Science news

• This deep-sea fish uses weird eyes to see in dark and light

  09-11-2017 21:25
  
  The eyes of deep-sea fish called pearlsides contain cells that look like rods but act like cones.
  
  Read more

• Canadians are using more broadband, but not at highest speeds

  09-11-2017 21:03 via cbc.ca
  The country's telecom regulator says Canadians are demanding more, and faster, internet access, especially on mobile devices. But most aren't subscribing to the speeds that the CRTC thinks should be available to all Canadians.
  
  Read more

• Canadians' appetite for broadband keeps growing, CRTC finds

  09-11-2017 21:03 via cbc.ca
  The country's telecom regulator says Canadians are demanding more, and faster, internet access, especially on mobile devices.
  
  Read more

• Meteorite fragments found in B.C.'s Kootenay region

  09-11-2017 20:46 via cbc.ca
  Researchers from the University of Calgary have found remnants of a meteorite that flashed across the sky in early September.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Meteorite discovered by U of C researchers in B.C.'s Kootenay region

  09-11-2017 20:46 via cbc.ca
  Researchers from the University of Calgary have found remnants of a meteor that flashed across the sky in early September.
  
  Read more

• Expanding light echo spotted around supernova

  09-11-2017 20:10
  Hubble images reveal an expanding shell of light from a supernova explosion sweeping through interstellar space three years after the stellar blast was discovered. The "echoing" light looks like a ripple expanding on a pond. The supernova, called SN 2014J, was discovered on Jan. 21, 2014.
  
  Read more

• Risk of cholera epidemics estimated with new rule-book

  09-11-2017 20:08
  Cholera has repeatedly traveled out of Asia to cause epidemics in Africa and Latin America, an international research team has found. Researchers studied outbreaks in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean from the last 60 years. The results of two studies in Science, present a new 'rule-book' to estimate the risk of different cholera strains causing an epidemic.
  
  Read more

• Scientists unravel likely causes of blood vessel leakage in severe dengue

  09-11-2017 20:07
  A protein secreted by cells infected with dengue virus can cause dangerous leakage of fluid from blood vessels, and new research supports a primary underlying mechanism: disruption of a molecular barrier that lines the vessels.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Reducing the burden of neglected tropical diseases requires investments in basic research

  09-11-2017 20:07
  International support for measures to prevent neglected tropical diseases has resulted in public health gains, but eliminating these debilitating conditions will require significant investments in basic research, a new article argues.
  
  Read more

• Fruit fly brains inform search engines of the future

  09-11-2017 20:07
  The way fruit flies identify similarities between odors offers a new approach for search algorithms.
  
  Read more

• Western Canada's ice age melt offers preview for modern climate change

  09-11-2017 20:00 via cbc.ca
  New discoveries about the demise of the ice sheet that covered Western Canada at the end of the last ice age offer a preview of what we can expect as Greenland melts due to human-caused climate change.
  
  Read more

• Dawn spacecraft explores dwarf planet Ceres' interior evolution

  09-11-2017 19:57
  Surface features on Ceres -- the largest world between Mars and Jupiter -- and its interior evolution have a closer relationship than one might think. A recent study analyzed Ceres' surface features to reveal clues about the dwarf planet's interior evolution.
  
  Read more

• Live from Falling Walls

  09-11-2017 19:45 via rss.sciam.com
  Scientists from around the world gather in Berlin to present life-changing research
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
  Read more

• Hurricane Maria devastation prompts Ocean XPRIZE rethink

  09-11-2017 19:37 via bbc.co.uk
  September's Maria storm disrupts the international competition to find innovative ways to map the seafloor.
  
  Read more

• Crested pigeons sound the alarm with their wings

  09-11-2017 19:28
  
  Crested pigeons have specialized feathers that signal danger when they flee from an apparent threat.
  
  Read more

• SAMTOR is an S-adenosylmethionine sensor for the mTORC1 pathway

  09-11-2017 19:21
  mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) regulates cell growth and metabolism in response to multiple environmental cues. Nutrients signal via the Rag guanosine triphosphatases (GTPases) to promote the localization of mTORC1 to the lysosomal surface, its site of activation. We identified SAMTOR, a previously uncharacterized protein, which inhibits mTORC1 signaling by interacting with GATOR1, the GTPase activating protein (GAP) for RagA/B. We found that the methyl donor S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) disrupts the SAM
  
  Read more

• Redox-sensitive alteration of replisome architecture safeguards genome integrity

  09-11-2017 19:21
  DNA replication requires coordination between replication fork progression and deoxynucleotide triphosphate (dNTP)–generating metabolic pathways. We find that perturbation of ribonucleotide reductase (RNR) in humans elevates reactive oxygen species (ROS) that are detected by peroxiredoxin 2 (PRDX2). In the oligomeric state, PRDX2 forms a replisome-associated ROS sensor, which binds the fork accelerator TIMELESS when exposed to low levels of ROS. Elevated ROS levels generated by RNR attenua
  
  Read more

• Properties and potential optoelectronic applications of lead halide perovskite nanocrystals

  09-11-2017 19:21
  Semiconducting lead halide perovskites (LHPs) have not only become prominent thin-film absorber materials in photovoltaics but have also proven to be disruptive in the field of colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs). The most important feature of LHP NCs is their so-called defect-tolerance—the apparently benign nature of structural defects, highly abundant in these compounds, with respect to optical and electronic properties. Here, we review the important differences that exist in the
  
  Read more

• Promises and challenges of perovskite solar cells

  09-11-2017 19:21
  The efficiencies of perovskite solar cells have gone from single digits to a certified 22.1% in a few years’ time. At this stage of their development, the key issues concern how to achieve further improvements in efficiency and long-term stability. We review recent developments in the quest to improve the current state of the art. Because photocurrents are near the theoretical maximum, our focus is on efforts to increase open-circuit voltage by means of improving charge-selective contacts
  
  Read more

• Perovskites in catalysis and electrocatalysis

  09-11-2017 19:21
  Catalysts for chemical and electrochemical reactions underpin many aspects of modern technology and industry, from energy storage and conversion to toxic emissions abatement to chemical and materials synthesis. This role necessitates the design of highly active, stable, yet earth-abundant heterogeneous catalysts. In this Review, we present the perovskite oxide family as a basis for developing such catalysts for (electro)chemical conversions spanning carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen chemistries. A fr
  
  Read more

• Perovskite solar cells with CuSCN hole extraction layers yield stabilized efficiencies greater than 20%

  09-11-2017 19:21
  Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) with efficiencies greater than 20% have been realized only with expensive organic hole-transporting materials. We demonstrate PSCs that achieve stabilized efficiencies exceeding 20% with copper(I) thiocyanate (CuSCN) as the hole extraction layer. A fast solvent removal method enabled the creation of compact, highly conformal CuSCN layers that facilitate rapid carrier extraction and collection. The PSCs showed high thermal stability under long-term heating, although
  
  Read more

• Perovskite in Earths deep interior

  09-11-2017 19:21
  Silicate perovskite-type phases are the most abundant constituent inside our planet and are the predominant minerals in Earth’s lower mantle more than 660 kilometers below the surface. Magnesium-rich perovskite is a major lower mantle phase and undergoes a phase transition to post-perovskite near the bottom of the mantle. Calcium-rich perovskite is proportionally minor but may host numerous trace elements that record chemical differentiation events. The properties of mantle perovskites are
  
  Read more

• Observation of mean path length invariance in light-scattering media

  09-11-2017 19:21
  The microstructure of a medium strongly influences how light propagates through it. The amount of disorder it contains determines whether the medium is transparent or opaque. Theory predicts that exciting such a medium homogeneously and isotropically makes some of its optical properties depend only on the medium’s outer geometry. Here, we report an optical experiment demonstrating that the mean path length of light is invariant with respect to the microstructure of the medium it scatters t
  
  Read more

• Lysosomal metabolomics reveals V-ATPase- and mTOR-dependent regulation of amino acid efflux from lysosomes

  09-11-2017 19:21
  The lysosome degrades and recycles macromolecules, signals to the cytosol and nucleus, and is implicated in many diseases. Here, we describe a method for the rapid isolation of mammalian lysosomes and use it to quantitatively profile lysosomal metabolites under various cell states. Under nutrient-replete conditions, many lysosomal amino acids are in rapid exchange with those in the cytosol. Loss of lysosomal acidification through inhibition of the vacuolar H+–adenosine triphosphatase (V-AT
  
  Read more

• Lewis acid enhancement by hydrogen-bond donors for asymmetric catalysis

  09-11-2017 19:21
  Small-molecule dual hydrogen-bond (H-bond) donors such as ureas, thioureas, squaramides, and guanidinium ions enjoy widespread use as effective catalysts for promoting a variety of enantioselective reactions. However, these catalysts are only weakly acidic and therefore require highly reactive electrophilic substrates to be effective. We introduce here a mode of catalytic activity with chiral H-bond donors that enables enantioselective reactions of relatively unreactive electrophiles. Squaramide
  
  Read more

• Integrated view of Vibrio cholerae in the Americas

  09-11-2017 19:21
  Latin America has experienced two of the largest cholera epidemics in modern history; one in 1991 and the other in 2010. However, confusion still surrounds the relationships between globally circulating pandemic Vibrio cholerae clones and local bacterial populations. We used whole-genome sequencing to characterize cholera across the Americas over a 40-year time span. We found that both epidemics were the result of intercontinental introductions of seventh pandemic El Tor V. cholerae and that at
  
  Read more

• How the news media activate public expression and influence national agendas

  09-11-2017 19:21
  We demonstrate that exposure to the news media causes Americans to take public stands on specific issues, join national policy conversations, and express themselves publicly—all key components of democratic politics—more often than they would otherwise. After recruiting 48 mostly small media outlets, we chose groups of these outlets to write and publish articles on subjects we approved, on dates we randomly assigned. We estimated the causal effect on proximal measures, such as websit
  
  Read more

• Genomic history of the seventh pandemic of cholera in Africa

  09-11-2017 19:21
  The seventh cholera pandemic has heavily affected Africa, although the origin and continental spread of the disease remain undefined. We used genomic data from 1070 Vibrio cholerae O1 isolates, across 45 African countries and over a 49-year period, to show that past epidemics were attributable to a single expanded lineage. This lineage was introduced at least 11 times since 1970, into two main regions, West Africa and East/Southern Africa, causing epidemics that lasted up to 28 years. The last f
  
  Read more

• Distinguishing a Majorana zero mode using spin-resolved measurements

  09-11-2017 19:21
  One-dimensional topological superconductors host Majorana zero modes (MZMs), the nonlocal property of which could be exploited for quantum computing applications. We use spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy to show that MZMs realized in self-assembled Fe chains on the surface of Pb have a spin polarization that exceeds that stemming from the magnetism of these chains. This feature, captured by our model calculations, is a direct consequence of the nonlocality of the Hilbert space of MZMs
  
  Read more

• Cordilleran Ice Sheet mass loss preceded climate reversals near the Pleistocene Termination

  09-11-2017 19:21
  The Cordilleran Ice Sheet (CIS) once covered an area comparable to that of Greenland. Previous geologic evidence and numerical models indicate that the ice sheet covered much of westernmost Canada as late as 12.5 thousand years ago (ka). New data indicate that substantial areas throughout westernmost Canada were ice free prior to 12.5 ka and some as early as 14.0 ka, with implications for climate dynamics and the timing of meltwater discharge to the Pacific and Arctic oceans. Early Bøllin
  
  Read more

• Calibrated mitotic oscillator drives motile ciliogenesis

  09-11-2017 19:21
  Cell division and differentiation depend on massive and rapid organelle remodeling. The mitotic oscillator, centered on the cyclin-dependent kinase 1–anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome (CDK1-APC/C) axis, spatiotemporally coordinates this reorganization in dividing cells. Here we discovered that nondividing cells could also implement this mitotic clocklike regulatory circuit to orchestrate subcellular reorganization associated with differentiation. We probed centriole amplification in dif
  
  Read more

• A neural algorithm for a fundamental computing problem

  09-11-2017 19:21
  Similarity search—for example, identifying similar images in a database or similar documents on the web—is a fundamental computing problem faced by large-scale information retrieval systems. We discovered that the fruit fly olfactory circuit solves this problem with a variant of a computer science algorithm (called locality-sensitive hashing). The fly circuit assigns similar neural activity patterns to similar odors, so that behaviors learned from one odor can be applied when a simil
  
  Read more

• Cancer drug parity laws lower costs for many, but not everyone

  09-11-2017 19:14
  In an analysis of the impact of parity laws, researchers report modest improvements in costs for many patients. However, patients who were already paying the most for their medications, saw their monthly costs go up.
  
  Read more

• Study reveals how a very low calorie diet can reverse type 2 diabetes

  09-11-2017 19:12
  A research team has uncovered how a very low calorie diet can rapidly reverse type 2 diabetes in animal models. If confirmed in people, the insight provides potential new drug targets for treating this common chronic disease, said the researchers.
  
  Read more

• Finger and toe fossils belonged to tiny primates 45 million years ago

  09-11-2017 19:12
  A new study identifies nearly 500 minuscule finger and toe bones as belonging to 45-million-year-old tiny primates. Many of the fossils are so small they rival the diminutive size of a mustard seed. Representing nine different taxonomic families of primates and as many as 25 species, the specimens from China include numerous fossils attributed to Eosimias, the very first anthropoid known to date, and three fossils attributed to a new and more advanced anthropoid.
  
  Read more

• Fatty molecule in human blood controls malaria parasites' decision to leap to mosquitoes

  09-11-2017 19:12
  Depletion of a fatty molecule in human blood propels malaria parasites to stop replicating and causing illness in people and instead to jump ship to mosquitoes to continue the transmission cycle, according to a new study.
  
  Read more

• Cognitive behavioral therapy for chronic pain

  09-11-2017 19:12
  By teaching patients better strategies for coping with chronic pain, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a valuable treatment alternative for the millions of Americans taking opioids for noncancer pain, according to an article.
  
  Read more

• Cell biology: How to control traffic on cellular highways

  09-11-2017 19:12
  Inside cells, protein 'motors' act like trucks on tiny cellular highways to deliver life-sustaining cargoes. Now a team of researchers has discovered how cells deploy enzymes to place traffic control and 'roadway under construction' signs along cellular highways.
  
  Read more

• Breeding highly productive corn has reduced its ability to adapt

  09-11-2017 19:12
  Researchers wanted to know whether the last 100 years of selecting for corn that is acclimated to particular locations has changed its ability to adapt to new or stressful environments. By measuring populations of corn plants planted across North America, they could test how the corn genomes responded to different growing conditions.
  
  Read more

• Rift Valley fever virus: An infection mechanism identified

  09-11-2017 19:11
  Rift Valley fever virus is responsible for outbreaks in livestock in Africa and can also be fatal in humans. Scientists have characterized the mechanism used by the virus to insert one of its envelope proteins into the host cell membrane, thereby enabling it to infect the cell. Understanding these interactions should pave the way for the identification of new therapeutic strategies.
  
  Read more

• New strategies for reducing achievement gap

  09-11-2017 19:11
  Successful implementation of preschool to third grade programs yields benefits in increasing school readiness, improving attendance, and strengthening parental involvement in school education -- strategies that can close the achievement gap for children at risk, according to a new study.
  
  Read more

• How and why blood clots shrink

  09-11-2017 19:11
  Researchers have used high-powered microscopy and rheometry -- the measurement of how materials become deformed in response to applied force -- to view the blood clotting process in real time and at the cellular level. The findings will be useful in the development of new therapies for clotting disorders.
  
  Read more

• Crested pigeons use feathers to sound the alarm

  09-11-2017 19:10
  Many animals will sound an alarm to alert other members of their group of impending danger. Now, researchers have shown that crested pigeons do this in a surprisingly non-vocal way. One of their main flight feathers produces a critical high-pitched sound as the birds fly away. As they flap faster to escape a predator, that alarm signal automatically increases in tempo.
  
  Read more

• Not all milkweed is equal for egg-laying monarchs, study reveals

  09-11-2017 19:08
  Milkweed plants in agricultural areas have 3 1/2 times more monarch butterfly eggs than milkweed growing in urban gardens, natural areas and roadsides, according to a new study. The researchers also found monarchs prefer small patches of the plant to larger ones. These findings have implications for current initiatives underway that involve planting milkweed to help the survival of this endangered butterfly.
  
  Read more

• HPV vaccine also prevents uncommon childhood respiratory disease, study suggests

  09-11-2017 19:06
  The vaccine that protects against cancer-causing types of human papillomavirus (HPV) also prevents an uncommon but incurable childhood respiratory disease, according to a new study.
  
  Read more

• Science Says These Police Tactics Reduce Crime

  09-11-2017 18:45 via rss.sciam.com
  The verdict is in: a scientific review of different policing approaches
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
  Read more

• Extinct wolf-sized otter had powerful bite

  09-11-2017 18:24 via bbc.co.uk
  A giant otter that roamed China six million years ago had a surprisingly strong bite, say scientists.
  
  Read more

• Telling teeth: More accurate aging of teeth could hold the key to identifying health-compromised children in Africa

  09-11-2017 16:04
  Researchers have investigated dental development for better estimations of chronological age in African populations.
  
  Read more

• Neighborhood's quality influences children's behaviors through teens, study suggests

  09-11-2017 16:04
  The quality of the neighborhood where a child grows up has a significant impact on the number of problem behaviors they display during elementary and teenage years, a study suggests. 
  
  Read more

• Mushrooms are full of antioxidants that may have antiaging potential

  09-11-2017 16:04
  Mushrooms may contain unusually high amounts of two antioxidants that some scientists suggest could help fight aging and bolster health, according to a team of researchers.
  
  Read more

Follow @ScienceUKnews on Twitter!