Science news

• Would you opt to see the future or decipher the past?

  29-11-2017 21:45
  Acting Editor in Chief Elizabeth Quill wonders what it would be like if scientists could see into the past and the future.
  
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• Readers debate ethics of resurrecting extinct species

  29-11-2017 21:36
  Readers raised questions about using gene editing tools to bring species back from the dead.
  
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• Scientists are seeking new strategies to fight mutiple sclerosis

  29-11-2017 21:30
  
  Facing so many unknowns about multiple sclerosis, researchers explore the immune system, the neurons and the gut to fight the disease.
  
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• Scientists are seeking new strategies to fight multiple sclerosis

  29-11-2017 21:30
  
  Facing so many unknowns about multiple sclerosis, researchers explore the immune system, the neurons and the gut to fight the disease.
  
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• Here's what happens to a jet plane when a drone collides with it

  29-11-2017 20:55 via cbc.ca
  Aircraft-manufacturing standards designed for bird strikes aren't appropriate for ensuring planes can withstand collisions with drones, researchers say after using computers to simulate collisions between drones and planes.
  
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• Caesar's invasion site 'found': Is this where the Romans landed?

  29-11-2017 20:53 via bbc.co.uk
  Archaeologists believe they may have uncovered the first evidence of Julius Caesar's invasion of Britain.
  
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• Hidden history of prehistoric women's work revealed

  29-11-2017 20:33 via bbc.co.uk
  Prehistoric women's manual work was tougher than rowing in today's elite boat crews, say scientists.
  
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• U.S. scientists take step toward creating artificial life

  29-11-2017 20:14
  CHICAGO (Reuters) - In a major step toward creating artificial life, U.S. researchers have developed a living organism that incorporates both natural and artificial DNA and is capable of creating entirely new, synthetic proteins.
  
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• Strong-armed women helped power Europe’s ancient farming revolution

  29-11-2017 20:00
  
  Intensive manual labor gave ancient farm women arms that female rowers today would envy.
  
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• Prehistoric women's arms were stronger than those of today's elite rowers

  29-11-2017 20:00 via cbc.ca
  If you're looking to build up those arm muscles, you may want to try grinding grain for hours a day. Researchers have discovered 7,000 years ago women had arms stronger than those of championship female rowers, which may have been due to their highly agricultural lives.
  
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• Climate denier blogs ignore sea ice and polar bear science, study finds

  29-11-2017 19:59 via cbc.ca
  An analysis of dozens of blogs that question the threat climate change poses to polar bears has found those publications ignore virtually all the science on both the bears and sea ice.
  
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• Walking the dog? Motion monitor to aid actors playing pooches

  29-11-2017 17:25
  BATH, England (Reuters) - From a poodle's strut to a basset hound's lolloping gait, scientists plan to capture the movements of different breeds to make on-screen animated dogs played by humans more authentic.
  
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• Polecats sightings reported in Essex

  29-11-2017 15:57 via bbc.co.uk
  A wildlife trust has asked people to get in touch if they spot the creatures.
  
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• Trophy hunting removes 'good genes' and raises extinction risk

  29-11-2017 15:32 via bbc.co.uk
  Hunting animals with the biggest horns, tusks or manes could lead to extinction, according to a study.
  
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• CSIS's ask for telecom subscriber info of possible future targets denied

  29-11-2017 14:27 via cbc.ca
  A federal judge has rejected the Canadian Security Intelligence Service's request to obtain basic information about unknown phone and internet subscribers who may come to the spy agency's attention in future.
  
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• First controlled nuclear chain reaction achieved 75 years ago

  29-11-2017 13:00
  
  The anniversary of the first controlled nuclear chain reaction marks an achievement of immigrants who served America in World War II.
  
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• Is the FDA Withholding Data about a Controversial Drug to Protect Its Manufacturer?

  29-11-2017 12:45 via rss.sciam.com
  In the case of Sarepta, it sure looks that way
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Julius Caesar's Britain invasion site 'found by archaeologists'

  29-11-2017 12:36 via bbc.co.uk
  Archaeologists say evidence indicates Caesar's invasion in 54BC began in Kent.
  
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• Jocelyn Bell Burnell doesn't mind Nobel overlook

  29-11-2017 12:14 via bbc.co.uk
  The astrophysicist says at the time students weren't awarded Nobel Prizes.
  
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• Could an app solve Toronto's bike theft problem? It's helping Vancouver

  29-11-2017 11:00 via cbc.ca
  Bike thefts have dropped by 30 per cent in Vancouver since the city, police, and cyclists there adopted a new registration and reporting app two years ago — and now there's talk of bringing the tool to Toronto.
  
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• When brands tempt us to lie, cheat and steal

  29-11-2017 06:00
  (Society for Consumer Psychology) A new study shows that when consumers believe that a company is harmful in some way, then they feel justified participating in illegal activities, such as shoplifting, piracy or hacking to harm the company.
  
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• Urban American-Indian, Alaskan natives may have lower survival following invasive cancer

  29-11-2017 06:00
  (American Association for Cancer Research) Compared with the non-Hispanic white population, the urban American-Indian and Alaskan Native community was more likely to have lower survival rates following invasive prostate and breast cancer.
  
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• UNIST professor honored as ACM Distinguished Member

  29-11-2017 06:00
  (Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology(UNIST)) Sam H. Noh, Professor and Dean of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), has been honored as a Distinguished Member of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM).
  
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• Traces of life on nearest exoplanets may be hidden in equatorial trap

  29-11-2017 06:00
  (Royal Astronomical Society) New simulations show that the search for life on other planets may well be more difficult than previously assumed, in research published today in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. The study indicates that unusual air flow patterns could hide atmospheric components from telescopic observations, with direct consequences for formulating the optimal strategy for searching for (oxygen-producing) life such as bacteria or plants on exoplanets.
  
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• Toward safer, longer-lasting batteries for electronics and vehicles

  29-11-2017 06:00
  (American Chemical Society) The rise of lithium-ion batteries over the past 25 years has enabled much of today's technology, but on occasion, they still catch fire. Recognizing this liability, carmakers and other private industry researchers are focusing on developing safer alternatives. Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society, explores the latest strides and setbacks in bringing one promising option -- solid-state batteries -- to the
  
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• To improve dipstick diagnostic and environmental tests, just add tape

  29-11-2017 06:00
  (American Chemical Society) Simple paper-strip testing has the potential to tell us quickly what's in water, and other liquid samples from food, the environment and bodies -- but current tests don't handle solid samples well. Now researchers have developed a way to make these low-cost devices more versatile and reliable for analyzing both liquid and solid samples using adhesive tape. They report their approach in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.
  
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• Three UNIST researchers named world's most highly cited researchers

  29-11-2017 06:00
  (Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology(UNIST)) Three researchers, affiliated with South Korea's Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) ranked in the top 1 percent in their fields globally.
  
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• The ultimate defense against hackers may be just a few atoms thick

  29-11-2017 06:00
  (NYU Tandon School of Engineering) The next generation of electronic hardware security may be at hand as researchers at NYU Tandon School of Engineering introduce a new class of unclonable cybersecurity security primitives made of a low-cost nanomaterial with the highest possible level of structural randomness. Randomness is highly desirable for constructing the security primitives that encrypt and thereby secure computer hardware and data physically, rather than by programming.
  
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• Teaching life a new trick: Bacteria make boron-carbon bonds

  29-11-2017 06:00
  (California Institute of Technology) For the first time, scientists have created bacteria that can make compounds with boron-carbon bonds.
  
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• Study: Stereotypes about race and responsibility persist in bankruptcy system

  29-11-2017 06:00
  (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) Bankruptcy attorneys have little knowledge of the racial disparities that exist within the bankruptcy system, relying instead on common stereotypes about race, responsibility and debt, according to research co-written by Robert M. Lawless, the Max L. Rowe Professor of Law at Illinois and a leading consumer credit and bankruptcy expert.
  
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• Study shows lower lung cancer rates in communities with strong smoke-free laws

  29-11-2017 06:00
  (University of Kentucky) Researchers at the University of Kentucky studied the correlation between communities with strong smoke-free workplace laws and the number of new lung cancer diagnoses. Those communities have 8% fewer new cases than communities with weak or no workplace laws.
  
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• Software optimizes train circulation control in real time

  29-11-2017 06:00
  (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo) The Meta Planning Engine is a system for rail networks, developed by Brazilian company CFlex, which detects changes in demand; it uses several algorithms in search of the best solution aiming traffic management betterment. Tests will be conducted in Australia by mining giant Rio Tinto.
  
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• Soccer success is all about skill

  29-11-2017 06:00
  (University of Queensland) A new study led by UQ School of Biological Sciences Professor Robbie Wilson used analytic techniques developed in evolutionary biology to determine the impact of a player's skill, athletic ability, and balance on their success during a game.
  
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• Scientists make transparent materials absorb light

  29-11-2017 06:00
  (Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology) A group of physicists has demonstrated a highly unusual optical effect: They managed to 'virtually' absorb light using a material that has no light-absorbing capacity. The research findings, published in Optica, break new ground for the creation of memory elements for light.
  
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• Scientists find natural mimetics of anti-cancer & anti-aging drugs metformin and rapamycin

  29-11-2017 06:00
  (Biogerontology Research Foundation) Researchers from the Biogerontology Research Foundation, Insilico Medicine , Life Extension and other institutions announce the publication of a landmark study in the journal Aging on the identification of natural mimetics of metformin and rapamycin.
  
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• Scientists developed a new sensor for future missions to the Moon and Mars

  29-11-2017 06:00
  (Lomonosov Moscow State University) A team of scientists from the Faculty of Physics of Lomonosov Moscow State University and their colleagues developed a compact spectral polarimeter for carrying outmineralogical investigations on the surface of astronomical bodies. The description of the device and the results of prototype testing were published in Optics Express.
  
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• Scaling deep learning for science

  29-11-2017 06:00
  (DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory) Using the Titan supercomputer, a research team based at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has developed an evolutionary algorithm capable of generating custom neural networks that match or exceed the performance of handcrafted artificial intelligence systems. The research team's algorithm, called MENNDL (Multinode Evolutionary Neural Networks for Deep Learning), is designed to evaluate, evolve, and optimize neural networks for unique datasets in a matter of
  
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• Researchers develop new technique to model transplantation of the human liver

  29-11-2017 06:00
  (World Scientific) A novel technology developed by researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital enables the model-ing of human liver transplantation in an experimental setting.
  
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• Relation of key determinants affecting mental health disorders in greater mekong subregion

  29-11-2017 06:00
  (Bentham Science Publishers) This article is a literature review of the relationship of the determinants affecting GMS mental disorders conducted using the defined strategies
  
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• Range of opioid prescribers play important role in epidemic, study finds

  29-11-2017 06:00
  (Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health) A cross-section of opioid prescribers that typically do not prescribe large volumes of opioids, including primary care physicians, surgeons and non-physician health care providers, frequently prescribe opioids to high-risk patients, according to a new study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
  
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• Professor Rodney S. Ruoff wins prestigious James C. McGroddy Prize

  29-11-2017 06:00
  (Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology(UNIST)) Rodney S. Ruoff, Distinguished Professor at the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) and Director of the Institute for Basic Science Center for Multidimensional Carbon Materials (IBS-CMCM), has been awarded the 2017 James C. McGroddy Prize for New Materials by the American Physical Society (APS).
  
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• Preventing psoriasis with vanillin

  29-11-2017 06:00
  (American Chemical Society) Small amounts of artificial vanilla extract, also known as vanillin, are in a wide range of products, from baked goods to perfumes. But vanillin's versatility doesn't stop there. In a recent mouse study reported in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, researchers report that this compound could also prevent or reduce psoriatic skin inflammation.
  
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• Poverty, ethics and discrimination: How culture plays into cognitive research

  29-11-2017 06:00
  (Canadian Institute for Advanced Research) In a new paper published in Nature Human Behaviour, scientists look at how cognitive research on poverty, ethics and discrimination would be enriched by engaging more with cultural sociology. They examine three of the most prominent cognitive research models: studies of poverty focused on scarcity and cognitive bandwidth, studies of dual-process morality, and studies of biases using the implicit association test.
  
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• Polar bear blogs reveal dangerous gap between climate-change facts and opinions

  29-11-2017 06:00
  (Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW)) Climate-change discussions on social media are very influential. A new study in BioScience shows that when it comes to iconic topics such as polar bears and retreating sea ice, climate blogs fall into two distinct camps. With little or no overlap between deniers and the available scientific facts. The study's first author, NIOO-KNAW researcher Jeff Harvey says: 'It's time for scientists to counter the misinformation and engage directly with the publ
  
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• Penn researchers establish universal signature fundamental to how glassy materials fail

  29-11-2017 06:00
  (University of Pennsylvania) To find a link between seemingly disparate disordered materials and their behavior under stress, an interdisciplinary collaboration between researchers in the School of Arts and Sciences and School of Engineering and Applied Science studied an unprecedented range of disordered solids with constituent particles ranging from individual atoms to river rocks. Understanding materials failure on this fundamental level could be key for designing more shatter-resistant glass
  
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• Penn researchers: An injectable gel that helps heart muscle regenerate after heart attack

  29-11-2017 06:00
  (University of Pennsylvania) Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have used mouse models to demonstrate a new approach to restart cardiomyocyte replication after a heart attack: an injectable gel that slowly releases short gene sequences known as microRNAs into the heart muscle.
  
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• Not all Republicans are climate change doubters

  29-11-2017 06:00
  (Springer) The idea that all Republicans think climate change isn't happening is a myth. A new study published in Springer's journal Climatic Change finds substantial differences in the climate change views of both Republicans and Democrats across different states and congressional districts. The research is led by Matto Mildenberger of the University of California Santa Barbara together with colleagues at Yale University and Utah State University.
  
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• NIH awards Center For BrainHealth $2.5 million to investigate cannabis use disorders

  29-11-2017 06:00
  (Center for BrainHealth ) The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently awarded the Center for BrainHealth at The University of Texas at Dallas $2.5 million to examine cannabis use disorders. The five-year brain-imaging study seeks to better understand the brain mechanisms behind problems related to cannabis use, said Dr. Francesca Filbey, director of Cognitive Neuroscience of Addictive Behaviors at the Center for BrainHealth and lead investigator of the project.
  
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• New synthethic protocol to form 3-D porous organic network

  29-11-2017 06:00
  (Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology(UNIST)) A team of Korean researchers, affiliated with South Korea's Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) has presented a new synthetic protocol to produce three-dimensional porous organic materials in the blink of an eye, like firing bullets.
  
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• New partnership between Pensoft and BEXIS 2 encourages Data Paper publications

  29-11-2017 06:00
  (Pensoft Publishers) Following the new partnership between BEXIS 2 and Pensoft, scientists using the BEXIS 2 platform can prepare and publish data papers in three of the most innovative Pensoft journals: Biodiversity Data Journal, One Ecosystem and Metagenomics and Metabarcoding using their EML data packs. Researchers are able to easily store and manage their data via BEXIS 2, before making it available, creditable and credible by publishing them in a peer-reviewed open access journal.
  
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