Science news

• Dutch students grow their own biodegradable car

  08-08-2017 23:46
  EINDHOVEN, Netherlands (Reuters) - What's made of sugar, can carry four people and travel at 50 miles (80 km) per hour? A biodegradable car, whose inventors say could be the next step in environmentally friendly motoring.
  
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• Hips don't lie: unearthed dinosaur pelvic bones shake up family tree

  08-08-2017 22:35 via cbc.ca
  Dinosaur hip bones unearthed by a University of Alberta paleontology student are shaking up the family tree of a group of small meat-eaters that lived 75 million years ago.
  
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• A look at Rwanda’s genocide helps explain why ordinary people kill their neighbors

  08-08-2017 21:00
  
  New research on the 1994 Rwanda genocide overturns assumptions about why people participate in genocide. A sense of duty, not blind obedience, drives many perpetrators.
  
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• Possible Anti-Aging Brain Therapy Shows Promise in Mice

  08-08-2017 20:30 via rss.sciam.com
  Old animals injected with the hormone component klotho learn and remember better
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• Neutrino experiment may hint at why matter rules the universe

  08-08-2017 20:00
  
  T2K experiment hints at an explanation for what happened to antimatter.
  
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• TRIF-dependent Toll-like receptor signaling suppresses Scd1 transcription in hepatocytes and prevents diet-induced hepatic steatosis

  08-08-2017 19:53 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) includes a spectrum of diseases that ranges in severity from hepatic steatosis to steatohepatitis, the latter of which is a major predisposing factor for liver cirrhosis and cancer. Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling, which is critical for innate immunity, is generally believed to aggravate disease progression by inducing inflammation. Unexpectedly, we found that deficiency in TIR domain–containing adaptor-inducing interferon-β (TRIF), a cytoso
  
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• The tyrosine phosphatase SHP-1 promotes T cell adhesion by activating the adaptor protein CrkII in the immunological synapse

  08-08-2017 19:53 via stke.sciencemag.org
  The adaptor protein CrkII regulates T cell adhesion by recruiting the guanine nucleotide exchange factor C3G, an activator of Rap1. Subsequently, Rap1 stimulates the integrin LFA-1, which leads to T cell adhesion and interaction with antigen-presenting cells (APCs). The adhesion of T cells to APCs is critical for their proper function and education. The interface between the T cell and the APC is known as the immunological synapse. It is characterized by the specific organization of proteins tha
  
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• Targeting an "undruggable" protein

  08-08-2017 19:53 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Blocking an interaction with the RNA-binding protein NEFLE or the kinase CAMKII might provide new ways of inhibiting c-Myc in cancers.
  
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• Papers of note in Science Translational Medicine 9 (401)

  08-08-2017 19:53 via stke.sciencemag.org
  This week’s articles describe a way to enhance BH3 mimetics in cancer therapy and a method to achieve targeted delivery of miRNAs to tumors.
  
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• Papers of note in Science 357 (6350)

  08-08-2017 19:53 via stke.sciencemag.org
  This week’s articles uncover mechanisms of drug action, a way bacteria can help defend against the flu, and a ubiquitin ligase that facilitates the maturation of red blood cells.
  
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• Papers of note in Nature 547 (7665)

  08-08-2017 19:53 via stke.sciencemag.org
  This week’s articles highlight the role of a sugar metabolite in cellular energy sensing, how the hypothalamus controls aging, and how structural changes in protein complexes regulate the development and maintenance of plant roots.
  
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• New connections: Understanding the tumor through the stroma

  08-08-2017 19:53 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Evaluating changes in the tumor stroma at the protein and signaling levels may uncover effective therapeutic targets for cancer patients.
  
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• Breast tumors educate the proteome of stromal tissue in an individualized but coordinated manner

  08-08-2017 19:53 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Cancer forms specialized microenvironmental niches that promote local invasion and colonization. Engrafted patient-derived xenografts (PDXs) locally invade and colonize naïve stroma in mice while enabling unambiguous molecular discrimination of human proteins in the tumor from mouse proteins in the microenvironment. To characterize how patient breast tumors form a niche and educate naïve stroma, subcutaneous breast cancer PDXs were globally profiled by species-specific quantitative p
  
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• Foxes spotted in a Foxes fan's garden

  08-08-2017 19:44 via bbc.co.uk
  The eight foxes have started "training" in the back garden of a family in Leicester.
  
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• Canada's hope to get climate change into NAFTA could prove difficult

  08-08-2017 19:33 via cbc.ca
  A frank report on climate change in America leaked to the New York Times a week before the U.S. sits down to begin renegotiating NAFTA may give some weight to Canada's push to get climate change mitigation included as part of the new continental trade deal.
  
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• These record-breaking tube worms can survive for centuries

  08-08-2017 17:00
  
  Deep-sea tube worms can live decades longer than their shallow-water counterparts.
  
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• Effects of climate change already being felt across U.S., report says

  08-08-2017 16:49 via cbc.ca
  A federal climate report says the United States is already feeling the effects of climate change, with temperatures rising dramatically over the last four decades.
  
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• Draft U.S. report says extreme storms driven by climate change

  08-08-2017 16:49 via cbc.ca
  Directly contradicting President Donald Trump, a draft report produced by 13 U.S. federal agencies concludes that the United States is already feeling the negative impacts of climate change, with a stark increase in the frequency of heat waves, heavy rains and other extreme weather over the last four decades.
  
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• CBS to launch streaming service internationally, starting in Canada next year

  08-08-2017 16:14 via cbc.ca
  CBS Corp. is expanding its digital streaming service internationally and will be available to Canadians sometime next year.
  
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• No Endor in Sight: Habitable Exomoons May Be Rare

  08-08-2017 13:30 via rss.sciam.com
  The possible discovery of a giant extrasolar moon suggests our own may be an anomaly
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• How spiders mastered spin control

  08-08-2017 13:00
  
  Scientists reveal a new twist on the unusual properties of spider silk.
  
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• Exploring the Mysterious Life of One of Earth's First Giant Organisms

  08-08-2017 12:45 via rss.sciam.com
  Strange creatures known as “rangeomorphs” could help paleontologists understand the origins of animal life
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• How do you build a more diverse tech company? It starts at the top

  08-08-2017 11:00 via cbc.ca
  Tech industry experts say until CEOs are focused on making diversity in the workplace a priority, things are not going to change substantially.
  
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• You are how you play: Some video games are better for your brain than others

  08-08-2017 06:00
  (Springer) Regularly playing action video games reduces the grey matter in a person's brain, particularly in the hippocampus region that is involved in spatial learning, navigation and memory. Players who do not use spatial memory strategies through a first-person shooting game, but spontaneously rely on response strategies to find their way around the game are even more affected. These are the findings of researchers Canada published in Springer Nature's journal Molecular Psychiatry.
  
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• Where there's a will

  08-08-2017 06:00
  (University of California - Santa Barbara) UC Santa Barbara mechanical engineer Paolo Luzzatto-Fegiz was frustrated. Once again, the delicate tip of the instrument he was using to measure water density -- a conductivity probe -- had broken, rendering the setup useless and his work in temporary limbo.
  
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• Warm periods in the 20th century are not unprecedented during the last 2,000 years

  08-08-2017 06:00
  (Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences) CAS scientists collected a large number of proxies and reconstructed a 2,000-year temperature series in China with a 10-year resolution, enabling them to quantitatively reveal the characteristics of temperature change in China over a common era.
  
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• Violent news videos can be a moral motivator, says UB researcher

  08-08-2017 06:00
  (University at Buffalo) Violent news events present editors with a troubling journalistic decision: how much of the violence, if any, should the audience see as part of the story?Matthew Grizzard, an assistant professor in the University at Buffalo Department of Communication, says his latest research suggests editors should include violent video in those stories they consider to be genuinely newsworthy.
  
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• UTA team brings robotic main inspections to Ennis

  08-08-2017 06:00
  (University of Texas at Arlington) An Arlington Water Utilities and University of Texas at Arlington team recently used robotic technology to give Ennis city officials an eye-opening look at their sewer system. Public Water Solutions, a Texas-based utility resource provider, coordinated the examination of Ennis' critical underground assets. The results will provide community leaders the ability to prioritize millions of dollars of future infrastructure spending.
  
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• UTA researcher seeks to minimize risks for unmanned aerial systems over populated areas

  08-08-2017 06:00
  (University of Texas at Arlington) Atilla Dogan, an associate professor of aerospace engineering at The University of Texas at Arlington, will use a $550,000 National Science Foundation grant to quantify risks posed by unmanned aerial vehicles, then create algorithms to reduce those risks while the vehicles perform specific tasks.
  
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• UCI celestial census indicates that black holes pervade the universe

  08-08-2017 06:00
  (University of California - Irvine) After conducting a cosmic inventory of sorts to calculate and categorize stellar-remnant black holes, astronomers from the University of California, Irvine have concluded that there are probably tens of millions of the enigmatic, dark objects in the Milky Way -- far more than expected.
  
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• Turning homes into power stations could cut household fuel bills by more than 60 percent -- report

  08-08-2017 06:00
  (Swansea University) Energy bills could be cut by more than 60 percent -- saving the average household over £600 a year -- if homes were designed to generate, store and release their own solar energy, a report published today has revealed. The concept has already been proven and is operating successfully on a building in Swansea: the UK's first energy-positive classroom.
  
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• Tiny terahertz laser could be used for imaging, chemical detection

  08-08-2017 06:00
  (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) For more than 20 years, Qing Hu, a distinguished professor of electrical engineering and computer science at MIT, and his group have been working on sources of terahertz radiation that can be etched onto microchips. In the latest issue of Nature Photonics, members of Hu's group and colleagues at Sandia National Laboratories and the University of Toronto describe a novel design that boosts the power output of chip-mounted terahertz lasers by 80 percent.
  
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• The mystery of the yellowing sugarcane

  08-08-2017 06:00
  (University of Texas at Austin, Texas Advanced Computing Center) Since 2011, a mysterious illness known as Yellow Canopy Syndrome (YCS) has afflicted Australian sugarcane causing $40 million in losses. Researchers from The University of Texas at Tyler and Sugar Research Australia used supercomputers at the Texas Advanced Computing Center to perform large-scale investigations of the sugarcane genome. They detected signals in the data that could indicate a bacteria or stress causing YCS. They are
  
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• The 4th Annual Aging Research for Drug Discovery Forum at the EMBO/Basel Life Conference

  08-08-2017 06:00
  (InSilico Medicine, Inc.) The 4th Annual Aging Research for Drug Discovery Forum at the EMBO/Basel Life Conference transpiring in Basel will be held from Sept. 11-12, 2017. The forum will feature the talks of some of the industry's most prominent scientists and entrepreneurs and expert panel discussions with active participation of the audience. It will also feature a Venture Capital panel to discuss the business models and possible directions for the nascent longevity biotechnology business.
  
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• State crime researchers uncover role of Western companies in Uzbek corruption scandal

  08-08-2017 06:00
  (Queen Mary University of London) Evidence in a new research report published today shows that the government of Uzbekistan acted as an organised crime network, with state agencies conducting racketeering activity that benefited political heiress Gulnara Karimova, the elder daughter of Islam Karimov, the leader of Uzbekistan from 1989 to his death in 2016.
  
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• Smoking is on the rise among pregnant women with depression

  08-08-2017 06:00
  (Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health) Smoking is increasing among pregnant women with depression in the United States. Smoking rates for pregnant women with depression climbed 2.5 percent from 2002 to 2014, in contrast to a decrease among other groups. More than one-third of pregnant women with depression smoke cigarettes compared to one out of 10 pregnant women without depression.
  
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• Sleep makes it possible for babies to associate words with content -- and not with noise

  08-08-2017 06:00
  (Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences) For babies every moment is a new experience -- until the infant brain organises the flood of stimulations. It has to save new information in its long-term memory, aggregate similar experiences and categorise them. Therefore, one thing seems to be crucial: sufficient sleep. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences have now discovered that babies can even associate them with meanings the first time
  
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• Researchers discover potentially harmful nanoparticles produced through burning coal

  08-08-2017 06:00
  (Virginia Tech) Environmental scientists led by the Virginia Tech College of Science have discovered that the burning of coal produces incredibly small airborne particles of a highly unusual form of titanium oxide with the potential to be toxic to humans.
  
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• Research-focused UH biotech program to expand nationally

  08-08-2017 06:00
  (University of Houston) An innovative approach integrating classroom instruction and research at the University of Houston will be spread to five colleges and universities around the country with a $2.1 million grant from the National Science Foundation.
  
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• Regular energy drink use linked to later drug use among young adults

  08-08-2017 06:00
  (University of Maryland) Could young adults who regularly consume highly caffeinated energy drinks be at risk for future substance use? In a study of young adults ages 21-25, led by the University of Maryland School of Public Health, researchers found evidence that individuals who regularly consumed highly caffeinated energy drinks, and sustained that consumption over time, were more likely to use cocaine, nonmedically use prescription stimulants, and be at risk for alcohol use disorder at age 2
  
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• Power-to-liquid: 200 liters of fuel from solar power and the air's carbon dioxide

  08-08-2017 06:00
  (Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT) ) Production of fuels from regenerative electric power is a component of the energy turnaround. The first 200 l of synthetic fuel have now been produced from solar energy and the air’s carbon dioxide under the SOLETAIR project by , INERATEC, a spinoff of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), and Finnish partners. The mobile chemical pilot plant that can be used decentrally produces gasoline, diesel, and kerosene from regenerati
  
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• No longer water under the bridge, statistics yields new data on sea levels

  08-08-2017 06:00
  (American Statistical Association) While the scientific community has long warned about rising sea levels and their destructive impact on some of the United States' most populous cities, researchers have developed a new, statistical method that more precisely calculates the rate of sea level rise, showing it's not only increasing, but accelerating.
  
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• NI former-paramilitaries can help deter future generations

  08-08-2017 06:00
  (University of Huddersfield) Researchers at the University of Huddersfield look at the important role former-paramilitaries can play in de-mythologizing the Troubles in Northern Ireland and deterring young people from embracing violence.
  
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• New theory on the origin of dark matter

  08-08-2017 06:00
  (Johannes Gutenberg Universitaet Mainz) Scientists at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz in Germany have come up with a new theory on how dark matter may have been formed shortly after the origin of the universe. This new model proposes an alternative to the WIMP paradigm that is the subject of various experiments in current research.
  
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• New scanning process allows unprecedented look inside live insects

  08-08-2017 06:00
  (University of Western Ontario) Conventional insect scanning usually requires killing the insect. A new collaborative process developed at Western University in London, Canada, shows live insects can be scanned if they're anesthetized temporarily with carbon dioxide.
  
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• New research reveals failure of World War One loan scheme

  08-08-2017 06:00
  (Queen Mary University of London) The British government's initial efforts to pay for World War One through loans from the public was a spectacular failure, according to a new study using restricted Bank of England ledgers. The research reveals that the War Loan scheme failed to such an extent that the Bank of England had to secretly fund half the shortfall.
  
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• New microscope technique reveals internal structure of live embryos

  08-08-2017 06:00
  (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) University of Illinois researchers have developed a way to produce 3-D images of live embryos in cattle that could help determine embryo viability before in vitro fertilization in humans.
  
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• New battery is activated by your spit

  08-08-2017 06:00
  (Binghamton University) Researchers at Binghamton University, State University of New York have developed the next step in microbial fuel cells (MFCs): a battery activated by spit that can be used in extreme conditions where normal batteries don't function.
  
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• NASA's scientific balloon program reaches new heights

  08-08-2017 06:00
  (NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) NASA's Balloon Program is preparing sensitive new instruments, including one designed to investigate the birth of our universe and another with ballooning origins that will fly on the International Space Station.
  
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• NASA studies tethered CubeSat mission to study lunar swirls

  08-08-2017 06:00
  (NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) A novel mission concept involving two CubeSats connected by a thin, miles-long tether could help scientists understand how the moon got its mysterious 'tattoos' -- swirling patterns of light and dark found at more than 100 locations across the lunar surface.
  
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