Science news

• Canadian co-author of U.S. climate report says findings 'flatly contradict' Trump administration

  09-08-2017 23:50 via cbc.ca
  A Canadian scientist who helped author an exhaustive U.S. draft report on climate change says the study makes it clear dramatic action is needed to stop global temperatures from rising, but that her team has no idea how the Trump administration will react to it.
  
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• Crocodile rock: ancient beast named after Motörhead's Lemmy

  09-08-2017 23:18 via cbc.ca
  A ferocious sea-going crocodile that menaced coastal waters about 164 million years ago during the Jurassic Period has been given a name honoring the similarly ferocious heavy-metal rocker Lemmy, the late front man for the British band Motorhead.
  
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• Crocodile rock: ancient beast named after Motörhead band's Lemmy

  09-08-2017 22:20
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A ferocious sea-going crocodile that menaced coastal waters about 164 million years ago during the Jurassic Period has been given a name honoring the similarly ferocious heavy-metal rocker Lemmy, the late front man for the British band Motörhead.
  
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• It's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's a prehistoric gliding mammal

  09-08-2017 21:35
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In dense Chinese forests populated by dinosaurs 160 million years ago, two furry critters resembling flying squirrels glided from tree to tree, showing that even in such a perilous neighborhood early mammals had succeeded in going airborne.
  
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• Moon had a magnetic field for at least a billion years longer than thought

  09-08-2017 21:07
  
  The moon’s magnetic field could have lasted until about a billion years ago.
  
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• How storytelling app Wattpad is propelling its authors to offline stardom

  09-08-2017 21:02 via cbc.ca
  The Toronto-based company is increasingly looking to take its most popular stories mainstream, with partnerships for books, TV and films.
  
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• Infant ape fossil sheds light on humankind's distant past

  09-08-2017 20:29 via cbc.ca
  The lemon-sized fossil skull of an infant ape nicknamed Alesi that inhabited a Kenyan forest about 13 million years ago is offering a peek at what the long-ago common ancestor of people and all modern apes may have looked like.
  
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• Engraved prehistoric human bones show ritualistic cannibalism

  09-08-2017 20:03
  LONDON (Reuters) - Engravings on a human bone from a prehistoric archaeological site in a cave in southern England shows that human cannibals ate their prey and then performed ritualistic burials with the remains, scientists said on Wednesday.
  
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• Pioneering type 1 diabetes therapy safe

  09-08-2017 20:00 via bbc.co.uk
  One day, the immunotherapy could free patients from daily insulin injections.
  
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• More U.S. adults are drinking, and more heavily

  09-08-2017 19:30
  
  Heavy drinking and alcohol use disorders have risen in the United States, at a cost to society’s health.
  
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• Infant ape’s tiny skull could have a big impact on ape evolution

  09-08-2017 19:00
  
  Fossil comes from a lineage that had ties to the ancestor of modern apes and humans, researchers argue.
  
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• Ancient people arrived in Sumatra’s rainforests more than 60,000 years ago

  09-08-2017 19:00
  
  Humans reached Indonesia not long after leaving Africa.
  
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• James Webb: Telescope's giant origami shield takes shape

  09-08-2017 18:53 via bbc.co.uk
  The size of a tennis court, it will shield the vision of the biggest space telescope ever built.
  
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• A year in ozone over the South Pole

  09-08-2017 18:22 via bbc.co.uk
  A video tracks the behaviour of the protective atmospheric layer over Antarctica across all of 2016.
  
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• 'Unusual' Greenland wildfires linked to peat

  09-08-2017 18:21 via bbc.co.uk
  New images have been released of wildfires that continue to burn close to the Greenland ice sheet.
  
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• A lot of life on planet Earth is awful and incredible

  09-08-2017 17:36
  Acting Editor in Chief Elizabeth Quill discusses how the natural world feeds our sense of wonder.
  
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• Readers fascinated by critters’ strange biology

  09-08-2017 17:31
  Readers responded to fish lips, monkey brains, sunless tanner and more.
  
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• Ticks are here to stay. But scientists are finding ways to outsmart them

  09-08-2017 17:00
  
  Researchers acknowledge that there’s no getting rid of ticks, so they are developing ways to make them less dangerous.
  
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• Google engineer who wrote anti-diversity memo weighs legal options after firing

  09-08-2017 16:57 via cbc.ca
  Former Google engineer James Damore, who was fired over a memo he wrote about gender differences, said Tuesday he's exploring all his legal options and has already filed a labour complaint in the U.S. over his treatment.
  
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• Demystifying the Black Box That Is AI

  09-08-2017 15:15 via rss.sciam.com
  Humans are increasingly entrusting our security, health and safety to “black box” intelligent machines
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Move aside Tyrannosaurus rex: Meet the Patagotitan, the new heavyweight champ

  09-08-2017 14:29 via cbc.ca
  ​A study proclaims a newly named species the heavyweight champion of all dinosaurs, making the scary Tyrannosaurus rex look like a munchkin.
  
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• Fossil find suggests this ancient reptile lurked on land, not in the water

  09-08-2017 13:00
  
  An exquisitely preserved fossil shows that an ancient armored reptile called Eusaurosphargis dalsassoi wasn’t aquatic, as scientists had suspected.
  
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• Why massive galaxies don't dance in crowds

  09-08-2017 06:00
  (University of New South Wales) Australian scientists have discovered why heavyweight galaxies living in a dense crowd of galaxies tend to spin more slowly than their lighter neighbours. Contrary to earlier thinking, the spin rate of the galaxy is determined by its mass, rather than how crowded its neighbourhood is.
  
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• VR cricket game uses motion capture technology for full immersive experience

  09-08-2017 06:00
  (University of Bath) With the cricket season in full swing, now cricket fans can try out their batting skills in the comfort of their own homes in a virtual reality game, developed by Stickee Studios in collaboration with researchers at the University of Bath.
  
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• UTA researchers earn grant to design robot-based vocational assessment, training

  09-08-2017 06:00
  (University of Texas at Arlington) Fillia Makedon, a professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at The University of Texas at Arlington, is leading a team of researchers who will use a National Science Foundation $999,638 grant to develop iWork, a smart, robot-based system that assesses workers' physical, cognitive and collaborative skills while they perform simulated manufacturing tasks.
  
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• Use of common heart drugs dropped after price increases, Cleveland Clinic study finds

  09-08-2017 06:00
  (Cleveland Clinic) Following major price increases, the use of two cardiac medications -- nitroprusside and isoproterenol -- decreased by one-half and one-third between 2012 and 2015, according to a Cleveland Clinic study published in the Aug. 10 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine as a Letter to the Editor.
  
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• Too near, or too far? What fruit flies teach us about personal space

  09-08-2017 06:00
  (University of Western Ontario) Until now, little has been understood about the mechanisms that allow us to determine when someone is 'too near' our personal space or too far away. A Western University biologist has found dopamine levels in fruit flies can give us clues into humans' need for personal space.
  
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• This week from AGU: Scientists discover cause of Atlantic coast's sea level rise hot spots

  09-08-2017 06:00
  (American Geophysical Union) This Week from AGU features new research published in AGU journals.
  
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• The mystery of the pulsating blue stars

  09-08-2017 06:00
  (University of Erlangen-Nuremberg) In the middle of the Chilean Atacama desert, a team of Polish astronomers are monitoring millions of celestial bodies. In 2013, the team was surprised when they discovered, in the course of their survey, stars that pulsated much faster than expected. In the following years, the team that included an astronomer from the Astronomical Institute of Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, studied these stars in more detail and concluded that the
  
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• The effects of increased inflammatory markers during pregnancy

  09-08-2017 06:00
  (Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin) Researchers from Charité -- Universitätsmedizin Berlin in collaboration with colleagues from the University of California -- Irvine, Oregon Health and Science University and the University of North Carolina in the USA have shown that increased levels of inflammatory markers during pregnancy can lead to changes in fetal brain development. Results from this study have been published in the journal Biological Psychiatry.
  
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• The benefits -- and potential pitfalls -- of urban green spaces

  09-08-2017 06:00
  (American Institute of Biological Sciences) Urban green space projects are often pursued as a way to increase biodiversity and ecological restoration. However, more research and planning are necessary to ensure that these efforts produce the intended results and avoid negative consequences.
  
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• Supporting women's autonomy in prenatal testing

  09-08-2017 06:00
  (The Hastings Center) Early, noninvasive prenatal genetic testing promises substantial benefits to patients, but also raises ethical concerns. Hastings Center research scholar Josephine Johnston and co-authors propose policies and practices to support free and informed decisions about testing in an article in the New England Journal of Medicine. Johnston discusses the recommendations in the journal's podcast.
  
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• Successful filming of fastest aurora flickering

  09-08-2017 06:00
  (Research Organization of Information and Systems) Researchers conducted a 3 year continuous high-speed imaging observation at Poker Flat Research Range, Alaska, USA, and identified the physics behind the flickering of aurora. At the same time, they discovered faster flickerings at speeds of 1/60-1/50 and 1/80 of a second.
  
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• Study on religious development continues

  09-08-2017 06:00
  (Bielefeld University) With new funding, the psychology of religion teams at Bielefeld University (Germany) and University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (USA) are able to expand and deepen their research on religious development over the life-span. The researchers working with Heinz Streib at Bielefeld University and Ralph W. Hood at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga will therefore be able to expand their sample and extend their longitudinal investigation.
  
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• Study in mice may reveal insights into causes of miscarriages for some women

  09-08-2017 06:00
  (St. Michael's Hospital) Researchers at St. Michael's Hospital have identified how natural killer cells in the mouse placenta can cause a fetus to fail to grow in the womb or cause miscarriages.
  
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• Study finds patients needed fewer opioid tablets than prescribed after hernia surgery

  09-08-2017 06:00
  (Massachusetts General Hospital) A study by investigators from Massachusetts General Hospital and Newton-Wellesley Hospital found that patients prescribed opioid medications after inguinal hernia surgery used significantly fewer tablets than prescribed, even though they had received fewer than typically administered for such surgery.
  
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• Springer launches Journal of Economics, Race, and Policy

  09-08-2017 06:00
  (Springer) A new scholarly peer-reviewed journal which examines how economic conditions, race, ethnicity, and gender are interrelated with economic inequalities is being launched by Springer. The Journal of Economics, Race, and Policy will be the first publication which addresses the pressing issue of economic disparity within both the developed and developing world. Submissions will be accepted from August 2017, with the first issue to be published in March 2018.
  
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• Smeulders receives ACM SIGMM Award for outstanding technical contributions

  09-08-2017 06:00
  (Association for Computing Machinery) The 2017 winner of the prestigious ACM Special Interest Group on Multimedia (SIGMM) award for Outstanding Technical Contributions to Multimedia Computing, Communications and Applications is Prof. Dr. Arnold Smeulders. The award is given in recognition of his outstanding and pioneering contributions to defining and bridging the semantic gap in content-based image retrieval.
  
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• Smart windows that go from clear to dark in under a minute

  09-08-2017 06:00
  (Cell Press) Stanford University engineers have developed dynamic windows that can switch from transparent to opaque or back again in under a minute and do not degrade over time. The prototypes are plates of conductive glass outlined with metal ions that spread out over the surface, blocking light, in response to electrical current. The group recently filed a patent for the work, presented Aug. 9 in the journal Joule, Cell Press's new publication for energy research.
  
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• Sensing technology takes a quantum leap with RIT photonics research

  09-08-2017 06:00
  (Rochester Institute of Technology) Research underway at Rochester Institute of Technology advances a new kind of sensing technology that captures data with better precision than currently possible and promises cheaper, smaller and lighter sensor designs.
  
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• Scientists develop improved, potentially safer Zika vaccine

  09-08-2017 06:00
  (Arizona State University) ASU Biodesign Institute scientist Qiang 'Shawn' Chen has led his research team to develop the world's first plant-based Zika vaccine that could be more potent, safer and cheaper to produce than any other efforts to date.
  
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• Rewired taste system reveals how flavors move from tongue to brain

  09-08-2017 06:00
  (Howard Hughes Medical Institute) By creating mice with mixed-up taste sensors, HHMI Investigator Charles Zuker and colleagues show how the taste system continually remakes itself.
  
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• Researchers create biomaterial that delivers both a powerful drug and gene silencers

  09-08-2017 06:00
  (NYU Tandon School of Engineering) Clinicians today have a huge arsenal of drugs at their disposal for treating cancers. But many chemotherapeutic agents pose stubborn challenges: they cause serious side effects, some cancers develop resistance, and many chemotherapies demonstrate low bio-availability.A potential solution lies in the synergistic combination of a chemotherapeutic drug with engineered genetic material. New hybrid materials developed at NYU Tandon combine a lipid 'container' for tr
  
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• Researchers 'count cars' -- literally -- to find a better way to control heavy traffic

  09-08-2017 06:00
  (Florida Atlantic University) There's 'Counting Crows,' counting sheep, counting blessings and now researchers at Florida Atlantic University have their own version of 'counting cars' -- literally -- in an attempt to improve traffic flow on South Florida's and our nation's overcrowded roads. And with more than 263 million registered passenger vehicles in the United States and more than 14 million registered vehicles in Florida alone, this is no small feat.
  
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• Researchers advise caution about recent US advice on aggressively lowering blood pressure

  09-08-2017 06:00
  (Trinity College Dublin) Medical researchers at Trinity College Dublin are advising caution when treating blood pressure in some older people -- after results from a study contrasted with recent advice from the US, based on the SPRINT trial, to attempt to aggressively lower blood pressure in all adults to targets of 120mmHg.
  
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• Research to advance disease therapies, understand cosmic rays among cargo headed to ISS

  09-08-2017 06:00
  (NASA/Johnson Space Center) The SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft is targeted for launch August 14 from Kennedy Space Center for its twelfth commercial resupply (CRS-12) mission to the International Space Station.
  
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• RAVAN CubeSat measures Earth's outgoing energy

  09-08-2017 06:00
  (NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) An experimental small satellite has successfully collected and delivered data on a key measurement for predicting changes in Earth's climate.
  
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• Rain increases joint pain? Google suggests otherwise

  09-08-2017 06:00
  (University of Washington Health Sciences/UW Medicine) New research indicates that weather conditions in 45 US cities are indeed associated with Google searches about joint pain. But it might not be the association you'd expect. The findings suggest that people's activity level -- increasing as temperatures rise, to a point -- is likelier than the weather itself to spur online searches about knee and hip pain, the investigators say.
  
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• Preparing for longevity -- we don't need to become frail as we age

  09-08-2017 06:00
  (Frontiers) Age-related frailty may be a treatable and preventable health problem, just like obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, highlights a review in Frontiers in Physiology.
  
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• Potentially inappropriate medications still pose challenge in nursing home

  09-08-2017 06:00
  (American Geriatrics Society) A Canadian research team investigated how often healthcare providers prescribed PIMs to older adults living with dementia or other mental health concerns and who were being admitted to nursing homes. The research team examined records from more than 40,000 people with dementia or cognitive impairments who were over the age of 66 and had been admitted to nursing homes between 2011 and 2014. The team published their study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Soci
  
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