Science news

• Ebola vaccinations begin in Congo

  21-05-2018 23:58
  
  A vaccination campaign is up and running to fight the ongoing Ebola outbreak in Congo. It’s the first of its kind.
  
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• 'Alien asteroid' may be the oldest object in the solar system

  21-05-2018 21:54
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An "alien asteroid" that circles the sun in the giant gas planet Jupiter's orbital path, but hurtling in the opposite direction, is the first-known permanent resident of our solar system that astronomers have concluded originated in another star system.
  
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• Gun owner or not, Americans agree on many ways to limit gun violence

  21-05-2018 19:23
  
  A new survey suggests that gun owners support many potential gun-control policies — now research on their efficacy needs to catch up.
  
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• EU legislature to live stream Zuckerberg meeting after criticism over plans for closed-door hearing

  21-05-2018 18:25 via cbc.ca
  Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has agreed to have his meeting Tuesday with the leaders of the European Parliament about data privacy be broadcast publicly through web streaming.
  
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• PM will pay to have 'full association' with EU research

  21-05-2018 17:55 via bbc.co.uk
  The Prime Minister makes the strongest commitment yet to "fully associate" the UK with the EU's £68bn research programme post-Brexit.
  
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• Satellite smashups could have given birth to Saturn’s odd moons

  21-05-2018 17:00
  
  Nearly head-on collisions between icy moonlets might be responsible for the peculiar shapes of some of Saturn’s moons, computer simulations suggest.
  
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• A Warming Climate May Produce More Drug-Resistant Infections

  21-05-2018 17:00 via rss.sciam.com
  Hotter temperatures can lead to increased growth and genetic mutations-- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Ebola outbreak: Experimental vaccinations begin in DR Congo

  21-05-2018 16:05 via bbc.co.uk
  Some 4,000 vaccines are being used to try to stop an outbreak that has killed at least 26 people.
  
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• Extreme altruism: Why do some people help others at great risk to themselves?

  21-05-2018 16:00 via cbc.ca
  Calvin Stein rescued a little girl from the path of runaway ponies, only to get trampled himself. It turns out that the brains of extreme altruists, like him, are wired differently.
  
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• China launch will prep for Moon landing

  21-05-2018 15:12 via bbc.co.uk
  China has launched a relay satellite to prepare for a Moon rover mission planned for later in the year.
  
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• Leading Science Museum Turns the Page on a Prominent #MeToo Case

  21-05-2018 15:00 via rss.sciam.com
  More than three years after a high-profile male anthropologist at the American Museum of Natural History was accused of sexual misconduct, a respected female anthropologist will replace him-- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• A baby elephant surprised zoo keepers

  21-05-2018 14:58 via bbc.co.uk
  A baby elephant surprised zoo keepers after being born to a mum whose pregnancy they thought had failed.
  
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• 'Permanent' interstellar visitor found

  21-05-2018 14:11 via bbc.co.uk
  An asteroid from beyond our Solar System has been orbiting near Jupiter for billions of years, scientists say.
  
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• Scientists say they've found an alien asteroid near Jupiter

  21-05-2018 14:00 via cbc.ca
  When an asteroid from outside our solar system was observed zipping through for the first time last year, it caused a lot of excitement. Now, a new study suggests another interstellar asteroid has actually been hiding here all this time.
  
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• Maverick asteroid might be an immigrant from outside the solar system

  21-05-2018 14:00
  
  A space rock’s backward orbit could be a hint of unusual origins.
  
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• Astronomers Spot Potential "Interstellar" Asteroid Orbiting Backwards Around the Sun

  21-05-2018 14:00 via rss.sciam.com
  The three-kilometer-wide object is near Jupiter; future spacecraft could visit if its status is confirmed-- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Astronomers Spot Potential "Interstellar" Asteroid Orbiting Backward around the Sun

  21-05-2018 14:00 via rss.sciam.com
  The three-kilometer-wide object is near Jupiter; future spacecraft could visit if its status is confirmed-- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Lava from Hawaii volcano enters ocean, creating toxic cloud

  21-05-2018 13:32 via cbc.ca
  White plumes of acid and extremely fine shards of glass are billowing into the sky over Hawaii as molten rock from the Kilauea volcano pours into the ocean, creating yet another hazard from an eruption that began more than two weeks ago.
  
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• Wealthy Families Invest More in Sons

  21-05-2018 13:15 via rss.sciam.com
  High-income parents spend more on blue backpacks than pink ones, research suggests-- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Quantum Physics May Be Even Spookier Than You Think

  21-05-2018 12:45 via rss.sciam.com
  A new experiment hints at surprising hidden mechanics of quantum superpositions-- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
  
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• Canso spaceport construction delayed until later this year

  21-05-2018 12:07 via cbc.ca
  The president of Maritime Launch Services says development at the rocket launch site likely won't start until next year, but he still aims for the first round of satellite launches to begin in 2021.
  
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• Kilauea: What happens when lava meets the sea

  21-05-2018 11:05 via bbc.co.uk
  BBC correspondent Chris Buckler explains what happens when lava flow meets the sea.
  
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• Could illegal mines in Ghana lead to an increase in chocolate prices?

  21-05-2018 10:30 via bbc.co.uk
  There's a warning that cocoa plantations in Ghana are being turned into illegal gold mines.
  
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• Plastics, other garbage found in ocean trench nearly 11 kilometres below surface

  21-05-2018 10:00 via cbc.ca
  New research published in the journal Marine Policy shows that humanity's garbage isn't just floating on the ocean surface where there might be some hope of cleaning it up. Video footage has captured images of garbage — including single-use plastics — on the bottom of the earth's deepest ocean trench more than 10 km below.
  
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• Bitcoin is an energy hog: New numbers suggest how big a problem it is

  21-05-2018 10:00 via cbc.ca
  Bitcoin miners will guzzle more electricity this year than some countries do, according to new numbers from a leading researcher. And while some critics take issue with these figures, few disagree that the digital currency's energy use is a growing problem.
  
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• China launches satellite to explore dark side of moon: Xinhua

  21-05-2018 08:47
  SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China launched a relay satellite early on Monday designed to establish a communication link between earth and a planned lunar probe that will explore the dark side of the moon, the official Xinhua news agency said.
  
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• Why are the elderly increasingly more inclined to live alone?

  21-05-2018 06:00
  (FECYT - Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology) For decades, the elderly in Spain have shown a preference for living at home, either alone or with their partners, instead of sharing a home with relatives of other generations. A study by the University of Granada delves into the reasons for this trend.
  
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• What can snakes teach us about engineering friction?

  21-05-2018 06:00
  (Drexel University) If you want to know how to make a sneaker with better traction, just ask a snake. That's the theory driving the research of Hisham Abdel-Aal, PhD, an associate teaching professor from Drexel University's College of Engineering who is studying snake skin to help engineers improve the design of textured surfaces, such as engine cylinder liners, prosthetic joints - and yes, maybe even footwear.
  
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• US poison control centers receive 29 calls per day about children exposed to ADHD medications

  21-05-2018 06:00
  (Nationwide Children's Hospital) The study found that there were more than 156,000 calls to US Poison Control Centers regarding exposures to attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medications among children and adolescents 19 years of age and younger from January 2000 through December 2014, averaging 200 calls each week or 29 calls per day.
  
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• Studying insight

  21-05-2018 06:00
  (Toyohashi University of Technology) The research team at Toyohashi University of Technology has measured the human pupil upon gaining insight into an object. It is known that pupils dilate/narrow to adjust the amount of light entering the eye and that emotional state affects the extent of dilation/narrowing. This study indicates that dilation extent varies depending on if inspiration occurs and that dilation occurs before inspiration.The results of the present study were published in Scientific
  
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• Soft machines

  21-05-2018 06:00
  (University of California - Santa Barbara) In the world of robotics, soft robots are the new kids on the block. The unique capabilities of these automata are to bend, deform, stretch, twist or squeeze in all the ways that conventional rigid robots cannot.Today, it is easy to envision a world in which humans and robots collaborate -- in close proximity -- in many realms. Emerging soft robots may help to ensure that this can be done safely, and in a way that syncs to human environments or even int
  
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• Smog laid bare: Precise analysis of the composition of particulate matter

  21-05-2018 06:00
  (Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences) Smog is a problem. But the knowledge about its constituents -- no longer. Researchers from several leading Warsaw scientific institutions have joined forces and developed a new, extremely precise method for the chemical analysis of suspended particulate matter. The method, easily adaptable in many modern laboratories, not only determines the chemical composition of compounds, but even recognizes changes in the spatial distributi
  
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• Sleep better, parent better: Study shows link between maternal sleep and permissive parenting

  21-05-2018 06:00
  (University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences) A new study from Kelly Tu, a human development and family studies researcher at the University of Illinois, and colleagues, looks at the link between maternal sleep and permissive parenting during late adolescence. Findings show that mothers who don't get enough sleep or who take longer falling asleep have a greater tendency to engage in permissive parenting -- parenting marked by lax or inconsistent discipline
  
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• Single 'clock' syncs action and perception

  21-05-2018 06:00
  (Society for Neuroscience) A difficult task that requires participants to determine which of two stimuli appears first demonstrates how varying rhythms of brain activity may be synchronized to achieve a stable sense of time. The research is published in eNeuro.
  
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• Self-healing material a breakthrough for bio-inspired robotics

  21-05-2018 06:00
  (College of Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University) Many natural organisms have the ability to repair themselves. Now, manufactured machines will be able to mimic this property. In findings published this week in Nature Materials, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have created a self-healing material that spontaneously repairs itself under extreme mechanical damage.
  
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• Scientists have deciphered the chemical reaction mechanism critical for cleaner combustion

  21-05-2018 06:00
  (Samara Univercity) Scientists have deciphered the mechanism of a chemical reaction critical for the development of environmentally friendly combustion technologies
  
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• Schizophrenics' blood has more genetic material from microbes

  21-05-2018 06:00
  (Oregon State University) The blood of schizophrenia patients features genetic material from more types of microorganisms than that of people without the debilitating mental illness.
  
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• Rice U. researchers enhance boron nitride nanotubes for next-gen composites

  21-05-2018 06:00
  (Rice University) Rice University researchers discover a way to 'decorate' electrically insulating boron nitride nanotubes with functional groups. That makes them complementary building blocks to conductive carbon nanotubes for future composite and polymer materials.
  
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• Reading the minds of pilots on the fly

  21-05-2018 06:00
  (Drexel University) Wearable brain monitoring sensors allowed researchers to measure cognitive workload while aircraft pilots completed memory tasks.
  
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• Raising the heat to lower the cost of solar energy

  21-05-2018 06:00
  (DOE/Sandia National Laboratories) Sandia National Laboratories will receive $10.5 million from the Department of Energy to research and design a cheaper and more efficient solar energy system.
  
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• Profiling the genome hundreds of variations at a time

  21-05-2018 06:00
  (Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard) Using baker's yeast, a team at Harvard's Wyss Institute developed a CRISPR-Cas9-based high-throughput approach that allows researchers to precisely alter hundreds of different genes or features of a single gene at once in individual yeast cells with 80 to 100% efficiency, select cells from the population that show specific behaviors, and identify the gene alterations that either trigger or prevent them.
  
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• Preventing murder by addressing domestic violence

  21-05-2018 06:00
  (Case Western Reserve University) Victims of domestic violence are at a high risk to be murdered -- or a victim of attempted murder -- according to a Cuyahoga County task force of criminal-justice professionals, victim advocates and researchers working to prevent domestic violence and homicides.
  
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• Pregnant smokers may reduce harm done to baby's lungs by taking vitamin C

  21-05-2018 06:00
  (American Thoracic Society) Women who are unable to quit smoking during their pregnancy may reduce the harm smoking does to their baby's lungs by taking vitamin C, according to a new randomized, controlled trial presented at the ATS 2018 International Conference.
  
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• Pregnancy drug DES might have triggered ADHD in the grandchildren of women who used it

  21-05-2018 06:00
  (Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health) A new study reported elevated odds for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in the grandchildren of users of diethylstilbestrol, a synthetic estrogen commonly known as DES prescribed between 1938 and 1971 to prevent pregnancy complications. This is the first study to provide evidence of the potential neurodevelopmental consequences of DES use across generations.
  
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• Physicians report feeling moral distress over hospital policies that force inadequate care

  21-05-2018 06:00
  (American College of Physicians) Clinicians in safety-net hospitals describe feeling moral distress and being driven toward professional burnout because of policies that prevent them from performing hemodialysis to undocumented immigrants, except in the case of an emergency. Being forced to provide inferior care due to the patient's immigration status was a significant burden to the clinicians who reported feeling a sense of admiration for these patients and a desire to advocate on their behalf.
  
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• Personalizing therapeutic brain stimulation

  21-05-2018 06:00
  (Society for Neuroscience) A study of epilepsy patients with implanted electrodes provides an unprecedented view of the changes in brain activity created by electrical stimulation. These findings, published in Journal of Neuroscience, have the potential to improve noninvasive stimulation approaches toward the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders.
  
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• Perceived trustworthiness helps women entrepreneurs with crowdfunding backers

  21-05-2018 06:00
  (Louisiana State University) Female entrepreneurs have been at a disadvantage when seeking financial backing from traditional sources, but new research shows that crowdfunding investors view them as more trustworthy, making female-led projects more likely to secure support through crowdfunding platforms.
  
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• Palliative care may reduce suicide risk in veterans with advanced lung cancer

  21-05-2018 06:00
  (American Thoracic Society) Palliative care appears to reduce the risk of suicide in veterans diagnosed with advanced stage lung cancer, according to new research presented at the ATS 2018 International Conference.
  
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• One year's losses for child sexual abuse in US top $9 billion, new study suggests

  21-05-2018 06:00
  (Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health) A new study at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that the annual economic impact of child sexual abuse in the US is far-reaching and costly: In 2015, the total economic burden was approximately $9.3 billion and includes costs associated with health care, child welfare, special education, violence and crime, suicide and survivor productivity losses.
  
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• Observing cellular activity, one molecule at a time

  21-05-2018 06:00
  (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) Using a new mode of atomic force microscopy, researchers at EPFL have found a way to see and measure protein assembly in real time and with unprecedented detail.
  
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