Science news

• Easier paths to quantum-based techology

  15-12-2017 20:57
  Engineers have shown that a widely used method of detecting single photons can also count the presence of at least four photons at a time. The researchers say this discovery will unlock new capabilities in physics labs working in quantum information science around the world, while providing easier paths to developing quantum-based technologies.
  
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• Drinking hot tea every day linked to lower glaucoma risk

  15-12-2017 20:33
  Drinking a cup of hot tea at least once a day may be linked to a significantly lower risk of developing the serious eye condition, glaucoma, finds a small study.
  
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• Discovery could reduce cost, energy for high-speed Internet connections

  15-12-2017 20:32
  Researchers have developed an optical medium in which multiple beams of light can autocorrect their properties without affecting other beams. This could lead to a dramatic reduction in the cost and energy consumption of high-speed internet communications.
  
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• Artificial intelligence used to identify bacteria quickly and accurately

  15-12-2017 20:32
  Microscopes enhanced with artificial intelligence (AI) could help clinical microbiologists diagnose potentially deadly blood infections and improve patients' odds of survival, according to microbiologists.
  
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• Nanodiscs catch misfolding proteins red-handed

  15-12-2017 19:51
  When proteins misfold, accumulate and clump around insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, they kill cells. Now, researchers have obtained a structural snapshot of these proteins when they are most toxic, detailing them down to the atomic level.
  
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• Complex, old-growth forests may protect some bird species in a warming climate

  15-12-2017 19:51
  Old forests that contain large trees and a diversity of tree sizes and species may offer refuge to some types of birds facing threats in a warming climate, scientists have found.
  
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• Genetic instructions from mom set the pattern for embryonic development

  15-12-2017 18:47
  A new study indicates an essential role for a maternally inherited gene in embryonic development. The study found that zebrafish that failed to inherit specific genetic instructions from mom developed fatal defects earlier in development, even if the fish could make their own version of the gene.
  
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• How much soil goes down the drain: New data on soil lost due to water

  15-12-2017 18:10
  According to a new study, almost 36 billion tons of soil is lost every year due to water, and deforestation and other changes in land use make the problem worse. The study also offers ideas on how agriculture can change to become a part of the solution from being part of the problem.
  
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• Heavy-petroleum fuels raising vanadium emissions

  15-12-2017 18:10
  Human emissions of the potentially harmful trace metal vanadium into Earth's atmosphere have spiked sharply since the start of the 21st century due in large part to industry's growing use of heavy oils, tar sands, bitumen and petroleum coke for energy, a new Duke study finds. These emissions now exceed those from all natural sources combined. Growing evidence suggests exposure to vanadium-rich aerosols can impair respiratory functions and exacerbate conditions such as asthma or COPD.
  
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• Erectile dysfunction is red flag for silent early cardiovascular disease

  15-12-2017 18:10
  Despite decades long prevention and treatment efforts, cardiovascular (CV) disease continues to be the leading cause of death worldwide. Early detection of CV disease can allow for interventions to prevent heart attack and stroke, including smoking cessation, medications such as a statins, blood pressure control, weight management, exercise, and improved diet. A new study focuses on a novel risk factor for cardiovascular disease that rarely receives attention -- erectile dysfunction.
  
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• After searching 12 years for bipolar disorder's cause, research team concludes it has many

  15-12-2017 18:10
  Nearly six million Americans have bipolar disorder, and most have probably wondered why. After more than a decade of studying over 1,100 of them in-depth, a team of scientists has an answer -- or rather, seven answers.
  
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• In marine mammals’ battle of the sexes, vaginal folds can make the difference

  15-12-2017 18:00
  
  Patricia Brennan and colleagues found certain female ocean mammals have vaginal folds that give them an advantage in mating
  
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• Real-time observation of collective quantum modes

  15-12-2017 17:16
  When symmetries in quantum systems are spontaneously broken, the collective excitation modes change in characteristic ways. Researchers have now directly observed such Goldstone and Higgs modes for the first time.
  
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• Genetic study uncovers fungal sex secrets, which shed light on candidiasis

  15-12-2017 17:16
  A new genetic analysis of fungal yeast infections (candidiasis) from around the world has revealed surprising secrets about how these microbes reproduce and cause disease, according to a new study.
  
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• Distinct human mutations can alter the effect of medicine

  15-12-2017 17:16
  About one third of all medicine binds to the same type of receptor in the human body. An estimated three percent of the population have receptors of this type that are so genetically different that they are predisposed to altered, ineffective or adverse responses to medicine, a new study shows.
  
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• Shoe-box-sized chemical detector

  15-12-2017 17:15
  A chemical sensor prototype will be able to detect 'single-fingerprint quantities' of substances from a distance of more than 100 feet away, and its developers are working to shrink it to the size of a shoebox.
  
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• Exposure to larger air particles linked to increased risk of asthma in children

  15-12-2017 16:53
  Researchers report statistical evidence that children exposed to airborne coarse particulate matter — a mix of dust, sand and non-exhaust tailpipe emissions, such as tire rubber — are more likely to develop asthma and need emergency room or hospital treatment for it than unexposed children.
  
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• The locomotion of hominins in the Pleistocene was just as efficient as that of current humans

  15-12-2017 16:51
  Researchers have analyzed the influence of body proportions on the cost of locomotion by means of an experimental energetic study with 46 subjects of both sexes, whose results indicate that the walk of Pleistocene hominins was no less efficient energetically than that of current humans.
  
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• Martti, developed for adverse weather conditions, is the first Finnish robot car to challenge snow and ice

  15-12-2017 16:51
  Martti, the robot car developed in Finland, is the first automated car to have driven fully autonomously on a real snow-covered road.
  
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• Committed to relatives: Hounds and wolves share their parasites

  15-12-2017 16:51
  Grey wolves, as all wild animals, are hosts to a variety of parasites. The presence of grey wolves in German forests has little influence on the parasite burden of hunting dogs, according to a new study.
  
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• Potato blight’s chemical attack mechanism explained

  15-12-2017 16:36
  Researchers have deciphered the workings of a cytolytic toxin, which is produced by some of the world’s most devastating crop diseases. The Cytolysin is manufactured by pathogens such as bacteria and fungi and can wipe out entire harvests if chemical protection is not used.
  
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• Unusual thermal convection in a well-mixed fluid: Can a syrup separate when mixed?

  15-12-2017 15:45
  Researchers have recently discovered unusual thermal convection in a uniform mixture of high and low viscosity liquids. They found that concentration fluctuations are enhanced by thermal convection when the two liquids have a large viscosity difference. Such mixtures are ubiquitously observed in nature, daily life, and manufacturing processes, e.g. mantle convection, syrup, polymer products. These results promise further insight into non-equilibrium phenomena in fluid mixtures with contrasting '
  
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• Coarse particulate matter may increase asthma risk

  15-12-2017 15:45
  Children exposed to coarse particulate matter may be more likely to develop asthma and to be treated in an ER or be hospitalized for the condition, according to new research.
  
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• Cancer immunotherapy may work better in patients with specific genes

  15-12-2017 15:45
  Investigators have been trying to understand why and have recently found how an individual's own genes can play a role in the response to the immunotherapy drugs.
  
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• Ancient feces reveal parasites described in earliest Greek medical texts

  15-12-2017 15:45
  Earliest archaeological evidence of intestinal parasitic worms infecting the ancient inhabitants of Greece confirms descriptions found in writings associated with Hippocrates, the early physician and 'father of Western medicine.'
  
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• Superradiance of an ensemble of nuclei excited by a free electron laser

  15-12-2017 15:44
  Scientists have succeeded in verifying a basic prediction of the quantum-mechanical behavior of resonant systems. They were able to carefully follow, one x-ray at a time, the decay of nuclei in a perfect crystal after excitation with a flash of x-rays. They observed a dramatic reduction of the time taken to emit the first x-ray as the number of x-rays increased.
  
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• Second chance for rejected antibiotic candidate

  15-12-2017 15:44
  An antibiotic candidate compound shelved in the 1970s in favor of more worthwhile drugs could be worth a second look, new research has found.
  
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• Higher blood sugar in early pregnancy raises baby's heart-defect risk

  15-12-2017 15:44
  Higher blood sugar early in pregnancy raises the baby's risk of a congenital heart defect, even among mothers who do not have diabetes, according to a study.
  
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• Floating solar fuels rig created for seawater electrolysis

  15-12-2017 15:44
  Chemical engineers have developed a novel photovoltaic-powered electrolysis device that can operate as a stand-alone platform that floats on open water. The floating PV-electrolyzer can be thought of as a 'solar fuels rig' that bears some resemblance to deep-sea oil rigs -- but it would produce hydrogen fuel from sunlight and water instead of extracting petroleum from beneath the sea floor.
  
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• What's hiding in my dust?

  15-12-2017 15:16 via bbc.co.uk
  Scientists have found thousands of new species living in household dust.
  
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• SpaceX launches 1st recycled rocket to space station

  15-12-2017 15:09 via cbc.ca
  SpaceX aims to launch its first recycled rocket for NASA today at 10:36 a.m. ET. Watch live starting 10 a.m.
  
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• Major Report: Some Extreme Weather Can Only Be Blamed on Humans

  15-12-2017 13:00 via rss.sciam.com
  A high-profile science panel finds several severe events in 2016 could not have naturally occurred
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Even brain images can be biased

  15-12-2017 13:00
  
  Brain scan studies that are drawn from rich and well-educated groups could lead to biased ideas of how our brains develop.
  
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• Do Brain-Wiring Differences Make Women More Vulnerable to Concussions?

  15-12-2017 12:45 via rss.sciam.com
  Female axons—brain cells’ output cables—are shown to have a thinner structure
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Scientists mobilize for a fight over powerful gene-editing technology

  15-12-2017 11:00 via cbc.ca
  A volatile scientific debate is quietly simmering, with echoes of the controversy over genetically modified organisms. The Gates Foundation and the U.S. military are among the groups funding gene drives, a powerful new genetic technology.
  
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• Sumatran rhino 'hanging on by a thread'

  15-12-2017 09:33 via bbc.co.uk
  A genetic study shows the decline of one of the rarest mammals on Earth began during the last Ice Age.
  
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• What does hair loss have to teach us about cancer metastasis?

  15-12-2017 06:00
  (Medical University of South Carolina) Researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina have identified a signaling pathway regulating cell migration and metastasis. Unexpected hair loss in a preclinical model helped them to identify the pathway. When cells within the skin that maintain hair follicles migrate too often, hair follicle maintenance is disrupted. Researchers speculated that this pathway might also play a role in cancer cell migration. Indeed, they showed that disrupting this
  
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• W. M. Keck Observatory awarded NSF grant to boost performance of adaptive optics system

  15-12-2017 06:00
  (W. M. Keck Observatory) The National Science Foundation has awarded funding to the W. M. Keck Observatory on Maunakea, Hawaii, for a significant enhancement of the performance of the Adaptive Optics system on the Keck II telescope.
  
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• Vitamin deficiency in later life

  15-12-2017 06:00
  (Helmholtz Zentrum München - German Research Center for Environmental Health) One in two persons aged 65 and above has suboptimal levels of vitamin D in the blood. This is the conclusion of an investigation conducted by researchers at the Helmholtz Zentrum München, as part of the population-based KORA-Age study in the region of Augsburg. Moreover, as the authors of the study report in the peer-reviewed journal Nutrients, one in four older adults has suboptimal vitamin B12 levels.
  
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• UTA leads Texas universities for NAI Fellows

  15-12-2017 06:00
  (University of Texas at Arlington) The election of Dereje Agonafer, Jenkins Garrett Professor in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department at the University of Texas at Arlington, to the National Academy of Inventors brings the number of NAI Fellows at UTA to 12. This marks the highest number of NAI Fellows at any university in Texas.
  
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• UTA discovery could reduce cost, energy for high-speed Internet connections

  15-12-2017 06:00
  (University of Texas at Arlington) UTA and University of Vermont researchers developed an optical medium in which multiple beams of light can autocorrect their properties without affecting other beams. This could lead to a dramatic reduction in the cost and energy consumption of high-speed internet communications.
  
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• UTA civil engineer patents integrated sensor and algorithm to monitor stiffness in soils

  15-12-2017 06:00
  (University of Texas at Arlington) Anand Puppala, associate dean for research in the College of Engineering at the University of Texas at Arlington and a civil engineering professor, recently was awarded a patent for developing a sensor system with an algorithm that will expedite field assessment of stabilization of high sulfate soils near bridges and roads.
  
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• TWAS honours high-level science

  15-12-2017 06:00
  (TWAS) As 2017 comes to a close, TWAS has named the winners of some its most prestigious prizes. One is a geoscientist whose works supports awareness of geological hazards in the Andes. Others focus on health, medicinal plants and novel theories of human economic behavior.
  
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• TWAS honors high-level science

  15-12-2017 06:00
  (TWAS) As 2017 comes to a close, TWAS has named the winners of some its most prestigious prizes. One is a geoscientist whose works supports awareness of geological hazards in the Andes. Others focus on health, medicinal plants and novel theories of human economic behavior.
  
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• The hazards of antibiotic resistances remain high

  15-12-2017 06:00
  (Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT) ) According to a survey among researchers, it is difficult to quantify the trueextent of the hazards of antibiotic resistances to humankind. The survey conducted by Freie Universität Berlin and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) will be introduced on the occasion of the international World Antibiotic Awareness Week on Sunday, Nov. 19. It reveals that among researchers worldwide, there is broad agreement on the fact that antibiotic resista
  
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• The conversational intelligence challenge finals

  15-12-2017 06:00
  (Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology) On Dec. 8 the Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems (NIPS) hosted the finals of Conversational Intelligence Challenge. The challenge was organized within the collaboration of AI research universities.
  
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• Stuttering: Stop signals in the brain prevent fluent speech

  15-12-2017 06:00
  (Max-Planck-Gesellschaft) A hyperactive network inhibits the flow of speech.
  
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• Space station research explorer on NASA.gov launches phase one

  15-12-2017 06:00
  (NASA/Johnson Space Center) Researchers, prospective partners, media professionals, students, and space enthusiasts now have more space station science at their fingertips with Space Station Research Explorer on NASA.gov (SSRE on NASA.gov). The new information exploration tool enables researchers, practiced and amateur alike, to stay up-to-date with the science being conducted aboard the International Space Station.
  
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• Single-photon detector can count to 4

  15-12-2017 06:00
  (Duke University) Engineers have shown that a widely used method of detecting single photons can also count the presence of at least four photons at a time. The researchers say this discovery will unlock new capabilities in physics labs working in quantum information science around the world, while providing easier paths to developing quantum-based technologies.
  
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• Screening could catch a quarter of hip fractures before they happen

  15-12-2017 06:00
  (University of East Anglia) Screening for osteoporosis could catch a quarter of hip fractures before they happen.A new study in The Lancet reveals that a simple questionnaire, combined with bone mineral density measurements for some, would help identify those at risk of hip fracture.The research, which involved more than 12,000 older women, found that screening through GP practices allowed patients to be targeted for treatment -- leading to a 28 percent reduction in hip fractures over five years
  
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