Sci-Tech news

• Chile plans hydropower plant—in desert

  10-12-2015 23:48
  
  Building a $400-million hydroelectric power plant in the world's most arid desert may seem like an engineering debacle, but Chile sees it as a revolutionary way to generate green energy.
  
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• Shares of Australian software maker Atlassian soar in IPO

  10-12-2015 23:46
  
  Shares of Atlassian soared more than 30 percent in their U.S. stock market debut Thursday, valuing the Australian software maker at $5.8 billion.
  
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• NASA tests ICESat-2's laser aim

  10-12-2015 23:45
  
  Close enough doesn't cut it in the spacecraft assembly cleanroom at NASA Goddard's Space Flight Center, where engineers are building an elevation-measuring instrument to fly on the Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 or ICESat-2. Recently, engineers tested the instrument's pinpoint accuracy.
  
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• Continued decline of the northern spotted owl associated with the invasive barred owl, habitat loss

  10-12-2015 23:44
  
  Northern spotted owl populations are declining in all parts of their range in the Pacific Northwest, according to research published in The Condor. Based on data from 11 study areas across Washington, Oregon and northern California, a rangewide decline of nearly 4 percent per year was estimated from 1985 to 2013.
  
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• Trees either hunker down or press on in a drying and warming western US climate

  10-12-2015 23:43
  
  In the face of adverse conditions, people might feel tempted by two radically different options—hunker down and wait for conditions to improve, or press on and hope for the best. It would seem that trees employ similar options when the climate turns dry and hot.
  
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• Functions of global ocean microbiome key to understanding environmental changes

  10-12-2015 23:42
  
  The billions of marine microorganisms present in every liter of seawater represent a structured ecological community that regulates how the Earth functions in practically every way, from energy consumption to respiration. As inhabitants of the largest environment on Earth, microbial marine systems drive changes in every global system.
  
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• BEMR: A new reality for the future force

  10-12-2015 23:36
  
  New virtual-reality capabilities emerging at the Battlespace Exploitation of Mixed Reality—or BEMR—Lab, in San Diego, California, will make dramatic impacts across the Navy and Marine Corps, including advancements in affordable virtual training, data assessment, firing of weapons and even basic concepts of operations.
  
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• Quick clean-up: New process turns decades into hours for mining-water purification

  10-12-2015 23:35
  
  Cleaning up the water left over from mining operations can literally take generations - 25 to 50 years on average - leaving billions of gallons of the precious resource locked up and useless.
  
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• Montreal bans single-use plastic bags as of 2018

  10-12-2015 20:52
  
  Greater Montreal announced Thursday a ban on non-biodegradable, single-use plastic bags starting in 2018, in the largest of its kind proscription in Canada, while urging other major cities around the world to follow suit.
  
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• Heat radiates 10,000 times faster at the nanoscale

  10-12-2015 20:52
  
  When heat travels between two objects that aren't touching, it flows differently at the smallest scales—distances on the order of the diameter of DNA, or 1/50,000 of a human hair.
  
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• Effective, selective tweets can advance research from lab to policymakers

  10-12-2015 20:50
  
  Many science researchers struggle with translating their research findings to legislative policies and health practices, causing the majority of new findings to remain largely inside the scientific community. With more than 300 million monthly users, Twitter's success has piqued the interests of many science researchers as a possible tool to publicize new research findings. In a recent study, University of Missouri researchers have examined the usefulness of Twitter and developed tips for the sc
  
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• Can trading pollution like stocks help fight climate change?

  10-12-2015 20:40
  
  The gas produced by hog manure at farms across the country punches holes in the ozone layer, overheats the planet, and angers neighbors with its peculiar odor, a mix of rotten egg and ammonia.
  
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• Nobel laureates receive prizes in Stockholm

  10-12-2015 20:30
  
  Dressed to the nines in tails and long gowns, the 2015 Nobel laureates in medicine, literature, economics, physics and chemistry received their prizes at a glittering ceremony in Stockholm on Thursday.
  
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• SpaceX to launch rocket Dec 19, six months after blast

  10-12-2015 20:13
  
  SpaceX on Thursday announced plans to launch its Falcon 9 on December 19, its first mission since a massive explosion after liftoff destroyed the rocket and its space station cargo six months ago.
  
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• SpaceX launches may resume Dec. 19, 6 months after accident

  10-12-2015 20:13
  
  SpaceX says it's close to launching rockets again six months after an accident.
  
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• Russian charged with hacking asks judge to throw out charges

  10-12-2015 20:13
  
  A Russian man charged with hacking into U.S. businesses to steal credit card information will try to convince a federal judge on Thursday that his 2014 arrest in the Maldives was illegal and his indictment should be dismissed.
  
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• Yahoo CEO gives birth to twin girls after big announcement

  10-12-2015 20:12
  
  Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer has followed a major business announcement with some big personal news.
  
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• Obama signs education law rewrite shifting power to states

  10-12-2015 20:12
  
  Calling it a "Christmas miracle," President Barack Obama signed a sweeping overhaul of the No Child Left Behind education law on Thursday, ushering in a new approach to accountability, teacher evaluations and the way the most poorly performing schools are pushed to improve.
  
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• Shaking the nanomaterials out: New method to purify contaminated water

  10-12-2015 20:10
  
  Purifying water and greening nanotechnology could be as simple as shaking a vial of water and oil. At least that's the case for a new method to clean contaminated water full of unwanted nanomaterials.
  
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• Human skin detection technology for improved security, search and rescue

  10-12-2015 20:09
  
  Color-image based systems are excellent at locating people in aerial search and rescue operations, but fall short when it comes to discerning between actual human skin and objects with similar hues. To remedy this, researchers at the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) have developed a novel two-dimensional feature space which uses the spectral absorption characteristics of melanin, hemoglobin and water to better characterize human skin.
  
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• Scientists teach machines to learn like humans

  10-12-2015 20:04
  
  A team of scientists has developed an algorithm that captures our learning abilities, enabling computers to recognize and draw simple visual concepts that are mostly indistinguishable from those created by humans. The work, which appears in the latest issue of the journal Science, marks a significant advance in the field—one that dramatically shortens the time it takes computers to 'learn' new concepts and broadens their application to more creative tasks.
  
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• Vertebrate decomposition study provides potential new tool for forensic science

  10-12-2015 20:00
  
  A new study led by the University of Colorado Boulder and the University of California, San Diego indicates unique and changing microbial communities present during the decomposition of human cadavers look to be a reliable "clock" for forensic scientists.
  
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• Twin studies provide first explanations for boundary within Earth's mantle

  10-12-2015 20:00
  
  Earth's mantle, the large zone of slow-flowing rock that lies between the crust and the planet's core, powers every earthquake and volcanic eruption on the planet's surface. Evidence suggests that the mantle behaves differently below 1 megameter (1,000 kilometers, or 621 miles) in depth, but so far seismologists have not been able to explain why this boundary exists.
  
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• Study finds economic stimulus from research investments and PhD recipients' earnings

  10-12-2015 20:00
  
  A decade ago the late Jack Marburger, a physicist and former college president who served as science advisor to President George W. Bush, challenged academics to come up with scientific evidence on the impact of federal research investment. Even more adamantly, Congress required the National Science Foundation to "better articulate the value of grants to the national interest."
  
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• Some prairie vole brains are better wired for sexual fidelity

  10-12-2015 20:00
  
  Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have found that natural selection drives some male prairie voles to be fully monogamous and others to seek more partners. The surprising contrasts in the animals' brains result from differences in their DNA.
  
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• Researchers discover new aspect of gene regulation and possible target for cancer drugs

  10-12-2015 20:00
  
  There are about 20,000 genes in the human genome, but not all are used in all cells at all times. At any given moment, a cell is converting only roughly half its genes into proteins. And of those active genes, about 75 percent are regulated by a process known as 'RNA polymerase pausing.' This critical from of gene regulation occurs when an enzyme that transcribes the DNA hesitates at the beginning of the gene. Much like a runner at the start of a race, this molecular machine is poised to take of
  
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• Preventing spread of deadly salamander disease in North America

  10-12-2015 20:00
  
  An emerging fungal pathogen that has caused recent die-offs of salamanders in Europe, faces a formidable foe in North America: the Amphibian Survival Alliance and its partners, who today published a paper outlining the conservation community's proactive efforts to prevent the introduction and spread of the disease in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
  
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• Periodic Table of Protein Complexes presented

  10-12-2015 20:00
  
  The Periodic Table of Protein Complexes, published today in Science, offers a new way of looking at the enormous variety of structures that proteins can build in nature, which ones might be discovered next, and predicting how entirely novel structures could be engineered. Created by an interdisciplinary team led by researchers at the Wellcome Genome Campus and the University of Cambridge, the Table provides a valuable tool for research into evolution and protein engineering.
  
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• Chemical state thought to be unobservable characterized

  10-12-2015 20:00
  
  For the first time, MIT chemists have measured the energy of the transition state of a chemical reaction—a fleeting, unstable state that is a reaction's point of no return.
  
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• Retired US official charged with stealing ancient remains

  10-12-2015 19:10
  
  A long-retired National Parks Service official has been charged with stealing ancient Native American remains from a museum collection at a sacred tribal burial site in Iowa and keeping them for more than 20 years.
  
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• El Nino remains strong; wet California winter expected

  10-12-2015 19:10
  
  This year's El Nino is staying unusually strong, and forecasters say it's still expected to bring a wet winter to drought-stricken California.
  
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• Models overestimate rainfall increases due to climate change

  10-12-2015 19:08
  
  Lawrence Livermore researchers and collaborators have found that most climate models overestimate the increase in global precipitation due to climate change.
  
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• German physicists see landmark in nuclear fusion quest

  10-12-2015 18:58
  
  Scientists in Germany said Thursday they had reached a milestone in a quest to derive energy from nuclear fusion, billed as a potentially limitless, safe and cheap source.
  
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• Anatomy of a microscopic wood chipper: New observations reveal how an individual cellulase enzyme operates

  10-12-2015 18:56
  
  TrCel7a is a cellulase: a special enzyme that breaks down cellulose, the most plentiful natural polymer on the planet.
  
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• CRISPR-Cas9 helps uncover genetics of exotic organisms

  10-12-2015 18:52
  
  The simplicity of CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing will soon make studying the genes of any organism, from the simplest slime mold to the octopus, as easy as it now is to study the genes controlling development in standard lab animals such as nematodes, fruit flies, frogs and mice.
  
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• US launches trial of facial, eye scans on Mexican border

  10-12-2015 18:04
  
  Nearly half of the people living in the U.S. illegally are believed to have entered the country legally and stayed on expired visas. To combat the problem, the federal government on Thursday is launching one of its most ambitious efforts to track them.
  
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• Study finds simple ways to increase participation in EITC

  10-12-2015 18:02
  
  It is estimated that roughly seven million Americans each year—or 25 percent of those eligible—fail to claim the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), the primary channel through which the government supports the working poor. Economists and policymakers have long been puzzled over why millions of low to moderate income individuals voluntarily forego credits worth, on average, a month of income.
  
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• The need to name all forms of life: 60 new species of dragonflies described from Africa

  10-12-2015 18:00
  
  As dragonflies are good indicators of water quality, knowledge of these insects is important. The discoveries were published by three odonatologists (dragonfly experts) led by guest researcher KD Dijkstra of the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in a 230-page issue of the journal Odonatologica on December 1st 2015.
  
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• Team discovers new acoustic, vibrational duet in crickets

  10-12-2015 18:00
  
  A Dartmouth-led team has discovered that one group of crickets has a unique communication system that likely evolved from males startling females into revealing their location.
  
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• Protein factors tie the genome up in a bow for gene expression

  10-12-2015 18:00
  
  Protein factors are responsible for organizing chromosomes inside the nucleus in three dimensions (3D), forming a shape like a gift bow, with proteins aggregating as the central 'knot' holding the ribbon-like loops of DNA when genes are organized for proper expression, or a tangled mess in the presence of certain mutations.
  
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• Effective and novel mechanisms to block chikungunya virus identified

  10-12-2015 18:00
  
  Scientists looking at the antiviral mechanisms of two previously identified human monoclonal antibodies have found they potently inhibit chikungunya virus (CHIKV) at multiple stages of infection.
  
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• Bacterial circadian clocks set by metabolism, not light

  10-12-2015 18:00
  
  Most organisms on Earth, from bacteria to humans, possesses a circadian clock—a biological mechanism that synchronizes activities such as rest or growth to daily changes in a 24-hour day. Although commonly thought to be tied to the day-night cycle, the circadian clock actually appears to be set by metabolic rhythms, according to a new study by scientists from the University of Chicago. By genetically reengineering cyanobacteria to be able to feed on sugar, the team discovered that the cyan
  
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• Yale Researchers Discover New Complexities Behind Drug Resistance

  10-12-2015 17:55 via scitechdaily.com
  
  New research from Yale University probes genes for clues to drug resistance in aggressive breast cancer. By sifting through the 20,000 protein-encoding genes in the human genome, Yale researchers discovered new complexities behind drug resistance and identified patterns of mutations that could predict which therapies will benefit patients with aggressive breast cancer. The findings will […]
  The post Yale Researchers Discover New Complexities Behind Drug Resistance appeared first on SciTec
  
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• Secretive data firm Palantir raises $679 mln

  10-12-2015 17:40
  
  Palantir Technologies, the secretive data firm that works with military and law enforcement, has raised $679 million in funding, confirming its status as one of the richest tech startups.
  
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• US Pacific Northwest's extreme rainfall tallied by NASA's IMERG

  10-12-2015 17:39
  
  As moisture from the tropics has been streaming into the Pacific Northwest by the "Pineapple Express" NASA's Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission and a cadre of other satellites have been gathering data on the extreme rainfall. The continued "training" of rainfall into the area has caused flooding in the Portland, Oregon area with at least one death reported. Western Washington is also on flood alert due to the deluge.
  
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• Twitter expands ads to reach users who don't log in

  10-12-2015 17:39
  
  Twitter said Thursday it was expanding its advertising to allow marketers to reach people who use the messaging platform without logging in.
  
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• Researchers discover novel role of TBK1 protein in cell division

  10-12-2015 17:38
  
  Moffitt Cancer Center researchers have found that a protein called TBK1 plays an important role in the process of cell division, especially at a stage called mitosis.
  
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• Genetics of the African cheetah continues to surprise and excite researchers

  10-12-2015 17:35
  
  Researchers at Nova Southeastern University (NSU's) Genome Bioinformatics Center the announced the release of a reference genome sequence of the African cheetah, (Acinonyx jubatus,) a critically endangered species that informed, even empowered, the field of conservation genetics. Working with collaborators at Theodosius Dobzhansky Center for Genome Bioinformatics, St. Petersburg State University in Russia, BGI-Shenzhen in China (a genome sequencing powerhouse) and the Cheetah Conservation Fund (
  
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• Nature, not humans, has greater influence on water in the Colorado River Basin

  10-12-2015 17:34
  
  Researchers have found that the water supply of the Colorado River basin, one of the most important sources for water in the southwestern United States, is influenced more by wet-dry periods than by human use, which has been fairly stable during the past few decades.
  
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• The body, according to the 18th century

  10-12-2015 17:33
  
  People in the 18th century were expected to look neat, elegant and have a natural shape, according to a University of Exeter academic who has found the period saw important changes in how society viewed the body.
  
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