Science news

• Streaks on Mars likely flowing sand, not water, new research suggests

  20-11-2017 23:18 via cbc.ca
  ​A new study suggests that dark streaks on Mars are signs of flowing sand — not water.
  
  Read more

• Six-month-old babies know words for common things, but struggle with similar nouns

  20-11-2017 22:30
  
  Young babies know a cup of juice from a car, but have a hard time distinguishing more similar nouns, a new study finds.
  
  Read more

• Firestorm: Fort McMurray wildfire is a warning, book claims

  20-11-2017 21:58 via cbc.ca
  The wildfire that enveloped Fort McMurray in the spring of 2016 is a harbinger of things to come, Edmonton journalist Ed Struzik concludes in his new book, Firestorm: How Wildfire Will Shape our Future.
  
  Read more

• Scientists solve the mystery of America's scuba-diving fly

  20-11-2017 21:51
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A small fly that thrives at an inhospitable California lake east of Yosemite National Park long has perplexed observers who watch as it crawls into the severely salty and alkaline water, snacks on some algae or lays some eggs, then emerges dry as a desert.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Astronomers unveil secrets of interstellar visitor

  20-11-2017 21:51 via cbc.ca
  Astronomers say they've learned more about the first known object to enter our solar system from deep space, including its size and colour.
  
  Read more

• Albatrosses hit by fishing and climate

  20-11-2017 20:10 via bbc.co.uk
  The spectacular albatrosses featured in the BBC's Blue Planet series have seen a big slump in numbers.
  
  Read more

• Bizarre shape of interstellar asteroid

  20-11-2017 19:53 via bbc.co.uk
  An asteroid that visited our Solar System from interstellar space is one of the most elongated celestial bodies known to science.
  
  Read more

• Arctic climate change being felt farther south, scientists say

  20-11-2017 17:18 via cbc.ca
  An international summary of five year's worth of research on Arctic climate change concludes the top of the world is getting warmer faster than anyone thought.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• 20 Canadian ideas to improve child health win support from Grand Challenges

  20-11-2017 16:13 via cbc.ca
  Twenty Canadian projects have won Grand Challenges funding, among them an Uber-like connection that can help get pregnant women in Kenya to health care; a 3D printer project to provide orthotic devices for Nepali children with clubfoot and scoliosis; and a microchip that can figure out what pathogen is causing diarrhea in children in Bangladesh.
  
  Read more

• This material does weird things under pressure

  20-11-2017 15:00
  
  A new metamaterial has a seemingly impossible property: It swells when squeezed.
  
  Read more

• 'Very dire situation': Disappearance of Alberta's caribou threatens centuries-old way of life

  20-11-2017 14:00 via cbc.ca
  As woodland caribou habitat dwindles, the threatened species' preservation pits the environment against economic interests in rural Alberta.
  
  Read more

• McKenna says amendment signed to Montreal Protocol

  20-11-2017 13:39 via cbc.ca
  Environment Minister Catherine McKenna and former prime minister Brian Mulroney will be in Montreal today to mark the 30th anniversary of a landmark treaty to protect the earth's ozone layer.
  
  Read more

• Watch NASA’s mesmerizing new visualization of the 2017 hurricane season

  20-11-2017 13:00
  
  Swirls of sand, sea salt and smoke make atmospheric currents visible in a new NASA visualization.
  
  Read more

• Drone delivery service one step closer to reality in northern Ontario community

  20-11-2017 12:57 via cbc.ca
  A remote northern Ontario community got its first look at drone delivery technology earlier this month.
  
  Read more

• Surfing for Science: Ocean Enthusiasts Could Help Gauge Coastal Warming

  20-11-2017 12:45 via rss.sciam.com
  Researchers want to enlist surfers, scuba divers and anglers to monitor hard-to-reach areas vulnerable to climate change
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
  Read more

• European memory champion reveals winning trick

  20-11-2017 12:25 via bbc.co.uk
  Simon Reinhard mastered the Method of Loci to become a European memory champion.
  
  Read more

• Antarctic glacier's rough belly exposed

  20-11-2017 12:11 via bbc.co.uk
  The melting glacier contributing most to sea-level rise currently may be more resilient than previously recognised.
  
  Read more

• Driverless trucks are coming to Canada and the impact will be profound: Don Pittis

  20-11-2017 11:00 via cbc.ca
  Experts say the cost savings of a multitrillion-dollar driverless truck industry will be unstoppable. And Canadian winter road conditions will be no barrier.
  
  Read more

• Why rural coal families are less likely to divorce

  20-11-2017 06:00
  (Ohio State University) Rural coal-mining families show resilience against divorce when faced with the economic downturns common in the industry, a new study suggests. Researchers found that rural counties with higher levels of coal jobs had lower divorce rates compared with similar counties with fewer coal jobs during the 1990s, when the coal industry was losing jobs.
  
  Read more

• Who will follow JUQUEEN to the throne?

  20-11-2017 06:00
  (Forschungszentrum Juelich) A figurehead of Forschungszentrum Jülich retires in the spring of 2018: JUQUEEN, Europe's fastest supercomputer for many years, will meet its successor. Forschungszentrum Jülich and the international IT company Atos have agreed at the SC17 supercomputing conference to install the first module of the system. The third partner is the Munich-based software company ParTec. The new system is to be operated as a national high-performance computer within the framew
  
  Read more

• What's in your wheat? Johns Hopkins scientists piece together genome of most common bread wheat

  20-11-2017 06:00
  (Johns Hopkins Medicine) Johns Hopkins scientists report they have successfully used two separate gene technologies to assemble the most complete genome sequence to date of Triticum aestivum, the most common cultivated species of wheat used to make bread.
  
  Read more

• VTT develops disposable optical test substrate for detecting harmful microbes

  20-11-2017 06:00
  (VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland) Harmful microbes and toxic micromolecules in food and drinking water can cause serious health problems around the world.
  
  Read more

• UVA researchers discover a new target for 'triple-negative' breast cancer

  20-11-2017 06:00
  (University of Virginia) One of the most difficult to treat cancers - triple-negative breast cancer - may be vulnerable to a new approach, an early study indicates.
  
  Read more

• UTSA researcher studies evolution of climate change activism

  20-11-2017 06:00
  (University of Texas at San Antonio) Climate change is a topic that is debated, doubted and covered by news outlets across the world. Luis Hestres, in the Department of Communication at The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), is researching the evolution of climate change activism and how advocacy groups use digital platforms to mobilize.
  
  Read more

• UofL researchers discover key signaling protein for muscle growth

  20-11-2017 06:00
  (University of Louisville) Researchers at University of Louisville have discovered the importance of a well-known protein, myeloid differentiation primary response gene 88 (MyD88), in the development and regeneration of muscles. Ashok Kumar, Ph.D., professor and distinguished university scholar in UofL's Department of Anatomical Sciences and Neurobiology, led a team of researchers who have described the protein's critical role in the growth and repair of skeletal muscles, both in post-natal deve
  
  Read more

• 'Unparalleled access' in surface science

  20-11-2017 06:00
  (Lehigh University) A Lehigh University research team led by Dr. Israel E. Wachs, the G. Whitney Snyder Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Lehigh University, has been awarded a highly-competitive grant from the National Science Foundation to support research in nanotech science and engineering.
  
  Read more

• Uncovering essential enzymes for plant growth during nitrogen starvation

  20-11-2017 06:00
  (Tokyo Institute of Technology) A study led by researchers at Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) has found that two key enzymes in plants called PAH1 and PAH2[1] are critical for survival and growth under nitrogen-depleted conditions. The study sheds new light on how plants could be modified in future to boost tolerance to nutrient-poor environments.
  
  Read more

• Two out of 3 parents struggle finding childcare that meets their health, safety standards

  20-11-2017 06:00
  (Michigan Medicine - University of Michigan) The search for the best preschool or childcare option is often a challenging experience -- and many parents aren't sure if the one they pick is safe and healthy for their child.
  
  Read more

• Ten UCI researchers named AAAS fellows

  20-11-2017 06:00
  (University of California - Irvine) Ten University of California, Irvine researchers in areas ranging from engineering and computer science to evolutionary biology and physical sciences have been named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world's largest general scientific society.
  
  Read more

• Study: Non-fearful social withdrawal linked positively to creativity

  20-11-2017 06:00
  (University at Buffalo) Spending too much time alone can be unhealthy and there is growing evidence that the psychosocial effects of too much solitude can last a lifetime.But newly published research by a University at Buffalo psychologist suggests that not all forms of social withdrawal are detrimental.In fact, the research findings published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences suggest that one form of social withdrawal, referred to as unsociability, is not only unrelated to n
  
  Read more

• Study: Mental health mobile apps are effective self-help tools

  20-11-2017 06:00
  (Brigham Young University) When it comes to strengthening your mental or emotional health, would you trust an app? A trio of BYU professors has published new research that says the answers is yes.
  
  Read more

• Spin current from heat: New material increases efficiency

  20-11-2017 06:00
  (Bielefeld University) Electronic devices such as computers generate heat that mostly goes to waste. Physicists at Bielefeld University have found a way to use this energy: They apply the heat to generate magnetic signals known as 'spin currents'. In future, these signals could replace some of the electrical current in electronic components.
  
  Read more

• Space dust may transport life between worlds, research suggests

  20-11-2017 06:00
  (University of Edinburgh) Life on Earth might have originated from tiny organisms brought to our planet in streams of fast-moving space dust, according to a new study.
  
  Read more

• Smoking study personalizes treatment

  20-11-2017 06:00
  (Vanderbilt University Medical Center) A simple blood test is allowing Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) researchers to determine which patients should be prescribed varenicline (Chantix) to stop smoking and which patients could do just as well, and avoid side effects, by using a nicotine patch.
  
  Read more

• Smiling human faces are attractive to dogs -- thanks to oxytocin

  20-11-2017 06:00
  (University of Helsinki) Researchers in the University of Helsinki's Canine Mind research project found that oxytocin made dogs interested in smiling human faces. It also made them see angry faces as less threatening. Associated with affection and trust, the hormone oxytocin is probably a key factor in the interaction between dogs and humans.
  
  Read more

• Sleeve gastrectomy, common weight-loss surgery, lowers women's tolerance to alcohol

  20-11-2017 06:00
  (University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences) Women who have had gastric sleeve surgery to lose weight may want to consider limiting the number of alcoholic drinks they consume post-surgery.A new study from a team of researchers at the University of Illinois found that after undergoing sleeve gastrectomy, women could be legally intoxicated after drinking half the number of drinks than women who did not have this surgery.
  
  Read more

• Sensors could identify biomarkers, improve early-stage detection, treatment of diseases

  20-11-2017 06:00
  (Purdue University) Purdue University researchers have found a method of identifying biological markers in small amounts of blood that they believe could be used to detect a myriad of diseases, infections and different medical conditions at early stages. The researchers have created microelectromechanical resonators, or small vibrating sensors, that can detect these biomarkers using just a drop or two of blood.
  
  Read more

• Scientific research on disasters represents 0.22 percent of global scholarly output, shows Elsevier report

  20-11-2017 06:00
  (Elsevier) Despite loss of life and economic devastation worldwide due to increasingly frequent natural and man-made disasters, scientific research on disasters represents a small percentage of scholarly output, a study by Elsevier, the global information analytics business specializing in science and health, shows.
  
  Read more

• Robotic device tracks plant growth at the cellular level

  20-11-2017 06:00
  (American Society of Plant Biologists) Determining how various treatments and conditions affect the mechanical properties of plant cells could allow scientists to understand plant growth at the cellular level and devise ways to enhance it. In a breakthrough report published in The Plant Cell, a team of researchers introduces an innovative robotic tool that measures the mechanical properties of plant cells with cellular resolution.
  
  Read more

• Reusing waste energy with 2-D electron gas

  20-11-2017 06:00
  (Hokkaido University) Novel approach utilizes high mobility two-dimensional electron gas, boosting thermoelectric conversion efficiency.
  
  Read more

• Realistic rodent model of drug addiction

  20-11-2017 06:00
  (Society for Neuroscience) Drug addiction may not require a habitual relationship with a substance, suggests findings from a new model of cocaine administration in rats that better captures the human experience of obtaining and using drugs. The research, published in JNeurosci, represents a step towards a translational animal model of addiction that challenges widely held views about drug users.
  
  Read more

• Previous evidence of water on mars now identified as grainflows

  20-11-2017 06:00
  (US Geological Survey) Dark features previously proposed as evidence for significant liquid water flowing on Mars have now been identified as granular flows, where sand and dust move rather than liquid water, according to a new article published in Nature Geoscience by the USGS. These findings indicate that present-day Mars may not have a significant volume of liquid water. The water-restricted conditions that exist on Mars would make it difficult for Earth-like life to exist near the surface.
  
  Read more

• Preclinical study demonstrates promising treatment for rare bone disease

  20-11-2017 06:00
  (Sanford-Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute) Researchers at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP) have led a preclinical study demonstrating that the drug palovarotene suppresses the formation of bony tumors (osteochondromas) in models of multiple hereditary exostoses (MHE). The research, published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, is an important step toward an effective pharmacological treatment for MHE, a rare genetic condition that affects about 1 in 50,
  
  Read more

• Photocrosslinkable, thermoreversible, type-I collagen bioink for photolithographic printing

  20-11-2017 06:00
  (World Scientific) A type-I collagen derivative with unique properties enables photolithographic bioprinting of 3-D scaffolds.
  
  Read more

• Pairing cancer genomics with cognitive computing highlights potential therapeutic options

  20-11-2017 06:00
  (UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center) University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center-led study has demonstrated the ability of cognitive computing to scour large volumes of data from scientific studies and databases to identify potentially relevant clinical trials or therapeutic options for cancer patients based on the genetics of their tumors. The findings suggest that cognitive computing applications could help physicians to stay abreast of scientific literature and
  
  Read more

• Optimal gout treatment requires ongoing monitoring for urate lowering therapy

  20-11-2017 06:00
  (American Academy of Family Physicians) Managing gout as a chronic, rather than an acute, condition could help prevent recurrences. A new study of more than 8,000 medical records found a positive association between starting treatment with allopurinol, a medication that helps prevent gout by lowering production of uric acid, and recurring doctor visits for the condition. Clinicians may therefore be more likely to offer allopurinol, or patients may be more likely to accept it, after multiple acut
  
  Read more

• Now you like it, now you don't

  20-11-2017 06:00
  (McGill University) Researchers from the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital of McGill University have proven it is possible to increase or decrease our enjoyment of music, and our craving for more of it, by enhancement or disruption of certain brain circuits.
  
  Read more

• New way to write magnetic info could pave the way for hardware neural networks

  20-11-2017 06:00
  (Imperial College London) Researchers have shown how to write any magnetic pattern desired onto nanowires, which could help computers mimic how the brain processes information.
  
  Read more

• National cooperative group trial seeks to cut in half early mortality rates for rare leukemia

  20-11-2017 06:00
  (Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University) A national cooperative group trial is making a handful of the country's experts in a rare leukemia available around the clock, with the goal of cutting by more than half the high mortality rates that occur in the difficult first few weeks of treatment.Induction mortality for treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia, or APL, can be as high as 30 percent, but for patients who survive those first few weeks, survival rates can soar beyond 90 percen
  
  Read more

• NASA's James Webb Space Telescope completes final cryogenic testing

  20-11-2017 06:00
  (NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) The vault-like, 40-foot diameter, 40-ton door of Chamber A at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston was unsealed on Nov. 18, signaling the end of cryogenic testing for NASA's James Webb Space Telescope.
  
  Read more

Follow @ScienceUKnews on Twitter!