Science news

• In many places around the world, obesity in kids is on the rise

  11-10-2017 23:20
  
  The last 40 years saw a big leap in obesity among children, totaling an estimated 124 million boys and girls in 2016.
  
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• Farmers look above drones as space satellite updates on crop health expand

  11-10-2017 21:40 via cbc.ca
  Farmers are looking to space in the continuous push to better know what's going on in their fields, and a growing number of public and private initiatives are helping get them there.
  
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• Map of the gut's microbial landscape

  11-10-2017 21:13
  Scientists have provided an early glimpse of how microbial communities in the gut -- known collectively as the gut microbiome -- are spatially organized, uncovering a surprising degree of mixing among different bacterial members.
  
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• Doubt cast on warming implications of brown carbon aerosol from wildfires

  11-10-2017 21:13
  As devastating wildfires rage in California wine country, a team of environmental engineers have made a new discovery about wildfire smoke, and its effect on the atmosphere.
  
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• Discovery of peripheral neuropathy cause suggests potential preventive measures

  11-10-2017 20:54
  In discovering how certain chemotherapy drugs cause the nerve damage known as peripheral neuropathy, researchers have found a potential approach to preventing this common and troublesome side effect of cancer treatment.
  
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• Psychologists give new insight into the nature of psychosis

  11-10-2017 20:52
  Psychologists challenged common wisdom about the nature of mental illness.
  
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• Ultraflat magnets: Atom-thick alloys with unanticipated magnetic properties

  11-10-2017 20:48
  Adding rhenium to a two-dimensional alloy induced a structural phase transition in its crystalline order and, surprisingly, a magnetic signature.
  
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• Move over e-cigarettes, meet heat-not-burn tobacco

  11-10-2017 20:48
  Researchers analyzed Google search trends to identify consumer demand for a brand-new tobacco product known as heat-not-burn tobacco and found that its popularity is growing quickly.
  
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• Mice delivered by C-section gain more weight than those delivered naturally

  11-10-2017 20:48
  Mice born by cesarian section experienced dramatically greater weight gain as they matured than mice born vaginally.
  
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• Dark side of coffee cultivation in Uganda

  11-10-2017 20:48
  New research explores unequal exchange in the coffee industry. Researchers cite a range of negative consequences that coffee cultivation contributes to, including: malaria vulnerability, decreased participation in schooling, gender inequalities, and environmental degradation in Bududa, Uganda.
  
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• Rainstorm generator assesses watershed rainfall under climate change simulations

  11-10-2017 19:58
  The Colorado River tumbles through varied landscapes, draining watersheds from seven western states. This 1,450-mile-long system is a critical water supply for agriculture, industry and municipalities from Denver to Tijuana.
  
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• This is a test: Asteroid tracking network observes close approach

  11-10-2017 19:55
  On Oct. 12 EDT (Oct. 11 PDT), a small asteroid designated 2012 TC4 will safely pass by Earth at a distance of approximately 26,000 miles (42,000 kilometers). This is a little over one tenth the distance to the Moon and just above the orbital altitude of communications satellites. This encounter with TC4 is being used by asteroid trackers around the world to test their ability to operate as a coordinated international asteroid warning network.
  
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• Giant exoplanet hunters: Look for debris disks

  11-10-2017 19:52
  There's no map showing all the billions of exoplanets hiding in our galaxy -- they're so distant and faint compared to their stars, it's hard to find them. Now, astronomers hunting for new worlds have established a possible signpost for giant exoplanets.
  
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• New type of stem cell line produced offers expanded potential for research and treatments

  11-10-2017 19:17
  Researchers have created expanded potential stem cells (EPSCs) in mice, for the first time, that have a greater potential for development than current stem cell lines. These stem cells have the features of the very first cells in the developing embryo, and can develop into any type of cell.
  
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• Injecting electrons jolts 2-D structure into new atomic pattern

  11-10-2017 19:17
  The same electrostatic charge that can make hair stand on end and attach balloons to clothing could be an efficient way to drive atomically thin electronic memory devices of the future, according to a new study. Scientists have found a way to reversibly change the atomic structure of a 2-D material by injecting it with electrons. The process uses far less energy than current methods for changing the configuration of a material's structure.
  
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• Esophageal cancer 'cell of origin' identified

  11-10-2017 19:17
  Researchers have identified cells in the upper digestive tract that can give rise to Barrett's esophagus, a precursor to esophageal cancer.
  
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• Deciphering biological meaning from an atlas of gene expression across 42 tissue types

  11-10-2017 19:17
  The human genome encodes instructions for which genes are expressed in what cell type, along with other molecules that control how much and when these genes are expressed. Variation in the regulation of gene expression gives rise to the diverse tissue types, with diverse functions, in the human body. Finding new clues about the molecular origins of disease is the goal for a comprehensive atlas of variation in gene expression.
  
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• Ceramic pump moves molten metal at a record 1,400 degrees Celsius

  11-10-2017 19:17
  A ceramic-based mechanical pump able to operate at record temperatures of more than 1,400 degrees Celsius (1,673 Kelvin) can transfer high temperature liquids such as molten tin, enabling a new generation of energy conversion and storage systems.
  
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• Oddball dwarf planet Haumea has a ring

  11-10-2017 19:00
  
  The dwarf planet Haumea is now the most distant ringed object spotted in the solar system.
  
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• Where's the Proof That Mindfulness Meditation Works?

  11-10-2017 16:00 via rss.sciam.com
  The ubiquitous technique for relieving stress and pain has remarkably little scientific evidence backing it, a group of scientists contend
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Academic freedom compromised by U of C, watchdog group finds

  11-10-2017 15:00 via cbc.ca
  The Canadian Association of University Teachers has concerns about both conflict of interest policy and academic freedom at the University of Calgary. U of C said issues already investigated with no wrongdoing found.
  
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• Russians used Kaspersky software for hacks, Israeli spies report

  11-10-2017 14:45 via cbc.ca
  Israeli intelligence officials spying on Russian government hackers found they were using Kaspersky Lab antivirus software that is also used by 400 million people globally, including U.S. government agencies, according to media reports on Tuesday.
  
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• How to make the cosmic web give up the matter it’s hiding

  11-10-2017 13:00
  
  Half the ordinary matter in the universe is unaccounted for. Astronomers may now have a new way to see it spanning the space between galaxies.
  
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• Could the "Alzheimer's Gene" Finally Become a Drug Target?

  11-10-2017 12:45 via rss.sciam.com
  Shutting down the top risk gene holds potential for halting the disease process 
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Use the Weather Network app? Why it's sharing your location with advertisers

  11-10-2017 11:00 via cbc.ca
  When you use an app like the Weather Network, there's a not-so-secret trade-off. In exchange for a free weather forecast based on your location, advertisers learn a bit more about you and your habits.
  
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• Asteroid will pass Earth well inside moon's orbit, giving us a chance to practise for a collision

  11-10-2017 11:00 via cbc.ca
  Asteroid 2012 TC4 is zipping past Earth on Thursday, allowing scientists and emergency preparedness teams to practise for an impact.
  
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• Satellites spy Antarctic 'upside-down ice canyon'

  11-10-2017 10:03 via bbc.co.uk
  An Antarctic ice shelf is shown to have a deep gorge cut in its underside by warm ocean water.
  
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• Women seen as younger when eyes, lips and eyebrows stand out

  11-10-2017 06:00
  (Frontiers) Researchers in France and America find that aspects of facial contrast, a measure of how much facial features stand out in the face, decrease with age in women across a variety of ethnic groups. The researchers also find that observers perceive women with increased facial contrast as younger, regardless of the ethnic background of the women or the observers. This suggests that facial contrast is a cross-cultural cue to age perception.
  
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• Women can breathe sigh of relief when using vaginal estrogen to treat menopause symptoms

  11-10-2017 06:00
  (The North American Menopause Society (NAMS)) News flash....hot flashes aren't the only bothersome symptom of the menopause transition. Many postmenopausal women also experience sexual dysfunction and urinary problems that don't require estrogen pills but, rather, can be alleviated by vaginally administered estrogen. A new study shows that, despite previous misperceptions, this treatment option is not only effective, but also safe. The study results will be presented during The North American Me
  
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• What do Americans fear most? Chapman University releases 4th annual Survey of American Fears

  11-10-2017 06:00
  (Chapman University) Chapman University recently completed its fourth annual Chapman University Survey of American Fears (2017). The survey asked respondents about 80 different fears across a broad range of categories including fears about the government, the environment, terrorism, health, natural disasters, and finances, as well as fears of public speaking, spiders, heights, ghosts and many other personal anxieties.
  
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• Ways of defining, measuring and developing interventions for resilience in older ages

  11-10-2017 06:00
  (Duke-NUS Medical School) The Centre for Ageing Research and Education (CARE) at Duke-NUS Medical School is hosting the 8th Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) Population Ageing Conference in Singapore Oct. 11-12, 2017 in Singapore.
  
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• Waste coal ash could provide wealth of rare earth elements

  11-10-2017 06:00
  (Purdue University) New efficient and inexpensive technologies being developed at Purdue University could allow the extraction of rare earth elements, critical components of many electronics and green products, from waste coal ash.This innovation could enable the US to enter into the $4 billion rare earth element production market while recycling coal ash in an environmentally friendly way.
  
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• UTSA researcher to study waterways contaminated by Hurricane Harvey damage

  11-10-2017 06:00
  (University of Texas at San Antonio) Vikram Kapoor, an assistant professor in The University of Texas at San Antonio Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, has been awarded a Rapid Response Research (RAPID) grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to research microbial contaminants in southeast and south central Texas waterways following Hurricane Harvey.
  
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• UTA researcher earns grant to develop gas sensor to detect lung cancer from breath

  11-10-2017 06:00
  (University of Texas at Arlington) Yuze "Alice" Sun, an assistant professor in the Electrical Engineering Department at The University of Texas at Arlington, has received a $199,999 grant from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas to develop a non-invasive means to detect early stage lung cancer through biomarkers in a patient's breath instead, saving the patient from needle biopsies and extended waits for a diagnosis.
  
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• Unraveling the genetics of disc disease in dogs

  11-10-2017 06:00
  (University of California - Davis) Since the early 1900s, veterinarians have observed intervertebral disc disease -- a common cause of back pain, rear limb paralysis and inability to walk -- more frequently in dogs with short legs (dachshund, French bulldog, and Pekingese to name a few.) But they couldn't pinpoint why -- until now.
  
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• UC San Diego cybersecurity expert receives prestigious MacArthur Foundation fellowship

  11-10-2017 06:00
  (University of California - San Diego) Stefan Savage, a renowned cybersecurity expert and professor of computer science at the University of California San Diego, has been awarded a fellowship by the MacArthur Foundation. Perhaps better known as the MacArthur 'genius' award, the prestigious no-strings attached five-year fellowship awards a total of $625,000 to each recipient.
  
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• TSRI chemists use modified DNA nucleotides to create new materials

  11-10-2017 06:00
  (Scripps Research Institute) Chemists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have demonstrate that they can repurpose DNA to create new substances with possible medical applications.
  
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• Tropical Storm Ophelia appears as a comma in NASA imagery

  11-10-2017 06:00
  (NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) Infrared imagery from NASA's Aqua satellite showed powerful thunderstorms around the center of Tropical Storm Ophelia with a band of thunderstorms stretching to the southwest, giving the storm the appearance of a comma.
  
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• Traumatic events take toll on the heart

  11-10-2017 06:00
  (The North American Menopause Society (NAMS)) Today it seems about everything has been shown to lead to heart disease. Of course smoking is bad for you, as is high blood pressure. There's even mounting evidence that psychosocial factors can cause heart problems. A new study demonstrates how traumatic experiences can affect vascular health and, ultimately, heart disease. The study results will be presented during The North American Menopause Society (NAMS) Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, Oct. 11-
  
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• Training managers can improve workers' mental health

  11-10-2017 06:00
  (University of New South Wales) Basic mental health training for managers can reap significant benefits for workers' mental wellbeing, a world-first study published today in the prestigious Lancet Psychiatry suggests.In addition to large reductions in work-related sickness absence, the training was also associated with a return on investment of $9.98 for each dollar spent on training.The randomised controlled trial was led by Australian researchers from Black Dog Institute and UNSW Sydney.
  
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• The making of medieval bling

  11-10-2017 06:00
  (American Chemical Society) Gold has long been valued for its luxurious glitter and hue, and threads of the gleaming metal have graced clothing and tapestries for centuries. Determining how artisans accomplished these adornments in the distant past can help scientists restore, preserve and date artifacts, but solutions to these puzzles have been elusive. Now scientists, reporting in ACS' journal Analytical Chemistry, have revealed that medieval artisans used a gilding technology that has endured
  
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• Study exposes the dark side of coffee cultivation in Uganda

  11-10-2017 06:00
  (Lehigh University) New research led by Kelly Austin, associate professor of sociology at Lehigh, explores unequal exchange in the coffee industry. She cites a range of negative consequences that coffee cultivation contributes to, including: malaria vulnerability, decreased participation in schooling, gender inequalities, and environmental degradation in Bududa, Uganda.
  
  Read more

• Study casts doubt on warming implications of brown carbon aerosol from wildfires

  11-10-2017 06:00
  (Washington University in St. Louis) As devastating wildfires rage in California wine country, a team of environmental engineers at Washington University in St. Louis have made a new discovery about wildfire smoke, and its effect on the atmosphere.
  
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• Springer Nature launches research solution for the life sciences

  11-10-2017 06:00
  (Springer) Springer Nature has today launched a new, free-to-use research solution, Springer Nature Experiments, to help researchers in the life sciences advance discovery by accessing the most relevant protocols and methods to support their research projects.
  
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• Scientists discover one of the most luminous 'new stars' ever

  11-10-2017 06:00
  (University of Leicester) University of Leicester contributes to best-ever results on a 'new star' in a nearby galaxy
  
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• Rice U. lab surprised by ultraflat magnets

  11-10-2017 06:00
  (Rice University) Adding rhenium to a two-dimensional alloy induced a structural phase transition in its crystalline order and, surprisingly, a magnetic signature.
  
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• 'Resilience' to adversity determines if a child survives or thrives when bullied

  11-10-2017 06:00
  (Florida Atlantic University) Why is it that some children are devastated by bullying while others are not? Is there is a major personal characteristic or trait that buffers and protects them against internalizing the harm intended through bullying and cyberbullying? The answer is a resounding 'yes.'
  
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• Researchers identify gene to help hybrid wheat breeding

  11-10-2017 06:00
  (University of Adelaide) Australian researchers at the University of Adelaide have identified a naturally occurring wheat gene that, when turned off, eliminates self-pollination but still allows cross-pollination -- opening the way for breeding high-yielding hybrid wheats.
  
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• Researchers create map of the gut's microbial landscape

  11-10-2017 06:00
  (Forsyth Institute) A collaborative effort by a team of researchers from three institutions including the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) in Woods Hole, the Forsyth Institute in Cambridge and Washington University in St. Louis provided an early glimpse of how microbial communities in the gut -- known collectively as the gut microbiome -- are spatially organized, uncovering a surprising degree of mixing among different bacterial members.
  
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• Research identifies brain chemical abnormalities in earliest stage of psychosis

  11-10-2017 06:00
  (Elsevier) A new study of young people experiencing a first episode of psychosis reports elevations in the brain chemicals glutamate and glycine. Published in Biological Psychiatry, the study led by Dr. Dost Öngür of Harvard Medical School provides the first ever measurement of glycine levels in patients with psychotic disorders.
  
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