Science news

• Exoplanet could be 'super-Earth,' Canadian astronomers say

  04-12-2017 22:44 via cbc.ca
  Canadian astronomers have not only discovered that a world orbiting a star 111 light years away could be a "super-Earth," they've also discovered a new exoplanet in the same solar system.
  
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• Lake Louise ski resort pleads guilty to cutting down endangered trees

  04-12-2017 19:10 via cbc.ca
  A world-renowned Alberta ski resort has pleaded guilty to cutting down a stand of endangered trees.
  
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• Earthquakes in the Himalaya are bigger than in the Alps because tectonic plates collide faster

  04-12-2017 15:18
  Earthquakes that happen in densely populated mountainous regions, such as the Himalaya, spell bigger earthquakes because of a fast tectonic-plate collision, according to a new study.
  
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• Submarine volcanoes add to ocean soundscape

  04-12-2017 15:12
  Most volcanoes erupt beneath the ocean, but scientists know little about them compared to what they know about volcanoes that eject their lava on dry land.
  
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• Next generation solvent contributes to next generation biofuel production from biomass

  04-12-2017 15:11
  Compared to first-generation biofuels produced from foodstuffs, production of second-generation biofuels for daily use is an urgent issue. In this study, a novel carboxylate-type liquid zwitterion was developed as a solvent of biomass, which could dissolve cellulose with very low toxicity to microorganisms. Use of this novel solvent enables significant reduction of energy cost for ethanol production from non-food biomass. Thus, second-generation biofuel ethanol production is in sight of practica
  
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• Neurons have the right shape for deep learning

  04-12-2017 15:11
  Researchers unveiled an algorithm that simulates how deep learning could work in our brains. The network shows that certain mammalian neurons have the shape and electrical properties that are well-suited for deep learning.
  
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• Blood flow altered in brains of preterm newborns vs. full-term infants

  04-12-2017 15:11
  Cerebral blood flow of key regions of newborns' brains is altered in very premature infants and may provide an early warning sign of disturbed brain maturation well before such injury is visible on conventional imaging, according to a prospective, observational study.
  
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• UBC astrophysicist shares $3M prize for 'baby picture' of universe

  04-12-2017 14:07 via cbc.ca
  An astrophysicist at the University of British Columbia and 26 other researchers have been awarded $3 million US for the 2018 Breakthrough Prize in fundamental physics. They used a satellite used to take a 'baby picture' of the early universe using the heat leftover from the big bang.
  
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• New setup for image recognition AI lets a program think on its feet

  04-12-2017 14:00
  
  Researchers are revamping image recognition programs to better identify familiar objects in new situations.
  
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• A New Antibiotic Weakness--Drugs Themselves Help Bacteria Survive

  04-12-2017 13:00 via rss.sciam.com
  Medications can change body chemistry to make it more hospitable to invading microbes
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Shape-Shifting Metals Could Generate Electricity from Wasted Heat

  04-12-2017 12:45 via rss.sciam.com
  A prototype waste-heat engine runs by cycling hot and cold water through its pistons​
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• In a first, Galileo’s gravity experiment is re-created in space

  04-12-2017 12:00
  
  A key principle of general relativity holds up in a new space-based test.
  
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• Singapore researchers' underwater robot inspired by manta ray

  04-12-2017 11:59
  SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Researchers in Singapore have built an underwater robot that looks and swims like a manta ray, using only single motors and flexible fins to propel it through water in a manner uncannily like its biological cousin.
  
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• The 'supermoon' celestial wonder seen across the UK

  04-12-2017 11:54 via bbc.co.uk
  Skywatchers have enjoyed spectacular views of the Moon appearing larger and brighter in the sky.
  
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• Women are naturally more fit than men

  04-12-2017 06:00
  (University of Waterloo) Women can process oxygen more quickly than men when they start to exercise, according to a new study from the University of Waterloo.
  
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• When the nose doesn't know: Can loss of smell be repaired?

  04-12-2017 06:00
  (Tufts University, Health Sciences Campus) Researchers at Tufts are examining the behavior of stem cells within the context of aging and loss of smell. In Cell Stem Cell, they report mechanisms to regenerate adult stem cells in mice to restore smell cells: it mimics induced pluripotency, but is simpler, involving only two Yamanaka factors.
  
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• Virtual reality users must learn to use what they see

  04-12-2017 06:00
  (University of Wisconsin-Madison) A UW-Madison study found that when most people put on a virtual reality headset, they still treat what they see like it's happening on any run-of-the-mill TV screen.
  
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• Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute gets 'Catalyst' grant to curtail opioid epidemic

  04-12-2017 06:00
  (Virginia Tech) A dual university project including the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute will focus on the opioid epidemic and receive $1 million in combined grant funding, according to an announcement by the Virginia Biosciences Health Research Corp., also known as Virginia Catalyst.
  
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• Trickle-down is the solution (to the planetary core formation problem)

  04-12-2017 06:00
  (University of Texas at Austin) Scientists have long pondered how rocky bodies in the solar system--including our own Earth--got their metal cores. According to research conducted by The University of Texas at Austin, evidence points to the downwards percolation of molten metal toward the center of the planet through tiny channels between grains of rock.
  
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• Traumatic stress and genetic risk of bipolar disorder found to increase suicide attempts

  04-12-2017 06:00
  (Elsevier) Genetic susceptibility to bipolar disorder can increase the risk for suicide attempt, but only among those who also have experienced traumatic stress, reports a study published in the December 2017 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (JAACAP).
  
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• The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation: 50 years of heart transplantation progress

  04-12-2017 06:00
  (Elsevier) This month marks the 50th anniversary of the world's first human heart transplant performed at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town by South African surgeon, Christiaan Barnard. He transplanted the heart of a 25-year-old woman into Louis Washkansky, a 53-year-old diabetes patient who was in severe heart failure. A special issue of The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation presents a chronicle of the major milestones in heart transplantation over the last 50 years.
  
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• Tanners who use sprays and lotions less prone to get tattoos and piercings than sunbathers

  04-12-2017 06:00
  (Baylor University) People who often sunbathe or use tanning beds are more likely to try risky weight-loss methods and have cosmetic surgery, as well as get tattoos and piercings. But while people who seldom tan also may try unsafe diets and cosmetic surgery, they rarely opt for tattoos or piercings, according to a Baylor University study.
  
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• Subtle cues can dictate the fate of stem cells

  04-12-2017 06:00
  (University of Southern California - Health Sciences) If you've seen one GSK3 molecule, do not assume that you have seen them all. A new study in Developmental Cell reveals important differences in two similar forms of GSK3, which, in excess, is implicated in diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer's disease and ALS.
  
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• Story tips from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Dec. 2017

  04-12-2017 06:00
  (DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory) Story tips from ORNL, Dec. 2017: US cities could save billions with Oak Ridge National Laboratory's precise approach to de-icing wintry roads; discovery of overlooked function of certain microbes could boost environmental clean-up strategies; novel tools can 'see' atomic structures of aluminum-cerium alloys for automotive and aerospace applications.
  
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• Serious risk of mental health crisis in Yemen, say experts

  04-12-2017 06:00
  (Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health) Yemenis face serious mental health risks, but the issue is being neglected. In a new study released today, the researchers reveal how serious the risk to mental health is in Yemen. Yet, mental health services in Yemen are few, and there is little research on the effects of the war on the mental health of the population. The paper also analyzes the long-term costs of failing to respond.
  
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• Right-handed or left-handed?

  04-12-2017 06:00
  (Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati) Are you born or do you become right-handed or left-handed? A study led by the International School for Advanced Studies -- SISSA of Trieste and the University of Padua, published on Scientific Reports, shows that hand preference is already well defined at the 18th gestational week. The predictive capacity of the method used seems a good starting point for the early recognition of pathologies characterized by cerebral asymmetries, such as depres
  
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• Researchers use nanoparticles to target, kill endometrial cancer

  04-12-2017 06:00
  (University of Iowa) For the first time, researchers combined traditional chemotherapy with a relatively new cancer drug that attacks chemo-resistant tumor cells, loaded both into tiny nanoparticles, and created an extremely selective and lethal cancer treatment. Results of the three-year lab study to be published Dec. 4 in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.
  
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• Researchers quantify factors for reducing power semiconductor resistance by two-thirds

  04-12-2017 06:00
  (University of Tokyo) Researchers in Japan announced that they have quantified for the first time the impacts of three electron-scattering mechanisms for determining the resistance of silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductor devices in power semiconductor modules. They found that resistance under the SiC interface can be reduced by two-thirds by suppressing electron scattering by the charges, a discovery that is expected to help reduce energy consumption in electric power equipment by lowering
  
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• Researchers generate electricity from low-cost biomaterial

  04-12-2017 06:00
  (University of Limerick) Mobile phone speakers and motion detectors in cars and video games may soon be powered by electricity generated from low cost and sustainable biomaterials, according to research carried out at University of Limerick (UL), Ireland.
  
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• Researchers 'dismantle' mindfulness intervention to see how each component works

  04-12-2017 06:00
  (Brown University) Because mindfulness-based interventions blend multiple practices, researchers can't always figure out how each one works, so they created a rigorously controlled study to isolate each of them and confirm that they do what is claimed.
  
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• Research team quantifies blind spots on the protein maps

  04-12-2017 06:00
  (University of Luxembourg) While researchers already know what the DNA-blueprints look like for most proteins, they do not know what many of these proteins actually do in the body. An interdisciplinary team composed of experimental and computational scientists from the University of Luxembourg has now systematically quantified and characterized the extent of this knowledge gap. An unprecedented effort has been directed towards predicting more specifically how many, among the proteins of unknown
  
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• Research shows a technique to offset the worry of waiting

  04-12-2017 06:00
  (University of California - Riverside) Research has shown all the techniques we employe to reduce the stress of worry don't work. Research by UCR 'worry and waiting' psychologist Kate Sweeny's finds something that can help: 'mindfulness' meditation. That is, focusing on the present using meditation.In the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, research funded by the National Science Foundation asserts that mindfulness is a sort of antidote to the 'curse' of waiting.
  
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• Research reveals how cells rebuild after mitosis

  04-12-2017 06:00
  (University of Bristol) University of Bristol research has revealed how cells rebuild their nucleus and organise their genome when they divide -- a discovery which could have major implications for understanding cancer and degeneration.
  
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• Research bolsters possibility of plate tectonics on Europa

  04-12-2017 06:00
  (Brown University) Jupiter's moon Europa could have subduction zones, a new study shows, which could supply chemical food for life to a subsurface ocean.
  
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• Report from NIA-sponsored conference asks: What don't we know about bladder control?

  04-12-2017 06:00
  (American Geriatrics Society) The lack of truly effective and safe therapies for these challenges stems from insufficient knowledge of the biological mechanisms for urinary control, the impact of aging and disease on urinary control, and the relationships of symptoms to urinary health and overall well-being, so say researchers reporting on a prestigious conference hosted by the American Geriatrics Society and funded by a grant from the National Institute of Aging to George A. Kuchel, M.D., FRCP,
  
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• Refrigeration technology to maintain cold-stored mouse sperm viability for 10 days

  04-12-2017 06:00
  (Kumamoto University) A Japanese research team has succeeded in developing a refrigeration preservation technology that maintains the fertilization functionality of mouse sperm for 10 days. Previously, the maximum freezing period was limited to three days, but by extending the preservation period by over three times that amount, it is now possible to send sperm of genetically modified mice to research organizations around the world.
  
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• Red-bellied lemurs maintain gut health through touching and 'huddling' each other

  04-12-2017 06:00
  (University of Oxford) Scientists have found a direct link between physical contact and gut bacteria in red-bellied lemurs. Likely passed through 'huddling' behavior and touch, the findings suggest implications for human health.The University of Oxford worked with scientists from several universities, including the University of Arizona, on the research, published today in the Journal of Animal Ecology, to better understand causes of diversity within the animal's gut microbiome, the community of
  
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• Preemies' dads more stressed than moms after NICU

  04-12-2017 06:00
  (Northwestern University) For the first time, scientists have measured the stress levels of fathers of premature babies during the tense transition between the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and home and discovered fathers are more stressed than moms, according to a new Northwestern Medicine study.
  
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• Pigeons can discriminate both space and time

  04-12-2017 06:00
  (University of Iowa) Pigeons aren't so bird-brained after all. New research from the University of Iowa shows that pigeons can discriminate the abstract concepts of space and time, likely using a different region of the brain than humans and primates to do so. Results appear in the journal Current Biology.
  
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• Parties and Nobel Prizes: Living and researching at the Basel Institute for Immunology

  04-12-2017 06:00
  (Karger Publishers) Karger Publishers has just released the book History of the Basel Institute for Immunology. It documents over 30 years of research and everyday life. The author expands the print ver-sion into a large digital database containing additional information like videos, photos or personal notes.
  
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• Parental attention can reduce risk of drug abuse in adolescence

  04-12-2017 06:00
  (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo) Survey of more than 6,000 teenagers performed by Brazilian researchers reinforces protective function of rule-keeping, which relies on open dialogue about the importance of rules as much as on children's monitoring. Findings also show that well-off school students drink most.
  
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• Opioid crisis: Criminal justice referrals miss treatment opportunities, study suggests

  04-12-2017 06:00
  (Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health) A new study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that under 5 percent of those referred for opioid treatment from the criminal justice system were directed to medication-assisted programs to treat their disorder
  
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• Online risks are routine for teens, most bounce back

  04-12-2017 06:00
  (University of Central Florida) Teens routinely encounter online risks, such as sexual solicitations, cyberbullying and explicit material, but research shows that the negative effects of such exposure appear to be temporary, vanishing for most teens in less than a week. A new study from the University of Central Florida, Pennsylvania State and Ohio State found that typical teens seem to be resilient and cope with most online risks, moving beyond the temporary negative impacts quickly.
  
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• NJIT's Som Mitra wins one of microchemistry's top honors

  04-12-2017 06:00
  (New Jersey Institute of Technology) Somenath Mitra, a groundbreaking researcher in the fields of environmental monitoring, water treatment and nanotechnology, was tapped for the 2017 Benedetti Pichler Award from the American Microchemical Society.
  
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• New system uses drones to monitor railroads

  04-12-2017 06:00
  (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid) SigmaRail, a company supported by the Universidad Carlos III Science Park, has created a system that uses drones and a new computer program to make automatic inspections of railroads. This innovation, which geolocates possible incidents on rail corridors, makes it possible to reduce costs and increase the train safety.
  
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• New study finds artwork is worth 35 percent less when created by 'tortured' artists

  04-12-2017 06:00
  (Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences) The term 'tortured artists' describes some of history's greatest painters, who are credited with creating some of the world's most recognized works of art despite lives that were often characterized as unhappy. But does misery really beget valuable works of art?According to a new study in the INFORMS journal Management Science, personal unhappiness, particularly that experienced in times of bereavement, can actually cause a signific
  
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• New robots can see into their future

  04-12-2017 06:00
  (University of California - Berkeley) University of California, Berkeley, researchers have developed a robotic learning technology that enables robots to imagine the future of their actions so they can figure out how to manipulate objects they have never encountered before. In the future, this technology could help self-driving cars anticipate future events on the road and produce more intelligent robotic assistants in homes, but the initial prototype focuses on learning simple manual skills ent
  
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• New nanowires are just a few atoms thick

  04-12-2017 06:00
  (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Subnanometer-scale channels in 2-D materials could point toward future electronics, solar cells.
  
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• New estimates of modern contraceptive use in the world's poorest countries

  04-12-2017 06:00
  (University of Massachusetts at Amherst) Statisticians Leontine Alkema, Niamh Cahill and Chuchu Wei at UMass Amherst, with others, release new estimates and projections of modern contraceptive prevalence (mCPR) and other family planning outcomes for the 69 poorest countries of the world. They are the focus of the Family Planning 2020 (FP2020) initiative, a global partnership that supports the rights of women and girls to decide, freely and for themselves, whether, when and how many children they
  
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• New easy-to-use tool can help determine Alzheimer's risk, similar to pediatric growth curves

  04-12-2017 06:00
  (Canadian Medical Association Journal) A simple new tool that tracks cognitive performance in adults aims to help physicians identify people who may be on the path to Alzheimer's disease or another form of dementia. The tool, called the QuoCo (cognitive quotient), is published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).
  
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