Science news

• Chester the false killer whale has died, Vancouver Aquarium says

  24-11-2017 21:18 via cbc.ca
  Chester the false killer whale, has died, according to the Vancouver Aquarium.
  
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• Antimalarial drugs could support existing cancer treatments in two-pronged attack

  24-11-2017 20:28
  Antimalarial drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine could make tumour cells more sensitive to cancer treatment.
  
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• NASA satellite imagery provides animation of 'breathing' Earth

  24-11-2017 20:04 via cbc.ca
  It's a view of Earth you've likely never seen: a living, breathing Earth.
  
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• 'Breathing' Earth seen from space

  24-11-2017 20:04 via cbc.ca
  It's a view of Earth you've likely never seen: a living, breathing Earth.
  
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• Drilling Reawakens Sleeping Faults in Texas, Leads to Earthquakes

  24-11-2017 20:00 via rss.sciam.com
  For 300 million years faults showed no activity, and then wastewater injections from oil and gas wells came along
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• Unique underwater stalactites

  24-11-2017 17:49
  In recent years, researchers have identified a small group of stalactites that appear to have calcified underwater instead of in a dry cave. The Hells Bells in the El Zapote cave near Puerto Morelos on the Yucatán Peninsula are just such formations. Scientists have recently investigated how these bell-shaped, meter-long formations developed, assisted by bacteria and algae.
  
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• New proton record: Researchers measure magnetic moment with greatest possible precision

  24-11-2017 17:49
  High-precision measurement of the g-factor are eleven times more precise than before. Results indicate a strong similarity between protons and antiprotons.
  
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• Some greenhouse gas methane could be cut for 'near-zero' cost: study

  24-11-2017 17:47 via cbc.ca
  Canada's oilpatch could get a big head start on reducing emissions of a powerful greenhouse gas for a "near zero" cost, says an academic study on the price of methane reduction.
  
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• Flies more germ-laden than suspected

  24-11-2017 16:29 via bbc.co.uk
  Flies' disease-carrying potential may be greater than previously thought, say US researchers.
  
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• Energy-efficient light bulbs increasing light pollution, new study suggests

  24-11-2017 15:44 via cbc.ca
  Despite an increase in energy-efficient LED bulbs, surface light pollution has increased around the world, according to a team of international researchers led by Christopher Kyba, who's originally from Alberta.
  
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• Cadbury, Smirnoff pull YouTube ads over clips of scantily clad children

  24-11-2017 15:01 via cbc.ca
  ​Lidl, Cadbury maker Mondelez, Diageo and other big companies have pulled advertising from YouTube after the Times newspaper found the video sharing site was showing clips of scantily clad children alongside the ads of major brands.
  
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• Timing is key in keeping organic matter in wet soils, new study finds

  24-11-2017 14:49
  Periodically flooded soils may actually lose organic matter at accelerated rate, a new report suggests.
  
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• Promising new treatment for rare pregnancy cancer leads to remission in patients

  24-11-2017 14:49
  Three out of four patients with the cancerous forms of gestational trophoblastic disease (GTD) went into remission after receiving the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab in a clinical trial, report researchers. The trial is the first to show that pembrolizumab can be used to successfully treat women with GTD.
  
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• Avatar therapy may help to reduce auditory hallucinations for people with schizophrenia

  24-11-2017 14:49
  An experimental therapy which involves a face-to-face discussion between a person with schizophrenia and an avatar representing their auditory hallucination may help reduce symptoms, when provided alongside usual treatment, according to a study.
  
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• Earth-air heat exchanger best way to protect farm animals in livestock buildings against the effects of climate change

  24-11-2017 14:48
  Without countermeasures, climate change will negatively impact animals in pig and poultry production. Beside the health and wellbeing of the animals, heat stress also affects performance and, as a result, profitability. As the animals are predominantly kept in confined livestock buildings equipped with mechanical ventilation systems, researchers examined the inlet air temperature of several air cooling systems. The best solution, they found, is the use of the earth for heat storage via an earth-
  
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• Ambush in a petri dish: Researchers unlock secrets of chemical communication between algae, bacteria

  24-11-2017 14:48
  If green algae of the species Chlamydomonas reinhardtii meet Pseudomonas protegens bacteria, their fate is sealed. The bacteria, measuring only some two micrometres, surround the algae, which are around five times larger, and attack them with a deadly toxic cocktail. The algae lose their flagella, which renders them immobile. The green single-celled organisms then become deformed and are no longer able to proliferate. The chemical mechanism underlying this extremely effective attack has now been
  
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• Scientists develop artificial photosynthesis device for greener ethylene production

  24-11-2017 14:47
  A newly developed device could reduce the carbon footprint of ethylene production, report scientists.
  
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• Flies could help to monitor disease outbreaks by acting as 'autonomous bionic drones' suggest scientists

  24-11-2017 14:47
  Swarms of flies can be used to help monitor disease outbreaks, suggest scientists. This follows their research that shows how whole communities of bacteria – known as a microbiome – can “hitch a ride” on common carrion flies and can be transferred to any surface where the flies land. 
  
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• 150 years of snake collections: Data bank proves rich snake diversity in the neotropics

  24-11-2017 14:47
  An extensive database constructed for snakes of the American tropics has now been released by researchers. This database is made up of museum collections from the past 150 years and demonstrates that some Neotropical regions, such as the Cerrado in the central Brazil, contain a disproportionately high diversity. Furthermore, some other diverse regions are disproportionally under sampled, such as the Amazon.
  
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• To address hunger effectively, first check the weather, says new study

  24-11-2017 14:43
  Understanding the climate context is important is determining how to best respond to food insecurity, according to a study of nearly 2,000 smallholder farms in Africa and Asia. Rainfall patterns determined whether financial supports or agricultural inputs or practices were the most effective intervention.
  
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• The world needs to rethink the value of water

  24-11-2017 14:43
  New research highlights the accelerating pressure on measuring, monitoring and managing water locally and globally. A new four-part framework is proposed to value water for sustainable development to guide better policy and practice.
  
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• Small but distinct differences among species mark evolution of human brain

  24-11-2017 14:43
  The most dramatic divergence between humans and other primates can be found in the brain, the primary organ that gives our species its identity. However, all regions of the human brain have molecular signatures very similar to those of our primate relatives, yet some regions contain distinctly human patterns of gene activity that mark the brain's evolution and may contribute to our cognitive abilities, a new study has found.
  
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• New species can develop in as little as two generations, Galapagos study finds

  24-11-2017 14:43
  A study of Darwin's finches, which live on the Galapagos Islands in the Pacific Ocean, has revealed direct genetic evidence that new species can arise in just two generations.
  
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• Cetaceans' Big Brains Are Linked to Their Rich Social Life

  24-11-2017 14:00 via rss.sciam.com
  Studying whale and dolphin anatomy and behavior could offer insights into human evolution
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• Cumberland Sound, a spa retreat for bowhead whales in need of deep exfoliation

  24-11-2017 13:00 via cbc.ca
  Strange behaviour by bowhead whales in Cumberland Sound, Nunavut, left researchers perplexed — until they realized the whales were using boulders like pumice stones to exfoliate their skin.
  
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• 'A bad feeling in the pit of my stomach': Bees vanish from Brock research project

  24-11-2017 11:46 via cbc.ca
  For a few years, Miriam Richards thought her Niagara bee project was going well. Now she's seeing a slow decline, and she fears it's a nationwide trend.
  
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• Ottawa turns to U.S. tech giants too often: internal memo

  24-11-2017 11:00 via cbc.ca
  Ottawa has long come under fire by Canada's domestic tech firms for spending too much IT money on U.S. tech giants. Now an internal memo that documents for the first time Ottawa's IT spending suggests the criticisms are valid, and that Ottawa should be giving home-grown firms a leg up.
  
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• Looking for bargains online? Who you are can affect what you pay

  24-11-2017 11:00 via cbc.ca
  You know how after browsing online, the ads you see are suddenly about whatever you were looking for? Now a Marketplace investigation reveals it's not just ads that your browsing history affects — it's also the prices you're offered.
  
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• How companies use personal data to charge different people different prices for the same product

  24-11-2017 11:00 via cbc.ca
  You know how after browsing online, the ads you see are suddenly about whatever you were looking for? Now a Marketplace investigation reveals it's not just ads that your browsing history affects — it's also the prices you're offered.
  
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• Desperate for electricity, Puerto Rico children's hospital goes solar

  24-11-2017 11:00 via cbc.ca
  A Puerto Rican nonprofit children's hospital is the site of an alternative-energy experiment between the government and Tesla, the company best-known for electric cars.
  
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• Tuning the wavelength of fluorescent carbon tubes

  24-11-2017 06:00
  (Kyushu University, I2CNER) A research team at Japan's Kyushu University studied the fluorescence of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) made from graphene sheets a single atom thick. Various hexagonal organic molecules were bonded to the CNTs' outer wall. The wavelength of infrared emission from the CNTs could be tuned depending on which elements (e.g., bromine or nitrogen) were attached to the organic molecules, and at which position. Fine-tuning the fluorescence is important for optical and bioimaging ap
  
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• The electronic origins of fluorescence in carbon nanotubes

  24-11-2017 06:00
  (Kyushu University, I2CNER) A Japanese research team at Kyushu University studied the infrared fluorescence of carbon nanotubes (rolled-up sheets of graphene). The frequency of infrared emission depended on the molecules bonded to the tube walls. By applying electrical potentials, they found that changes in the electron energy levels of carbon, induced by the attached molecules, were consistent with the frequency shifts. This allows the design of carbon nanotubes for bio-imaging, with tunable fl
  
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• Scientists reveal new avenue for drug treatment in neuropathic pain

  24-11-2017 06:00
  (King's College London) New research from King's College London has revealed a previously undiscovered mechanism of cellular communication, between neurons and immune cells, in neuropathic pain.
  
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• High-speed quantum encryption may help secure the future internet

  24-11-2017 06:00
  (Duke University) Quantum encryption may be one step closer to wide-scale use thanks to a new system developed by scientists at Duke University, The Ohio State University and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Their system is capable of distributing encryption codes at megabit-per-second rates, five to 10 times faster than existing methods and on par with current internet speeds when running several systems in parallel. New theory shows that the technique is secure from common security attacks.
  
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• Fertility clinics treat abnormal vaginal bacteria aiming to improve reproductive outcome

  24-11-2017 06:00
  (Aarhus University) In women undergoing in vitro fertilization treatment, pregnancy rates are much lower when women have an imbalance in their vaginal bacteria. Is it possible to correct this problem and increase the pregnancy rate of these women? To find out, five Danish fertility clinics, in collaboration with Statens Serum Institute and Osel Inc., are now conducting a joint clinical research project to improve IVF outcomes by altering the vaginal bacteria.
  
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• ESMO Immuno-Oncology Congress in Europe to answer to open questions in cancer immunotherapy

  24-11-2017 06:00
  (European Society for Medical Oncology) You are still on time to register as Press representative for the ESMO Immuno Oncology Congress 2017 to be held in Geneva, Dec. 7-10, 2017. Press registration will give you access to European and global experts presenting the latest exciting news in this rapidly evolving area.
  
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• Cellphone companies may need to step up privacy protections, minister says

  24-11-2017 02:40 via cbc.ca
  Canada's Public Safety Minister is questioning whether Canadian cellphone companies are doing enough to protect their customers' privacy, after a CBC/Radio-Canada investigation.
  
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• Nasa timelapse paints 'most complete picture of life' to date

  24-11-2017 01:59 via bbc.co.uk
  Scientists call the new timelapse video the "most complete global picture of life on Earth to date".
  
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• Avatar therapy 'reduces power of schizophrenia voices'

  24-11-2017 01:53 via bbc.co.uk
  Patients became less distressed and heard voices less often compared with those who had counselling.
  
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