Science news

• Heads up! Chance to see northern lights on Wednesday night

  05-09-2017 23:39 via cbc.ca
  If the skies are clear on Wednesday night, look up — you may get a chance to see the northern lights.
  
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• Heads up! Chance to see northern lights again this weekend

  05-09-2017 23:39 via cbc.ca
  After a spectacular display of northern lights Thursday night, there's a chance of more tonight and this weekend.
  
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• Zika could one day help combat deadly brain cancer

  05-09-2017 22:54
  
  The Zika virus targets cells that cause glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer, studies in human cells and mice show.
  
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• Superhuman 'night' vision during the total eclipse?

  05-09-2017 22:40
  It was dark as night during the recent total solar eclipse, yet people and objects were easier to see than on a typical moonless night. Scientists have discovered a possible biological explanation -- the presence (or absence) of a protein in the retina known as a GABA receptor.
  
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• Why even a record-breaking hurricane can't hit Category 6

  05-09-2017 22:36 via cbc.ca
  Hurricane Irma is the strongest hurricane on record in the Atlantic Basin, outside the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. But here's why it's still "only" a Category 5 hurricane.
  
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• Mobile phone use while pregnant not linked to child neurodevelopment problems, study suggests

  05-09-2017 20:55
  Mobile phone use during pregnancy is unlikely to have any adverse effects on child neurodevelopment, according to new research. These findings provide further evidence that exposure to radio frequency electromagnetic fields associated with maternal use of mobile phones during pregnancy is not linked to neurodevelopment in children.
  
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• Humans still evolving, large-scale study of genetic data shows

  05-09-2017 20:55
  In a study analyzing the genomes of 210,000 people in the United States and Britain, researchers have found that the genetic variants linked to Alzheimer's disease and heavy smoking are less frequent in people with longer lifespans, suggesting that natural selection is weeding out these unfavorable variants in both populations.
  
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• Aeroices: Newly discovered ultralow-density ice

  05-09-2017 20:55
  Relatively little is known about the effects of extreme negative pressure on water molecules. Exploring a significant region of negative pressure through molecular dynamic simulations, researchers have now theoretically discovered a new family of ice phases. Called aeroices, these ices have the lowest density of all known ice crystals.
  
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• Papers of note in Science Translational Medicine 9 (405)

  05-09-2017 19:54 via stke.sciencemag.org
  This week’s articles describe how the immune system in some children is better able to cope with dengue virus infection; how targeting a specific population of monocytes may relieve persistent inflammation associated with HIV infection; and how targeting the vascular niche may suppress fibrosis around lung and liver engraftments.
  
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• Papers of note in Science 357 (6354)

  05-09-2017 19:54 via stke.sciencemag.org
  This week’s articles describe how glia contribute to visual system development; a potential therapy for Parkinson’s disease; and how gut microbes regulate body composition.
  
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• Papers of note in Nature 548 (7669)

  05-09-2017 19:54 via stke.sciencemag.org
  This week’s articles describe molecular changes in tumors that affect the efficacy of immunotherapies; signaling mechanisms that mediate the CRISPR system in prokaryotes and regulatory T cell function in mammals; and a mechanism that maintains healthy tissue turnover in the gut.
  
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• New connections: Pleiotrophin and glioma

  05-09-2017 19:54 via stke.sciencemag.org
  The cytokine pleiotrophin promotes the invasion and vascularization of glioma.
  
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• Mitochondrial redox signaling enables repair of injured skeletal muscle cells

  05-09-2017 19:54 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Strain and physical trauma to mechanically active cells, such as skeletal muscle myofibers, injures their plasma membranes, and mitochondrial function is required for their repair. We found that mitochondrial function was also needed for plasma membrane repair in myoblasts as well as nonmuscle cells, which depended on mitochondrial uptake of calcium through the mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU). Calcium uptake transiently increased the mitochondrial production of reactive oxygen species (ROS
  
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• Cancer-associated arginine-to-histidine mutations confer a gain in pH sensing to mutant proteins

  05-09-2017 19:54 via stke.sciencemag.org
  The intracellular pH (pHi) of most cancers is constitutively higher than that of normal cells and enhances proliferation and cell survival. We found that increased pHi enabled the tumorigenic behaviors caused by somatic arginine-to-histidine mutations, which are frequent in cancer and confer pH sensing not seen with wild-type proteins. Experimentally raising the pHi increased the activity of R776H mutant epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR-R776H), thereby increasing proliferation and causing
  
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• Ca2+ and mitochondrial ROS: Both hero and villain in membrane repair

  05-09-2017 19:54 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Membrane repair is a symphony of signaling, conducted principally by the steep influx of Ca2+ through an injured membrane. In this issue of Science Signaling, Horn et al. reveal unique interplay between Ca2+ influx and mitochondrially generated reactive oxygen species (mtROS) to enhance actin-mediated wound closure for survival of injured mammalian muscle and nonmuscle cells.
  
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• Bacterial D-amino acids suppress sinonasal innate immunity through sweet taste receptors in solitary chemosensory cells

  05-09-2017 19:54 via stke.sciencemag.org
  In the upper respiratory epithelium, bitter and sweet taste receptors present in solitary chemosensory cells influence antimicrobial innate immune defense responses. Whereas activation of bitter taste receptors (T2Rs) stimulates surrounding epithelial cells to release antimicrobial peptides, activation of the sweet taste receptor (T1R) in the same cells inhibits this response. This mechanism is thought to control the magnitude of antimicrobial peptide release based on the sugar content of airway
  
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• Test of cervical mucus may reveal pregnant women's risk of going into labor too early

  05-09-2017 19:45
  A new approach to evaluating the risk of preterm birth has been proposed by analyzing the properties of cervical mucus. The researchers found that cervical mucus from women who delivered their babies early, before 37 weeks, was very different from that of women who delivered later.
  
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• New, ultra-rare gene mutations implicated in eating disorders

  05-09-2017 19:45
  A combination of whole exome sequencing, machine learning, and network analysis, has identified new, ultra-rare gene mutations within specific biological pathways that may contribute to eating disorders, according to a study.
  
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• Eating meat linked to higher risk of diabetes

  05-09-2017 19:45
  Higher intake of red meat and poultry is associated with significantly increased risk of developing diabetes, which is partially attributed to their higher content of heme iron in these meats, new research shows.
  
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• Could switchgrass help China's air quality?

  05-09-2017 19:45
  Researchers have proposed an idea that could improve China's air quality, but they're not atmospheric scientists. They're agronomists.
  
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• Boosting a lipid fuel makes mice less sensitive to the cold

  05-09-2017 18:57
  Humans, like other animals, become more sensitive to cold with age. Now, scientists report that delivering a single dose of a nutritional supplement called L-carnitine to older mice restores a youthful ability to adapt to the cold. After treatment, they tolerate chilly conditions that would ordinarily trigger hypothermia. The supplement works by boosting levels of a newly discovered fuel source for brown fat, or “good fat”.
  
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• Older wombs linked to complications in pregnant mice

  05-09-2017 18:33
  Deciding to start a family later in life could be about more than just the age of your eggs. The risks of complications during pregnancy all increase with age. A new study our today is one of the first to look at the effects of age on womb health. The results, which studied pregnant mice of different ages, showed that ageing of the womb itself can contribute to an increased risk of complications.
  
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• Human-made reefs: A compelling diving alternative

  05-09-2017 18:33
  Researchers have examined diving habits and behavior around Eilat's natural and artificial reefs. According to study, the average diver density at the artificial reef was higher than at the two nearby natural knolls, and the Tamar reef effectively diverts divers from natural knolls. Secondly, the study found that regarding attitudes toward natural versus artificial reefs, divers consider the artificial reefs more appropriate for training, but they feel less relaxed around them.
  
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• Building a morphogen gradient by simple diffusion in a growing plant leaf

  05-09-2017 18:33
  The research team has shown that a transcriptional co-activator ANGUSTIFOLIA3 (AN3) forms a signaling gradient along the leaf proximal-to-distal axis to determine cell-proliferation domain.
  
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• 'Waves' of neural activity give new clues about Alzheimer's

  05-09-2017 18:32
  While unconscious during deep sleep, millions of neurons' activity travels across the cerebral cortex. This phenomenon, known as slow waves, is related to the consolidation of memory. The European project called SloW Dyn, has now revealed anomalies in this activity in mice displaying a decline similar to Alzheimer's.
  
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• Warmer world may bring more local, less global, temperature variability

  05-09-2017 18:32
  Many tropical or subtropical regions could see increases in naturally occurring temperature variability as Earth warms over coming decades, a new study suggests. These local changes could occur even though Earth's global mean surface temperature variability will likely decrease because of less solar reflection from icecaps at high latitudes.
  
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• Solubility study could impact energy, biology, environment

  05-09-2017 18:32
  Chemical engineers have used the most realistic computer model yet devised to simulate the precise atomic and molecular interactions that come into play when water mixes with alkanes, a family of hydrocarbons that includes methane, propane and other refined products.
  
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• New evidence about how to prevent worsening pneumonia

  05-09-2017 18:32
  Sodium channels in the cells that line the tiny capillaries in our lungs play an important role in keeping those capillaries from leaking and potentially worsening conditions like pneumonia, scientists report.
  
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• Glowing cancer tool illuminates benign, but dangerous, brain tumors during pituitary surgery

  05-09-2017 18:32
  An experimental imaging tool that uses a targeted fluorescent dye successfully lit up the benign brain tumors of patients during removal surgery, allowing surgeons to identify tumor tissue, a new study shows.
  
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• Dig, dive, survive: Fruit fly larvae can make decisions about feeding that balance risk against benefit, biologists show

  05-09-2017 18:32
  We humans aren't the only creatures drawn by the smell of a good meal. Fruit fly larvae, it turns out, are equally susceptible to food scents, although the odors that attract them may not appeal to us.
  
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• 'I was blocked by the President of the United States on Twitter'

  05-09-2017 18:00 via cbc.ca
  Three different people from different backgrounds talk about their experiences being blocked by Donald Trump on Twitter and what it has ultimately meant for them.
  
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• Genome of threatened northern spotted owl assembed

  05-09-2017 17:14
  A charismatic owl iconic to Pacific Coast forests is no longer ruling the roost, and scientists now have another tool for understanding its decline. Researchers have assembled the California Academy of Sciences' first-ever animal genome after sequencing the DNA of the northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina). Academy scientists and collaborators extensively mapped the bird's genetic material to better understand how this threatened forest dweller is interacting with non-native owls inva
  
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• The sniff test of self-recognition confirmed: Dogs have self-awareness

  05-09-2017 17:13
  A new research study used a sniff-test to evaluate the ability of dogs to recognize themselves. The experiment confirms the hypothesis of dogs' self-cognition proposed last year.
  
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• Cannot sleep due to stress? Here is the cure

  05-09-2017 17:13
  Everyone empirically knows that stressful events certainly affect sound sleep. Scientists have found that the active component rich in sugarcane and other natural products may ameliorate stress and help having sound sleep.
  
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• Learning takes brain acrobatics

  05-09-2017 17:00
  
  Brains that learn best seem able to reconfigure themselves on the fly, a new line of research suggests.
  
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• 2 century-old shipwrecks found in Lake Huron

  05-09-2017 16:53 via cbc.ca
  Two shipwrecks more than a century old have been found in the deep waters of Lake Huron, Maritime archaeologists say.
  
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• Ghostly, translucent lobster caught off Maine

  05-09-2017 15:32 via cbc.ca
  ​Maine lobstermen Alex Todd has hauled in blue lobsters and even some lobsters that were half blue, or half orange. But he says those don't compare on the scale of weirdness to the translucent crustacean that he recently pulled up in a trap.
  
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• Teaching methods go from lab to classroom

  05-09-2017 14:00
  
  Cognitive researchers are finding ways to help young students to hold on to all the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in school.
  
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• People may have lived in Brazil more than 20,000 years ago

  05-09-2017 13:00
  
  Stone Age humans left behind clues of their presence at a remote Brazilian rock shelter.
  
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• One Test May Spot Cancer, Infections, Diabetes and More

  05-09-2017 12:45 via rss.sciam.com
  Researchers are starting to diagnose more ailments using DNA fragments found in the blood
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Lentils: 'First UK commercial crop' harvested

  05-09-2017 12:43 via bbc.co.uk
  A supplier is working with farms in Hertfordshire, Hampshire, Suffolk, Sussex and Wiltshire.
  
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• RCMP receive dozens of calls from Alberta to B.C. about reported fireball in sky

  05-09-2017 12:00 via cbc.ca
  Hundreds of people in Alberta and B.C. took to social media to report seeing a giant fireball illuminate the night sky late Monday, and the RCMP told media it received dozens of calls about what seemed to be the same event.
  
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• Scientists and astronauts join forces to create world's deepest coral farm

  05-09-2017 08:42 via bbc.co.uk
  Scientists from Florida International University have teamed up with Nasa to create the world's deepest coral farm in an effort to tackle the decline of coral reefs.
  
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• Was the primordial soup a hearty pre-protein stew?

  05-09-2017 06:00
  (Georgia Institute of Technology) How proteins evolved billions of years ago, when Earth was devoid of life, has stumped many a scientist. A little do-si-do between amino acids and their chemical lookalikes may have done the trick. Evolutionary chemists tried it and got results by the boatload.
  
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• Unplanned Fox News viewing influences likelihood of voting for Republican presidential candidates

  05-09-2017 06:00
  (Emory Health Sciences) Channel surfing voters who stumble across Fox News first in their cable news channel lineup are more likely to vote for a Republican presidential candidate, according to a new study from researchers at Emory University and Stanford University in the American Economic Review. Watching CNN or MSNBC, however, did not have a similar effect.
  
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• Tunneling a path to low cost, high efficiency solar cells

  05-09-2017 06:00
  (Lehigh University) Nicholas Strandwitz of Lehigh University was recently awarded a grant as part of DOE's SunShot Initiative's Photovoltaics Research and Development 2 funding program, which seeks to transform PV module design, explore high-risk emerging technology research, and devices and designs that facilitate rapid solar installation. Strandwitz will explore a promising technique to manufacture solar cells using atomic layer deposited (ALD) tunnel barriers, which are barriers that are so t
  
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• Swings in dad's testosterone affects the family -- for better or worse -- after baby arrives

  05-09-2017 06:00
  (University of Southern California) Testosterone levels are a key factor in a family's health and happiness after a newborn arrives. Researchers find that a drop can signal postpartum depression in dad, and a spike may be a sign of aggression.
  
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• Sweet success: Nanocapsule perfectly binds sucrose in water

  05-09-2017 06:00
  (Tokyo Institute of Technology) Researchers from Tokyo Institute of Technology and Kyoto University have developed an artificial receptor that can bind sucrose in water with exquisite precision. The achievement represents a leap forward for the development of biosensors, and provides new insights into our perception of sweetness.
  
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• Surgeons create 'vacuum' procedure to remove infected pacemaker

  05-09-2017 06:00
  (University of South Florida (USF Health)) Electrophysiologists get creative in removing infected pacemaker wires of a patient unable to have open heart surgery. He would have died if they didn't use a 'vacuum' typically used to remove foreign objects.
  
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