Science news

• SpaceX looks to raise $507 million in a new funding round: filing

  12-04-2018 23:55
  (Reuters) - Elon Musk-led SpaceX Corp is raising $507 million in a new round of funding, valuing the company at around $26 billion, according to a filing seen by Reuters.
  
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• Fungal infection: An unexpected discovery in a central line

  12-04-2018 23:45
  An otherwise healthy 6-year-old had a central line that tested positive for a type of fungal infection that typically strikes adults with compromised immune systems.
  
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• Can you really be obese yet healthy?

  12-04-2018 23:45
  A new paper has called for an end to the term 'healthy obesity,' due to it being misleading and flawed. The focus should instead be on conducting more in-depth research to understand causes and consequences of varying health among people with the same BMI.
  
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• Uber to up its background checks for U.S. drivers

  12-04-2018 22:08 via cbc.ca
  Uber will start doing annual criminal background checks on U.S. drivers and hire a company that constantly monitors criminal arrests as it tries to do a better job of keeping riders safe.
  
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• Why alcohol, sugar lead to thirst

  12-04-2018 21:45
  Researchers have identified a hormone that acts on the brain to increase the desire to drink water in response to specific nutrient stresses that can cause dehydration.
  
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• Remnants of antibiotics persist in treated farm waste

  12-04-2018 21:45
  Each year, farmers in the US purchase tens of millions of pounds of antibiotics approved for use in cows, pigs, fowl and other livestock. When the animals' manure is repurposed as fertilizer or bedding, traces of the medicines leach into the environment, raising concerns about how agriculture contributes to the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. New research holds troublesome insights with regard to the scope of this problem.
  
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• Algae-forestry, bioenergy mix could help make CO2 vanish from thin air

  12-04-2018 21:45
  An unconventional mélange of algae, eucalyptus and bioenergy with carbon capture and storage appears to be a quirky ecological recipe. But, scientists have an idea that could use that recipe to help power and provide food protein to large regions of the world -- and simultaneously remove carbon dioxide from Earth's atmosphere.
  
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• A simple tool for doubling down on disease control

  12-04-2018 21:45
  A team global health researchers have created a web-based tool that allows public health officials to assess the cost-effectiveness and benefits of disease control initiatives in countries around the world.
  
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• Plan for quantum supremacy

  12-04-2018 21:44
  Things are getting real for researchers in the UC Santa Barbara John Martinis/Google group. They are making good on their intentions to declare supremacy in a tight global race to build the first quantum machine to outperform the world's best classical supercomputers.
  
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• Newly identified gene mutation results in intellectual disability and developmental delay

  12-04-2018 20:11
  Scientists have identified a new genetic mutation associated with intellectual disability, developmental delay, autism spectrum disorder, abnormal facial features, and congenital cardiac anomalies.
  
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• Genetic evidence that magnetic navigation guides loggerhead sea turtles

  12-04-2018 20:11
  New research provides valuable insight into the navigation and nesting behaviors of loggerhead sea turtles that could inform future conservation efforts. Loggerhead sea turtles that nest on beaches with similar magnetic fields are genetically similar to one another, according to a new study.
  
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• Extremely fast dives help peregrine falcons maneuver to catch agile prey

  12-04-2018 20:11
  Computer simulations of peregrine falcon attacks show that the extreme speeds reached during dives from high altitudes enhance the raptors' ability to execute maneuvers needed to nab agile prey that would otherwise escape.
  
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• Viruses can evolve in parallel in related species

  12-04-2018 20:10
  Viruses are more likely to evolve in similar ways in related species -- raising the risk that they will 'jump' from one species to another, new research shows.
  
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• To impress females, Costa's hummingbirds 'sing' with their tail feathers

  12-04-2018 20:10
  Male Costa's hummingbirds perform a high-speed dive during which they 'sing' to potential mates using their tail feathers. Males perform their dives to the side, rather than in front of females. UC Riverside researchers used an acoustic camera to find out why. The results are published in Current Biology. They showed that sideways dives allow males to hide the speed of their dives, perhaps enabling them to appear faster than they really are.
  
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• Sitting is bad for your brain -- not just your metabolism or heart

  12-04-2018 20:10
  Studies show that too much sitting, like smoking, increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes and premature death. Researchers found sedentary behavior is linked to thinning in regions of the brain that are critical to memory formation.
  
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• Scientists teach computers how to analyze brain cells

  12-04-2018 20:10
  In the early days of neuroscience research, scientists painstakingly stained brain cells and drew by hand what they saw in a microscope. Fast forward to 2018 and machines may be able to learn how to do that work. According to a new study, it may be possible to teach machines how to pick out features in neurons and other cells that have not been stained or undergone other damaging treatments.
  
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• Mountain erosion may add CO2 to the atmosphere

  12-04-2018 20:10
  Scientists have long known that steep mountain ranges can draw carbon dioxide (CO2) out of the atmosphere -- as erosion exposes new rock, it also starts a chemical reaction between minerals on hill slopes and CO2 in the air, 'weathering' the rock and using CO2 to produce carbonate minerals like calcite.
  
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• Microphone for light: Tiny guitar string vibrates 1 billion times when plucked

  12-04-2018 20:10
  Scientists have engineered a tiny guitar string that vibrates 1 billion times when plucked. They would like to use it as a microphone for light.
  
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• 'Killer' kidney cancers identified by studying their evolution

  12-04-2018 20:10
  Scientists have discovered that kidney cancer follows distinct evolutionary paths, enabling them to detect whether a tumor will be aggressive and revealing that the first seeds of kidney cancer are sown as early as childhood.
  
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• How molecules in cells 'find' one another and organize into structures

  12-04-2018 20:10
  A longstanding mystery in biology is how the millions of molecules bumping around in a cell "find" one another and organize into functional structures. So it was a big surprise in 2008 when a group realized that simple phase separations -- like oil separating from water -- may be one important way to create order inside a cell.
  
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• How highly contagious norovirus infection gets its start

  12-04-2018 20:10
  Researchers have shown, in mice, that norovirus infects a rare type of intestinal cell called a tuft cell. Noroviruses tucked inside tuft cells are effectively hidden from the immune system, which could explain why some people continue to shed virus long after they are no longer sick. These 'healthy carriers' are thought to be the source of norovirus outbreaks, so understanding how the virus evades detection in such people could lead to better ways to prevent outbreaks.
  
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• Discovery of four subtypes of melanoma points to new treatment approaches

  12-04-2018 20:10
  Researchers have found that melanomas can be divided into four distinct subtypes according to their stages of differentiation. Cell subtypes that de-differentiated -- meaning that they reverted back to a less-mature cell -- showed sensitivity to a type of self-inflicted cell death called ferroptosis.
  
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• Bad antibodies made good: The immune system's secret weapon uncovered

  12-04-2018 20:10
  The 'bad apples' of the immune system are also its secret weapon, according to major new research. Scientists have revealed how a population of 'bad' antibodies in the immune system -- which are usually 'silenced' because they can harm the body -- can provide crucial protection against invading microbes.
  
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• Animal images used in marketing may skew public perception about their survival risks

  12-04-2018 20:10
  Many of the world's most charismatic animal species -- those that attract the largest interest and deepest empathy from the public -- are at high risk of extinction in part because many people believe their iconic stature guarantees their survival.
  
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• Sweet potato history casts doubt on early contact between Polynesia and the Americas

  12-04-2018 20:08
  New evidence shows that sweet potatoes arose before there were any humans around to eat them. The findings also suggest that the sweet potato crossed the ocean from America to Polynesia without any help from people. The discovery raises doubts about the existence of pre-Columbian contacts between Polynesia and the American continent.
  
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• Certain iron supplements may influence the development of colon cancer

  12-04-2018 20:06
  Two common iron compounds increase the formation of a known biomarker for cancer, according to a new study. The two compounds, ferric citrate and ferric EDTA, are often used in dietary supplements and as a food additive respectively, in worldwide markets including the USA and the EU.
  
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• Using laser tweezers, chemists nudged two atoms to bond

  12-04-2018 20:00
  
  This is the first time researchers have purposefully combined two specific atoms into a molecule.
  
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• A key constant’s new measurement hints ‘dark photons’ don't exist

  12-04-2018 20:00
  
  New measurement of the fine-structure constant is the most precise yet.
  
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• Tropism for tuft cells determines immune promotion of norovirus pathogenesis

  12-04-2018 19:37
  Complex interactions between host immunity and the microbiome regulate norovirus infection. However, the mechanism of host immune promotion of enteric virus infection remains obscure. The cellular tropism of noroviruses is also unknown. Recently, we identified CD300lf as a murine norovirus (MNoV) receptor. In this study, we have shown that tuft cells, a rare type of intestinal epithelial cell, express CD300lf and are the target cell for MNoV in the mouse intestine. We found that type 2 cytokines
  
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• Structure of the nuclear exosome captured on a maturing preribosome

  12-04-2018 19:37
  The RNA exosome complex processes and degrades a wide range of transcripts, including ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs). We used cryo–electron microscopy to visualize the yeast nuclear exosome holocomplex captured on a precursor large ribosomal subunit (pre-60S) during 7S-to-5.8S rRNA processing. The cofactors of the nuclear exosome are sandwiched between the ribonuclease core complex (Exo-10) and the remodeled "foot" structure of the pre-60S particle, which harbors the 5.8S rRNA precursor. The exoso
  
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• Structural basis for coupling protein transport and N-glycosylation at the mammalian endoplasmic reticulum

  12-04-2018 19:37
  Protein synthesis, transport, and N-glycosylation are coupled at the mammalian endoplasmic reticulum by complex formation of a ribosome, the Sec61 protein-conducting channel, and oligosaccharyltransferase (OST). Here we used different cryo–electron microscopy approaches to determine structures of native and solubilized ribosome-Sec61-OST complexes. A molecular model for the catalytic OST subunit STT3A (staurosporine and temperature sensitive 3A) revealed how it is integrated into the OST a
  
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• Single-cell profiling of the developing mouse brain and spinal cord with split-pool barcoding

  12-04-2018 19:37
  To facilitate scalable profiling of single cells, we developed split-pool ligation-based transcriptome sequencing (SPLiT-seq), a single-cell RNA-seq (scRNA-seq) method that labels the cellular origin of RNA through combinatorial barcoding. SPLiT-seq is compatible with fixed cells or nuclei, allows efficient sample multiplexing, and requires no customized equipment. We used SPLiT-seq to analyze 156,049 single-nucleus transcriptomes from postnatal day 2 and 11 mouse brains and spinal cords. More t
  
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• Rewritable multi-event analog recording in bacterial and mammalian cells

  12-04-2018 19:37
  We present two CRISPR-mediated analog multi-event recording apparatus (CAMERA) systems that use base editors and Cas9 nucleases to record cellular events in bacteria and mammalian cells. The devices record signal amplitude or duration as changes in the ratio of mutually exclusive DNA sequences (CAMERA 1) or as single-base modifications (CAMERA 2). We achieved recording of multiple stimuli in bacteria or mammalian cells, including exposure to antibiotics, nutrients, viruses, light, and changes in
  
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• Quantitative analysis of population-scale family trees with millions of relatives

  12-04-2018 19:37
  Family trees have vast applications in fields as diverse as genetics, anthropology, and economics. However, the collection of extended family trees is tedious and usually relies on resources with limited geographical scope and complex data usage restrictions. We collected 86 million profiles from publicly available online data shared by genealogy enthusiasts. After extensive cleaning and validation, we obtained population-scale family trees, including a single pedigree of 13 million individuals.
  
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• Predicting reaction performance in C-N cross-coupling using machine learning

  12-04-2018 19:37
  Machine learning methods are becoming integral to scientific inquiry in numerous disciplines. We demonstrated that machine learning can be used to predict the performance of a synthetic reaction in multidimensional chemical space using data obtained via high-throughput experimentation. We created scripts to compute and extract atomic, molecular, and vibrational descriptors for the components of a palladium-catalyzed Buchwald-Hartwig cross-coupling of aryl halides with 4-methylaniline in the pres
  
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• Photoperiodic control of seasonal growth is mediated by ABA acting on cell-cell communication

  12-04-2018 19:37
  In temperate and boreal ecosystems, seasonal cycles of growth and dormancy allow perennial plants to adapt to winter conditions. We show, in hybrid aspen trees, that photoperiodic regulation of dormancy is mechanistically distinct from autumnal growth cessation. Dormancy sets in when symplastic intercellular communication through plasmodesmata is blocked by a process dependent on the phytohormone abscisic acid. The communication blockage prevents growth-promoting signals from accessing the meris
  
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• Observation of topological superconductivity on the surface of an iron-based superconductor

  12-04-2018 19:37
  Topological superconductors are predicted to host exotic Majorana states that obey non-Abelian statistics and can be used to implement a topological quantum computer. Most of the proposed topological superconductors are realized in difficult-to-fabricate heterostructures at very low temperatures. By using high-resolution spin-resolved and angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy, we find that the iron-based superconductor FeTe1–xSex (x = 0.45; superconducting transition temperature Tc = 1
  
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• MitoCPR--A surveillance pathway that protects mitochondria in response to protein import stress

  12-04-2018 19:37
  Mitochondrial functions are essential for cell viability and rely on protein import into the organelle. Various disease and stress conditions can lead to mitochondrial import defects. We found that inhibition of mitochondrial import in budding yeast activated a surveillance mechanism, mitoCPR, that improved mitochondrial import and protected mitochondria during import stress. mitoCPR induced expression of Cis1, which associated with the mitochondrial translocase to reduce the accumulation of mit
  
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• Microbial oxidation of lithospheric organic carbon in rapidly eroding tropical mountain soils

  12-04-2018 19:37
  Lithospheric organic carbon ("petrogenic"; OCpetro) is oxidized during exhumation and subsequent erosion of mountain ranges. This process is a considerable source of carbon dioxide (CO2) to the atmosphere over geologic time scales, but the mechanisms that govern oxidation rates in mountain landscapes are poorly constrained. We demonstrate that, on average, 67 ± 11% of the OCpetro initially present in bedrock exhumed from the tropical, rapidly eroding Central Range of Taiwan is oxidized in
  
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• Measurement of the fine-structure constant as a test of the Standard Model

  12-04-2018 19:37
  Measurements of the fine-structure constant α require methods from across subfields and are thus powerful tests of the consistency of theory and experiment in physics. Using the recoil frequency of cesium-133 atoms in a matter-wave interferometer, we recorded the most accurate measurement of the fine-structure constant to date: α = 1/137.035999046(27) at 2.0 x 10–10 accuracy. Using multiphoton interactions (Bragg diffraction and Bloch oscillations), we demonstrate the largest p
  
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• Germinal center antibody mutation trajectories are determined by rapid self/foreign discrimination

  12-04-2018 19:37
  Antibodies have the specificity to differentiate foreign antigens that mimic self antigens, but it remains unclear how such specificity is acquired. In a mouse model, we generated B cells displaying an antibody that cross-reacts with two related protein antigens expressed on self versus foreign cells. B cell anergy was imposed by self antigen but reversed upon challenge with high-density foreign antigen, leading to germinal center recruitment and antibody gene hypermutation. Single-cell analysis
  
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• Bottom-up synthesis of multifunctional nanoporous graphene

  12-04-2018 19:37
  Nanosize pores can turn semimetallic graphene into a semiconductor and, from being impermeable, into the most efficient molecular-sieve membrane. However, scaling the pores down to the nanometer, while fulfilling the tight structural constraints imposed by applications, represents an enormous challenge for present top-down strategies. Here we report a bottom-up method to synthesize nanoporous graphene comprising an ordered array of pores separated by ribbons, which can be tuned down to the 1-nan
  
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• A blueprint for demonstrating quantum supremacy with superconducting qubits

  12-04-2018 19:37
  A key step toward demonstrating a quantum system that can address difficult problems in physics and chemistry will be performing a computation beyond the capabilities of any classical computer, thus achieving so-called quantum supremacy. In this study, we used nine superconducting qubits to demonstrate a promising path toward quantum supremacy. By individually tuning the qubit parameters, we were able to generate thousands of distinct Hamiltonian evolutions and probe the output probabilities. Th
  
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• Study explores carbohydrates' impact on head, neck cancers

  12-04-2018 19:08
  Consuming high amounts of carbohydrates and various forms of sugar during the year prior to treatment for head and neck cancer may increase patients' risks of cancer recurrence and mortality, a new study reports. However, eating moderate amounts of fats and starchy foods such as whole grains, potatoes and legumes after treatment could have protective benefits, reducing patients' risks of disease recurrence and death.
  
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• Mississippi River diversions will produce new land, but more slowly than shoreline is lost

  12-04-2018 19:08
  The best solution to sustaining portions of the Mississippi Delta may be river diversions that bring sediment to shrinking coastlines. However, a new study concludes that the rate of land-building will likely be dwarfed by the rate of wetland loss.
  
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• Actual fossil fuel emissions checked with new technique

  12-04-2018 19:08
  Researchers have measured CO2 emissions from fossil fuel use in California and compared them to reported emissions. This is the first time fossil fuel emissions have been independently checked for such a large area.
  
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• These hummingbirds aim their singing tail feathers to wow mates

  12-04-2018 18:39
  
  Acoustic cameras reveal how male Costa’s hummingbirds can aim the sound produced by fluttering tail feathers during courtship dives.
  
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• Why some cancers are 'born to be bad'

  12-04-2018 18:00 via bbc.co.uk
  Breakthrough explains why some cancers are far more deadly than others.
  
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• Lawsuit blaming pesticides for bee deaths will go ahead

  12-04-2018 17:30 via cbc.ca
  Environmental groups say a Federal Court ruling will allow a lawsuit aimed at pesticides blamed for damaging bee populations to go to a full hearing.
  
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• Duel of the inflammatory master regulators: Insights for drug discovery

  12-04-2018 17:09
  Anti-inflammatory drugs such as dexamethasone can have harmful side effects on the skin, bones and metabolism. Structural biology research has implications for the long-standing quest to separate these drugs' benefits from their side effects.
  
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