Science news

• Facebook CEO says not planning to extend European privacy law globally

  03-04-2018 23:49 via cbc.ca
  Facebook Inc Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said on Tuesday the social network had no immediate plans to apply a strict new European Union law on data privacy in its entirety to the rest of the world, as the company reels from a scandal over its handling of personal information of millions of its users.
  
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• How to reprogram memory cells in the brain

  03-04-2018 23:37
  Long-term memory of specific places is stored in the brain in so-called place cells. Neuroscientists have now 'reprogrammed' such place cells in free-roaming mice, by sending electrical impulses directly to individual neurons.
  
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• How flu virus interacts with antibodies in the lungs

  03-04-2018 23:37
  Scientists have discovered a new aspect of the flu virus and how it interacts with antibodies in the lungs. This research could lead to a new approach for developing vaccines to prevent the flu, as well as novel treatments for people who are already infected.
  
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• Germs with unusual antibiotic resistance widespread in U.S.

  03-04-2018 23:21
  Health departments found more than 220 instances of germs with 'unusual' antibiotic resistance genes in the United States last year, according to a new report. Germs with unusual resistance include those that cannot be killed by all or most antibiotics, are uncommon in a geographic area or the U.S., or have specific genes that allow them to spread their resistance to other germs.
  
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• Scientists merge statistics, biology to produce important new gene computational tool

  03-04-2018 23:14
  Researchers have come up with a computational tool that increases the reliability of measuring how strongly genes are expressed in an individual cell.
  
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• B.C. company develops battery for Swedish 'hybrid' ferry

  03-04-2018 22:43 via cbc.ca
  A B.C. energy-storage company will showcase the power of its lithium battery on international waters next year.
  
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• Police say shooting at YouTube office leaves 4 injured, 1 dead

  03-04-2018 22:22 via cbc.ca
  Police in San Bruno, Calif., say a woman is dead and four people have been transported to hospital after a shooting at YouTube headquarters.
  
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• Rare blue jellyfish-like creatures showing up in greater numbers on Tofino, B.C., beaches

  03-04-2018 22:05 via cbc.ca
  What was initially thought of as a rare sighting of Velella velella on Tofino beaches is likely the new normal with warming oceans and plankton bloom.
  
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• High number of concussion-related symptoms in performing arts

  03-04-2018 21:50
  A recent study shows a stunning number of participants not only experienced concussion-related symptoms and head impacts but also continued performing either without reporting the incident or without receiving the recommended care. These participants were not taking part in any sporting contest at the time, however. They are theater personnel.
  
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• Cost of 2017 salmon fisheries closure

  03-04-2018 21:50
  Last year's closure of the commercial ocean salmon troll fishery off the West Coast is estimated to have cost $5.8 million to $8.9 million in lost income for fishermen, with the loss of 200 to 330 jobs, according to a new model that determines the cost of fisheries closures based on the choices fishermen make.
  
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• Are we ready for the deadly heat waves of the future?

  03-04-2018 21:00
  
  As heat waves become more common, cities try to respond.
  
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• New satellite method enables undersea estimates from space

  03-04-2018 20:44
  Researchers have developed a statistical method to quantify six important ocean particles from satellite data.
  
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• Apps to keep children safe online may be counterproductive

  03-04-2018 20:44
  Mobile apps designed to help parents keep their children safe from online predators may actually be counterproductive, harming the trust between a parent and child and reducing the child's ability to respond to online threats, conclude two new studies.
  
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• The nociceptin receptor inhibits axonal regeneration and recovery from spinal cord injury

  03-04-2018 20:22 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Axonal growth after traumatic spinal cord injury is limited by endogenous inhibitors, selective blockade of which promotes partial neurological recovery. The partial repair phenotypes suggest that compensatory pathways limit improvement. Gene expression profiles of mice deficient in Ngr1, which encodes a receptor for myelin-associated inhibitors of axonal regeneration such as Nogo, revealed that trauma increased the mRNA expression of ORL1, which encodes the receptor for the opioid-related pepti
  
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• Structural basis for the preference of the Arabidopsis thaliana phosphatase RLPH2 for tyrosine-phosphorylated substrates

  03-04-2018 20:22 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Despite belonging to the phosphoserine- and phosphothreonine-specific phosphoprotein phosphatase (PPP) family, Arabidopsis thaliana Rhizobiales-like phosphatase 2 (RLPH2) strongly prefers substrates bearing phosphorylated tyrosine residues. We solved the structures of RLPH2 crystallized in the presence or absence of sodium tungstate. These structures revealed the presence of a central domain that forms a binding site for two divalent metal ions that closely resembles that of other PPP-family enz
  
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• New connections: Cytokines learn to share

  03-04-2018 20:22 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Computational modeling provides insights into the consequences for T cells of having a shared receptor subunit for different cytokines.
  
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• Mutant and wild-type p53 form complexes with p73 upon phosphorylation by the kinase JNK

  03-04-2018 20:22 via stke.sciencemag.org
  The transcription factors p53 and p73 are critical to the induction of apoptotic cell death, particularly in response to cell stress that activates c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK). Mutations in the DNA-binding domain of p53, which are commonly seen in cancers, result in conformational changes that enable p53 to interact with and inhibit p73, thereby suppressing apoptosis. In contrast, wild-type p53 reportedly does not interact with p73. We found that JNK-mediated phosphorylation of Thr81 in the pr
  
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• A hierarchy of affinities between cytokine receptors and the common gamma chain leads to pathway cross-talk

  03-04-2018 20:22 via stke.sciencemag.org
  Cytokines belonging to the common gamma chain (c) family depend on the shared c receptor subunit for signaling. We report the existence of a fast, cytokine-induced pathway cross-talk acting at the receptor level, resulting from a limiting amount of c on the surface of T cells. We found that this limited abundance of c reduced interleukin-4 (IL-4) and IL-21 responses after IL-7 preexposure but not vice versa. Computational modeling combined with quantitative experimental assays indicated that the
  
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• Chimpanzee feud turns toxic in Tanzania

  03-04-2018 20:17 via cbc.ca
  A once-unified group of chimpanzees disintegrated into two rival factions, and witnessing it all was British chimp expert Jane Goodall. Now with the help of new digitized data from her field notes, scientists have been able to take a closer look at the causes of the chimp split.
  
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• Protein derived from parasite has potential to alleviate debilitating disease

  03-04-2018 20:04
  Medical researchers have turned the tables on Schistosoma haematobium, a parasitic worm that freeloads in humans, by using a protein derived from the parasite as a therapeutic molecule to reduce bleeding and pain associated with chemotherapy-induced hemorrhagic cystitis.
  
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• Microbiome study suggests marine nematodes are not picky eaters

  03-04-2018 20:04
  Researchers report that the likelihood that nematode worms have similar microbial profiles does not correlate with how closely they are related.
  
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• Genes can help predict children's risk of type 1 diabetes

  03-04-2018 20:04
  A type 1 diabetes genetic score can identify infants at risk for pre-symptomatic type 1 diabetes and could be used to enroll children into type 1 diabetes prevention trials, according to a new study.
  
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• Double-drug strategy blocks escape route for most lung cancers

  03-04-2018 20:04
  A one-two combo punch using two currently available drugs could be an effective treatment for the majority of lung cancers, a study shows.
  
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• Ancient sea worm eats, poops and leaves behind evidence of Cambrian biodiversity

  03-04-2018 20:04
  Researchers have uncovered details of the Cambrian food web on an ocean floor that once played home to a scattering of bivalved arthropods, hyoliths and trilobites.
  
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• Inner ear provides clues to human dispersal

  03-04-2018 20:03
  Slight differences can be found in the inner ear of different populations of modern humans. Paleoanthropologists have found that these differences can provide information about the global dispersal of humans from Africa.
  
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• Grindr says it will no longer share users' HIV status with outside companies

  03-04-2018 19:21 via cbc.ca
  The gay dating app Grindr will stop sharing its users' HIV status with analytics companies after a news report this week shed light on the practice.
  
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• Conservationists use astronomy software to save species

  03-04-2018 19:17 via bbc.co.uk
  Researchers use astronomical techniques used to study distant stars to survey endangered species.
  
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• Seafloor map shows why Greenland’s glaciers melt at different rates

  03-04-2018 19:02
  
  A new high-res look at the seafloor shows how ledges and dips affects whether relatively warm ocean water reaches the ice.
  
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• Seafloor erosion now occurring like coastal land loss

  03-04-2018 18:40
  Scientists have discovered that the seafloor from the Mississippi River Delta to the Gulf of Mexico is eroding like the land loss that is occurring on the Louisiana coast.
  
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• How muscles regulate their oxygen consumption

  03-04-2018 18:40
  A new study shows that an enzyme called FIH determines how muscles consume oxygen. Without the enzyme, the need for oxygen increases during physical exercise. The finding is of potential significance to elite athletes, who have been found to have higher levels of FIH in their muscles than others.
  
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• How physicists will remember Stephen Hawking

  03-04-2018 18:18
  
  Researchers reflect on Stephen Hawking's contributions to the field and the cosmological puzzles he left behind.
  
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• Surprise can be an agent of social change

  03-04-2018 18:00
  Surprising someone -- whether it's by a joke or via a gasp-inducing plot twist -- can be a memorable experience, but a less heralded effect is that it can provide an avenue to influence people.
  
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• Resurgence of pertussis explained

  03-04-2018 18:00
  A team of researchers has found that the resurgence of pertussis, more commonly known as whooping cough, in the US is a predictable consequence of incomplete coverage with a highly effective vaccine. This finding goes against pervasive theories on why we are seeing a steady increase in the disease even though the vaccine is given at an early age.
  
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• New metasurface model shows potential to control acoustic wave reflection

  03-04-2018 18:00
  Typically, when a soundwave strikes a surface, it reflects back at the same fundamental frequency with a different amplitude. A new model shows that when a sound wave hits a nonlinear elastic metasurface, the incident fundamental frequency does not bounce back. Instead, the metasurface converts that energy into the wave's second harmonic resonance. Developing this metasurface could help architects reduce noise from performance halls to cityscapes.
  
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• Global warming can turn monarch butterflies' favorite food into poison

  03-04-2018 18:00
  Researchers have discovered a new relationship between climate change, monarch butterflies and milkweed plants. It turns out that warming temperatures don't just affect the monarch, Danaus plexippus, directly, but also affect this butterfly by potentially turning its favorite plant food into a poison.
  
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• Connection of sea level and groundwater missing link in climate response

  03-04-2018 18:00
  About 250 million years ago, when the Earth had no ice caps and the water around the equator was too hot for reptiles, sea level still rose and fell over time. Now, an international team of researchers has developed a way to track sea-level rise and fall and to tease out what caused the changes in the absence of ice sheets.
  
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• Spa therapy helps Japan's snow monkeys cope with the cold

  03-04-2018 17:59
  Japanese macaques, also known as snow monkeys, have been enjoying regular baths in the hot spring at Jigokudani in Japan for decades -- and have even become a popular tourist attraction. New findings indicate how behavioral flexibility can help counter cold-climate stress and have likely implications for reproduction and survival.
  
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• Mifepristone may halt growth of intracranial tumor that causes hearing loss

  03-04-2018 17:59
  Researchers have shown that mifepristone, a drug currently FDA-approved for chemical abortion, prevents the growth of vestibular schwannoma (also known as acoustic neuroma) cells. This sometimes-lethal intracranial tumor typically causes hearing loss and tinnitus.
  
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• Answers to 100-year-old mystery point to potential breast cancer therapies

  03-04-2018 17:59
  A team of researchers at has identified a long sought after connection between how cancer cells use the sugar glucose to generate energy -- the Warburg pathway -- and cancer growth.
  
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• Attacking flu viruses from two sides

  03-04-2018 17:12
  Researchers have discovered a new way in which certain antibodies interact with the flu virus. This previously unknown form of interaction opens up new possibilities for developing better vaccines and more efficient medication to combat the flu.
  
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• Meat protein is unhealthy, but protein from nuts and seeds is heart smart

  03-04-2018 17:11
  A study has found that meat protein is associated with a sharp increased risk of heart disease while protein from nuts and seeds is beneficial for the human heart.
  
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• Ionizing radiation found to soften tumor cell microenvironment

  03-04-2018 17:11
  Researchers aim to unlock how irradiation -- part of radiation therapy in cancer treatment -- might alter the mechanical properties of the microenvironment. The team demonstrated that ionizing radiation can reduce the stiffness of both the extracellular matrix of an extracted tumor and an isolated matrix of collagen fibers. The results pave the way for irradiation to be used to create matrices with tailored properties.
  
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• High levels of hazardous chemicals found in plastics collected from Lake Geneva

  03-04-2018 17:11
  The first analysis of plastic litter from Lake Geneva finds toxic chemicals like cadmium, mercury and lead - - whose levels sometimes exceed the maximum permitted under EU law. The presence of chemicals that are now restricted or banned in plastic production reflects how old the plastic litter could be -- and indicates that like oceans, freshwater habitats are also affected by plastic pollution.
  
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• Genome of deadly, drug-resistant pathogen analyzed

  03-04-2018 17:11
  Infections by microbes like bacteria and fungi that don't respond to available antimicrobial treatments pose an increasingly dangerous public health threat around the world. In the United States alone, such infections kill 23,000 people annually. To better understand the molecular drivers behind resistance, researchers recently conducted a whole-genome analysis of an unusual bacterial strain cultured from a patient in the United States.
  
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• Coral reefs protect coasts from severe storms

  03-04-2018 17:11
  Coral reefs can naturally protect coasts from tropical cyclones by reducing the impact of large waves before they reach the shore, according to scientists. Tropical cyclones wreak havoc on coastal infrastructure, marine habitats and coastal populations across the world. However, experts say that for coastlines facing a direct cyclone impact, a fringing reef can protect the beach from extensive erosion.
  
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