Science news

• Giant craters in Canada's melting permafrost impacting climate change: researchers

  29-08-2017 23:42 via cbc.ca
  Researchers are investigating large craters of melting permafrost in northern Canada, which they say are both a consequence of climate change and a contributing factor.
  
  Read more

• Google wants to bring augmented reality to '100 million' devices this winter

  29-08-2017 23:02 via cbc.ca
  All you'll need is a recent Android smartphone — no specialized hardware required.
  
  Read more

• Whale gets entangled in cruise ship anchor for hours in southeast Alaska

  29-08-2017 21:48 via cbc.ca
  A humpback whale became entangled in an anchor line on a small cruise ship in southeast Alaska, getting stuck for roughly 12 hours while federal authorities and the boat's crew worked to free it.
  
  Read more

• How gut bacteria may affect anxiety

  29-08-2017 21:20
  
  Microbes may tamper with the production of tiny molecules in brain regions that help control anxiety.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Warming oceans may cause the world's fish to shrink, study suggests

  29-08-2017 21:15 via cbc.ca
  As climate change continues to warm the world's oceans, a new study suggests the fish that inhabit them may, in response, shrink in size as much as 30 per cent in the next 30 years.
  
  Read more

• CRTC orders wholesale high speed access for small ISPs in Ontario and Quebec

  29-08-2017 21:11 via cbc.ca
  The CRTC is mandating that Canada's big telecom companies give smaller internet providers access to their wholesale high-speed services over fibre-optic networks, first in Quebec and Ontario, before rolling out across the rest of the country.
  
  Read more

• Protein kinase N3 promotes bone resorption by osteoclasts in response to Wnt5a-Ror2 signaling

  29-08-2017 19:48 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Cytoskeletal reorganization in osteoclasts to form actin rings is necessary for these cells to attach to bone and resorb bone matrices. We delineated the pathway through which Wnt5a signaling through receptor tyrosine kinase–like orphan receptor 2 (Ror2) promoted the bone-resorbing activity of osteoclasts. Wnt5a binding to Ror2 stimulated Rho, a small GTPase involved in cytoskeletal reorganization. Subsequently, the Rho effector kinase Pkn3 bound to and enhanced the activity of c-Src, a no
  
  Read more

• Papers of note in Science Translational Medicine 9 (404)

  29-08-2017 19:48 via stke.sciencemag.org
  This week’s articles describe potential therapeutic strategies to reduce hydrocephaly in infants, to kill liver cancer cells, and to improve MeCP2-associated neurological disorders.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Papers of note in Science 357 (6353)

  29-08-2017 19:48 via stke.sciencemag.org
  This week’s articles describe the signals mediating gut microbe activation of T cells, skin patterning in development, and photosynthesis.
  
  Read more

• Papers of note in Nature 548 (7668)

  29-08-2017 19:48 via stke.sciencemag.org
  This week’s articles describe how the stroma promotes tissue regeneration in the stomach; show how mitosis, the DNA sensor cGAS, and CDK inhibitors contribute to antitumor immunity; and describe the mechanism of action of an allosteric beta blocker.
  
  Read more

• Blockade of surface-bound TGF-{beta} on regulatory T cells abrogates suppression of effector T cell function in the tumor microenvironment

  29-08-2017 19:48 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Regulatory T cells (Tregs) suppress antitumor immunity by inhibiting the killing of tumor cells by antigen-specific CD8+ T cells. To better understand the mechanisms involved, we used ex vivo three-dimensional collagen-fibrin gel cultures of dissociated B16 melanoma tumors. This system recapitulated the in vivo suppression of antimelanoma immunity, rendering the dissociated tumor cells resistant to killing by cocultured activated, antigen-specific T cells. Immunosuppression was not observed when
  
  Read more

• An epigenetic tactic to treat RMS

  29-08-2017 19:48 via stke.sciencemag.org
  BET inhibitors may be an effective treatment for some rhabdomyosarcomas.
  
  Read more

• Activation of master virulence regulator PhoP in acidic pH requires the Salmonella-specific protein UgtL

  29-08-2017 19:48 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Acidic conditions, such as those inside phagosomes, stimulate the intracellular pathogen Salmonella enterica to activate virulence genes. The sensor PhoQ responds to a mildly acidic pH by phosphorylating, and thereby activating, the virulence regulator PhoP. This PhoP/PhoQ two-component system is conserved in a subset of Gram-negative bacteria. PhoQ is thought to be sufficient to activate PhoP in mildly acidic pH. However, we found that the Salmonella-specific protein UgtL, which was horizontall
  
  Read more

• Ship that sank in Cambridge Bay 87 years ago finally on journey home to Norway

  29-08-2017 19:15 via cbc.ca
  It’s a milestone seven years in the making: 87 years since the Maud sank near Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, the vessel is finally on its journey home.
  
  Read more

• Uber will stop tracking customers after ride is over

  29-08-2017 18:39 via cbc.ca
  Uber Technologies Inc. is pulling a heavily criticized feature from its app that allowed it to track riders for up to five minutes after a trip, its security chief told Reuters, as the ride-hailing company tries to fix its poor reputation for customer privacy.
  
  Read more

• Mothers master tricky timing to give babies a boost, squirrel study suggests

  29-08-2017 17:35 via cbc.ca
  Some squirrels mate like rabbits during seasons of abundance — bolstering the survival rates of their young, a new study from the University of Alberta suggests.
  
  Read more

• How science has fed stereotypes about women

  29-08-2017 17:00
  
  A new book, Inferior, shows how biased research branded women as inferior and aims to set the record straight.
  
  Read more

• Smelly clue to bird navigation skills

  29-08-2017 16:33 via bbc.co.uk
  Birds rely on smell to find their bearings when land is out of sight, according to a study.
  
  Read more

• Mark Zuckerberg and family welcome new baby

  29-08-2017 14:55 via cbc.ca
  Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife are welcoming a new baby, another daughter.
  
  Read more

• Domino's tests pizza delivery by self-driving cars

  29-08-2017 14:13 via cbc.ca
  Domino's and Ford are teaming up to see if customers will warm to the idea of pizza delivered by driverless cars. Bonus: You don't need to tip the driver.
  
  Read more

• James Webb Space Telescope Surrounded by Rising Floodwaters

  29-08-2017 13:15 via rss.sciam.com
  Isolated in a giant thermal vacuum chamber, NASA’s $8.6 billion next-generation observatory is riding out the worst of Hurricane Harvey
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
  Read more

• Bones reveal what it was like to grow up dodo

  29-08-2017 13:00
  
  Scientists take a first look at the inside of dodo bones.
  
  Read more

• Newfound Material on the Moon Could Offer Clues to Our Planet's Early Years

  29-08-2017 12:45 via rss.sciam.com
  A spacecraft has uncovered in lunar soil some traces of Earth’s ancient atmosphere that werekey to the development of complex life
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
  Read more

• Endangered P.E.I. plovers saved by pizza pan

  29-08-2017 11:00 via cbc.ca
  A plover nest was saved from being washed out when Parks Canada staff used a pizza pan to scoop the area of sand further up on the beach.
  
  Read more

• Canada's electronic spy agency to get new rules for sharing data with allies

  29-08-2017 11:00 via cbc.ca
  The office of Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan is crafting a directive for how Canada’s electronic spy agency shares its foreign signals intelligence with its closest allies, the Five Eyes partners.
  
  Read more

• Look at the stars: Gros Morne gunning for dark sky designation

  29-08-2017 10:30 via cbc.ca
  Gros Morne could soon be joining nine other national parks across Canada in getting a special designation to help with stargazing and astronomy.
  
  Read more

• Lummi Nation fishermen catch an estimated 20,000 Atlantic salmon following fish farm collapse

  29-08-2017 06:13 via cbc.ca
  It's unclear how many Atlantic salmon escaped from the pen. The Lummi Nation says tribal fishermen have removed 20,000 from the Puget Sound. Washington state officials says Cooke Aquaculture has recovered 120,000 fish from the pen and that more are still inside.
  
  Read more

• Why does rubbing a balloon on your hair make it stick?

  29-08-2017 06:00
  (Case Western Reserve University) New research led by Case Western Reserve University indicates that tiny holes and cracks in a material -- changes in the microstructure -- can control how the material becomes electrically charged through friction.
  
  Read more

• Where's the line? Managing extreme speech on social media

  29-08-2017 06:00
  (University of Missouri-Columbia) A new study from the University of Missouri School of Journalism shows that while people tend to dislike extreme speech on social media, there is less support for outright censorship. Instead, people believe sites need to do a better job promoting healthy discourse online.
  
  Read more

• When it comes to antennas, size matters

  29-08-2017 06:00
  (Northeastern University) In a paper published online in Nature Communications, Nian Sun, professor of electrical and computer engineering at Northeastern, and his colleagues describe a new approach to designing antennas. The discovery enables researchers to construct antennas that are up to a thousand times smaller than currently available antennas, Sun said.
  
  Read more

• Weightlessness affects health of cosmonauts at molecular level

  29-08-2017 06:00
  (Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology) It is widely known that space conditions influence metabolism, thermoregulation, heart biorhythms, muscle tone and other physiological aspects. However, the molecular mechanisms which drive the physiological changes caused by space flights remain unknown.Scientists analyzed the effect of space conditions on the protein composition in blood samples of 18 Russian cosmonauts. The results indicated many significant changes in the human body caused by spac
  
  Read more

• The eyes have it

  29-08-2017 06:00
  (University of California - Santa Barbara) Postdoctoral Fellow Georgina Stooke-Vaughan investigates the mechanical development of the eye.
  
  Read more

• Tears in tiny bone cells called osteocytes appear an important step to better bones

  29-08-2017 06:00
  (Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University) The force gravity and physical activity put on our bones causes tiny tears in the membranes of the tiny cells that enable us to make or break down bone, scientists say.While that may sound bad, it's actually a key piece of how the force we put on our bones helps keep them strong, they report in the Journal of Orthopaedic Research.
  
  Read more

• Researchers validate UV light's use in improving semiconductors

  29-08-2017 06:00
  (DOE/National Renewable Energy Laboratory) A discovery by two scientists at the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory could aid the development of next-generation semiconductor devices.
  
  Read more

• Recipients of George Michael Memorial High Performance Computing Fellowships announced

  29-08-2017 06:00
  (Association for Computing Machinery) The Association for Computing Machinery and the IEEE Computer Society jointly announced today that Shaden Smith of the University of Minnesota and Yang You of the University of California, Berkeley, are the recipients of the 2017 ACM/IEEE-CS George Michael Memorial HPC Fellowships.
  
  Read more

• Preventing sudden death in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: ESC guidelines (HCM-EVIDENCE)

  29-08-2017 06:00
  (European Society of Cardiology) A large study conducted across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia has validated the ESC recommendations for predicting and preventing sudden cardiac death (SCD) in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM).
  
  Read more

• Potential Tropical Cyclone 10 soaks Mid-Atlantic

  29-08-2017 06:00
  (NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) NOAA's GOES East satellite provided an image of Potential Tropical Cyclone 10 as it continued moving north along the US East Coast.
  
  Read more

• Placenta-on-a-chip: Microsensor simulates malaria in the womb to develop treatments

  29-08-2017 06:00
  (Florida Atlantic University) By combining microbiology with engineering technologies, researchers from Florida Atlantic University are developing a first-of-its-kind 3-D model that uses a single microfluidic sensing chip to study the complicated processes that take place in malaria-infected placenta as well as other placenta-related diseases and pathologies. The chip will mimic the microenvironment of placental malaria, specifically the maternal-fetal interface.
  
  Read more

• Pinpointing the origins of autism

  29-08-2017 06:00
  (McGill University) The origins of autism remain mysterious. What areas of the brain are involved, and when do the first signs appear? New findings published in Biological Psychiatry brings us closer to understanding the pathology of autism, and the point at which it begins to take shape in the human brain. Such knowledge will allow earlier interventions in the future and better outcomes for autistic children.
  
  Read more

• Obesity prevention guidelines are not followed for preschool children

  29-08-2017 06:00
  (Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center) In a study of nearly 400 preschool children, only one child adhered to obesity prevention guidelines over the course of a single day at child care and at home.
  
  Read more

• Obese people lack cells with satiety hormones

  29-08-2017 06:00
  (University of Basel) Individuals with severe overweight have an inhibited sense of satiation -- they release fewer satiety hormones than people of normal weight. The reason: the responsible cells in the gastrointestinal tract of obese people are severely reduced. This report by Swiss doctors is in the journal Scientific Reports. Surgical weight-loss procedures can repair this disorder.
  
  Read more

• NTU scientists use brewery waste to grow yeast needed for beer making

  29-08-2017 06:00
  (Nanyang Technological University) Scientists from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have invented a new process to turn spent brewery grains into a valuable product that can grow beer yeast.
  
  Read more

• NSF grant will study Kansans' inequality of broadband access

  29-08-2017 06:00
  (University of Kansas) University of Kansas researchers have received a $300,000 National Science Foundation grant to study digital inequalities in Kansas and begin designing a set of cybersecurity and privacy tools to protect public broadband users.
  
  Read more

• NREL updates baseline cost and performance data for electricity generation technologies

  29-08-2017 06:00
  (DOE/National Renewable Energy Laboratory) The Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory has released the 2017 Annual Technology Baseline (ATB), updating a key source of reliable electricity generation technology cost and performance data used to support and inform electric sector analysis in the United States. Now in its third year, the ATB documents technology-specific information on a broad spectrum of electricity generation technologies, including wind, solar, geothermal, hydr
  
  Read more

• NREL, Swiss scientists power past solar efficiency records

  29-08-2017 06:00
  (DOE/National Renewable Energy Laboratory) Collaboration between researchers at the US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology, and the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne shows the high potential of silicon-based multijunction solar cells.
  
  Read more

• NREL analysis identifies where commercial customers might benefit from energy storage

  29-08-2017 06:00
  (DOE/National Renewable Energy Laboratory) Commercial electricity customers who are subject to high demand charges may be able to reduce overall costs by using battery energy storage to manage demand, according to research by the US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
  
  Read more

• Non-thermal atmospheric pressure plasma treatment

  29-08-2017 06:00
  (Bentham Science Publishers) India is a second largest producer of leather, and being so, leather production and dyeing significantly contribute to pollution of water resources in India. Consistent dyeing of leather is difficult due to the unique nature of the raw material (matrix of collagen fibers), thus leather dyeing and finishing involves numerous wet chemical treatments having huge environmental impacts.
  
  Read more

• New research strengthens link between mental health and retirement savings

  29-08-2017 06:00
  (Medica Research Institute) The question of how mental health status affects decisions regarding retirement savings is becoming a pressing issue in the United States. Key factors contributing to this issue include the tenuous state of the Social Security system, greater use of defined-contribution pension plans by employers, longer lifespans, and the rise of depression and other mental health issues in older Americans.
  
  Read more

• New mini tool has massive implications

  29-08-2017 06:00
  (Brigham Young University) Researchers have created a miniaturized, portable version of a tool now capable of analyzing Mars' atmosphere -- and that's just one of its myriad possible uses.
  
  Read more

• NASA's Lunar mission captures solar eclipse as seen from the moon

  29-08-2017 06:00
  (NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) LRO captured an image of the Moon's shadow over a large region of the United States, centered just north of Nashville, Tennessee.
  
  Read more

Follow @ScienceUKnews on Twitter!