Science news

• Canada moves to dilute Finnish bid to ban dirty fuels from the Arctic

  20-03-2018 22:58 via cbc.ca
  As the world maritime body prepares to consider a Canadian proposal to mitigate the risks of heavy fuel oil pollution in the Arctic, Ottawa is trying to water down a plan by Finland for an outright ban of the highly polluting fuel — used by most ships plying the rapidly warming Arctic.
  
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• The World Bids Farewell to the Last Male Northern White Rhino

  20-03-2018 22:40 via rss.sciam.com
  The beloved rhino bull Sudan died Monday, leaving behind only two females of its kind-- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Brexit: Ministers suffer nuclear defeat in Lords

  20-03-2018 22:24 via bbc.co.uk
  Peers vote for the UK to remain in Euratom until a post-Brexit replacement deal is in place.
  
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• Improving fabrication process of nano-structures for electronic devices

  20-03-2018 21:37
  Researchers have found a more efficient fabricating process to produce semiconductors used in today's electronic devices. They also confirmed that materials other than silicon can be used successfully in the development process that could increase performance of electronic devices.
  
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• Children of centenarians feel stronger purpose in life

  20-03-2018 21:37
  A sense of meaning and direction in life is associated with living longer and experiencing less disease, disability, and cognitive impairment. Now, a new study has found that the children of centenarians, who tend to have similar healthy aging patterns and long lives like their parents, are also much more likely than the general population to have a strong sense of purpose.
  
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• Cambridge Analytica suspends CEO pending probe in Facebook data scandal

  20-03-2018 20:50 via cbc.ca
  Cambridge Analytica has suspended CEO Alexander Nix pending a full independent investigation of his actions as a U.K. TV outlet broadcast clips of him saying his data mining firm played a major role in securing Donald Trump's victory in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
  
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• 5 things we’ve learned about Saturn since Cassini died

  20-03-2018 20:30
  
  The Cassini spacecraft plunged to its death into Saturn six months ago, but the discoveries keep coming.
  
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• Toyota pauses self-driving car testing amid Uber accident probe

  20-03-2018 19:17 via cbc.ca
  Toyota Motor Corp. will pause autonomous vehicle testing following an accident in which an Uber Technologies Inc self-driving vehicle struck and killed a woman in Tempe, Ariz.
  
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• State-by-state causes of infant mortality in the US

  20-03-2018 19:13
  Sudden unexpected death of infants (SUDI) was the most common cause of infant mortality among children born full term in the US according to estimates from a state-by-state study.
  
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• Marine researchers say recent sea star wasting disease epidemic defies prediction

  20-03-2018 19:13
  Beginning in 2013, a mysterious disease crippled sea star populations up and down the U.S. west coast. Over a matter of months, many sea star species died in record-breaking numbers, though the ochre sea star was among the hardest hit. Now, researchers have analyzed just how much the populations of this species have declined, but they have not yet determined what factors might be contributing to the epidemic.
  
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• How obesity dulls the sense of taste

  20-03-2018 19:13
  Previous studies have indicated that weight gain can reduce one's sensitivity to the taste of food. Now a new study shows that inflammation, driven by obesity, actually reduces the number of taste buds on the tongues of mice.
  
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• How obesity makes it harder to taste

  20-03-2018 19:00
  
  Mice that gained excessive weight on a high-fat diet also lost a quarter of their taste buds.
  
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• Pin1 mediates A{beta}42-induced dendritic spine loss

  20-03-2018 18:55 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Early-stage Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by the loss of dendritic spines in the neocortex of the brain. This phenomenon precedes tau pathology, plaque formation, and neurodegeneration and likely contributes to synaptic loss, memory impairment, and behavioral changes in patients. Studies suggest that dendritic spine loss is induced by soluble, multimeric amyloid-β (Aβ42), which, through postsynaptic signaling, activates the protein phosphatase calcineurin. We investigated
  
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• Nitrosylation of GAPDH augments pathological tau acetylation upon exposure to amyloid-{beta}

  20-03-2018 18:55 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Acetylation of the microtubule-associated protein tau promotes its polymerization into neurofibrillary tangles that are implicated in the pathology of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The gaseous neurotransmitter nitric oxide (NO) regulates cell signaling through the nitrosylation of proteins. We found that NO production and tau acetylation at Lys280 occurred in the brain tissue in mice and in cultured mouse cortical neurons in response to exposure to amyloid-β1–42 (Aβ1–42),
  
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• New connections: Amyloid-{beta} in the pathology of Alzheimers disease

  20-03-2018 18:55 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Two studies in this issue of Science Signaling identify how amyloid-β causes various pathological mechanisms in mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease.
  
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• Gain-of-function mutations in the gene encoding the tyrosine phosphatase SHP2 induce hydrocephalus in a catalytically dependent manner

  20-03-2018 18:55 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Catalytically activating mutations in Ptpn11, which encodes the protein tyrosine phosphatase SHP2, cause 50% of Noonan syndrome (NS) cases, whereas inactivating mutations in Ptpn11 are responsible for nearly all cases of the similar, but distinct, developmental disorder Noonan syndrome with multiple lentigines (NSML; formerly called LEOPARD syndrome). However, both types of disease mutations are gain-of-function mutations because they cause SHP2 to constitutively adopt an open conformation. We f
  
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• Electricity deal clinches $100M bitcoin mining operation in Medicine Hat

  20-03-2018 18:47 via cbc.ca
  The City of Medicine Hat has agreed to supply electricity and lease land to a Toronto-based cryptocurrency mining company in a deal that will result in $100 million in construction spending in the southern Alberta city.
  
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• Stephen Hawking's ashes to be interred near Sir Isaac Newton's grave

  20-03-2018 18:37 via bbc.co.uk
  The scientist's remains will be also be interred close to Charles Darwin's grave at Westminster Abbey.
  
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• Stephen Hawking to join Newton, Darwin in final resting place

  20-03-2018 18:33
  LONDON (Reuters) - British physicist Stephen Hawking is to take his place among some of the greatest scientists in history when his ashes are interred inside Westminster Abbey, close to the graves of Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin.
  
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• Taming chaos: Calculating probability in complex systems

  20-03-2018 17:59
  Weather patterns, brain activity and heartbeats each generate lines of complex data. To analyze this data, researchers must first divide up this continuous data into discrete pieces -- a task difficult to perform simply and accurately. Researchers have devised a method to transform data from complex systems, reducing the amount of important information lost, while still using less computing power than existing methods.
  
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• Molecular response of muscle to different types of exercise identified

  20-03-2018 17:59
  Exercise in the future could be customized for individuals based on genomics, according to a new study. For years, scientists have studied the effects of different types of exercise on the human body, but never before at this level of molecular precision, according to researchers.
  
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• Hydrogel may help heal diabetic ulcers

  20-03-2018 17:59
  A hydrogel that is adept at helping the body heal may also be particularly good at treating wounds related to diabetes.
  
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• We start caring about our reputations as early as kindergarten

  20-03-2018 17:35
  Kindergarteners don't use social media, but they do care about their public image. By the time kids go to elementary school, they're thinking critically about their reputation. Psychologists consider how our fascination with social status begins around age five, when kids begin to consider how they are viewed by others and behave in ways that cultivate positive reputations.
  
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• Role of specific gene in 16p11.2 deletion autism

  20-03-2018 17:35
  New findings in mice suggest that the lack of a copy of the gene MVP may contribute to the symptoms of 16p11.2 deletion syndrome because it is needed for brain circuits to incorporate changes driven by experience.
  
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• Natural enemies reduce pesticide use

  20-03-2018 17:35
  Crop variety in agriculture has a positive impact on the natural enemies of aphids. Farmers can use this insight to keep aphids at bay and cut down on pesticides.
  
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• 'Missing mutation' found in severe infant epilepsy

  20-03-2018 17:35
  Researchers have discovered a 'missing mutation' in severe infant epilepsy -- long-suspected genetic changes that might trigger overactive, brain-damaging electrical signaling leading to seizures. They also found early indications that specific anti-seizure medications might prevent disabling brain injury by controlling epilepsy during a crucial period shortly after birth.
  
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• Men more likely to be readmitted to hospital after sustaining a firearm injury, study finds

  20-03-2018 17:35
  Men have a substantially greater hospital readmission risk during the first three months following a firearm injury hospitalization compared to women. While this overall risk was no longer observed at six months after the initial hospitalization, the risk of renal failure and cardiovascular readmissions among males was more than three times greater than females at six months.
  
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• Excitations: First steps of photosynthesis

  20-03-2018 17:35
  Photosynthesis has driven life on this planet for more than 3 billion years -- first in bacteria, then in plants -- but we don't know exactly how it works.
  
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• Wind, sea ice patterns point to climate change in western Arctic

  20-03-2018 17:34
  A major shift in western Arctic wind patterns occurred throughout the winter of 2017 and the resulting changes in sea ice movement are possible indicators of a changing climate, says a researcher.
  
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• Study of climate change could lead to understanding future of infectious disease

  20-03-2018 17:34
  Over the past 34 years, rainfall in Uganda has decreased by about 12 percent even though many of the global climate models predict an increase in rainfall for the area, according to an international team of researchers. Rainfall levels in Uganda impact agriculture, food security, wildlife habitats and regional economics as well as the prevalence of certain diseases.
  
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• Living abroad leads to a clearer sense of self

  20-03-2018 17:34
  Living abroad can clarify your sense of self, according to new research by a team of social scientists. They found living abroad increases 'self-concept clarity,' the extent to which individuals' beliefs about themselves are clearly and confidently defined and consistent and stable over time.
  
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• A star disturbed the comets of the solar system 70,000 years ago

  20-03-2018 17:34
  About 70,000 years ago, a small reddish star approached our solar system and gravitationally disturbed comets and asteroids. Astronomers have verified that the movement of some of these objects is still marked by that stellar encounter.
  
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• UK will lead European exoplanet mission

  20-03-2018 16:29 via bbc.co.uk
  A telescope to study planets beyond our Solar System is selected by the European Space Agency.
  
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• Kids are starting to picture scientists as women

  20-03-2018 16:27
  
  An analysis of studies asking kids to draw a scientist finds that the number of females drawn has increased over the last 50 years.
  
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• Snow crab fishery's 'sustainable' label suspended in wake of whale deaths

  20-03-2018 15:44 via cbc.ca
  The London-based Marine Stewardship Council announced Tuesday it was suspending its sustainability certification for the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence snow crab fishery.
  
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• Obtaining energy from marine currents

  20-03-2018 15:24
  Researchers have developed procedures and designs to obtain energy from marine currents in areas of great depths optimizing the costs.
  
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• Interstellar asteroid likely came from 2-star system

  20-03-2018 15:22 via cbc.ca
  The first asteroid from outside our solar system ever spotted passing Earth likely came from a star system with two 'suns,' a Canadian team of astronomers says.
  
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• Even flies like a familiar song

  20-03-2018 15:08
  The process that allows sounds experienced during infancy to shape language is poorly understood. Researchers have found that courtship behavior in Drosophila melanogaster can be shaped by earlier auditory experiences. Their findings allowed them to develop a novel and simple neurological model to study how experiences of sound can shape complex modes of communication in animals.
  
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• Antibiotics could be key to relieving chronic bladder pain

  20-03-2018 15:08
  Antibiotics can successfully help rid a patient of chronic urinary tract infection symptoms, according to a new clinical study. The research highlights the growing concern of many practitioners that the tests they rely on to diagnose urinary tract infections are inadequate.
  
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• 20 percent of Americans responsible for almost half of US food-related greenhouse gas emissions

  20-03-2018 15:08
  On any given day, 20 percent of Americans account for nearly half of US diet-related greenhouse gas emissions, and high levels of beef consumption are largely responsible, according to a new study.
  
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• Northern white rhino: Last male Sudan dies in Kenya

  20-03-2018 14:50 via bbc.co.uk
  Sudan's death at the age of 45 leaves only two females of his subspecies alive in the world.
  
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• Monsanto backs new company focused on gene editing, not GMOs

  20-03-2018 14:48
  CHICAGO (Reuters) - Monsanto Co will fund a new U.S. company that aims to develop crops using technology known as gene editing, rather than the genetic modification that helped it become the world's biggest seed seller.
  
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• Wildfire intensity impacts water quality and its treatment in forested watersheds

  20-03-2018 13:44
  The recent Thomas Fire was the largest wildfire in in California's modern history. Now, researchers report that wildfires in forested watersheds can have a variable but predictable impact on the substances that are released from soils and flow into drinking water sources. The research provides important insights for water utilities evaluating treatment options after severe wildfires.
  
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• Vegetable compound could have a key role in 'beeting' Alzheimer's disease

  20-03-2018 13:44
  A compound in beets that gives the vegetable its distinctive red color could help slow the accumulation of misfolded proteins in the brain, a process associated with Alzheimer's disease. Scientists say this could lead to the development of drugs that could alleviate some of the long-term effects of the disease, the world's leading cause of dementia.
  
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• Ultrasound to enhance cancer drug delivery

  20-03-2018 13:44
  Medical researchers are testing the use of pulsed sound waves to direct and focus cancer drug therapies.
  
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• Smoked foods are tastier, less harmful with a tip from the auto industry

  20-03-2018 13:44
  Infusing foods with smoke can impart delicious nuanced flavors, but could also come with an unwelcome side of carcinogens. To reduce the carcinogen content of smoked foods, researchers took a lesson from the automobile industry, running the smoke through a zeolite filter to remove harmful compounds. It worked, and with a happy bonus: superior smoke flavor.
  
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• Making fragrances last longer

  20-03-2018 13:44
  From floral perfume to fruity body wash and shampoos, scents heavily influence consumer purchases. But for most, the smell doesn't last long after showering. Scientists have now developed a way to get those fragrances to stick to the skin longer instead of washing down the drain immediately after being applied.
  
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• Continuously killing bacteria on coated stainless steel -- add bleach to recharge

  20-03-2018 13:44
  Stainless steel is the gold standard for kitchen appliances and cookware, but bacteria can grow on these surfaces, contaminating food. Current coatings available on the market are pricey and potentially harmful, so scientists have now developed an affordable specialized polymer coating for such surfaces that they can recharge with bleach treatments.
  
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• 'Candy cane' polymer weave could power future functional fabrics and devices

  20-03-2018 13:44
  If scientists are going to deliver on the promise of implantable artificial organs or clothing that dries itself, they'll first need to solve the problem of inflexible batteries that run out of juice too quickly. Today, researchers report that they've developed a new material by weaving two polymers together in a way that increases charge storage capacity.
  
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• Trial shows safety of drugs for irregular heartbeat patients undergoing treatment

  20-03-2018 13:43
  A trial has found that two types of blood thinning drugs are safe to use in patients with an irregular heartbeat when they are undergoing surgery aimed at stopping the condition.
  
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