Science news

• Step away from the cookie dough. E. coli outbreaks traced to raw flour

  22-11-2017 23:00
  
  Flour, though low in moisture, can sicken people with E. coli toxins if it is eaten raw.
  
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• Hackers only needed a phone number to track this MP's cellphone

  22-11-2017 23:00 via cbc.ca
  A CBC/Radio-Canada demonstration shows just how easy it is for hackers halfway across the world to spy on a Canadian MP’s phone calls and track his movements.
  
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• The future looks bright: light pollution rises on a global scale

  22-11-2017 22:44
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The world is getting brighter, but scientists say that may not be a good thing.
  
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• High-energy 'ghost particles' can be stopped on way through Earth

  22-11-2017 21:25 via cbc.ca
  High-energy subatomic particles nicknamed “ghost particles” for their ability to pass through just about anything can be stopped, scientists confirm.
  
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• Women prefer getting mammograms every year

  22-11-2017 21:10
  Women prefer to get their mammograms every year, instead of every two years, according to a new study.
  
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• One-size treatment for blood cancer probably doesn't fit all, researchers say

  22-11-2017 21:10
  Though African-American men are three times more likely to be diagnosed with a blood cancer called multiple myeloma, most scientific research on the disease has been based on people of European descent. That trend is problematic considering that African-Americans -- the most at-risk population for multiple myeloma -- have different genetics that can affect how this type of cancer progresses and what kind of targeted therapies are most effective.
  
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• New approach to tracking how deadly 'superbugs' travel could slow their spread

  22-11-2017 21:10
  Using a real-world outbreak as a test case, a team combined patient-transfer data and whole-genome sequencing to identify hotspots for transmission of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
  
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• Bowhead whales come to Cumberland Sound in Nunavut to exfoliate

  22-11-2017 21:10
  Aerial drone footage of bowhead whales in Canada's Arctic has revealed that the large mammals molt and use rocks to rub off dead skin.
  
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• Prion protein found in skin of CJD patients

  22-11-2017 21:09
  Scientists have detected abnormal prion protein in the skin of several people who died from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). The scientists also exposed healthy mice to skin extracts from two CJD patients, and all developed prion disease. The study results raise questions about the possible transmissibility of prion diseases via medical procedures involving skin, and whether skin samples might be used to detect prion disease.
  
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• Unknown number of Canadians may be caught up in Uber data breach

  22-11-2017 20:44 via cbc.ca
  Canada's federal privacy commissioner says Uber Technologies Inc. can't confirm how many Canadians may be affected by an October 2016 security breach that the riding-hailing firm initially tried to cover up.
  
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• High-energy 'ghost particles' absorbed by Earth

  22-11-2017 20:15 via bbc.co.uk
  Neutrinos are famous for travelling through solid objects, but they don't go through everything, a study shows.
  
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• Light pollution: Night being lost in many countries

  22-11-2017 20:00 via bbc.co.uk
  Much of the world is "losing the night" as artificial light becomes brighter and more widespread, say scientists.
  
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• Ribbed mussels could help improve urban water quality

  22-11-2017 19:32
  Ribbed mussels can remove nitrogen and other excess nutrients from an urban estuary and could help improve water quality in other urban and coastal locations, according to a study in New York City's Bronx River. The findings are part of long-term efforts to improve water quality in the Bronx River Estuary.
  
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• Reducing phosphorus runoff

  22-11-2017 19:32
  Researchers test a variety of incentives to learn how best to motivate farmers to curb phosphorus runoff.
  
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• Quantum internet goes hybrid

  22-11-2017 19:14
  Researchers report the first demonstration of an elementary link of a hybrid quantum information network, using a cold atomic cloud and a doped crystal as quantum nodes as well as single telecom photons as information carriers. The study demonstrates the communication and transmission of quantum information between two completely different types of quantum nodes placed in different labs.
  
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• Nanosponges show promise for potentially blinding eye infections

  22-11-2017 19:14
  Using a mouse model that engineered nanosponges can be used to protect eyes from infections caused by Enterococcus faecalis, researchers demonstrate. Enterococcus faecalis contain a toxin called cytolysin, which is found in roughly 50 percent of isolates that cause post-operative intraocular infections seen in the United States.
  
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• Mysterious deep-Earth seismic signature explained

  22-11-2017 19:14
  New research on oxygen and iron chemistry under the extreme conditions found deep inside the Earth could explain a longstanding seismic mystery called ultralow velocity zones. The findings could have far-reaching implications on our understanding of Earth's geologic history, including life-altering events such as the Great Oxygenation Event, which occurred 2.4 billion years ago.
  
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• Meningococcal vaccine could protect against 91 percent of targeted bacterial strains

  22-11-2017 19:14
  Up to 91 percent of bacterial strains causing a common type of invasive serogroup B meningococcal disease in children and young adults are likely to be covered by a four-component vaccine called MenB-4C (Bexsero), according to laboratory studies.
  
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• Low-salt, heart-healthy dash diet as effective as drugs for some adults with high blood pressure

  22-11-2017 19:14
  A study of more than 400 adults with prehypertension, or stage 1 high blood pressure, found that combining a low-salt diet with the heart-healthy DASH diet substantially lowers systolic blood pressure -- the top number in a blood pressure test -- especially in people with higher baseline systolic readings.
  
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• Increased use of ambulatory surgery centers for cataract surgery

  22-11-2017 19:14
  Over the past decade there's been a dramatic increase in the proportion of cataract surgeries performed at ambulatory surgery centers. In some communities nearly all cataract surgeries are done in a surgery center rather than a hospital. Consumers save money from the shift but it may impact access to eye care and raises questions about safety.
  
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• Encouraging oxygen's assault on iron may offer new way to kill lung cancer cells

  22-11-2017 19:14
  Blocking the action of a key protein frees oxygen to damage iron-dependent proteins in lung and breast cancer cells, making them easier to kill, report investigators.
  
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• Surprising roles for muscle in tissue regeneration, study finds

  22-11-2017 19:13
  Researchers have illuminated an important role for different subtypes of muscle cells in orchestrating the process of tissue regeneration. Notably, in the absence of these muscles, regeneration fails to proceed.
  
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• How Earth stops high-energy neutrinos in their tracks

  22-11-2017 19:13
  For the first time, a science experiment has measured Earth's ability to absorb neutrinos -- the smaller-than-an-atom particles that zoom throughout space and through us by the trillions every second at nearly the speed of light. The experiment was achieved with the IceCube detector, an array of 5,160 basketball-sized sensors frozen deep within a cubic kilometer of very clear ice near the South Pole.
  
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• Study questions exclusion of cancer survivors from trials

  22-11-2017 19:01
  A quarter of newly diagnosed cancer patients 65 or older are survivors who had a prior cancer – often preventing them from participating in clinical trials, researchers have found.
  
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• Frictional heat powers hydrothermal activity on Enceladus

  22-11-2017 18:59
  A computer simulation shows how icy moon heats water in a porous rock core. This study also offers among others an answer to the long-standing question of where the energy that can support water in liquid form on a small, cryovulcanic moon far from the sun comes from.
  
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• Genome of Leishmania reveals how this parasite adapts to environmental changes

  22-11-2017 18:57
  Scientists demonstrate that Leishmania adaptation results from frequent and reversible chromosomal amplifications. This novel insight into Leishmania genomic instability should pave the way for the identification of parasite drug resistance mechanisms and help discover biomarkers.
  
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• New mechanisms found of cell death in neurodegenerative disorders

  22-11-2017 18:40
  New mechanisms of cell death have now been discovered, which may be involved in debilitating neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, report scientists.
  
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• Intranasal ketamine has more minor side effects than intranasal fentanyl in children with acute pain

  22-11-2017 18:40
  Minor adverse events (e.g., bad taste in the mouth and dizziness) occur more frequently with intranasal ketamine than with intranasal fentanyl in children with suspected extremity fractures, research shows.
  
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• Plague reached Europe by Stone Age

  22-11-2017 18:11 via bbc.co.uk
  Plague was present in Europe during the late Stone Age, according to a study of ancient remains.
  
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• New composite material made of carbon nanotubes

  22-11-2017 17:30
  Due to their unique properties, carbon nanotubes would be ideal for numerous applications, but to date they cannot be combined adequately with other materials, or they lose their beneficial properties. Scientists have developed an alternative method of combining, so they retain their characteristic properties. As such, they 'felt' the thread-like tubes into a stable 3-D network.
  
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• How to cut your lawn for grasshoppers

  22-11-2017 17:30
  Picture a grasshopper landing randomly on a lawn of fixed area. If it then jumps a certain distance in a random direction, what shape should the lawn be to maximize the chance that the grasshopper stays on the lawn after jumping?
  
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• How common are new cancers in cancer survivors?

  22-11-2017 17:30
  One quarter of adults 65 or older and 11 percent of younger patients diagnosed with cancer from 2009 to 2013 had a prior cancer history.
  
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• Growing teeth and a backbone: Studies trace early origins of skeletal tissues

  22-11-2017 17:29
  Two new studies on the evolutionary origin of teeth and of vertebra further illuminate the human connection to marine organisms that goes back millions of years. Both studies were conducted in the little skate (Leucoraja erinacea).
  
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• Genetic factors linked to acquired narrowing of the airway

  22-11-2017 17:29
  Endotracheal intubation and tracheotomy are widely used in the hospital setting for elective surgery and in cases of serious illness or critical injury. In rare instances the procedures result in the development of scarring and narrowing of the larynx and trachea, or acquired laryngotracheal stenosis (ALTS). Who is susceptible to ALTS -- and why -- is unclear, but according to new research, genetic and ethnic background may be underlying factors.
  
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• Research money central to Budget

  22-11-2017 17:06 via bbc.co.uk
  The Chancellor Philip Hammond has made investment in research the centrepiece of his budget.
  
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• Health service complaints system putting patients at risk, harming doctors' mental health

  22-11-2017 17:02
  Current process for complaints against doctors reduces their wellbeing and causes fear-driven working practices that could compromise patient care, suggests a new English study.
  
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• Health threat from mercury in freshwater fish could be blowing away in the wind

  22-11-2017 17:00
  Mercury is one of the top 10 chemical concerns for public health according to the World Health Organization (WHO). In more than half of Swedish lakes the mercury levels are so high that eating the fish is a threat to the health of people and wildlife. To make matters worse, the problem seems to have no solution in sight. But new research gives hope: the mercury problem could very well be blowing away in the wind.
  
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• Good morning, Calgary! It's -8 C or +8 C, depending on which part of the city you're in

  22-11-2017 16:40 via cbc.ca
  It's a warm, windy morning in Calgary. It's also a calm, cold morning in Calgary.
  
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• Cool lizards are better at learning socially

  22-11-2017 16:36
  Bearded dragons which are incubated in colder environments are better at solving cognitive tasks as adults than incubated in warmer temperatures, according to new research. Scientists tested the social learning abilities of bearded dragons which had been incubated in either an average of 30°C or 27°C and found that those from the colder incubation environment picked up new skills faster than their hotter counterparts.
  
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• Stock market microstructures: Modeling could help evaluate financial crises

  22-11-2017 16:35
  Researchers have analyzed the statistical regularities and irregularities in the recent order flow of 96 different NASDAQ stocks. Since prices are strongly correlated during financial crises, they evolve in a way that is similar to what happens to nerve signals during epileptic seizures. The findings contribute to modeling price evolution, and could ultimately be used to evaluate the impact of financial crises.
  
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• High-intensity exercise boosts memory, new research suggests

  22-11-2017 16:35
  The health advantages of high-intensity exercise are widely known but new research points to another major benefit: better memory. The findings could have implications for an aging population which is grappling with the growing problem of catastrophic diseases such as dementia and Alzheimer's.
  
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• Felling pines: Doing it sooner rather than later is better for fynbos

  22-11-2017 16:35
  Here's some advice for landowners wanting to remove pine trees in the hope of seeing fynbos plants on their properties again: do so before the trees have grown there for more than 30 years. The longer they wait, the less likely the chances that any fynbos seeds will be left in the soil to sprout successfully, according to researchers.
  
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• Seeds coated in a common pesticide might affect birds’ migration

  22-11-2017 16:30
  
  Eating small amounts of a neonicotinoid pesticide can disorient white-crowned sparrows.
  
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• How dinosaur scales became bird feathers

  22-11-2017 13:57 via bbc.co.uk
  The genes that caused scales to become feathers in the early ancestors of birds have been found by US scientists.
  
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• 'Every season is tick season': Experts warn of winter Lyme disease risk

  22-11-2017 13:00 via cbc.ca
  Despite freezing temperatures, experts say blacklegged ticks are now active in Nova Scotia all year long.
  
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• Black Hole Pretenders May Be Superfast-Spinning Pulsars

  22-11-2017 13:00 via rss.sciam.com
  Unraveling the murky origins of these cosmic imposters could lead to breakthroughs in understanding the lives and deaths of stars
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Puppy-Dog Eyes May Have Evolved in Stages

  22-11-2017 12:45 via rss.sciam.com
  Dingoes’ brief glances may have been a stepping-stone to Fido’s longer loving stares
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Here is Cassini’s last broad look at the Saturn system

  22-11-2017 12:00
  
  Two days before plunging into Saturn, Cassini took a mosaic image of the gas giant, its rings and its moons.
  
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• Peppa Pig's tale of torture? Why parents can't rely on platforms like YouTube Kids for child-friendly fare

  22-11-2017 11:00 via cbc.ca
  Platforms like Netflix and YouTube Kids can seem like the ideal digital daycare in busy families, but as disturbing content starts slipping through cracks in “kid-friendly” filters, parents and experts are questioning how much we can rely on these algorithmic black box babysitters.
  
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• Bell customers, employees flood CBC with complaints about high-pressure sales

  22-11-2017 11:00 via cbc.ca
  CBC's Go Public heard from frustrated Bell employees and customers coast to coast after our investigation into allegations of high-pressure sales tactics at Canada's largest telecommunications provider.
  
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