Science news

• Cosmic lens lets astronomers zoom in on a black hole’s burps

  18-08-2017 23:01
  
  The beginnings of a jet from an active black hole in a distant galaxy were spotted thanks to a lucky alignment.
  
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• Trump Administration's Science Priorities "Better Than Feared"

  18-08-2017 22:45 via rss.sciam.com
  But the White House memo completely omits climate science and space, emphasizing military tech and basic R&D
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• To reduce postoperative pain, consider sleep -- and caffeine

  18-08-2017 22:24
  A new preclinical study found that a brief period of extended wakefulness before surgery enhances pain and prolongs recovery time after surgery. Caffeine administration helped to reduce the harmful effects of sleep loss on subsequent surgical pain.
  
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• Ocean channel in Bahamas marks genetic divide in Brazilian free-tailed bats

  18-08-2017 22:24
  Brazilian free-tailed bats are expert flyers, capable of migrating hundreds of miles and regularly traveling more than 30 miles a night. But they pull up short at a narrow ocean channel that cuts across the Bahamas, dividing bat populations that last shared an ancestor hundreds of thousands of years ago.
  
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• Astrophysicist predicts detached, eclipsing white dwarfs to merge into exotic star

  18-08-2017 22:24
  Astrophysicists have discovered two detached, eclipsing double white dwarf binaries with orbital periods of 40 and 46 minutes, respectively. White dwarfs are the remnants of Sun-like stars, many of which are found in pairs, or binaries.
  
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• As trees age, their climate benefit grows

  18-08-2017 21:15 via cbc.ca
  Trees play an important role in the fight against climate change, capturing and storing carbon in their biomass. According to new European research, when it comes to a tree’s climate benefit, as a tree get older it also stores more carbon.
  
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• Here are the paths of the next 15 total solar eclipses

  18-08-2017 20:30
  
  From 2017 to 2040, there will be 15 total solar eclipses. Here's a map of where to see them.
  
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• Study of California kidney cancer shows declining incidence, end of a trend

  18-08-2017 20:03
  A study of kidney cancer incidence in California over 25 years is the first report to demonstrate that the rising rate of kidney cancer seen in the US over the past two decades may have ended.
  
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• Quick and easy way to shut down instabilities in fusion devices

  18-08-2017 18:35
  Scientists have discovered a remarkably simple way to suppress a common instability that can halt fusion reactions and damage the walls of reactors built to create a "star in a jar."
  
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• How immature cells grow up to be red blood cells

  18-08-2017 18:35
  Researchers have identified the mechanism behind red blood cell specialization and revealed that it is controlled by an enzyme called UBE2O. This finding could spark the development of new treatments for blood disorders and cancers.
  
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• Can Twitter aid disaster response? New research examines how

  18-08-2017 18:35
  With over 500 million tweets sent every single day, new research is investigating innovative ways to use that data to help communities respond during unexpected catastrophes.
  
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• Hot spot at Hawaii? Not so fast

  18-08-2017 17:58
  Geophysicists use a new model to conclude that volcanic hot spots around the globe aren't moving as fast as recently thought.
  
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• Despite benefits, half of parents against later school start times

  18-08-2017 17:58
  Leading pediatrics and sleep associations agree: Teens shouldn't start school so early. Yet recent research finds parents are split almost down the middle on whether they support delays in school start times that might permit their 13- to 17-year-olds to sleep later on school days.
  
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• Demand for eclipse glasses outpaces supply

  18-08-2017 17:55 via cbc.ca
  Still looking for a pair of eclipse glasses? You may be out of luck.
  
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• Reduced speeds for right whales prompts surcharge for Oceanex Montreal-St. John's route

  18-08-2017 17:06 via cbc.ca
  The federal government reduced speeds in the Gulf of St. Lawrence to protect the unusually high number of endangered right whales in the area, following recent deaths.
  
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• Mineral layer around avian flu pathogen may be the cause for human infections

  18-08-2017 16:25
  Avian flu can be transmitted from birds to humans; transmission among humans, however, is limited. The reason may be an eggshell-like mineral layer that the virus acquires due to the high calcium concentration in the intestines of birds. These mineralized viruses are significantly more infectious and, in addition, more robust and heat stable than the native viruses.
  
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• Rebutting the claim that antidepressants do not work

  18-08-2017 16:23
  A theory that has gained considerable attention in international media suggest that antidepressant drugs, such as the SSRIs, do not exert any actual antidepressant effect. A research group has now analyzed data from clinical trials and can rebut this theory.
  
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• Organ crosstalk: Fatty liver can cause damage to other organs

  18-08-2017 16:23
  Scientists have discovered that a fatty liver can cause damage to other organs. They demonstrate the effects of fatty liver disease on the function of the hormone-producing islet cells in the pancreas and on renal function.
  
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• Mitochondria: A map of the cell's powerhouse

  18-08-2017 16:23
  Researchers are mapping the distribution of all proteins in mitochondria for the first time.
  
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• Mechanisms explaining positional diversity of the hindlimb in tetrapod evolution

  18-08-2017 16:23
  Elucidating how body parts in their earliest recognizable form are assembled in tetrapods during development is essential for understanding the nature of morphological evolution. Researchers found in eight tetrapod species that the position of the sacral vertebrae and the hindlimbs is determined by the initiation timing of Gdf11 gene expression. This will contribute to a forthcoming model explaining the coupling of spine and hindlimb positioning - a major step in fully understanding tetrapod evo
  
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• How whip-like cell appendages promote bodily fluid flow

  18-08-2017 16:23
  Researchers have revealed that a molecule called Daple is essential for the correct orientation and coordinated beating of cilia on the surface of cells lining ventricles in the brain. Without Daple, the cilia develop a random arrangement and cannot produce a uniform flow of CSF. This in turn leads to a build-up of fluid, which is associated with swelling of the head, known as hydrocephalus.
  
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• Cheesemaking secret unlocked

  18-08-2017 16:23
  Researchers say their new knowledge on the inner workings of a bacterium has important implications for Australia's billion dollar cheese industry. The research group has explained the regulation of an enzyme in the bacterium Lactococcus, which is used as a starter culture in cheese production.
  
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• Artificial neural networks decode brain activity during performed and imagined movements

  18-08-2017 16:23
  Filtering information for search engines, acting as an opponent during a board game or recognizing images: Artificial intelligence has far outpaced human intelligence in certain tasks. Researchers are showing how ideas from computer science could revolutionize brain research. They illustrate how a self-learning algorithm decodes human brain signals that were measured by an electroencephalogram (EEG).
  
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• Why whisky tastes better when diluted with water

  18-08-2017 15:36
  There is a reason why whisky is diluted with water before being bottled. The same reason also makes many whisky enthusiasts add a few drops of water in their glasses – it makes the whisky taste better. But why is this so? Researchers have now presented an answer to this question.
  
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• Data revealed under FOI shows benefits of MS drug currently blocked by regulators

  18-08-2017 15:36
  A drug that is blocked by the EU regulatory system has now been found to improve the quality of life of people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a new study.
  
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• Right kind of collaboration is key to solving environmental problems

  18-08-2017 15:21
  Society's ability to solve environmental problems is tied to how different actors collaborate and the shape and form of the networks they create, says a new study.
  
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• Histone 1, the guardian of genome stability

  18-08-2017 15:21
  Genomic instability is the main risk factor for tumor development in humans. Therefore understanding its origin and and exploring therapeutic targets is paramount. Histone 1 silences a region of the genome that causes irreparable DNA damage when translated and is lethal for the organism.
  
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• Gene variant activity is surprisingly variable between tissues

  18-08-2017 15:21
  Every tissue has its own pattern of active alleles, a large-scale study has found. Researchers were able to show that the differential allele activity is regulated by tissue-specific, regulatory DNA elements known as enhancers - a process that could also be involved in many diseases.
  
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• Climate change and habitat conversion combine to homogenize nature

  18-08-2017 15:21
  Climate change and habitat conversion to agriculture are working together to homogenize nature. In other words, the more things change, the more they are the same.
  
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• Citrus fruits were the clear status symbols of the nobility in the ancient Mediterranean

  18-08-2017 15:21
  New research reveals that citrons and lemons were status symbols for the ancient Roman ruling elite. It also plots the route and evolution of the citrus trade in the ancient Mediterranean.
  
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• Allergies: Cross-reactivity between cypress pollen and peaches/citrus fruits explained

  18-08-2017 15:21
  Medical researchers have identified the likely origin of the cross-reactivity between cypress pollen, peaches and citrus fruits. Their work has shown that these sources contain allergens belonging to a new family of proteins involved in pollen food associated syndrome. This discovery paves the way for the development of novel allergy diagnostic tests.
  
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• Spider silk protein may be useful for engineering artificial cardiac tissue

  18-08-2017 15:20
  Ever more people are suffering from cardiac insufficiency. The main cause of reduced cardiac functionality lies in the irreversible loss of cardiac muscle cells due to disease, especially ischemic diseases such as cardiac infarction. There is still no treatment to reverse damage of this nature. Research is ongoing to develop methods of repairing such damage to normalize cardiac function. A promising approach: cardiac muscle tissue made of spider silk.
  
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• Hypertension during pregnancy may affect women's long-term cardiovascular health

  18-08-2017 15:20
  Women who experience hypertension during pregnancy face an increased risk of heart disease and hypertension later in life, according to a new study.
  
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• We share the Milky Way with 100 million black holes

  18-08-2017 15:00
  
  New census calculates black hole populations in galaxies big and small.
  
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• Where does the solar wind come from? The eclipse may offer answers

  18-08-2017 13:00
  
  A quick-fire polarization camera should help scientists detect the origins of the solar wind during the Aug. 21 eclipse.
  
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• Growing Virtual Plants Could Help Farmers Boost Their Crops

  18-08-2017 12:45 via rss.sciam.com
  Researchers are using 3-D modeling to identify the future’s heartiest pickings
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Solar eclipse myth-busting: Facts and fiction behind nature's stunning event

  18-08-2017 11:00 via cbc.ca
  Do you think it's safe to look at a solar eclipse through sunglasses? Have you heard that an unborn child can be harmed during one? We bust some myths behind nature's spectacular event.
  
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• Digital vigilantism after Charlottesville: Get ready for more naming and shaming

  18-08-2017 11:00 via cbc.ca
  As people grow frustrated by the seeming lack of repercussions for overt racist behaviour, it’s likely we will see more digital vigilantism and more support for “naming and shaming” campaigns.
  
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• UH receives $3.3 million from state cancer research program

  18-08-2017 06:00
  (University of Houston) The University of Houston has received $3.3 million from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, including $2 million to hire Rohith Reddy, a post-doctoral researcher at Harvard Medical School who focuses on next-generation technologies for detecting gynecological cancers, and $1.3 million to allow the College of Education's Lorraine Reitzel to expand a tobacco cessation program to substance abuse treatment centers.
  
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• The power of perovskite

  18-08-2017 06:00
  (Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) Graduate University) OIST researchers improve perovskite-based technology in the entire energy cycle, from solar cells harnessing power to LED diodes to light the screens of future electronic devices and other lighting applications.
  
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• Spoiler alert: Computer simulations provide preview of next week's eclipse

  18-08-2017 06:00
  (University of Texas at Austin, Texas Advanced Computing Center) Researchers from Predictive Science Inc. used NASA and National Science Foundation-supported supercomputers to run highly-detailed forecasts of the Sun's corona -- the aura of plasma that surrounds the sun -- at the moment of the eclipse. The team combined data from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, magnetic field maps, solar rotation rates and cutting-edge mathematical models to predict the state of the Sun's surface. The si
  
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• Smokers 20 percent more likely to quit when cigarettes cost $1 more

  18-08-2017 06:00
  (Drexel University) Smokers were found to be 20 percent more likely to quit smoking when packs of cigarettes cost just one dollar more, according to a new public health study out of Drexel University.
  
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• Smart computers

  18-08-2017 06:00
  (University of Freiburg) Artificial neural networks decode brain activity during performed and imagined movements.
  
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• Seeking the secret ingredient in the original smallpox vaccine

  18-08-2017 06:00
  (Publicase Comunicação Científica) Thanks to a secret vaccine ingredient as well as a net of worldwide researchers and successful vaccination campaigns, smallpox was finally eradicated in 1977.A new study entitled 'Revisiting Jenner's mysteries, the role of the Beaugency lymph in the evolutionary path of ancient smallpox vaccines' and published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, provides an in-depth investigation of the mysteries associated with the development of smallpox v
  
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• Satellite sees the formation of eastern Pacific's Tropical Depression 13E

  18-08-2017 06:00
  (NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) The thirteenth tropical depression of the Eastern Pacific Ocean season formed on Aug. 18. NOAA's GOES-Wet satellite captured an image of the new storm.
  
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• Researchers discover new chemical process that could reduce nitrogen oxides from diesel exhaust

  18-08-2017 06:00
  (University of Notre Dame) Chemical engineers at the University of Notre Dame have discovered a catalytic process that could help curb emissions of nitrogen oxides from diesel-powered vehicles, a priority air pollutant that is a key ingredient in smog.
  
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• PPPL delivers new key components to help power a fusion energy experiment

  18-08-2017 06:00
  (DOE/Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory) Article describes PPPL design and delivery of components for neutral beam injectors for fusion experiments at DIII-D.
  
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• Population health impact of infants born small for gestational age in low- and middle-income countries

  18-08-2017 06:00
  (Brigham and Women's Hospital) Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital and CHERG used the first international, multi-ethnic birth weight standard, known as the INTERGROWTH-21st, to describe the global burden of suboptimal fetal growth.
  
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• OU astrophysicist predicts detached, eclipsing white dwarfs to merge into exotic star

  18-08-2017 06:00
  (University of Oklahoma) A University of Oklahoma astrophysicist, Mukremin Kilic, and his team have discovered two detached, eclipsing double white dwarf binaries with orbital periods of 40 and 46 minutes, respectively. White dwarfs are the remnants of Sun-like stars, many of which are found in pairs, or binaries.
  
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• NJIT researchers will follow in the moon's slipstream to capture high-res sunspot images

  18-08-2017 06:00
  (New Jersey Institute of Technology) While much of the research around the eclipse on Monday will focus on the effects of the Sun's brief, daytime disappearance on Earth and its atmosphere, a group of solar physicists will be leveraging the rare event to capture a better glimpse of the star itself.
  
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