Science news

• Look to penguins to track Antarctic changes

  14-02-2018 23:16
  
  Scientists say carbon and nitrogen isotopes found in penguin tissues can indicate shifts in the Antarctic environment.
  
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• Quantum computers 'one step closer'

  14-02-2018 20:25 via bbc.co.uk
  Quantum computing has taken a step forward with the recent development of a silicon-based programmable quantum processor.
  
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• SpaceX gets U.S. regulator to back satellite internet plan

  14-02-2018 20:06
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Elon Musk's SpaceX, fresh off the successful launch this month of the world's most powerful rocket, won an endorsement on Wednesday from the top U.S. communications regulator to build a broadband network using satellites.
  
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• Study debunks fishy tale of how rabbits were first tamed

  14-02-2018 19:30
  
  A popular tale about rabbit domestication turns out to be fiction.
  
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• Cutting off a brain enzyme reversed Alzheimer’s plaques in mice

  14-02-2018 19:12
  
  Inhibiting an enzyme involved in the production of Alzheimer’s protein globs also made old globs, or plaques, disappear in mouse brains.
  
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• Quantum computers go silicon

  14-02-2018 19:00
  
  Scientists performed the first quantum algorithms in silicon, and probed quantum bits with light.
  
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• Pulsating aurora spotted in Canada helps explain northern lights' origin

  14-02-2018 19:00 via cbc.ca
  Scientists have figured out what causes pulsating auroras, a special type of northern lights that blink in the night sky. And it was partly thanks to a lucky observation of the phenomenon in Canada.
  
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• AI does grunt work on China's pig farms

  14-02-2018 18:19 via bbc.co.uk
  Alibaba rolls out a system that analyses pig squeals and coughs to improve pork production.
  
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• Scientists, fishermen in Macedonia team up to save rare trout

  14-02-2018 16:54
  OHRID, Macedonia (Reuters) - Macedonian scientists and fishermen have teamed up to start the artificial breeding of a species of trout unique to Lake Ohrid, its tributaries and outlet, the Black Drim river.
  
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• Leatherback turtle, not overturned boat, found washed up in Cape Breton

  14-02-2018 16:44 via cbc.ca
  A 360-kilogram leatherback turtle carcass that washed up near shore in Islandview, Cape Breton, in Nova Scotia, is now on its way to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans lab in Charlottetown for analysis.
  
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• Perspective on fuel cells

  14-02-2018 16:04
  Researchers are aiming to tackle a fundamental debate in key reactions behind fuel cells and hydrogen production, which, if solved, could significantly bolster clean energy technologies.
  
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• A surprise stimulus helps people stop an action

  14-02-2018 16:04
  A new study finds that an unexpected sound causes people to stop an action more often than when they heard no sound at all. The finding could lead to new treatments for patients with motor-control disorders, such as Parkinson's disease and ADHD, as well as address the decline in motor control that accompanies aging.
  
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• Small lakes and temporary ponds release CO2 into the atmosphere even when they are dry

  14-02-2018 16:03
  Temporary lakes and ponds emit CO2 all year –- even when they are dry -- and dry areas actually emit a larger amount of carbon into the atmosphere. This phenomenon, described now for the first time, could have an impact on the global carbon cycle that controls Earth’s climate, according to a new study.
  
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• Stress-induced changes in genetic information: New details discovered about the function of a mysterious protein

  14-02-2018 16:02
  Scientists have researched the function of an enigmatic protein. The biological necessity of this protein, which can chemically alter certain building blocks of the genetic information, has been debated for quite a while. The new study now links the enzymatic action of this protein on small RNA molecules which are important for protein synthesis, to potentially far-reaching consequences for the integrity of genetic information, particularly under stress conditions.
  
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• Love and fear are visible across the brain instead of being restricted to any brain region

  14-02-2018 16:02
  The brain mechanisms of basic emotions such as anger and happiness are fairly similar across people. Differences are greater in social emotions, such as gratitude and contempt.
  
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• Video games to improve mobility after a stroke

  14-02-2018 15:39
  New research reveals that, after a cerebral infarction, injuries in areas that control attention also cause motility problems. The authors propose to complement physiotherapy with another type of cognitive training, such as video games.
  
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• Muscle more important than fat in regulating heat loss from the hands

  14-02-2018 15:39
  New study suggests that people with more muscle mass are less susceptible to heat loss and heat up faster after cold exposure than non-muscular individuals.
  
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• Recreating outer space in the lab

  14-02-2018 15:38
  Thermodynamics provides insight into the internal energy of a system and the energy interaction with its surroundings. This relies on the local thermal equilibrium of a system.
  
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• Problems with herbicide-resistant weeds become crystal clear

  14-02-2018 15:38
  Herbicide-resistant weeds are threatening food security, but researchers are one step closer to a solution after a new discovery. They have now uncovered how penoxsulam, the active ingredient in the world's largest-selling rice herbicide, works.
  
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• Fracking tied to reduced songbird nesting success

  14-02-2018 15:38
  The central Appalachian region is experiencing the country's most rapid growth in shale gas development, or 'fracking,' but we've known almost nothing about how this is affecting the region's songbird populations -- until now. A new study demonstrates that the nesting success of the Louisiana waterthrush -- a habitat specialist that nests along forested streams, where the potential for habitat degradation is high -- is declining at sites impacted by shale gas development in northwestern West Vir
  
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• Alzheimer's disease reversed in mouse model

  14-02-2018 15:37
  Researchers have found that gradually depleting an enzyme called BACE1 completely reverses the formation of amyloid plaques in the brains of mice with Alzheimer's disease, thereby improving the animals' cognitive function. The study raises hopes that drugs targeting this enzyme will be able to successfully treat Alzheimer's disease in humans.
  
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• Safe-sleep recommendations for infants have not reduced sudden deaths in newborns

  14-02-2018 15:36
  An analysis of trends in sudden unexpected infant death finds that the drop in such deaths that took place following release of the 1992 American Academy of Pediatrics 'back to sleep' recommendations, did not occur in infants in the first month of life.
  
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• Leaping elk crashes low-flying research helicopter

  14-02-2018 14:32 via cbc.ca
  An elk leaped into a research helicopter that was trying to capture it and brought down the helicopter in a collision that also killed the elk, authorities in Utah said Tuesday.
  
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• Statistics Canada looking down the drain to determine levels of pot consumption

  14-02-2018 13:56 via cbc.ca
  The federal government is taking a somewhat noxious approach to studying just how much pot Canadians are consuming: researching our sewage.
  
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• Winter Olympics: Could Plastic "Ice" Help Overcome Bias toward Colder Countries?

  14-02-2018 12:45 via rss.sciam.com
  Bobsled, luge and skeleton tracks lined with plastic rather than ice could make those sports more accessible worldwide-- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Crypto-currency craze 'hinders search for alien life'

  14-02-2018 12:43 via bbc.co.uk
  A scientist says the search for alien intelligence has been hit by a shortage of computer hardware.
  
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• Industry of dating sites, apps 'very mature,' but fresh investors still take the leap

  14-02-2018 10:00 via cbc.ca
  With about 2,000 dating services to choose from in North America and millions of users engaging in them, tales of searching digitally for a successful match — for life, or perhaps just for the night — are now so common they've become an intimate part of the way we live.
  
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• Would-be social entrepreneurs need more than a kind heart

  14-02-2018 06:00
  (Anglia Ruskin University) To want to be a social entrepreneur, empathy is not enough for millennials. They need to feel confident in their ability to solve social problems and feel valued by the people they want to help, according to new research published in the Journal of Business Venturing.
  
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• What fluffy bunnies can tell us about domestication: It didn't go the way you think

  14-02-2018 06:00
  (Cell Press) It turns out that nobody knows when rabbits were domesticated. Despite a well-cited story of the domestic bunny's origins, a review published on Feb. 14 in Trends in Ecology and Evolution finds that historical and archaeological records and genetic methods all suggest different timeframes for its domestication. But the researchers involved in the study don't think this puzzle is a dead end. Instead, they believe it's an indication that domestication happens on a continuum.
  
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• Watching myelin patterns form: Evidence for sheath remodeling revealed by in vivo imaging

  14-02-2018 06:00
  (Technical University of Munich (TUM)) Nerve fibers are surrounded by a myelin sheath. Scientists at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have now made the first-ever "live" observations of how this protective layer is formed. The team discovered that the characteristic patterns of the myelin layer are determined at an early stage. However, these patterns can be adjusted as needed in a process apparently controlled by the nerve cells themselves.
  
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• UTA researcher studies influence of fat storage in the heart on cardiovascular disease

  14-02-2018 06:00
  (University of Texas at Arlington) Michael Nelson, assistant professor of kinesiology at The University of Texas at Arlington, has received a new five-year, $3.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study the link between fat storage in the heart and cardiovascular disease, as well as the influence of gender on the development of cardiac dysfunction.
  
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• Uniting diverse research areas to drive autonomous cars

  14-02-2018 06:00
  (Worcester Polytechnic Institute) Two engineers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) are combining their work in decision making for self-driving cars and wireless communications to find the key to developing self-driving cars that can operate safely and efficiently, even in complex city environments. With a three-year, $425,000 award from the National Science Foundation, they seek to create a network that will enable these vehicles to share information about everything from traffic flow to
  
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• UC3M and BQ to carry out research into artificial intelligence applied to cell phone

  14-02-2018 06:00
  (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid) Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) and the Spanish company, BQ, have inaugurated the 'BQ Universidad de Carlos III Chair', aimed at research into Artificial Intelligence and the Automatic Learning in mobile devices. The advances could be used in fields such as medicine, photography and business.
  
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• TSRI scientists find key proteins control risk of osteoarthritis during aging

  14-02-2018 06:00
  (Scripps Research Institute) A study from scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) explains why the risk of osteoarthritis increases as we age and offers a potential avenue for developing new therapies to maintain healthy joints.
  
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• Tissue paper sensors show promise for health care, entertainment, robotics

  14-02-2018 06:00
  (University of Washington) University of Washington engineers have turned tissue paper -- similar to toilet tissue -- into a new kind of wearable sensor that can detect a pulse, a blink of an eye and other human movement. The sensor is light, flexible and inexpensive, with potential applications in health care, entertainment and robotics.
  
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• The search for dark matter: Axions have ever fewer places to hide

  14-02-2018 06:00
  (The Henryk Niewodniczanski Institute of Nuclear Physics Polish Academy of Sciences) If they existed, axions -- one of the candidates for particles of the mysterious dark matter -- could interact with the matter forming our world, but they would have to do this to a much, much weaker extent than it has seemed up to now. New, rigorous constraints on the properties of axions have been imposed by an international team of scientists responsible for the nEDM experiment.
  
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• The reasons that university students do sport

  14-02-2018 06:00
  (University of Seville) The research shows that female students do it for health reason and male students do it for social relationships that are involved in doing sport. Among those who had stopped doing or never done sport, a lack of time was the main reason.
  
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• Supermassive black hole model predicts characteristic light signals at cusp of collision

  14-02-2018 06:00
  (Rochester Institute of Technology) A new simulation of supermassive black holes--the behemoths at the centers of galaxies--uses a realistic scenario to predict the light signals emitted in the surrounding gas before the masses collide, said Rochester Institute of Technology researchers.
  
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• Suiker's equations prevent 3-D-printed walls from collapsing or falling over

  14-02-2018 06:00
  (Eindhoven University of Technology) 3-D-printed materials commonly are soft and flexible during printing, leaving printed walls susceptible to collapse or falling over. Professor Akke Suiker had a Eureka moment and saw the solution to this structural problem. He developed a model with which engineers can now easily determine the dimensions and printing speeds for which printed wall structures remain stable. His formulae are so elementary that they can become commonplace in the fast growing fiel
  
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• Study: Running helps brain stave off effects of chronic stress

  14-02-2018 06:00
  (Brigham Young University) The study, newly published in the journal of Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, finds that running mitigates the negative impacts chronic stress has on the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for learning and memory.
  
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• Study links fox domestication to gene activity in the pituitary gland

  14-02-2018 06:00
  (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) A study of foxes offers new insights into the brain changes that occur in wild canids as they become more tame, researchers report. The study links fox domestication to changes in gene activity in the pituitary gland, a brain center that kicks out hormones to regulate various bodily functions, including the stress response.
  
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• Study finds that a surprise stimulus helps people stop an action

  14-02-2018 06:00
  (University of Iowa) A new study from the University of Iowa finds that an unexpected sound causes people to stop an action more often than when they heard no sound at all. The finding could lead to new treatments for patients with motor-control disorders, such as Parkinson's disease and ADHD, as well as address the decline in motor control that accompanies aging. Results published in the Journal of Neuroscience.
  
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• Scalable two-dimensional materials advance future-gen electronics

  14-02-2018 06:00
  (Penn State) Since the discovery of the remarkable properties of graphene, scientists have increasingly focused research on the many other two-dimensional materials possible, both those found in nature and those concocted in the lab. However, growing high-quality, crystalline 2-D materials at scale has proven a significant challenge.
  
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• Rutgers-led innovation could spur faster, cheaper, nano-based manufacturing

  14-02-2018 06:00
  (Rutgers University) Engineers at Rutgers University-New Brunswick and Oregon State University are developing a new method of processing nanomaterials that could lead to faster and cheaper manufacturing of flexible thin film devices -- from touch screens to window coatings, according to a new study. The 'intense pulsed light sintering' method uses high-energy light over an area nearly 7,000 times larger than a laser to fuse nanomaterials in seconds.
  
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• Rotating dusty gaseous donut around an active supermassive black hole

  14-02-2018 06:00
  (National Institutes of Natural Sciences) High resolution observations with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) imaged a rotating dusty gas torus around an active supermassive black hole. The existence of such rotating donuts-shape structures was first suggested decades ago, but this is the first time one has been confirmed so clearly. This is an important step in understanding the co-evolution of supermassive black holes and their host galaxies.
  
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• Remote jets are clearer now

  14-02-2018 06:00
  (Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology) The hypothesis that was put to the test in the study states that jet power depends on the magnetic flux and the rotation rate of the black hole. Scientists have come up with the model that can estimate the amount of energy lost by the black hole due to the slowing down of its rotation.
  
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• Practical work-related tasks may reduce burnout in new employees

  14-02-2018 06:00
  (American Friends of Tel Aviv University) A new Tel Aviv University study suggests that immediately charging new employees with simple, direct and meaningful tasks may be more effective in preventing newcomer burnout in the workplace than providing 'emotional' assistance.
  
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• PharmaMar licenses synthetic marine-derived payloads to Seattle Genetics

  14-02-2018 06:00
  (Pharmamar) PharmaMar will receive an upfront payment of 5,000,000 US dollars, followed by development milestones if an antibody-drug conjugate enters clinical development.
  
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• Personality: Where does it come from and how does it work?

  14-02-2018 06:00
  (American Psychological Association) How do our personalities develop? What do we come with and what is built from our experiences? Once developed, how does personality work? These questions have been steeped in controversy for almost as long as psychology has existed.
  
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• Organ-on-chip technology enters next stage as experts test hepatitis B virus

  14-02-2018 06:00
  (Imperial College London) Scientists at Imperial College London have become the first in the world to test how pathogens interact with artificial human organs.
  
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