Science news

• The Caribbean is stressed out

  28-12-2017 23:06
  Forty percent of the world's 7.6 billion people live in coastal cities and towns. A team of marine biologists just released 25 years of data about the health of Caribbean coasts. The study provides new insights into the influence of both local and global stressors in the basin, and some hope that the observed changes can be reversed by local environmental management.
  
  Read more

• Study: High-stakes tests a likely factor in STEM performance gap

  28-12-2017 23:06
  Male students tend to do better on high-stakes tests in biology courses, but it's not because they are better students. Gaps in performance change based on the stakes of the test. A new study confirms this, finding that performance gaps between male and female students increased or decreased based on whether instructors emphasized or de-emphasized the value of exams.
  
  Read more

• Statistical test relates pathogen mutation to infectious disease progression

  28-12-2017 23:06
  Nucleic acid sequencing methods, which determine the order of nucleotides in DNA, are rapidly progressing. These processes yield large quantities of sequence data that helps researchers understand organism function. Sequencing also benefits epidemiological studies, such as the identification, diagnosis, and treatment of genetic and/or contagious diseases. Researchers have now developed an inductive algorithm to study nucleotide frequencies using a multi-strain SIR model.
  
  Read more

• Gene therapy using CAR T-cells could provide long-term protection against HIV

  28-12-2017 20:52
  Through gene therapy, researchers engineered blood-forming stem cells (hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells, or HSPCs) to carry chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) genes to make cells that can detect and destroy HIV-infected cells. These engineered cells persisted for more than two years.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Try exercise to improve memory and thinking, new guideline urges

  28-12-2017 20:50
  For patients with mild cognitive impairment, don't be surprised if your health care provider prescribes exercise rather than medication. A new guideline for medical practitioners says they should recommend twice-weekly exercise to people with mild cognitive impairment to improve memory and thinking.
  
  Read more

• Gaming disorder set to be recognized by World Health Organization

  28-12-2017 20:50 via cbc.ca
  The World Health Organization is set to add gaming disorder to its International Classification of Diseases in 2018.
  
  Read more

• Alternative therapies for mild infections could help combat antibiotic resistance

  28-12-2017 20:50
  Resistance to antibiotics poses a serious and sometimes deadly challenge to the treatment of severe bacterial infections. Researchers propose that development of alternative therapies for mild infections could help slow the development and spread of antibiotic resistance.
  
  Read more

• A new regulator of vesicle trafficking in plants

  28-12-2017 20:50
  A protein that transports the simple chemical choline plays a major role in vesicle trafficking, ion homeostasis, and growth and development in plants, according to two new studies.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• A cluster of mutations in neurofibromatosis is an important risk factor for severe symptoms

  28-12-2017 19:23
  Research shows that missense mutations in a cluster of just five codons in the NF1 gene are an important risk factor for severe symptoms of the genetic disease neurofibromatosis type 1. Such information is vital to help guide clinical management and genetic counseling in this complex disease.
  
  Read more

• With wrist-worn gadget, researchers capture real-life sleep for the first time

  28-12-2017 19:20
  To measure a person's sleep, researchers have relied on costly and time-consuming approaches that could only be used in a sleep lab. But now researchers have found a way to capture detailed information on human sleep cycles over long periods of time while individuals slumber at home. According to the researchers, it will now be possible to objectively capture the real-life sleep habits and sleep quality of large numbers of people.
  
  Read more

• Topiramate in early pregnancy increases risk of oral clefts

  28-12-2017 19:20
  A new study suggests that using topiramate in early pregnancy, particularly at the high doses used for epilepsy, increases the risk of oral clefts.
  
  Read more

• Novel complementary effects of estrogen treatment in multiple sclerosis

  28-12-2017 19:20
  A study reveals the cellular basis for how the hormone protects against damage to the central nervous system.
  
  Read more

• Carfilzomib can lead to cardiovascular toxicity in multiple myeloma patients

  28-12-2017 19:20
  The proteasome inhibitor carfilzomib has taken on an increasing role in the treatment of multiple myeloma, but new research shows the therapy comes with the risk of cardiovascular problems in a higher than expected percentage of patients.
  
  Read more

• Cancer overrides the circadian clock to survive

  28-12-2017 19:20
  Tumor cells use the unfolded protein response to alter circadian rhythm, which contributes to more tumor growth, researchers find. A key part of the the circadian clock opposes this process.
  
  Read more

• Important tricyclic chemical compounds with efficient chirality control

  28-12-2017 16:11
  Researchers have developed a highly efficient way to produce chiral multi-centered fused tricyclic compounds of which core structure is often found in bioactive compounds including medicines.
  
  Read more

• Veterinary surgeons perform first-known brain surgery to treat hydrocephalus in fur seal

  28-12-2017 16:09
  A neurosurgical team has successfully performed what is believed to be a first-of-its-kind brain surgery on a Northern fur seal named Ziggy Star in an attempt to address her worsening neurologic condition. Ziggy, an adult female, is recovering well at her permanent home at Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, Conn.
  
  Read more

• New understanding of why cancer cells move

  28-12-2017 16:09
  Researchers have identified how some cancer cells are made to move during metastasis. The research provides a better understanding of how cancer spreads and may create new opportunities for cancer drug development.
  
  Read more

• Double strike against tuberculosis

  28-12-2017 16:09
  In search of new strategies against life-threatening tuberculosis infections, scientists have found a new ally. They discovered a substance that interferes with the mycomembrane formation of the bacterium. It is effective even in low concentrations and when combined with known antibiotics their effectiveness is improved by up to 100-fold.
  
  Read more

• Charcoal remains could accelerate CO2 emissions after forest fires

  28-12-2017 16:09
  Charcoal remains after a forest fire help decompose fine roots in the soil, potentially accelerating CO2 emissions in boreal forests.
  
  Read more

• How NASA's Search for ET Relies on Advanced AI

  28-12-2017 14:00 via rss.sciam.com
  Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s artificial intelligence chief describes the “ultimate” test for AI in space exploration
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
  Read more

• Failed satellite programmed with 'wrong co-ordinates'

  28-12-2017 13:58 via bbc.co.uk
  A multi-million pound weather satellite is lost after being programmed to take off from the wrong base.
  
  Read more

• Extreme cold snap expected to linger, Environment Canada says

  28-12-2017 13:18 via cbc.ca
  Environment Canada says it's not about how cold it is, but how long this wave of frigid air will stay around that's unusual.
  
  Read more

• Extreme cold snap expected to linger: Environment Canada

  28-12-2017 13:18 via cbc.ca
  The weather we're having is unusual, but not because it's cold, according to Environment Canada. What's unusual is how long this wave of frigid air will stay around.
  
  Read more

• Beyond bitcoin: How cryptocurrency is changing the world

  28-12-2017 13:00 via cbc.ca
  Bitcoin is the most recognizable cryptocurrency, but there are actually more than 1,300 being developed, and the list is growing. It was first created to replace cash, but not all cryptocurrencies are designed with that goal in mind.
  
  Read more

• 50 years ago, synthetic DNA made its debut

  28-12-2017 13:00
  
  Synthetic DNA has come a long way since it arrived on the scene half a century ago.
  
  Read more

• Secret to Porpoise Sonar Revealed

  28-12-2017 12:45 via rss.sciam.com
  The animals can adjust structures in their foreheads to change the echolocation signals they emit
  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
  Read more

• 'Really special' Arctic fossil is the earliest complex organism ever found

  28-12-2017 11:00 via cbc.ca
  A Canadian-led study aims to settle the controversy over extraordinary Arctic fossils that represent the oldest known sexually reproducing organism and the oldest multicellular organism that used photosynthesis.
  
  Read more

• Fossils of earliest organisms that had sex are a billion years old

  28-12-2017 11:00 via cbc.ca
  A Canadian-led study aims to settle the controversy over extraordinary Arctic fossils that represent the oldest known sexually reproducing organism and the oldest multicellular organism that used photosynthesis.
  
  Read more

• The wave power farm off Mutriku could improve its efficiency

  28-12-2017 06:00
  (University of the Basque Country ) The study by the UPV/EHU's EOLO (Meteorology, Climate and Environment) research group reveals that the technology used at the farm off Mutriku -- a global pioneer in generating wave power -- needs to improve its output to be on a par with the values of other renewable energy sources, and to facilitate the marketing of its power.
  
  Read more

• State Medicaid expansions led to more prenatal care for low-income mothers

  28-12-2017 06:00
  (University of California - Los Angeles Health Sciences) The Medicaid expansions for low-income parents that took place in 34 states between 1996 and 2011 led to a 2.3 percent decrease in the uninsured rate among women who already had a child and became pregnant again, and a 7.9 percent decrease in the number of mothers who didn't have insurance while they were pregnant.
  
  Read more

• Ophthalmologists increasingly dissatisfied with electronic health records

  28-12-2017 06:00
  (University of California - Davis Health System) Ophthalmologists' use of electronic health records (EHR) systems for storing and accessing patients' medical histories more than doubled between 2006 and 2016, while their perceptions of financial and clinical productivity following EHR implementation declined, a study published today in JAMA Ophthalmology shows.
  
  Read more

• New structure of key protein holds clues for better drug design

  28-12-2017 06:00
  (Scripps Research Institute) Nobel laureate Kuth Wüthrich investigates the structure of an important drug target.
  
  Read more

• New patch aims to turn energy-storing fats into energy-burning fats

  28-12-2017 06:00
  (Nanyang Technological University) A new approach to reducing bulging tummy fats has shown promise in laboratory trials. It combines a new way to deliver drugs, via a micro-needle patch, with drugs that are known to turn energy-storing white fat into energy-burning brown fat.
  
  Read more

• NASA finds heavy rain in new Tropical Cyclone Hilda

  28-12-2017 06:00
  (NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) As Tropical Cyclone Hilda was coming together in the Southern Indian Ocean the GPM satellite analyzed its rainfall from space.
  
  Read more

• Modeling helped to improve the configuration of an autonomous heat supply unit

  28-12-2017 06:00
  (Ural Federal University) In their article the authors of the study presented a mathematical model describing the work of an electrical technological unit for autonomous heat supply (EKAT). The dimensions of the unit range from 0.8×1×1 m to 1.5×2×2.5 m. It can be used in standalone heating, water supply, and air conditioning systems. The unit is green and easy to operate and allows a user to set a preferred working regime.
  
  Read more

• Jaguar conservation depends on neighbors' attitudes

  28-12-2017 06:00
  (Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute) A survey of residents near two major national parks in Panama indicates that jaguars deserve increased protection. But because most residents still support road-building in the parks, the survey team recommends further education to emphasize the connection between healthy ecosystems and jaguar survival.
  
  Read more

• How neurotechnologies impact risk appetite

  28-12-2017 06:00
  (National Research University Higher School of Economics) Researchers from the Higher School of Economics have shown that by stimulating the frontal cortex, a person's financial risk appetite can be increased temporarily. Their article on the cognitive mechanisms of risky decision-making was published in eNeuro, an international peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the Society for Neuroscience.
  
  Read more

• Getting the right treatment: Predicting treatment response in depression

  28-12-2017 06:00
  (PLOS) New evidence from mice suggests why an antidepressant treatment can alleviate depression in one person but not another. The study, publishing December 28 in the open access journal PLOS Biology, was led by Marianne Müller and an international team at the University Medical Center Mainz and the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry.
  
  Read more

• Genes in Space-3 successfully identifies unknown microbes in space

  28-12-2017 06:00
  (NASA/Johnson Space Center) Being able to identify microbes in real time aboard the International Space Station, without having to send them back to Earth for identification first, would be revolutionary for the world of microbiology and space exploration. The Genes in Space-3 team turned that possibility into a reality this year, when it completed the first-ever sample-to-sequence process entirely aboard the space station.
  
  Read more

• Ericsson and Telefonica demonstrate cutting edge transport solution

  28-12-2017 06:00
  (IMDEA Networks Institute) Ericsson and Telefonica have together successfully showcased an Agnostic, 5G-ready Transport Solution for both Radio and Fixed Enterprise Access. It is based on Ericsson's ground-breaking and future-proof eXhaul concept which allows a wide range of transport technologies, including CPRI, eCPRI, and Ethernet, to efficiently and securely share the same physical infrastructure.
  
  Read more

• Engineers hack cell biology to create 3-D shapes from living tissue

  28-12-2017 06:00
  (Cell Press) Many of the complex folded shapes that form mammalian tissues can be explained with very simple instructions, UC San Francisco bioengineers report Dec. 28 in the journal Developmental Cell. By patterning mechanically active mouse or human cells to thin layers of extracellular fibers, the researchers could create bowls, coils, and ripples out of living tissue. The cells collaborated mechanically through a web of these fibers to fold themselves up in predictable ways, mimicking natura
  
  Read more

• Defect in zinc supply mechanism affects pathology of intractable pulmonary diseases

  28-12-2017 06:00
  (Kumamoto University) Japanese researchers revealed that abnormal delivery of zinc to lung cells contributes to obstructive pulmonary diseases. They further showed that mRNA splicing abnormalities are involved in the detailed mechanism. So far, the importance of zinc in the lung has only been understood from a nutritional aspect. This discovery is thought to be the first to clarify zinc's effects on the regulation of mRNA ligation (splicing), and its involvement in the onset of pulmonary disease
  
  Read more

• Cholera hotspots found at Uganda's borders and lakes

  28-12-2017 06:00
  (PLOS) Uganda is among the countries is sub-Saharan Africa where cholera remains a recurring problem, despite advances in science and technology for prevention, detection and treatment of the infectious disease. Now, researchers reporting in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases have identified cholera hotspots around Uganda to help target interventions.
  
  Read more

• UK enjoyed 'greenest year for electricity ever' in 2017

  28-12-2017 03:19 via bbc.co.uk
  Renewables provided more electricity than coal for 90% of year, National Grid figures show.
  
  Read more

• How birds stay warm through Canada's cold winters

  28-12-2017 03:02 via cbc.ca
  Ever wondered how birds survive the coldest days of the year? Some go into hypothermia mode every night. Some burrow into the snow. Waterfowl have an amazing feature to keep their feet from sticking to the ice. And chickadees get smarter — literally — to find food.
  
  Read more

• Blue tarantula

  28-12-2017 01:43 via bbc.co.uk
  With the help of local scientists, a multinational team discovers unknown species in Guyana.
  
  Read more

Follow @ScienceUKnews on Twitter!