Science news

• Human neural stem cell grafts to repair spinal cord injuries in monkeys

  26-02-2018 22:52
  Neuroscientists and surgeons successfully grafted human neural progenitor cells into rhesus monkeys with spinal cord injuries. The grafts not only survived, but grew hundreds of thousands of human axons and synapses, resulting in improved forelimb function in the monkeys.
  
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• Sleuths find metal in 'metal-free' catalysts

  26-02-2018 22:51
  Scientists find the metal in supposedly 'metal-free' graphene catalysts for oxygen reduction reactions that turn chemical energy into electrical energy. The discovery could allow for better tuning of two-dimensional materials for fuel cells and other applications.
  
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• Scorpion venom component can reduce severity of rheumatoid arthritis

  26-02-2018 22:51
  A group of researchers has found that one of the hundreds of components in scorpion venom can reduce the severity of rheumatoid arthritis in animal models, without inducing side effects associated with similar treatments.
  
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• Teen sexting may be more common than you think

  26-02-2018 21:45 via cbc.ca
  A sizable number of young people under 18 engage in sexting, the practice of electronically sharing sexually explicit material, with an estimated one in seven sending sexts and one in four receiving them, a U.S. study suggests.
  
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• Tracking data reveal the secret lives of marine animals

  26-02-2018 21:27
  Tracking devices deployed on wild animals have revealed unexpected behaviors and migratory patterns in marine animals ranging from sharks and seals to turtles and albatrosses. Researchers from around the world have now pooled their data on the movements of a wide array of marine animals, enabling them to look for common features in how animals move throughout the world's oceans.
  
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• Receptor protects against allergies, asthma

  26-02-2018 21:27
  A special receptor on cells that line the sinuses, throat and lungs evolved to protect mammals from developing a range of allergies and asthma, according to a new study.
  
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• Humans changed the ecosystems of Central Africa more than 2,600 years ago

  26-02-2018 21:27
  Humans shape nature, not only since the onset of industrialization. Such influences are well documented in the Amazonian rainforest. The influence of humans was debated in Central Africa where major interventions seem to have occurred 2,600 years ago.
  
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• Complete genomes of extinct and living elephants sequenced

  26-02-2018 21:27
  Researchers have produced one of the most comprehensive evolutionary pictures to date by looking at one of the world's most iconic animal families - namely elephants, and their relatives mammoths and mastodons-spanning millions of years.
  
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• Series of storms more than 150 years ago caused extensive erosion of the Carpinteria Salt Marsh

  26-02-2018 21:26
  Flooding isn't new to the Santa Barbara coastline. However, the inundation doesn't always come from the mountains as it did last month in Montecito. Back in 1861-2, a series of large storms washed beach sand more than a quarter mile inland into what today is the Carpinteria Salt Marsh. Although historical accounts document the inland flooding, little has been known about how those storms impacted a now heavily developed California coast.
  
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• Reforesting US topsoils store massive amounts of carbon, with potential for much more

  26-02-2018 21:26
  Forests across the United States -- and especially forest soils -- store massive amounts of carbon, offsetting about 10 percent of the country's annual greenhouse gas emissions and helping to mitigate climate change.
  
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• New understanding of ocean turbulence could improve climate models

  26-02-2018 21:26
  Researchers have developed a new statistical understanding of how turbulent flows called mesoscale eddies dissipate their energy, which could be helpful in creating better ocean and climate models.
  
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• Flu forecasting system tracks geographic spread of disease

  26-02-2018 21:26
  Scientists developed a system to accurately predict the geographic spread of seasonal influenza in the United States
  
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• Ancient Egyptian necropolis holds buried treasures

  26-02-2018 20:13 via cbc.ca
  Archaeologists in Egypt have found ancient necropolis near the Nile Valley city of Minya containing the mummies of priests, more than 1,000 statues, jewelry and amulets, including one bearing the words 'Happy New Year' in hieroglyphics.
  
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• Report suggests growing gap between greenhouse gas projections and promises

  26-02-2018 20:01 via cbc.ca
  A recently released report by the federal government to the United Nations suggests the gap is growing between Canada's greenhouse gas promises and the likely result of its policies.
  
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• Improved method of treating pancreatic cancer

  26-02-2018 19:14
  A heating and freezing process known as dual thermal ablation can kill pancreatic cancer cells, according to new research.
  
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• Global fossil fuel emissions of hydrocarbons are underestimated

  26-02-2018 19:14
  Global levels of ethane and propane in the atmosphere have been underestimated by more than 50 percent, new research has revealed. These hydrocarbons are particularly harmful in large cities where, through chemical reactions with emissions from cars, they form ozone -- a greenhouse gas which is a key component of smog and directly linked to increases in mortality.
  
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• Some flu strains can make mice forgetful

  26-02-2018 19:00
  
  Mice infected with influenza had memory problems a month later, a result that hints at a link between infections and brain performance.
  
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• Scientists haven't seen any North Atlantic right whale calves in usual areas

  26-02-2018 18:31 via cbc.ca
  Scientists say they haven't spotted a single North Atlantic right whale calf in their usual breeding grounds, raising even greater concern over the fate of the endangered mammal.
  
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• Watch fat cells help heal a wound in a fly

  26-02-2018 18:26
  Fat body cells in Drosophila play a surprising role in sealing wounds and preventing infection, researchers report. The cells, which were previously thought to be immobile, propel themselves forward toward wounds with a worm-like wave motion, rather than adhering to and pushing off of other structures like most motile cells do.
  
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• Social circle questions may better predict election outcomes

  26-02-2018 18:26
  Most election polls take the political pulse of a state or nation by reaching out to citizens about their voting plans. One researchers says pollsters might also ask: how do your friends plan to vote?
  
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• Climate value of Earth's intact forests

  26-02-2018 18:26
  New research demonstrates the extraordinary value of Earth's remaining intact forests for addressing climate change and protecting wildlife, critical watersheds, indigenous cultures, and human health.
  
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• Printing of flexible, stretchable silver nanowire circuits

  26-02-2018 18:25
  Researchers have developed a new technique that allows them to print circuits on flexible, stretchable substrates using silver nanowires. The advance makes it possible to integrate the material into a wide array of electronic devices.
  
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• Newest data shows childhood obesity continues to increase

  26-02-2018 18:25
  Despite reports in recent years suggesting childhood obesity could be reaching a plateau in some groups, the big picture on obesity rates for children ages 2 to 19 remains unfavorable, according to a new analysis.
  
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• New advances in medication for muscle disease in children

  26-02-2018 18:25
  Spinraza, the gene therapy medication, also provides significant improvements in cases with the next most severe form of neuromuscular disease, spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), which afflicts children from 6 to 18 months of age.
  
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• Method of tracking reactions between air and carbon-based compounds established

  26-02-2018 18:25
  Study could allow researchers to study pollution, smog, and haze in a comprehensive way, backed by data that accurately depicts a compound's behavior over time.
  
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• Low magnesium levels make vitamin D ineffective

  26-02-2018 18:25
  Vitamin D can't be metabolized without sufficient magnesium levels, meaning Vitamin D remains stored and inactive for as many as 50 percent of Americans. In addition, Vitamin D supplements can increase a person's calcium and phosphate levels even while they remain Vitamin D deficient. People may suffer from vascular calcification if their magnesium levels aren't high enough to prevent the complication.
  
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• King penguins may be on the move very soon

  26-02-2018 18:25
  More than 70 percent of the global King penguin population, currently forming colonies in Crozet, Kerguelen and Marion sub-Antarctic islands, may be nothing more than a memory in a matter of decades, as global warming will soon force the birds to move south, or disappear.
  
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• Could cleaning up beaches make Americans better off?

  26-02-2018 18:25
  Cleaning up beaches could boost local economies in addition to preserving natural treasures and animal habitats, a new study finds.
  
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• Accurate telomere length test influences treatment decisions for certain diseases

  26-02-2018 18:25
  Research by physicians and scientists shows that a test for measuring the length of DNA endcaps, called telomeres, which has a variability rate of 5 percent, can alter treatment decisions for patients with certain types of bone marrow failure.
  
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• Quiescent cells also mutate

  26-02-2018 18:24
  For almost a hundred years, geneticists have believed that the more a cell divides the more mutations it acquires. However, scientists show that quiescent cells, which do not divide, also acquire a particular type of mutation -- deletions (mutations through loss of nucleobases).
  
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• Proof-of-concept study reveals feasibility of eliminating rabies in Africa

  26-02-2018 18:24
  Scientists have carried out a mass dog vaccination in Chad and determined its effect on human rabies exposure. The study employed a bio-mathematical method for estimating the transmission dynamics of rabies. The researchers conclude that with political will and the necessary funding, elimination of rabies is possible in Africa.
  
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• Improving quality of life for people with chronic heart failure

  26-02-2018 18:24
  Patients with chronic heart failure face related problems, such as depression and fatigue, that could be relieved by an expanded model of care, according to a recently published study.
  
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• Optical distance measurement at record-high speed

  26-02-2018 16:33
  Scientists have demonstrated the fastest distance measurement so far. The researchers demonstrated on-the-fly sampling of a gun bullet profile with micrometer accuracy. The experiment relied on a soliton frequency comb generated in a chip-based optical microresonator made from silicon nitride. Potential applications comprise real-time 3D cameras based on highly precise and compact LIDAR systems.
  
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• Largest molecular spin found close to a quantum phase transition

  26-02-2018 16:33
  An international research team has synthesized a new magnetic molecule. The team has confirmed that this reveals the largest ground state spin attained so far.
  
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• Key inner control mechanism of cell's 'smart glue'

  26-02-2018 16:33
  Understanding of ALS and acute myeloid leukemia could advance with discovery of how the protein nucleophosmin undergoes 'self-interaction,' study shows.
  
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• Improving the quality of high altitude medicine

  26-02-2018 16:33
  Study location, exact altitude and a detailed profile of the study participants are just three of altogether 42 factors which are to be included in any future study, project description or publication related to high altitude medicine. A select group of experts, including high altitude physicians from all over the world, were invited to define which factors were most pertinent for inclusion in the guidelines by forming a consensus through multiple rounds of discussion.
  
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• A new approach towards highly efficient and air-stable perovskite solar cells

  26-02-2018 16:33
  Research into the use of perovskite materials as solar cells has boomed in the last several years, following reports of high energy conversion efficiencies, which have continued to climb. New research reveals how to improve the lifetime of these solar cells.
  
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• Guns Kill Kids in Cities, Too

  26-02-2018 16:20 via rss.sciam.com
  New evidence shows green spaces in urban neighborhoods increase outdoor usage and lessen the opportunity for crime-- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• The quest to identify the nature of the neutrino’s alter ego is heating up

  26-02-2018 13:00
  
  The search is on for a rare nuclear decay that could prove neutrinos are their own antiparticles and shed light on the universe’s antimatter mystery.
  
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• International forensics lab unlocks 28-year-old Yellowknife missing person case

  26-02-2018 11:00 via cbc.ca
  Last week's breakthrough in a Yellowknife missing person case was made with the help of a Serbian forensics lab.
  
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• Space junk threatens to disrupt our daily lives. Here's what experts are trying to do about it

  26-02-2018 10:00 via cbc.ca
  We may not give it much attention, but Earth is surrounded by more than 165 million pieces of space debris that could cause problems in the future.
  
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• Overwatch backers push pro video games as big-league eSports spectacle

  26-02-2018 10:00 via cbc.ca
  Packed stadiums, screaming fans, franchise jerseys, big paychecks, team housing with live-in coaches and a chef cooking healthy meals. This is life in the big leagues - of video gaming. The Overwatch League is promoting eSports as big-budget mass entertainment.
  
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• 'Even a 1-cm piece has the kinetic energy of an exploding grenade': Increasing man-made space debris a concern

  26-02-2018 10:00 via cbc.ca
  We may not give it much attention, but Earth is surrounded by more than 165 million pieces of space debris that could cause problems in the future.
  
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• Food for Thought: Was Cooking a Pivotal Step in Human Evolution?

  26-02-2018 07:45 via rss.sciam.com
  The dietary practice coincided with increases in brain size, evidence suggests-- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• With Health EU, everyone will have an avatar to manage their health

  26-02-2018 06:00
  (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) In the future, will people have virtual twins to help monitor their health? That is what Health EU is proposing. This major project, led by a consortium headed by EPFL, is in the running to be a European Union FET Flagship project. If successful, it will receive €1 billion in financing over ten years.
  
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• 'War junk' left behind in Lapland by Germans is valuable cultural heritage to locals

  26-02-2018 06:00
  (University of Helsinki) During the Second World War, the number of Germans and their prisoners in Finnish Lapland exceeded, at its height, that of the local population. The Germans left behind a great deal of material that, outside Lapland, has been considered 'war junk'. In Lapland, however, it is seen as an integral part of the region's cultural heritage. Opposing views on the relationship between nature and culture have been pitted against each other.
  
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• University of Guelph Study uncovers new insights into the cause of cell death in Parkinson's

  26-02-2018 06:00
  (University of Guelph) University of Guelph researcher discovered one of the factors behind nerve cell death in Parkinson's disease.Professor Scott Ryan found that cardiolipin, a molecule inside nerve cells, helps ensure that a protein called alpha-synuclein folds properly. Misfolding of this protein leads to protein deposits that are the hallmark of Parkinson's disease.
  
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• University of Guelph study uncovers cause of cell death in Parkinson's disease

  26-02-2018 06:00
  (University of Guelph) University of Guelph researcher discovered one of the factors behind nerve cell death in Parkinson's disease.Professor Scott Ryan found that cardiolipin, a molecule inside nerve cells, helps ensure that a protein called alpha-synuclein folds properly. Misfolding of this protein leads to protein deposits that are the hallmark of Parkinson's disease.
  
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• The secret to tripling the number of grains in sorghum and perhaps other staple crops

  26-02-2018 06:00
  (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) Scientists have figured out how to triple the number of grains that the sorghum plant produces: by lowering the level of a key hormone, generating more flowers and more seeds. This points toward a strategy for significantly increasing the yield of sorghum and other staple grain crops.
  
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• The onset of Alzheimer's disease: The importance of family history

  26-02-2018 06:00
  (McGill University) A Canadian study published in JAMA Neurology shows that the closer a person gets to the age at which their parent exhibited the first signs of Alzheimer's, the more likely they are to have amyloid plaques, the cause of the cognitive decline associated with the disease, in their brain.
  
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