Science news

• The science behind cancer warnings on coffee is murky at best

  30-03-2018 23:23
  
  The risks of acrylamide in coffee are not as clear as a California court ruling may suggest.
  
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• To prevent collapse of tropical forests, protect their shape

  30-03-2018 23:13
  Scientists have made a fundamental discovery about how fires on the edges of tropical forests control their shape and stability. The study implies that when patches of tropical forest lose their natural shape it could contribute to the catastrophic transformation of that land from trees to grass.
  
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• Probing the complex nature of concussion

  30-03-2018 23:13
  Concussion is a major public health problem, but not much is known about the impacts that cause concussion or how to prevent them. A new study suggests that the problem is more complicated than previously thought.
  
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• Uncovering clue to disarm gonorrhea superbug

  30-03-2018 20:53
  Researchers have discovered a way the gonorrhea bacteria cleverly evade the immune system -- opening up the way for therapies that prevent this process, allowing the body's natural defenses to kill the bug.
  
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• Microengineered slippery rough surface for water harvesting from air

  30-03-2018 20:53
  A slippery rough surface (SRS) inspired by both pitcher plants and rice leaves outperforms state-of-the-art liquid-repellent surfaces in water harvesting applications, according to a team of researchers.
  
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• Gut microbes could help better predict risk of hospitalization for patients with cirrhosis

  30-03-2018 20:53
  The gut microbiome -- a collection of bacteria and other microbes in the gut -- could be a highly accurate predictor of hospitalizations for patients with cirrhosis, according to a recently published study.
  
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• Cracking eggshell nanostructure: Implications for food safety

  30-03-2018 20:53
  How is it that fertilized chicken eggs manage to resist fracture from the outside, while at the same time, are weak enough to break from the inside during chick hatching? It's all in the eggshell's nanostructure, according to a new study.
  
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• Butterflies of the soul: Developmental origins of interneurons

  30-03-2018 20:53
  A new study reveals how interneurons, dubbed 'the butterflies of the soul,' emerge and diversify in the brain. The findings may help inform the development of new classes of drugs for diseases such as autism, schizophrenia and Alzheimer's.
  
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• Adult-onset neurodegeneration has roots in early development

  30-03-2018 20:53
  The roots of a progressive degenerative disease begin much earlier than previously thought, according to a recent study.
  
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• Trump planning to roll back gas mileage standards

  30-03-2018 20:25 via cbc.ca
  The Trump administration is expected to announce soon that it will roll back automobile gas mileage and pollution standards that were a pillar in the Obama administration's plans to combat climate change.
  
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• Eggshell nanostructure protects a chick and helps it hatch

  30-03-2018 20:00
  
  The nanoscale structure of a chicken eggshell changes to fulfill different functions as the egg incubates.
  
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• SpaceX rocket carrying communications satellites blasts off in California

  30-03-2018 17:47 via cbc.ca
  A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying 10 satellites for Iridium Communications has blasted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.
  
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• Proposed border wall will harm Texas plants and animals, scientists say

  30-03-2018 16:58
  In the latest peer-reviewed publication on the potential impacts of a border wall on plants and animals, conservation biologists say that border walls threaten to harm endangered Texas plants and animals and cause trouble for the region's growing ecotourism industry.
  
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• Pediatric cancer drug shows 93 percent response rate

  30-03-2018 16:58
  A first-of-its-kind drug targeting a fused gene found in many types of cancer was effective in 93 percent of pediatric patients tested, researchers say.
  
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• Calculating the impacts of natural events on wildlife

  30-03-2018 16:58
  A new method could help scientists understand how wildlife populations are affected by major natural events, such as hurricanes, severe winters, and tsunamis.
  
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• A novel test bed for non-equilibrium many-body physics

  30-03-2018 16:58
  The behavior of electrons in a material is typically difficult to predict. Novel insight comes now from experiments and simulations performed by physicists who have studied electronic transport properties in a one-dimensional quantum wire containing a mesoscopic lattice.
  
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• Basking sharks gather in large groups off northeast US coast

  30-03-2018 16:57
  Groups of basking sharks ranging from as few as 30 to nearly 1,400 individual animals have been observed aggregating in waters from Nova Scotia to Long Island. While individual sightings are fairly common, seeing large groups is not. The reason why the animals congregate has not been clearly determined, and observations of these aggregation events are relatively rare.
  
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• 1 in 4 anglophone Canadians have cut the cord on TV, survey suggests

  30-03-2018 16:57 via cbc.ca
  One in four anglophone Canadians have cut the cord and no longer pay for a traditional TV service, while just over half are Netflix users, a report by the Media Technology Monitor suggests.
  
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• Did highest known sea levels create the iconic shape of Mount Etna?

  30-03-2018 14:56
  New research suggests the Mediterranean Sea may have played a major role in the development of its iconic shape tens of thousands of years ago.
  
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• Quantum Leaps: Read the Winning Entry in a Physics-Inspired Fiction Contest

  30-03-2018 14:00 via rss.sciam.com
  The Quantum Shorts competition invited stories incorporating the laws of quantum mechanics-- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• A Chinese space station will fall to Earth this weekend

  30-03-2018 14:00
  
  The Chinese space agency’s first space station is coming back to Earth this weekend. It probably won’t cause damage, but it will cause fireworks.
  
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• Toxins from the world’s longest animal can kill cockroaches

  30-03-2018 13:00
  
  Bootlace worms can stretch up to 55 meters long and ooze toxins that can kill cockroaches and green crabs.
  
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• "Bar Codes" Could Map Errant Brain Wiring in Autism and Schizophrenia

  30-03-2018 12:45 via rss.sciam.com
  A new, speedy technique affords scientists the ability to visualize the brain’s myriad connections at an unprecedented level of complexity-- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Higgs factory a 'must for big physics'

  30-03-2018 10:38 via bbc.co.uk
  The head of America's leading particle physics lab says a "factory" to make the Higgs boson will speed up discoveries.
  
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• It's a Canadian thing: Why big phone companies still dominate internet services amid cheaper options

  30-03-2018 10:00 via cbc.ca
  There are few things that raise the hackles of Canadian consumers more than the cost of telecom services. But when it comes to rising internet costs at least, experts say Canadians have only themselves to blame.
  
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• A relic of Canada's atom age, the NRU reactor is shutting down for good

  30-03-2018 10:00 via cbc.ca
  On March 31, a little-known part of Canada’s nuclear history will end.
  
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• UTA bioengineer earns AHA grant to study biomechanical influences on ventricular growth

  30-03-2018 06:00
  (University of Texas at Arlington) Juhyun Lee, an assistant professor in the Bioengineering Department, is using a two-year, $154,000 Institutional Research Grant from the American Heart Association to develop a new microscope that can capture 3-D motion, then add time to construct a 4-D beating heart using optical imaging techniques with fluorescent nanoparticles in a zebrafish. Victoria Messerschmidt and Zach Bailey, two doctoral students, and Richard Bryant, who is seeking his master's degree
  
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• Using chosen names reduces odds of depression and suicide in transgender youths

  30-03-2018 06:00
  (University of Texas at Austin) In one of the largest and most diverse studies of transgender youths to date, researchers led by a team at the University of Texas at Austin have found that when transgender youths are allowed to use their chosen name in places such as work, school and at home, their risk of depression and suicide drops.
  
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• Tufts CTSI and The Jackson Laboratory announce research and training collaboration

  30-03-2018 06:00
  (Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute) Leaders from Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) and The Jackson Laboratory (JAX) today announced a new five-year collaboration to advance translational research, with the goal of helping bring the latest research into medical practice faster and more efficiently to improve patient care.
  
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• Study finds children with autism and ADHD at higher risk for anxiety

  30-03-2018 06:00
  (GolinHarris DC) Children with both autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at increased risk for being diagnosed with or treated for anxiety and mood disorders, according to a study published in Pediatrics today. The study, completed by the Interactive Autism Network (IAN), is one of the largest to compare comorbidities in individuals with ASD alone to individuals with ASD and ADHD.
  
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• Study finds children with autism and ADHD at higher rise for anxiety

  30-03-2018 06:00
  (GolinHarris DC) Children with both autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at increased risk for being diagnosed with or treated for anxiety and mood disorders, according to a study published in Pediatrics today. The study, completed by the Interactive Autism Network (IAN), is one of the largest to compare comorbidities in individuals with ASD alone to individuals with ASD and ADHD.
  
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• Strings of electron-carrying proteins may hold the secret to 'electric bacteria'

  30-03-2018 06:00
  (University of Southern California) Could a unique bacterium be nature's microscopic power plant? USC scientists who work with a species of bacteria that essentially 'breathe' rocks think it's possible.
  
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• Rational protein engineering can improve effectiveness of mRNA therapies

  30-03-2018 06:00
  (Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News) mRNA drugs offer a promising new approach to deliver therapeutic replacement proteins, and novel strategies designed to engineer more stable and active proteins are further enhancing the potential of mRNA therapies.
  
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• Optimistic Latinos have healthier hearts, study finds

  30-03-2018 06:00
  (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) Latinos who are the most optimistic are more likely to have healthy hearts, suggests a new study of more than 4,900 Latinos led by, Rosalba Hernandez. She isa professor of social work at the University of Illinois. The study was published in BMJ Open.
  
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• NSF grant awarded for research on US natural disaster response and recovery partnerships

  30-03-2018 06:00
  (University of Texas at Arlington) After 2017's record year of billion-dollar disaster events, identifying lessons learned and best practices from the response and recovery efforts can streamline future collaborations in times of crisis. The National Science Foundation recently awarded Daniel Sledge, a UTA associate professor of political science, and Herschel Thomas, a UTA assistant professor of political science, a research grant to study and report findings on this topic.
  
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• NASA satellite gets an eye-opening look at Super Typhoon Jelawat

  30-03-2018 06:00
  (NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) Satellite imagery showed that Tropical Cyclone Jelawat had developed an eye as it strengthened into a Super Typhoon.
  
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• Monash discovery uncovers clue to disarm gonorrhea superbug

  30-03-2018 06:00
  (Monash University) Monash University researchers have discovered a way the gonorrhea bacteria cleverly evade the immune system -- opening up the way for therapies that prevent this process, allowing the body's natural defenses to kill the bug.
  
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• Linking teen driving behaviors to ADHD, other mental health factors

  30-03-2018 06:00
  (University of Pennsylvania) Teen drivers are three times more likely to get into a fatal crash than their more-experienced, older counterparts. Research led by Catherine McDonald and Thomas Power of the University of Pennsylvania, found a link between mistakes these new drivers make and self-reported ADHD and other inattention disorders.
  
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• KAIST welcomes global participants to AI World Cup 2018

  30-03-2018 06:00
  (The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)) KAIST will host the AI (Artificial Intelligence) World Cup 2018 in August, and this time it is open to the international community. AI World Cup 2018 will be a very exciting challenge for extending the limit of academic and industrial applications based on AI technology.
  
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• Is there life adrift in the clouds of Venus?

  30-03-2018 06:00
  (University of Wisconsin-Madison) In the search for extraterrestrial life, scientists have turned over all sorts of rocks. Mars, for example, has geological features that suggest it once had -- and still has -- subsurface liquid water. Scientists have also eyed Saturn's moons as well as Jupiter's as possible havens for life in the oceans under their icy crusts. Now, however, scientists are dusting off an old idea that promises a new vista in the hunt for life beyond Earth: the clouds of Venus.
  
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• Internet addiction in teenagers studied at Kazan University

  30-03-2018 06:00
  (Kazan Federal University) The authors found out that the majority of those questioned have predispositions for Internet addiction. This includes weak control over time spent online, over their own activity timelines and priority setting. However, they still can limit their online activities in favor of face-to-face communication with friends and other daily activities, such as studies.
  
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• Fresh for the whole month

  30-03-2018 06:00
  (Samara Polytech (Samara State Technical University)) Scientists of Samara Polytech (Samara State Technical University) have developed a freeze-dried yogurt in which lactobacilli can be preserved in a living state for up to a month. The project manager is Nadezhda Makarova, Professor of Food Technology and Catering Arrangement Department.
  
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• Federal officials urged to increase perinatal depression treatment in minority women

  30-03-2018 06:00
  (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) Despite increased risks of perinatal depression, research has shown that Latina and African-American women are significantly less likely to be screened or treated.In a new paper, researchers at the University of Illinois and Northwestern University are urging federal policymakers to appropriate funds to boost diagnosis and treatment rates among minority women, including increasing the number of medical providerstrained in culturally sensitive screenin
  
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• Engineers turn plastic insulator into heat conductor

  30-03-2018 06:00
  (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Is your laptop or phone overheating? New MIT-engineered plastic could lead to self-cooling casings for common electronics.
  
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• Cracking eggshell nanostructure

  30-03-2018 06:00
  (McGill University) How is it that fertilized chicken eggs manage to resist fracture from the outside, while at the same time, are weak enough to break from the inside during chick hatching? It's all in the eggshell's nanostructure, according to a new study led by McGill University scientists.
  
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• Computer searches telescope data for evidence of distant planets

  30-03-2018 06:00
  (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) MIT researchers have used physics principles to improve the performance of a machine-learning system, trained on data from a NASA crowdsourcing project, that searches astronomical data for evidence of debris disks around stars, which can indicate the presence of an exoplanet.
  
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• Cat-like 'hearing' with device tens of trillions times smaller than human eardrum

  30-03-2018 06:00
  (Case Western Reserve University) Researchers at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, are developing atomically thin 'drumheads'-- tens of trillions of times thinner than the human eardrum -- able to receive and transmit signals across a radio frequency range far greater than what we can hear with the human ear.Their work will likely contribute to making the next generation of ultralow-power communications and sensory devices smaller and with greater detection and tuning ranges.
  
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• Can a Mediterranean diet pattern slow aging?

  30-03-2018 06:00
  (The Gerontological Society of America) A series of six articles appearing in the March issue of The Journals of Gerontology, Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences finds new correlations between a Mediterranean diet and healthy aging outcomes -- while also underscoring the need for careful approaches to the use of data in order to measure the diet's potential benefits.
  
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• £2.2 million boost for pioneering research into mental health conditions

  30-03-2018 06:00
  (University of Edinburgh) Novel research aimed at better understanding mental health conditions such as depression is to receive a £2.2 million investment.
  
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• NASA intensifying search for planets orbiting stars beyond solar system

  30-03-2018 03:32
  (Reuters) - The search for worlds circling stars far beyond our solar system will intensify in the coming weeks with NASA's launch of a spacecraft scientists hope will enlarge the known catalog of so-called exoplanets believed capable of supporting life.
  
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