Science news

• The wiring for walking developed long before fish left the sea

  08-02-2018 23:40
  
  These strange walking fish might teach us about the evolutionary origins of our own ability to walk.
  
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• Meet the BFR, SpaceX's next big rocket

  08-02-2018 23:05 via cbc.ca
  The Falcon Heavy may be a remarkable rocket, particularly after its successful maiden launch on Tuesday, but SpaceX has something more impressive on the horizon: the BFR.
  
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• Undergraduate student uncovers genes associated with aggressive form of brain cancer

  08-02-2018 22:20
  Using publicly available data and novel computer software called KINC, an undergraduate researcher in genetics and biochemistry was able to uncover a group of 22 genes that are implicated together as having involvement in glioblastoma, the most aggressive type of brain cancer.
  
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• Stem cell research provides hope for tasmanian devils with a deadly, transmissible cancer

  08-02-2018 22:20
  Using stem cell therapy, researchers have taken the first step toward developing an effective treatment for devil facial tumor disease (DFTD), which is decimating Tasmanian devils in the wild.
  
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• Hearing loss linked to poor nutrition in early childhood, study suggests

  08-02-2018 22:20
  Young adults who were undernourished as preschool children were approximately twice as likely to suffer from hearing loss as their better- nourished peers, a new study suggests.
  
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• Apalutamide delays progression of nonmetastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer

  08-02-2018 22:20
  A multi-institutional phase 3 trial found that treatment with an investigational androgen receptor inhibitor significantly delayed the development of metastasis in patients with prostate cancer that had become resistant to standard androgen-deprivation therapy.
  
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• A view from above and below: Hatchery chinook salmon are self-sorting in tanks

  08-02-2018 22:20
  Hatchery-raised chinook salmon sort themselves into surface- and bottom-oriented groups in their rearing tanks, and this behavior might be due in part to the fish's genes.
  
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• New '4-D goggles' allow wearers to be 'touched' by approaching objects

  08-02-2018 22:19
  A team of researchers has developed a pair of '4-D goggles' that allows wearers to be physically 'touched' by a movie when they see a looming object on the screen, such as an approaching spacecraft.
  
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• Step inside Hamilton's massive cryptocurrency mining lab

  08-02-2018 22:13 via cbc.ca
  In Hamilton's east end, thousands of high powered computers are running full blast, mining for digital currency like bitcoin and litecoin.
  
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• Secrets of solar flares are unlocked

  08-02-2018 20:56 via bbc.co.uk
  Scientists may finally understand the mechanism behind solar flares., which can play havoc with technology on Earth.
  
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• One-in-three chance Hayward fault will rupture within 30 years

  08-02-2018 20:51
  In the next 30 years, there is a one-in-three chance that the Hayward fault will rupture with a 6.7 magnitude or higher earthquake. Such an earthquake will cause widespread damage to structures, transportation and utilities, as well as economic and social disruption in the East Bay.
  
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• Lights, camera, action! New endomicroscopic probes visualize living animal cell activity

  08-02-2018 20:51
  Researchers report they have developed two new endoscopic probes that significantly sharpen the technology’s imaging resolution and permit direct observation of fine tissue structures and cell activity in small organs in sheep, rats and mice.
  
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• Earthquake simulations of California's Hayward fault

  08-02-2018 20:51
  In the next 30 years, there is a one-in-three chance that California's Hayward fault will rupture with a 6.7 magnitude or higher earthquake. Scientists have used some of the world's most powerful supercomputers to model ground shaking for a magnitude 7.0 earthquake on the Hayward fault and show more realistic motions than ever before.
  
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• Snacking snakes act as ‘ecosystem engineers’ in seed dispersal

  08-02-2018 20:49
  Despite the bad rap snakes often get, they are more central to ecology than most people realize. New research reveals that snakes might even play a key role in dispersing plant seeds.
  
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• Scientists take big step toward stopping cancer metastasis

  08-02-2018 20:49
  New research may give scientists a chance to target tumors before they metastasize. The study shows that a protein called LTBP3 fuels a chain reaction that leads some early developing tumors to grow new blood vessels. These vessels then act like highways to spread cancer cells throughout the body, seeding metastatic tumors very early on.
  
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• Apgar scores in neonates predict risk of CP and epilepsy

  08-02-2018 20:48
  An infant’s scores on the so-called Apgar scale can predict the risk of a later diagnosis of cerebral palsy or epilepsy. The risk rises with decreasing  Apgar score, but even slightly lowered scores can be linked to a higher risk of these diagnoses, according to an extensive observational study.
  
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• New map profiles induced earthquake risk for West Texas

  08-02-2018 20:14
  A map created by geophysicists can help predict which parts of West Texas and New Mexico may be at risk of fracking-induced earthquakes. The map could guide oil discovery efforts in the region.
  
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• Timing is everything, to our genes

  08-02-2018 20:13
  Scientists discover critical gene activity follows a biological clock, affecting diseases of the brain and body.
  
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• Stem cell divisions in the adult brain seen for the first time

  08-02-2018 20:13
  Scientists have succeeded for the first time in tracking individual stem cells and their neuronal progeny over months within the intact adult brain. This study sheds light on how new neurons are produced throughout life.
  
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• Influence of increasing carbon dioxide levels on the seabed

  08-02-2018 20:13
  Subseabed CO2 storage is a potential future climate change mitigation technology. In a holistic approach, this study presents how leaking CO2 affects sandy seabed habitats and their inhabitants. Researchers discovered that increased CO2 levels drastically alter the ecosystem. Most of the animals inhabiting the site disappeared due to the effect of the leaking CO2. The functioning of the ecosystem was disrupted also in the long-term.
  
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• Evolution -- and skill -- help hefty hummingbirds stay spry

  08-02-2018 20:13
  Evolved differences in muscle power and wing size -- along with a touch of skill -- govern hummingbirds' inflight agility, according to new research. As opposed to other winged animals, larger species of hummingbirds are able to adapt to outmaneuver smaller species.
  
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• Devoted frog fathers guard their eggs from predators

  08-02-2018 20:13
  A new study has revealed that male white-spotted bush frogs dedicatedly guard their fertilized eggs from other cannibalistic male frogs and predators. The study confirmed that the adult male white-spotted bush frogs are the sole caregivers of their offspring, predominantly by attending to and guarding the eggs.
  
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• Deep-brain exploration with nanomaterial

  08-02-2018 20:13
  Studying deep brain tissues noninvasively is difficult. Now scientists have developed a way to send light deep into the brain without invasive optical fibers. The method uses infrared light outside the head to activate upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs). When these nanoparticles absorb near-infrared laser light, they emit visible photons to deep areas in the brain, allowing remote optogenetic stimulation or inhibition of neurons in the brain.
  
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• Autism, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder share molecular traits, study finds

  08-02-2018 20:13
  Most medical conditions are largely defined by their physical symptoms. Psychiatric illnesses, however, are largely defined by a person's behavior. A new study challenges that distinction, identifying many shared -- and distinct -- patterns of gene expression in the brains of people with autism, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The data hint at potential targets that may one day lead to new treatment approaches.
  
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• Surprise finding points to DNA's role in shaping cells

  08-02-2018 20:12
  Working at the intersection of biology and physics, scientists have made a surprising discovery at the root of cell formation. They found that DNA executes an unexpected architectural role in shaping the cells of bacteria. Studying the bacterium Bacillus subtilis, the researchers used an array of experiments and technologies to reveal that DNA, beyond serving to encode genetic information, also 'pumps up' bacterial cells.
  
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• Sniffing out a mate with precision

  08-02-2018 20:12
  Male cockroaches can 'see' the spatial distribution of female pheromones to locate a sexual mate, according to researchers.
  
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• Search for genetically stable bioengineered gut and liver tissue takes step forward

  08-02-2018 20:12
  Before medical science can bioengineer human organs in a lab for therapeutic use, two remaining hurdles are ensuring genetic stability -- so the organs are free from the risk of tumor growth -- and producing organ tissues of sufficient volume and size for viable transplant into people. Scientists now report achieving both goals with a new production method for bioengineered human gut and liver tissues.
  
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• Recreating liver tumors as organoids for faster, more accurate drug screening

  08-02-2018 20:12
  A major challenge in developing liver cancer drugs is that preclinical testing occurs in tumor models that do not accurately reflect human tumor features, causing drug candidates to later fail in clinical testing. Now, Singaporean researchers have grown organoids from liver tumors on specially engineered 3-D scaffolds. These organoids replicate important features of the original tumor, including genetic changes and intra-tumor heterogeneity, and could serve as tumor avatars for high-throughput d
  
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• Enzyme plays a key role in calories burned both during obesity and dieting

  08-02-2018 20:12
  Ever wonder why obese bodies burn less calories or why dieting often leads to a plateau in weight loss? In both cases the body is trying to defend its weight by regulating energy expenditure. In a new paper, researchers identify the enzyme TANK-binding kinase 1 (TBK1) as a key player in the control of energy expenditure during both obesity and fasting.
  
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• Ebola virus infects reproductive organs in monkeys

  08-02-2018 20:12
  Ebola virus can infect reproductive organs of male and female macaques, according to a new study, suggesting humans could be similarly infected. Prior studies have revealed sexual transmission of Ebola virus, and viral RNA persisting in semen following recovery. While little is known about viral persistence in female reproductive tissues, pregnant women with Ebola virus disease have a maternal death rate of more than 80 percent and a fetal death rate of nearly 100 percent.
  
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• Competing for blood: How ecologists are solving infectious disease mysteries

  08-02-2018 20:12
  By looking at malaria infections and hookworms as competitors battling over a key resource -- red blood cells -- ecologists were able to explain why co-infected patients often got sicker after being dewormed: without the hookworms to keep it in check, the malaria infection ran rampant.
  
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• Chimpanzee self-control is related to intelligence

  08-02-2018 20:12
  As is true in humans, chimpanzees' general intelligence is correlated to their ability to exert self-control and delay gratification, according to new research.
  
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• Breakthrough in controlling the transmission of light

  08-02-2018 20:12
  Researchers detail the development of a new light wave-isolation method.
  
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• Big step toward stopping cancer metastasis

  08-02-2018 20:12
  New research may give scientists a chance to target tumors before they metastasize. The study shows that a protein called LTBP3 fuels a chain reaction that leads some early developing tumors to grow new blood vessels. These vessels then act like highways to spread cancer cells throughout the body, seeding metastatic tumors very early on.
  
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• Watch nerve cells being born in the brains of living mice

  08-02-2018 20:00
  
  For the first time, scientists have seen nerve cells being born in the brains of adult mice.
  
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• What happens when women stop MS treatment during pregnancy?

  08-02-2018 19:50
  Two new studies look at the effects of stopping the newer, stronger drug natalizumab for multiple sclerosis (MS) during pregnancy. Natalizumab is generally prescribed for people with MS who have not responded to or cannot tolerate other treatments for MS as it can have a rare but potentially fatal side effect.
  
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• Shared molecular neuropathology across major psychiatric disorders parallels polygenic overlap

  08-02-2018 19:39
  The predisposition to neuropsychiatric disease involves a complex, polygenic, and pleiotropic genetic architecture. However, little is known about how genetic variants impart brain dysfunction or pathology. We used transcriptomic profiling as a quantitative readout of molecular brain-based phenotypes across five major psychiatric disorders—autism, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, and alcoholism—compared with matched controls. We identified patterns of shared and distinct
  
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• Programming gene and engineered-cell therapies with synthetic biology

  08-02-2018 19:39
  Gene and engineered-cell therapies promise to treat diseases by genetically modifying cells to carry out therapeutic tasks. Although the field has had some success in treating monogenic disorders and hematological malignancies, current approaches are limited to overexpression of one or a few transgenes, constraining the diseases that can be treated with this approach and leading to potential concerns over safety and efficacy. Synthetic gene networks can regulate the dosage, timing, and localizat
  
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• Near-infrared deep brain stimulation via upconversion nanoparticle-mediated optogenetics

  08-02-2018 19:39
  Optogenetics has revolutionized the experimental interrogation of neural circuits and holds promise for the treatment of neurological disorders. It is limited, however, because visible light cannot penetrate deep inside brain tissue. Upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) absorb tissue-penetrating near-infrared (NIR) light and emit wavelength-specific visible light. Here, we demonstrate that molecularly tailored UCNPs can serve as optogenetic actuators of transcranial NIR light to stimulate deep bra
  
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• Morphology, muscle capacity, skill, and maneuvering ability in hummingbirds

  08-02-2018 19:39
  How does agility evolve? This question is challenging because natural movement has many degrees of freedom and can be influenced by multiple traits. We used computer vision to record thousands of translations, rotations, and turns from more than 200 hummingbirds from 25 species, revealing that distinct performance metrics are correlated and that species diverge in their maneuvering style. Our analysis demonstrates that the enhanced maneuverability of larger species is explained by their proporti
  
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• Live imaging of neurogenesis in the adult mouse hippocampus

  08-02-2018 19:39
  Neural stem and progenitor cells (NSPCs) generate neurons throughout life in the mammalian hippocampus. We used chronic in vivo imaging and followed genetically labeled individual NSPCs and their progeny in the mouse hippocampus for up to 2 months. We show that NSPCs targeted by the endogenous Achaete-scute homolog 1 (Ascl1) promoter undergo limited rounds of symmetric and asymmetric divisions, eliciting a burst of neurogenic activity, after which they are lost. Further, our data reveal unexpect
  
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• Light amplification by seeded Kerr instability

  08-02-2018 19:39
  Amplification of femtosecond laser pulses typically requires a lasing medium or a nonlinear crystal. In either case, the chemical properties of the lasing medium or the momentum conservation in the nonlinear crystal constrain the frequency and the bandwidth of the amplified pulses. We demonstrate high gain amplification (greater than 1000) of widely tunable (0.5 to 2.2 micrometers) and short (less than 60 femtosecond) laser pulses, up to intensities of 1 terawatt per square centimeter, by seedin
  
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• Defining the physiological role of SRP in protein-targeting efficiency and specificity

  08-02-2018 19:39
  The signal recognition particle (SRP) enables cotranslational delivery of proteins for translocation into the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), but its full in vivo role remains incompletely explored. We combined rapid auxin-induced SRP degradation with proximity-specific ribosome profiling to define SRP’s in vivo function in yeast. Despite the classic view that SRP recognizes amino-terminal signal sequences, we show that SRP was generally essential for targeting transmembrane domains regardless
  
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• Defective cholesterol clearance limits remyelination in the aged central nervous system

  08-02-2018 19:39
  Age-associated decline in regeneration capacity limits the restoration of nervous system functionality after injury. In a model for demyelination, we found that old mice fail to resolve the inflammatory response initiated after myelin damage. Aged phagocytes accumulated excessive amounts of myelin debris, which triggered cholesterol crystal formation and phagolysosomal membrane rupture and stimulated inflammasomes. Myelin debris clearance required cholesterol transporters, including apolipoprote
  
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• Coherent single-atom superradiance

  08-02-2018 19:39
  Superradiance is a quantum phenomenon emerging in macroscopic systems whereby correlated single atoms cooperatively emit photons. Demonstration of controlled collective atom-field interactions has resulted from the ability to directly imprint correlations with an atomic ensemble. Here we report cavity-mediated coherent single-atom superradiance: Single atoms with predefined correlation traverse a high–quality factor cavity one by one, emitting photons cooperatively with the N atoms that ha
  
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• Building superlattices from individual nanoparticles via template-confined DNA-mediated assembly

  08-02-2018 19:39
  DNA programmable assembly has been combined with top-down lithography to construct superlattices of discrete, reconfigurable nanoparticle architectures on a gold surface over large areas. Specifically, the assembly of individual colloidal plasmonic nanoparticles with different shapes and sizes is controlled by oligonucleotides containing "locked" nucleic acids and confined environments provided by polymer pores to yield oriented architectures that feature tunable arrangements and independently c
  
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• Atomic structures of low-complexity protein segments reveal kinked {beta} sheets that assemble networks

  08-02-2018 19:39
  Subcellular membraneless assemblies are a reinvigorated area of study in biology, with spirited scientific discussions on the forces between the low-complexity protein domains within these assemblies. To illuminate these forces, we determined the atomic structures of five segments from protein low-complexity domains associated with membraneless assemblies. Their common structural feature is the stacking of segments into kinked β sheets that pair into protofilaments. Unlike steric zippers of
  
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• Atomic-resolution transmission electron microscopy of electron beam-sensitive crystalline materials

  08-02-2018 19:39
  High-resolution imaging of electron beam–sensitive materials is one of the most difficult applications of transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The challenges are manifold, including the acquisition of images with extremely low beam doses, the time-constrained search for crystal zone axes, the precise image alignment, and the accurate determination of the defocus value. We develop a suite of methods to fulfill these requirements and acquire atomic-resolution TEM images of several metal o
  
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• A topological quantum optics interface

  08-02-2018 19:39
  The application of topology in optics has led to a new paradigm in developing photonic devices with robust properties against disorder. Although considerable progress on topological phenomena has been achieved in the classical domain, the realization of strong light-matter coupling in the quantum domain remains unexplored. We demonstrate a strong interface between single quantum emitters and topological photonic states. Our approach creates robust counterpropagating edge states at the boundary o
  
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• A pathway for mitotic chromosome formation

  08-02-2018 19:39
  Mitotic chromosomes fold as compact arrays of chromatin loops. To identify the pathway of mitotic chromosome formation, we combined imaging and Hi-C analysis of synchronous DT40 cell cultures with polymer simulations. Here we show that in prophase, the interphase organization is rapidly lost in a condensin-dependent manner, and arrays of consecutive 60-kilobase (kb) loops are formed. During prometaphase, ~80-kb inner loops are nested within ~400-kb outer loops. The loop array acquires a helical
  
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