Science news

• The laws of attraction: Pheromones don't lie, fruit fly research suggests

  17-08-2017 23:00
  For the first time, scientists have shown that a female fruit fly's pheromone signals can actually tell males how much energy her body has invested in egg production versus in storing away energy for her own survival. And it's a signal that she can't change in order to make herself more attractive.
  
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• Cholesterol crystals are sure sign a heart attack may loom

  17-08-2017 23:00
  A new study on 240 emergency room patients shows just how much of a role a person's cholesterol plays, when in a crystallized state, during a heart attack.
  
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• Study validates East Antarctic ice sheet to remain stable even if western ice sheet melts

  17-08-2017 22:20
  A new study validates that the central core of the East Antarctic ice sheet should remain stable even if the West Antarctic ice sheet melts.
  
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• New gene catalog of ocean microbiome reveals surprises

  17-08-2017 22:20
  Oceanographers report completing the largest single-site microbiome gene catalog constructed to date. With this new information, the team discovered nutrient limitation is a central driver in the evolution of ocean microbe genomes.
  
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• Loans Applications? New techniques to measure social bias in software

  17-08-2017 22:20
  Today, banks are increasingly using software to decide who will get a loan, courts to judge who should be denied bail, and hospitals to choose treatments for patients. These uses of software make it critical that the software does not discriminate against groups or individuals, say computer science researchers.
  
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• Engineering team images tiny quasicrystals as they form

  17-08-2017 22:20
  What makes quasicrystals so interesting? Their unusual structure. Now scientists are actively pursuing this relatively new area of study.
  
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• Community health workers lead to better health, lower costs for Medicaid patients

  17-08-2017 22:20
  As politicians struggle to solve the nation's healthcare problems, a new study finds a way to improve health and lower costs among Medicaid and uninsured patients. Researchers showed that patients who received support from community health workers (CHWs) had 30 percent fewer hospital admissions in one year compared to those who did not receive CHW support. The results also showed reductions in cigarette smoking, obesity, diabetes severity, and mental illness.
  
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• Cigarette makers shifted stance on nicotine patches, gum, study shows

  17-08-2017 22:20
  Tobacco companies have known for decades that, without counseling, NRT hardly ever works, and that consumers often use it to complement smoking. This insight from the formerly secret industry documents, outlines a new report.
  
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• A better way to measure mortality trends?

  17-08-2017 22:20
  A new study suggests long-term mortality trends may be better understood by focusing on life-years lost -- remaining life expectancy for a decedent -- instead of solely looking at cause of death.
  
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• Websites aim to exile white nationalists in wake of violence

  17-08-2017 22:04 via cbc.ca
  Silicon Valley joined a swelling backlash against white nationalist groups in the U.S. on Wednesday as more technology companies denied their services in response to weekend violence in Charlottesville, Va.
  
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• Eclipses show wrong physics can give right results

  17-08-2017 21:30
  
  Math for making astronomical predictions doesn’t necessarily reflect physical reality.
  
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• Tuberculosis drug may work better than others in its class

  17-08-2017 20:18
  Treatment of tuberculosis involves a combination of several drugs, sometimes including drugs from a class known as fluoroquinolones. Using computer simulations, scientists have shown that the fluoroquinolone known as moxifloxacin may be superior to two other commonly used fluoroquinolones.
  
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• New technique overcomes genetic cause of infertility

  17-08-2017 20:18
  Scientists have created healthy offspring from genetically infertile male mice, offering a potential new approach to tackling a common genetic cause of human infertility.
  
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• Gene that makes large, plump tomatoes identified

  17-08-2017 20:18
  Farmers can grow big, juicy tomatoes thanks to a mutation in the cell size regulator gene that occurred during the tomato domestication process.
  
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• Disrupted gut microbiome makes children more susceptible to amoebic dysentery

  17-08-2017 20:18
  Children with lower diversity of microbial species in their intestines are more susceptible to severe infection with the Entamoeba histolytica parasite, according to a new study.
  
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• Brain regions most likely to cause epilepsy seizures

  17-08-2017 20:18
  Scientists have developed a new way to detect which areas of the brain contribute most greatly to epilepsy seizures, according to a new study. The strategy could help surgeons select specific brain areas for removal to stop seizures.
  
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• Non-toxic, lubricant-infused coatings deter mussels and prevent their attachment by disrupting their mechanosensory and adhesive systems

  17-08-2017 20:17
  Mussels are one of the worst perpetrators of biofouling, or the unwanted accumulation of organisms on underwater structures. A team of scientists has demonstrated that a lubricant-infused surface effectively prevents mussels from sticking by masking the solid surface with a layer of liquid.
  
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• New Pathology Atlas maps genes in cancer to accelerate progress in personalized medicine

  17-08-2017 20:17
  A new Pathology Atlas is launched today with an analysis of all human genes in all major cancers showing the consequence of their corresponding protein levels for overall patient survival. The difference in expression patterns of individual cancers observed in the study strongly reinforces the need for personalized cancer treatment based on precision medicine.
  
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• Genome analysis with near-complete privacy possible, say researchers

  17-08-2017 20:17
  It is now possible to scour complete human genomes for the presence of disease-associated genes without revealing any genetic information not directly associated with the inquiry, say researchers.
  
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• Embryos kill off male tissue to become female

  17-08-2017 20:17
  
  Female embryos actively dismantle male reproductive tissue, a textbook-challenging study suggests.
  
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• How an itch hitches a ride to the brain

  17-08-2017 20:14
  
  Scientists have figured out how your brain registers the sensation of itch.
  
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• Scientist looking to bats and bees in fight against antibiotic-resistant superbugs

  17-08-2017 19:43 via cbc.ca
  A researcher in Halifax hopes that a new high-tech tool will help them find superbug-fighting antibiotics from an unusual source.
  
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• Zones, spots, and planetary-scale waves beating in brown dwarf atmospheres

  17-08-2017 19:30
  Brown dwarfs are massive analogs of extrasolar giant planets and may host types of atmospheric circulation not seen in the solar system. We analyzed a long-term Spitzer Space Telescope infrared monitoring campaign of brown dwarfs to constrain cloud cover variations over a total of 192 rotations. The infrared brightness evolution is dominated by beat patterns caused by planetary-scale wave pairs and by a small number of bright spots. The beating waves have similar amplitudes but slightly differen
  
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• Vinculin forms a directionally asymmetric catch bond with F-actin

  17-08-2017 19:30
  Vinculin is an actin-binding protein thought to reinforce cell-cell and cell-matrix adhesions. However, how mechanical load affects the vinculin–F-actin bond is unclear. Using a single-molecule optical trap assay, we found that vinculin forms a force-dependent catch bond with F-actin through its tail domain, but with lifetimes that depend strongly on the direction of the applied force. Force toward the pointed (–) end of the actin filament resulted in a bond that was maximally stable
  
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• Two-dimensional sp2 carbon-conjugated covalent organic frameworks

  17-08-2017 19:30
  We synthesized a two-dimensional (2D) crystalline covalent organic framework (sp2c-COF) that was designed to be fully -conjugated and constructed from all sp2 carbons by C=C condensation reactions of tetrakis(4-formylphenyl)pyrene and 1,4-phenylenediacetonitrile. The C=C linkages topologically connect pyrene knots at regular intervals into a 2D lattice withconjugations extended along both x and y directions and develop an eclipsed layer framework rather than the more conventionally obtained diso
  
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• Preventing mussel adhesion using lubricant-infused materials

  17-08-2017 19:30
  Mussels are opportunistic macrofouling organisms that can attach to most immersed solid surfaces, leading to serious economic and ecological consequences for the maritime and aquaculture industries. We demonstrate that lubricant-infused coatings exhibit very low preferential mussel attachment and ultralow adhesive strengths under both controlled laboratory conditions and in marine field studies. Detailed investigations across multiple length scales—from the molecular-scale characterization
  
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• Methanogenic heterodisulfide reductase (HdrABC-MvhAGD) uses two noncubane [4Fe-4S] clusters for reduction

  17-08-2017 19:30
  In methanogenic archaea, the carbon dioxide (CO2) fixation and methane-forming steps are linked through the heterodisulfide reductase (HdrABC)–[NiFe]-hydrogenase (MvhAGD) complex that uses flavin-based electron bifurcation to reduce ferredoxin and the heterodisulfide of coenzymes M and B. Here, we present the structure of the native heterododecameric HdrABC-MvhAGD complex at 2.15-angstrom resolution. HdrB contains two noncubane [4Fe-4S] clusters composed of fused [3Fe-4S]-[2Fe-2S] units sh
  
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• In situ architecture, function, and evolution of a contractile injection system

  17-08-2017 19:30
  Contractile injection systems mediate bacterial cell-cell interactions by a bacteriophage tail–like structure. In contrast to extracellular systems, the type 6 secretion system (T6SS) is defined by intracellular localization and attachment to the cytoplasmic membrane. Here we used cryo-focused ion beam milling, electron cryotomography, and functional assays to study a T6SS in Amoebophilus asiaticus. The in situ architecture revealed three modules, including a contractile sheath-tube, a bas
  
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• Elimination of the male reproductive tract in the female embryo is promoted by COUP-TFII in mice

  17-08-2017 19:30
  The sexual differentiation paradigm contends that the female pattern of the reproductive system is established by default because the male reproductive tracts (Wolffian ducts) in the female degenerate owing to a lack of androgen. Here, we discovered that female mouse embryos lacking Coup-tfII (chicken ovalbumin upstream promoter transcription factor II) in the Wolffian duct mesenchyme became intersex—possessing both female and male reproductive tracts. Retention of Wolffian ducts was not c
  
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• ELABELA deficiency promotes preeclampsia and cardiovascular malformations in mice

  17-08-2017 19:30
  Preeclampsia (PE) is a gestational hypertensive syndrome affecting between 5 and 8% of all pregnancies. Although PE is the leading cause of fetal and maternal morbidity and mortality, its molecular etiology is still unclear. Here, we show that ELABELA (ELA), an endogenous ligand of the apelin receptor (APLNR, or APJ), is a circulating hormone secreted by the placenta. Elabela but not Apelin knockout pregnant mice exhibit PE-like symptoms, including proteinuria and elevated blood pressure due to
  
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• Deriving genomic diagnoses without revealing patient genomes

  17-08-2017 19:30
  Patient genomes are interpretable only in the context of other genomes; however, genome sharing enables discrimination. Thousands of monogenic diseases have yielded definitive genomic diagnoses and potential gene therapy targets. Here we show how to provide such diagnoses while preserving participant privacy through the use of secure multiparty computation. In multiple real scenarios (small patient cohorts, trio analysis, two-hospital collaboration), we used our methods to identify the causal va
  
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• Conversion of object identity to object-general semantic value in the primate temporal cortex

  17-08-2017 19:30
  At the final stage of the ventral visual stream, perirhinal neurons encode the identity of memorized objects through learning. However, it remains elusive whether and how object percepts alone, or concomitantly a nonphysical attribute of the objects ("learned"), are decoded from perirhinal activities. By combining monkey psychophysics with optogenetic and electrical stimulations, we found a focal spot of memory neurons where both stimulations led monkeys to preferentially judge presented objects
  
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• Comprehensive single-cell transcriptional profiling of a multicellular organism

  17-08-2017 19:30
  To resolve cellular heterogeneity, we developed a combinatorial indexing strategy to profile the transcriptomes of single cells or nuclei, termed sci-RNA-seq (single-cell combinatorial indexing RNA sequencing). We applied sci-RNA-seq to profile nearly 50,000 cells from the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans at the L2 larval stage, which provided >50-fold "shotgun" cellular coverage of its somatic cell composition. From these data, we defined consensus expression profiles for 27 cell types and re
  
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• Collaborative environmental governance: Achieving collective action in social-ecological systems

  17-08-2017 19:30
  Managing ecosystems is challenging because of the high number of stakeholders, the permeability of man-made political and jurisdictional demarcations in relation to the temporal and spatial extent of biophysical processes, and a limited understanding of complex ecosystem and societal dynamics. Given these conditions, collaborative governance is commonly put forward as the preferred means of addressing environmental problems. Under this paradigm, a deeper understanding of if, when, and how collab
  
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• An unusual white dwarf star may be a surviving remnant of a subluminous Type Ia supernova

  17-08-2017 19:30
  Subluminous Type Ia supernovae, such as the Type Iax–class prototype SN 2002cx, are described by a variety of models such as the failed detonation and partial deflagration of an accreting carbon-oxygen white dwarf star or the explosion of an accreting, hybrid carbon-oxygen-neon core. These models predict that bound remnants survive such events with, according to some simulations, a high kick velocity. We report the discovery of a high proper motion, low-mass white dwarf (LP 40-365) that tr
  
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• A pathology atlas of the human cancer transcriptome

  17-08-2017 19:30
  Cancer is one of the leading causes of death, and there is great interest in understanding the underlying molecular mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis and progression of individual tumors. We used systems-level approaches to analyze the genome-wide transcriptome of the protein-coding genes of 17 major cancer types with respect to clinical outcome. A general pattern emerged: Shorter patient survival was associated with up-regulation of genes involved in cell growth and with down-regulation o
  
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• A molecular spin-photovoltaic device

  17-08-2017 19:30
  We fabricated a C60 fullerene–based molecular spin-photovoltaic device that integrates a photovoltaic response with the spin transport across the molecular layer. The photovoltaic response can be modified under the application of a small magnetic field, with a magnetophotovoltage of up to 5% at room temperature. Device functionalities include a magnetic current inverter and the presence of diverging magnetocurrent at certain illumination levels that could be useful for sensing. Completely
  
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• A central neural circuit for itch sensation

  17-08-2017 19:30
  Although itch sensation is an important protective mechanism for animals, chronic itch remains a challenging clinical problem. Itch processing has been studied extensively at the spinal level. However, how itch information is transmitted to the brain and what central circuits underlie the itch-induced scratching behavior remain largely unknown. We found that the spinoparabrachial pathway was activated during itch processing and that optogenetic suppression of this pathway impaired itch-induced s
  
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• Citizen scientists will take to the field for U.S. eclipse

  17-08-2017 19:09
  (Reuters) - When the moon passes directly in front of the sun on Aug. 21, casting a deep shadow across the United States, thousands of citizen scientists will be watching the eclipse while monitoring temperature changes, animal behavior and radio signals bouncing around the atmosphere.
  
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• Science Says: DNA test results may not change health habits

  17-08-2017 18:56 via cbc.ca
  If you learned your DNA made you more susceptible to getting a disease, wouldn't you work to stay healthy?
  
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• Why are the loops in the sun’s atmosphere so neat and tidy?

  17-08-2017 13:00
  
  Observations during the total solar eclipse may explain why the sun’s atmosphere is so organized despite arising from a tangled magnetic field.
  
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• Fighting the Opioid Crisis with Vaccines and Better Chemistry

  17-08-2017 12:45 via rss.sciam.com
  Several immunizations show initial promise, but when they will be available remains murky
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• The algae that terraformed Earth

  17-08-2017 12:02 via bbc.co.uk
  A planetary takeover by ocean algae 650 million years ago was the kick that transformed life on Earth.
  
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• Terraforming Earth

  17-08-2017 12:02 via bbc.co.uk
  A planetary takeover by ocean algae 650 million years ago was the kick that transformed life on Earth.
  
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• Young people with chronic illness more likely to attempt suicide

  17-08-2017 06:00
  (University of Waterloo) Young people between the ages of 15 and 30 living with a chronic illness are three times more likely to attempt suicide than their healthy peers, according to a new study from the University of Waterloo.
  
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• Worm atlas profiles gene readouts in every cell type in the animal

  17-08-2017 06:00
  (University of Washington Health Sciences/UW Medicine) A worm atlas has been built that profiles gene readouts for every kind of cell in the animal.This is the first time this type of comprehensive profiling for a multi-cellular organism has been created.The study was conducted at a larval stage of the roundworm C. elegans. The resource should have many uses, such as for studies on how genetic instructions guide the formation of body parts.
  
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• When Russian teenagers start drinking

  17-08-2017 06:00
  (National Research University Higher School of Economics) High school students intending to pursue vocational education consume alcohol more often than their peers who are planning to go to universities. These findings come from a survey of 1,000 Russian high school students that was carried out as part of a joint research project by scholars from Higher School of Economics and New York University.
  
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• UTA astrophysicists predict Earth-like planet in star system only 16 light years away

  17-08-2017 06:00
  (University of Texas at Arlington) Astrophysicists at the University of Texas at Arlington have predicted that an Earth-like planet may be lurking in a star system just 16 light years away. The team investigated the star system Gliese 832 for additional exoplanets residing between the two currently known alien worlds in this system. Their computations revealed that an additional Earth-like planet with a dynamically stable configuration may be residing at a distance ranging from 0.25 to 2.0 astro
  
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• University of Florids, US Army develop model for lighter armor

  17-08-2017 06:00
  (U.S. Army Research Laboratory) The US Army Research Laboratory is working on developing new light-weight ceramic materials that resist fracture, and has teamed with researchers from the University of Florida to better understand exactly how these materials, which are suited for Soldier personal protection and Army systems, fracture, and how they can be further improved. They are focusing on failure through cracking; the material eventually disintegrates into a granular-like state through a proc
  
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• University of Florida, US Army develop model for lighter armor

  17-08-2017 06:00
  (U.S. Army Research Laboratory) The US Army Research Laboratory is working on developing new light-weight ceramic materials that resist fracture, and has teamed with researchers from the University of Florida to better understand exactly how these materials, which are suited for Soldier personal protection and Army systems, fracture, and how they can be further improved. They are focusing on failure through cracking; the material eventually disintegrates into a granular-like state through a proc
  
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