Science news

• The DES saga: Death risk high for young women exposed in utero

  02-05-2018 23:49
  A new reports on the risks of exposure during pregnancy to a supplement, diethylstilbestrol (DES), that is linked to a rare cancer. The study found that DES-exposed patients with clear-cell adenocarcinoma had 'increased mortality across their life span.' For women aged 10 to 34 with DES-related clear-cell adenocarcinoma, the risk of death was 27 times higher than for other US women in that age group.
  
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• Engraved Crimean stone artifact may demonstrate Neanderthal symbolism

  02-05-2018 23:49
  A flint flake from the Middle Paleolithic of Crimea was likely engraved symbolically by a skilled Neanderthal hand, according to a new study.
  
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• Stephen Hawking's final physics paper published

  02-05-2018 22:37 via cbc.ca
  ​Weeks after his death, physicist Stephen Hawking has delivered his last thoughts about the nature of the cosmos, and he says it may be simpler than often believed.
  
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• River dolphins are declining steeply in the Amazon basin

  02-05-2018 21:34
  Populations of freshwater dolphins in the Amazon basin are in steep decline, dropping by half about every decade at current rates, according to a new study.
  
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• Research finds 'Achilles heel' for aggressive prostate cancer

  02-05-2018 21:34
  Researchers have discovered a promising new line of attack against lethal, treatment-resistant prostate cancer. Analysis of hundreds of human prostate tumors revealed that the most aggressive cancers depend on a built-in cellular stress response to put a brake on their own hot-wired physiology. Experiments in mice and with human cells showed that blocking this stress response with an experimental drug causes treatment-resistant cancer cells to self-destruct while leaving normal cells unaffected.
  
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• Whooping cough more widespread than previously known

  02-05-2018 21:33
  New research suggests that whooping cough cases in Ontario are nearly eight times the number actually reported, reinforcing the importance of up-to-date vaccinations to protect against illness and the spread of disease.
  
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• Toy-inspired experiment on behavior of quantum systems

  02-05-2018 21:33
  By placing the most magnetic element of the periodic table into a quantum version of a popular desktop toy, scientists explore the emergence of quantum chaos and thermal equilibrium.
  
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• Omega-3s made by many marine animals, including corals, worms and molluscs

  02-05-2018 21:33
  A major discovery that could 'revolutionize' the understanding of omega-3 production in the ocean has been made by an international team of scientists.
  
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• How small molecule halts spread of toxic protein associated with Alzheimer's progression

  02-05-2018 21:33
  Researchers have reported a promising drug strategy that blocks tau transmission.
  
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• Survival and restoration of China's native forests imperiled by proliferating tree plantations

  02-05-2018 21:32
  China's reforestation efforts have led to an increase in tree cover by 32 percent but the increase mostly comes from people turning former croplands into tree plantations with only one type of tree, which is of little value to wildlife. Likewise, native forests actually decreased by 6 percent because people continued to clear native forests to make way for tree plantations.
  
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• The case for hope: Educating as if survival matters

  02-05-2018 21:29
  The world is facing ever-more-dire warnings from scientists about the faltering health of the environment and the negative consequences for humans, habitats, and the creatures with whom we share the Earth. Still, a new article suggests there's reason for hope. It boils down to what we teach today's young people.
  
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• Cambridge Analytica shutting down, says it's been 'vilified' in Facebook scandal

  02-05-2018 20:54 via cbc.ca
  Cambridge Analytica, the political research firm at the centre of this year's Facebook data-mining scandal, is declaring bankruptcy and shutting down.
  
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• 'The ocean is suffocating': Gulf of Oman world's largest 'dead zone'

  02-05-2018 20:15 via cbc.ca
  Underwater robots have found that a vast, oxygen-depleted "dead zone" in the Gulf of Oman is now the largest such area in the world.
  
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• Weather forecast model predicts complex patterns of volcanic ash dispersal

  02-05-2018 19:22
  New research has provided fresh insight into how huge volcanic ash plumes, which can critically disrupt aviation and cause major impact on the ground, are transported in the atmosphere.
  
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• How some liver cells switch identities to build missing plumbing

  02-05-2018 19:21
  By studying a rare liver disease called Alagille syndrome, scientists discovered the mechanism behind a form of tissue regeneration that may someday reduce the need for organ transplants. Researchers report that when disease or injury causes a shortage in one type of liver cell, the organ can instruct another type of liver cell to change identities to provide replacement supplies. The findings one day may lead to a viable treatment for human disease.
  
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• Why plants are so sensitive to gravity: The lowdown

  02-05-2018 19:18
  Plants can detect the slightest angle of inclination. Yet the mechanism by which they sense gravity relies on microscopic grains. In theory, such a system should hardly allow for precise detection of inclination. Researchers have now explained this curious paradox: the grains are constantly being agitated within the plant cells!
  
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• Scientists find the first bird beak, right under their noses

  02-05-2018 19:18
  Researchers have pieced together the three-dimensional skull of an iconic, toothed bird that represents a pivotal moment in the transition from dinosaurs to modern-day birds.
  
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• Scientists find fear, courage switches in brain

  02-05-2018 19:18
  Researchers have identified two adjacent clusters of nerve cells in the brains of mice whose activation levels upon sighting a visual threat spell the difference between a timid response and a bold or even fierce one.
  
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• Precise targeting technique could regulate gut bacteria, curtailing disease

  02-05-2018 19:18
  Emerging evidence suggests that microbes in the digestive system have a big influence on human health and may play a role in the onset of disease throughout the body. Now, in a new study, scientists report that they have potentially found a way to use chemical compounds to target and inhibit the growth of specific microbes in the gut associated with diseases without causing harm to other beneficial organisms.
  
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• Parental support linked career success of children

  02-05-2018 19:18
  A recent study finds that young people who get financial support from their parents have greater professional success, highlighting one way social inequality is transmitted from one generation to the next.
  
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• Cryo-EM structures of the nicotine receptor may lead to new therapies for addiction

  02-05-2018 19:18
  Researchers have published atomic-scale blueprints of the most abundant class of brain nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. A structural understanding of the protein, found in neurons, could lead to new ways to treat nicotine addiction from smoking and vaping.
  
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• Are emperor penguins eating enough?

  02-05-2018 19:18
  For emperor penguins waddling around a warming Antarctic, diminishing sea ice means less fish to eat. How the diets of these tuxedoed birds will hold up in the face of climate change is a big question scientists are grappling with.
  
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• How birds got their beaks - new fossil evidence

  02-05-2018 19:11 via bbc.co.uk
  Scientists piece together the skull of an ancient bird, which had a primitive beak lined with teeth.
  
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• Ancient bird with beak and teeth blended dinosaur, avian traits

  02-05-2018 19:02
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A primitive seabird that prospered about 85 million years ago along the warm, shallow inland sea that once split North America boasted what scientists are calling a surprising blend of traits from its dinosaur ancestors and modern avian characteristics.
  
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• This ancient fowl bit like a dinosaur and pecked like a bird

  02-05-2018 19:00
  
  A new fossil of Ichthyornis dispar helped scientists create a 3-D reconstruction of the ancient bird’s skull, shedding light on early bird evolution.
  
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• New Fossils Offer Clues about a Primordial Bird Beak

  02-05-2018 19:00 via rss.sciam.com
  The toothy snout had a tip covered by a hornlike sheath-- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Butchered rhino bones place hominids in the Philippines 700,000 years ago

  02-05-2018 19:00
  
  Stone tools and butchery marks point to an ancient hominid presence on islands in the Philippines.
  
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• Weight loss surgery may cause significant skeletal health problems

  02-05-2018 18:00
  A new review examines the negative impacts of weight loss surgery on bone health.
  
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• Viscosity of suspensions: It all comes down to roughness

  02-05-2018 18:00
  Researchers have explained how the surface characteristics of microspheres affect rapid increases in the viscosity of suspensions, thus laying the groundwork for applications such as smoothly flowing cement.
  
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• Physicists find signs of a time crystal

  02-05-2018 18:00
  Physicists have uncovered hints of a time crystal -- a form of matter that 'ticks' when exposed to an electromagnetic pulse -- in the last place they expected: a crystal you might find in a child's toy.
  
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• Global warming of 1.5°C or 2°C: The lower limit would reduce flood hazards

  02-05-2018 18:00
  A research group has simulated the scenarios of limiting global warming to 2°C versus 1.5°C with global hydrological models. An important result: High flows and flood hazards will increase significantly over an average of 21 percent of global land area if the temperature rises by 2°C. But if the rise in global warming is limited to 1.5°C only 11 percent of global land area would be affected.
  
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• Bats go quiet during fall mating season

  02-05-2018 18:00
  Giving someone the 'silent treatment' during courtship might not be the best strategy for romance. But, new research shows hoary bats fly with little or no echolocation at all as a possible mating-related behavior.
  
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• Gut microbiome plays an important role in atherosclerosis

  02-05-2018 17:59
  Researchers have shown a novel relationship between the intestinal microbiome and atherosclerosis, one of the major causes of heart attack and stroke. This was measured as the burden of plaque in the carotid arteries.
  
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• Flaw found in water treatment method: Process may generate harmful chemicals

  02-05-2018 17:59
  Some potentially toxic chemicals in water may be created, ironically, during the water treatment process itself.
  
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• Climate change will boost global lake evaporation -- with 'extreme' consequences

  02-05-2018 17:59
  Global lake evaporation will increase 16 percent by the end of the century, triggering, among other outcomes, stronger precipitation events, according to a new study. But the specific mechanisms that will drive that phenomenon are not quite what scientists expected.
  
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• Brick by brick: Assembly of the measles virus

  02-05-2018 17:59
  Researchers have been able to capture images of measles viruses as they emerge from infected cells, using state of the art cryo-electron tomography techniques. The new images will help with a greater understanding of measles and related viruses, and could give hints on antiviral drug strategies likely to work across multiple viruses of this type.
  
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• Novel reaction could spark alternate approach to ammonia production

  02-05-2018 17:57
  The search for a more energy efficient and environmentally friendly method of ammonia production for fertilizer has led to the discovery of a new type of catalytic reaction.
  
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• Bull sharks and bottlenose dolphins are moving north as the ocean warms

  02-05-2018 17:52
  
  Rising temperatures are making ocean waters farther north more hospitable for a variety of marine species.
  
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• Researchers discover connection between circadian rhythm and aggression

  02-05-2018 16:41
  A research team has discovered a circuit in the brains of mice connecting circadian rhythm to aggressive behavior. The discovery is particularly interesting to Alzheimer's patients who experience increased aggression at night. The researchers have developed special protein tools capable of turning off the cells in the brain causing the behavior.
  
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• Substance in Chinese medicine can cause cardiac arrhythmia

  02-05-2018 16:40
  A medicinal plant frequently used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) -- Evodia rutaecarpa -- contains substances that can cause cardiac arrhythmia.
  
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• Study sheds light on how 'dopamine neurons' contribute to memory formation in humans

  02-05-2018 16:40
  Research sheds light on how the human brain rapidly forms new memories, providing insights into potential new treatments for memory disorders. A new study examined neurons that produce dopamine, a compound that acts as a transmitter for nerve impulses. It found that these dopamine neurons play a critical role in the formation of episodic memory, which allows people to remember such things as where they parked the car in the morning and what they had for dinner last night.
  
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• Scientists map key brain-to-spinal cord nerve connections for voluntary movement

  02-05-2018 16:40
  Researchers trying to help people suffering from paralysis after a spinal cord injury or stroke mapped critical brain-to-spinal cord nerve connections that drive voluntary movement in forelimbs, a development that scientists say allows them to start looking for specific repair strategies. The study is an important step toward one day rehabilitating motor circuits to help motor function recover after an injury or disease damages the central nervous system, the scientists report in Cell Reports.
  
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• Organic printing inks may restore sight to blind people

  02-05-2018 16:40
  A simple retinal prosthesis is under development. Fabricated using cheap and widely-available organic pigments used in printing inks and cosmetics, it consists of tiny pixels like a digital camera sensor on a nanometric scale. Researchers hope that it can restore sight to blind people.
  
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• New species in the North Sea

  02-05-2018 16:40
  Experts have confirmed the existence of a new cryptic amphipod species in the North Sea.
  
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• New report details experiences of graduates with student loan debt during the Great Recession

  02-05-2018 16:40
  Most non-borrowers (81 percent) reported that their undergraduate education was worth the cost, compared with 69 percent of graduates who took out student loans.
  
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• 'Hairdryer wind' melts snow in Antarctica in winter as well

  02-05-2018 16:40
  Even though the sun does not shine in Antarctica in winter, in some places snow on the glaciers can melt. The cause: warm wind. Utrecht glacier researchers discovered that fact by combining the results of weather stations and satellite images.
  
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• Energy recovery of urban waste

  02-05-2018 16:40
  Researchers have proposed a system which is capable of converting waste in a more controlled manner, and, basically, in two stages: first, the solid is converted to gas in reducing conditions (that is, with the presence of little oxygen), and then the generated gas is burnt very efficiently in specifically optimized equipment.
  
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• Cracking open the formation of fossil concretions

  02-05-2018 16:39
  Researchers developed a unified model of the formation mechanism of spherical carbonate concretions, which often contain exceptionally well-preserved fossils. The carbon in the carbonate originates from the organisms preserved inside the concretions, and the surrounding muddy matrix limits diffusion and permeability, and thus causes supersaturation of carbonate at a reaction front. Calcite precipitation occurs several orders of magnitude more rapidly than previously recognized in concretions. Th
  
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• Ultrafast laser pulse created by golden nanoparticles

  02-05-2018 16:38
  The creation of a fast, tunable and stable nanoparticle-array laser is a stepping stone to affordable and efficient sensing and switching. New study shows that organic dye material combined with metallic nanostructures can provide ultrafast lasing dynamics with short and rapidly appearing laser pulses.
  
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• UK developing options for satellite system to rival EU's Galileo

  02-05-2018 16:27
  LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May has asked experts to look into options for a British satellite navigation system to rival the European Union's Galileo project amid a row over attempts to restrict Britain's access to sensitive information after Brexit.
  
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