Science news

• Short-term use of IV devices is common -- and risky -- study shows

  23-02-2018 22:40
  Many hospital patients get medicine or nutrition delivered straight into their bloodstream through a tiny device called a PICC. In just a decade, it's become the go-to device for intravenous care. But a new study finds that one in every four times a PICC gets inserted, the patient didn't need it long enough to justify the risks it can pose. And nearly one in ten of those patients suffered a complication linked to the device.
  
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• Plastic straws could be banned, suggests Michael Gove

  23-02-2018 22:39 via bbc.co.uk
  The environment secretary suggests outlawing plastic straws could be easier after Brexit.
  
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• TD Bank halts allowing customers to use credit cards to buy cryptocurrency

  23-02-2018 22:20 via cbc.ca
  Toronto-Dominion Bank is halting the use of its credit cards to buy cryptocurrency as it conducts a review of the "evolving market."
  
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• Young children use physics, not previous rewards, to learn about tools

  23-02-2018 21:19
  Children as young as seven apply basic laws of physics to problem-solving, rather than learning from what has previously been rewarded, suggests new research.
  
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• Metalens combined with an artificial muscle

  23-02-2018 21:19
  Inspired by the human eye, researchers have developed an adaptive metalens that is essentially a flat, electronically controlled artificial eye. The adaptive metalens simultaneously controls for three of the major contributors to blurry images: focus, astigmatism, and image shift.
  
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• Charging ahead to higher energy batteries

  23-02-2018 21:19
  Researchers have developed a new way to improve lithium ion battery efficiency. Through the growth of a cubic crystal layer, the scientists have created a thin and dense connecting layer between the electrodes of the battery.
  
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• Why are there so many types of lizards?

  23-02-2018 21:18
  Researchers have sequenced the complete genetic code -- the genome -- of several vertebrate species from Panama. They found that changes in genes involved in the interbrain (the site of the pineal gland and other endocrine glands), for color vision, hormones and the colorful dewlap that males bob to attract females, may contribute to the formation of boundaries between species. Genes regulating limb development also evolved especially quickly.
  
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• Molecular Trojan horse delivers chemotherapeutic drug to cancer cells

  23-02-2018 21:18
  Researchers have discovered a way for chemotherapy drug paclitaxel to target migrating, or circulating, cancer cells, which are responsible for the development of tumor metastases. Until now, paclitaxel has only been used to target rapidly dividing cancer cells. The team was successful in getting the drug to piggyback on 123B9, an agent they devised to target an oncogene called EphA2.
  
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• Link between surface-water salinity and climate change examined

  23-02-2018 21:18
  New research explores the impact of de-icing salt from roads and highways on a local watershed. The findings offer hope for the watershed's future surface-water chloride concentrations.
  
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• Ice chips only? Study questions restrictions on oral intake for women in labor

  23-02-2018 21:18
  At most US maternity units, women in labor are put on nil per os (NPO) status -- they're not allowed to eat or drink anything, except ice chips. But new nursing research questions that policy, showing no increase in risks for women who are allowed to eat and drink during labor.
  
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• Artificial intelligence shows unprecedented detail in global fishing activities

  23-02-2018 20:41 via cbc.ca
  Researchers are learning more than ever before about the effects humans are having on global fish stocks, thanks to advances in satellite technology and computer software.
  
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• Norway to spend $13 million to upgrade 'doomsday' Arctic seed vault

  23-02-2018 19:30
  OSLO (Reuters) - Norway plans to spend 100 million Norwegian crowns ($13 million) to upgrade a doomsday seed vault on an Arctic island built 10 years ago to protect the world's food supplies, the government said on Friday.
  
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• Prevention is better than cure: Targeted vaccination to halt epidemics

  23-02-2018 19:20
  Scientists simulated real-world social networks to assess the best strategies for halting epidemics.
  
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• China's two-child policy may exacerbate gender inequality

  23-02-2018 19:19
  Since China ended its one-child policy allowing all families to have up to two children, an additional 90 million women have become eligible to have a second child. But new sociology research suggests the new universal two-child policy could be negatively affecting women's status and gender equality.
  
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• Children's learning is not affected by repeated sick days with fever and infections

  23-02-2018 18:24
  Whereas severe infections with long-term hospitalizations can make it more difficult for a child to pass the 9th grade exam, recurring less serious severe infections do not affect children's learning.
  
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• The way streets and buildings are arranged makes a big difference in how heat builds up

  23-02-2018 18:23
  A new study shows a way to dial down the urban heat island effects that can pump up city temperatures, through different city planning based on classical physics formulas.
  
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• New device for low-cost single-cell analysis identifies fibroblast subtypes in rheumatoid arthritis patients

  23-02-2018 18:23
  Researchers have taken steps to facilitate broad access to single-cell sequencing by developing a 3-D-printed, portable and low-cost microfluidic controller. To demonstrate the utility of the instrument in clinical environments, the researchers deployed the device to study synovial tissue from patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
  
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• Model based on hydrothermal sources evaluate possibility of life on Jupiter's icy moon

  23-02-2018 18:23
  Scientists compare primitive Earth scenario with satellite Europa's conditions; the Jupiterian moon could host microorganisms at the bottom of a huge warm ocean located underneath its frozen crust.
  
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• Looking for an off switch for celiac disease

  23-02-2018 18:23
  New research identifies an enzyme that turns off transglutaminase 2, potentially paving the way for new treatments for celiac disease.
  
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• Attosecond physics: A keen sense for molecules

  23-02-2018 18:23
  Laser physicists have developed an extremely powerful broadband infrared light source. This light source opens up a whole new range of opportunities in medicine, life science, and material analysis.
  
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• Why A.I. companies are paying random strangers to take videos of themselves doing mundane tasks

  23-02-2018 17:51 via cbc.ca
  Wired's Tom Simonite tells us about the bizarre odd jobs he's performed for A.I. startups, from lying facedown on the carpet to pretending to buy groceries.
  
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• Scientists take step toward safer batteries by trimming lithium branches

  23-02-2018 17:38
  Researchers have found a new way to curb some of the potential dangers posed by lithium ion batteries. Repeated lithium deposition/dissolution during charge/discharge can cause serious accidents due to the deposition of lithium dendrites that penetrate the separator and induce internal short-circuiting. The researchers hope to solve the issues with a plating technology and eventually achieve a compact and high-capacity battery.
  
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• Stem cell study may result in stronger muscles in old age

  23-02-2018 17:15
  As we grow older, our muscular function declines. A new study shows how an unexpectedly high number of mutations in the stem cells of muscles impair cell regeneration. This discovery may result in new medication to build stronger muscles even when in old age.
  
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• Portable ultrasound: Post-prison follow up could improve care of patients with kidney disease

  23-02-2018 17:15
  How using portable ultrasound can help better detect fluid in the lungs of people with end-stage renal disease and a proposed better way to help inmates with ESRD navigate the free world.
  
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• Domestic goat dating back to the Neolithic Corded Ware period identified in Finland

  23-02-2018 17:15
  Goat hairs have been found in a grave structure that was discovered in the 1930s in Kauhava, western Finland. These are the oldest animal hairs found in Finland. From the perspective of Finnish prehistory, the finding supports the evidence of animal husbandry practised during the Corded Ware period, while also revealing details of burial rituals.
  
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• Complex inhalers could prevent some patients from taking medicine, study suggests

  23-02-2018 17:15
  Respiratory disease patients with arthritis could struggle to manage their conditions because their inhalers are too fiddly for them to use, new research has found.
  
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• World's fishing fleets mapped from orbit

  23-02-2018 16:16 via bbc.co.uk
  Satellite tracking shows fishing's footprint on Earth is now over four times that of agriculture.
  
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• New approach to improve nitrogen use, enhance yield, and promote flowering in rice

  23-02-2018 16:06
  Using nitrogen fertilizer increases crop yields, but excess runoff causes environmental pollution. Moreover, in grains such as rice, large amounts of nitrogen fertilizer can delay flowering, leaving the crop vulnerable to late-season cold weather. A recent study has identified a rice nitrate transporter that can be overexpressed to increase grain yield and accelerate flowering. This approach has the potential to improve grain yields while avoiding the downside of late maturation.
  
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• Two-way communication is possible with a single quantum particle

  23-02-2018 16:00
  
  One photon can transmit information in two directions at once.
  
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• Primitive art: Neanderthals were Europe's first painters

  23-02-2018 15:27
  LONDON (Reuters) - The world's oldest known cave paintings were made by Neanderthals, not modern humans, suggesting our extinct cousins were far from being uncultured brutes.
  
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• New link between gut bacteria and obesity

  23-02-2018 15:24
  Researchers have discovered a new link between gut bacteria and obesity. They found that certain amino acids in our blood can be connected to both obesity and the composition of the gut microbiome.
  
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• Playing both ends: Amphibian adapted to varied evolutionary pressures

  23-02-2018 15:21
  Caecilian, Siphonops annulatus, a limbless amphibian found throughout Brazil, has a concentration of enlarged mucous glands in its head region and a concentration of enlarged poison glands in its posterior region. These concentration appear to have evolved from different selective pressures: the ability to tunnel into the ground and to defend oneself from predators.
  
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• Evolutionary transition to destructive cancer

  23-02-2018 15:21
  In a new study, researchers explore how evolutionary processes guide the pathways of cells. Their results point to influences leading some cells to remain stable over time while driving others to become cancerous and expand without limit.
  
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• 'Tiny trash' a big problem for Canada's shorelines

  23-02-2018 14:00 via cbc.ca
  Small pieces of plastic and foam topped the list of types of litter found along Canada’s shorelines during cleanups last year, beating out the usual winner — cigarette butts.
  
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• Wildlife secrets of Nigeria's last wilderness

  23-02-2018 12:36 via bbc.co.uk
  Rare chimps, leopards and pangolins have been caught on camera in the forests of Nigeria's largest national park.
  
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• Japanese scientists invent floating 'firefly' light

  23-02-2018 11:56
  TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese engineering researchers say they have created a tiny electronic light the size of a firefly which rides waves of ultrasound, and could eventually figure in applications ranging from moving displays to projection mapping.
  
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• Wot, no signal?

  23-02-2018 11:28 via bbc.co.uk
  Billions of people still have no access to mobile services, but nano-satellites could change this.
  
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• Ancient Cave Paintings Clinch the Case for Neandertal Symbolism

  23-02-2018 11:16 via rss.sciam.com
  Abstract images in Spanish caves date back 65,000 years—millennia before Homo sapiens set foot in Europe—settling a long-running debate over Neandertal cognition-- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Ancient Cave Paintings Clinch Case for Neandertal Symbolism

  23-02-2018 11:16 via rss.sciam.com
  Abstract images in Spanish caves date back 65,000 years—millennia before Homo sapiens set foot in Europe—settling a long-running debate over Neandertal cognition-- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• How many new drugs rely on government-funded science? All of them

  23-02-2018 10:00 via cbc.ca
  There’s public science in every single new drug. That was the surprising answer to a U.S. senator’s question about how government-funded research is benefitting citizens. But it took a year to come up with the numbers.
  
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• Environmental groups pinning hopes on major spending for conservation in budget

  23-02-2018 10:00 via cbc.ca
  Conservation groups are predicting the federal budget could include up to $1.4 billion to protect land and water in Canada.
  
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• Could More Snow in Antarctica Slow Sea Level Rise?

  23-02-2018 07:45 via rss.sciam.com
  New claims that increased snowfall in eastern regions could offset melting in the western side of the continent might not stand the test of time-- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Transforming patient health care and well-being through lighting

  23-02-2018 06:00
  (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) The world of health care is changing rapidly and there is increased interest in the role that light and lighting can play in improving health outcomes for patients and providing healthy work environments for staff, according to many researchers. Recently, the Center for Lighting Enabled Systems & Applications (LESA) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, together with the Illumination Engineering Society (IES), sponsored a workshop to explore pathways to defi
  
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• The 'loudness' of our thoughts affects how we judge external sounds

  23-02-2018 06:00
  (New York University) The 'loudness' of our thoughts -- or how we imagine saying something -- influences how we judge the loudness of real, external sounds, a team of researchers from NYU Shanghai and NYU has found.
  
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• SwRI scientist helps characterize water on lunar surface

  23-02-2018 06:00
  (Southwest Research Institute) A Southwest Research Institute scientist with expertise in how water reacts with lunar soil contributed to a new study that indicates water and/or hydroxyl may be more prevalent on the Moon's surface than previously thought.
  
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• Scientists examine link between surface-water salinity, climate change

  23-02-2018 06:00
  (Syracuse University) A Syracuse University researcher explores the impact of de-icing salt from roads and highways on a local watershed. She says their findings make her 'cautiously optimistic' about the watershed's future surface-water chloride concentrations.
  
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• Researchers combine metalens with an artificial muscle

  23-02-2018 06:00
  (Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences) Inspired by the human eye, researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have developed an adaptive metalens, that is essentially a flat, electronically controlled artificial eye. The adaptive metalens simultaneously controls for three of the major contributors to blurry images: focus, astigmatism, and image shift.
  
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• Re: Thinking the robot

  23-02-2018 06:00
  (Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo) The UTokyo New York office invites you to rethink the robot. Join us for a design-thinking workshop and an inspirational evening talk with experts from the Institute of Industrial Science (IIS) at the University of Tokyo.
  
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• Public lecture on consciousness, press room, and more: CNS 2018 only 4 weeks away

  23-02-2018 06:00
  (Cognitive Neuroscience Society) The Cognitive Neuroscience Society (CNS) 2018 conference -- only 4 weeks away -- will bring together more than 1,500 scientists at the Sheraton in Boston from March 24-27. They will discuss the latest research on attention, creativity, decision-making, language, memory, and music -- in 50+ talks and 1,000+ posters.
  
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• PSU study: Pro-diversity policies make companies more innovative and profitable

  23-02-2018 06:00
  (Portland State University) PSU business school professor's research shows that companies that hire a more diverse set of employees are rewarded with a richer pipeline of innovative products and a stronger financial position.
  
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