gecko inexplicably leaves body armor behind when threatened

  04-08-2017 15:13
  When trouble looms, the fish-scale geckos of Madagascar resort to what might seem like an extreme form of self-defense -- tearing out of their own skin. Now, new research shows the geckos' skin contains a hidden strength: bony deposits known as osteoderms, the same material that makes up the tough scales and plates of crocodilians and armadillos. But the presence of osteoderms in fish-scale geckos raises a herpetological mystery: If they have armor, why do they discard it?
  
  Read more

• Seasonal effects: 'Winter foals' are smaller than foals born in summer

  04-08-2017 15:13
  Although seasonal effects such as reduced metabolic activity in winter are known even in domesticated horse breeds, effects on pregnant mares and their foals have not been investigated. Researchers have now demonstrated that seasonal changes have a strong influence on pregnancy and fetal development. Foals born early in the year are smaller than those born at a later time and these differences persist to at least 12 weeks after birth.
  
  Read more

• Molecular biologists discover an active role of membrane lipids in health and disease

  04-08-2017 15:13
  Cells produce insulin, for example, or generate antibodies. To perform these functions, cells need to produce large quantities of proteins. For this purpose, these cells activate a program, the unfolded protein response (UPR). Errors in the UPR are thought to play a decisive role in the development of diseases such as diabetes or cancer. A research team has now discovered a previously unknown mechanism that controls activation of the UPR.
  
  Read more

• Possible explanation for the dominance of matter over antimatter in the Universe

  04-08-2017 14:31
  Neutrinos and antineutrinos, sometimes called ghost particles because difficult to detect, can transform from one type to another. The international T2K Collaboration announces a first indication that the dominance of matter over antimatter may originate from the fact that neutrinos and antineutrinos behave differently during those oscillations. This is an important milestone towards the understanding of our Universe.
  
  Read more

• Real greenhouse gas footprints of reservoirs revealed

  04-08-2017 14:29
  When hydropower reservoirs traps organic matter, it leads to higher local greenhouse gas emissions. But the emissions are not increased but displaced. A new tool calculates the real greenhouse gas footprints of reservoirs.
  
  Read more

• Quantum magnets doped with holes

  04-08-2017 14:29
  In general, solid state physicists are not able to separate the two processes, so they cannot answer the question, whether the magnetic order is indeed reduced, or whether it is just hidden.
  
  Read more

• On the early human's menu: Mammoth and plenty of raw vegetables

  04-08-2017 14:29
  Scientists have studied the diet of anatomically modern humans, and are able to refute the theory that the diet of early representatives of Homo sapiens was more flexible than that of Neanderthals. Just like the Neanderthals, our ancestors had mainly mammoth and plants on their plates. The researchers were unable to document fish as part of their diet. Therefore, the international team assumes that the displacement of the Neanderthals was the result of direct competition.
  
  Read more

• Whale woes: Some recommendations for ships won't be easy to follow, says Oceanex head

  04-08-2017 14:23 via cbc.ca
  Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is asking ships to keep an eye out for right whales and go slower if possible, but Sid Hynes of Oceanex says following through on that recommendation would disrupt shipping schedules and "the impacts would be huge financially."
  
  Read more

• Temperatures rising: Achieving the global temperature goals laid out in the Paris Climate Agreement is unlikely, according to research

  04-08-2017 14:22
  The Paris Climate Agreement of 2016, which saw 195 nations come together in the shared goal of ameliorating climate change, set forth an ambitious goal of limiting global temperature rise to less than 2 degrees Celsius. Since then, many have wondered, is that even scientifically possible? Unfortunately, the odds aren't looking good.
  
  Read more

• Brain tumor scientists map mutation that drives tumors in childhood cancer survivors

  04-08-2017 14:22
  Neuroscientists have uncovered the genetic basis for why many long-term survivors of childhood cancer develop meningiomas, the most common adult brain tumor, decades after their treatment with cranial radiation.
  
  Read more

• Blood test to detect brain metastases while still treatable

  04-08-2017 14:22
  Cancer researchers are closer to creating a blood test that can identify breast cancer patients who are at increased risk for developing brain metastasis, and also monitor disease progression and response to therapy in real time.
  
  Read more

• Sexual Assault May Trigger Involuntary Paralysis

  04-08-2017 12:45 via rss.sciam.com
  “Tonic immobility” hinders the ability to fight and is linked to high rates of depression and PTSD
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
  Read more

• Watching you, watching it: Disney turns to AI to track filmgoers' true feelings about its films

  04-08-2017 11:00 via cbc.ca
  Movie studios have a long tradition of testing out new films to see how audiences react before launching them in wide release. But with their latest research innovation — one based on artificial intelligence — Disney is taking it to a whole new level.
  
  Read more

• Why is conducting research in some countries so difficult?

  04-08-2017 06:00
  (Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health) Low- and middle-income countries such as Brazil face a lack of epidemiological data, and one of the key priorities for researchers is developing high-quality surveys. Investigators at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health with collaborators at the Federal University of São Paulo studied the difficulties in conducting a longitudinal epidemiological survey in a school-based sample in Brazil.
  
  Read more

• Why humans find faulty robots more likeable

  04-08-2017 06:00
  (Frontiers) In a recent study, researchers examined how people react to robots that exhibit faulty behavior compared to perfectly performing robots. The results, published in Frontiers in Robotics and AI, show that the participants took a significantly stronger liking to the faulty robot than the robot that interacted flawlessly.
  
  Read more

• Understanding how persuasion works can make consumers more savvy

  04-08-2017 06:00
  (American Psychological Association) When someone offers a free sample, it's not really free. It comes with the implied expectation that if a person accepts it, he or she will feel obligated to return the favor and eventually pay for the full product. That's just one of the many insights psychology has uncovered about the subtle mechanics of persuasion and how people can recognize and respond to attempts to influence their behavior.
  
  Read more

• Two weeks in the life of a sunspot

  04-08-2017 06:00
  (NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) During its 13-day trip across the face of the sun, a sunspot recently put on a show for NASA's sun-watching satellites, producing several solar flares, a coronal mass ejection and a solar energetic particle event.
  
  Read more

• Tropical Depression 11E 'born' with wind shear on satellite imagery

  04-08-2017 06:00
  (NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) The eleventh tropical depression of the Eastern Pacific Ocean hurricane season came together on August 4 even though it was being affected by vertical wind shear.
  
  Read more

• TESS mission to discover new planets moves toward launch

  04-08-2017 06:00
  (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) A NASA mission designed to explore the stars in search of planets outside of our solar system is a step closer to launch, now that its four cameras have been completed by researchers at MIT.
  
  Read more

• Technology tracks 'bee talk' to help improve honey bee health

  04-08-2017 06:00
  (Simon Fraser University) A Simon Fraser University researcher has devised a new bee monitoring system to better understand what more than 20,000 honeybees housed in hives in a local field are 'saying' to each other -- looking for clues about their health.
  
  Read more

• Software lets designers exploit the extremely high resolution of 3-D printers

  04-08-2017 06:00
  (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Software lets designers exploit the extremely high resolution of 3-D printers.
  
  Read more

• Simultaneous design and nanomanufacturing speeds up fabrication

  04-08-2017 06:00
  (Northwestern University) By using concurrent design and nanomanufacturing, Northwestern University researchers produce inexpensive material surfaces for use in ultra-thin solar cells that can absorb more light.
  
  Read more

• Sending the right signals

  04-08-2017 06:00
  (University of Pittsburgh) Warren Ruder, assistant professor in the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering, is developing microparticles that carry engineered bacteria known as 'smart biomaterials.' As the basis of a study recently supported by the National Science Foundation, Dr. Ruder will use the biomaterials to reprogram mammalian cell signaling. The goal of the study is to use these hybrid, living-nonliving biomaterials to better understan
  
  Read more

• Scientists discover unknown virus in 'throwaway' DNA

  04-08-2017 06:00
  (University of Oxford) A chance discovery has opened up a new method of finding unknown viruses.In research published in the journal Virus Evolution, scientists from Oxford University's Department of Zoology have revealed that Next-Generation Sequencing and its associated online DNA databases could be used in the field of viral discovery. They have developed algorithms that detect DNA from viruses that happen to be in fish blood or tissue samples, and could be used to identify viruses in a range
  
  Read more

• Research into ultrafast laser technology could increase network speeds tenfold

  04-08-2017 06:00
  (University of New Mexico) A project to develop new ultrafast laser transmitter technology at The University of New Mexico is expected to have a revolutionary impact on the physics of semiconductor lasers, with potential applications that could result in 10 times the speed of current fiber optic networks.
  
  Read more

• Recreating the wild: De-extinction, technology, and the ethics of conservation

  04-08-2017 06:00
  (The Hastings Center) A new Hastings Center special report examines efforts to revive extinct species.
  
  Read more

Follow @ScienceUKnews on Twitter!