Science news

• Mitochondrial disease patients face difficult road to diagnosis

  26-03-2018 22:10
  A new study documents the prolonged and difficult path patients face before they are diagnosed with mitochondrial diseases, a group of rare, debilitating genetic disorders.
  
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• Antibody removes Alzheimer's plaques, in mice

  26-03-2018 22:10
  Plaques of a brain protein called amyloid beta are a characteristic sign of Alzheimer's disease. But nestled within the plaques are small amounts of another Alzheimer's protein: APOE. Now, researchers have shown that an antibody not only targets APOE for removal but sweeps away plaques in mice. The findings could lead to a way to halt the brain damage triggered by amyloid plaques while the disease is still in its early stages, perhaps before symptoms appear.
  
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• Treating koalas for chlamydia alters gut microbes, may upset eucalyptus leaf diet

  26-03-2018 22:09
  Antibiotics used to treat koalas with chlamydia infections may be changing the balance of gut microbes that allows the marsupials to live on a diet of eucalyptus leaves, researchers have found.
  
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• Metabolic profiling may determine aggressiveness, prognosis of prostate cancer

  26-03-2018 22:09
  A new approach to analyzing prostate gland tissue may help address a major challenge in treating prostate cancer - determining which tumors are unlikely to progress and which could be life threatening and require treatment.
  
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• Genetic factors for most common disease in the first year of life are identified

  26-03-2018 22:09
  The acute viral bronchiolitis is the worldwide leading cause of hospitalization during the first year of life. A study crosses data from patients' genetic variations with the disease's different viruses and their respective set of symptoms, paving the way for future developments by precision medicine.
  
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• Climate policy, carbon emissions from permafrost

  26-03-2018 22:09
  Controlling greenhouse gas emissions in the coming decades could substantially reduce the consequences of carbon releases from thawing permafrost during the next 300 years, according to a new article.
  
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• Grande Prairie photographer captures 'unreal' fight between lynx

  26-03-2018 21:44 via cbc.ca
  A Grande Prairie photographer recently got up close and personal with a cat fight — a big cat fight.
  
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• Why are whales so big?

  26-03-2018 21:24
  Examining body sizes of ancient and modern aquatic mammals and their terrestrial counterparts reveals that life in water restricts mammals to a narrow range of body sizes -- big enough to stay warm, but not so big they can't find enough food.
  
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• Tetrahedrality is key to the uniqueness of water

  26-03-2018 21:24
  Water holds a special place among liquids for its unusual properties, and remains poorly understood. For example, it expands just upon the freezing to ice, and becomes less viscous under compression, around atmospheric pressure. Rationalizing these oddities is a major challenge for physics and chemistry. Recent research suggests they result from the degree of structural ordering in the fluid.
  
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• Food waste: The biggest loss could be what you choose to put in your mouth

  26-03-2018 21:24
  Researchers have now found a novel way to define and quantify a second type of wastage. The scientists have called it 'opportunity food loss,' a term inspired by the 'opportunity cost' concept in economics, which refers to the cost of choosing a particular alternative over better options.
  
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• What three feet of seawater could mean for the world's turtles

  26-03-2018 21:23
  Ninety percent of the world's coastal freshwater turtle species are expected to be affected by sea level rise by 2100, according to a new study.
  
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• Promising drug may stop cancer-causing gene in its tracks

  26-03-2018 21:23
  Scientists are testing a promising drug that may stop a gene associated with obesity from triggering breast and lung cancer, as well as prevent these cancers from growing.
  
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• New targeted therapy schedule could keep melanoma at bay

  26-03-2018 21:23
  Optimizing the timing of targeted therapies for melanoma reverses tumor growth, and resistance can be mitigated.
  
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• New insights into how cellulose is built could indicate how to break it apart for biofuels

  26-03-2018 21:23
  A comprehensive look at how plants build cellulose, a compound used in a variety of humanmade materials including paper and cotton, could have important implications for its use in biofuels. Researchers have identified the major steps in the process as well as the tools used by plant cells to create cellulose, including proteins that transport critical components to the location where cellulose is made.
  
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• How to make a good impression when saying hello

  26-03-2018 21:23
  You can hear the perfect hello. And now you can see it too. Researchers have established an experimental method that unveils the filter (mental representation) we use to judge people when hearing them. What is the ideal intonation for coming across as determined or trustworthy? This method is already used for clinical purposes, with stroke survivors, and it opens many new doors for the study of language perception.
  
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• Modern chimp brains share similarities with ancient hominids

  26-03-2018 21:00
  
  MRIs suggest certain brain folding patterns don’t mark ancient humanlike neural advances after all, raising questions about hominid brain evolution.
  
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• Younger aged children with symptoms of ADHD have reduced brain size

  26-03-2018 20:02
  Children as young as four years old with symptoms of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) showed reduced brain volumes in regions essential for behavioral control, according to a new study. The research represents the first comprehensive examination of cortical brain volume in preschool children with ADHD and provides an indication that anomalous brain structure is evident in the early stages of development.
  
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• Vulnerability and extinction risk of migratory species from different regions and ecosystems worldwide

  26-03-2018 20:02
  Forty million miles of major roads crisscross the Earth's continents -- enough to circle the planet 1,600 times. For humans, these thoroughfares are a boon, enabling them to move with ease from place to place. But for migrating animals who are also hemmed in by dams, rivers, shipping lanes, urban development and agriculture, they create another barrier.
  
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• Vampire bat immunity and infection risk respond to livestock rearing

  26-03-2018 20:02
  The availability of livestock as a food source for vampire bats influences their immune response and infection by bacterial pathogens, according to a new article. Because cattle ranching is common in areas where the bats live, the findings have implications for human as well as animal health.
  
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• Understanding charge transfers in molecular electronics

  26-03-2018 20:02
  Scientists have found a way to understand and manipulate the transition of charges in molecular junctions.
  
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• The rhythm of genes: How the circadian clock regulates 3-D chromatin structure

  26-03-2018 20:02
  Biologists and geneticists have uncovered how the circadian clock orchestrates the 24-hour cycle of gene expression by regulating the structure of chromatin, the tightly wound DNA-protein complex of the cell. The work is published in Genes & Development.
  
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• Study offers pearls of wisdom in contested New York oyster restoration

  26-03-2018 20:02
  In addition to being a tasty delicacy, oysters provide a variety of ecosystem services. They filter water and cycle vital nutrients. By cementing themselves into complex shell reefs, they provide habitat for hundreds of invertebrate and fish species and reduce storm surges and erosion. These characteristics make oysters a unique tool for restoring polluted coastal waterways.
  
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• Neuroscientists say daily ibuprofen can prevent Alzheimer's disease

  26-03-2018 20:02
  Neuroscientists have successfully carried out studies suggesting that, if started early enough, a daily regimen of the non-prescription NSAID (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug) ibuprofen can prevent the onset of Alzheimer's disease.
  
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• Insect toxin detected in the world's longest animal

  26-03-2018 20:02
  The longest animal in the world, the bootlace worm, which can be up to 55 meters long, produces neurotoxins that can kill both crabs and cockroaches. The toxins could be used in agricultural insecticides, among other things.
  
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• In laboratory, scientist turns off chemo pain

  26-03-2018 20:02
  Researchers describe their success in an animal model in turning off the excruciating pain that often accompanies a colorectal cancer drug.
  
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• Global carbon emissions could be cut 3 percent by following the UK's example

  26-03-2018 20:02
  The UK cut its emissions from electricity production by 25 percent in 2016, using a strategy many countries could adopt to quickly lower carbon emissions.
  
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• First IVF bison calf joins wild herd

  26-03-2018 20:02
  Eight bison -- four calves and their mothers -- were released in mid-March on public lands in northern Colorado. A 10-month-old calf known as IVF 1 was among the newcomers.
  
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• Combination breast cancer therapy targets tumor cells and the blood vessels that feed them

  26-03-2018 20:02
  Between 30 and 40 percent of human breast cancers express a defective (mutant) form of p53, a protein that helps cancer cells proliferate and grow. Researchers found that combining a cancer therapy, which activates p53 and is currently under a clinical trial, with a second drug therapy that helps suppress tumor blood vessels found in cancer cells, can significantly reduce breast cancer tumors while causing cancer cell death.
  
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• A new direction for halting the citrus greening epidemic

  26-03-2018 20:02
  New clues to how the bacteria associated with citrus greening infect the only insect that carries them could lead to a way to block the microbes' spread from tree to tree, according to a new study.
  
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• A CRISPR/Cas9 mutation prevention system could help prevent and fight disease in the future

  26-03-2018 20:02
  Researchers developed an in vivo mutation prevention method that enables the DNA-cleaving Cas9 enzyme to discriminate between genomic target sites differing by a single nucleotide and to exclusively cut the unwanted one. In proof-of-concept studies performed in bacterial E. coli strains grown in culture or the mouse gastrointestinal tract, the approach can prevent the survival of antibiotic resistant variants.
  
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• Biologists discover that female purple sea urchins prime their progeny to succeed in the face of stress

  26-03-2018 20:01
  This story begins in the kelp forest and ends with a very important climate change message: All is not lost -- at least not for purple sea urchins.
  
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• Humpback whale bumps have marine biologists stumped

  26-03-2018 19:56
  
  Christine Gabriele is taking tissue samples from humpback whales in Hawaii to determine why more and more have nodular dermatitis.
  
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• Love at first bite: The bizarre, parasitic mating ritual of the anglerfish caught on video

  26-03-2018 18:46 via cbc.ca
  In a first-of-its-kind video, scientists have captured a male anglerfish latching on to his female host in a parasitic courtship that will last an entire lifetime.
  
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• Opioid analgesics reduce use of antipsychotics in persons with Alzheimer's disease

  26-03-2018 17:01
  Initiating an opioid analgesic reduced the use of antipsychotics and benzodiazepines in persons with Alzheimer's disease, a recent study shows. These drugs are frequently prescribed to treat behavioral and psychiatric symptoms of dementia, which can be worsened by other symptoms, such as pain.
  
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• How did the guppy cross the ocean?: An unexpected fish appears on a volcanic archipelago

  26-03-2018 17:01
  To the surprise of the scientists, populations of a South American guppy were spotted at the Fernando de Noronha archipelago, a volcanic island in the South Atlantic. Even if being easily adaptable fishes, it was unclear how a small freshwater species had managed to cross the ocean and populate the archipelago. Researchers suggest that the US military in WWII may be behind the phenomenon.
  
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• Crystallography used to analyze fossils and assign them to microscopic organisms

  26-03-2018 17:01
  Blue-green algae are one of the oldest organisms in the world and have an important role to play in many ecosystems on Earth. However, it has always been difficult to identify fossils as blue-green algae without any trace of doubt. The reason is their unremarkable sheath made of calcium carbonate. A master's student has now developed a method which can help assign organisms to a particular species.
  
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• Alberta's boreal forest could be dramatically altered by 2100 due to climate change

  26-03-2018 17:01
  Half of Alberta's upland boreal forest is likely to disappear over the next century due to climate change, a new study shows. The upland forest will be replaced after wildfire by open woodland or grassland, according to research from biologists.
  
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• A new way to find better battery materials

  26-03-2018 17:01
  Researchers have developed a new way to find materials that could be used as electrodes in lighter, safer rechargeable batteries.
  
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• Understanding gravity: The nanoscale search for extra dimensions

  26-03-2018 17:00
  Scientists have used a pulsed slow neutron beamline to probe the deviation of the inverse square law of gravity below the wavelength of 0.1 nm. The experiment achieved the highest sensitivity for a neutron experiment demonstrated to date, and is a significant step toward determining whether the space we live in is really limited to the three dimensions most are familiar with.
  
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• Intricacies of the pursuit of higher self-control

  26-03-2018 17:00
  Self-control is a central human capacity associated with a wide range of personal and societal advantages. In view of its benefits, increasing self-control among children and adults has been advocated as a remedy to many of society's ailments, from childhood obesity to adulthood criminal behavior. Although widely considered highly beneficial, a recent review uncovers some disadvantages to high self-control.
  
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• Chance is a factor in the survival of species

  26-03-2018 17:00
  In a major study, biologists have studied the role of chance in whether a species survives or dies out locally. One possible consequence according to the researchers, is that although conservation initiatives can save endangered species, sometimes chance can override such efforts.
  
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• Stephen Hawking's final interview: A beautiful Universe

  26-03-2018 16:27 via bbc.co.uk
  The Cambridge physicist's last broadcast interview covered gravitational waves from neutron star mergers.
  
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• Half of Alberta's boreal forest could disappear due to fires and climate change

  26-03-2018 16:10 via cbc.ca
  A study shows half of Alberta's boreal forest could disappear in just over 80 years due to wildfires and climate change.
  
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• Half Alberta's boreal forest could disappear due to fires and climate change

  26-03-2018 16:10 via cbc.ca
  A study shows half of Alberta's boreal forest could disappear in just over 80 years due to wildfires and climate change.
  
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• Is glass transition driven by thermodynamics?

  26-03-2018 15:40
  Glassy substances are everywhere, yet this state of matter poses many puzzles. The basic picture is clear enough -- glasses are solids that lack the regular atomic structure of a crystal. How and why they form, however, are questions that have kept physicists busy for decades. Now, research has shown that glass formation can be understood if liquid structure is properly described.
  
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• European Space Agency teams with ICEYE Finnish start-up

  26-03-2018 15:37 via bbc.co.uk
  The European Space Agency will work with Finland's ICEYE on ways to exploit its novel radar satellites.
  
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• Illicit gun sales made to Canadians through dark web, Mounties warn

  26-03-2018 14:38 via cbc.ca
  Criminals are using the darker corners of the internet, hard-to-track digital currency and creative shipping techniques to sell illicit guns to Canadians, the RCMP warns.
  
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• This spinning moon shows where debris from giant impacts fell

  26-03-2018 13:00
  
  A new map shows that light-colored lunar plains point back to huge impact basins, raising questions about the age and history of the moon.
  
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• A Megaflood-Powered Mile-High Waterfall Refilled the Mediterranean [Video]

  26-03-2018 12:45 via rss.sciam.com
  Buried sediments near Sicily suggest water rushed into the sea’s partially dried-out eastern basin at speeds reaching 100 miles per hour-- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Canadians continue to be fooled by website that mimics government agency

  26-03-2018 10:00 via cbc.ca
  A former employee of Passport Online and Pardons and Waivers of Canada tells CBC News the companies train workers to get as much money as possible from Canadians who could get the same services from the government for free.
  
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