Science news

• Using pedometers in a short term walking program boosts long term activity

  09-03-2018 23:07
  Experts have found that people who use pedometers to count their steps as part of a 12-week walking programme, can have a healthier, more active lifestyle three to four years later.
  
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• Unique diamond impurities indicate water deep in Earth's mantle

  09-03-2018 23:07
  Scientists have discovered the first direct evidence that fluid water pockets may exist as far as 500 miles deep into the Earth's mantle.
  
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• West Coast waters returning to normal but salmon catches lagging

  09-03-2018 23:06
  Ocean conditions off most of the US West Coast are returning roughly to average, after an extreme marine heat wave from about 2014 to 2016 disrupted the California Current Ecosystem and shifted many species beyond their traditional range, according to a new report from NOAA Fisheries' two marine laboratories on the West Coast. Some warm waters remain off the Pacific Northwest, however.
  
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• Blood stored longer may be less safe for patients with massive blood loss and shock

  09-03-2018 23:06
  In a collaborative study using a mouse model, researchers have found mechanistic links between older stored red blood cell transfusions and subsequent bacterial pneumonia. This may reveal new approaches to improve safety of stored red blood cell transfusions. The key player is free heme, a breakdown product from degraded red blood cells.
  
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• Absence of key protein, TTP, rapidly turns young bones old

  09-03-2018 23:06
  The absence of TTP, a protein critical to the control of inflammation, may lead to rapid and severe bone loss, according to a new study.
  
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• Superconductors may shed light on the black hole information paradox

  09-03-2018 22:12
  
  Materials that conduct electricity without resistance might mimic black hole physics.
  
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• What we do and don’t know about how to prevent gun violence

  09-03-2018 21:52
  
  Background checks work to prevent gun violence; concealed carry and stand-your-ground laws don’t. But lack of data makes it hard to make other links.
  
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• Metal-organic compounds produces new class of glass

  09-03-2018 20:23
  Lightning and volcanos both produce glass, and humans have been making glass from silicon dioxide since prehistory. Industrialization brought us boron-based glasses, polymer glasses and metallic glasses, but now an international team of researchers has developed a new family of glass based on metals and organic compounds that stacks up to the original silica in glass-forming ability.
  
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• Blood donors' leftover immune cells reveal secrets of antibody affinity

  09-03-2018 20:23
  Researchers have gained crucial insights into how natural killer cells circulating in the human body differ from those typically studied in the lab.
  
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• Antigen study supports new approach to vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus

  09-03-2018 20:23
  Medical researchers have been trying to develop a vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) for more than 50 years, without success. New findings however, point to a promising route for designing an effective vaccine.
  
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• Insight into metastability and avalanche dynamics in strongly correlated gases with long-range interactions

  09-03-2018 20:02
  The phenomenon of metastability -- when a system is in a state that is stable but not the one of least energy -- is widely observed in nature and technology. Yet, many aspects underlying the mechanisms governing the behavior and dynamics of such systems remain unexplored. Physicists have now demonstrated a promising platform for studying metastability on a fundamental level, using an exquisitely well controlled gas consisting of a few ten thousands of atoms.
  
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• A model for autoignition in turbulent jets

  09-03-2018 20:02
  Jets are rapid streams of liquids or gases that forcefully shoot into a surrounding medium. When ignitable substances are involved, combustion -- rapid chemical reactions that result in heat and light -- can occur. Autoignition ensues when this spontaneous combustion results in a visible flame. In a newly-published paper, authors provide a mathematical model for autoignition in free round turbulent jets.
  
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• Alien atmospheres recreated on Earth

  09-03-2018 19:53 via bbc.co.uk
  Research shows that planets orbiting distant stars may be surprisingly colourful.
  
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• Sir John Sulston human genome pioneer dies

  09-03-2018 19:01 via bbc.co.uk
  Sir John Sulston, a key figure in the race to decode the human genome, has died at the age of 75.
  
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• Newfound clock in blood brain barrier of fruit flies regulates daily permeability

  09-03-2018 18:52
  Researchers found that the fruit fly blood brain barrier has a molecular clock that makes it more or less penetrable during over 24 hours. Giving mutant flies a drug for treating seizures at night was more effective.
  
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• Making a splash in search for interstellar water

  09-03-2018 18:52
  Water is crucial for life, but how do you make water? Cooking up some H2O takes more than mixing hydrogen and oxygen. It requires the special conditions found deep within frigid molecular clouds, where dust shields against destructive ultraviolet light and aids chemical reactions. NASA's James Webb Space Telescope will peer into these cosmic reservoirs to gain new insights into the origin and evolution of water and other key building blocks for habitable planets.
  
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• Majority of mining-related injuries and illness in Illinois go unreported

  09-03-2018 18:52
  Illnesses and injuries associated with working in Illinois mines are substantially underreported to the federal agency tasked with tracking these events, according to a new study.
  
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• Experiment sheds new light on prehistoric ocean conditions

  09-03-2018 18:52
  An international research team modeled the prehistoric ocean to study the reduction of iron. The team's findings may reinterpret the conditions under which iron-rich sedimentary rock was formed.
  
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• Carbon could be locked in forests

  09-03-2018 18:52
  Argonne researchers have found that in the next 100 years, already existing reforestation in the country could help topsoil absorb an additional 2 billion tons of carbon.
  
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• Museum mummies sport world’s oldest tattoo drawings

  09-03-2018 18:23
  
  A wild bull and symbolic designs were imprinted on the bodies of two Egyptians at least 5,000 years ago.
  
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• Facebook signs deal with Warner to use its music

  09-03-2018 18:01 via cbc.ca
  Facebook has signed an agreement with Warner Music Group that allows users to include Warner’s recorded music in messages and posts on Facebook, Messenger, Instagram and Oculus.
  
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• Former Halifax child prodigy grows up to design self-folding origami robots

  09-03-2018 17:05 via cbc.ca
  A Halifax-born former child prodigy has proven he can do just about anything with a piece of paper.
  
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• Defect in cells' antenna linked to deformed organs in zebrafish

  09-03-2018 16:47
  A protein at the base of the 'antenna' of many of the body's cells is vital to a crucial type of cell signal and to whether organs like the heart develop correctly, a test with zebrafish shows.
  
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• Across the metal-molecule interface: Observing fluctuations on the single-molecule scale

  09-03-2018 16:47
  Scientists have developed a technique for analyzing structural and electronic fluctuations on the single-molecule scale across the metal-molecule interface in an organic electronic device. This technique provides information that cannot be obtained using the conventional method, and it has important implications for devices such as organic solar cells.
  
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• Bones found in 1940 likely Amelia Earhart's, study says

  09-03-2018 16:28 via cbc.ca
  ​Bones found in 1940 on a western Pacific Ocean island were quite likely to be remains from famed aviator Amelia Earhart, a new analysis concludes.
  
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• Readers muse about memory, magnetic monopoles and more

  09-03-2018 16:20
  Readers had questions about the physical trace of memory, magnetic monopoles, blowflies and more.
  
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• Discussing what matters when facts are not enough

  09-03-2018 16:20
  Editor in Chief Nancy Shute reflects on finding common ground with science and policy.
  
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• Why the world looks stable while we move

  09-03-2018 16:06
  Neuroscientists investigate the interaction of visual perception and head movements with functional magnetic resonance imaging.
  
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• Fast-acting antidote in sight for cholera epidemics

  09-03-2018 16:06
  Groundbreaking discoveries regarding the onset of cholera are paving the way for a future, fast-acting antidote for cholera epidemics.
  
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• Third-hand smoke found to increase lung cancer risk in mice

  09-03-2018 15:55
  Researchers have identified third-hand smoke, the toxic residues that linger on indoor surfaces and in dust long after a cigarette has been extinguished, as a health hazard nearly 10 years ago. Now a new study has found that it also increases lung cancer risk in mice.
  
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• Survival benefit seen for some patients when cardiologists are away at academic conferences

  09-03-2018 15:55
  Heart-attack sufferers who receive treatment during periods when interventional cardiologists are away at academic conferences are more likely to survive in the month after their heart attack than patients receiving treatment during nonmeeting days.
  
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• Study predicts wildlife of Africa's Albertine Rift will be threatened by climate change

  09-03-2018 15:55
  A new study predicts that the effects of climate change will severely impact the Albertine Rift, one of Africa's most biodiverse regions and a place not normally associated with global warming.
  
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• Novel technology for anticancer drug delivery on demand

  09-03-2018 15:55
  With the goal of minimizing the side effects of chemotherapy on healthy tissues, scientists have developed novel nanocontainers able to deliver anticancer drugs at precise timing and location. They combines uniquely designed molecules and light-dependent drug release, which may provide a new platform to enhance the effect of anticancer therapeutics.
  
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• Moist snuff: Blood samples can soon reveal your lifestyle

  09-03-2018 15:55
  People who use moist snuff 'snus' have significantly higher levels of the protein cornulin in their blood than non-snusers. This previously unknown relationship was found in a new study. Whether higher levels per se increase the risk of disease has, however, not yet been clarified.
  
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• Mandatory flu vaccines for healthcare workers reduce absenteeism

  09-03-2018 15:55
  A multi-institutional study shows that mandatory flu vaccines for healthcare workers improve vaccination rates by as much as 30 percent and reduce absenteeism during critical periods by about six percent. Further, vaccinated healthcare workers had a 30 percent reduction in absenteeism compared to non-vaccinated healthcare workers overall.
  
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• Increasing tree mortality in a warming world

  09-03-2018 15:55
  A mix of factors is contributing to an increasing mortality rate of trees in the moist tropics, where trees in some areas are dying at about twice the rate that they were 35 years ago.
  
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• Gut microbes influence severity of intestinal parasitic infections

  09-03-2018 15:55
  A new study indicates that the kinds of microbes living in the gut influence the severity and recurrence of parasitic worm infections in developing countries. The findings suggest that manipulating the gut's microbial communities may protect against intestinal parasites, which affect more than 1 billion people worldwide.
  
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• Genetic timeline of early Pacific settlers

  09-03-2018 15:55
  Researchers have helped put together the most comprehensive study ever conducted into the origins of people in Vanuatu -- regarded as a geographic gateway from Asia to the Remote Pacific.
  
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• For nanomedicine, cell sex matmonoclonal antibodies crucial to fighting emerging infectious diseases

  09-03-2018 15:55
  Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) -- preparations of a type of antibody designed to bind to a single target -- have shown promise in the fight against cancer and autoimmune diseases. They also may play a role in future battles against emerging infectious disease outbreaks. A new article outlines the potential uses for mAbs as treatments for infectious diseases, as prevention for protecting at-risk individuals, and slowing disease outbreaks.
  
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• Eyelash-sized plants reveal climate change -- and citizen scientists help identify them

  09-03-2018 15:55
  A motley band of citizen scientists -- including a high school student and a retired businesswoman -- teamed up with a botanist to build a tool that lets the public participate in a research project about eyelash-sized plants that reveal climate change.
  
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• Can't sleep? Could be down to genetics

  09-03-2018 15:55
  Researchers have identified specific genes that may trigger the development of sleep problems, and have also demonstrated a genetic link between insomnia and psychiatric disorders such as depression, or physical conditions such as type 2 diabetes.
  
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• Agricultural sustainability project reached 20.9 million smallholder farmers across China

  09-03-2018 15:55
  An effort to improve crop yields and reduce fertilizer use applied top-down and bottom-up approaches to reach 20 million smallholder farmers across China.
  
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• Six-legged robots get closer to nature

  09-03-2018 15:54
  A study has uncovered new ways of driving multi-legged robots by means of a two-level controller. The proposed controller uses a network of so-called non-linear oscillators that enables the generation of diverse gaits and postures, which are specified by only a few high-level parameters. The study inspires new research into how multi-legged robots can be controlled, including in the future using brain-computer interfaces.
  
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• Modulation of Fgf21 gene in early-life ameliorates adulthood diet-induced obesity

  09-03-2018 15:54
  The importance of good nutrition in the early development of children has been recognized for many decades. Nutritional experiences in early life can have profound and long-lasting effects on body weight in later life. For instance, malnutrition in early life as a result of poor nutrition during pregnancy and/or the lactation period may be stored on the offspring genome as epigenetic memory and persist into adulthood, thereby increasing the susceptibility to metabolic diseases such as obesity in
  
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• Melding of concepts from different scientific fields

  09-03-2018 15:54
  Researchers have investigated how seemingly separate concepts in scientific fields fuse to become universal approaches by by developing a new methodology to analyze citations in papers that use similar concepts, and tracked the changes over time. The researcher used ABM -- agent based modeling -- and IBM -- individual based modeling as examples.
  
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• Heat shock system helps bug come back to life after drying up

  09-03-2018 15:54
  The larva of the sleeping chironomid, Polypedilum vanderplanki -- a mosquito-like insect that inhabits semi-arid areas of Africa -- is well known for being able to come back to life after being nearly completely desiccated, losing up to 97 percent of its body's water content. Now, researchers have discovered that a gene called heat shock factor -- which is present in some form in nearly all living organisms on earth -- has been coopted by the species to survive desiccation.
  
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• An itch you can't scratch: Researchers find 'itch receptors' in the throats of mice

  09-03-2018 15:54
  Working with mice, researchers report they have found previously known skin itch receptors in the airways that appear to contribute to bronchoconstriction and airway hypersensitivity, hallmarks of asthma and other respiratory disorders. The investigators' experiments in mice suggest that the receptors' activation directly aggravates airway constriction and -- if the same process is active in people -- may be a promising new target for the development of drug therapies.
  
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• A compass in the dark

  09-03-2018 15:54
  A research team has published a new model which allows studying magnetoreception. Analyzing zebrafish and medaka fish allowed the researchers to measure brain activity during magnetic stimulation and to show that the sense also works in darkness.
  
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• Ministers question 'latte levy' on cups

  09-03-2018 15:09 via bbc.co.uk
  The government says it is better for coffee shops to offer discounts to those who bring their own cups.
  
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• Clearing the Radioactive Rubble Heap That Was Fukushima Daiichi, 7 Years On

  09-03-2018 12:45 via rss.sciam.com
  The water is tainted, the wreckage is dangerous, and disposing of it will be a prolonged, complex and costly process-- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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