Science news

• Gay, lesbian and bisexual high schoolers report ‘tragically high’ suicide risk

  19-12-2017 21:35
  
  Teens who identify as sexual minorities are more likely to report suicidal behaviors than their heterosexual peers, a new study finds.
  
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• New limits, but no all-out ban on pesticides that harm bee population

  19-12-2017 21:14 via cbc.ca
  The federal government has proposed tighter restrictions around two insecticides considered harmful to bees, but stopped short of an all-out ban.
  
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• Tiny red animals dart in the dark under the ice of a frozen Quebec lake

  19-12-2017 20:44
  In a frozen lake in Quebec, tiny red creatures zip about under the ice. Biologists report the discovery of active, unusually red, life in a winter lake. Bright pigment may preserve zooplankton's fatty acids from oxidative damage.
  
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• Papers of note in Science Translational Medicine 9 (420)

  19-12-2017 19:55 via stke.sciencemag.org
  This week’s articles describe ways to treat scleroderma and schizophrenia.
  
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• Papers of note in Science 358 (6369)

  19-12-2017 19:55 via stke.sciencemag.org
  This week’s articles explain why broad-leaved plants are susceptible to a microbial toxin that does not affect monocots; identify the enzymes that detyrosinate tubulin; and present synthetic biological systems for recording environmental signals and for translating a biochemical reaction into dynamic cellular behavior.
  
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• Papers of note in Nature 552 (7684)

  19-12-2017 19:55 via stke.sciencemag.org
  This week’s articles showed that enhancing a mitochondrial stress response reduced amyloid aggregation in mice; solved the structure of the ion channel TRPM4; found a role for NOTCH1 in the assembly of adherens junctions and endothelial barrier maintenance; and showed that RNA polymerase III limits life span in worms and flies.
  
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• Oncogenic PI3K promotes methionine dependency in breast cancer cells through the cystine-glutamate antiporter xCT

  19-12-2017 19:55 via stke.sciencemag.org
  The precursor homocysteine is metabolized either through the methionine cycle to produce methionine or through the transsulfuration pathway to synthesize cysteine. Alternatively, cysteine can be obtained through uptake of its oxidized form, cystine. Many cancer cells exhibit methionine dependency such that their proliferation is impaired in growth media in which methionine is replaced by homocysteine. We showed that oncogenic PIK3CA and decreased expression of SLC7A11, a gene that encodes a cyst
  
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• mGluR5 antagonism increases autophagy and prevents disease progression in the zQ175 mouse model of Huntingtons disease

  19-12-2017 19:55 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Huntington’s disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disease caused by an expansion in the huntingtin protein (also called Htt) that induces neuronal cell death with age. We found that the treatment of 12-month-old symptomatic heterozygous and homozygous zQ175 huntingtin knockin mice for 12 weeks with CTEP, a negative allosteric modulator of metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5), reduced the size and number of huntingtin aggregates, attenuated caspase-3 activity, and reduced both neuronal
  
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• IL-2R{beta} abundance differentially tunes IL-2 signaling dynamics in CD4+ and CD8+ T cells

  19-12-2017 19:55 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Interleukin-2 (IL-2) stimulates both activated CD4+ and CD8+ T cells to proliferate. IL-2 signals through an identical receptor complex and promotes the same dose-dependent phosphorylation of the canonical transcription factor STAT5 in both cell types. Despite this, CD8+ T cells enter the S phase earlier and proliferate to a greater extent than do CD4+ T cells in response to IL-2. We identified distinct IL-2 signaling dynamics in CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. In IL-2–stimulated CD8+ T cells, STAT
  
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• Highlight: IL-2 receptor signaling

  19-12-2017 19:55 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Two papers reveal the consequences of altered interleukin-2 receptor signaling in T lymphocytes.
  
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• Altered homeostasis and development of regulatory T cell subsets represent an IL-2R-dependent risk for diabetes in NOD mice

  19-12-2017 19:55 via stke.sciencemag.org
  The cytokine interleukin-2 (IL-2) is critical for the functions of regulatory T cells (Tregs). The contribution of polymorphisms in the gene encoding the IL-2 receptor α subunit (IL2RA), which are associated with type 1 diabetes, is difficult to determine because autoimmunity depends on variations in multiple genes, where the contribution of any one gene product is small. We investigated the mechanisms whereby a modest reduction in IL-2R signaling selectively in T lymphocytes influenced th
  
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• Novel combination therapy shown to be effective in ovarian cancer

  19-12-2017 19:36
  Combining PARP inhibitors, recently approved for the treatment of BRCA-mutant ovarian cancer, with another small molecule inhibitor was effective to treat ovarian cancers without BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations, research indicates.
  
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• Nontraditional sites for future solar farms

  19-12-2017 19:36
  In a study published today in Environmental Science and Technology, researchers at the University of California, Riverside and the University of California, Davis, explored the possibility of developing solar installations on a variety of unconventional sites in California's Central Valley.
  
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• New methods reveal the biomechanics of blood clotting

  19-12-2017 19:36
  The ability to map both the magnitude and orientation of forces on a cell provides a powerful tool for investigating not just blood clotting but a range of biomechanical processes, from immune cell activation and embryo development to the replication and spread of cancer cells.
  
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• New measurements to guide radiation therapy

  19-12-2017 19:36
  When ionizing radiation passes through living tissue, it interacts with molecules present in the cells, stripping away electrons and producing charged species known as ions. The electrons produced by this process, known as secondary electrons, can themselves go on to wreak further havoc, causing even more dramatic changes. Investigators now report studies of the impact of secondary electrons on a model of DNA.
  
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• Monocytes have many faces

  19-12-2017 19:36
  When the immune system mobilizes its troops, antigen-presenting cells play an important role. They can emerge from white blood cells (monocytes) that circulate in the blood. Scientists have now taken a closer look at these important helpers. The monocyte-derived cells are not identical descendants, but rather a very diverse mixture. This finding is important for the development of tailor-made immunotherapies for combating tumor cells.
  
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• Major measurement issues found in emergency department patient experience data

  19-12-2017 19:36
  There are major measurement issues in patient experience data collected from US emergency departments, including high variability and limited construct validity, according to an analysis.
  
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• Life on the edge prepares plants for climate change

  19-12-2017 19:36
  In the first study to predict whether different populations of the same plant species can adapt to climate change, scientists find that central European ones die first.
  
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• Knockout mice help find gene for bad breath

  19-12-2017 19:36
  Researchers have identified a cause for chronic bad breath (halitosis), with the help of gene knockout mice.
  
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• Hibernating squirrels and hamsters evolved to feel less cold

  19-12-2017 19:36
  The ground squirrel and the Syrian hamster, two rodents that hibernate in the winter, do not feel cold in the same way as non-hibernators, such as rats or mice. Researchers have discovered that hibernating rodents evolved cold-sensing neurons with diminished ability to detect temperatures below 20 degrees Celsius.
  
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• Discovery of unsuspected flexibility offers new pathway to cancer drug development

  19-12-2017 19:36
  Blood vessels are the supply lines of the human body, bringing nutrients and oxygen to cells and carrying away waste. Controlling the growth of these supply lines can be an effective tactic to combat several different types of disorders, including cancer, stroke, and injury. A new study has added layer of nuance to our understanding of the signals that direct blood vessel growth.
  
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• Are bones discovered under an Exeter street from the first turkey dinner in England?

  19-12-2017 19:36
  Bones dug up from under an Exeter street may be the remains of the first ever turkey dinner in England, archaeologists believe.
  
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• Dysfunctional gene may be culprit in some Crohn's disease cases

  19-12-2017 19:34
  Scientists hope that understanding how immune cells adapt as they enter different tissues will spur the design of better, more specific, medicines for Crohn's disease.
  
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• Technique makes NMR more useful for nanomaterials, exotic matter research

  19-12-2017 19:32
  Researchers show how nuclear magnetic resonance probes can be optimized for studying the properties of nanomaterials and strange states of matter.
  
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• U.S. lifts funding ban on studies that enhance dangerous germs

  19-12-2017 19:12
  CHICAGO (Reuters) - The U.S. government on Tuesday lifted a 2014 temporary ban on funding research involving the flu and other pathogens in which scientists deliberately make them more transmissible or more deadly.
  
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• The sun’s outer atmosphere is far more complex than previously thought

  19-12-2017 19:00
  
  The outer corona of the sun was thought to be smooth and uniform. New observations show it’s anything but.
  
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• Why Words Matter: What Cognitive Science Says about Prohibiting Certain Terms

  19-12-2017 18:30 via rss.sciam.com
  Scientific American asks an expert about the Trump administration’s latest CDC language guidance
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Natural selection in humans is happening more than you think

  19-12-2017 18:19 via cbc.ca
  In an age when humans in industrialized countries have good access to birth control and are seldom eaten by predators, is natural selection still directing our evolution? Probably more than you might think, a new study suggests.
  
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• Specialized protein helps these ground squirrels resist the cold

  19-12-2017 18:07
  
  A less active cold-sensing protein explains, in part, why some hibernating ground squirrels are more tolerant of chilly conditions than the animals’ nonhibernating kin
  
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• U.S., Russian, Japanese crew arrive at space station

  19-12-2017 17:33
  (Reuters) - A trio of U.S., Japanese and Russian astronauts arrived at the International Space Station on Tuesday, a NASA TV broadcast showed.
  
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• New type of quantum material

  19-12-2017 17:19
  Physicists searching for an explanation for high-temperature superconductivity were surprised when their theoretical model pointed to the existence of a never-before-seen material in a different realm of physics -- that of topological quantum materials.
  
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• New evidence supports HIV screening in young adulthood

  19-12-2017 17:19
  A new study suggests that the most beneficial age for a one-time screening HIV test of the general population would be age 25.
  
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• Images of the brain refute a theory of the 60s on the domain of language

  19-12-2017 17:19
  A region of the brain that extends through both hemispheres, the planum temporale, is larger in the left than in the right hemisphere. The finding was linked in the 1960s with the hosting of language processing in the left hemisphere, but now researchers show that this asymmetry is not a marker of language lateralization.
  
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• The cyanide defense: How one bacterium inhibits predators with poison

  19-12-2017 17:00
  A bacterium produces cyanide when under attack from Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus HD100, a microbial predator found in rivers and soils that ingests its prey from the inside out, a new study has found. The researchers discovered that the prey produced levels of cyanide high enough to inhibit, but not kill, the B. bacteriovorus HD100.
  
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• More complex biological systems evolve more freely

  19-12-2017 17:00
  Evolution acts on changes in the phenotype, which occur when mutations change the underlying genotype. But the changes to the phenotype that can be produced by mutations is not without bounds. Researchers found that in a gene regulatory system in the bacterium Escherichia coli, the more components that are mutated, the more freely the system can evolve.
  
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• Wireless carriers can't keep up with demand after weekend price-cutting

  19-12-2017 16:52 via cbc.ca
  Canada's major wireless carriers are apologizing for long customer service wait times as consumers scramble to cash in on limited-time promotional offers.
  
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• The virus that conquered the world: 100 years later

  19-12-2017 15:35
  Nearly a century after the influenza pandemic of 1918–1919 ravaged communities worldwide, the threat of another pandemic looms large as the scientific and global health communities find ways to prepare for, and battle, future outbreaks.
  
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• Treasure trove of highly detailed fossils uncovered

  19-12-2017 15:34
  Researchers have uncovered a hidden diversity of microscopic animal fossils from over half a billion years ago lurking in rocks from the northern tip of Greenland.
  
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• New molecular printing technology could recreate complex chemical environments that resemble the human body

  19-12-2017 15:34
  New patterning technology which could open opportunities to recreate complex biological environments has been developed.
  
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• How can we best help vulnerable young people?

  19-12-2017 15:34
  The recipe for success in helping young vulnerable people relies on three ingredients being permanently in place, research suggests.
  
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• Genetic changes caused by environmental factors linked to suicide risk

  19-12-2017 15:34
  Researchers have linked genetic changes in the so-called CRH gene, which affects the regulation of the body’s stress system, to suicide risk and psychiatric illness. The study of epigenetic changes in the body’s hormone-based stress system has shown that stress-related changes in the CRH gene are linked to both serious suicide attempts in adults and psychiatric illness in adolescents.
  
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• Arthritis drug could help treat advanced skin cancer

  19-12-2017 15:29
  Treatment for the most deadly form of skin cancer could be more effective if combined with a well-known drug for rheumatoid arthritis, new research has shown.
  
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• Discovery of ruins of ancient Turkic monument surrounded by 14 pillars with inscriptions

  19-12-2017 15:28
  A joint excavation team has discovered the ruins of a unique monument surrounded by 14 large stone pillars with Turkic Runic inscriptions arranged in a square on the steppe called Dongoin shiree in eastern Mongolia during their three-year (2015 ~ 2017) joint excavation.
  
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• New insights into how our bodies maintain a beneficial relationship with our gut microbes

  19-12-2017 15:27
  Our gut hosts a community of trillions of microbes, called the gut microbiota, and we are becoming increasingly aware that this has significant effects on many aspects of our health. However, the molecular mechanisms underpinning this interaction remain elusive. New research has identified some of the molecules used to ensure bacteria in the gut microbiota maintain healthy populations, in the correct locations in the body.
  
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• Steering electrical current with spinning light

  19-12-2017 15:13
  Light can generate an electrical current in semiconductor materials. This is how solar cells generate electricity from sunlight and how smart phone cameras can take photographs. To collect the generated electrical current, called photocurrent, an electric voltage is needed to force the current to flow in only one direction.
  
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• Rarity of disease-causing IGF mutations

  19-12-2017 15:13
  Scientists are conducting research on insulin-like growth factors (IGFs), a family of proteins that are crucial in early human growth and development. IGF mutations have been tied to dire health problems, like growth failure, intellectual deficiencies, and other developmental abnormalities.
  
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• Obesity can add five weeks of asthma symptoms per year in preschoolers

  19-12-2017 15:13
  Asthma affects almost 1 in 10 children in the US and is a leading cause of emergency room visits and hospitalizations in preschoolers. According to new research, symptoms may be worse for children ages 2 to 5 who are overweight.
  
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• Isolating blood-feeding and non-biting genes in mosquitoes

  19-12-2017 15:13
  Researchers have taken the first step on a path that eventually could result in female mosquitoes that no longer bite and spread diseases. A nine-member team of scientists at five institutions methodically sorted out 902 genes related to blood feeding and 478 genes linked to non-blood feeding from the mosquito Wyeomyia smithii.
  
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• Expanding solar energy without encroaching on potential farmland and conservation areas

  19-12-2017 15:13
  As the world tries to combat climate change, sustainable forms of energy are on the rise. Solar energy is of particular interest, but arrays of photovoltaic panels take up a lot of space and can compete for prime food-producing land. Now researchers have found plenty of places to install solar devices without taking up arable land, while generating enough power to help regions meet their energy goals.
  
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• Bees use invisible heat patterns to choose flowers

  19-12-2017 15:13
  A wide range of flowers produce not just signals that we can see and smell, but also ones that are invisible such as heat, a new study has discovered.
  
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