Science news

• Cargo ships must cut their emissions in half by 2050

  13-04-2018 23:47
  
  A new international agreement places a cap on greenhouse gas emissions from international cargo ships.
  
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• Tales of rampant suicide among Custer’s soldiers may be overblown

  13-04-2018 22:31
  
  Few of Custer’s men killed themselves in the face of overwhelming Native American numbers at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, skeletal data suggest.
  
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• An antiscience political climate is driving scientists to run for office

  13-04-2018 22:03
  
  Hoping to inject evidence-based science into policy, more scientists are putting their name on the ballot.
  
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• Extreme climate variability destabilizing West Coast ecosystems

  13-04-2018 21:53
  Extreme climate variability over the last century in western North America may be destabilizing both marine and terrestrial ecosystems.
  
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• Evidence mounts for Alzheimer's, suicide risks among youth in polluted cities

  13-04-2018 21:52
  Researchers have published a new study that reveals increased risks for Alzheimer's and suicide among children and young adults living in polluted megacities.
  
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• Farmers are using AI to help monitor cows

  13-04-2018 21:31 via cbc.ca
  Is the world ready for cows armed with artificial intelligence? A Dutch companies new tool, 'The Intelligent Dairy Farmer's Assistant,' has found its way to North America.
  
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• NASA spacecraft ready to search for new worlds

  13-04-2018 21:00 via cbc.ca
  Look up at the sky tonight. Every star you see — plus hundreds of thousands, even millions more — will come under the intense stare of NASA's newest planet hunter.
  
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• NASA spacecraft launch in search of new worlds scrubbed, rescheduled for Thursday

  13-04-2018 21:00 via cbc.ca
  Look up at the sky tonight. Every star you see — plus hundreds of thousands, even millions more — will come under the intense stare of NASA's newest planet hunter.
  
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• Polluting ship fuel to be banned in Arctic; shipping emissions to be halved

  13-04-2018 20:50 via cbc.ca
  An international body that regulates worldwide shipping has agreed to stop the use of a highly polluting fuel in the Arctic.
  
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• International shipping has to slash emissions in half by mid-century

  13-04-2018 20:50 via cbc.ca
  The Canadian government is on board with an international proposal passed this week to force the shipping industry to cut its emissions in half by the middle of the century.
  
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• Newly identified bacteria may help bees nourish their young

  13-04-2018 20:45
  Researchers have isolated three previously unknown bacterial species from wild bees and flowers. The bacteria, which belong to the genus Lactobacillus, may play a role in preserving the nectar and pollen that female bees store in their nests as food for their larvae.
  
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• When superconductivity disappears in the core of a quantum tube

  13-04-2018 19:36
  Predicting the behavior of electrons in a material is not easily done. Physicists have replaced the electrons with ultra-cold neutral lithium atoms that they had circulated in a one-dimensional quantum tube. The scientists were able to confirm an unusual state of matter that retains its insulation regardless of the level of attraction between the particles. This work opens the way to new materials with atypical properties.
  
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• Temperature affects insecticide efficacy against malaria vectors

  13-04-2018 19:36
  Ambient temperature has a marked effect on the toxicity of the most commonly used insecticides for malaria control, according to a new study. The results underline the need to evaluate the efficacy of these chemicals under real field conditions.
  
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• Omega-3s from fish oil supplements no better than placebo for dry eye

  13-04-2018 19:36
  Omega-3 fatty acid supplements taken orally proved no better than placebo at relieving symptoms or signs of dry eye, according to the findings of a well-controlled trial.
  
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• Nanoscale coating enables solar cells to absorb 20 percent more sunlight

  13-04-2018 19:36
  Trapping light with an optical version of a whispering gallery, researchers have developed a nanoscale coating for solar cells that enables them to absorb about 20 percent more sunlight than uncoated devices.
  
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• Japanese engineer builds giant robot to realize 'Gundam' dream

  13-04-2018 19:32
  SHINTO, Japan (Reuters) - Japanese engineer Masaaki Nagumo had always dreamed of suiting up as a robot from "Mobile Suit Gundam", his favorite animation series growing up. Now he has made it a reality by creating a giant humanoid inspired by the science fiction franchise.
  
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• Can AI Really Solve Facebook's Problems?

  13-04-2018 18:45 via rss.sciam.com
  Despite CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s efforts to reassure Congress that artificial intelligence can help find fake news and protect privacy, lawmakers worry the tech may be “biased”-- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Animals' popularity 'a disadvantage'

  13-04-2018 18:42 via bbc.co.uk
  A new study shows that some species may become victims of their own prestige.
  
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• Consuming more than five drinks a week could shorten your life

  13-04-2018 18:19
  Regularly drinking more than the recommended UK guidelines for alcohol could take years off your life, according to new research. The study shows that drinking more alcohol is associated with a higher risk of stroke, fatal aneurysm, heart failure and death.
  
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• Quantum physicists achieve entanglement record

  13-04-2018 17:06
  Entanglement is of central importance for the new quantum technologies of the 21st century. A research team is now presenting the largest entangled quantum register of individually controllable systems to date, consisting of a total of 20 quantum bits. The physicists are pushing experimental and theoretical methods to the limits of what is currently possible.
  
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• Healthy soil lifts animal weight

  13-04-2018 17:06
  Individual pastures on livestock farms yield surprisingly dissimilar benefits to a farm's overall agricultural income, and those differences are most likely attributable to the varying levels of 'soil health' provided by its grazing livestock. A research team has now opened up the possibility of using field-scale metrics as indicators of animal performance and agricultural productivity.
  
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• This is how norovirus invades the body

  13-04-2018 16:23
  
  Norovirus targets a rare type of gut cell, a study in mice finds.
  
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• 'Swarms' of earthquakes rattle McAdam, N.B.

  13-04-2018 16:07 via cbc.ca
  Earthquakes Canada has recorded 22 quakes on the western edge of New Brunswick near the border with the United States, most of them in an area that includes the village of McAdam.
  
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• What makes someone believe or reject science? Quality of recordings

  13-04-2018 15:38
  When people listen to recordings of a scientist presenting their work, the quality of audio had a significant impact on whether people believed what they were hearing.
  
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• The secret behind a choice cuppa or a perfect pint -- a mathematician

  13-04-2018 15:38
  IF you want to know how to pour the perfect pint or create the ultimate cup of coffee, then you really need a mathematician.
  
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• 'Scaffolding' method allows biochemists to see proteins in remarkable detail

  13-04-2018 15:38
  Biochemists have achieved a major goal in biology: seeing at near atomic detail the smallest protein ever visualized by the technique whose development won the 2017 Nobel Prize in chemistry. Until now, this method has not worked with the small proteins inside cells.
  
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• Large wildfires bring increases in annual river flow

  13-04-2018 15:38
  Large wildfires cause increases in stream flow that can last for years or even decades, according to a new analysis of 30 years of data from across the continental United States.
  
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• First-ever combustion experiment with X-rays

  13-04-2018 15:38
  Scientists have made an historic first with its experiment in a gas turbine combustor using X-rays. The data will help advance gas turbine engine designs for higher power density and efficiency, scientists said.
  
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• Crowded urban areas have fewer songbirds per person

  13-04-2018 15:38
  People in crowded urban areas -- especially poor areas -- see fewer songbirds such as tits and finches, and more potential 'nuisance' birds, such as pigeons, magpies and gulls, new research shows.
  
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• Chemistry: Observing biological nanotransporters

  13-04-2018 15:38
  A research team was able to describe with atomic detail how molecules are transported through biological membranes. Computer simulations and spectroscopic experiments provided insights into the work of so-called ABC transporters. These proteins play an important role in the drug resistance of tumor cells and bacteria.
  
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• 'Molecular microscope' system safer, more effective in heart and lung transplant biopsies

  13-04-2018 15:37
  A transplant biopsy system that uses gene chips to read molecules is far safer and more effective than existing approaches used for heart transplant biopsies and is showing promising results for lung transplant biopsies, new research shows.
  
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• Brief exposure to tiny air pollution particles triggers childhood lung infections

  13-04-2018 15:35
  Even the briefest increase in airborne fine particulate matter PM2.5, pollution-causing particles that are about 3 percent of the diameter of human hair, is associated with the development of acute lower respiratory infection (ALRI) in young children, according to newly published research.
  
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• Forget the snow: Nova Scotia's oceans hit 14 C this week

  13-04-2018 11:00 via cbc.ca
  As Nova Scotians dug out from a spring snow storm this week, scientists 200 kilometres off the coast were measuring record-high deep-water temperatures that reached 14 C.
  
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• In privacy fight, we're asking Facebook the wrong questions

  13-04-2018 10:00 via cbc.ca
  Don't be distracted by debates over how much of your data Facebook is sharing. The real issue is how much the social media giant still gathers about you.
  
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• Tungsten 'too brittle' for nuclear fusion reactors

  13-04-2018 06:00
  (University of Huddersfield) Researchers find tungsten -- a favored choice of metal within the reactor -- is liable to become brittle, leading to failure.
  
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• Translational research community debates on the EGA and its impact on health

  13-04-2018 06:00
  (Center for Genomic Regulation) The Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) and la Caixa Banking Foundation hosted a gathering of scientists, doctors, patients' associations and biomedical companies to discuss the importance of integrating genomic data in medicine in Spain, and their benefits in personalized medicine.
  
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• Transfer learning meets livestock genomics

  13-04-2018 06:00
  (Peter the Great Saint-Petersburg Polytechnic University) Researchers at Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University (SPbPU) have developed a new computational method that predicts harmful mutations in mammalian species. As more and more livestock producers are using genetic tests to improve their herds, this method will help to optimize and guide the animal breeding programmes, as well as increase the profitability and yields of livestock.
  
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• 'Tic-tac-toe'-themed MRI technology easy win for neurological disease researchers

  13-04-2018 06:00
  (University of Pittsburgh) The University of Pittsburgh houses a whole-body 7 Tesla magnetic resonance imager (7T MRI), one of the strongest human MRI devices in the world and a powerful imaging tool that allows researchers to gain a far better understanding of brain structure and function.Pitt Bioengineering's Tamer Ibrahim has received close to $5 million from multiple NIH grants to fund the development and use of innovative 7T human imaging technologies.
  
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• The memory part of the brain may also hold clues for anxiety and depression

  13-04-2018 06:00
  (University of Toronto) New research finds that the hippocampus may yield important clues for a range of mental health illnesses including addition, anxiety and depression.
  
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• Similar charges are attracted to each other

  13-04-2018 06:00
  (National University of Science and Technology MISIS) NUST MISIS scientists have finally found out why a material that could potentially become the basis for ultra-fast memory in new computers is formed. Professor Petr Karpov and Serguei Brazovskii, both researchers at NUST MISIS, have managed to develop a theory which explains the mechanism of the latent state formation in layered tantalum disulfide, one of the most promising materials for modern microelectronics.
  
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• Sensor strategy a boon for synthetic biology

  13-04-2018 06:00
  (Rice University) Rice University synthetic biologists have invented a technology to dial up or down the sensitivity of bacterial biosensors. Researchers say the technique could enable the engineering of tailor-made biosensors for diagnostic gut bacteria, detection of environmental pollutants or automated control of nutrient levels in soil.
  
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• Self-inflicted gunshot wound survivors may deny suicide attempt, face barriers to care

  13-04-2018 06:00
  (University of Louisville) Researchers have found that more than one-third of patients who denied that their self-inflicted gunshot wound resulted from a suicide attempt most likely had indeed tried to kill themselves, and commonly were sent home from the hospital without further mental health treatment.The findings indicate there are significant barriers to treatment for people who have made suicide attempts, and highlight the need to improve assessment and intervention for survivors of self-in
  
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• Scientists use machine learning to speed discovery of metallic glass

  13-04-2018 06:00
  (DOE/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory) Blend two or three metals together and you get an alloy that usually looks and acts like a metal, with its atoms arranged in rigid geometric patterns. But once in a while, under just the right conditions, you get something entirely new: a futuristic alloy called metallic glass. Now new research reports a shortcut for discovering and improving metallic glass -- and, by extension, other elusive materials -- at a fraction of the time and cost.
  
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• Scientists find positive workplace experiences among Americans with disabilities

  13-04-2018 06:00
  (Kessler Foundation) A multidisciplinary team of researchers at Kessler Foundation and the University of New Hampshire, Institute on Disability (UNH-IOD), have authored a new article that identifies how Americans with disabilities are striving to work and overcoming barriers to employment.
  
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• Scholars: In #MeToo movement, lessons of restorative and transitional justice important

  13-04-2018 06:00
  (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) A new paper from a team of University of Illinois legal scholars argues that reformers of the burgeoning #MeToo movement ought to heed the core principles of restorative and transitional justice and take into account the needs of both victims and offenders, as well as the larger community.
  
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• Pulsed corona discharge removes pharmaceutical residues from wastewater

  13-04-2018 06:00
  (Lappeenranta University of Technology) A doctoral dissertation to undergo a public examination at Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT) examinesthe removal of harmful organic substances, such as pharmaceutical residues, energy efficiently from wastewater using only electricity. According to practical tests, pulsed corona discharge (PCD) may significantly reduce the environmental burden of pharmaceutical residues.
  
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• Psst! A whispering gallery for light boosts solar cells

  13-04-2018 06:00
  (National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)) Trapping light with an optical version of a whispering gallery, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a nanoscale coating for solar cells that enables them to absorb about 20 percent more sunlight than uncoated devices.
  
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• Professor Jennifer Pazour receives inaugural Women in STEM2D Award

  13-04-2018 06:00
  (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) Jennifer Pazour, assistant professor of industrial and systems engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, has been named an inaugural recipient of the Johnson & Johnson Women in STEM2D (WiSTEM2D) Scholars Award.
  
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• Polymer synthesis gets a jolt of caffeine

  13-04-2018 06:00
  (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Using caffeine as a catalyst, MIT researchers have devised a way to create gummy, biocompatible gels that could be used for drug delivery and other medical applications.
  
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• OU radar team developing new technologies for US Navy next-generation radar systems

  13-04-2018 06:00
  (University of Oklahoma) A University of Oklahoma Advanced Radar Research Center team is developing new antenna and related technologies for US Navy next-generation radar systems with a two-year, $3.5 million grant from the US Department of Defense, Office of Naval Research. The ARRC research and development program under way is designed to improve the agility and multi-functionality of radio frequency sensors and communication systems, while enabling future implementation on a variety of surfac
  
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