Science news

• Here’s how cells rapidly stuff two meters of DNA into microscopic capsules

  29-01-2018 22:30
  
  Scientists have figured out how cells quickly pack up their chromosomes before a cell divides.
  
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• Weak hydrogen bonds key to strong, tough infrastructure

  29-01-2018 22:05
  Engineers study what it takes to make strong and tough infrastructures by probing the interfacial interactions of polymer and cement, which are key to composite properties.
  
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• Heritage turkey production research profitable but more difficult

  29-01-2018 22:04
  To meet increasing consumer demand for heritage-breed turkeys to be the centerpiece of holiday and other meals, researchers are studying methods producers can use to raise the historical birds.
  
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• Why do we trust, or not trust, strangers? The answer is Pavlovian

  29-01-2018 21:40
  Our trust in strangers is dependent on their resemblance to others we've previously known, finds a new study.
  
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• Scientists pinpoint how ocean acidification weakens coral skeletons

  29-01-2018 21:40
  The rising acidity of the oceans threatens coral reefs by making it harder for corals to build their skeletons. A new study identifies the details of how ocean acidification affects coral skeletons, allowing scientists to predict more precisely where corals will be more vulnerable.
  
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• Men hold secret to protect women from multiple sclerosis

  29-01-2018 21:40
  Men are much less likely to get multiple sclerosis (MS) than women, and one reason is that they are protected by high levels of testosterone. Scientists have now discovered how it works. They have identified a guardian molecule -- triggered by testosterone -- that appears to protect males from disease. When female mice with disease are treated with this protective molecule, their symptoms were eliminated. The findings could lead to a new therapy for MS.
  
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• Visualizing danger from songbird warning calls

  29-01-2018 21:39
  A researcher finds that a small songbird, the Japanese tit (Parus minor), can retrieve a visual image of a predator from specific alarm calls.
  
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• New, low cost alternative for ethylene production

  29-01-2018 21:39
  Scientists have discovered a new reaction mechanism of performing Oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) at a temperature as low as 150ºC. The novel catalytic reaction found in the study, which demonstrated both high yield and catalytic activity, was done in an electric field, and could provide a more cost-effective method of synthesizing ethylene in the future.
  
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• Wetlands provide landscape-scale reduction in nitrate pollution

  29-01-2018 21:00
  A new study provides new insights to demonstrate that multiple wetlands or ‘wetland complexes’ within a watershed are extremely effective at reducing harmful nitrate in rivers and streams. These wetlands can be up to five times more efficient per unit area at reducing nitrate than the best land-based nitrogen mitigation strategies.
  
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• Plotting the path of plant pathogens

  29-01-2018 20:59
  In a sneak attack, some pathogenic microbes manipulate plant hormones to gain access to their hosts undetected. Biologists have exposed one such interloper by characterizing the unique biochemical pathway it uses to synthesize auxin, a central hormone in plant development.
  
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• Vitamin deficiency 'puts cancer cells into hibernation'

  29-01-2018 20:58
  A new potential therapeutic agent called DPI effectively switches off cancer stem cells, preventing their proliferation, according to new research.
  
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• Adults with autism show a diminished brain response to hearing their own name

  29-01-2018 20:58
  Previously, research has shown that children at risk of an autism diagnosis respond less to hearing their own name. Now, a new study shows for the first time that the brain response to hearing one’s own name is also diminished in adults with an autism diagnosis.
  
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• Long-lost chunk of Canada found in Australia

  29-01-2018 19:56 via cbc.ca
  A geologic discovery indicates that a chunk of Canada that broke off 1.7 billion years ago is in Australia.
  
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• Fossil of school bus-sized dinosaur dug up in Egyptian desert

  29-01-2018 18:58
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Scientists have unearthed in a Sahara Desert oasis in Egypt fossils of a long-necked, four-legged, school bus-sized dinosaur that lived roughly 80 million years ago, a discovery that sheds light on a mysterious time period in the history of dinosaurs in Africa.
  
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• Handheld device sequences human genome

  29-01-2018 17:40 via bbc.co.uk
  Reading human DNA used to take laboratories, a pile of cash and a long time.
  
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• Amateur astronomer in B.C. may have discovered long-lost NASA satellite

  29-01-2018 17:19 via cbc.ca
  Scott Tilley from Roberts Creek, B.C., came across signals he wasn't expecting when he was hunting the sky for a secret military satellite.
  
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• Lost history of African dinosaurs revealed

  29-01-2018 17:01 via bbc.co.uk
  A new species of dinosaur unearthed in the Egyptian desert sheds light on Africa's Age of the Dinosaurs.
  
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• Slower speed, tricky turns give prey a chance against cheetahs and lions

  29-01-2018 16:00
  
  A bonanza of data on wild predators running shows that hunting is more than sprinting.
  
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• Fitness devices may reveal sensitive info about soldiers' locations

  29-01-2018 15:45 via cbc.ca
  An interactive map found online can show the locations and activities of people who use fitness devices such as Fitbit, raising security concerns about soldiers and other people who are at U.S. military bases in sensitive areas.
  
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• Spacewalk cancelled after Canadarm2 fixed with software patch

  29-01-2018 14:45 via cbc.ca
  The Canadian Space Agency says it used a "creative software solution" to fix a replacement part on the Canadarm 2, postponing the need to send astronauts on a spacewalk.
  
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• Missing Neutrons May Lead a Secret Life as Dark Matter

  29-01-2018 13:15 via rss.sciam.com
  This may be the reason experiments can’t agree on the neutron lifetime, according to a new idea-- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Here’s why so many saiga antelope mysteriously died in 2015

  29-01-2018 13:00
  
  Higher than normal temperatures turned normally benign bacteria lethal, killing hundreds of thousands of the saiga antelopes.
  
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• Heavenly show to feature trifecta of super blue moon, eclipse

  29-01-2018 12:03
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The moon will stage a rare triple show on Wednesday when a blue super moon combines with a total lunar eclipse that will be visible from western North America to eastern Asia, U.S. astronomers say.
  
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• Why do investors seek out stock swindles?

  29-01-2018 06:00
  (University of Chicago Booth School of Business) The chance to get rich quick by investing in a penny stock, even if it is widely suspected that the stock price is being manipulated, is too tempting for some investors to resist.New research from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business finds that some investors actually seek out stocks suspected of 'pump-and-dump' schemes, despite the risks and warnings from financial experts, in hopes of winning big, akin to the lottery.
  
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• What your face says about your heartbeat

  29-01-2018 06:00
  (Utah State University) Electrical engineers at Utah State University patented a technology that estimates heart rate using only a video camera and specialized software. The new system could be a game changer for consumer products including exercise equipment and baby monitors.
  
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• What makes kids with autism less social than their typically developing peers?

  29-01-2018 06:00
  (University of California - Riverside) Katherine Stavropoulos of the University of California, Riverside, looks closely at electrical activity in the brains of children with autism spectrum disorder, or ASD, and typical development, or TD, to discern differences in the respective groups' reward systems. Her recent findings provide support for two popular, competing theories used to explain why children with ASD tend to be less social than their TD peers: the social motivation hypothesis and the
  
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• What happens to language as populations grow? It simplifies, say researchers

  29-01-2018 06:00
  (Cornell University) Languages have an intriguing paradox. Languages with lots of speakers, such as English and Mandarin, have large vocabularies with relatively simple grammar. Yet the opposite is also true: Languages with fewer speakers have fewer words but complex grammars.
  
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• Walk in groups to keep exercise goals on track

  29-01-2018 06:00
  (Anglia Ruskin University) People may be more likely to stick to taking exercise if they walk in groups, according to a paper published in the International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care.
  
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• USTC realizes strong indirect coupling in distant nanomechanical resonators

  29-01-2018 06:00
  (University of Science and Technology of China) USTC Guo's team realized strong coupling between distant phonon modes, by introducing a third resonator as a phonon cavity mode.
  
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• US energy colonialism a key cause of Puerto Rico's Hurricane María crisis

  29-01-2018 06:00
  (Frontiers) A new study investigating US and territorial government energy policies and industrial contracts in Puerto Rico argues that energy colonialism has played a central role in the country's current humanitarian crisis.
  
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• Updates on recovery attempts for NASA IMAGE mission

  29-01-2018 06:00
  (NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) After an amateur astronomer recorded observations of a satellite in high Earth orbit on Jan. 20, 2018, his initial research suggested it was the Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration (IMAGE) -- a NASA mission launched into orbit around Earth on March 25, 2000.
  
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• UMass Amherst research aims to improve health care for those with mental illness

  29-01-2018 06:00
  (University of Massachusetts at Amherst) Diagnostic errors are very common in medicine and often come from failures of 'clinical reasoning,' some of which may be related to a medical professional's emotions, says social psychologist Linda Isbell at UMass Amherst. She has received a five-year, $1.71 million grant from the US Department of Health and Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to study the influence of emotions on medical decision-making and diagnosis among emergenc
  
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• To improve self-control, call weight loss what it is: Difficult

  29-01-2018 06:00
  (Drexel University) An intervention that focused on changing the external food environment, rather than internal willpower, actually boosted participants' cognitive restraint and led to greater long-term weight loss.
  
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• Through the looking glass: New mirror-image molecules could lead to better medicines

  29-01-2018 06:00
  (University of Toronto) Toronto scientists have developed a new technology for designing mirror-image versions of molecules, paving the way for longer lasting medicines. For patients, this would mean less frequent injections and more drugs could one day be developed in a pill form. They show the method works by creating mirror image versions of blockbuster diabetes and osteoporosis drugs, GLP1 and PTH, respectively, whichhad longer lasting effects as expected.
  
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• The University City Science Center is backing development of NJIT's novel bone graft tech

  29-01-2018 06:00
  (New Jersey Institute of Technology) Treena Arinzeh, director of NJIT's Tissue Engineering and Applied Biomaterials Laboratory, has been awarded a grant from the University City Science Center in Philadelphia to help commercialize technology she is developing to reduce the recovery time and cost associated with bone grafts.
  
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• The second Honolulu Office of Kobe University Symposium

  29-01-2018 06:00
  (Kobe University) This symposium will be held on Monday 5 February at Hawaii Imin International Conference Center (Jefferson Hall) which adjoins the University of Hawaii at Mānoa campus. The symposium aims to promote dialogue and exchange between Japan, the Americas, and other Pacific Rim countries, and offers an ideal opportunity to present new findings and exchange ideas in Japanese philosophy, culture, history, literature, and performing arts from a Pacific perspective.
  
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• Springer publishes Computational Brain & Behavior with the Society for Mathematical Psychology

  29-01-2018 06:00
  (Springer) An interdisciplinary peer-reviewed journal which draws together research from the fields of psychology, neuroscience, economics and statistics has been launched by the Society for Mathematical Psychology and Springer. Articles published in Computational Brain & Behavior (CB&B) are linked by a common theme of quantitative and computational approaches, and aim to foster cross-disciplinary communication. The first issue will be published online in April 2018.
  
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• Smarter cities, smarter living

  29-01-2018 06:00
  (Lehigh University) On January 30, 2018, Dan Lopresti, professor and chair of the department of computer science and engineering at Lehigh University, is moderating a briefing on intelligent infrastructure for the US House of Representatives' Science, Space and Technology Committee in Washington, DC.
  
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• Schools key to successful integration of child refugees, says study

  29-01-2018 06:00
  (City University London) Schools can provide the ideal environment to improve integration and reduce the difficulties faced by refugee children in Western asylum countries, according to a new study from psychologists at City, University of London.
  
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• Researchers reverse symptoms in neurologic disease model

  29-01-2018 06:00
  (Case Western Reserve University) Rett syndrome is a devastating genetic, neurologic disorder that typically affects girls, resulting in severe disability and often accompanied by autistic behavior. Most Rett patients will live into middle age and require specialized full-time care. There is no cure, but researchers from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have been working to find ways to restore brain function and reverse disabilities associated with Rett syndrome.
  
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• Researchers receive $6.5 million NIH grant to use big data to tackle psoriasis

  29-01-2018 06:00
  (Case Western Reserve University) An experienced interdisciplinary team of psoriasis and computational researchers from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine (CWRU SOM) and University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center (UHCMC) has received a $6.5M, 5-year grant from the National Institute of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS).The grant supports a Center of Research Translation in Psoriasis (CORT) at CWRU and UHCMC.
  
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• Reach out and feed someone: Automated system finds rapid honey bee communication networks

  29-01-2018 06:00
  (Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) By developing a system that allows automated, in-depth monitoring of the social interactions of honey bees, researchers have now uncovered an unexpected property of the bee social network that may someday help us design more effective human and machine communication systems.
  
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• Rapid-tests to carry out early heart attack diagnosis and to identify sepsis in 10 minutes

  29-01-2018 06:00
  (National University of Science and Technology MISIS) NUST MISIS scientists have developed a new type of membrane test strip for the quantitative immunochromatographic rapid-test that will be able to accurately and quickly make an early diagnosis of an acute myocardial infarction through the presence of disease markers in blood, as well as to identify various things such as sepsis, a pregnancy's duration, and viral & bacterial infections.
  
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• Psychiatric medications are not overprescribed for kids, finds study

  29-01-2018 06:00
  (Columbia University Medical Center) A new study at Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) challenges the popular notion that psychiatric medications are overprescribed in children and adolescents in the US. When the researchers compared prescribing rates with prevalence rates for the most common psychiatric disorders in children, they discovered that some of these medications may be underprescribed.
  
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• OHSU research provides new insight about antidepressants

  29-01-2018 06:00
  (Oregon Health & Science University) New molecular research shows how chemically diverse drugs used to treat depression and anxiety disorders interact with the protein that transports serotonin in the brain. The discovery by researchers at the OHSU Vollum Institute could open the way for the development of additional forms of antidepressants collectively known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs.
  
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• Nutritionally-speaking, soy milk is best plant-based milk

  29-01-2018 06:00
  (McGill University) A new study from McGill University looks at the four most-commonly consumed types of milk beverages from plant sources around the world -- almond milk, soy milk, rice milk and coconut milk -- and compares their nutritional values with those of cow's milk. After cow's milk, which is still the most nutritious, soy milk comes out a clear winner.
  
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• New UTSA study examines the causes and consequences of the 2015 Wimberley floods

  29-01-2018 06:00
  (University of Texas at San Antonio) A new study by Chad Furl, postdoctoral research associate, and Hatim Sharif, professor of civil and environmental engineering at The University of Texas at San Antonio, delves into the 2015 Wimberley, Texas floods that destroyed 350 homes and claimed 13 lives. Furl and Sharif researched the factors that led to the catastrophic flooding and shed light on new ways people in flood-prone areas can protect against future tragedies.
  
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• New optics solution from VTT -- 360-degree panoramic view onto single sensor matrix

  29-01-2018 06:00
  (VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland) VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland has developed a new solution for thermal infrared applications, making it possible to fold a 360-degree panoramic view on a single sensor matrix.
  
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• Networking, data experts design a better portal for scientific discovery

  29-01-2018 06:00
  (DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) A team of networking experts from the Department of Energy's Energy Sciences Network (ESnet), with the Globus team from the University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory, have designed a new approach that makes data sharing faster, more reliable and more secure.
  
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• NASA's GOLD powers on for the first time

  29-01-2018 06:00
  (NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) NASA's Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk, or GOLD, mission powered on the GOLD instrument for the first time after launch on Jan. 28, 7:23 p.m. EST.
  
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