Science news

• 'Frankenstein' dinosaur is missing evolutionary link, researchers say

  16-08-2017 22:43 via cbc.ca
  A missing link between plant-eating dinosaurs and meat-eaters such as the Tyrannosaurus rex may have been found, suggests a new study from the University of Cambridge and the Natural History Museum.
  
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• A new tool could one day improve Lyme disease diagnosis

  16-08-2017 22:10
  
  There soon could be a way to differentiate between Lyme disease and a similar tick-associated illness.
  
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• Scientists discover powerful potential pain reliever

  16-08-2017 22:06
  Chemists have discovered a powerful pain reliever that acts on a previously unknown pain pathway. The compound is as effective at relieving neuropathic pain in injured mice as a drug widely used for pain relief called gabapentin. If they can demonstrate that it is safe, effective and nonaddictive in humans -- a process that typically takes years -- the discovery could address one of today's biggest public health challenges: the opioid abuse epidemic.
  
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• Comparing the jaws of porcupine fish reveals three new species

  16-08-2017 22:06
  Researchers compared fossil porcupine fish jaws and tooth plates collected on expeditions to Panama, Colombia, Venezuela and Brazil with those from museum specimens and modern porcupine fish, revealing three new species.
  
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• Changing tides: Lake Michigan could best support lake trout and steelhead

  16-08-2017 22:06
  Invasive mussels and less nutrients from tributaries have altered the Lake Michigan ecosystem, making it more conducive to the stocking of lake trout and steelhead than Chinook salmon, according to a recent US Geological Survey and Michigan State University study.
  
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• Giant larvaceans could be ferrying ocean plastic to the seafloor

  16-08-2017 21:23
  
  Giant larvaceans could mistakenly capture microplastics, in addition to food, in their mucus houses and transfer them to the seafloor in their feces.
  
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• Problems with DNA replication can cause epigenetic changes that may be inherited for several generations

  16-08-2017 20:53
  Scientists reveal that a fault in the process that copies DNA during cell division can cause epigenetic changes that may be inherited for up-to five generations. They also identified the cause of these epigenetic changes, which is related to the loss of a molecular mechanism in charge of silencing genes. Their results will change the way we think about the impact of replication stress in cancer and during embryonic development, as well as its inter-generational inheritance.
  
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• Larvaceans provide a pathway for transporting microplastics into deep-sea food webs

  16-08-2017 20:51
  A new article shows that filter-feeding animals called giant larvaceans can collect and consume microplastic particles, potentially carrying microplastics to the deep seafloor.
  
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• Not all shades created equal: How to get the right solar eclipse glasses

  16-08-2017 20:44 via cbc.ca
  As excitement on social media about the Aug. 21 solar eclipse heats up, experts are urging people to take good care of their eyes when they enjoy the spectacle in Canadian skies.
  
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• Lithium-air batteries: Mystery about proposed battery material clarified

  16-08-2017 20:18
  A compound called lithium iodide (LiI) has been considered a leading material for lithium-air batteries, which could deliver more energy per pound compared to today's leading batteries. A new study helps explain previous, conflicting findings about the material's usefulness for this task.
  
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• Robot, heal thyself

  16-08-2017 20:09
  
  Self-healing material is helping make more resilient robots.
  
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• Smart fabric neutralizes nerve gas

  16-08-2017 19:47
  A groundbreaking development has the potential to thwart chemical warfare agents: smart textiles with the ability to rapidly detect and neutralize nerve gas.
  
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• Popular immunotherapy target turns out to have a surprising buddy

  16-08-2017 19:47
  The majority of current cancer immunotherapies focus on PD-L1. This well-studied protein turns out to be controlled by a partner, CMTM6, a previously unexplored molecule that is now suddenly also a potential therapeutic target.
  
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• Mystery of how first animals appeared on Earth solved

  16-08-2017 19:47
  Research has solved the mystery of how the first animals appeared on Earth, a pivotal moment for the planet without which humans would not exist.
  
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• Using barcodes to trace cell development

  16-08-2017 19:46
  There are various concepts about how blood cells develop. However, they are based almost exclusively on experiments that solely reflect snapshots. Scientists now present a novel technique that captures the process in a dynamic way. Using a 'random generator,' the researchers label hematopoietic stem cells with genetic barcodes that enable them to trace which cell types arise from the stem cell.
  
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• Modern genetic sequencing tools give clearer picture of how corals are related

  16-08-2017 19:46
  As corals face threats from ocean warming, a new study uses the latest genetic-sequencing tools to help unravel the relationships between three similar-looking corals.
  
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• Calgary completes conversion of 80K street lights to LED, expects $5M in annual savings

  16-08-2017 19:03 via cbc.ca
  Calgary has finished replacing 80,000 street lights with LED bulbs more than a year ahead of schedule.
  
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• In fight for free speech, researchers test anti-censorship tool built into the internet's core

  16-08-2017 18:35 via cbc.ca
  What if the routers and servers that underpin the internet could also double as one big anti-censorship tool?
  
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• Making surgery safer by helping doctors see nerves

  16-08-2017 18:24
  A new noninvasive approach that uses polarized light to make nerves stand out from other tissue could help surgeons avoid accidentally injuring nerves or assist them in identifying nerves in need of repair.
  
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• Tough, self-healing rubber developed

  16-08-2017 18:23
  Imagine a tire that could heal after being punctured or a rubber band that never snapped. Researchers have developed a new type of rubber that is as tough as natural rubber but can also self-heal.
  
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• Stop thinking your wife is bad with money

  16-08-2017 17:26
  When a husband thinks his wife spends too much money, whether it's reality or perception, financial and marriage problems follow, a new study warns.
  
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• SpaceX successfully delivers experiments, treats to space station

  16-08-2017 16:45 via cbc.ca
  A SpaceX shipment arrived at the International Space Station on Wednesday, delivering a bonanza of science experiments.
  
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• Petya ransomware cost world's biggest container ship company up to $300M

  16-08-2017 16:42 via cbc.ca
  Maersk's CEO said its businesses "were significantly affected," but there was "no data breach or data loss."
  
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• Trump's EPA May Be Weakening Chemical Safety Law

  16-08-2017 16:30 via rss.sciam.com
  The agency has released controversial new rules for evaluating a chemical’s risk
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Roots of schizophrenia: Excess of methionine during pregnancy?

  16-08-2017 16:03
  An abundance of an amino acid called methionine, which is common in meat, cheese and beans, may provide new clues to the fetal brain development that can manifest in schizophrenia, pharmacology researchers report.
  
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• Estrogen receptor stem cells found in mammary glands

  16-08-2017 16:03
  One of the key questions in stem cell and cancer biology is to understand the cellular hierarchy governing tissue development and maintenance and the cancer cell of origin. Researchers have now identified a novel lineage - restricted stem cell in the mammary gland. In the future, this model will be used to assess whether the clinical heterogeneity observed in breast cancers arises from their different cancer cell of origin.
  
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• Turning pollen into a low-cost fertilizer

  16-08-2017 16:02
  As the world population continues to balloon, agricultural experts puzzle over how farms will produce enough food to keep up with demand. One tactic involves boosting crop yields. Toward that end, scientists have developed a method to make a low-cost, biocompatible fertilizer with carbon dots derived from rapeseed pollen. The study found that applying the carbon dots to hydroponically cultivated lettuce promoted its growth by 50 percent.
  
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• Soil microbes persist through National Mall facelift

  16-08-2017 16:02
  It's not every day United States history mixes with microbes in the soil. But when the turf on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., was replaced, it offered scientists the opportunity to study changes in the soil microbiome underneath.
  
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• New plant discovered in Shetland

  16-08-2017 16:02
  Scientists have discovered a new type of plant growing in Shetland -- with its evolution only having occurred in the last 200 years.
  
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• Biophysics explains how immune cells kill bacteria

  16-08-2017 16:02
  A new data analysis technique, moving subtrajectory analysis defines the dynamics and kinetics of key molecules in the immune response to an infection. These biophysical descriptions are expected to clarify the TCR microcluster, an essential assembly for a T cell to initiate its attack on a pathogen.
  
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• A decade of monitoring shows the dynamics of a conserved Atlantic tropical forest

  16-08-2017 16:02
  Characterized with high levels of biodiversity and endemism, the Atlantic Tropical Forest has been facing serious anthropogenic threats over the last several decades. Having put important ecosystem services at risk, such activities need to be closely studied as part of the forest dynamics. Thus, a Brazilian team of researchers spent a decade monitoring a semi-deciduous forest located in an ecological park in Southeast Brazil.
  
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• Protect little ones’ eyes from the sun during the eclipse

  16-08-2017 15:00
  
  Pay attention to eye safety for kids during the solar eclipse.
  
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• David Attenborough gains new species namesake

  16-08-2017 15:00
  A new species of damselfly from the Cretaceous period has been named after the iconic naturalist and TV presenter Sir David Attenborough.
  
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• Chewing gum rapid test for inflammation

  16-08-2017 15:00
  Dental implants occasionally entail complications: Six to fifteen percent of patients develop an inflammatory response in the years after receiving a dental implant. This is caused by bacteria destroying the soft tissue and the bone around the implant in the worst case.
  
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• Modelling human psychology

  16-08-2017 14:59
  A human being's psychological make-up depends on an array of emotional and motivational parameters, such as desire, suffering or the need for security. In addition, it includes spatial and temporal dimensions that also play a key role in rationalizing the decisions we make and planning our actions.
  
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• Brain tumor cells' adaptation to oxygen deprivation mapped

  16-08-2017 14:59
  The most aggressive variant of brain tumor – glioblastoma – has an average survival rate of 15 months. There is therefore an urgent need for new treatment strategies for this group of patients. A research team has now identified new factors which may affect the tumor cells’ ability to resist treatment.
  
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• An extra 71000 care home places will be needed by 2025 in England as care needs increase, study predicts

  16-08-2017 14:59
  As life expectancy increases, so too have the number of years that older adults spend with substantial care needs, now reaching an average of 3.0 years for women and 2.4 years for men aged over 65 according to a new English analysis of care needs in 2011 compared to 1991.
  
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• Predators preserve existing animal species

  16-08-2017 14:55
  A new study increases knowledge of how boundaries and barriers are maintained between different species in the animal world. According to theory, crosses between two species, known as hybrids, may not survive encounters with natural predators to the same degree as their parents. Now, researchers show that reality confirms this theory.
  
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• Mosses used to evaluate atmospheric conditions in urban areas

  16-08-2017 14:54
  Researchers have developed a method to evaluate atmospheric conditions using mosses (bryophytes) in urban areas, a development that could facilitate broader evaluations of atmospheric environments.
  
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• What does music mean? Sign language may offer an answer

  16-08-2017 14:49
  How do we detect the meaning of music? We may gain some insights by looking at an unlikely source -- sign language -- a newly released linguistic analysis concludes.
  
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• The environmental injustice of beauty

  16-08-2017 14:49
  A commentary calls for policies to protect women, especially minority women, from exposure to toxic chemicals in beauty products.
  
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• The Imperfect Crime: How the WannaCry Hackers Could Get Nabbed

  16-08-2017 14:00 via rss.sciam.com
  Even if they can exchange their ransom, the criminals will have a hard time accessing their money anonymously
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Chimps can play rock-paper-scissors

  16-08-2017 13:42 via bbc.co.uk
  Japanese researchers have taught chimps the rules of rock-paper-scissors.
  
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• What can the eclipse tell us about the corona’s magnetic field?

  16-08-2017 13:00
  
  The corona’s plasma jumps and dances thanks to the magnetic field, but scientists have never measured the field directly.
  
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• How Do You Move a Giant Sequoia?

  16-08-2017 12:45 via rss.sciam.com
  Boise, Idaho, recently relocated a century-old, living tree provided by John Muir
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Autonomous glider to track critically endangered right whales

  16-08-2017 12:30 via cbc.ca
  Scientists in Halifax are launching a high-tech tool to track the whale population on the Scotian Shelf. A glider will be deployed off the coast for 30 days to capture the sounds of endangered North Atlantic right whales.
  
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• Scotland's largest solar farm gets green light

  16-08-2017 11:57 via bbc.co.uk
  Elgin Energy is granted planning permission for a 20MW project near Urquhart in Moray
  
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• Zika pandemic study shows health authorities can improve communication and monitoring

  16-08-2017 06:00
  (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem) Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem who studied health monitoring and communication during the recent Zika pandemic have proposed ways for health authorities to better contain future pandemics. Steps such as improving the readability of public health messages and announcing early can help authorities better contain pandemics, improve infection control and reduce public anxiety.
  
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• Why teens take risks: It's not a deficit in brain development

  16-08-2017 06:00
  (Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania) A popular theory in neuroscience proposes that slow development of the prefrontal cortex explains teenagers' seemingly impulsive and risky behavior. But an extensive literature review finds that much of the evidence for that theory misinterprets adolescent exploratory behavior as impulsive and that much of what appears to be impulsivity is behavior that is often guided by the desire to learn about the world.
  
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• What does music mean? Sign language may offer an answer, new research concludes

  16-08-2017 06:00
  (New York University) How do we detect the meaning of music? We may gain some insights by looking at an unlikely source, sign language, a newly released linguistic analysis concludes.
  
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