***SØVN ER GODT FOR BEKÆMPELSE AF INFEKTION¤¤¤German researchers discover how sleep can fight infection :: Researchers in Germany have discovered why sleep can sometimes be the best medicine. Sleep improves the potential ability of some of the body's immune cells to attach to their targets, according to a new study that will be published Feb. 12 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine. The study, led by researchers at the University of Tübingen, helps explain how sleep can fight off an infection, where :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 6
***LÆKAGE AF
***DEPRESSION KAN LINDRES VED AT PÅVIRKE HOVEDBUNDEN MED ELEKTRISKE STRØMME VIA ELEKTRODER¤¤¤Brain stimulation improves depression symptoms, restores brain waves in clinical study :: With a weak alternating electrical current sent through electrodes attached to the scalp, UNC School of Medicine researchers successfully targeted a naturally occurring electrical pattern in a specific part of the brain and markedly improved depression symptoms in about 70 percent of participants in a clinical study. :=
***MAMMUT-CELLE IMPLANTERET I MUSECELLE. Mammoth moves: frozen cells come to life, but only
***Newly isolated human gut bacterium reveals
***The first dexterous and sentient hand prosthesis has been successfully
***Ny Forskning: Glyphosat øger risikoen for kræfttype markant :: Glyphosat, der indgår i ukrudtsmidler som Roundup, forøger risikoen for at få kræftsygdommen Non-Hodgkins lymfom med op til 41 pct. Det konkluderer forskere i et metastudie fra University of Washington. :=:Mon, 11 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 59
***Vaccines don't cause autism, another massive study confirms :: Health Maybe the more pressing issue is whether anyone will be convinced. Now, in the face of some of the worst outbreaks the world has seen in recent years, Danish researchers have published one of the largest studies of autism and MMR to… :=:Sun, 24 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 70
***New molecules reverse memory loss linked to depression, aging :: New therapeutic molecules show promise in reversing the memory loss linked to depression and aging. These molecules not only rapidly improve symptoms, but remarkably, also appear to renew the underlying brain impairments causing memory loss in preclinical models. :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 71
***Dying bacteria absorb antibiotic, allowing others to survive and grow :: Bacteria have multiple strategies to survive antibiotics: developing genetic resistance to the drugs; delaying their growth; or hiding in protective biofilms. New results from researchers at Princeton and California State University-Northridge (CSUN) have shed light on yet another approach: self-sacrifice. :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 72
***FDA Approves Esketamine, the First Major Depression Treatment to Reach U.S. Market in Decades :: Nasal spray related to the anesthetic/street drug ketamine targets treatment-resistant patients — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 74
***Improved regulation needed as pesticides found to affect genes in bees :: Scientists are urging for improved regulation on pesticides after finding that they affect genes in bumblebees, according to research led by Queen Mary University of London in collaboration with Imperial College London. :=:Tue, 05 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 81
Could medical marijuana help grandma and grandpa with their ailments? :: Medical marijuana may bring relief to older people who have symptoms like pain, sleep disorders or anxiety due to chronic conditions including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, neuropathy, spinal cord damage and multiple sclerosis, according to a preliminary study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 71st Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, May :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 85
Earth may be 140 years away from reaching carbon levels not seen in 56 million
It's Official: Scientists Can Now Make The Cannabis Psychoactive Without The Plant :: Welcome to a new age of therapeutics. :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 579
Potential new therapy for Crohn's, colitis identified :: Researchers have found a compound that may treat inflammatory bowel disease without directly targeting inflammation. The compound tamps down the activity of a gene linked to blood clotting. They discovered that the gene was turned on at sites of intestinal inflammation and damage, and blocking its activity reduces IBD symptoms in mice. :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 116
Genomic plasticity associated with antimicrobial resistance in Vibrio cholerae [Evolution] :: The Bay of Bengal is known as the epicenter for seeding several devastating cholera outbreaks across the globe. Vibrio cholerae, the etiological agent of cholera, has extraordinary competency to acquire exogenous DNA by horizontal gene transfer (HGT) and adapt them into its genome for structuring metabolic processes, developing drug resistance,… :=:Sat, 23 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 120
Scientists Have Witnessed a Single-Celled Algae Evolve Into a Multicellular Organism :: This footage is evolution in action, and it's absolutely breathtaking. :=:Mon, 11 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 123
Discovery of the oldest evidence of mobility on Earth :: Scientists have uncovered the oldest fossilized traces of motility. Whereas previous remnants were dated to 570 million years ago, this new evidence is 2.1 billion years old. They were discovered in a fossil deposit in Gabon, where the oldest multicellular organisms have already been found. :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 131
An HIV cure may one day be possible :: The cases of three people who are HIV-free following bone marrow transplants suggests genetics could be the answer to long-term elimination of the virus :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 132
Masterswitch discovered in body's immune system :: Scientists have discovered a critical part of the body's immune system with potentially major implications for the treatment of some of the most devastating diseases affecting humans. The study could translate into treatments for autoimmune diseases including Cancer, Diabetes, Multiple Sclerosis and Crohn's Disease within a few years. :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 140
Italy Bans Unvaccinated Children From Going to School :: No Vaccines, No School A new law in Italy came into effect this week that makes it compulsory for every child in the country to receive a range of immunizations including measles, polio, chickenpox and mumps. Parents had up until March 10 to ensure their children were vaccinated — and, according to the BBC , schools are sending kids home if they don’t have proof of vaccinations. Under Six Childre :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 148
University of California boycotts publishing giant Elsevier over journal costs and open access :: The move could aid a global movement for immediate free access to scientific articles :=:Wed, 27 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 149
Young bone marrow rejuvenates aging mouse brains, study finds :: A new study has found that transplanting the bone marrow of young laboratory mice into old mice prevented cognitive decline in the old mice, preserving their memory and learning abilities. The findings support an emerging model that attributes cognitive decline, in part, to aging of blood cells, which are produced in bone marrow. :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 150
Psychedelic microdosing in rats shows beneficial effects :: Microdosing — taking tiny amounts of psychedelic drugs to boost mood and mental acuity — is based on anecdotal reports of its benefits. Now, a study in rats suggests microdosing can provide relief for symptoms of depression and anxiety, but also has potential negative effects. :=:Tue, 05 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 153
Chemical added to consumer products impairs response to antibiotic treatment :: Triclosan exposure may inadvertently drive bacteria into a state in which they are able to tolerate normally lethal concentrations of antibiotics — including those antibiotics that are commonly used to treat urinary tract infections (UTIs). :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 160
Innovative nanocoating technology harnesses sunlight to degrade microplastics :: Low density polyethylene film (LDPE) microplastic fragments, successfully degraded in water using visible-light-excited heterogeneous ZnO photocatalysts. The innovative sunlight-harnessing microplastics degrading technology is part of a study funded by the EU Horizon 2020 funded project CLAIM: Cleaning Marine Litter by Developing and Applying Innovative Methods in European Seas (GA no. 774586). :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 161
Protein released from fat after exercise improves glucose :: Exercise training causes dramatic changes to fat. Additionally, this 'trained' fat releases beneficial factors into the bloodstream. :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 163
A Third Patient Is Now Reportedly Cured of
Sleep tight! Researchers identify the beneficial role of sleep :: Why do animals sleep? Why do humans 'waste' a third of their lives sleeping? Researchers now reveal a novel and unexpected function of sleep that they believe could explain how sleep and sleep disturbances affect brain performance, aging and various brain disorders. Using 3D time-lapse imaging techniques in live zebrafish, they were able to define sleep in a single chromosome resolution and show t :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 186
Cortical route for facelike pattern processing in human newborns [Psychological and Cognitive Sciences] :: Humans are endowed with an exceptional ability for detecting faces, a competence that, in adults, is supported by a set of face-specific cortical patches. Human newborns, already shortly after birth, preferentially orient to faces, even when they are presented in the form of highly schematic geometrical patterns vs. perceptually equivalent… :=:Fri, 01 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 196
Podocalyxin is required for maintaining blood-brain barrier function during acute inflammation [Medical Sciences] :: Podocalyxin (Podxl) is broadly expressed on the luminal face of most blood vessels in adult vertebrates, yet its function on these cells is poorly defined. In the present study, we identified specific functions for Podxl in maintaining endothelial barrier function. Using electrical cell substrate impedance sensing and live imaging, we… :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 211
Laugh Out Loud Neuroscience :: Contrary to popular belief, scientists are just like the rest of us. They complain about their jobs, they like to joke around, and they tend to tell anyone who will listen about their work. Shannon Odell, a neuroscience Ph.D. candidate at Weill Cornell Medicine, writes and stars in “Your Brain On [Blank]” videos, a series that combines comedy and neuroscience to dispel the myth that her brainy te :=:Thu, 07 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 216
Nano specks in cancer drugs may actually make things
Physicists discover surprisingly complex states emerging out of simple synchronized networks :: Fireflies, heart cells, clocks, and power grids all do it—they can spontaneously sync up, sending signals out in unison. For centuries, scientists have been perplexed by this self-organizing behavior, coming up with theories and experiments that make up the science of sync. But despite progress being made in the field, mysteries still persist—in particular how networks of completely identical elem :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 220
Your Dumb Party Balloons Are Killing All the Seabirds :: The biggest threat to seabirds isn't plastic straws. It's balloons. :=:Mon, 11 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 223
Troubling extent of trauma and PTSD in British young people revealed :: New research from King's College London suggests one in 13 young people in the UK have had post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) before reaching age 18. The first UK-based study of its kind, published in The Lancet Psychiatry, found 31% of young people had a traumatic experience during childhood, and those who were exposed to trauma were twice as likely as their peers to have a range of mental hea :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 224
Multiradionuclide evidence for an extreme solar proton event around 2,610 B.P. (~660 BC) [Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences] :: Recently, it has been confirmed that extreme solar proton events can lead to significantly increased atmospheric production rates of cosmogenic radionuclides. Evidence of such events is recorded in annually resolved natural archives, such as tree rings [carbon-14 (14C)] and ice cores [beryllium-10 (10Be), chlorine-36 (36Cl)]. Here, we show evidence for… :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 230
Researchers Create 'Rat Cyborgs' That People Control With Their Minds :: I’ll just come right out and say it: Scientists have created human-controlled rat cyborgs. Lest you think this is some media sensationalism at work, here’s the actual title of the paper under discussion, which came out last week in Scientific Reports: “Human Mind Control of Rat Cyborg’s Continuous Locomotion with Wireless Brain-to-Brain Interface.” That pretty much says it all. Some of this tech — :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 234
Corn and other important crops can now be gene edited by pollen carrying CRISPR :: Syngenta’s new method could transform difficult-to-edit plants :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 240
Sound by the Pound: Surprising Discovery Hints Sonic Waves Carry Mass :: Some sounds might possess a tiny but measurable amount of negative gravitational mass — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com :=:Sun, 10 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 247
Nanotechnology makes it possible for mice to see in
‘Master control’ puts brakes on deadly food allergy reactions :: A master control mechanism on mast cells, a type of immune cell, can prevent the immune system from overreacting in times of stress, which could limit or even stop severe allergic reactions to food, researchers report. In cases of severe, even deadly, allergic reactions to foods such as peanuts and fish, immune cells go into hyperdrive. This can trigger anaphylactic shock, which can in turn cause :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 250
How listening to music 'significantly impairs' creativity :: The popular view that music enhances creativity has been challenged by researchers who say it has the opposite effect.Psychologists investigated the impact of background music on performance by presenting people with verbal insight problems that are believed to tap creativity. They found that background music 'significantly impaired' people's ability to complete tasks testing verbal creativity — :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 255
Fate mapping reveals the age structure of the peripheral T cell compartment [Applied Mathematics] :: Accumulating evidence indicates that the immune system does not develop in a linear fashion, but rather as distinct developmental layers formed from sequential waves of hematopoietic stem cells, each giving rise to unique populations of immune cells at different stages of development. Although recent studies have indicated that conventional CD8+… :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 256
The Brain Literally Starts Eating Itself When It Doesn't Get Enough Sleep :: Holy crap. :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 264
Seven moral rules found all around the world :: Anthropologists at the University of Oxford have discovered what they believe to be seven universal moral rules. :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 266
Children carry evidence of toxins from home flooring and furniture :: Children living in homes with all vinyl flooring or flame-retardant chemicals in the sofa have significantly higher concentrations of potentially harmful semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) in their blood or urine than children from homes where these materials are not present, according to new Duke University-led research. The researchers presented their findings Feb. 17 at the annual meeting :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 267
Opinion: What You Believe about "Science Denial" May Be All Wrong :: A recent meeting about the disconnect between scientific and public beliefs points to ways researchers can improve how they communicate with skeptics. :=:Tue, 19 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 268
First direct view of an electron's short, speedy trip across a border :: Electrons flowing across the boundary between two materials are the foundation of many key technologies, from flash memories to batteries and solar cells. Now researchers have directly observed and clocked these tiny cross-border movements for the first time, watching as electrons raced seven-tenths of a nanometer – about the width of seven hydrogen atoms – in 100 millionths of a billionth of a se :=:Sat, 23 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 270
Nitrogen-fixing trees 'eat' rocks, play pivotal role in forest health :: By tapping nutrients from bedrock, red alder trees play a key role in healthy forest ecosystems, according to a new study. :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 276
Food allergies and multiple sclerosis: study reveals a new link :: Investigating the correlation between allergy and inflammatory disease activity, a team of investigators from Brigham and Women's Hospital has found new evidence connecting food allergies and relapses of multiple sclerosis. :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 279
Active ingredient in Roundup found in 95% of studied beers and wines :: U.S. PIRG tested 20 beers and wines, including organics, and found Roundup's active ingredient in almost all of them. A jury on August 2018 awarded a non-Hodgkin's lymphoma victim $289 million in Roundup damages. Bayer/Monsanto says Roundup is totally safe. Others disagree. None If there were a Hall of Fame for chemicals people worry about, it's likely that Monsanto's weedkiller Roundup would sit :=:Fri, 15 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 281
Discovery of the genetic 'conductor' of brain stem cells :: Our brain comprises 85 billion nerve cells and just as many so-called glial cells. But what decides when and how many of them become neurons or glial cells? A new study has shown how the Foxg1 gene plays a fundamental role in piloting the differentiation of stem cells, guaranteeing that neurons and glial cells are produced in the right quantity and at the right moment. The research opens new roads :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 282
Tectonics in the tropics trigger Earth's ice ages, study finds :: Over the last 540 million years, the Earth has weathered three major ice ages—periods during which global temperatures plummeted, producing extensive ice sheets and glaciers that have stretched beyond the polar caps. :=:Wed, 20 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 284
Can the Flu and Other Viruses Cause Neurodegeneration? :: Scientists may need to seriously reconsider the cast-aside hypothesis that pathogens can play a part in diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. :=:Sun, 03 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 290
Scientists worry 'zombie deer' disease could jump to humans :: Health Chronic wasting disease is currently in 24 states. If you’ve heard of “zombie deer,” you’ve heard of chronic wasting disease. CWD causes infected animals to stumble through the forest, sometimes drooling and becoming… :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 293
Nya fynd visar vad som hände när Golfströmmen stannade :: På stenåldern drabbades Norden av en av de största naturkatastroferna i mänsklighetens historia. Golfströmmen saktade in, och det blev extremt kallt. Förmodligen svalt många människor ihjäl. :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 294
Scientists find worms that recently evolved the ability to regrow a complete head :: An international group of researchers including biologists from the University of Maryland found that at least four species of marine ribbon worms independently evolved the ability to regrow a head after amputation. :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 297
New dinosaur relative was ‘king’ of Antarctica :: Researchers have discovered a new dinosaur species, an iguana-sized reptile whose genus name, Antarctanax , means “Antarctic king.” Antarctica wasn’t always a frozen wasteland. About 250 million years ago, it was covered in forests and rivers, and the temperature rarely dipped below freezing. It was also home to diverse wildlife, including early relatives of the dinosaurs. “This new animal was an :=:Tue, 12 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 298
DNA traces on wild flowers reveal insect visitors :: Researchers have discovered that insects leave tiny DNA traces on the flowers they visit. This newly developed eDNA method holds a vast potential for documenting unknown insect-plant interactions, keeping track of endangered pollinators, such as wild bees and butterflies, as well as in the management of unwanted pest species. :=:Mon, 25 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 299
Depression reversed in male mice by activating gene that helps excite neurons :: Directly activating a gene important to exciting our excitatory neurons and associated with major depression may help turn around classic symptoms like social isolation and loss of interest, at least for males, scientists report. :=:Tue, 19 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 300
The Ocean Is Running Out of Breath, Scientists Warn :: Widespread and sometimes drastic marine oxygen declines are stressing sensitive species—a trend that will continue with climate change — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 303
CRISPR/Cas9 therapy can suppress aging, enhance health and extend life span in mice :: Researchers have developed a new gene therapy to help decelerate the aging process. The findings highlight a novel CRISPR/Cas9 genome-editing therapy that can suppress the accelerated aging observed in mice with Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that also afflicts humans. :=:Fri, 22 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 304
Good dog? Bad dog? Their personalities can change :: When dog-parents spend extra time scratching their dogs' bellies, take their dogs out for long walks and games of fetch, or even when they feel constant frustration over their dogs' naughty chewing habits, they are gradually shaping their dogs' personalities. :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 305
Yeast produce low-cost, high-quality cannabinoids :: Synthetic biologists have created an enzymatic network in yeast that turns sugar into cannabinoids, including tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol, but also novel cannabinoids not found in the marijuana plant itself. The yeast factories would be more environmentally friendly and less energy intensive than growing the plant and separating out the psychoactive and non-psychoactive ingredients. They :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 317
Simplified method makes cell-free protein synthesis more flexible and accessible :: Researchers have radically simplified the method for cell-free protein synthesis, a technique that could become fundamental to medical research. The new procedure makes in vitro protein synthesis more widely accessible for research and educational use. :=:Mon, 25 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 319
Residential green space in childhood is associated with lower risk of psychiatric disorders from adolescence into adulthood [Environmental Sciences] :: Urban residence is associated with a higher risk of some psychiatric disorders, but the underlying drivers remain unknown. There is increasing evidence that the level of exposure to natural environments impacts mental health, but few large-scale epidemiological studies have assessed the general existence and importance of such associations. Here, we… :=:Tue, 05 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 322
THC found more important for therapeutic effects in cannabis than originally thought :: Researchers recently solved a major gap in scientific literature by using mobile software technology to measure the real-time effects of actual cannabis-based products used by millions of people every day. :=:Tue, 05 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 352
Seaweed Straw “Looks, Feels, and Acts Like Plastic,” Says Startup :: Seaweed Sippers Every day, Americans use an estimated 500 million plastic straws — and the vast majority are ending up in landfills or oceans , where they’ll likely remain for hundreds of years. More and more locations are starting to ban these straws , but rather than asking people to live a straw-less existence, a startup called Loliware thinks we should provide them with an environmentally fri :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 355
Could medical marijuana help older people with their ailments? :: Medical marijuana may bring relief to older people who have symptoms like pain, sleep disorders or anxiety due to chronic conditions including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, neuropathy, spinal cord damage and multiple sclerosis, according to a new preliminary study. :=:Thu, 07 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 400
Motor neuron disease-associated loss of nuclear TDP-43 is linked to DNA double-strand break repair defects [Neuroscience] :: Genome damage and their defective repair have been etiologically linked to degenerating neurons in many subtypes of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients; however, the specific mechanisms remain enigmatic. The majority of sporadic ALS patients feature abnormalities in the transactivation response DNA-binding protein of 43 kDa (TDP-43), whose nucleo-cytoplasmic mislocalization is… :=:Tue, 26 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 424
Mice Deprived of 'Love Hormone' Sit Alone in the Cold :: Mice Deprived of 'Love Hormone' Sit Alone in the Cold Oxytocin-deficient animals point to deep links between social behavior and the need to keep warm. mouse-babies_cropped.jpg Image credits: auenleben via Pixabay Creature Tuesday, February 12, 2019 – 15:45 Nala Rogers, Staff Writer (Inside Science) — Perhaps it's not coincidence that Valentine's Day falls at a chilly time of year. In biological :=:Mon, 11 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 425
Hubble and Gaia accurately weigh the Milky Way :: In a striking example of multi-mission astronomy, measurements from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and the ESA Gaia mission have been combined to improve the estimate of the mass of our home galaxy the Milky Way: 1.5 trillion solar masses. :=:Fri, 22 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 447
Successful measurement of vitamin D in human hair :: A new study has reported for the first time that vitamin D can be measured in human hair. This is a major step forward in assessing vitamin D status, potentially one of the major innovations in vitamin D measurement. :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 460
Exposure to trauma impacts ability to squash bad memories :: People exposed to trauma are less able to suppress unwanted emotional memories due to neural and behavioral disruptions in their brain that may contribute to the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). :=:Mon, 25 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 464
Promising new pancreatic cancer treatment moves forward :: A study published today in the journal Nature Medicine led by researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah (U of U) describes a new therapeutic approach with potential for patients with pancreatic cancer. These researchers discovered a combination drug therapy that may effectively combat the disease. HCI researchers first observed anti-cancer impacts in a laboratory set :=:Fri, 22 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 465
Molecular mechanism and history of non-sense to sense evolution of antifreeze glycoprotein gene in northern gadids [Evolution] :: A fundamental question in evolutionary biology is how genetic novelty arises. De novo gene birth is a recently recognized mechanism, but the evolutionary process and function of putative de novo genes remain largely obscure. With a clear life-saving function, the diverse antifreeze proteins of polar fishes are exemplary adaptive innovations… :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 466
Nyt dansk filter renser røgen fra brændeovne :: PLUS. En tidligere chef for store, industrielle forbrændingsanlæg har udviklet en røggasrenser til almindelige brændeovne og pillefyr. :=:Sat, 02 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 484
Catastrophic outlook for African savannahs due to rise in CO2 levels :: A ground-breaking research study looking at modern and ancient landscapes has discovered African plants could be facing mass extinction faster than once thought. :=:Thu, 07 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 497
Musical surprises light up the brain’s reward center :: Surprises in music activate the reward center of our brains, and help us learn about the music as we listen, research finds. Researchers put 20 volunteers through a musical reward learning task. Each participant chose a color, then a direction. Each choice came with a certain probability of leading to either a consonant, pleasurable musical excerpt or a dissonant, unpleasant one. Over time, the s :=:Sat, 16 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 501
Simple drug combination creates new neurons from neighboring cells :: A simple combination of molecules converts cells neighboring damaged neurons into functional new neurons, which could potentially be used to treat stroke, Alzheimer's disease, and brain injuries. :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 502
Trump Signs Directive to Create a Military Space Force :: The Space Force just took a big step from sci-fi-sounding dream toward reality. :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 510
Lab-grown meat could be worse for the climate than beef :: [no content] :=:Fri, 15 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 514
Squid could provide an eco-friendly alternative to plastics :: The remarkable properties of a recently-discovered squid protein could revolutionize materials in a way that would be unattainable with conventional plastic, finds a review published in Frontiers in Chemistry. Originating in the ringed teeth of a squid's predatory arms, this protein can be processed into fibers and films with applications ranging from 'smart' clothes for health monitoring, to self :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 524
Nearly half of US female scientists leave full-time science after first child :: Published online: 19 February 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-00611-1 Study reveals proportion of people leaving full-time careers in science after the birth of their first child. :=:Sat, 23 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 533
Here's What You Should Do if a Nuclear Bomb Explodes Nearby :: Whatever you do, don't get into a car. :=:Tue, 19 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 554
The World Is Losing Fish to Eat as Oceans Warm, Study Finds :: Fish populations are declining as oceans warm, putting a key source of food and income at risk for millions of people, according to new research. :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 555
Kemicocktail i mors blod hæmmer fostrets vækst :: For første gang har forskere påvist, at en cocktail af fluorstoffer i gravides blod betyder mindre fostre. :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 556
Pesticide exposure contributes to faster ALS progression :: A new study helps determine the role of pesticides and pollutants during the course of the progressive neurodegenerative disease that has no cure. :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 567
A Wildly Popular Video Game Is Adding Anti-Vaxxers in The Next Deadly Plague :: It's us or them. :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 572
Wildfires and climate change push low-elevation forests across a critical climate threshold for tree regeneration [Ecology] :: Climate change is increasing fire activity in the western United States, which has the potential to accelerate climate-induced shifts in vegetation communities. Wildfire can catalyze vegetation change by killing adult trees that could otherwise persist in climate conditions no longer suitable for seedling establishment and survival. Recently documented declines in… :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 574
RÆVE VAR TAMME I BRONZEALDEREN¤¤¤Foxes were domesticated by humans in the Bronze Age :: In the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, between the third and second millennium BC, a widespread funeral practice consisted in burying humans with animals. Scientists have discovered that both foxes and dogs were domesticated, as their diet was similar to that of their owners. :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1
NY FUGLEEDDERKOP-ART¤¤¤New tarantula species from Angola distinct with a one-of-a-kind 'horn' on its back :: A new to science species of tarantula with a peculiar horn-like protuberance sticking out of its back was recently identified in central Angola, a largely underexplored country located at the intersection of several Afrotropical ecoregions. Collected as part of the National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project, the new arachnid is described in the open-access journal African Invertebrates. :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 2
LYDBØLGER KAN BÆRE MASSE¤¤¤More evidence of sound waves carrying mass :: A trio of researchers at Columbia University has found more evidence showing that sound waves carry mass. In their paper published in the journal Physical Review Letters, Angelo Esposito, Rafael Krichevsky and Alberto Nicolis describe using effective field theory techniques to confirm the results found by a team last year attempting to measure mass carried by sound waves. :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 3
TID KAN FØRES TILBAGE EN SMULE MED KVANTECOMPUTEREN¤¤¤Physicists reverse time using quantum computer :: Researchers from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology teamed up with colleagues from the U.S. and Switzerland and returned the state of a quantum computer a fraction of a second into the past. They also calculated the probability that an electron in empty interstellar space will spontaneously travel back into its recent past. The study is published in Scientific Reports. :=:Wed, 13 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 5
***SØVN ER GODT FOR BEKÆMPELSE AF INFEKTION¤¤¤German researchers discover how sleep can fight infection :: Researchers in Germany have discovered why sleep can sometimes be the best medicine. Sleep improves the potential ability of some of the body's immune cells to attach to their targets, according to a new study that will be published Feb. 12 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine. The study, led by researchers at the University of Tübingen, helps explain how sleep can fight off an infection, where :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 6
CO2 KAN LAVES TILBAGE TIL KUL¤¤¤Climate rewind: Scientists turn carbon dioxide back into coal :: Scientists have harnessed liquid metals to turn carbon dioxide back into solid coal, in research that offers an alternative pathway for safely and permanently removing the greenhouse gas from our atmosphere. The new technique can convert carbon dioxide back into carbon at room temperature, a process that's efficient and scalable. A side benefit is that the carbon can hold electrical charge, becomi :=:Tue, 26 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 9
NYE SKOVE KAN OPSUGE CO2 SVARENDE TIL 1+ ÅRS UDLEDNING¤¤¤Replenishing the world’s forests would suck enough CO2 from the atmosphere to cancel out a decade of human emissions, according to an ambitious new study. Scientists have established there is room for an additional 1.2 trillion trees to grow in parks, woods and abandoned land across the planet. :: submitted by /u/mvea [link] [comments] :=:Sun, 17 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 10
***LÆKAGE AF BARRIEREN MELLEM BLODET OG HJERNEN VIL FREMME ALDRING¤¤¤Breaks in the blood-brain barrier can cause brains to get old before their time :: Daniela Kaufer, a professor at UC Berkeley and fellow in the CIFAR Child & Brain Development program, has discovered one of the biological pathways that lead to age-related cognitive decline, and has found clues on how to reverse the aging process in the brain. :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 11
FACEBOOK VIL
Pinterest Restricts Vaccine Search Results to Curb Spread of
Anti-Vaxxers Are Here to Stay :: So what can officials do to protect the public’s health? — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com :=:Wed, 27 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 618
MUSIKGLÆDE STYRES AF DOPAMIN OG HVIS MAN ÆNDRER PÅ DOPAMIN (MED LEVODOPA ELLER RISPERIDON, DER HENHOLDSVIS ØGER OG NEDSÆTTER DOPAMIN) KAN MUSIKGLÆDEN PÅVIRKES TILSVARENDE I ØGET ELLER NEDSAT RETNING. ¤¤¤Dopamine modulates the reward experiences elicited by music [Psychological and Cognitive Sciences] :: Understanding how the brain translates a structured sequence of sounds, such as music, into a pleasant and rewarding experience is a fascinating question which may be crucial to better understand the processing of abstract rewards in humans. Previous neuroimaging findings point to a challenging role of the dopaminergic system in… :=:Tue, 26 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 18
***DEPRESSION KAN LINDRES VED AT PÅVIRKE HOVEDBUNDEN MED ELEKTRISKE STRØMME VIA ELEKTRODER¤¤¤Brain stimulation improves depression symptoms, restores brain waves in clinical study :: With a weak alternating electrical current sent through electrodes attached to the scalp, UNC School of Medicine researchers successfully targeted a naturally occurring electrical pattern in a specific part of the brain and markedly improved depression symptoms in about 70 percent of participants in a clinical study. :=:Mon, 11 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 20
LYD KAN KLIPPES UD SÅ DER OPNÅS STILHED¤¤¤Researchers develop 'acoustic metamaterial' that cancels sound :: Boston University researchers, Xin Zhang, a professor at the College of Engineering, and Reza Ghaffarivardavagh, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, released a paper in Physical Review B demonstrating it's possible to silence noise using an open, ringlike structure, created to mathematically perfect specifications, for cutting out sounds while maintaining airflow. :=:Thu, 07 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 24
KUNSTIG INTELLIGENS KAN KLASSIFICERE VÆVSSNIT AF LUNGEKRÆFT¤¤¤Pathologist-level classification of histologic patterns on resected lung adenocarcinoma slides with deep neural networks :: Pathologist-level classification of histologic patterns on resected lung adenocarcinoma slides with deep neural networks Pathologist-level classification of histologic patterns on resected lung adenocarcinoma slides with deep neural networks, Published online: 04 March 2019; doi:10.1038/s41598-019-40041-7 Pathologist-level classification of histologic patterns on resected lung adenocarcinoma slid :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 26
China banned millions of people with poor social credit from transportation in 2018 – By 2020, China aims to have a file on every Chinese citizen that includes all the data collected on their behavior :: submitted by /u/mvea [link] [comments] :=:Sat, 02 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 27
Chemical pollutants in the home degrade fertility in both men and dogs, study finds :: New research by scientists at the University of Nottingham suggests that environmental contaminants found in the home and diet have the same adverse effects on male fertility in both humans and in domestic dogs. :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 28
The centrosome protein AKNA regulates neurogenesis via microtubule organization :: The centrosome protein AKNA regulates neurogenesis via microtubule organization The centrosome protein AKNA regulates neurogenesis via microtubule organization, Published online: 20 February 2019; doi:10.1038/s41586-019-0962-4 The interphase centrosome protein AKNA is necessary and sufficient for the organization of centrosomal microtubules, mediates delamination in the formation of the subventri :=:Wed, 20 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 29
Isotopes found in bones suggest Neanderthals were fresh meat eaters :: An international team of researchers has found evidence that suggests at least some Neanderthals were mainly fresh meat eaters. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the group describes testing protein samples discovered in Neanderthal bones and what they found.
From Stone Age chips to microchips: How tiny tools may have made us human :: Anthropologists have long made the case that tool-making is one of the key behaviors that separated our human ancestors from other primates. A new paper, however, argues that it was not tool-making that set hominins apart — it was the miniaturization of tools. :=:Tue, 05 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 31
HIV remission achieved in second patient
London Second Cured HIV
:: A second person has experienced sustained remission from HIV-1 after ceasing treatment, reports a new article. The case report comes ten years after the first such case, known as the 'Berlin Patient.' :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 32
‘Antivaxxers’ attack U.S. science panel :: Meetings of a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccine committee have become the latest front in a national battle over immunization :=:Wed, 06 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 33
It’s Time to Try Fossil-Fuel Executives for Crimes Against Humanity – the fossil industry’s behavior constitutes a Crime Against Humanity in the classical sense: “a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack”. :: submitted by /u/mvea [link] [comments] :=:Wed, 27 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 34
9 Striking Moments From Michael Cohen’s Testimony :: Updated at 5:52 p.m. ET on February 27 In his long-awaited testimony before the House Oversight and Reform Committee, Michael Cohen summed up his former employer this way: “I know what Mr. Trump is: He is a racist, he is a con man, and he is a cheat.” The comment from President Donald Trump’s former lawyer and fixer was one of many striking moments in Wednesday’s hearing, Cohen’s first public app :=:Fri, 15 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 35
Preserved leaves reveal 7000 years of rainfall and drought :: A study by University of Adelaide researchers and Queensland Government scientists has revealed what south-east Queensland's rainfall was like over the last 7000 years — including several severe droughts worse and longer lasting than the 12-year Millennium Drought. :=:Fri, 01 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 36
We Just Got The First Evidence of a Planet-Wide Groundwater System on Mars :: Incredible. :=:Fri, 22 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 37
Touchdown: Japan probe Hayabusa2 lands on distant asteroid :: A Japanese probe sent to collect samples from an asteroid 300 million kilometres away for clues about the origin of life and the solar system landed successfully on Friday, scientists said. :=:Sat, 09 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 38
Study confirms horseshoe crabs are really relatives of spiders, scorpions :: Blue-blooded and armored with 10 spindly legs, horseshoe crabs have perhaps always seemed a bit out of place. :=:Tue, 26 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 39
Genomic and transcriptomic investigations of the evolutionary transition from oviparity to viviparity [Evolution] :: Viviparous (live-bearing) vertebrates have evolved repeatedly within otherwise oviparous (egg-laying) clades. Over two-thirds of these changes in vertebrate reproductive parity mode happened in squamate reptiles, where the transition has happened between 98 and 129 times. The transition from oviparity to viviparity requires numerous physiological, morphological, and immunological changes to the… :=:Tue, 12 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 40
***MAMMUT-CELLE IMPLANTERET I MUSECELLE. Mammoth moves: frozen cells come to life, but only just :: A team of scientists in Japan has successfully coaxed activity from 28,000-year-old cells from a frozen mammoth implanted into mouse cells, but the woolly mammal is unlikely to be walking among us soon. :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 41
‘The most villainous act in the history of human civilisation.’ Michael E Mann speaks out :: The renowned US climate scientist and Tyler Prize winner talks exclusively to Samantha Page for Cosmos . :=:Tue, 19 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 42
Physicists explain fireballs erupting from grapes in microwave oven :: A trio of researchers with McMaster, Concordia and Trent Universities has solved the mystery of why pairs of grapes ignite into fireballs when cooked together in a microwave oven. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Hamza Khattak, Pablo Bianucci and Aaron Slepkov claim that the fireball is not the result of heat from the outside of the grapes making its way :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 43
China’s CRISPR twins might have had their brains inadvertently enhanced :: submitted by /u/izumi3682 [link] [comments] :=:Tue, 05 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 44
A Second Person Has Been Effectively "Cured" of HIV :: 10 years after the so-called “Berlin Patient,” a second man has been put into sustained remission — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 45
***Newly isolated human gut bacterium reveals possible connection to depression :: Researchers have established a correlation between depression and a group of neurotransmitter-producing bacteria found in the human gut. :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 46
Spain police seize over 200 stuffed endangered animals :: Spanish police said Tuesday they had seized more than 200 stuffed endangered animals, including giraffes, rhinos, lions and tigers, from an illegal taxidermy workshop that was selling them online. :=:Fri, 22 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 47
Animal with an anus that comes and goes could reveal how ours evolved :: The warty comb jelly is unique among animals, because its anus completely disappears when it has finished defecating
Physicists calculate proton's pressure distribution for first time :: Neutron stars are among the densest-known objects in the universe, withstanding pressures so great that one teaspoon of a star's material would equal about 15 times the weight of the moon. Yet as it turns out, protons—the fundamental particles that make up most of the visible matter in the universe—contain even higher pressures. :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 49
***The first dexterous and sentient hand prosthesis has been successfully implanted :: A Swedish patient with hand amputation has become the first recipient of an osseo-neuromuscular implant to control a dexterous hand prosthesis. In a pioneering surgery, titanium implants were placed in the two forearm bones (radius and ulnar), from which electrodes to nerves and muscle were extended to extract signals to control a robotic hand and to provide tactile sensations. This makes it the f :=:Tue, 05 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 50
Trump Couldn’t Be Bothered to Stop the Senate :: Even with his signature policy proposal at stake, even with his own party pushing back more than ever before, even with the first veto of his presidency on the table, President Trump just couldn’t be bothered to try to convince Congress to back him. The result was a 59-41 vote to block his declaration of a national emergency to build a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico. It’s the biggest rebelli
Nanotechnology makes it possible for mice to see in infrared :: Mice with vision enhanced by nanotechnology were able to see infrared light as well as visible light, reports a study published Feb. 28 in the journal Cell. A single injection of nanoparticles in the mice's eyes bestowed infrared vision for up to 10 weeks with minimal side effects, allowing them to see infrared light even during the day and with enough specificity to distinguish between different :=:Fri, 15 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 52
For second time ever a patient has been cured of HIV, scientists report :: The New York Times reports that a team of scientists plan to announce tomorrow that a patient in London has been effectively cured of HIV. The cure reportedly was the result of a bone-marrow transplant that came with a genetic mutation that naturally blocks HIV from spreading throughout the body. This approach isn't quite practical to implement on a large scale, but the knowledge gained from it w :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 53
After a reset, Сuriosity is operating normally
NASA Mars Curiosity
:: NASA's Curiosity rover is busy making new discoveries on Mars. The rover has been climbing Mount Sharp since 2014 and recently reached a clay region that may offer new clues about the ancient Martian environment's potential to support life. :=:Sun, 17 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 54
Trump’s Bizarre, Rambling Announcement of a National Emergency :: After failing for two years to persuade Congress to fund a wall on the southern border, President Donald Trump on Friday said he will declare a national emergency and reallocate some $8 billion to build the wall through executive fiat. Trump announced the move in a rambling, free-associative appearance in the White House Rose Garden that was more MAGA rally than presidential announcement. Even by :=:Fri, 15 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 55
Momo Is Not Trying to Kill Children :: On Tuesday afternoon, a Twitter user going by the name of Wanda Maximoff whipped out her iPhone and posted a terrifying message to parents. “Warning! Please read, this is real,” she tweeted . “There is a thing called ‘Momo’ that’s instructing kids to kill themselves,” the attached screenshot of a Facebook post reads. “INFORM EVERYONE YOU CAN.” Maximoff’s plea has been retweeted more than 22,000 t :=:Tue, 19 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 56
Northwestern study of analog crews in isolation reveals weak spots for Mission to Mars :: Researchers are developing a predictive model to help NASA anticipate conflicts and communication breakdowns among crew members and head off problems that could make or break the Mission to Mars.Highlights: Space exploration analogs in US, Russia offer rare opportunity to study teams in isolation, confinement; Mars crew will likely experience decline in creative thinking, problem solving; predicti :=:Wed, 06 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 57
NASA heading back to Moon soon, and this time to stay :: NASA is accelerating plans to return Americans to the Moon, and this time, the US space agency says it will be there to stay. :=:Mon, 25 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 58
***Ny Forskning: Glyphosat øger risikoen for kræfttype markant :: Glyphosat, der indgår i ukrudtsmidler som Roundup, forøger risikoen for at få kræftsygdommen Non-Hodgkins lymfom med op til 41 pct. Det konkluderer forskere i et metastudie fra University of Washington. :=:Mon, 11 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 59
Manuscripts reveal Horn of Africa’s Islamic history :: Researchers have identified and analyzed more than 2,000 Islamic manuscripts in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, and Somalia. Traditionally, scholars in Islamic studies have not associated the Horn of Africa with the Muslim world, which is why the Islamic literary tradition of this part of Africa has not been studied in detail before. “Scholars from the fields of Islam studies and African studies hav :=:Wed, 27 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 60
Københavner-letbane vil blive langsommere end bilen :: En letbane har en større kapacitet end busruter, men er billigere end en metrolinje. Derfor satser København på en letbanelinje, men letbane-planerne får hug fra flere sider. :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 61
Fusion science and astronomy collaboration enables investigation of the origin of heavy elements :: Atomic physicists working on nuclear fusion research succeeded in computing the world's highest accuracy atomic data of neodymium ions which is used in analysis of the light from a binary neutron star merger. This research accelerates studies of a long-standing mystery about the cosmic origins of heavy elements. :=:Tue, 05 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 62
AI may replace today's jobs, but imagine a teacher for every student and no lines for the doctor :: submitted by /u/gone_his_own_way [link] [comments] :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 63
SpaceX just docked the first commercial spaceship built for astronauts to the International Space Station — what NASA calls a 'historic achievement': “Welcome to the new era in spaceflight” :: submitted by /u/mvea [link] [comments] :=:Thu, 14 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 64
Biologists experimentally trigger adaptive radiation :: When naturalist Charles Darwin stepped onto the Galapagos Islands in 1835, he encountered a bird that sparked a revolutionary theory on how new species originate. From island to island, finches had wildly varied beak designs that reflected their varied diets. The so-called Darwin's finches are an emblem of adaptive radiation, which describes when organisms from a single lineage evolve different ad :=:Tue, 19 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 65
A Dutch historian has become a social media star after an epic rant against the super-rich in front of the super-rich at the World Economic Forum in Davos. :: submitted by /u/honolulu_oahu_mod [link] [comments] :=:Tue, 12 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 66
As uniform as cloned soldiers, new spiders were named after the Stormtroopers in Star Wars :: Despite being widely distributed across north and central South America, the small family of similarly looking bald-legged spiders had never been confirmed in Colombia. However, a new research paper, published in the open-access journal ZooKeys, describes a total of six previously unknown species inhabiting the country, with four of them belonging to a new genus named Stormtropis — after the clon :=:Tue, 05 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 67
A polariton filter turns ordinary laser light into quantum light :: An international team of researchers led out of Macquarie University has demonstrated a new approach for converting ordinary laser light into genuine quantum light. :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 68
Strøm til elbiler bliver langt dyrere end strøm til olieraffinaderier :: Alle typer af virksomheder i Danmark fra frisørsaloner til olieraffinaderier nyder godt af billig såkaldt processtrøm, der skal øge konkurrencedygtigheden. Særregel undtager dog firmaer, der sælger strøm til elbiler. :=:Wed, 06 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 69
***Vaccines don't cause autism, another massive study confirms :: Health Maybe the more pressing issue is whether anyone will be convinced. Now, in the face of some of the worst outbreaks the world has seen in recent years, Danish researchers have published one of the largest studies of autism and MMR to… :=:Sun, 24 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 70
***New molecules reverse memory loss linked to depression, aging :: New therapeutic molecules show promise in reversing the memory loss linked to depression and aging. These molecules not only rapidly improve symptoms, but remarkably, also appear to renew the underlying brain impairments causing memory loss in preclinical models. :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 71
***Dying bacteria absorb antibiotic, allowing others to survive and grow :: Bacteria have multiple strategies to survive antibiotics: developing genetic resistance to the drugs; delaying their growth; or hiding in protective biofilms. New results from researchers at Princeton and California State University-Northridge (CSUN) have shed light on yet another approach: self-sacrifice. :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 72
Genius Material Kills 99.9% of Bacteria in Drinking Water Using Nothing But Sunlight – This newly developed photocatalytic disinfection technology can significantly relieve clean-water scarcity and global energy shortage :: submitted by /u/yourSAS [link] [comments] :=:Tue, 26 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 73
***FDA Approves Esketamine, the First Major Depression Treatment to Reach U.S. Market in Decades :: Nasal spray related to the anesthetic/street drug ketamine targets treatment-resistant patients — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 74
Bold Plan? Replace the Border Wall with an Energy–Water Corridor :: Building solar, wind, natural gas and water infrastructure all along the U.S.–Mexico border would create economic opportunity rather than antagonism — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 75
Scientists turn CO2 ‘back into coal’ in breakthrough carbon capture experiment :: submitted by /u/littlejohnnyjewel [link] [comments] :=:Thu, 07 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 76
A major chemical company is building roads made of recycled plastic. They've already stopped 220,000 pounds of waste from ending up in landfills. :: submitted by /u/mvea [link] [comments] :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 77
Chimp communication gestures found to follow human linguistics rules :: A team of researchers with members from the U.K., Switzerland and Spain has found that chimpanzees use communication gestures in ways that follow human linguistic rules. In their paper published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the group describes their study of chimps communicating with one another in the wild, and compares their observations against human communication rules. :=:Thu, 07 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 78
Star Wars and Asterix characters amongst 103 beetles new to science from Sulawesi, Indonesia :: A total of 103 new species of weevils are added to the genus Trigonopterus from Sulawesi whereas. Prior to the study, there had only been a single species from this group documented on the Indonesian island. Having remained undercover due to their tiny size (2-3 mm) and close superficial resemblance, a team of scientists managed to identify the novel species thanks to modern DNA analyses. The stud :=:Tue, 05 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 79
Machine learning reveals hidden turtle pattern in quantum fireworks :: Two years ago, physicists at the University of Chicago were greeted with fireworks—atoms shooting out in jets—when they discovered a new form of quantum behavior. But the patterns underlying the bright jets were difficult to pick out from the noise. :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 80
***Improved regulation needed as pesticides found to affect genes in bees :: Scientists are urging for improved regulation on pesticides after finding that they affect genes in bumblebees, according to research led by Queen Mary University of London in collaboration with Imperial College London. :=:Tue, 05 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 81
Tests on London patient offer hope of HIV 'cure' :: Man becomes second person in world to be cleared of virus after stem cell donation A man in Britain has become the second known adult worldwide to be cleared of HIV after he received a bone marrow transplant from a virus-resistant donor, his doctors said. Almost three years after receiving bone marrow stem cells from a donor with a rare genetic mutation that resists HIV infection – and more than :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 82
Gene silencing based on RNA-guided catalytically inactive Cas9 (dCas9): a new tool for genetic engineering in Leptospira :: Gene silencing based on RNA-guided catalytically inactive Cas9 (dCas9): a new tool for genetic engineering in Leptospira Gene silencing based on RNA-guided catalytically inactive Cas9 (dCas9): a new tool for genetic engineering in Leptospira , Published online: 12 February 2019; doi:10.1038/s41598-018-37949-x Gene silencing based on RNA-guided catalytically inactive Cas9 (dCas9): a new tool for g :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 83
Breakthrough: A Second HIV Patient Has Gone Into 'Long-Term' Remission :: "The Berlin patient was not an anomaly." :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 84
***Could medical marijuana help grandma and grandpa with their ailments? :: Medical marijuana may bring relief to older people who have symptoms like pain, sleep disorders or anxiety due to chronic conditions including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, neuropathy, spinal cord damage and multiple sclerosis, according to a preliminary study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 71st Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, May :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 85
Teachers will follow on the heels of striking students on Friday with a protest to demand the national curriculum be reformed to make the climate and ecological crisis an educational priority. :: submitted by /u/Wagamaga [link] [comments] :=:Wed, 20 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 86
Asteroids are stronger, harder to destroy than previously thought :: A popular theme in the movies is that of an incoming asteroid that could extinguish life on the planet, and our heroes are launched into space to blow it up. But incoming asteroids may be harder to break than scientists previously thought, finds a Johns Hopkins study that used a new understanding of rock fracture and a new computer modeling method to simulate asteroid collisions. :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 87
Retrospective model-based inference guides model-free credit assignment :: Published online: 14 February 2019; doi:10.1038/s41467-019-08662-8 The reinforcement learning literature suggests decisions are based on a model-free system, operating retrospectively, and a model-based system, operating prospectively. Here, the authors :=:Fri, 22 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 88
Network Effects of Demographic Transition :: Network Effects of Demographic Transition Network Effects of Demographic Transition, Published online: 20 February 2019; doi:10.1038/s41598-019-39025-4 Network Effects of Demographic Transition :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 89
From vibrations alone, acacia ants can tell nibbles from the wind :: Researchers reporting in the journal Current Biology on Feb. 14 find that the ants of the acacia tree are tipped off to the presence of herbivores by vibrations that run throughout the trees when an animal gets too close or begins to chew. As a result, the insects begin patrolling the acacia's branches more actively. Remarkably, the researchers show, the ants don't react when the trees' movements :=:Sun, 10 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 90
On the predictability of infectious disease outbreaks :Published online: 22 February 2019; doi:10.1038/s41467-019-08616-0 Forecasting of infectious disease outbreaks can inform appropriate intervention measures, but whether fundamental limits to accurate prediction exist is unclear. Here, the authors use permutation entropy as a model independ :=:Thu, 14 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 91
Diversity within the adenovirus fiber knob hypervariable loops influences primary receptor interactions :: Published online: 14 February 2019; doi:10.1038/s41467-019-08599-y Adenovirus based (AdV) vectors are promising platforms for therapeutics and vaccines, but receptor usage of serotypes in cl :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 92
Plastic bags are out. Plastic straws are on their way out. Now Hawaii lawmakers want to take things a big step further. They’re considering an outright ban on all sorts of single-use plastics common in the food and beverage industry, from plastic bottles to plastic utensils to plastic containers. :: submitted by /u/honolulu_oahu_mod [link] [comments] :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 93
Climate striker Greta Thunberg nominated for Nobel peace prize :: Greta Thunberg, who has inspired schoolchildren around the world to go on strike in protest against climate change, has been nominated for the Nobel peace prize :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 94
One more time with feeling: no link found between measles vax and autism :: A study of 650,000 children finds immunisation has no influence on the condition. Andrew Masterson reports. :=:Tue, 26 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 95
The science of knitting, unpicked :: Dating back more than 3,000 years, knitting is an ancient form of manufacturing, but Elisabetta Matsumoto of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta believes that understanding how stitch types govern shape and stretchiness will be invaluable for designing new "tunable" materials. For instance, tissuelike flexible material could be manufactured to replace biological tissues, such as torn li :=:Tue, 19 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 96
Massive Bolivian earthquake reveals mountains 660 kilometers below our feet :: Geophysicists used data from an enormous earthquake in Bolivia to find mountains at the base of the mantle's transition zone, located 660 kilometers below our feet. Their statistical model didn't allow for precise height measurements, but these mountains may be bigger than anything on the surface of the Earth. The researchers also examined the top of the transition zone (410 km down) and did not f :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 97
Scientists turn carbon dioxide into coal at room temperature :: Breakthrough could revolutionise carbon capture and storage. Nick Carne reports. :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 98
White shark genome reveals ancient elasmobranch adaptations associated with wound healing and the maintenance of genome stability [Genetics] :: The white shark (Carcharodon carcharias; Chondrichthyes, Elasmobranchii) is one of the most publicly recognized marine animals. Here we report the genome sequence of the white shark and comparative evolutionary genomic analyses to the chondrichthyans, whale shark (Elasmobranchii) and elephant shark (Holocephali), as well as various vertebrates. The 4.63-Gbp white shark… :=:Wed, 27 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 99
Spain police seize over 200 stuffed endangered animals :: Spanish police said Tuesday they had seized more than 200 stuffed endangered animals, including giraffes, rhinos, lions and tigers, from an illegal taxidermy workshop that was selling them online. :=:Wed, 13 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 100
Universal basic income experiment made people happier but not more likely to get a job :: Finland's Social Insurance Institution (FSII) has published the results of an income experiment it carried out for two years to learn more about ways to reduce unemployment. They report that their experiment showed that giving unemployed people a no-strings-attached guaranteed income instead of an unemployment allowance made them happier and less stressed—but it did not make them any more or less :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 101
Yeast produce low-cost, high-quality cannabinoids :: University of California, Berkeley, synthetic biologists have engineered brewer's yeast to produce marijuana's main ingredients—mind-altering THC and non-psychoactive CBD—as well as novel cannabinoids not found in the plant itself. :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 102
Death metal music inspires joy not violence :: Despite gruesome lyrics, death metal does not desensitise fans to images of violence, a study shows. :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 103
Baby T. Rex Was an Adorable Ball of Fluff :: Recent discoveries show T. rex like you've never seen it before. :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 104
Revised paleoaltimetry data show low Tibetan Plateau elevation during the Eocene :: Paleotopographic reconstructions of the Tibetan Plateau based on stable isotope paleoaltimetry methods conclude that most of the Plateau’s current elevation was already reached by the Eocene, ~40 million years ago. However, changes in atmospheric and hydrological dynamics affect oxygen stable isotopes in precipitation and may thus bias such reconstructions. We used an isotope-equipped general cir :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 105
Can entangled qubits be used to probe black holes? :: Physicists have used a seven-qubit quantum computer to simulate the scrambling of information inside a black hole, heralding a future in which entangled quantum bits might be used to probe the mysterious interiors of these bizarre objects. :=:Wed, 20 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 106
Amanda Feilding: ‘LSD can get deep down and reset the brain – like shaking up a snow globe’. The campaign to legalise LSD in Britain is gathering pace. Psychedelics may have a role to play in treating everything from alcohol addiction to Alzheimer’s disease to post-traumatic stress disorder. :: submitted by /u/mvea [link] [comments] :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 107
Researchers find window of opportunity for treatment of early cystic fibrosis lung infections :: New research from DTU Biosustain and Rigshospitalet suggests that disease-causing microbes in young cystic fibrosis (CF) patients change rapidly within two to three years after first infection. This knowledge could lead to better treatment strategies to avoid persistent infections. :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 108
Earth may be 140 years away from reaching carbon levels not seen in 56 million years :: Total human carbon dioxide emissions could match those of Earth's last major greenhouse warming event in fewer than five generations, new research finds. A new study finds humans are pumping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere at a rate nine to 10 times higher than the greenhouse gas was emitted during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), a global warming event that occurred roughly 56 mill :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 109
R.I.P., Opportunity Rover: the Hardest-Working Robot in the Solar SystemNASA Opportunity Mars :: NASA announced that, after 15 years and 5,000 charge cycles, the Mars rover Opportunity is officially dead. Here’s what killed the tenacious little robot. :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 110
World's largest bee, missing for 38 years, found in Indonesia :: Biologists discover single female Wallace’s giant bee inside a termites’ nest in a tree As long as an adult thumb, with jaws like a stag beetle and four times larger than a honeybee, Wallace’s giant bee is not exactly inconspicuous. But after going missing, feared extinct, for 38 years, the world’s largest bee has been rediscovered on the Indonesian islands of the North Moluccas. Continue reading :=:Fri, 22 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 111
World seeing 'catastrophic collapse' of insects: study :: Nearly half of all insect species worldwide are in rapid decline and a third could disappear altogether, according to a study warning of dire consequences for crop pollination and natural food chains. :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 112
Harrison Ford Urges World to Stop Giving Power to Science Haters And Deniers :: How many times does he have to say this? :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 113
Legal Marijuana Could Threaten the Alcohol Industry, Says Report :: Risky Business Marijuana is becoming more accepted — and that could be a problem for the alcohol industry, according to new research. “Though not yet mainstream, cannabis adoption is certainly growing in states where it’s legal and does pose a risk to the beverage alcohol industry in the future,” Brandy Rand, U.S. president of the International Wine and Spirits Research (IWSR), a company that col :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 114
You know kilo, mega, and giga. Is the metric system ready for ronna and quecca? :: These are some of the proposed prefixes for incredibly big and small numbers :=:Tue, 19 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 115
Potential new therapy for Crohn's, colitis identified :: Researchers have found a compound that may treat inflammatory bowel disease without directly targeting inflammation. The compound tamps down the activity of a gene linked to blood clotting. They discovered that the gene was turned on at sites of intestinal inflammation and damage, and blocking its activity reduces IBD symptoms in mice. :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 116
A new machine learning model can classify lung cancer slides at the pathologist level :: Dartmouth researchers have developed a deep neural network to classify lung cancer subtypes on histopathology slides and found that it performed on par with three practicing pathologists. The study demonstrates that machine learning can achieve high performance on a challenging image classification task and has the potential to greatly assist pathologists in lung cancer classification. :=:Wed, 13 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 117
Linking plasma formation in grapes to microwave resonances of aqueous dimers [Applied Physical Sciences] :: The sparking of cut grape hemispheres in a household microwave oven has been a poorly explained Internet parlor trick for over two decades. By expanding this phenomenon to whole spherical dimers of various grape-sized fruit and hydrogel water beads, we demonstrate that the formation of plasma is due to electromagnetic… :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 118
New species of spider discovered with unusual social skills :: A researcher at Royal Holloway, University of London, has discovered a new species of spider in Indonesia. :=:Mon, 18 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 119
Genomic plasticity associated with antimicrobial resistance in Vibrio cholerae [Evolution] :: The Bay of Bengal is known as the epicenter for seeding several devastating cholera outbreaks across the globe. Vibrio cholerae, the etiological agent of cholera, has extraordinary competency to acquire exogenous DNA by horizontal gene transfer (HGT) and adapt them into its genome for structuring metabolic processes, developing drug resistance,… :=:Sat, 23 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 120
Epithelial endoplasmic reticulum stress orchestrates a protective IgA response :: Immunoglobulin A (IgA) is the major secretory immunoglobulin isotype found at mucosal surfaces, where it regulates microbial commensalism and excludes luminal factors from contacting intestinal epithelial cells (IECs). IgA is induced by both T cell–dependent and –independent (TI) pathways. However, little is known about TI regulation. We report that IEC endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress induces a :=:Tue, 26 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 121
Climate change and climate change velocity analysis across Germany :: Published online: 18 February 2019; doi:10.1038/s41598-019-38720-6 Climate change and climate change velocity analysis across Germany :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 122
Scientists Have Witnessed a Single-Celled Algae Evolve Into a Multicellular Organism :: This footage is evolution in action, and it's absolutely breathtaking. :=:Mon, 11 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 123
Examining long-term trends in politics and culture through language of political leaders and cultural institutions [Psychological and Cognitive Sciences] :: From many perspectives, the election of Donald Trump was seen as a departure from long-standing political norms. An analysis of Trump’s word use in the presidential debates and speeches indicated that he was exceptionally informal but at the same time, spoke with a sense of certainty. Indeed, he is lower… :=:Wed, 06 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 124
Harrison Ford knocks those who 'denigrate science': “We are faced (with), what I believe, is the greatest moral crisis of our time,” Ford said. “We need nature now more than ever because nature doesn’t need people, people need nature.” :: submitted by /u/mvea [link] [comments] :=:Mon, 18 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 125
Inequity in consumption of goods and services adds to racial-ethnic disparities in air pollution exposure [Sustainability Science] :: Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) air pollution exposure is the largest environmental health risk factor in the United States. Here, we link PM2.5 exposure to the human activities responsible for PM2.5 pollution. We use these results to explore “pollution inequity”: the difference between the environmental health damage caused by a racial–ethnic… :=:Sun, 17 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 126
Comparison of TCGA and GENIE genomic datasets for the detection of clinically actionable alterations in breast cancer ::Published online: 06 February 2019; doi:10.1038/s41598-018-37574-:=:Sun, 03 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 127
Physicists pinpoint a simple mechanism that makes bacteria resistant to antibiotics :: Physicists at McMaster University have for the first time identified a simple mechanism used by potentially deadly bacteria to fend off antibiotics, a discovery which is providing new insights into how germs adapt and behave at a level of detail never seen before. :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 128
Kaepernick Won. The NFL Lost. :: Technically, Colin Kaepernick withdrew his collusion case. Technically, the NFL did not admit that it conspired to blackball Kaepernick from the league after he began taking a knee during the national anthem to protest racial injustice. But nontechnically speaking, the NFL lost. Massively. The terms of the settlement, announced on Friday, were not disclosed. But it doesn’t matter how much money K :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 129
Discovery of the oldest evidence of mobility on Earth :: Scientists have uncovered the oldest fossilized traces of motility. Whereas previous remnants were dated to 570 million years ago, this new evidence is 2.1 billion years old. They were discovered in a fossil deposit in Gabon, where the oldest multicellular organisms have already been found. :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 131
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Black panther: Rare animal caught on camera in Kenya :: It's claimed this is the first time the rare animal has been photographed in Africa in a century. :=:Mon, 18 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 134
Inner Ear Discovery Helps Explain How Sound Waves Become Brain Signals :: Scientists at Rockefeller University claim they’ve pinpointed a protein in the ear that acts as a sort of molecular gatekeeper, helping convert soundwaves into the electrical signals that our brains interpret as sound. The finding, though incremental, helps establish a more detailed understanding of how hearing works. Down the Inner-Ear Rabbit Hole But first, some basics. Deep inside the ear, thro :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 135
Scientists reveal how 3-D arrangement of DNA helps perpetuate the species :: From fathers to children, the delivery of hereditary information requires the careful packing of DNA in sperm. But just how nature packages this DNA to prepare offspring isn't clear. Using new technology to reveal the 3-D organization of DNA in maturing male reproductive cells, scientists revealed a crucial period in development that helps explain how fathers pass on genetic information to future :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 136
Diversity on land is not higher today than in the past, study shows :: The rich levels of biodiversity on land seen across the globe today are not a recent phenomenon: diversity on land has been similar for at least the last 60 million years, since soon after the extinction of the dinosaurs. :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 137
AAV cis-regulatory sequences are correlated with ocular toxicity [Neuroscience] :: Adeno-associated viral vectors (AAVs) have become popular for gene therapy, given their many advantages, including their reduced inflammatory profile compared with that of other viruses. However, even in areas of immune privilege such as the eye, AAV vectors are capable of eliciting host-cell responses. To investigate the effects of such… :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 138
Running an LED in reverse could cool future computers :: In a finding that runs counter to a common assumption in physics, researchers at the University of Michigan ran a light emitting diode (LED) with electrodes reversed in order to cool another device mere nanometers away. :=:Tue, 12 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 139
20 Things You Didn't Know About Chocolate :: Scientists are still sorting out the chemistry, health effects and origins of this tasty treat, first enjoyed in South America more than 5,000 years ago. :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 141
Oranges: Facts About the Vibrant Citrus Fruit :: In addition to being a delicious snack, sweet, juicy oranges have many health benefits. :=:Sun, 10 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 142
Vaccinations Soar by 500% in US County Where Measles Is Out of Control :: Apparently all it takes to make sure people get vaccinated, is an outbreak. :=:Tue, 12 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 145
Stonehenge mystery solved? Prehistoric French may have inspired it and other European megaliths :: Although Stonehenge may be the most famous of Europe's megaliths, it's far from the only one: There are about 35,000 of these mysterious stone structures throughout the continent. :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 146
Dyke intrusion between neighbouring arc volcanoes responsible for 2017 pre-eruptive seismic swarm at Agung :: Dyke intrusion between neighbouring arc volcanoes responsible for 2017 pre-eruptive seismic swarm at Agung Dyke intrusion between neighbouring arc volcanoes responsible for 2017 pre-eruptive seismic swarm at Agung, Published online: 14 February 2019; doi:10.1038/s41467-019-08564-9 Using seismic data and numerical modelling, here, the authors characterize the three-month period of unrest occurring :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 151
Forget Growing Weed—Make Yeast Spit Out CBD and THC Instead :: Yeast gives us beer and bread. Now researchers have engineered it to do something more improbable: manufacturing the cannabis compounds CBD and THC. :=:Mon, 25 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 152
Injectable sponge-like gel enhances the quantity and quality of T-cells :: Bone marrow transplants, also known as hematopoietic stem cell transplants, are life-saving treatments for aggressive diseases, such as leukemia and multiple myeloma, and infections such as HIV. The procedure entails infusion of blood stem cells from a matched donor into the patient to 'reset' the blood and immune system. :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 154
These Ghoulish Icefish Have Antifreeze in Their Veins, And Now We Know How That Works :: A very cool fish. :=:Tue, 26 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 155
Elektrificeringen af den danske jernbane bliver forsinket :: Den landsdækkende elektrificering af jernbanen bliver forsinket på alle strækninger, viser ny konsulentrapport. Den hidtidige plan var for optimistisk, erkender Banedanmark. :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 157
Scientists Are 99.9999 Percent Sure Humans Caused Climate Change :: No, We’re Sure New analysis of 40 years’ worth of satellite data shows that it’s a near-certainty that humanity is actively causing global climate change. Climate deniers often claim, in the face of overwhelming evidence, that the planet is heating up and natural disasters are becoming more intense and common just because that’s the way it is — incorrectly insisting that humanity’s love affair wi :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 158
Dianne Feinstein Doesn’t Need a Do-Over :: On Friday morning in San Francisco, the Sunrise Movement faced off against the Sunset Movement—and the Sunset Movement won. It won big. A group of jackbooted tots and aggrieved teenagers showed up at the local office of Dianne Feinstein—85 years old and holding—with the intention of teaching her about climate change and demanding that she vote for the Green New Deal. The resulting encounter was s :=:Mon, 18 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 159
Chemical added to consumer products impairs response to antibiotic treatment :: Triclosan exposure may inadvertently drive bacteria into a state in which they are able to tolerate normally lethal concentrations of antibiotics — including those antibiotics that are commonly used to treat urinary tract infections (UTIs). :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 160
Innovative nanocoating technology harnesses sunlight to degrade microplastics :: Low density polyethylene film (LDPE) microplastic fragments, successfully degraded in water using visible-light-excited heterogeneous ZnO photocatalysts. The innovative sunlight-harnessing microplastics degrading technology is part of a study funded by the EU Horizon 2020 funded project CLAIM: Cleaning Marine Litter by Developing and Applying Innovative Methods in European Seas (GA no. 774586). :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 161
Sound waves let quantum systems 'talk' to one another :: Researchers at the University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory have invented an innovative way for different types of quantum technology to "talk" to each other using sound. The study, published Feb. 11 in Nature Physics, is an important step in bringing quantum technology closer to reality. :=:Fri, 22 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 162
Protein released from fat after exercise improves glucose :: Exercise training causes dramatic changes to fat. Additionally, this 'trained' fat releases beneficial factors into the bloodstream. :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 163
Drug-induced cellular membrane complexes induce cancer cell death :: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology researchers at the Hollings Cancer Center at the Medical University of South Carolina delved into the microscopic world of cell surface sphingolipids and discovered a new sub-cellular complex, as described in the January 2019 issue of Journal of Biological Chemistry. :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 164
Cahokia: North America's massive, ancient city :: Near modern-day St. Louis, Missouri, you can find towering mounds of earth that were once the product of a vast North American culture. Cahokia was the largest city built by this Native American civilization. Because the ancient people who built Cahokia didn't have a writing system, little is known of their culture. Archaeological evidence, however, hints at a fascinating society. None Update Sat :=:Mon, 11 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 165
The speedy secrets of mako sharks — 'cheetahs of the ocean' :: To investigate how shortfin mako sharks achieve their impressive speeds, researchers tested real sharkskin samples, using digital particle image velocimetry. They discovered that a 'passive bristling' capability of the microscopic surface geometry of the shark's scales controlled flow separation, which causes pressure drag — the most influential cause of drag on aircraft. The work will be describ :=:Tue, 19 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 166
Senate Passes a Sweeping Land Conservation Bill :: Years in the works, the measure designates more than a million acres of wilderness for environmental protection and permanently reauthorizes a federal program to pay for conservation. :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 167
Norway's Insanely Efficient Scheme Recycles 97% of All Plastic Bottles They Use :: Completely unheard of. :=:Wed, 20 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 168
New imaging technology captures movement of quantum particles with unprecedented resolution :: Excitons—electrically neutral quasiparticles—have extraordinary properties. They exist only in semiconducting and insulating materials and can be easily accessed in two-dimensional (2D) materials just a few atoms thick, such as carbon and molybdenite. When these 2D materials are combined, they exhibit quantum properties that neither material possesses on its own. :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 169
MDA-7/IL-24 regulates the miRNA processing enzyme DICER through downregulation of MITF [Medical Sciences] :: Melanoma differentiation-associated gene-7/interleukin-24 (mda-7/IL-24) is a multifunctional cytokine displaying broad-spectrum anticancer activity in vitro or in vivo in preclinical animal cancer models and in a phase 1/2 clinical trial in patients with advanced cancers. mda-7/IL-24 targets specific miRNAs, including miR-221 and miR-320, for down-regulation in a cancer-selective manner. We demons :=:Mon, 11 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 170
Despite America's protein craze, adults are still missing the mark according to new study :: Research reveals more than 1 in 3 Americans 50+ aren't meeting the recommended protein intake and it's saying a lot about their diets and healthTiming matters — eating protein evenly throughout the day, and even before bedtime, can support muscles for optimal health :=:Mon, 25 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 171
Scientists Still Stumped By The Evolution of Human Breasts :: “How about breasts?” The question came from a jock-y guy in one of my graduate school classes on human evolution. Far from offensive, the query was appropriate and astute. My classmates and I nodded approval, and the professor added it to a growing list on the board. We were brainstorming features that distinguish our species, Homo sapiens, from other primates. That list includes human peculiariti :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 172
Decades ago, ecstasy — yes, MDMA — was used in marriage counseling :: For the first decade after it was synthesized, MDMA was used in individual and couples therapy. Many therapists spoke against the criminalization of MDMA in 1985 due to the drug's therapeutic potential. A revival has occurred in recent years, with the government allowing clinical trials to move forward. None Before the second "M" was affixed to "MDA," researchers spent decades searching for a uti
New alternative to Trump's wall would create jobs, renewable energy, and increase border security :: The proposal was recently presented to several U.S. members of Congress. The plan still calls for border security, considering all of the facilities along the border would be guarded and connected by physical barriers. It's undoubtedly an expensive and complicated proposal, but the team argues that border regions are ideal spots for wind and solar energy, and that they could use the jobs and fres :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 174
Botswana elephant poaching 'no hoax' :: A study confirms one of the last elephant sanctuaries in Africa has "a significant poaching problem". :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 175
Uncovering the evolution of the brain :: What makes us human, and where does this mysterious property of 'humanness' come from? Humans are genetically similar to chimpanzees and bonobos, yet there exist obvious behavioral and cognitive differences. Now, researchers from the Salk Institute, in collaboration with researchers from the anthropology department at UC San Diego, have developed a strategy to more easily study the early developme :=:Mon, 25 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 176
How to Not Fall for Viral Scares Like Momo :: The Momo challenge isn’t the first hoax about kids to go viral, and it won’t be the last. Don’t panic: Here’s what to remember. :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 177
A Third Patient Is Now Reportedly Cured of HIV :: Another Success There was a 12 year gap between the announcement of the first and second patients reportedly cured of their HIV infections. But now, just two days after doctors claimed that that second patient was HIV-free, another team is saying they’ve cleared the infection in a third patient — and there’s a chance a fourth and a fifth might be following soon behind. Three’s Company According t :=:Tue, 05 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 178
Insects hijack reproductive genes of grape vines to create own living space on plant :: Grape phylloxera — the insect that nearly wiped out wine production at the end of the 19th century in France — hijacks a grape vine's reproductive programs to create a leaf gall, which it uses as a pseudo apartment for the parasite to siphon off the plant's nutrients. :=:Fri, 15 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 180
The science of knitting, unpicked :: Knitting may be an ancient manufacturing method, but Elisabetta Matsumoto believes that understanding how different stitch types determine shape and mechanical strength will be invaluable for designing materials for future technologies, and a more detailed understanding of the knitting 'code' could benefit manufacturers around the world. Members of the Matsumoto group are delving through the surpr :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 181
Smaller, safer, cheaper: One company aims to reinvent the nuclear reactor and save a warming planet :: By shrinking its reactors, NuScale Power aims to compete with cheap natural gas :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 183
Where is the universe hiding its missing mass? :: Astronomers have spent decades looking for something that sounds like it would be hard to miss: about a third of the "normal" matter in the Universe. New results from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory may have helped them locate this elusive expanse of missing matter. :=:Tue, 12 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 184
Neanderthal footprints found in Gibraltar :: This work started 10 years ago, when the first dates using the OSL method were obtained. It is then that the first traces of footprints left by vertebrates were found. In subsequent years the successive natural collapse of sand has revealed further material and has permitted a detailed study including new dates. :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 185
Sleep tight! Researchers identify the beneficial role of sleep :: Why do animals sleep? Why do humans 'waste' a third of their lives sleeping? Researchers now reveal a novel and unexpected function of sleep that they believe could explain how sleep and sleep disturbances affect brain performance, aging and various brain disorders. Using 3D time-lapse imaging techniques in live zebrafish, they were able to define sleep in a single chromosome resolution and show t :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 186
Here’s how your city’s climate will change by 2080, if you’re in Canada or the United States :: Washington, D.C., will be as steamy as Paragould, Arkansas :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 187
Immigration is beneficial to economies, even after 100 years :: A new study in the Review of Economic Studies finds that U.S. counties with more historical immigration have higher incomes, less poverty, and lower unemployment today. :=:Wed, 27 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 188
Earth's Atmosphere Is Bigger Than We Thought – It Actually Goes Past The Moon :: Wait, what? :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 189
New study suggests possibility of recent underground volcanism on Mars :: A study published last year in the journal Science suggested liquid water is present beneath the south polar ice cap of Mars. Now, a new study in the AGU journal Geophysical Research Letters argues there needs to be an underground source of heat for liquid water to exist underneath the polar ice cap. :=:Wed, 27 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 190
Regulatory changes in pterin and carotenoid genes underlie balanced color polymorphisms in the wall lizard [Evolution] :: Reptiles use pterin and carotenoid pigments to produce yellow, orange, and red colors. These conspicuous colors serve a diversity of signaling functions, but their molecular basis remains unresolved. Here, we show that the genomes of sympatric color morphs of the European common wall lizard (Podarcis muralis), which differ in orange… :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 191
Dark matter may be hitting the right note in small galaxies :: Dark matter may scatter against each other only when they hit the right energy, says international team of researchers in new study. :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 192
Greta Thunberg tells EU: your climate targets need doubling :: Swede, 16, says EU cannot just ‘wait for us to grow up and become the ones in charge’ The EU should double its climate change reduction targets to do its fair share in keeping the planet below a dangerous level of global warming, the Swedish activist Greta Thunberg has told political and business leaders in Brussels. Flanked by students from the Belgian and German school strike movements, the Swe :=:Mon, 18 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 193
A Man's Blood Turned So Thick And White, It Almost Killed Him :: Doctors had to resort to bloodletting. :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 194
Welding breakthrough could transform manufacturing :: Scientists from Heriot-Watt University have welded glass and metal together using an ultrafast laser system, in a breakthrough for the manufacturing industry. :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 195
Cortical route for facelike pattern processing in human newborns [Psychological and Cognitive Sciences] :: Humans are endowed with an exceptional ability for detecting faces, a competence that, in adults, is supported by a set of face-specific cortical patches. Human newborns, already shortly after birth, preferentially orient to faces, even when they are presented in the form of highly schematic geometrical patterns vs. perceptually equivalent… :=:Fri, 01 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 196
A Philosopher Asked Physicists: 'What is a Black Hole?' :: Ask a dozen physicists what a black hole is, and you may get a dozen different answers – at least if those physicists are from different sub-fields. But new philosophy research suggests that may be okay, and may even lead to more interesting findings for black holes in the future. Such is the conclusion of Erik Curiel, who asked many different physicists across a range of research fields how they :=:Tue, 12 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 197
SpaceX Makes History in Flawless Docking With International Space Station :: A new era in spaceflight. :=:Mon, 18 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 198
Vi tolkar fakta dåligt när det handlar om invandring :: Inom psykologin brukar termen ”motiverat tänkande” användas för att beskriva när människor tolkar information som de önskar, snarare för vad den är. – Vi tror ofta att vi omvärderar våra tankesätt i ljuset av ny information. Vår forskning bekräftar att vi människor misstolkar information, i det här fallet om invandring, för att få den att passa vår världsbild, säger Thérese Lind, doktorand vid in :=:Tue, 19 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 199
Meet The White House's New Chief Climate Change Skeptic :: William Happer, a Princeton scientist who is doubtful of the dangers of climate change, appears to be leading a White House challenge to the government's conclusion that global warming is a threat. (Image credit: Gage Skidmore/Flickr ) :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 200
An electronically tunable metasurface that rotates polarization :: Researchers at the University of Michigan and City University of New York have recently proposed and experimentally validated a transparent, electronically tunable metasurface. This metasurface, presented in a paper published in Physical Review X, can rotate the polarization of an arbitrarily polarized incident wave without changing its axial ratio. :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 201
Engineered transfer RNAs for suppression of premature termination codons :: Engineered transfer RNAs for suppression of premature termination codons Engineered transfer RNAs for suppression of premature termination codons, Published online: 18 February 2019; doi:10.1038/s41467-019-08329-4 Premature termination codon suppression therapy could be used to treat a range of genetic disorders. Here the authors present a high-throughput cell-based assay to identify anticodon en :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 202
U.S. should sell ‘useless’ Montana to Canada for $1 trillion, says new petition :: The tongue-in-cheek petition, whose stated aim is to reduce the national debt, has been signed more than 8,600 times as of Tuesday. Selling Montana, the fourth largest state in the country, would constitute the largest land deal since the Louisiana Purchase. The national debt is often a source of concern for individuals, but the chances of the U.S. defaulting on its debts are relatively low — in :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 203
These Are the 24 Sounds Humans Use to Communicate Without Words :: Ever catch yourself letting out a frustrated sigh, a squeal of delight or maybe a gasp of terror? These off-the-cuff vocalizations are called vocal bursts. And in a new study, researchers from the University of California, Berkeley have mapped out a record number of them. To start things off, the researchers asked 56 people, some professional actors and some not, to react to different emotional sc :=:Fri, 15 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 204
How sleep can fight infection :: Researchers have discovered why sleep can sometimes be the best medicine. Sleep improves the potential ability of some of the body's immune cells to attach to their targets, according to a new study. The study helps explain how sleep can fight off an infection, whereas other conditions, such as chronic stress, can make the body more susceptible to illness. :=:Thu, 14 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 205
The Message in R. Kelly’s Meltdown :: Accused of dominating and manipulating dozens of women, R. Kelly defended himself on CBS This Morning by interrupting, talking over, and talking past Gayle King. When the reporter asked the singer whether he imprisoned women, he exploded, “I don’t need to—why would I?” His hands shot to his temples as his voice climbed. “How stupid would I be to do that? That’s stupid, guys!” Guys —with that, Kel :=:Thu, 14 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 206
World’s largest bee, thought to be extinct, found in Indonesia
World Bee Indonesia
:: The giant bee was first discovered in 1859, but since has only officially sighted once. An international team of researchers set out to rediscover the bee in January. Determining exactly when a species is extinct is difficult, especially for small animals like insects. None In 1859, while exploring the remote island of Bacan in the North Moluccas, Indonesia, the renowned naturalist Alfred Russel :=:Wed, 20 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 207
Trump Declared an Emergency Based on Data That Doesn’t Exist :: As he declared a national emergency Friday, President Trump repeatedly dismissed statistics and reports produced by his own government. :=:Mon, 25 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 208
Researchers reverse the flow of time on IBM's quantum computer :: Researchers have managed to return a computer briefly to the past. The results suggest new paths for exploring the backward flow of time in quantum systems. They also open new possibilities for quantum computer program testing and error correction. :=:Fri, 22 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 209
Exotic 'second sound' phenomenon observed in pencil lead :: The next time you set a kettle to boil, consider this scenario: After turning the burner off, instead of staying hot and slowly warming the surrounding kitchen and stove, the kettle quickly cools to room temperature and its heat hurtles away in the form of a boiling-hot wave. :=:Mon, 11 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 210
Podocalyxin is required for maintaining blood-brain barrier function during acute inflammation [Medical Sciences] :: Podocalyxin (Podxl) is broadly expressed on the luminal face of most blood vessels in adult vertebrates, yet its function on these cells is poorly defined. In the present study, we identified specific functions for Podxl in maintaining endothelial barrier function. Using electrical cell substrate impedance sensing and live imaging, we… :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 211
Memory and resource tracking drive blue whale migrations [Ecology] :: In terrestrial systems, the green wave hypothesis posits that migrating animals can enhance foraging opportunities by tracking phenological variation in high-quality forage across space (i.e., “resource waves”). To track resource waves, animals may rely on proximate cues and/or memory of long-term average phenologies. Although there is growing evidence of resource… :=:Tue, 19 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 212
Phosphate graphene as an intrinsically osteoinductive scaffold for stem cell-driven bone regeneration [Engineering] :: Synthetic, resorbable scaffolds for bone regeneration have potential to transform the clinical standard of care. Here, we demonstrate that functional graphenic materials (FGMs) could serve as an osteoinductive scaffold: recruiting native cells to the site of injury and promoting differentiation into bone cells. By invoking a Lewis acid-catalyzed Arbuzov reaction,… :=:Tue, 26 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 213
Primitive Old World monkey from the earliest Miocene of Kenya and the evolution of cercopithecoid bilophodonty [Anthropology] :: Old World monkeys (Cercopithecoidea) are a highly successful primate radiation, with more than 130 living species and the broadest geographic range of any extant group except humans. Although cercopithecoids are highly variable in habitat use, social behavior, and diet, a signature dental feature unites all of its extant members: bilophodonty… :=:Fri, 08 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 214
Bold Plan? Replace the Border Wall with an Energy–Water Corridor :: Building solar, wind, natural gas and water infrastructure all along the U.S.–Mexico border would create economic opportunity rather than antagonism — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com :=:Wed, 20 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 215
Laugh Out Loud Neuroscience :: Contrary to popular belief, scientists are just like the rest of us. They complain about their jobs, they like to joke around, and they tend to tell anyone who will listen about their work. Shannon Odell, a neuroscience Ph.D. candidate at Weill Cornell Medicine, writes and stars in “Your Brain On [Blank]” videos, a series that combines comedy and neuroscience to dispel the myth that her brainy te :=:Thu, 07 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 216
Nano specks in cancer drugs may actually make things worse :: Although nanoparticles could have large untapped potential and new applications, they may also have unintended and harmful side effects, according to a new study. Researchers found that cancer nanomedicine, designed to kill cancer cells, may accelerate metastasis. Processed food (e.g., food additives), consumer products (e.g., sunscreen), and even medicine contain nanoparticles. Using breast canc :=:Tue, 19 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 217
Plant-based burger battle heats up as Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat unveil new products :: submitted by /u/roku44 [link] [comments] :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 218
Earth may be 140 years away from reaching carbon levels not seen in 56 million years :: Total human carbon dioxide emissions could match those of Earth's last major greenhouse warming event in fewer than five generations, new research finds. :=:Tue, 05 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 219
Physicists discover surprisingly complex states emerging out of simple synchronized networks :: Fireflies, heart cells, clocks, and power grids all do it—they can spontaneously sync up, sending signals out in unison. For centuries, scientists have been perplexed by this self-organizing behavior, coming up with theories and experiments that make up the science of sync. But despite progress being made in the field, mysteries still persist—in particular how networks of completely identical elem :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 220
Scientists Developed an AI So Advanced They Say It's Too Dangerous to Release :: Yeah, okay, it's actually pretty disturbing. :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 221
Confirmed: No Link Between Autism and Measles Vaccine, Even for 'At Risk' Kids :: Children who receive the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine are not at increased risk for autism, including children who are sometimes considered to be in "high risk" groups for the neurodevelopmental disorder, a massive new study finds. :=:Fri, 08 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 222
Your Dumb Party Balloons Are Killing All the Seabirds :: The biggest threat to seabirds isn't plastic straws. It's balloons. :=:Mon, 11 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 223
Troubling extent of trauma and PTSD in British young people revealed :: New research from King's College London suggests one in 13 young people in the UK have had post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) before reaching age 18. The first UK-based study of its kind, published in The Lancet Psychiatry, found 31% of young people had a traumatic experience during childhood, and those who were exposed to trauma were twice as likely as their peers to have a range of mental hea :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 224
In the squirrel world, prime real estate is determined by previous owner, study reveals :: Researchers found that if a squirrel inherits territory from a male rather than a female, it will have about 1,300 more cones in its midden. This stored energy will keep the squirrel alive an extra 17 days. For females it means she will enough food to breed earlier, resulting in her offspring leaving the nest earlier. This shows how the behavior of a complete stranger can impact the genetic contri :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 225
Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge, the godfather of caffeine :: Today's Google doodle celebrates Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge, who was the first to isolate caffeine and quinine but his contributions to chemistry are often overlooked :=:Mon, 11 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 226
Statens konsulentforbrug eksploderer: Bruger 1,5 milliarder mere om året :: Finansminister Kristian Jensen kritiserede konsulentudgifterne inden han selv blev minister. I hans ministertid er forbruget imidlertid steget yderligere. :=:Sat, 23 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 227
Rain makes methane from thawing bogs go ‘bonkers’ :: Researchers have uncovered a new reason for increased methane emissions from a thawing permafrost bog in Alaska: early spring rainfall. Arctic permafrost is thawing as the Earth warms due to climate change. In some cases, scientists predict that this thawing soil will release increasing amounts of methane—a potent greenhouse gas—that is known to trap more heat in our planet’s atmosphere. “We saw :=:Fri, 08 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 228
Human cytomegalovirus haplotype reconstruction reveals high diversity due to superinfection and evidence of within-host recombination [Microbiology] :: Recent sequencing efforts have led to estimates of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) genome-wide intrahost diversity that rival those of persistent RNA viruses [Renzette N, Bhattacharjee B, Jensen JD, Gibson L, Kowalik TF (2011) PLoS Pathog 7:e1001344]. Here, we deep sequence HCMV genomes recovered from single and longitudinally collected blood samples from… :=:Sat, 02 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 229
Multiradionuclide evidence for an extreme solar proton event around 2,610 B.P. (~660 BC) [Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences] :: Recently, it has been confirmed that extreme solar proton events can lead to significantly increased atmospheric production rates of cosmogenic radionuclides. Evidence of such events is recorded in annually resolved natural archives, such as tree rings [carbon-14 (14C)] and ice cores [beryllium-10 (10Be), chlorine-36 (36Cl)]. Here, we show evidence for… :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 230
Virgin Galactic Just Successfully Launched Its First Passenger Past The Edge of Space :: Here we go. :=:Thu, 14 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 231
Oil execs should be tried for crimes against humanity, essayist Kate Aronoff argues :: A new essay published in J acobin argues that the time has come to try the executives of oil companies for crimes against humanity as a result of their actions promoting climate change. There is a legal precedent, as the heads of several German companies were tired for such crimes after WWII. Even if it never comes to pass, discussing the idea could give us a sense of what steps to make the world :=:Wed, 27 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 232
The periodic table is 150 years old this week :: Its creation is a perfect illustration of how science progresses :=:Sat, 09 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 233
Researchers Create 'Rat Cyborgs' That People Control With Their Minds :: I’ll just come right out and say it: Scientists have created human-controlled rat cyborgs. Lest you think this is some media sensationalism at work, here’s the actual title of the paper under discussion, which came out last week in Scientific Reports: “Human Mind Control of Rat Cyborg’s Continuous Locomotion with Wireless Brain-to-Brain Interface.” That pretty much says it all. Some of this tech — :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 234
EU godkender farlige kemikalier hver gang virksomheder beder om det :: PLUS. EU-Kommissionen har siden 2014 givet grønt lys i 82 sager, hvor virksomheder har ansøgt om at anvende ellers forbudte kemikalier fra EU’s kandidatliste over særligt problematiske stoffer. Det er 82 godkendelser ud af i alt 82 sager. :=:Sun, 24 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 235
More support for Planet Nine :: Corresponding with the three-year anniversary of their announcement hypothesizing the existence of a ninth planet in the solar system, Caltech's Mike Brown and Konstantin Batygin are publishing a pair of papers analyzing the evidence for Planet Nine's existence. :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 236
Oregon Parents Refuse Further Vaccination After Their Child Nearly Dies From Tetanus :: It was the first case of tetanus in more than 30 years. :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 237
Scientists advance new technology to protect drinking water from Lake Erie algal toxins :: Microbiologist Dr. Jason Huntley identified groups of bacteria in Lake Erie that degrade microcystin and can be used to naturally purify water. :=:Thu, 07 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 238
Is the Universe a Hologram? Maybe! This Math Trick Shows How :: Physicists designed a holographic model for a universe similar to our own that could bring us closer to a quantum theory of gravity. :=:Wed, 27 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 239
Corn and other important crops can now be gene edited by pollen carrying CRISPR :: Syngenta’s new method could transform difficult-to-edit plants :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 240
Russia plans to temporarily disconnect the entire country from the internet :: [no content] :=:Thu, 14 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 241
This NASA image captures the exact moment two jets went supersonic :: [no content] :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 242
Michael Cohen's House Testimony: 5 Key Takeaways from the Prepared Statement
Michael Cohen Congress
:: Michael Cohen's testimony before the House Oversight committee tells a new story about Trump and Russia. :=:Mon, 11 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 243
Gravitational waves will settle cosmic conundrum :: Measurements of gravitational waves from approximately 50 binary neutron stars over the next decade will definitively resolve an intense debate about how quickly our universe is expanding, according to new findings. :=:Wed, 27 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 244
Emma Haruka Iwao smashes pi world record with Google help
E. H. Iwao Google Pi
:: Emma Haruka Iwao calculates the value of pi to 31 trillion digits, after a lifelong fascination. :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 245
World's biggest bee found alive :: A giant bee, thought lost to science decades ago, has been re-discovered on an Indonesian island. :=:Fri, 15 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 246
Sound by the Pound: Surprising Discovery Hints Sonic Waves Carry Mass :: Some sounds might possess a tiny but measurable amount of negative gravitational mass — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com :=:Sun, 10 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 247
Here’s How Horticulturalists Made the Michelle Obama Orchid :: This year’s orchid show takes over the cavernous naturally-lit Kogod Courtyard with thousands on view :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 248
Nanotechnology makes it possible for mice to see in infrared :: Mice with vision enhanced by nanotechnology were able to see infrared light as well as visible light, reports a study published February 28 in the journal Cell. A single injection of nanoparticles in the mice's eyes bestowed infrared vision for up to 10 weeks with minimal side effects, allowing them to see infrared light even during the day and with enough specificity to distinguish between differ :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 249
‘Master control’ puts brakes on deadly food allergy reactions :: A master control mechanism on mast cells, a type of immune cell, can prevent the immune system from overreacting in times of stress, which could limit or even stop severe allergic reactions to food, researchers report. In cases of severe, even deadly, allergic reactions to foods such as peanuts and fish, immune cells go into hyperdrive. This can trigger anaphylactic shock, which can in turn cause :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 250
Are Intellectuals Suffering a Crisis of Meaning? :: What is the relationship between intellectual giftedness and meaning in life? — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com :=:Wed, 27 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 251
NASA rover finally bites the dust on Mars after 15 yearsNASA Opportunity Mars :: NASA's Opportunity, the Mars rover that was built to operate for just three months but kept going and going, rolling across the rocky red soil, was pronounced dead Wednesday, 15 years after it landed on the planet. :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 252
Newly isolated human gut bacterium reveals possible connection to depression :: Research team studies the compelling connection between one of NIH's "most wanted" bacteria and mental health. :=:Sun, 10 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 253
New surprises from Jupiter and Saturn :: The latest data sent back by the Juno and Cassini spacecraft from giant gas planets Jupiter and Saturn have challenged a lot of current theories about how planets in our solar system form and behave. :=:Tue, 05 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 254
How listening to music 'significantly impairs' creativity :: The popular view that music enhances creativity has been challenged by researchers who say it has the opposite effect.Psychologists investigated the impact of background music on performance by presenting people with verbal insight problems that are believed to tap creativity. They found that background music 'significantly impaired' people's ability to complete tasks testing verbal creativity — :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 255
Fate mapping reveals the age structure of the peripheral T cell compartment [Applied Mathematics] :: Accumulating evidence indicates that the immune system does not develop in a linear fashion, but rather as distinct developmental layers formed from sequential waves of hematopoietic stem cells, each giving rise to unique populations of immune cells at different stages of development. Although recent studies have indicated that conventional CD8+… :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 256
Efter flere forsinkelser: Tesla lancerer super-superladestationer med 250 kW :: Med hurtigere opladninger begynder elbiler at hale ind på fossildrevne biler, lyder det fra brancheforening. :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 257
København hugger bremsen i over for el-løbehjul :: Københavns Kommune varsler påbud mod tre virksomheder, der ulovligt stiller elektriske løbehjul og cykler i de københavnske gader og pladser og udlejer dem via deres apps. :=:Wed, 20 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 258
Ancient spider fossils, surprisingly preserved in rock, reveal reflective eyes :: Usually, soft-bodied species like spiders aren't fossilized in rock like animals with bones and teeth. More often, ancient spiders and insects are more likely to be discovered preserved in amber. :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 259
Alien species are primary cause of recent global extinctions: study :: Alien species are the main driver of recent extinctions in both animals and plants, according to a new study by UCL researchers. :=:Sun, 03 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 260
Scientists find method to boost CRISPR efficiency :: Scientists have developed a method to boost the efficiency of CRISPR gene editing in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), according to a study that could have implications for optimizing gene therapies for other diseases. :=:Tue, 26 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 261
Tio skäl att bevara gräsmarkerna :: – Vi tycker att gräsmarkerna borde få högre prioritet i planeringen av hur landskapet ska skötas i framtiden. De är en viktig del av jordbrukslandskapet som vi har nytta av på många sätt. De har till exempel betydelse för vattenhushållning, bete för djur, klimatet, biologisk mångfald och speglar även vår kulturhistoria. Tänk bara på den lövade midsommarstången i en hage, säger professor Jan Bengt :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 262
Physical exertion exacerbates decline in the musculature of an animal model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy [Applied Biological Sciences] :: Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a genetic disorder caused by loss of the protein dystrophin. In humans, DMD has early onset, causes developmental delays, muscle necrosis, loss of ambulation, and death. Current animal models have been challenged by their inability to model the early onset and severity of the disease…. :=:Sun, 17 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 263
The Brain Literally Starts Eating Itself When It Doesn't Get Enough Sleep :: Holy crap. :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 264
Mindre madspild: Nu bliver det nemmere at forstå datomærkninger :: Flere madvarer med mærket ’bedst før’ får snart tilføjelsen ’ofte god efter’. Det skal få danskere til at smide mindre mad ud. :=:Wed, 27 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 265
Seven moral rules found all around the world :: Anthropologists at the University of Oxford have discovered what they believe to be seven universal moral rules. :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 266
Children carry evidence of toxins from home flooring and furniture :: Children living in homes with all vinyl flooring or flame-retardant chemicals in the sofa have significantly higher concentrations of potentially harmful semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) in their blood or urine than children from homes where these materials are not present, according to new Duke University-led research. The researchers presented their findings Feb. 17 at the annual meeting :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 267
Opinion: What You Believe about "Science Denial" May Be All Wrong :: A recent meeting about the disconnect between scientific and public beliefs points to ways researchers can improve how they communicate with skeptics. :=:Tue, 19 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 268
Uncontradicted :: Michael Cohen’s testimony to the House Oversight Committee was uncontradicted. The former personal attorney of the president of the United States today accused him of a litany of crimes, improprieties, immoralities, and betrayals of national security. And not one Republican member of the committee breathed one word in defense of the leader of their party. Those Republicans have learned the hard w :=:Thu, 07 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 269
First direct view of an electron's short, speedy trip across a border :: Electrons flowing across the boundary between two materials are the foundation of many key technologies, from flash memories to batteries and solar cells. Now researchers have directly observed and clocked these tiny cross-border movements for the first time, watching as electrons raced seven-tenths of a nanometer – about the width of seven hydrogen atoms – in 100 millionths of a billionth of a se :=:Sat, 23 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 270
NASA's Opportunity rover mission on Mars comes to endNASA Opportunity Mars :: One of the most successful and enduring feats of interplanetary exploration, NASA's Opportunity rover mission is at an end after almost 15 years exploring the surface of Mars and helping lay the groundwork for NASA's return to the Red Planet. :=:Tue, 26 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 271
Neanderthals' main food source was definitely meat :: Researchers describe two late Neanderthals with exceptionally high nitrogen isotope ratios, which would traditionally be interpreted as the signature of freshwater fish consumption. By studying the isotope ratios of single amino acids, they however demonstrated that instead of fish, the adult Neanderthal had a diet relying on large herbivore mammals and that the other Neanderthal was a breastfeedi :=:Mon, 25 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 272
Study of The Largest Child Mass Sacrifice in The Americas Reveals Chilling New Details :: They had their hearts cut out. :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 273
Revolt against the Rich :: Nobel laureates, a new congresswoman and others urge raising taxes on the ultrawealthy to counter surging inequality. — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com :=:Mon, 25 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 274
Climate rewind: Scientists turn carbon dioxide back into coal :: Researchers have used liquid metals to turn carbon dioxide back into solid coal, in a world-first breakthrough that could transform our approach to carbon capture and storage. :=:Tue, 19 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 275
Nitrogen-fixing trees 'eat' rocks, play pivotal role in forest health :: By tapping nutrients from bedrock, red alder trees play a key role in healthy forest ecosystems, according to a new study. :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 276
The force is with us, always? Tuning quantum vacuum forces from attractive to repulsive :: The force is strong not only in Star Wars lore but also as a fundamental property in physics. For example, scientists can put two uncharged metal plates close together in a vacuum, and "voila!" —-they will attract each other like Luke Skywalker and his trusted lightsaber. :=:Fri, 01 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 277
On Eve Of 2nd Trump-Kim Summit, Is North Korean Reactor Producing Plutonium?
Kim Jong Un Trump NK
:: Days before President Trump and Kim Jong Un are to meet in Vietnam, satellite images show no river ice downstream from the key North Korean facility at Yongbyon — a sign the reactor may be running. (Image credit: Planet Labs Inc.) :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 278
Food allergies and multiple sclerosis: study reveals a new link :: Investigating the correlation between allergy and inflammatory disease activity, a team of investigators from Brigham and Women's Hospital has found new evidence connecting food allergies and relapses of multiple sclerosis. :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 279
KDEL receptor regulates secretion by lysosome relocation- and autophagy-dependent modulation of lipid-droplet turnover :: KDEL receptor regulates secretion by lysosome relocation- and autophagy-dependent modulation of lipid-droplet turnover KDEL receptor regulates secretion by lysosome relocation- and autophagy-dependent modulation of lipid-droplet turnover, Published online: 13 February 2019; doi:10.1038/s41467-019-08501-w Inter-organelle signaling coordinates adaptive responses via currently unknown mechanisms. He :=:Thu, 14 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 280
Active ingredient in Roundup found in 95% of studied beers and wines :: U.S. PIRG tested 20 beers and wines, including organics, and found Roundup's active ingredient in almost all of them. A jury on August 2018 awarded a non-Hodgkin's lymphoma victim $289 million in Roundup damages. Bayer/Monsanto says Roundup is totally safe. Others disagree. None If there were a Hall of Fame for chemicals people worry about, it's likely that Monsanto's weedkiller Roundup would sit :=:Fri, 15 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 281
Discovery of the genetic 'conductor' of brain stem cells :: Our brain comprises 85 billion nerve cells and just as many so-called glial cells. But what decides when and how many of them become neurons or glial cells? A new study has shown how the Foxg1 gene plays a fundamental role in piloting the differentiation of stem cells, guaranteeing that neurons and glial cells are produced in the right quantity and at the right moment. The research opens new roads :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 282
A New Mass Extinction Has Started, And Its First Victims Are Disappearing Fast :: We need these little critters. :=:Thu, 07 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 283
Tectonics in the tropics trigger Earth's ice ages, study finds :: Over the last 540 million years, the Earth has weathered three major ice ages—periods during which global temperatures plummeted, producing extensive ice sheets and glaciers that have stretched beyond the polar caps. :=:Wed, 20 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 284
Researchers discover anti-laser masquerading as perfect absorber :: Researchers at Duke University have discovered that a perfect absorber of electromagnetic waves they described in a 2017 paper can easily be tweaked into a sort of "time-reversed laser" known as a coherent perfect absorber (CPA). :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 285
Sleep loss is a literal pain :: Neural glitches in the sleep-deprived brain can intensify and prolong the agony of sickness and injury, research finds. The findings, published in the Journal of Neuroscience , help explain the self-perpetuating cycles contributing to the overlapping global epidemics of sleep loss, chronic pain, and even opioid addiction. A 2015 National Sleep Foundation poll found that two in three chronic pain :=:Fri, 01 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 286
New pill can deliver insulin through the stomach :: A research team has developed a drug capsule that could be used to deliver oral doses of insulin, potentially replacing the injections that patients with type 2 diabetes have to give themselves every day. :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 287
Combining morning exercise with short walking breaks helps control blood pressure :: Treadmill walking for 30 minutes in the morning lowered average blood pressure over an eight-hour day among older, overweight or obese men and women. Women who are overweight or obese enhanced the beneficial effects of morning exercise to reduce blood pressure by adding three-minute breaks from sitting every half hour throughout the day. :=:Thu, 07 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 288
No link found between MMR vaccine and autism, even among children with other risk factors for autism :: A nationwide cohort study of all children born in Denmark to Danish-born mothers between 1999 through 2010 concluded that the mumps, measles, and rubella (MMR) vaccine does not increase the risk of autism, does not trigger autism in susceptible children, and is not associated with clustering of autism cases following vaccination. :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 289
Can the Flu and Other Viruses Cause Neurodegeneration? :: Scientists may need to seriously reconsider the cast-aside hypothesis that pathogens can play a part in diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. :=:Sun, 03 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 290
Andrew Wheeler, Who Continued Environmental Rollbacks, Is Confirmed to Lead E.P.A. :: Senators formally handed oversight of the nation’s air and water to a former coal lobbyist with the same enthusiasm for deregulation as his predecessor, Scott Pruitt. :=:Thu, 07 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 291
We Just Got More Evidence That Sound Waves Really Do Carry Mass :: This is crazy. :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 292
Scientists worry 'zombie deer' disease could jump to humans :: Health Chronic wasting disease is currently in 24 states. If you’ve heard of “zombie deer,” you’ve heard of chronic wasting disease. CWD causes infected animals to stumble through the forest, sometimes drooling and becoming… :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 293
Nya fynd visar vad som hände när Golfströmmen stannade :: På stenåldern drabbades Norden av en av de största naturkatastroferna i mänsklighetens historia. Golfströmmen saktade in, och det blev extremt kallt. Förmodligen svalt många människor ihjäl. :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 294
The Lost World of the Maya is Finally Emerging From the Jungle :: From massive fortresses to sprawling suburbs, a bold new vision of the vanished Maya civilization takes shape. :=:Fri, 08 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 295
Sand from glacial melt could be Greenland's economic salvation :: As climate change melts Greenland's glaciers and deposits more river sediment on its shores, an international group of researchers has identified one unforeseen economic opportunity for the Arctic nation: exporting excess sand and gravel abroad, where raw materials for infrastructure are in high demand. :=:Mon, 18 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 296
Scientists find worms that recently evolved the ability to regrow a complete head :: An international group of researchers including biologists from the University of Maryland found that at least four species of marine ribbon worms independently evolved the ability to regrow a head after amputation. :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 297
New dinosaur relative was ‘king’ of Antarctica :: Researchers have discovered a new dinosaur species, an iguana-sized reptile whose genus name, Antarctanax , means “Antarctic king.” Antarctica wasn’t always a frozen wasteland. About 250 million years ago, it was covered in forests and rivers, and the temperature rarely dipped below freezing. It was also home to diverse wildlife, including early relatives of the dinosaurs. “This new animal was an :=:Tue, 12 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 298
DNA traces on wild flowers reveal insect visitors :: Researchers have discovered that insects leave tiny DNA traces on the flowers they visit. This newly developed eDNA method holds a vast potential for documenting unknown insect-plant interactions, keeping track of endangered pollinators, such as wild bees and butterflies, as well as in the management of unwanted pest species. :=:Mon, 25 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 299
Depression reversed in male mice by activating gene that helps excite neurons :: Directly activating a gene important to exciting our excitatory neurons and associated with major depression may help turn around classic symptoms like social isolation and loss of interest, at least for males, scientists report. :=:Tue, 19 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 300
Harrison Ford knocks those who 'denigrate science': “We are faced (with), what I believe, is the greatest moral crisis of our time,” Ford said. “We need nature now more than ever because nature doesn’t need people, people need nature.” :: submitted by /u/mvea [link] [comments] :=:Fri, 22 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 301
Stephen Hawking’s legacy will be honoured with a new 50p coin :: A new 50p coin will memorialise Stephen Hawking, who died last year, while paying respect to his groundbreaking research on black holes :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 302
The Ocean Is Running Out of Breath, Scientists Warn :: Widespread and sometimes drastic marine oxygen declines are stressing sensitive species—a trend that will continue with climate change — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 303
CRISPR/Cas9 therapy can suppress aging, enhance health and extend life span in mice :: Researchers have developed a new gene therapy to help decelerate the aging process. The findings highlight a novel CRISPR/Cas9 genome-editing therapy that can suppress the accelerated aging observed in mice with Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that also afflicts humans. :=:Fri, 22 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 304
Good dog? Bad dog? Their personalities can change :: When dog-parents spend extra time scratching their dogs' bellies, take their dogs out for long walks and games of fetch, or even when they feel constant frustration over their dogs' naughty chewing habits, they are gradually shaping their dogs' personalities. :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 305
New dinosaur with heart-shaped tail provides evolutionary clues for African continent :: A new dinosaur that wears its 'heart' on its tail provides new clues to how ecosystems evolved on the African continent during the Cretaceous period according to researchers at Ohio University. :=:Wed, 20 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 306
Women more likely to have poorer outcomes following aortic surgery :: New research says women fare worse than men following aortic heart surgery. :=:Mon, 18 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 307
Triclosan added to consumer products impairs response to antibiotic treatment :: Grocery store aisles are stocked with products that promise to kill bacteria. People snap up those items to protect themselves from the germs that make them sick. However, new research from Washington University in St. Louis finds that a chemical that is supposed to kill bacteria is actually making them stronger and more capable of surviving antibiotic treatment. :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 308
Direct measurements of ice-shelf flexure caused by surface meltwater ponding and drainage :: Published online: 13 February 2019; doi:10.1038/s41467-019-08522-5 Meltwater ponding on top of ice shelves is thought to play a role in ice-shelf flexure and fracture, however in-situ evidence of these mechanisms is la :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 309
New insights into phenotypic complexity and diversity among cichlids :: Is evolution predictable? What are the mechanisms that allow different fish to respond to the same environmental challenge in slightly different ways? When the same jaw bones and muscles change to produce the same feeding behaviour, are the morphologies of these fish that evolved independently from one another modified in an identical way? What is the genetic basis for this kind of convergence? Th :=:Wed, 27 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 310
World's biggest terrestrial carbon sinks are found in young forests :: More than half of the carbon sink in the world's forests is in areas where the trees are relatively young—under 140 years old—rather than in tropical rainforests, research at the University of Birmingham shows. :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 311
Japanese spacecraft to attempt landing on distant asteroid (Update) :: A Japanese spacecraft began its approach Thursday toward a distant asteroid on a mission to collect material that could provide clues to the origin of the solar system and life on Earth. :=:Mon, 25 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 312
Discovery of the oldest evidence of mobility on Earth :: Scientists have uncovered the oldest fossilized traces of motility. Whereas previous remnants were dated to 570 million years ago, this new evidence is 2.1 billion years old. They were discovered in a fossil deposit in Gabon, where the oldest multicellular organisms have already been found. :=:Wed, 27 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 313
How'd the Cohen Hearing Go? That Depends on Your Filter Bubble :: On social media and on partisan sites, the talk of Michael Cohen's hearing in the House Oversight Committee split into like-minded echo chambers. :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 314
Biallelic VARS variants cause developmental encephalopathy with microcephaly that is recapitulated in vars knockout zebrafish :: Published online: 12 February 2019; doi:10.1038/s41467-018-07953-w tRNAs are linked with their cognate amino acid by aminoacyl tRNA synthetases (A :=:Mon, 25 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 315
Early life stress alters helping behavior of meerkat offspring :: Parents make sacrifices to allow their children to have better lives than they did, but this isn't the case for Kalahari meerkat mothers, according to a new University of Michigan study. :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 316
Yeast produce low-cost, high-quality cannabinoids :: Synthetic biologists have created an enzymatic network in yeast that turns sugar into cannabinoids, including tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol, but also novel cannabinoids not found in the marijuana plant itself. The yeast factories would be more environmentally friendly and less energy intensive than growing the plant and separating out the psychoactive and non-psychoactive ingredients. They :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 317
Africa’s Black Panthers Emerge From a Century in the Shadows :: The last documented sighting of the animals on the continent was in Ethiopia in 1909. But now they’ve been spotted in Kenya. :=:Mon, 25 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 318
Simplified method makes cell-free protein synthesis more flexible and accessible :: Researchers have radically simplified the method for cell-free protein synthesis, a technique that could become fundamental to medical research. The new procedure makes in vitro protein synthesis more widely accessible for research and educational use. :=:Mon, 25 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 319
Physicists get thousands of semiconductor nuclei to do 'quantum dances' in unison :: A team of Cambridge researchers have found a way to control the sea of nuclei in semiconductor quantum dots so they can operate as a quantum memory device. :=:Tue, 19 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 320
Young bats rely on Mum for real-estate advice :: Published online: 13 February 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-00544-9 Offspring are shown to the best bat boxes and tree holes, but receive no assistance when it comes to self-catering. :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 321
Residential green space in childhood is associated with lower risk of psychiatric disorders from adolescence into adulthood [Environmental Sciences] :: Urban residence is associated with a higher risk of some psychiatric disorders, but the underlying drivers remain unknown. There is increasing evidence that the level of exposure to natural environments impacts mental health, but few large-scale epidemiological studies have assessed the general existence and importance of such associations. Here, we… :=:Tue, 05 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 322
Widespread global peatland establishment and persistence over the last 130,000 y [Environmental Sciences] :: Glacial−interglacial variations in CO2 and methane in polar ice cores have been attributed, in part, to changes in global wetland extent, but the wetland distribution before the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, 21 ka to 18 ka) remains virtually unknown. We present a study of global peatland extent and carbon (C)… :=:Sat, 09 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 323
The social networks and structural variation of Mississippian sociopolitics in the southeastern United States [Anthropology] :: Network approaches in archaeology offer a promising avenue for facilitating bottom-up, comparative approaches to sociopolitical organization. While recent applications have focused primarily on migration and demographic trends, identity and identity politics, and the dynamics of geopolitical and regional interaction, little in the way of comparative sociopolitical organization has been attempted.. :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 324
Octopus And Squid Evolution Is Officially Weirder Than We Could Have Ever Imagined :: They edit their own genes! :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 325
Self-Driving Cars May Hit People With Darker Skin More Often :: Biased Self-Driving Cars We already knew that some facial recognition systems struggle to accurately identify people with darker skin. Now we know that many of the artificially intelligent systems designed to help autonomous cars navigate roads have the same problem — and the result could disproportionately endanger pedestrians with darker skin, a troubling sign of how AI can inadvertently reprod :=:Tue, 05 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 326
New Senate Bill Would Legalize Marijuana Nationwide :: Weed Law A new bill in the Senate Friday would mark a tectonic state in the United States’ drug law by legalizing marijuana nationwide. “The federal prohibition of marijuana is wrong, plain and simple,” said Ron Wyden, an Oregon Senator who introduced the bill, in a statement . “Too many lives have been wasted, and too many economic opportunities have been missed.” Blaze It The new bill, called S :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 327
Hiding black hole found :: Astronomers have detected a stealthy black hole from its effects on an interstellar gas cloud. This intermediate mass black hole is one of over 100 million quiet black holes expected to be lurking in our Galaxy. These results provide a new method to search for other hidden black holes and help us understand the growth and evolution of black holes. :=:Tue, 26 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 328
Scientists discover that charcoal traps ammonia pollution :: Cornell University scientists Rachel Hestrin and Johannes Lehmann, along with collaborators from Canada and Australia, have shown that charcoal can mop up large quantities of nitrogen from the air pollutant ammonia, resulting in a potential slow-release fertilizer with more nitrogen than most animal manures or other natural soil amendments. The results were published Friday in Nature Communication :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 329
Biologists experimentally trigger adaptive radiation :: When naturalist Charles Darwin stepped onto the Galapagos Islands in 1835, he encountered a bird that sparked a revolutionary theory on how new species originate. From island to island, finches had wildly varied beak designs that reflected their varied diets. The so-called Darwin's finches are an emblem of adaptive radiation, which describes when organisms from a single lineage evolve different ad :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 330
Ancient Fresco of Mythical Narcissus Found in Pompeii :: Excavations in a lavishly decorated house in ancient Pompeii have yielded a Valentine's Day-worthy discovery: a fresco of Narcissus, the mythical hunter who fell in love with his own reflection. :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 331
New parents face 6 years of disrupted sleep :: The birth of a child has drastic short-term effects on new mothers' sleep, particularly during the first three months after birth. Researchers have also found sleep duration and satisfaction is decreased up to six years after giving birth for both parents. :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 332
Honor and Dishonor :: The full spectrum of Republican behavior has been on display this week. Michael Cohen (no relation, save in the most distant possible sense) ratted out his former boss Donald Trump in a spectacularly revealing piece of congressional testimony. Representative Matt Gaetz, the self-described “outspoken conservative firebrand” from Florida, threatened Cohen (by tweet, of course) with revelations of m :=:Tue, 26 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 333
Scientists Are Totally Rethinking Animal Cognition :: Ami d the human crush of Old Delhi, on the edge of a medieval bazaar, a red structure with cages on its roof rises three stories above the labyrinth of neon-lit stalls and narrow alleyways, its top floor emblazoned with two words: birds hospital . To hear more feature stories, see our full list or get the Audm iPhone app. On a hot day last spring, I removed my shoes at the hospital’s entrance and :=:Fri, 22 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 334
Why non-conformists always end up looking alike :: Anti-conformists have an odd way of ending up looking like each other. A Brandeis mathematician looks at how this synchronicity occurs. Understanding the mechanism behind non-conformist conformity has applications in other areas, like the stock market. None We're here for such a short time, and we'd like to think we matter. "I'm not just one more person — I'm different." That's true, and also… no :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 335
Humans Are Still Mating with Neandertals :: A Valentine’s Day meditation on why bright women sometimes gravitate to not-so-bright men — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com :=:Mon, 25 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 336
Earth scientists plan to meld massive databases into a ‘geological Google’ :: China is backing an international effort to make a one-stop data shop :=:Mon, 18 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 337
In Search of Life's Origins, Japan's Hayabusa 2 Spacecraft Lands on an Asteroid :: The mission to Asteroid Ryugu could return samples of the space rock to Earth in 2020 — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com :=:Thu, 14 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 338
Orangutans make complex economic decisions about tool use depending on the current 'market' situation :: Flexible tool use is closely associated with higher mental processes such as the ability to plan actions. Now a group of cognitive biologists and comparative psychologists from the University of Vienna, the University of St Andrews and the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna that included Isabelle Laumer and Josep Call, has studied tool related decision-making in a non-human primate species – :=:Mon, 11 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 339
Simultaneous X-ray and infrared observations of the galactic center :: The supermassive black hole (SMBH) at the center of our Milky Way galaxy, Sagittarius A*, is by far the closest such object to us, only about 25 thousand light-years away. Although not nearly as active or luminous as other SMBHs, its relative proximity provides astronomers with a unique opportunity to probe what happens close to the "edge" of a black hole. Monitored in the radio since its discover :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 340
A call for a theoretical framework to address replication crisis facing the psychological sciences :: A pair of researchers from the London School of Economics and Political Science and Harvard University has published a Perspective piece in the journal Nature Human Behavior suggesting a possible solution to the replication crisis facing the psychological sciences. Michael Muthukrishna and Joseph Henrich believe the answer lies in convincing researchers to start working within a theoretical framew :=:Fri, 15 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 341
Astronomers investigate a recently reactivated radio magnetar :: A UK-German team of astronomers has conducted observations of a peculiar radio magnetar known as XTE J1810–197, which turned on in December 2018 after an almost decade-long period of quiescence. Results of these observations provide more information about the magnetar properties, and were presented in a paper published March 6 on arXiv.org. :=:Tue, 05 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 342
Physicists solve a beta-decay puzzle with advanced nuclear models :: An international collaboration including scientists at the Department of Energy's (DOE's) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) solved a 50-year-old puzzle that explains why beta decays of atomic nuclei are slower than what is expected based on the beta decays of free neutrons. :=:Wed, 27 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 343
Imbalanced nucleocytoskeletal connections create common polarity defects in progeria and physiological aging [Cell Biology] :: Studies of the accelerated aging disorder Hutchinson–Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS) can potentially reveal cellular defects associated with physiological aging. HGPS results from expression and abnormal nuclear envelope association of a farnesylated, truncated variant of prelamin A called “progerin.” We surveyed the diffusional mobilities of nuclear membrane proteins to identify proximal… :=:Mon, 25 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 344
Immune stimulant molecule shown to prevent cancer :: An immune checkpoint molecule developed for cancer immunotherapy also protects against future development of multiple types of cancer when administered by itself. The recombinant protein molecule SA-4-1BBL has been used to enhance the therapeutic efficacy of cancer vaccines with success in pre-clinical animal models. Surprisingly, when the researchers treated normal, healthy mice with SA-4-1BBL al :=:Wed, 27 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 345
Kæmpe undersøgelse afliver autisme-myte om vaccination :: 650.000 danske børn afkræfter sammenhæng mellem MFR-vaccine og autisme. :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 346
The Green New Deal is more feasible than you think :: Environment Though that may depend on how we define "clean" and "renewable." It’s an ambitious target that some have called politically or economically infeasible, but the idea is not new. In fact, scientists have been exploring roadmaps for a… :=:Fri, 01 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 347
The Ocean Is Running Out of Breath, Scientists Warn :: Widespread and sometimes drastic marine oxygen declines are stressing sensitive species—a trend that will continue with climate change — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com :=:Tue, 26 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 348
Since China’s Ban, Recycling in the US Has Gone Up in Flames :: All that neatly sorted plastic, paper, and glass used to go to China. Now a lot of it is just getting burned instead. :=:Mon, 25 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 349
Water is more homogeneous than expected :: In order to explain the known anomalies in water, some researchers assume that water consists of a mixture of two phases, even under ambient conditions. However, new X-ray spectroscopic analyses at BESSY II, ESRF and Swiss Light Source show that this is not the case. At room temperature and normal pressure, the water molecules form a fluctuating network with an average of 1.74 ± 2.1 percent donor :=:Fri, 22 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 350
First evidence of planet-wide groundwater system on Mars :: Mars Express has revealed the first geological evidence of a system of ancient interconnected lakes that once lay deep beneath the Red Planet's surface, five of which may contain minerals crucial to life. :=:Fri, 08 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 351
THC found more important for therapeutic effects in cannabis than originally thought :: Researchers recently solved a major gap in scientific literature by using mobile software technology to measure the real-time effects of actual cannabis-based products used by millions of people every day. :=:Tue, 05 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 352
Greener Childhood Associated With Happier Adulthood :: Research suggests the more of your childhood that is spent surrounded by green spaces, the lower your risk of developing mental illness in adulthood, whether in the city or the country. (Image credit: Mads Claus Rasmussen/AFP/Getty Images) :=:Mon, 25 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 353
Botswana mulls lifting elephant hunting ban :: A government report recommends lifting a four-year ban on hunting elephants. :=:Fri, 15 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 354
Seaweed Straw “Looks, Feels, and Acts Like Plastic,” Says Startup :: Seaweed Sippers Every day, Americans use an estimated 500 million plastic straws — and the vast majority are ending up in landfills or oceans , where they’ll likely remain for hundreds of years. More and more locations are starting to ban these straws , but rather than asking people to live a straw-less existence, a startup called Loliware thinks we should provide them with an environmentally fri :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 355
How Federal Disaster Money Favors The Rich :: The federal government spends billions of dollars each year helping communities rebuild after disasters and to prevent future damage. But that money isn't always allocated to those who need it most. (Image credit: Claire Harbage/NPR) :=:Tue, 19 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 356
Why That Oscars Performance of ‘Shallow’ Was So Stunning :: Maybe what made Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga’s performance of “Shallow” so stunning at the Oscars is also what spoiled A Star Is Born ’s Best Picture chances: It treated the dinged-up tropes of romance for romance’s sake as something that can still feel new, which is like treating the greeting-card aisle at CVS as the place for the next great American novel. Taking on a third remake of a story th :=:Fri, 22 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 357
My generation trashed the planet. So I salute the children striking back | George Monbiot :: Across the country today, children left their classes to protest against climate change. This is my message to them The Youth Strike 4 Climate gives me more hope than I have felt in 30 years of campaigning. Before this week, I believed it was all over. I thought, given the indifference and hostility of those who govern us, and the passivity of most of my generation, that climate breakdown and ecol :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 358
Climate of North American cities will shift hundreds of miles in one generation :: In one generation, the climate experienced in many North American cities is projected to change to that of locations hundreds of miles away — or to a new climate unlike any found in North America today. A new study and interactive web application aim to help the public understand how climate change will impact the lives of people who live in urban areas of the United States and Canada. These new :=:Sat, 23 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 359
Andrew McCabe Couldn’t Believe the Things Trump Said About Putin :: In the months before President Donald Trump fired FBI Director James Comey, FBI counterintelligence agents investigating Russian election interference were also collecting evidence suggesting that Trump could be compromised by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Andrew McCabe, the former FBI deputy director who oversaw the bureau’s Russia investigation, told me in an interview conducted late last w :=:Wed, 06 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 360
One-third of all slavery is visible from space :: Today, there are 40.3 million slaves on the planet, more than the number of people living in Canada. Slavery can be hard to find, but it commonly occurs in several key industries like fishing and mining. Using satellite data, researchers and activists are using crowdsourcing and artificial intelligence to identify sites where slavery is taking place. None If you turn on television news at any giv :=:Thu, 07 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 361
Elusive 'black panther' alive and well in Kenya, study shows :: Whispers of sightings of the elusive black leopard have long swirled around central Kenya, and scientists have now confirmed its presence there with a series of rare images taken by camera traps. :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 362
New Horizons spacecraft returns its sharpest views of Ultima Thule
New Horizons Ultima Thule
:: The mission team called it a "stretch goal" – just before closest approach, precisely point the cameras on NASA's New Horizons spacecraft to snap the sharpest possible pics of the Kuiper Belt object nicknamed Ultima Thule, its New Year's flyby target and the farthest object ever explored. :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 363
Rattlesnake venom: Mild, medium and wicked hot :: In a surprising evolutionary twist, a new study suggests that while one rattlesnake may routinely feast on lizard meat, its seemingly identical neighbor snake might strike and strike and never kill its would-be reptilian prey. :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 364
Chances for life expand when passing stars push binaries together :: Planetary systems can be harsh environments in their early history. The young worlds orbit suns in stellar nurseries, clusters of stars where violent encounters are commonplace. None of this makes it easy for life to get going, but now astronomers at the University of Sheffield find one positive of this tumultuous period. A model developed by undergraduate student Bethany Wootton and Royal Society :=:Wed, 27 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 365
Chirality yields colossal photocurrent :: A recently discovered Weyl semimetal delivers the largest intrinsic conversion of light to electricity of any material, an international team lead by a group of Boston College researchers reports today in the journal Nature Materials. :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 366
Concentric organization of A- and B-type lamins predicts their distinct roles in the spatial organization and stability of the nuclear lamina [Cell Biology] :: The nuclear lamina is an intermediate filament meshwork adjacent to the inner nuclear membrane (INM) that plays a critical role in maintaining nuclear shape and regulating gene expression through chromatin interactions. Studies have demonstrated that A- and B-type lamins, the filamentous proteins that make up the nuclear lamina, form independent… :=:Fri, 22 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 367
Cross-species cancer comparison uncovers new drug targets, study reveals :: Mucosal melanoma arises in non-skin locations such as sinuses, nasal passages and mouth. The research team sequenced the genomes of mucosal melanoma tumours from 46 humans, 65 dogs and 28 horses and discovered a handful of genes that were commonly mutated in all species.These genetic similarities point to the drivers of the disease — key information that will lead to using biologically relevant d :=:Thu, 14 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 368
Oldest frog relative found in North America :: Paleontologists have identified fossil fragments of what are thought to be the oldest known frogs in North America. :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 369
The British Military Is Working on Anti-Aircraft Drone Swarms :: Drone Swarms A swarm of 150 drones buzzed over Maroon 5 singer Adam Levine’s head during this year’s Super Bowl half time show, spelling out the words “One Love.” It was a dazzling display of drone technology — and military developers in the United States and United Kingdom are increasingly interested in using something similar, but with a very different goal in mind: to surround enemy aircraft,
Biosynthesis of magnetic nanoparticles from nano-degradation products revealed in human stem cells [Chemistry] :: While magnetic nanoparticles offer exciting possibilities for stem cell imaging or tissue bioengineering, their long-term intracellular fate remains to be fully documented. Besides, it appears that magnetic nanoparticles can occur naturally in human cells, but their origin and potentially endogenous synthesis still need further understanding. In an effort to explore… :=:Fri, 01 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 371
Major histocompatibility complex class I diversity limits the repertoire of T cell receptors [Evolution] :: Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes encode proteins that initiate adaptive immune responses through the presentation of foreign antigens to T cells. The high polymorphism found at these genes, thought to be promoted and maintained by pathogen-mediated selection, contrasts with the limited number of MHC loci found in most vertebrates. Although… :=:Fri, 08 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 372
Ancient DNA research shines spotlight on Iberia :: The largest study to date of ancient DNA from the Iberian Peninsula (modern-day Portugal and Spain) offers new insights into the populations that lived in this region over the last 8,000 years. The most startling discovery suggests that local Y chromosomes were almost completely replaced during the Bronze Age. :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 373
Is autism really more than one spectrum? :: We might better understand autism as several interrelated spectra rather than a single spectrum, according to a new study. “All of this suggests autism is not best understood as an all-or-nothing diagnosis…” The findings may have vast implications for the way professionals classify autism and map the array of experiences of people with autism. In the study, lead researchers Matthew Lerner, a prof :=:Wed, 06 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 374
Climate of North American cities will shift hundreds of miles in one generation :: In one generation, the climate experienced in many North American cities is projected to change to that of locations hundreds of miles away—or to a new climate unlike any found in North America today. :=:Tue, 19 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 375
Spider silk could be used as robotic muscle :: Spider silk, already known as one of the strongest materials for its weight, turns out to have another unusual property that might lead to new kinds of artificial muscles or robotic actuators, researchers have found. :=:Wed, 27 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 376
Leishmania flagellum attachment zone is critical for flagellar pocket shape, development in the sand fly, and pathogenicity in the host [Microbiology] :: Leishmania kinetoplastid parasites infect millions of people worldwide and have a distinct cellular architecture depending on location in the host or vector and specific pathogenicity functions. An invagination of the cell body membrane at the base of the flagellum, the flagellar pocket (FP), is an iconic kinetoplastid feature, and is… :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 377
Weedkiller 'raises risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma by 41%' :: Study says evidence ‘supports link’ between exposure to glyphosate and increased risk Sign up for the US morning briefing for a fresh perspective A broad new scientific analysis of the cancer-causing potential of glyphosate herbicides, the most widely used weedkilling products in the world, has found that people with high exposures to the popular pesticides have a 41% increased risk of developing :=:Tue, 12 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 378
No fooling crafty crows on best plants for tool-making :: Like master artisans selecting the finest raw materials for their showpiece designs, New Caledonian crows identify the best plants for fashioning hunting hooks from among myriad shrubs in the forest undergrowth, researchers said Wednesday. :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 379
Observation of quantized heating in quantum matter :: Shaking a physical system typically heats it up, in the sense that the system continuously absorbs energy. When considering a circular shaking pattern, the amount of energy that is absorbed can potentially depend on the orientation of the circular drive (clockwise/anti-clockwise), a general phenomenon known as circular dichroism. :=:Thu, 07 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 380
Researchers create a 'universal entangler' for new quantum tech :: One of the key concepts in quantum physics is entanglement, in which two or more quantum systems become so inextricably linked that their collective state can't be determined by observing each element individually. Now Yale researchers have developed a "universal entangler" that can link a variety of encoded particles on demand. :=:Sat, 23 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 381
World seeing 'catastrophic collapse' of insects: study :: Nearly half of all insect species worldwide are in rapid decline and a third could disappear altogether, according to a study warning of dire consequences for crop pollination and natural food chains. :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 382
What scientists found after sifting through dust in the solar system :: Just as dust gathers in corners and along bookshelves in our homes, dust piles up in space too. But when the dust settles in the solar system, it's often in rings. Several dust rings circle the Sun. The rings trace the orbits of planets, whose gravity tugs dust into place around the Sun, as it drifts by on its way to the center of the solar system. :=:Tue, 19 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 383
Cannabis use in teens linked to risk of depression in young adults :: Cannabis is the most commonly used recreational drug by teenagers worldwide. In Canada, among youth aged 15 to 19 years, the rate of past-year cannabis use is 20.6 percent, while in England, 4 percent of adolescents aged 11 to 15 years used cannabis in the last month. :=:Tue, 05 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 384
Trump Just Gave Himself More Power to Kill in Secret :: After seven years spent presiding over many hundreds of secretive, extrajudicial CIA killings, President Barack Obama signed a 2016 executive order intended to increase transparency and reduce the “tragic” deaths of civilians. The order required the release each May 1 of the number of drone strikes undertaken by the United States “against terrorist targets outside areas of active hostilities,” al :=:Thu, 14 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 385
NASA Renames Facility After Katherine Johnson of ‘Hidden Figures’ Fame :: It is yet another honor for Ms. Johnson, one of the trailblazing African-American mathematicians who inspired the 2016 book and movie. :=:Sun, 03 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 386
Mice given ‘night vision’ by injecting nanoparticles into their eyes :: Thanks to nanotechnology mice can now see in infrared light – and they can read and respond to infrared cues in their environment :=:Sun, 17 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 387
Researchers spy signs of slavery from space :: A surge in satellite data and artificial intelligence helps guide enforcement on the ground :=:Fri, 08 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 388
A second HIV patient has gone into remission after a stem cell transplant :: A second person with HIV has gone into remission after receiving blood stem cells from a donor unable to make a protein needed by the virus. :=:Tue, 26 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 389
In the Future, Everything Will Be Made of Chickpeas :: In 2007, Poorvi Patodia was pregnant and felt like she was eating too many chips. Her cravings for salty, crunchy snacks were intense, but what moms should eat while pregnant is a touchy subject. “I had this thought of, What else could I be eating that’s better for me? ” she says. “I remembered these roasted chickpeas that my mom used to make.” Patodia started roasting chickpeas for herself. She :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 390
Trump's North Korea Meeting Tops This Week's Internet News :: In other headlines: Michael Cohen went to Washington and some people said things they (probably) shouldn't on Twitter. :=:Tue, 05 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 391
First evidence discovered of a gigantic remnant around an exploding star :: A San Diego State University astrophysicist has helped discover evidence of a gigantic remnant surrounding an exploding star—a shell of material so huge, it must have been erupting on a regular basis for millions of years. :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 392
Lightning's electromagnetic fields may have protective properties :: Lightning was the main electromagnetic presence in the Earth's atmosphere long before the invention of electricity. There are some 2,000 thunderstorms active at any given time, so humans and other organisms have been bathed in extremely low frequency (ELF) electromagnetic fields for billions of years. :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 393
When sand-slithering snakes behave like light waves :: Desert snakes slithering across the sand at night can encounter obstacles such as plants or twigs that alter the direction of their travel. While studying that motion to learn how limbless animals control their bodies in such environments, researchers discovered that snakes colliding with these obstacles mimic aspects of light or subatomic particles when they encounter a diffraction grating. :=:Tue, 26 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 394
Stonehenge mystery solved? Prehistoric French may have inspired it and other European megaliths :: Although Stonehenge may be the most famous of Europe's megaliths, it's far from the only one: There are about 35,000 of these mysterious stone structures throughout the continent. :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 395
Astronomers detect deep, long asymmetric occultation in a newly found low-mass star :: An international team of astronomers has observed a deep, day-long asymmetric occultation in a recently detected low-mass star known as EPIC 204376071. In a research paper published February 21 on arXiv.org, the scientists detail their finding and ponder various theories that could explain such peculiar occultation. :=:Mon, 18 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 396
Light from an exotic crystal semiconductor could lead to better solar cells :: Scientists have found a new way to control light emitted by exotic crystal semiconductors, which could lead to more efficient solar cells and other advances in electronics, according to a Rutgers-led study in the journal Materials Today. :=:Mon, 18 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 397
Effect of breastfeeding versus pumping on human milk microbiome :: A large-scale analysis in humans suggests that the milk microbiota is affected by bacteria both from the infant's mouth and from environmental sources such as breast pumps, although future research will be needed to assess the effects that these changes may have on the infant gut microbiome and infant health. :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 398
Being surrounded by green space in childhood may improve mental health of adults :: Children who grow up with greener surroundings have up to 55 percent less risk of developing various mental disorders later in life. This is shown by a new study emphasizing the need for designing green and healthy cities for the future. :=:Tue, 19 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 399
Could medical marijuana help older people with their ailments? :: Medical marijuana may bring relief to older people who have symptoms like pain, sleep disorders or anxiety due to chronic conditions including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, neuropathy, spinal cord damage and multiple sclerosis, according to a new preliminary study. :=:Thu, 07 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 400
Parents: Keep medical marijuana dispensaries away from children :: Seven in 10 parents think they should have a say in whether dispensaries are located near their child's school or daycare and most say they should be banned within a certain distance of those facilities. :=:Fri, 01 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 401
Scientific Duo Gets Back To Basics To Make Childbirth Safer :: Remarkably little is known about the fundamentals of how a woman carries a baby inside her. Two Columbia University researchers aim to change that, to reduce the number of kids born too soon. (Image credit: Adrienne Grunwald for NPR) :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 402
Virtual Screening – As Big As It Currently Gets :: This new paper on “ultra-large” virtual screening is well worth a look in detail. We find a great many lead compounds in this business by random screening of compound libraries, and virtual screening is (as the name implies) the technique of doing this computationally instead of with hundreds (thousands) of sample plates and tireless robot arms. All of that takes time and effort and money – accum :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 403
Terror attacks by Muslims get 357 percent more media coverage than other terror attacks, study shows :: Terror attacks carried out by Muslims receive on average 357 percent more media coverage than those committed by other groups, according to research conducted at Georgia State University. :=:Fri, 22 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 404
It's raining on the Greenland ice — in the winter :: Rainy weather is becoming increasingly common over parts of the Greenland ice sheet, triggering sudden melting events that are eating at the ice and priming the surface for more widespread future melting, says a new study. Some parts of the ice sheet are even receiving rain in winter — a phenomenon that will spread as climate continues to warm, say the researchers. :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 405
Interactive programming paradigm for real-time experimentation with remote living matter [Engineering] :: Recent advancements in life-science instrumentation and automation enable entirely new modes of human interaction with microbiological processes and corresponding applications for science and education through biology cloud laboratories. A critical barrier for remote and on-site life-science experimentation (for both experts and nonexperts alike) is the absence of suitable abstractions and… :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 406
Tracking food leads to losing pounds :: Without following a particular diet, overweight people who tracked daily food consumption using a free smartphone app lost a significant amount of weight in a new study. The results were achieved using automated, free tools, rather than expensive in-person interventions, suggesting a possible low-cost route to effective weight loss. :=:Mon, 11 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 407
Low-carb diet tied to common heart rhythm disorder :: Low-carb diets are all the rage, but can cutting carbohydrates spell trouble for your heart? People getting a low proportion of their daily calories from carbohydrates such as grains, fruits and starchy vegetables are significantly more likely to develop atrial fibrillation (AFib), the most common heart rhythm disorder, according to a new study. :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 408
Trump Administration Blocks Funds for Planned Parenthood and Others Over Abortion Referrals
Trump michael Cohen
:: The new rule would steer federal family planning funds under Title X to anti-abortion and faith based groups. :=:Thu, 14 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 409
First Neanderthal footprints found in Gibraltar :: This work started 10 years ago, when the first dates using the OSL method were obtained. It is then that the first traces of footprints left by vertebrates were found. In subsequent years the successive natural collapse of sand has revealed further material and has permitted a detailed study including new dates. :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 410
FDA has approved the first ketamine-based antidepressant :: A nasal spray with a ketamine-based drug promises faster relief from depression for some people. :=:Wed, 27 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 411
Sound by the Pound: Surprising Discovery Hints Sonic Waves Carry Mass :: Some sounds might possess a tiny but measurable amount of negative gravitational mass — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 412
The hipster effect: Why anti-conformists always end up looking the same :: Complexity science explains why efforts to reject the mainstream merely result in a new conformity. :=:Wed, 06 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 413
The rise of farming altered our bite and changed how people talk :: Soft, processed foods altered our bite, which added “f” and “v” sounds to speech and changed languages worldwide, a study finds. :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 414
How a common oral bacteria makes colon cancer more deadly :: Researchers have determined how a type of bacteria commonly found in the mouth accelerates the growth of colon cancer. :=:Wed, 06 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 415
Scientists Gene-Hacked Yeast to Make THC Instead of Booze :: Yeast High A team of researchers at UC Berkeley figured out a way to manufacture tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) — both products derived from the cannabis plant — from specially bioengineered yeast, according to Wired . By injecting cannabis sativa plant genes into common brewer’s yeast, which is the stuff that turns sugars into alcohol during the beermaking process, the yeast st :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 416
Scientist Who Gene-Hacked Babies “Likely” Boosted Their Brainpower :: Galaxy Brain When infamous Chinese scientists He Jiankui edited the genes of human twin babies last year, he was reportedly trying to make them immune to HIV. But researchers familiar with the genetic changes he made are now saying that the specific manipulation he performed may have broader consequences. The CCR5 gene is linked to HIV susceptibility, but research published Thursday in the journa :=:Tue, 05 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 417
Smoking Marijuana Linked to Better Sperm Counts in Surprising Study :: The findings contradict previous research, but they are far from conclusive. :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 418
New study finds ecosystem changes following loss of great white sharks :: A new study has documented unexpected consequences following the decline of great white sharks from an area off South Africa. The study found that the disappearance of great whites has led to the emergence of sevengill sharks, a top predator from a different habitat. A living fossil, sevengill sharks closely resemble relatives from the Jurassic period, unique for having seven gills instead of the :=:Fri, 15 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 419
Solving a mystery: A new model for understanding how certain nuclei split :: Scientists at Tokyo Institute of Technology have extended an existing mathematical model so that it can be used to more accurately predict the products of fission reactions. :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 420
Astronomers discover solar system’s most distant object, nicknamed ‘FarFarOut’ :: Frigid world is 3.5 times farther away than Pluto :=:Tue, 19 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 421
The expanding universe of methane metabolisms in archaea :: Methane is a greenhouse gas 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Billions of years ago, methane-producing archaea likely played a key role in determining the composition of the Earth's atmosphere and regulating the global climate for life to flourish. :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 422
The "Düsseldorf patient": A third person may also be in HIV remission :: Timothy Brown became the first person to be cured of HIV in 2007. Recently, it's been reported that a patient known as "the London patient" has also lost any trace of the HIV virus in their system. Now, a third patient appears to be in HIV remission known as "the Düsseldorf patient." None Recently, the New York Times reported that for the first time in over a decade, a person with HIV has been cu :=:Fri, 01 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 423
Motor neuron disease-associated loss of nuclear TDP-43 is linked to DNA double-strand break repair defects [Neuroscience] :: Genome damage and their defective repair have been etiologically linked to degenerating neurons in many subtypes of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients; however, the specific mechanisms remain enigmatic. The majority of sporadic ALS patients feature abnormalities in the transactivation response DNA-binding protein of 43 kDa (TDP-43), whose nucleo-cytoplasmic mislocalization is… :=:Tue, 26 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 424
Mice Deprived of 'Love Hormone' Sit Alone in the Cold :: Mice Deprived of 'Love Hormone' Sit Alone in the Cold Oxytocin-deficient animals point to deep links between social behavior and the need to keep warm. mouse-babies_cropped.jpg Image credits: auenleben via Pixabay Creature Tuesday, February 12, 2019 – 15:45 Nala Rogers, Staff Writer (Inside Science) — Perhaps it's not coincidence that Valentine's Day falls at a chilly time of year. In biological :=:Mon, 11 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 425
Citizen scientist finds ancient white dwarf star encircled by puzzling rings :: The oldest and coldest known white dwarf — an Earth-sized remnant of a sun-like star that has died — could be the first known white dwarf with multiple dust rings. The discovery forces researchers to reconsider models of planetary systems. :=:Wed, 20 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 426
My Wife Was Dying, and We Didn’t Tell Our Children :: We decided not to tell the kids. Marla knew that once our three daughters understood that their mother had been given 1,000 days to live, they’d start counting. They would not be able to enjoy school, friends, their teams, or birthday parties. They’d be watching too closely—how she looked, moved, acted, ate, or didn’t. Marla wanted her daughters to stay children: unburdened, confident that tomorr :=:Mon, 25 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 427
New Senate Bill Would Legalize Marijuana Nationwide :: Take Two For the second time, Senator Cory Booker announced a bill to make recreational marijuana use legal across the entire U.S. The Marijuana Justice Act, which Booker and Representatives Barbara Lee and Ro Khanna announced on Thursday, would not only legalize marijuana but also retroactively erase marijuana possession charges from Americans’ criminal records, according to Rolling Stone — a mo :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 428
Successive crystal structure snapshots suggest the basis for MHC class I peptide loading and editing by tapasin [Immunology and Inflammation] :: MHC-I epitope presentation to CD8+ T cells is directly dependent on peptide loading and selection during antigen processing. However, the exact molecular bases underlying peptide selection and binding by MHC-I remain largely unknown. Within the peptide-loading complex, the peptide editor tapasin is key to the selection of MHC-I–bound peptides. Here,… :=:Thu, 14 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 429
Polyandrous bee provides extended offspring care biparentally as an alternative to monandry based eusociality [Evolution] :: Parental care behavior evolves to increase the survival of offspring. When offspring care becomes complicated for ecological reasons, cooperation of multiple individuals can be beneficial. There are two types of cooperative care: biparental care and worker (helper)-based care (e.g., eusociality). Although biparental care is common in several groups of vertebrates,… :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 430
Correlated nucleons may solve 35-year-old mystery :: A careful re-analysis of data taken at the Department of Energy's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility has revealed a possible link between correlated protons and neutrons in the nucleus and a 35-year-old mystery. The data have led to the extraction of a universal function that describes the EMC Effect, the once-shocking discovery that quarks inside nuclei have lower average momenta than :=:Wed, 20 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 431
Repulsive photons :: Light particles normally do not "feel" each other because there is no interaction acting between them. Researchers at ETH have now succeeded in manipulating photons inside a semiconductor material in such a way as to make them repel each other nevertheless. :=:Thu, 07 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 432
Almost 2,000 unknown bacteria discovered in the human gut :: Researchers at EMBL's European Bioinformatics Institute and the Wellcome Sanger Institute have identified almost 2000 bacterial species living in the human gut. These species are yet to be cultured in the lab. The team used a range of computational methods to analyse samples from individuals worldwide. :=:Wed, 06 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 433
Scientists left camera traps to record wild apes—watch what happens :: Researchers analyzed video from remote camera-trap devices placed in ape-populated forests throughout Africa to see how wild apes would react to these unfamiliar objects. Responses varied by species and even among individuals within the same species, but one thing was consistent throughout: the apes definitely noticed the cameras—they poked them, stared at them, and occasionally tried to bite them :=:Fri, 08 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 434
New dinosaur with heart-shaped tail provides evolutionary clues for African continent :: A new dinosaur that wears its 'heart' on its tail provides new clues to how ecosystems evolved on the African continent during the Cretaceous period. :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 435
Native California medicinal plant may hold promise for treating Alzheimer's :: The medicinal powers of aspirin, digitalis, and the anti-malarial artemisinin all come from plants. A discovery of a potent neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory chemical in a native California shrub may lead to a treatment for Alzheimer's disease based on a compound found in nature. :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 436
A Ketamine-Based Nasal Spray For Depression Has Just Been Approved by The FDA :: This is huge. :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 437
Read Stacey Abrams’s Rebuttal to the State of the Union Address :: Stacey Abrams delivered the Democratic Party’s official rebuttal to the State of the Union address on Tuesday night. Considered a rising star in the party, Abrams ran for governor in Georgia last year, before losing to the Republican Brian Kemp, and is currently weighing another bid for higher office. Below, the full text of her remarks as delivered. Good evening, my fellow Americans, and happy L :=:Fri, 22 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 438
Bernie Sanders Is Ready to Rumble :: Bernie Sanders has seen himself as on a mission since he started running for office in the 1970s, and he sees no reason to stop now. He thinks he’s dramatically changed the conversation over the past three years, and he feels like he’s close to achieving his ultimate goal. Plus, there’s Donald Trump. When the president used his State of the Union speech on Tuesday to preview his own reelection ca :=:Fri, 15 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 439
Ny stor rapport: Insekter udryddes med voldsom hast – det truer naturens overlevelse :: Verdens insekter trues af udryddelse på grund af intensivt landbrug, viser global rapport. Slå koldt vand i blodet og kig indad, siger dansk forsker. :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 440
The White House is infested with flies :: Science This isn't the iconic building's first pest, or its last. There are multiple YouTube videos of Barack Obama swatting the large, persistent insects during interviews. Donald Trump has complained about the flies amidst tours… :=:Mon, 11 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 441
Why kids may be at risk from vinyl floors and fire-resistant couches :: Children from homes with all vinyl floors and flame-retardant sofas show higher levels of some synthetic chemicals in their bodies than other kids. :=:Thu, 07 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 442
In Search of Life's Origins, Japan's Hayabusa 2 Spacecraft Lands on an Asteroid :: The mission to Asteroid Ryugu could return samples of the space rock to Earth in 2020 — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com :=:Fri, 01 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 443
Read President Trump’s Speech Declaring a National Emergency :: President Donald Trump announced Friday morning that he’s declaring a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border and will be reprogramming billions in federal funds to build a wall. Below, the full text of his remarks from the White House Rose Garden before he took questions from reporters. Thank you very much, everybody. Before we begin, I would like to say that we have a large team of very ta :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 444
Dinosaurs were thriving before asteroid strike that wiped them out :: Dinosaurs were unaffected by long-term climate changes and flourished before their sudden demise by asteroid strike. :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 445
Fatal horizon, driven by acidification, closes in on marine organisms in Southern Ocean :: Marine microorganisms in the Southern Ocean may find themselves in a deadly vise grip by century's end as ocean acidification creates a shallower horizon for life, new University of Colorado Boulder research finds. :=:Fri, 22 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 446
Hubble and Gaia accurately weigh the Milky Way :: In a striking example of multi-mission astronomy, measurements from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and the ESA Gaia mission have been combined to improve the estimate of the mass of our home galaxy the Milky Way: 1.5 trillion solar masses. :=:Fri, 22 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 447
500 km rækkevidde: Polestar 2 vil udfordre Tesla Model 3 :: Volvo vil med sit brand Polestar gå efter samme segment som Tesla – med Tesla-virkemidler. :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 448
New study suggests possibility of recent underground volcanism on Mars :: A study published last year in the journal Science suggested liquid water is present beneath the south polar ice cap of Mars. Now, a new study in the AGU journal Geophysical Research Letters argues there needs to be an underground source of heat for liquid water to exist underneath the polar ice cap. :=:Fri, 15 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 449
Eating the flu :: Given the importance and wide distribution of Influenza A viruses, it is surprising how little is known about infections of wild mammals. A new study led by Alex D. Greenwood and Gábor Á. Czirják of the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW) in Berlin sheds light on which species are commonly infected and why. :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 450
Trump Administration Blocks Funds for Planned Parenthood and Others Over Abortion Referrals
Trump michael Cohen
:: The new rule would steer federal family planning funds under Title X to anti-abortion and faith based groups. :=:Wed, 27 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 451
Another Australian Chiropractor is in Hot Water for Manipulating a Newborn :: Yet another Australian chiropractor is under fire for treating young infants. Will anything be done about it? :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 452
Canada Is Sending Homeopaths to Honduras :: The Canadian government is sending homeopaths to Honduras as part of an aid program. They dropped the ball on this one, and should just admit error and correct it, but they are doubling-down instead. :=:Tue, 19 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 453
Conservatives Will Live to Regret This :: The president seems to think he’s found a way out of the crisis. No, not the “crisis” at the border—if the word still has any universally accepted definition, there is no crisis at the border. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 2018’s apprehensions along the Southwest border were the fifth lowest in nearly a half century. 2018’s records show modest growth from 2017, when apprehensio :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 454
What Happens When You Read Science Writing by Women :: Redressing an imbalance of attention reveals a dazzling variety of journalism — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com :=:Fri, 22 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 455
Paleontologists identify small fossils as that of oldest frog relative found in North America :: A team of paleontologists led by Virginia Tech's Michelle Stocker and Sterling Nesbitt of the Department of Geosciences have identified fossil fragments of what are thought to be the oldest known frogs in North America. :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 456
Researchers make coldest quantum gas of molecules :: JILA researchers have made a long-lived, record-cold gas of molecules that follow the wave patterns of quantum mechanics instead of the strictly particle nature of ordinary classical physics. The creation of this gas boosts the odds for advances in fields such as designer chemistry and quantum computing. :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 457
Läslusten i skolan går genom kroppens förnimmelse :: Vad avgör om barn och unga blir litteraturläsare? Hur gör man som lärare för att undervisa i litteratur när läroplanen är fylld av motstridiga krav? I avhandlingen Den kroppsliga läsningen – bildningsperspektiv på litteraturundervisning undersöker Djamila Fatheddine grundskolans litteraturundervisning med fokus på läsning, kropp och bildning. Avhandlingen behandlar grundskolans litteraturundervis :=:Fri, 15 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 458
Mapping cultural tightness and its links to innovation, urbanization, and happiness across 31 provinces in China [Psychological and Cognitive Sciences] :: We conduct a 3-y study involving 11,662 respondents to map cultural tightness—the degree to which a society is characterized by rules and norms and the extent to which people are punished or sanctioned when they deviate from these rules and norms—across 31 provinces in China. Consistent with prior research, we… :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 459
Successful measurement of vitamin D in human hair :: A new study has reported for the first time that vitamin D can be measured in human hair. This is a major step forward in assessing vitamin D status, potentially one of the major innovations in vitamin D measurement. :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 460
Undersea gases could superheat the planet :: Geologic carbon and hydrate reservoirs in the ocean pose a climate threat beyond manmade greenhouse gases. :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 461
Newly discovered turtle species is facing extinction :: A new species in the family of Softshell Turtles is described from Northern Vietnam and China by a Hungarian-Vietnamese-German team of researchers. The newly discovered reptile has a distinctly blotched shell and is so critically endangered that it is close to extinction. The study is published in the scientific journal ZooKeys. :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 462
A State of Unreality :: President Donald Trump’s declaration of emergency salved yesterday’s loss of face—but has not solved any real problems for this administration or the country. In fact, Trump has opened four new problems atop the original problem with which he has flailed. The original problem is that a border wall was Trump’s signature promise, backed by his guarantee—“Believe me!”—that Mexico would pay for it. T :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 463
Exposure to trauma impacts ability to squash bad memories :: People exposed to trauma are less able to suppress unwanted emotional memories due to neural and behavioral disruptions in their brain that may contribute to the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). :=:Mon, 25 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 464
Promising new pancreatic cancer treatment moves forward :: A study published today in the journal Nature Medicine led by researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah (U of U) describes a new therapeutic approach with potential for patients with pancreatic cancer. These researchers discovered a combination drug therapy that may effectively combat the disease. HCI researchers first observed anti-cancer impacts in a laboratory set :=:Fri, 22 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 465
Molecular mechanism and history of non-sense to sense evolution of antifreeze glycoprotein gene in northern gadids [Evolution] :: A fundamental question in evolutionary biology is how genetic novelty arises. De novo gene birth is a recently recognized mechanism, but the evolutionary process and function of putative de novo genes remain largely obscure. With a clear life-saving function, the diverse antifreeze proteins of polar fishes are exemplary adaptive innovations… :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 466
Testosterone limits for female athletes based on 'flawed' research :: New rules governing international track and field competitions would require some women to medically reduce their testosterone levels to compete. A new study suggests the regulations are rooted in flawed science. :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 467
Eli Lilly Will Sell Half-Price Version of Humalog, Its Popular Insulin :: The drugmaker’s decision to sell a generic version comes with the industry under pressure to do something about rising list prices. :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 468
New study reveals when a superconductor truly becomes super :: A research team including Jianshi Zhou from UT Austin has confirmed the existence of a phase transition in copper-oxide-based (or cuprate) superconductors. The team believes that it could be during this 'quantum critical point,' when superconductivity actually occurs. :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 469
A Rare Giant Tortoise Has Been Found in Galapagos For The First Time Since 1906 :: "There may be hope." :=:Wed, 20 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 470
Ancient spider fossils, surprisingly preserved in rock, reveal reflective eyes :: Usually, soft-bodied species like spiders aren't fossilized in rock like animals with bones and teeth. More often, ancient spiders and insects are more likely to be discovered preserved in amber. :=:Fri, 01 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 471
Newly discovered turtle species is facing extinction :: For decades, it has been assumed that the Chinese Softshell Turtles from East Asia all belonged to one and the same species, Pelodiscus sinensis. Widely distributed all the way from the Russian Far East through the Korean Peninsula to China and Vietnam, the species was said to vary substantially in terms of its looks across localities. However, around the turn of the century, following a series of :=:Fri, 15 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 472
Scientists discover that charcoal traps ammonia pollution :: Cornell University scientists Rachel Hestrin and Johannes Lehmann, along with collaborators from Canada and Australia, have shown that charcoal can mop up large quantities of nitrogen from the air pollutant ammonia, resulting in a potential slow-release fertilizer with more nitrogen than most animal manures or other natural soil amendments. The results were published Friday in Nature Communication :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 473
Trump's Wall Won't Solve a National Emergency. It Is One :: President Trump has signaled that in addition to signing a Congressional spending bill, he will declare a national emergency to fund his misbegotten border wall. :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 474
Early onset preeclampsia in a model for human placental trophoblast [Cell Biology] :: We describe a model for early onset preeclampsia (EOPE) that uses induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) generated from umbilical cords of EOPE and control (CTL) pregnancies. These iPSCs were then converted to placental trophoblast (TB) representative of early pregnancy. Marker gene analysis indicated that both sets of cells differentiated at… :=:Sat, 23 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 475
»Man kæmper jeres sag, og så får man lort i hovedet« :: ‘Læger er pivede og bør tage ansvar’. ‘Du er arrogant og nedladende’. Bølgerne gik højt, da DF’s sundhedsordfører Liselott Blixt kommenterede den nye lægeunderskriftindsamling og fik svar på tiltale fra lægeformand Andreas Rudkjøbing. Hvor langt står de fra hinanden? Vi satte dem stævne på Slotsholmen og fandt bl.a. ud af, at Blixt synes, at hun står på lægernes side. :=:Wed, 27 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 476
Pregnant Women Are Being Targeted by Antivax Ads Online During a Measles Outbreak :: Get angry. :=:Fri, 01 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 477
Opportunity Mars rover is probably dead after 15-year mission :: A huge dust storm in June 2018 left NASA unable to contact the Opportunity rover. Now the space agency is set to say goodbye to their epic Mars explorer :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 478
Spain police seize over 200 stuffed endangered animals :: Spanish police said Tuesday they had seized more than 200 stuffed endangered animals, including giraffes, rhinos, lions and tigers, from an illegal taxidermy workshop that was selling them online. :=:Sat, 23 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 479
Americans Don’t Need the Mueller Report to Judge Trump :: Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report could come out as soon as next week, CNN reported on Thursday . Unless, of course, it doesn’t—after all, there have been various suggestions for months that the end was in sight, and the Justice Department said Friday there would be no report next week. And anyway, none of this matters if the newly installed Attorney General Bill Barr decides not to release :=:Tue, 19 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 480
Death From Above: Boeing Unveils Autonomous Fighter Jet :: Bot Gun Military contractor Boeing announced Wednesday that it is developing an autonomous fighter jet plane that it plans to sell to customers around the world. The company plans to fly the pilot-free plane, dubbed the Boeing Airpower Teaming System, sometime in 2020. While the company says it can design the plane according to a given customers needs, the autonomous jet may be particularly well- :=:Sat, 16 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 481
The Most Important—And Neglected—Moment of the Michael Cohen Hearing :: Michael Cohen’s long-awaited testimony before the House Oversight Committee offered a tour of the grimier corners of American politics. Over six hours, Donald Trump’s former fixer told Congress stories of the president’s cruelty, greed, and possible criminal conduct. President Trump, he said, had lied to the American people about many things—most notably his involvement in payments to Stormy Dani :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 482
Large-scale analysis of test-retest reliabilities of self-regulation measures [Psychological and Cognitive Sciences] :: The ability to regulate behavior in service of long-term goals is a widely studied psychological construct known as self-regulation. This wide interest is in part due to the putative relations between self-regulation and a range of real-world behaviors. Self-regulation is generally viewed as a trait, and individual differences are quantified… :=:Sat, 02 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 483
Nyt dansk filter renser røgen fra brændeovne :: PLUS. En tidligere chef for store, industrielle forbrændingsanlæg har udviklet en røggasrenser til almindelige brændeovne og pillefyr. :=:Sat, 02 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 484
Bernie Sanders Is the Democratic Front-Runner :: He’s a 77-year-old socialist who’s abrasive when he’s in a good mood, and who’s still blamed by many Democrats for Hillary Clinton losing to Donald Trump. But go ahead, try to argue that Bernie Sanders isn’t the front-runner in the 2020 Democratic race right now. Sanders blew past every other announced candidate’s early fundraising numbers in just the first few hours after making his second presi :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 485
Kamala Harris’s Blackness Isn’t Up for Debate :: I would never have put Snoop and Tupac Shakur on the list of things that could potentially harm Senator Kamala Harris’s presidential bid. But this week, two of the greatest hip-hop artists of all time unwillingly played a part in the latest attack on Harris’s blackness, which came after the California Democrat’s appearance on the popular morning-radio show The Breakfast Club . Harris engaged in a :=:Sun, 17 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 486
Rainfall and temperature determine a colourful plumage :: Compounds unique to parrots make bright feathers, but environment determines which ones. Tanya Loos reports. :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 487
SpaceX Launches First U.S. Private Passenger Spacecraft to ISS :: A Historic Launch SpaceX successfully launched its Crew Dragon spacecraft on a Falcon 9 rocket from historic Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 2:49 am EST this morning. Main engine cutoff and stage separation were confirmed by SpaceX at 2:52 am EST. First stage successfully landed on the drone ship platform Of Course I Still Love You at 3:00 am EST. The Crew Dragon i :=:Wed, 27 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 488
Trump Aides Keep Writing Memos to Protect Themselves :: On Thursday, The New York Times delivered a big story saying that President Donald Trump overruled concerns from intelligence officials and ordered that his senior adviser Jared Kushner, who also happens to be his son-in-law, be granted security clearance. In some ways, the takeaway from the story is the least surprising part: There has been enough reporting over the past few months to make it se :=:Fri, 22 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 489
My patient swapped chemotherapy for essential oils. Arguing is a fool’s errand | Ranjana Srivastava :: I wish that as an oncologist I could see off quackery through good communication. Unfortunately that doesn’t work “Tell me why I should have your chemotherapy when I can be healed naturally!” His face is set, his arms defensively squared. His friend carries a pamphlet that features a suspiciously healthy woman with glamorous hair and a glowing complexion. This is the urgent appointment of the day :=:Tue, 26 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 490
Estimating childbirth deaths in prehistory :: Modern United Nations data offers a way to assess the rates of maternal mortality in ancient communities. Andrew Masterson reports. :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 491
Norsk fregat skal flyde igen om seks uger :: Efter hævningen af den forliste fregat Helge Ingstad har det norske søværn en ambitiøs plan for at få gjort den sødygtig igen. :=:Fri, 01 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 492
Skadelige partikler rammer byboere og naboer til krydstogtskibe lige hårdt :: Om man bor midt i byen eller er nabo til et krydstogtskib gør ingen forskel, når det kommer til luftforurening, viser nye målinger fra Force Technology. :=:Tue, 05 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 493
Solving the jet/cocoon riddle of a gravitational wave event :: An international research team including astronomers from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn, Germany, has combined radio telescopes from five continents to prove the existence of a narrow stream of material, a so-called jet, emerging from the only gravitational wave event involving two neutron stars ever observed. With its high sensitivity and excellent performance, the 100-mete :=:Sun, 03 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 494
NASA study reproduces origins of life on ocean floor
NASA Israeli Life Ocean
:: Scientists have reproduced in the lab how the ingredients for life could have formed deep in the ocean 4 billion years ago. The results of the new study offer clues to how life started on Earth and where else in the cosmos we might find it. :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 495
New species of tiny tyrannosaur foreshadows rise of T. rex :: A newly discovered, diminutive—by T. rex standards—relative of the tyrant king of dinosaurs reveals crucial new information about when and how T. rex came to rule the North American roost. :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 496
Catastrophic outlook for African savannahs due to rise in CO2 levels :: A ground-breaking research study looking at modern and ancient landscapes has discovered African plants could be facing mass extinction faster than once thought. :=:Thu, 07 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 497
Galactic wind provides clues to evolution of galaxies :: The Cigar Galaxy (also known as M82) is famous for its extraordinary speed in making new stars, with stars being born 10 times faster than in the Milky Way. Now, data from the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or SOFIA, have been used to study this galaxy in greater detail, revealing how material that affects the evolution of galaxies may get into intergalactic space. :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 498
Milestone: Capsule with dummy aboard docks at space station :: A sleek new American-built capsule with just a test dummy aboard docked smoothly with the International Space Station on Sunday in a big step toward putting the U.S. back in the business of launching astronauts. :=:Mon, 25 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 499
Physicists analyze rotational dynamics of galaxies and influence of the photon mass :: The rotation of stars in galaxies such as the Milky Way is puzzling. The orbital speeds of stars should decrease with their distance from the center of the galaxy, but in fact, stars in the middle and outer regions of galaxies have the same rotational speed. This may be due to the gravitational effect of matter that we can't see. But although researchers have been seeking it for decades, the exist :=:Fri, 01 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 500
Musical surprises light up the brain’s reward center :: Surprises in music activate the reward center of our brains, and help us learn about the music as we listen, research finds. Researchers put 20 volunteers through a musical reward learning task. Each participant chose a color, then a direction. Each choice came with a certain probability of leading to either a consonant, pleasurable musical excerpt or a dissonant, unpleasant one. Over time, the s :=:Sat, 16 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 501
Simple drug combination creates new neurons from neighboring cells :: A simple combination of molecules converts cells neighboring damaged neurons into functional new neurons, which could potentially be used to treat stroke, Alzheimer's disease, and brain injuries. :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 502
Three years into soda tax, sugary drink consumption down more than 50 percent in Berkeley :: Consumption of sugary drinks dropped 52 percent among Berkeley's low-income residents in the three years after the city enacted a penny-per-ounce excise tax on sugar-sweetened beverages in early 2015, a new study shows. The study, which is the first to document the long-term impacts of a soda tax in the United States, suggests that taxation may be an effective tool in the fight against diabetes, h :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 503
Neanderthals walked upright just like the humans of today :: Neanderthals are often depicted as having straight spines and poor posture. However, these prehistoric humans were more similar to us than many assume. Researchers have shown that Neanderthals walked upright just like modern humans — thanks to a virtual reconstruction of the pelvis and spine of a very well-preserved Neanderthal skeleton found in France. :=:Wed, 06 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 504
How the humble marigold outsmarts a devastating tomato pest :: Researchers carried out a study to prove what gardeners around the world have known for generations — marigolds repel tomato whiteflies. :=:Wed, 20 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 505
Ph.D. Student Breaks Down Electron Physics Into A Swinging Musical :: John Bohannon, founder of Science magazine's "Dance Your Ph.D." contest, presents the 2018 winner, Pramodh Senarath Yapa. He won over judges with his choreographic rendition of some chaotic electrons. (Image credit: Courtesy of Matthias Le Dall) :=:Tue, 05 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 506
What socialism is — according to Bernie Sanders :: U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders has been calling himself a democratic socialist since the 1960s. Bernie's use of the word "socialist" has attracted both love and ire from the left. His definition of socialism is vague, but is the basis for many peoples' understanding of the concept. The unexpected level of serious consideration that many Americans are giving to socialism is due, in large part, to the :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 507
Is There a Role for Renewables? :: Michael Shellenberger has a provocative editorial in which he makes the case against renewables and for nuclear energy. At first you might think you are reading global-warming denial propaganda, but that’s not what it is. Shellenberger is a self-described ecomodernist who simply thinks that, if you look at the numbers, there is a strong case to be made for nuclear energy as the most practical sol :=:Wed, 20 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 508
Coming of Age Unvaccinated :: As parents in some states decide to skip vaccinating their kids, more and more children are reaching their teenage years only to discover — from their peers, teachers, and through Twitter and Facebook — that their bodies are at the center of a roiling tug-of-war between science and pseudoscience. :=:Wed, 20 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 509
Trump Signs Directive to Create a Military Space Force :: The Space Force just took a big step from sci-fi-sounding dream toward reality. :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 510
A third person may have become HIV-free after a bone marrow transplant :: Following news of a man who has been free of HIV since cancer treatment, a third case has now been reported, adding to evidence it may be possible to cure HIV :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 511
After 15 years on Mars, it’s the end of the road for Opportunity :: After 15 years of exploring Mars, a dust storm led to the demise of NASA’s longest-lived rover. :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 512
Border Wall Could Sap Military Funding for Climate Adaptation :: Under the emergency declaration, some money to build the wall will come from a military construction account — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com :=:Tue, 19 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 513
Lab-grown meat could be worse for the climate than beef :: [no content] :=:Fri, 15 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 514
Childish Gambino Made History at the Grammys :: Also, 'The Walking Dead' is losing a fan-favorite character and 'The Lego Movie 2' underperforms. :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 515
The Triumphant Rediscovery of the Biggest Bee on Earth :: Despite the astonishing size of Wallace's giant bee, the species was lost to science for 40 years. This is the story of its dramatic rediscovery. :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 516
Exceptional new titanosaur from middle Cretaceous Tanzania: Mnyamawamtuka :: An exceptional sauropod dinosaur specimen from the middle Cretaceous of Tanzania represents a unique species and provides new insights into sauropod evolution, according to a study published Feb. 13, 2019 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Eric Gorscak of Midwestern University, Illinois, and Patrick O'Connor of Ohio University, USA. :=:Fri, 08 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 517
Why great white sharks dawdle their days away :: Why great white sharks dawdle their days away Why great white sharks dawdle their days away, Published online: 19 February 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-00597-w To scientists’ surprise, the toothy predators fail to reach their most efficient cruising speed when swimming at the water’s surface. :=:Mon, 18 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 518
Tidal tails: The beginning of the end of an open star cluster :: In the course of their life, open star clusters continuously lose stars to their surroundings. The resulting swath of tidal tails provides a glimpse into the evolution and dissolution of a star cluster. Thus far only tidal tails of massive globular clusters and dwarf galaxies have been discovered in the Milky Way system. In open clusters, this phenomenon existed only in theory. Researchers have no :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 519
Reflections from a Nobel winner: Scientists need time to make discoveries :: In 2018, Donna Strickland was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics. Here she argues that scientists must be free to be curious, without the pressure to produce results. :=:Thu, 07 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 520
Mathematical monotsukuri: Summing a constant may help to detect synchronized brain activity :: Scientists at Tokyo Institute of Technology found a simple, yet effective way to improve how synchronization is measured in chaotic systems. The technique consists of adding a constant parameter to the "analytic signals" in a way that emphasizes certain aspects of their timing. This could improve brain-computer interfaces designed to aid disabled people. :=:Wed, 13 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 521
New phenomenon discovered that fixes a common problem in lasers: Wavelength splitting :: A team led by University of Utah physicists has discovered how to fix a major problem that occurs in lasers made from a new type of material called quantum dots. The never-before-seen phenomenon will be important for an emerging field of photonics research, including one day making micro-chips that code information using light instead of electrons. :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 522
Implementing a practical quantum secure direct communication system :: Quantum secure direct communication (QSDC) is an important branch of quantum communication, based on the principles of quantum mechanics for the direct transmission of classified information. While recent proof-of-principle experimental studies have made remarkable progress; QSDC systems remain to be implemented in practice. In a recent study, Ruoyang Qi and co-workers at the departments of low-di :=:Tue, 05 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 523
Squid could provide an eco-friendly alternative to plastics :: The remarkable properties of a recently-discovered squid protein could revolutionize materials in a way that would be unattainable with conventional plastic, finds a review published in Frontiers in Chemistry. Originating in the ringed teeth of a squid's predatory arms, this protein can be processed into fibers and films with applications ranging from 'smart' clothes for health monitoring, to self :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 524
Researchers turn liquid metal into a plasma :: Most laypersons are familiar with the three states of matter as solids, liquids, and gases. But there are other forms that exist. Plasmas, for example, are the most abundant form of matter in the universe, found throughout our solar system in the sun and other planetary bodies. Scientists are still working to understand the fundamentals of this state of matter, which is proving to be ever more sig :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 525
Researchers confirm massive hyper-runaway star ejected from the Milky Way Disk :: A fast-moving star may have been ejected from the Milky Way's stellar disk by a cluster of young stars, according to researchers from the University of Michigan who say the star did not originate from the middle of the galaxy, as previously believed by astronomers. :=:Thu, 14 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 526
Scientists identify gene partnerships that promote spinal cord regeneration :: Researchers are one step closer to solving the mystery of why some vertebrates can regenerate their spinal cords while others, including humans, create scar tissue after spinal cord injury, leading to lifelong damage. :=:Fri, 22 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 527
Bone Marrow Transplant Renders Second Patient Free Of HIV :: British doctors report the apparent eradication of HIV from a patient who was undergoing treatment for cancer. It's only the second time this has been accomplished, despite many attempts. (Image credit: SCIENCE SOURCE) :=:Tue, 19 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 528
Collaboration sparks sustainable electronics manufacturing breakthrough :: Simon Fraser University and Swiss researchers are developing an eco-friendly, 3D printable solution for producing wireless Internet-of-Things (IoT) sensors that can be used and disposed of without contaminating the environment. Their research has been published as the cover story in the February issue of the journal Advanced Electronic Materials. :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 529
Scientists criticize Australia’s ‘questionable’ climate policy :: Published online: 28 February 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-00725-6 They say the Aus$3.5-billion package will not help the country meet its Paris emissions targets. :=:Mon, 11 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 530
Unyttige grønne poser kan være fortid for københavnerne :: De grønne poser til bioaffald består af 70 procent plastik og bliver sorteret fra som almindelige plastposer. Det har fået Københavns Kommune til at genoverveje posernes fremtid. :=:Wed, 06 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 531
World's biggest bee found :: Lost to science for decades and thought perhaps extinct, Wallace's giant bee (Megachile pluto) has been rediscovered in an Indonesian rainforest. :=:Sat, 16 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 532
Nearly half of US female scientists leave full-time science after first child :: Published online: 19 February 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-00611-1 Study reveals proportion of people leaving full-time careers in science after the birth of their first child. :=:Sat, 23 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 533
Tesla Finally Slashes Model 3 Price to $35,000 :: Rejoice After many delays, Tesla is officially reducing its popular Model 3 electric luxury sedan to a base price of $35,000 — a long-routed price point for CEO Elon Musk. Tesla made the announcement via an email sent out to its retail stores today, Electrek reports . Tesla launching $24,450* Model 3!!! https://t.co/11Tu9vhyi5 * You are still gonna have to pay $35,000 pic.twitter.com/Kk0hg27Wvx — :=:Thu, 07 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 534
The Trump Administration Really Wants to Cut Education Funding. Congress Doesn’t. :: On Monday, Donald Trump’s administration released its budget proposal for the 2020 fiscal year, and the plan isn’t pretty for the Education Department. The proposal requests a roughly $7.1 billion cut in funding for the department compared with 2019, which represents a 10 percent decrease in its budget. The proposed cut is unlikely to go anywhere; like years past, Congress is expected to disregar :=:Mon, 11 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 535
Selective hematopoietic stem cell ablation using CD117-antibody-drug-conjugates enables safe and effective transplantation with immunity preservation :: Published online: 06 February 2019; doi:10.1038/s41467-018-08201-x Hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) t :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 536
Archaeologists discover Incan tomb in Peru :: Peruvian archaeologists discovered an Incan tomb in the north of the country where an elite member of the pre-Columbian empire was buried, one of the investigators announced Friday. :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 537
NASA greenlights SpaceX crew capsule test to ISS
NASA SpaceX ISS CD
:: NASA on Friday gave SpaceX the green light to test a new crew capsule by first sending an unmanned craft with a life-sized mannequin to the International Space Station. :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 538
Improved regulation needed as pesticides found to affect genes in bees :: Scientists are urging for improved regulation on pesticides after finding that they affect genes in bumblebees, according to research led by Queen Mary University of London in collaboration with Imperial College London. :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 539
New wallaby-sized dinosaur from the ancient Australian-Antarctic rift valley :: A new, wallaby-sized herbivorous dinosaur has been identified from five fossilized upper jaws in 125 million year old rocks from the Cretaceous period of Victoria, southeastern Australia. :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 540
Junk food is linked to both moderate and severe psychological distress :: The study revealed that California adults who consumed more unhealthy food were also more likely to report symptoms of either moderate or severe psychological distress than their peers who consume a healthier diet. :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 541
Slower runners benefit most from elite methods :: How much do high-tech shoes, special diets and exercises, drafting behind other runners and other strategies to improve your 'running economy' actually improve your finish time? A new study spells it out. The takeaway: The faster you are, the harder it is to get faster. :=:Tue, 12 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 542
Genomics could better match treatments to pancreatic cancer patients :: Pancreatic cancer is a grim diagnosis, but this new study, the largest of its kind, identifies genomic markers that could increase survival by better matching chemotherapy drugs to patients. :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 543
Seven moral rules found all around the world :: What is morality? And to what extent does it vary around the world? The theory of 'morality-as-cooperation' argues that morality consists of a collection of biological and cultural solutions to the problems of cooperation recurrent in human social life. These solutions or cooperative behaviors are plausible candidates for universal moral rules, and that morality-as-cooperation could provide the un :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 544
Wolves and Wolverines: A Complicated Relationship :: The larger mammal will prey on the smaller, but wolverines prefer areas occupied by wolves over areas that aren’t — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com :=:Wed, 27 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 545
RIP Opportunity: A eulogy for the beloved Mars rover :: Space The little rover that could. Today we mourn the loss of a friend so stalwart we nearly forgot we wouldn’t have them forever. :=:Sun, 10 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 546
A quantum experiment suggests there’s no such thing as objective reality :: Physicists have long suspected that quantum mechanics allows two observers to experience different, conflicting realities. Now they’ve performed the first experiment that proves it. :=:Fri, 22 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 547
This Scary Map Shows How Climate Change Will Transform Your City :: Click on your city, and the map will pinpoint a modern analog city that matches what your climate may be in 2080. The results are startling. :=:Tue, 26 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 548
Climate of North American cities will shift hundreds of miles in one generation :: In one generation, the climate experienced in many North American cities is projected to change to that of locations hundreds of miles away — or to a new climate unlike any found in North America today. A new study and interactive web application aim to help the public understand how climate change will impact the lives of people who live in urban areas of the United States and Canada. :=:Tue, 05 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 549
Plastic found in deepest ocean animals :: Animals living in the deepest ocean trenches have been found with plastic fragments in their gut, according to new research published Wednesday showing how manmade pollution reaches into the bowels of the planet. :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 550
An Unvaccinated Boy Got Tetanus. His Oregon Hospital Stay: 57 Days and $800,000. :: The boy’s harrowing experience with the disease in 2017 was the first pediatric case of tetanus in Oregon in more than 30 years, according to a new C.D.C. report. :=:Sun, 24 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 551
Neuromelanin-sensitive MRI as a noninvasive proxy measure of dopamine function in the human brain [Neuroscience] :: Neuromelanin-sensitive MRI (NM-MRI) purports to detect the content of neuromelanin (NM), a product of dopamine metabolism that accumulates with age in dopamine neurons of the substantia nigra (SN). Interindividual variability in dopamine function may result in varying levels of NM accumulation in the SN; however, the ability of NM-MRI to… :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 552
Facebook Moderators See Such Awful Content They're Experiencing PTSD-Like Symptoms :: "This job is inhumane with extremely low wages." :=:Mon, 25 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 553
Here's What You Should Do if a Nuclear Bomb Explodes Nearby :: Whatever you do, don't get into a car. :=:Tue, 19 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 554
The World Is Losing Fish to Eat as Oceans Warm, Study Finds :: Fish populations are declining as oceans warm, putting a key source of food and income at risk for millions of people, according to new research. :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 555
Kemicocktail i mors blod hæmmer fostrets vækst :: For første gang har forskere påvist, at en cocktail af fluorstoffer i gravides blod betyder mindre fostre. :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 556
Older Adults Are Especially Prone to Social Media Bubbles :: Research suggests that fake news will become an even bigger problem as the population ages — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 557
Entangling photons of different colors :: Some of the most advanced communication systems now under development rely on the properties of quantum science to store and transport information. However, researchers designing quantum communication systems that rely on light, rather than electric current, to transmit information face a quandary: The optical components that store and process quantum information typically require visible-light ph :=:Tue, 05 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 558
In the blink of an eye: Team uses quantum of light to create new quantum simulator :: Imagine being stuck inside a maze and wanting to find your way out. How would you proceed? The answer is trial and error. This is how traditional computers with classical algorithms operate to find the solution to a complex problem. Now consider this: What if, by magic, you were able to clone yourself into multiple versions so that you were able to go through all the various paths at the same time :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 559
NASA about to pull plug on Mars rover, silent for 8 months :: NASA is trying one last time to contact its record-setting Mars rover Opportunity, before calling it quits. :=:Thu, 14 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 560
Has a second person with HIV been cured? :: “London patient” also has long-term disappearance of virus after stem cell transplant :=:Tue, 19 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 561
FDA Approves Esketamine, the First Major Depression Treatment to Reach U.S. Market in Decades :: Nasal spray related to the anesthetic/street drug ketamine targets treatment-resistant patients — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 562
About 40% of Europe’s “AI companies” don’t use any AI at all :: [no content] :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 563
Machine learning algorithm helps in the search for new drugs :: Researchers have designed a machine learning algorithm for drug discovery which has been shown to be twice as efficient as the industry standard, which could accelerate the process of developing new treatments for disease. :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 564
Study uncovers genetic switches that control process of whole-body regeneration :: When it comes to regeneration, some animals are capable of amazing feats—if you cut the leg off a salamander, it will grow back. When threatened, some geckos drop their tails as a distraction, and regrow them later. :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 565
Form and function of F-actin during biomineralization revealed from live experiments on foraminifera [Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences] :: Although the emergence of complex biomineralized forms has been investigated for over a century, still little is known on how single cells control morphology of skeletal structures, such as frustules, shells, spicules, or scales. We have run experiments on the shell formation in foraminifera, unicellular, mainly marine organisms that can… :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 566
Pesticide exposure contributes to faster ALS progression :: A new study helps determine the role of pesticides and pollutants during the course of the progressive neurodegenerative disease that has no cure. :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 567
Synergy with TGF{beta} ligands switches WNT pathway dynamics from transient to sustained during human pluripotent cell differentiation [Developmental Biology] :: WNT/β-catenin signaling is crucial to all stages of life. It controls early morphogenetic events in embryos, maintains stem cell niches in adults, and is dysregulated in many types of cancer. Despite its ubiquity, little is known about the dynamics of signal transduction or whether it varies across contexts. Here we… :=:Tue, 26 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 568
Statistics of noisy growth with mechanical feedback in elastic tissues [Developmental Biology] :: Tissue growth is a fundamental aspect of development and is intrinsically noisy. Stochasticity has important implications for morphogenesis, precise control of organ size, and regulation of tissue composition and heterogeneity. However, the basic statistical properties of growing tissues, particularly when growth induces mechanical stresses that can in turn affect growth… :=:Mon, 11 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 569
Oldest tattoo tool in western North America :: Archaeologists have discovered the oldest tattooing artifact in western North America. The tool was made around 2,000 years ago by the Ancestral Pueblo people of the Basketmaker II period in what is now southeastern Utah. :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 570
Artificial Intelligence Has Found an Unknown 'Ghost' Ancestor in The Human Genome :: Your family history just got more complicated. :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 571
A Wildly Popular Video Game Is Adding Anti-Vaxxers in The Next Deadly Plague :: It's us or them. :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 572
Cryo-SOFI enabling low-dose super-resolution correlative light and electron cryo-microscopy [Biophysics and Computational Biology] :: Correlative light and electron cryo-microscopy (cryo-CLEM) combines information from the specific labeling of fluorescence cryo-microscopy (cryo-FM) with the high resolution in environmental context of electron cryo-microscopy (cryo-EM). Exploiting super-resolution methods for cryo-FM is advantageous, as it enables the identification of rare events within the environmental background of cryo-EM at :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 573
Wildfires and climate change push low-elevation forests across a critical climate threshold for tree regeneration [Ecology] :: Climate change is increasing fire activity in the western United States, which has the potential to accelerate climate-induced shifts in vegetation communities. Wildfire can catalyze vegetation change by killing adult trees that could otherwise persist in climate conditions no longer suitable for seedling establishment and survival. Recently documented declines in… :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 574
Elon Musk: A Round-Trip Ticket to Mars Will Cost Just $100,000 :: Sticker Shock SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said on Twitter Sunday night that he expects a round – trip ticket to Mars to eventually cost less than a luxury wedding. “Very dependent on volume, but I’m confident moving to Mars (return ticket is free) will one day cost less than $500k & maybe even below $100k,” he wrote. “Low enough that most people in advanced economies could sell their home on Earth & mov :=:Mon, 18 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 575
It’s Foreign Policy That Distinguishes Bernie This Time :: The conventional wisdom is that Bernie Sanders is a victim of his own success. His “populist agenda has helped push the party to the left,” declared The New York Times in its story about his presidential announcement. But in 2020, he may lose “ground to newer faces who have adopted many of his ideas.” There’s an obvious truth here: From a $15 national minimum wage to Medicare for all to free coll :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 576
Van Allen probes begin final phase of exploration in Earth's radiation belts :: Two tough, resilient, NASA spacecraft have been orbiting Earth for the past six and a half years, flying repeatedly through a hazardous zone of charged particles around our planet called the Van Allen radiation belts. The twin Van Allen Probes, launched in August 2012, have confirmed scientific theories and revealed new structures and processes at work in these dynamic regions. Now, they're starti :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 577
A Lost Page of Notes on Einstein's 'Theory of Everything' Has Turned Up in Jerusalem :: The page was missing for decades. :=:Thu, 07 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 578
It's Official: Scientists Can Now Make The Cannabis Psychoactive Without The Plant :: Welcome to a new age of therapeutics. :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 579
Australia Is Planting a Billion Trees to Fight Climate Change :: Tree Guy The Australian government is gearing up to plant a billion new trees , as part of a vast campaign aimed to meet the climate targets set by the Paris Agreement. The government estimates that the project, which will run until 2050, will eventually remove 18 million tons of greenhouse gases per years — an intriguing example of a less technical response to climate change. Forest Gump The new :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 580
Female human body blocks weak sperm, scientists find :: Reproductive tract’s shape lets only strong swimmers through to egg, research suggests For millions of sperm it is the end of the road. Scientists have found evidence that the female reproductive tract is shaped in such a way that stops poor swimmers from reaching their goal. Researchers used small-scale models and computer simulations to show that pinch points that behave like gates along the sp :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 581
Frederiksberg Kommune til forældre: Sundhedspleje til dit barn? Hit med person-data :: Samtykke til kommunal sundhedspleje i skolen kan kun ske ved også at give lov til anvendelse af data til generel viden om sundhed og trivsel samt i forskningsprojekter. :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 582
For The First Time Ever, NASA Captures Images of Supersonic Shockwaves Merging in Air :: "We never dreamt that it would be this clear, this beautiful." :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 583
Minskad risk för alzheimer hos kulturellt aktiva :: – Resultaten visar att hjärnstimulerande aktiviteter, som att läsa, sjunga, gå på teater eller konsert, och att vara fysiskt aktiv, som att promenera, spelar en viktig roll i förebyggandet av demens i högre åldrar, säger Jenna Najar, läkare och doktorand från Sahlgrenska akademin vid Göteborgs universitet. – Det är enkla och roliga aktiviteter som alla kan ägna sig åt samtidigt som de skyddar mot :=:Mon, 18 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 584
James Clerk Maxwell Telescope discovers flare 10 billion times more powerful than those on the sun :: The Hawaii-based James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) has discovered a stellar flare 10 billion times more powerful than the Sun's solar flares, a history-making discovery that could unlock decades-old questions about the origin of our own Sun and planets, giving insight into how these celestial bodies were born. :=:Wed, 20 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 585
A New Mass Extinction Has Started, And Its First Victims Are Disappearing Fast :: We need these little critters. :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 586
How to Be The Most Effective Advocate For Vaccination You Can Be :: What you need to know. :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 587
Researchers move closer to practical photonic quantum computing :: For the first time, researchers have demonstrated a way to map and measure large-scale photonic quantum correlation with single-photon sensitivity. The ability to measure thousands of instances of quantum correlation is critical for making photon-based quantum computing practical. :=:Fri, 08 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 588
Diversity on land is not higher today than in the past, study shows :: The rich levels of biodiversity on land seen across the globe today are not a recent phenomenon: diversity on land has been similar for at least the last 60 million years, since soon after the extinction of the dinosaurs. :=:Wed, 20 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 589
Earth's atmosphere stretches out to the moon – and beyond :: The gaseous layer that wraps around Earth reaches up to 630,000 kilometers away, or 50 times the diameter of our planet, according to a new study based on observations by the ESA/NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, SOHO, and published in AGU's Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics. :=:Tue, 26 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 590
Do you like Earth's solid surface and life-inclined climate? Thank your lucky (massive) star :: Earth's solid surface and moderate climate may be due, in part, to a massive star in the birth environment of the Sun, according to new computer simulations of planet formation. :=:Wed, 13 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 591
How to freeze heat conduction :: Physicists have discovered a new effect, which makes it possible to create excellent thermal insulators which conduct electricity. Such materials can be used to convert waste heat into electrical energy. :=:Fri, 01 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 592
Research suggests life thrived on Earth 3.5 billion years ago :: Three and a half billion years ago, Earth hosted life, but was it barely surviving, or thriving? A new study carried out by a multi-institutional team with leadership including the Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) of Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) provides new answers to this question. Microbial metabolism is recorded in billions of years of sulfur isotope ratios that agree with thi :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 593
Physicists 'flash-freeze' crystal of 150 ions :: Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have "flash-frozen" a flat crystal of 150 beryllium ions (electrically charged atoms), opening new possibilities for simulating magnetism at the quantum scale and sensing signals from mysterious dark matter. :=:Thu, 07 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 594
Researchers discover the secret to bats' immunity :: An international research team led by Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, has identified molecular and genetic mechanisms that allow bats to stay healthy while hosting viruses that kill other animals, according to a new study published in the journal Nature Microbiology. :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 595
Astronomers discover 83 supermassive black holes in the early universe :: Astronomers from Japan, Taiwan and Princeton University have discovered 83 quasars powered by supermassive black holes in the distant universe, from a time when the universe was less than 10 percent of its present age. :=:Thu, 14 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 596
Bacteria in frog skin may help fight fungal infections in humans :: In the past few decades, a lethal disease has decimated populations of frogs and other amphibians worldwide, even driving some species to extinction. Yet other amphibians resisted the epidemic. Based on previous research, scientists at the INDICASAT AIP, Smithsonian and collaborating institutions knew that skin bacteria could be protecting the animals by producing fungi-fighting compounds. However :=:Thu, 07 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 597
Building an energy corridor along the border instead of just a wall :: Instead of a wall, build a first-of-its-kind energy park that spans the 1,954 miles of the border between the United States and Mexico to bring energy, water, jobs and border security to the region. :=:Tue, 05 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 598
New graphene-based device is first step toward ultrasensitive biosensors :: Researchers in the University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering have developed a unique new device using the wonder material graphene that provides the first step toward ultrasensitive biosensors to detect diseases at the molecular level with near perfect efficiency. :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 599
The optomechanical Kerker effect: Controlling light with vibrating nanoparticles :: For the Kerker effect to occur, particles need to have electric and magnetic polarizabilities of the same strength. This, however, is very challenging to achieve, as magnetic optical resonances in small particles are relatively weak. Researchers at Ioffe Institute, in St. Petersburg, have recently shown that a similar effect can be attained when small particles are trembling in space. :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 600
Recovering scattered data from twisted light via 'scattering-matrix-assisted retrieval technique (SMART)' :: High-capacity optical communication can be accomplished by multiplexing multiple light-carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) channels. However, in turbulent environments, optical scattering and 'speckle patterns' occur due to ambient, atmospheric microparticles and significantly decrease the orthogonality between OAM channels, demultiplexing (extracting information) and increasing crosstalk duri :=:Wed, 06 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 601
When semiconductors stick together, materials go quantum :: A team of researchers led by the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has developed a simple method that could turn ordinary semiconducting materials into quantum machines—superthin devices marked by extraordinary electronic behavior. Such an advancement could help to revolutionize a number of industries aiming for energy-efficient electronic systems—and prov :=:Wed, 20 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 602
Sju råd om motion och åldrande till världens regeringar :: Det finns mycket kunskap om hur vi med enkla medel kan förbättra förutsättningarna för att äldre ska röra sig mer, som inte tillämpas i tillräckligt stor utsträckning idag. – Vi vill nu ge konkreta råd till beslutsfattare om hur man kan anpassa till exempel städer för att öka möjligheterna att vara fysisk aktiv. Ett exempel är att signalen för att gå över bevakade övergångsställen skulle kunna va :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 603
A Woman Died After Reportedly Eating Prized Mushrooms at Fancy Restaurant in Spain :: A woman has died and more than two dozen others are ill after eating at a Michelin-starred restaurant in Spain. :=:Wed, 06 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 604
World's Largest Bee Is Spotted For First Time In Decades :: The bee towers over its apian cousins. Females have been recorded as being at least an inch and a half long. Add to that a pair of gigantic mandibles, and it's a bee like no other. (Image credit: Clay Bolt/claybolt.com) :=:Wed, 06 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 605
Scientists study organization of life on a planetary scale :: In astrobiology, there is an increasing interest in whether life as we know it is a quirk of the particular evolutionary history of the Earth or, instead, if life might be governed by more general organizing principles. :=:Thu, 14 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 606
Young bone marrow rejuvenates aging mouse brains :: A new study has found that transplanting the bone marrow of young laboratory mice into old mice prevented cognitive decline in the old mice, preserving their memory and learning abilities. The findings support an emerging model that attributes cognitive decline, in part, to aging of blood cells, which are produced in bone marrow. :=:Wed, 13 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 607
TDC får alvorlig kritik for at totalovervåge danskerne :: TDC havde bestemt ikke ret til at logge danske mobilkundernes position flere hundrede gange i døgnet, blot fordi det står i en lovtekst, at selskabet kan kunne stedfæste en MMS. Det fastslår Datatilsynet i længe ventet afgørelse. :=:Sat, 23 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 608
What I’ve Gained by Leaving the Republican Party :: I’ m a politically homeless person these days. For most of my life, I’ve been closely affiliated with the Republican Party. My first vote was cast for Ronald Reagan in 1980. I worked in his administration, as well as that of George H. W. Bush; for seven years, I was a senior adviser to President George W. Bush. Most of my professional friends and almost all of my former colleagues—those with whom :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 609
New Projection: World Population Will Level off, Then Fall Forever :: Soylent Green The conventional wisdom is that the global population is hurtling toward catastrophe — some project it could hit a staggering 11 billion by the year 2100. But a new book examines the data and comes to a radically different conclusion: instead of continuing to rise, the population will level out in about 30 years — and then start to decline , possibly forever. Stand on Zanzibar The b :=:Wed, 27 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 610
Physicists Just Reversed Time on The Smallest Scale by Using a Quantum Computer :: It wasn't long, but it counts. :=:Tue, 19 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 611
UK Put a Black Hole on a 50p Coin to Honour Stephen Hawking, And It Looks Stunning :: It's just what he would have wanted. :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 612
Pinterest Restricts Vaccine Search Results to Curb Spread of Misinformation :: The digital platform is grappling with the proliferation of anti-vaccination content online, a problem also faced by Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 613
The Obama Portraits Have Had a Pilgrimage Effect :: In April 2018, the artist Wendy MacNaughton posted a picture titled Dispatch From DC on Instagram. It was a clever ink-and-watercolor drawing showing Rhonda, a security guard at the National Portrait Gallery, next to the newly unveiled portrait of Barack Obama by Kehinde Wiley. In a hand-printed caption, Rhonda is quoted recounting how an elderly lady had gotten on her knees and prayed in front o :=:Mon, 25 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 614
Conservative Christians Just Retook the United Methodist Church :: The United Methodist Church has fractured over the role of LGBTQ people in the denomination. At a special conference in St. Louis this week, convened specifically to address divisions over LGBTQ issues, members voted to toughen prohibitions on same-sex marriage and LGBTQ clergy. This was a surprise: The denomination’s bishops, its top clergy, pushed hard for a resolution that would have allowed l :=:Sun, 10 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 615
Wolves in Germany Are Making a Comeback, And The Military Is Weirdly Helping :: We did not expect this. :=:Sun, 17 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 616
7 best board games to help children think big :: Many popular board games offer little more than colorful distractions, lacking both thoughtful design or quality learning principles. However, the recent board game renaissance has resulted in a host of new games that teach children a range of hard and soft skills thought play. We look at some of the best new board games and offer tips to find even more. Monopoly is the worst. No, we're not talki :=:Fri, 01 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 617
Anti-Vaxxers Are Here to Stay :: So what can officials do to protect the public’s health? — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com :=:Wed, 27 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 618
Why This Man's Blood Turned 'Milky' Colored :: The man's blood fat levels were off the charts. :=:Thu, 14 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 619
Clues to Our Unknown Ancestors Are Hiding in Our Genome :: Humans interbred with Neanderthals and Denisovans, but were there others? Paleontologists are using deep learning to find lost branches of our family tree. :=:Tue, 12 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 620
How the Brain Keeps Its Memories in the Right Order :: A long-standing mystery in neuroscience is how the brain attaches a timestamp to our memories. Researchers now may have identified a neural mechanism. :=:Tue, 19 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 621
Susceptibility to Mental Illness May Have Helped Humans Adapt over the Millennia :: Psychiatrist Randolph Nesse, one of the founders of evolutionary medicine, explains why natural selection did not rid our species of onerous psychiatric disorders — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 622
Why Do We Crave Sweets When We're Stressed? :: A brain researcher explains our desire for chocolate and other carbs during tough times — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 623
Facebook’s data deals are now under criminal investigation
Facebook Instagram
:: [no content] :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 624
A Teen Started a Global Climate Protest. What Are You Doing? :: One day last summer, Greta Thunberg skipped school, sat down outside the Swedish parliament—and launched a movement that's still going strong. :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 625
The monkey hunters: Humans colonize South Asian rainforest by hunting primates :: Researchers have found evidence for humans hunting small mammals in the forests of Sri Lanka at least 45,000 years ago. The researchers discovered remains of such animals, including primates, with evidence of cut-marks and burning at the oldest archaeological site occupied by humans in Sri Lanka, alongside sophisticated bone and stone tools. This is an example of the uniquely human adaptability th :=:Fri, 22 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 626
Human antiviral 'GS-441524' shows great promise against feline infectious peritonitis :: The emergence of exotic diseases such as Ebola and SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) in people has prompted intensive research into new drug treatments, and this is indirectly bringing benefit to cats. :=:Sat, 02 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 627
Statins linked to higher diabetes risk :: Individuals who take cholesterol-lowering statins may be at higher risk for developing high blood sugar levels, insulin resistance, and eventually type 2 diabetes, according to an analysis published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. :=:Tue, 12 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 628
Conservation implications of turtle declines in Australia’s Murray River system :: Conservation implications of turtle declines in Australia’s Murray River system Conservation implications of turtle declines in Australia’s Murray River system, Published online: 13 February 2019; doi:10.1038/s41598-019-39096-3 Conservation implications of turtle declines in Australia’s Murray River system :=:Tue, 12 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 629
Practicing self-compassion boosts immunity and healing, top British researchers say :: Practicing self-compassion is shown to reduce arousal and increase parasympathetic activation in a new study. Feeling comfortable in your skin leads to higher-order emotions, such as empathy and compassion. Buddha realized this millennia ago when prescribing compassion as the path to self-realization. None One major advancement of Buddhism was the implementation of a universal approach to self-re :=:Thu, 14 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 630
CRISPR-edited babies born in China may have enhanced brain functions :: In November, Chinese scientist He Jiankui reported that he'd used the CRISPR tool to edit the embryos of two girls. He deleted a gene called CCR5, which allows humans to contract HIV, the virus which causes AIDS. In addition to blocking AIDS, deleting this gene might also have positive effects on memory and cognition. Still, virtually all scientists say we're not ready to use gene-editing technol :=:Fri, 01 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 631
America's newest crew capsule rockets toward space station :: America's newest capsule for astronauts rocketed Saturday toward the International Space Station on a high-stakes test flight by SpaceX. :=:Thu, 14 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 632
Coal power stations disrupt rainfall, global study finds :: Modern coal-fired power stations produce more ultrafine dust particles than road traffic and can even modify and redistribute rainfall patterns, a new 15-year international study shows. :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 633
Murdoch's News Corp calls for Google breakup :: Rupert Murdoch's News Corp has called for Google to be broken up in Australia, the latest salvo in a battle between the corporate media giants. :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 634
Scientists use a blender to reveal what's in our smartphones :: Every year, 1.4 billion mobile phones are produced around the world. Many of us have more than one, but what are they made of, where do those materials come from, and what is the best thing to do with our devices once we have no more use for them? :=:Mon, 11 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 635
Researchers achieve solid state thermochemiluminescence with crystals :: The findings, published in the journal Nature Communications, demonstrate that this fundamental process of transduction of energy—heat, applied to a material, generates light—can be achieved in pure solid materials of millimeter or centimeter size. :=:Tue, 19 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 636
Why Climate Change Pundits Aren’t Convincing Anyone :: For more than 50 years, the cognitive sciences have amassed a mountainous body of insight into why we think and choose and act as we do. And what they have found is that facts alone are literally meaningless. To win over climate change skeptics, we must speak to their hearts, not just their heads. :=:Tue, 19 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 637
Moving artificial leaves out of the lab and into the air :: Researchers have proposed a design solution that could bring artificial leaves out of the lab and into the environment. Their improved leaf, which would use carbon dioxide — a potent greenhouse gas — from the air, would be at least 10 times more efficient than natural leaves at converting carbon dioxide to fuel. :=:Tue, 05 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 638
Running an LED in reverse could cool future computers :: In a finding that runs counter to a common assumption in physics, researchers at the University of Michigan ran a light emitting diode (LED) with electrodes reversed in order to cool another device mere nanometers away. :=:Fri, 22 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 639
It's 2050 And This Is How We Stopped Climate Change :: Let's imagine that we've ended global warming. Humans no longer are releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Here's what life is like in a zero-carbon world. (Image credit: Panoramic Images/Getty Images) :=:Wed, 06 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 640
Eating nuts may reduce cardiovascular disease risk for people with diabetes :: People with type 2 diabetes who ate five servings of nuts per week enjoyed a 17 percent lower risk of cardiovascular disease.Even a small amount of nuts made a difference, with a 3 percent lower risk of cardiovascular disease and 6 percent lower risk of cardiovascular disease death for each additional weekly serving.Tree nuts appeared to offer more heart-healthy protection than peanuts. :=:Fri, 01 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 641
Texas A&M researchers develop new therapeutic approach to treating osteoarthritis :: Researchers from Texas A&M University, led by Dr. Akhilesh K. Gaharwar, have developed a new way to deliver treatment for cartilage regeneration. :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 642
Control of hearing sensitivity by tectorial membrane calcium [Neuroscience] :: When sound stimulates the stereocilia on the sensory cells in the hearing organ, Ca2+ ions flow through mechanically gated ion channels. This Ca2+ influx is thought to be important for ensuring that the mechanically gated channels operate within their most sensitive response region, setting the fraction of channels open at… :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 643
Fungus from the intestinal mucosa can affect lung health :: Researchers have described the mechanism of 'immune cross-reactivity'. The immune system's reaction to Candida albicans in the intestine seems to amplify pathogenic immune processes in the lungs. In consequence, immune-compromised individuals may be at higher risk of health deterioration. :=:Sun, 10 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 644
Diffusing the methane bomb: We can still make a difference :: The Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet, causing the carbon containing permafrost that has been frozen for tens or hundreds of thousands of years to thaw and release methane into the atmosphere, thereby contributing to global warming. The findings of a study that included researchers from IIASA, however, suggest that it is still possible to neutralize this threat. :=:Sun, 03 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 645
Martin Birchall innocent, UCL decides once again :: In yet another investigation, UCL whitewashed Martin Birchall of all responsibilities. I publish here the confidential report and excerpts from a secret PhD thesis, which the UCL committee carefully avoided to read. :=:Wed, 06 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 646
Environment in multiple crises – report :: Policymakers are not grasping the seriousness of what we’re doing to the planet, a think-tank warns. :=:Wed, 06 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 647
NASA’s Mars Rover Opportunity Concludes a 15-Year MissionNASA Opportunity Mars :: Silent since a giant dust storm last summer, the rover was the longest-lasting robot on another planet ever. :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 648
Scientists crack mystery of ancient Chinese pottery found in shipwreck :: X-ray fluorescence reveals exact origin of porcelain recovered from the ocean floor. Andrew Masterson reports. :=:Fri, 01 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 649
SpaceX Dragon capsule docks with space station :: America's new astronaut capsule successfully completes the latest task in its demonstration mission. :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 650
Rise of the temporary workforce :: Rise of the temporary workforce Rise of the temporary workforce, Published online: 06 February 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-00450-0 Increased job competition over the past 50 years has cut the average length of time astronomy and ecology graduates spend in academic posts from 35 to 5 years. :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 651
Morals versus money: How we make social decisions :: Our actions are guided by moral values. However, monetary incentives can get in the way of our good intentions. Neuroeconomists at the University of Zurich have now investigated in which area of the brain conflicts between moral and material motives are resolved. Their findings reveal that our actions are more social when these deliberations are inhibited. :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 652
Philosophy: What exactly is a black hole? :: What is a black hole? A philosopher shows that physicists use different definitions of the concept, depending on their own particular fields of interest. :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 653
Energizer’s Brick-Like New Phone Has a Battery That Lasts 50 Days :: Wish Granted More than anything else, adult smartphone users in the U.S. wish their devices had longer battery lives . Avenir Telecom appears to have had that desire in mind while developing the Power Max P18K Pop smartphone for Energizer. The French telecom company unveiled the new phone at the 2019 Mobile World Congress (MWC) this week, and it’s an absolute beast of a device, containing what Av :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 654
This neuroscientist is fighting sexual harassment in science—but her own job is in peril :: Twitter warrior BethAnn McLaughlin takes aim at harassers :=:Thu, 14 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 655
For Alzheimer's Sufferers, Brain Inflammation Ignites a Neuron-Killing "Forest Fire" :: And it could also be the kindling sparking Parkinson’s and other neurodegenerative maladies — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com :=:Mon, 25 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 656
For Alzheimer's Sufferers, Brain Inflammation Ignites a Neuron-Killing "Forest Fire" :: And it could also be the kindling sparking Parkinson’s and other neurodegenerative maladies — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 657
Amazon Got Exactly What It Deserved—And So Did New York :: Amazon said on Thursday that it will cancel its plans to add a second corporate headquarters in New York City. The company had pledged to build a campus in Queens’ Long Island City in exchange for $3 billion in subsidies. In a statement, Amazon blamed local politicians for the reversal. “For Amazon, the commitment to build a new headquarters requires positive, collaborative relationships with sta :=:Wed, 27 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 658
Michael Cohen's Credibility Has Never Been More Certain :: In his testimony before Congress Wednesday, Trump's former fixer gave the most convincing narrative yet about Trump's presidential run. :=:Fri, 08 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 659
Green tea cuts obesity, health risks in mice :: Green tea cut obesity and a number of inflammatory biomarkers linked with poor health in a new study. :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 660
Ancient poop helps show climate change contributed to fall of Cahokia :: A new study shows climate change may have contributed to the decline of Cahokia, a famed prehistoric city near present-day St. Louis. And it involves ancient human poop. :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 661
Giant 'megalodon' shark extinct earlier than previously thought :: Megalodon—a giant predatory shark that has inspired numerous documentaries, books and blockbuster movies—likely went extinct at least one million years earlier than previously thought, according to new research published Feb. 13 in PeerJ—the Journal of Life and Environmental Sciences. :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 662
Nearly 50% of transport pollution deaths linked to diesel: study :: Some 385,000 people worldwide died prematurely in 2015 from air pollution caused by vehicle exhaust emissions, a US study found Wednesday, which singled out diesel engines as the main culprit. :=:Tue, 12 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 663
Richard Branson says he'll fly to space by July :: British billionaire Richard Branson plans to travel to space within the next four or five months aboard his own Virgin Galactic spaceship, he told AFP Thursday. :=:Thu, 07 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 664
Poll shows many older adults, especially those with health issues, feel isolated :: One in four older adults say they feel isolated from other people at least some of the time, and one in three say they lack regular companionship, according to a new national poll. Those feelings of loneliness showed up most in people aged 50 to 80 who also reported they had health issues and unhealthy habits. The findings amplify research showing links between chronic loneliness and health issues :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 665
Quantum dots can spit out clone-like photons :: In the global quest to develop practical computing and communications devices based on the principles of quantum physics, one potentially useful component has proved elusive: a source of individual particles of light with perfectly constant, predictable, and steady characteristics. Now, researchers at MIT and in Switzerland say they have made major steps toward such a single photon source. :=:Fri, 15 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 666
Mobile bedside bioprinter can heal wounds :: Scientists have created such a mobile skin bioprinting system — the first of its kind — that allows bi-layered skin to be printed directly into a wound. :=:Fri, 22 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 667
Volkswagen vil sætte strøm til 22 millioner elbiler inden 2028 :: 22 millioner elbiler fordelt på 70 nye bilmodeller skal køre rundt på vejene om 10 år, siger Volkswagen-koncernen. Miljøorganisation er begejstret. :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 668
Interpreting contemporary trends in atmospheric methane [Perspectives] :: Atmospheric methane plays a major role in controlling climate, yet contemporary methane trends (1982–2017) have defied explanation with numerous, often conflicting, hypotheses proposed in the literature. Specifically, atmospheric observations of methane from 1982 to 2017 have exhibited periods of both increasing concentrations (from 1982 to 2000 and from 2007 to… :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 669
Earth's magnetic shield booms like a drum when hit by impulses :: The Earth's magnetic shield booms like a drum when it is hit by strong impulses, according to new research. :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 670
PGC1A regulates the IRS1:IRS2 ratio during fasting to influence hepatic metabolism downstream of insulin [Cell Biology] :: Precise modulation of hepatic glucose metabolism is crucial during the fasting and feeding cycle and is controlled by the actions of circulating insulin and glucagon. The insulin-signaling pathway requires insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS1) and IRS2, which are found to be dysregulated in diabetes and obesity. The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor… :=:Thu, 14 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 671
LINC00116 codes for a mitochondrial peptide linking respiration and lipid metabolism [Biochemistry] :: Genes coding for small peptides have been frequently misannotated as long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) genes. Here we have demonstrated that one such transcript is translated into a 56-amino-acid-long peptide conserved in chordates, corroborating the work published while this manuscript was under review. The Mtln peptide could be detected in mitochondria… :=:Thu, 14 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 672
How Many Creationists Are There in America? :: A new survey shows the number can vary considerably depending how you ask questions about evolution — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com :=:Tue, 19 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 673
Trump Calls For “6G,” Which Doesn’t Exist :: Drawing Board We’d like to put out an open call: if you have any idea what 6G technology is, please contact us and fill us in. We ask because U.S. President Donald Trump just tweeted that he wants “6G” cell service in the U.S. “as soon as possible” — even though we don’t even have 5G service yet and no one has started to meaningfully discuss 6G, according to The Verge . Quick Primer 5G service is :=:Mon, 18 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 674
Wild black leopard photographed in Africa for first time in 100 years :: Black leopards are very hard to spot in the wild. A photograph by Will Burrard-Lucas may be the first of the cat in Africa for 100 years :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 675
The Senate Finds Its Backbone :: On Wednesday, the Senate passed a resolution directing the president to end American participation in a foreign war—but not the one in Iraq, Syria, or Afghanistan. The relevant conflict is in Yemen. Despite campaigning on an “America first” foreign policy, President Donald Trump has the U.S. military participating in a civil war there, supporting a Sunni-aligned coalition led by Saudi Arabia. A c :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 676
Boeing Plans to Fix the 737 MAX Jet With a Software Update :: But a plan that seemed straightforward has been complicated by the Ethiopian Airlines crash. :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 677
Genomic evidence for shared common ancestry of East African hunting-gathering populations and insights into local adaptation [Anthropology] :: Anatomically modern humans arose in Africa ∼300,000 years ago, but the demographic and adaptive histories of African populations are not well-characterized. Here, we have generated a genome-wide dataset from 840 Africans, residing in western, eastern, southern, and northern Africa, belonging to 50 ethnicities, and speaking languages belonging to four language… :=:Tue, 12 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 678
Liberals and Conservatives Are Both Susceptible to Fake News, but for Different Reasons :: New research suggests both liberals and conservatives are motivated to believe fake news, and dismiss real news that contradicts their ideologies — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 679
Turning desalination waste into a useful resource :: The rapidly growing desalination industry produces water for drinking and for agriculture in the world's arid coastal regions. But it leaves behind as a waste product a lot of highly concentrated brine, which is usually disposed of by dumping it back into the sea, a process that requires costly pumping systems and that must be managed carefully to prevent damage to marine ecosystems. Now, engineer :=:Fri, 22 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 680
Mnyamawamtuka: New dinosaur with heart-shaped tail provides evolutionary clues for African continent :: A new dinosaur that wears its "heart" on its tail provides new clues to how ecosystems evolved on the African continent during the Cretaceous period according to researchers at Ohio University. :=:Tue, 05 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 681
Undersea gases could superheat the planet :: The world's oceans could harbor an unpleasant surprise for global warming, based on new research that shows how naturally occurring carbon gases trapped in reservoirs atop the seafloor escaped to superheat the planet in prehistory. :=:Wed, 20 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 682
What a Fluke! Man Ends Up in Whale's Mouth :: A whale accidentally ended up with a mouth full of snorkeler while hunting fish near South Africa. :=:Thu, 07 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 683
Orangutans make complex economic decisions about tool use :: Flexible tool use is closely associated to higher mental processes such as the ability to plan actions. Now a group of cognitive biologists and comparative psychologists found out that the apes carefully weighed their options. To do so the apes considered the details such as differences in quality between the two food rewards and the functionality of the available tools in order to obtain a high q :=:Mon, 11 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 684
Scientists sharpen their molecular scissors and expand the gene editing toolbox :: Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM) scientists have figured out a better way to deliver a DNA editing tool to shorten the presence of the editor proteins in the cells in what they describe as a "hit and run" approach. :=:Sun, 03 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 685
Amazon Has Removed a Misleading Documentary on Vaccines, And It's About Time :: Good riddance. :=:Fri, 08 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 686
White House Panel Will Study Whether Climate Change Is a National Security Threat. It Includes a Climate Denialist. :: The Pentagon and federal intelligence agencies have said that climate change is a threat. Now, the White House is planning a panel to study whether or not that is true. :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 687
German Regulators Just Outlawed Facebook's Whole Ad Business :: The country’s antitrust regulator told Facebook it couldn't demand so much data from users simply to have an account. Experts say it’s a big deal. :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 688
Trump's Budget Guts Science Agencies—But Favors the Moon :: As in years past, Congress is likely to restore many of the proposed cuts in Trump's spending plan. But the deep cuts are still sowing confusion. :=:Thu, 14 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 689
Mandeinfluenza: Bliver mænd hårdere ramt af sygdom end kvinder? :: Mænd bliver ofte beskyldt for at pylre mere under en influenza. Men hvad siger videnskaben? :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 690
This Adorable Cat Was Frozen by the Polar Vortex. But Vets Defrosted Her and Now She's Fine. :: Fluffy is one tough cat. :=:Fri, 01 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 691
Skeleton of Teen Girl Found Buried Next to Mysterious Pyramid in Egypt :: The 13-year-old was buried next to a partially collapsed pyramid dating back 4,600 years. :=:Wed, 27 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 692
Ilhan Omar Just Made It Harder to Have a Nuanced Debate About Israel :: In the anti-Semitic imagination, Jews run the world through a global conspiracy of cash and power. This belief is both old and resilient, and in the last seven decades, anti-Semites have relied on this framework to explain the tight alliance between the United States and Israel. On Sunday night, a freshman congresswoman from Minnesota, Ilhan Omar, cheerfully repeated this anti-Semitic trope, impl
Amazon Won't Build Its HQ2 in New York City :: The company says it will no longer build its highly anticipated office in Queens, after the deal faced backlash from politicians, taxpayers, and activists. :=:Thu, 14 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 694
Kamala Harris Wants to Give States Millions to Overhaul Tech :: The Digital Service Act of 2019 would help state and local governments hire the talent they need to fix the often outdated tools and websites Americans use every day. :=:Wed, 27 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 695
Study of Arctic fishes reveals the birth of a gene—from 'junk' :: Though separated by a world of ocean, and unrelated to each other, two fish groups—one in the Arctic, the other in the Antarctic—share a surprising survival strategy: They both have evolved the ability to produce the same special brand of antifreeze protein in their tissues. A new study describes in molecular detail how the Arctic fishes built the gene for their antifreeze from tiny fragments of n :=:Mon, 11 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 696
Scientists Just Took a Major Step Towards Injecting Eyes With Night Vision :: How badly do we want this? :=:Sun, 10 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 697
It's Official: Human-Caused Climate Change Has Now Reached 'Gold Standard' :: There's only one in a million chance that it's being caused by anything other than humanity. :=:Sun, 03 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 698
Watch SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Dock Autonomously With the ISS :: Autonomous Parking After successfully launching early on Saturday morning from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, SpaceX’s next-generation passenger spacecraft Crew Dragon has docked itself to a free dock on the International Space Station at 5:51 am EST this morning. The first @Commercial_Crew mission arrived at the space station today when the @SpaceX #CrewDragon completed soft capture on :=:Wed, 20 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 699
They Bribed College Coaches. I Collected Cans for Cash. :: When my husband and I sent our first son to college a decade ago, we collected aluminum cans to help pay for his textbooks. When the actor Felicity Huffman wanted to get her daughter into college, federal prosecutors say , she paid $15,000 to have someone “secretly correct” the teenager’s answers to the SAT. Meanwhile, the actor Lori Loughlin and her husband, the fashion designer Mossimo Giannull :=:Fri, 08 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 700
How listening to music 'significantly impairs' creativity :: The popular view that music enhances creativity has been challenged by researchers who say it has the opposite effect. Psychologists investigated the impact of background music on performance by presenting people with verbal insight problems that are believed to tap creativity. They found that background music 'significantly impaired' people's ability to complete tasks testing verbal creativity — :=:Fri, 15 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 701
How did reading and writing evolve? Neuroscience gives a clue :: The beginnings of writing may lie in humanity's far distant past, before Homo sapiens even emerged, says Derek Hodgson of the UK's University of York. :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 702
Spørg Fagfolket: Hvorfor er planeter runde? :: Flere læsere undrer sig over, hvordan planeterne blev så runde efter Big Bang. Det svarer lektor fra Aarhus Universitet på. :=:Wed, 20 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 703
The US Government Is Talking Seriously About Legalising Marijuana Nation-Wide :: Once again. :=:Fri, 22 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 704
Darwin's finches don't tell the whole story of avian evolution :: The connection between bird diet and skull shape is surprisingly weak for most species according to a new study led by UCL and the Natural History Museum, rewriting our understanding of how ecosystems influence evolution. :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 705
Tiger killed by new mate at London Zoo :: Male tiger Asim arrived at London Zoo days ago as a potential mate for long-term resident Melati. :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 706
Environmental noise found to enhance the transport of energy across a line of ions :: A team of researchers affiliated with several institutions in Austria and Germany has shown that introducing environmental noise to a line of ions can lead to enhanced transport of energy across them. In their paper published in Physical Review Letters, the researchers describe their experiments and why they believe their findings will be helpful to other researchers. :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 707
Nasa confirms Mars rover Opportunity is dead :: Robot the size of a golf buggy has sent data to Earth for 15 years but fell silent eight months ago and Nasa says mission is complete NASA has declared the veteran Mars rover Opportunity dead after 15 years on the red planet. The golf buggy-sized robotic vehicle last made contact with Earth eight months ago, falling silent after being caught in a global dust storm . Continue reading… :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 708
Yes, That Viking Warrior Buried with Weapons Really Was a Woman :: Researchers answer questions following the explosive finding that a Viking warrior was biologically female. :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 709
A new framework to predict spatiotemporal signal propagation in complex networks :: Past studies have found that a variety of complex networks, from biological systems to social media networks, can exhibit universal topological characteristics. These universal characteristics, however, do not always translate into similar system dynamics. The dynamic behavior of a system cannot be predicted from topology alone, but rather depends on the interaction of a network's topology with th :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 710
Scientists Finally Confirm A Big Theory About Solar System Formation :: Planets, stars, and black holes all grow by consuming material from a spinning disk. While these disks may differ in size, they're all mostly dependent on the mighty force of gravity, which keeps them spinning around the central mass. Gravity lets small clumps grow into bigger clumps. But it's not enough to pull the whole disk into the middle in one giant clump, because angular momentum is pulling :=:Wed, 20 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 711
Ancient Celts Decapitated Their Enemies and Saved Their Heads, Archaeologists Say :: (Inside Science) — In a finding that mirrors the fantasy of HBO's “Game of Thrones,” French researchers working at the site of a third-century B.C. settlement have discovered evidence that Celtic communities decapitated and preserved human heads. A team of archaeologists unearthed fragments of human skulls that they believe confirm a practice of deliberate decapitation. They concluded that the sk :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 712
A Hormone Produced When We Exercise Might Help Fight Alzheimer's :: An exercise-induced hormone linked to a range of benefits might add another to its repertoire: protection against Alzheimer's disease. A new paper, published in Nature Medicine, explains that the hormone irisin, released by our bodies when we exert ourselves, seems to offer protection against the memory loss and brain damage associated with Alzheimer's. In those with the disease, however, irisin l :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 713
The Andromeda galaxy, as you’ve never seen it before :: State-of-the-art sky-surveying camera produces exciting early results. :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 714
Earth's magnetic shield booms like a drum when hit by impulses :: The Earth's magnetic shield booms like a drum when it is hit by strong impulses, according to new research from Queen Mary University of London. :=:Fri, 08 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 715
Macaque fossils discovered at the bottom of the North Sea :: Together with two colleagues from the Netherlands, Senckenberg scientist Ralf-Dietrich Kahlke examined the teeth of several macaques from the bottom of the North Sea. They constitute the first fossil evidence of Old World monkeys from the guenon family (Cercopithecidae) in the North Sea region. The primate teeth were unearthed during the artificial accretion of sand for the "Maasvlakte 2" harbor e :=:Thu, 14 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 716
Observing matter-wave diffraction from a periodic array of half planes :: Researchers at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), in Korea, and Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, in Germany, have recently conducted a study investigating matter-wave diffraction from a periodic array of half planes. Their paper, published on Physical Review Letters (PRL), reports on the reflection and diffraction of He and D2 beams from square-wave gratin :=:Tue, 12 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 717
Researchers discover oldest tattoo tool in western North America :: Washington State University archaeologists have discovered the oldest tattooing artifact in western North America. :=:Sat, 02 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 718
Skin wound regeneration with bioactive glass-gold nanoparticles ointment :: Healing is a complex process in adult skin impairments, requiring collaborative biochemical processes for onsite repair. Diverse cell types (macrophages, leukocytes, mast cells) contribute to the associated phases of proliferation, migration, matrix synthesis and contraction, coupled with growth factors and matrix signals at the site of the wound. Understanding signal control and cellular activity :=:Mon, 11 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 719
A water-splitting catalyst unlike any other :: Electricity can be generated by renewable sources such as sunlight and wind, then used to split water, which makes hydrogen as a fuel for emerging energy devices such as fuel cells. Because hydrogen is a clean fuel, researchers are putting a lot of effort into developing water-splitting catalysts, which are essential for the reaction's energy efficiency. :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 720
'X-ray gun' helps researchers pinpoint the origins of pottery found on ancient shipwreck :: About eight hundred years ago, a ship sank in the Java Sea off the coast of the islands of Java and Sumatra in Indonesia. There are no written records saying where the ship was going or where it came from—the only clues are the mostly-disintegrated structure of the vessel and its cargo, which was discovered on the seabed in the 1980s. Since the wreck's recovery in the 1990s, researchers have been :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 721
ALMA observes the formation sites of solar-system-like planets :: Researchers have spotted the formation sites of planets around a young star resembling the sun. Two rings of dust around the star, at distances comparable to the asteroid belt and the orbit of Neptune in the solar system, suggest that we are witnessing the formation of a planetary system similar to our own. :=:Tue, 05 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 722
Collaboration enables investigation of the origin of heavy elements :: A team of experts in atomic physics, nuclear fusion, and astronomy has computed high-accuracy atomic data for analyzing light from a kilonova, a birth place of heavy elements. They found that their new data set could predict kilonovae brightness with much better accuracy than before. This aids our understanding of the cosmic origins of heavy elements. :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 723
Nearly 200,000 people exposed to California's volcanic hazard zones each day, report says :: Nearly 200,000 people live, work or pass through one of California's volcanic hazard zones on a daily basis, and there's a 16 percent chance of an eruption in the state within the next 30 years. :=:Tue, 19 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 724
Using quantum measurements to fuel a cooling engine :: Researchers at the University of Florence and Istituto dei Sistemi Complessi, in Italy, have recently proved that the invasiveness of quantum measurements might not always be detrimental. In a study published in Physical Review Letters, they showed that this invasive quality can actually be exploited, using quantum measurements to fuel a cooling engine. :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 725
Klimatkompensation döljer skadligt beteende :: Forskarna Patrik Sörqvist och Linda Langeborg vid Högskolan i Gävle har utvecklat en teori som kan förklara varför vi skadar miljön, även när vi försöker behandla den väl. Denna teori bygger på antagandet att vi ser vårt förhållande till miljön som ett socialt utbyte. Detta får oss att tro att vårt miljövänliga beteende kan kompensera för vårt skadliga beteende, men till skillnad från ett socialt :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 726
Hawaii's False Missile Alert Shows Americans Have No Idea What to Do in Nuclear Attack :: An erroneous alert about a nuclear attack was sent to Hawaii residents. The ensuing confusion and hysteria revealed that Americans are not prepared. :=:Thu, 14 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 727
Vaping is probably bad for your heart :: Health Recent studies have all found frequent e-cigarette use could put users at an increased risk for a heart attack. Researchers still don’t know all of the health risks e-cigarettes might pose to adult users. However, according to new research, e-cigarette use is associated with an…
One step closer to growing made-to-order human kidneys :: Researchers successfully used stem cells to grow mouse kidneys inside rats. :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 729
Giant 'megalodon' shark extinct earlier than previously thought :: 'Megalodon' — a giant predatory shark that has inspired numerous documentaries, books and blockbuster movies — likely went extinct at least one million years earlier than previously thought, according to new research. This is a substantial adjustment as it means that O. megalodon likely went extinct long before a suite of strange seals, walruses, sea cows, porpoises, dolphins and whales all disa :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 730
Food allergies and multiple sclerosis: New link :: Investigating the correlation between allergy and inflammatory disease activity, a team of investigators has found new evidence connecting food allergies and relapses of multiple sclerosis. :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 731
GI neuroimmune disruption contributes to Gulf War Illness :: Many Persian Gulf War veterans experience Gulf War Illness (GWI), a chronic condition with symptoms ranging from gastrointestinal to neurological. While exposure to the anti-nerve gas pyridostigmine bromide (PB) is linked to the development of GWI, the exact cause and mechanisms of the illness remain unclear. Recently, an animal study tested the hypothesis that exposure to PB contributes to the de :=:Wed, 20 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 732
Fasting-mimicking diet holds promise for treating people with inflammatory bowel disease :: Fasting-mimicking diet holds promise for treating people with inflammatory bowel disease, a new study finds. A clinical trial shows reduction of inflammation in humans and in mice, the diet appears to reverse Crohn's and colitis pathology. :=:Wed, 06 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 733
Holy fudge: soft foods helped humans form 'f' and 'v' sounds – study :: Diet of porridge and gruel shaped human faces, which diversified English language The texts of the 16th century were first to record the F-word for posterity. It appeared in William Dunbar’s poem A Brash of Wowing in 1503 and later, thanks to an angry monk, in a note scrawled in the margin of a 1528 copy of De Officiis , Cicero’s moral manifesto. But according to researchers, the English language :=:Tue, 26 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 734
‘Executing Babies’: Here Are the Facts Behind Trump’s Misleading Abortion Tweet :: Infants are rarely born alive after abortion procedures, and if they are, doctors do not kill them. :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 735
Jordan Peterson's take on the origins of the Buddha :: During this class, Jordan Peterson describes how overprotective parenting led to the creation of Buddhism. Peterson compares the Buddhist origin myth with the story of Eden. Both tales deal with the onset of consciousness and mortality and therefore are universal in appeal. None Jordan Peterson begins at the outset of the origin myth. Siddhārtha Gautama's father was a local oligarch in the region :=:Fri, 01 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 736
Did ancient cave artists share a global language? :: Many of these symbols are found in caves in Africa, Asia, Australia and America as well. At least 40,000 years old, the set of symbols may have been a universal communications tool. Among these symbols is the iconic hashtag. A flash of prehistoric magic transports a cave painter 40,000 years into the future. Landing in the here and now, he's left frightened and bewildered by the bombardment of mo :=:Fri, 08 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 737
Schizophrenia's surprising link to the gut :: For decades, researchers have tried in vain to answer the question: What causes schizophrenia? At the same time, we've developed a growing understanding of how intimately linked the bacteria in our gut and our brains are. New research shows that schizophrenics have vastly different microbiomes, potentially uncovering a cause of — and maybe a future cure to — schizophrenia. None Researchers have t :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 738
Samsung Just Revealed a $1,980 Folding Smartphone :: Galaxy Fold Korean tech giant Samsung officially announced its take on the growing foldable smartphone trend at its Galaxy Unpacked event today in San Francisco: the Samsung Galaxy Fold . The device will go on sale for $1,980 on April 26. We first got a glimpse of the device in November, but the brand has likely been working on the concept for almost half a decade . Serious About Multitasking The :=:Tue, 26 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 739
Lost City in South Africa Discovered Hiding Beneath Thick Vegetation :: Billions of laser scans have revealed a lost city that was once a bustling epicenter in what is now South Africa's Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve, new research finds. :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 740
Ancient poop is helping archaeologists understand a midwestern city’s demise :: Science The forensic feces files The Midwest was once the most happening place north of Mexico. But within 100 years, the district was largely abandoned. Now, ancient poop molecules are helping… :=:Tue, 05 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 741
A new 2-D material uses light to quickly and safely purify water :: A newly designed material uses only light to speedily remove 99.9999 percent of microbes from water. :=:Fri, 22 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 742
Susceptibility to Mental Illness May Have Helped Humans Adapt over the Millennia :: Psychiatrist Randolph Nesse, one of the founders of evolutionary medicine, explains why natural selection did not rid our species of onerous psychiatric disorders — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com :=:Thu, 07 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 743
Artificial Intelligence Study of Human Genome Finds Unknown Human Ancestor :: The genetic footprint of a "ghost population" may match that of a Neanderthal and Denisovan hybrid fossil found in Siberia :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 744
Polio returns to Papua New Guinea :: Low vax rates blamed for a slew of new cases in recent months. Andrew Masterson reports. :=:Wed, 27 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 745
Electrically-heated silicate glass appears to defy Joule's first law :: Characterizing and predicting how electrically-heated silicate glass behaves is important because it is used in a variety of devices that drive technical innovations. Silicate glass is used in display screens. Glass fibers power the internet. Nanoscale glass devices are being deployed to provide breakthrough medical treatments such as targeted drug-delivery and re-growing tissue. :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 746
New footage released of rare giant pangolins in Africa :: Researchers from a British Zoo on Wednesday released rare footage revealing the secret lives of giant pangolins, considered one of the world's most trafficked mammals. :=:Thu, 07 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 747
Sea Creatures Still Arriving in the U.S. on Plastic Debris From the Japanese Tsunami Eight Years Ago :: Marine biologists don't know how long different species can survive adrift in the open ocean, and some may become invasive when they reach new shores
The second person ever has been cleared of HIV after a stem cell treatment :: [no content] :=:Wed, 06 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 749
Trods forskeres advarsler: Sojabønner i biobrændsler går fri af nye EU-regler :: Når biodiesel laves på sojabønner, bliver der ryddet jordområder med et højt kulstoflager, og det fører til markante CO2-udslip. Alligevel stempler en ny EU-akt biodiesel fra sojabønner som et bæredygtigt biobrændsel. :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 750
Violence in Congo Threatens Fight Against Ebola :: After attacks on two Ebola treatment centers in Democratic Republic of Congo last week, Doctors Without Borders says public health workers are "failing" to control the epidemic. :=:Tue, 12 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 751
Do volcanoes or an asteroid deserve blame for dinosaur extinction? :: UC Berkeley scientists have obtained more precise dates for the Deccan Traps volcanic lava flows, linking peak activity more closely to the asteroid or comet impact 66 million years ago and the coincident mass extinction. But if greenhouse gases emitted before the impact created a hothouse climate that set life up for a fall when the impact cooled the planet, those gases did not coincide with the :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 752
New treatment offers potentially promising results for the possibility of slowing, stopping, or even reversing Parkinson's disease :: A pioneering clinical trials program that delivered an experimental treatment directly to the brain offers hope that it may be possible to restore the cells damaged in Parkinson's disease. The study investigated whether boosting the levels of a naturally-occurring growth factor, Glial Cell Line Derived Neurotrophic Factor (GDNF), can regenerate dying dopamine brain cells in patients with Parkinson :=:Tue, 19 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 753
Asteroids are stronger, harder to destroy than previously thought :: A popular theme in the movies is that of an incoming asteroid that could extinguish life on the planet, and our heroes are launched into space to blow it up. But incoming asteroids may be harder to break than scientists previously thought, finds a Johns Hopkins study that used a new understanding of rock fracture and a new computer modeling method to simulate asteroid collisions. :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 754
AhR controls redox homeostasis and shapes the tumor microenvironment in BRCA1-associated breast cancer [Cell Biology] :: Cancer cells have higher reactive oxygen species (ROS) than normal cells, due to genetic and metabolic alterations. An emerging scenario is that cancer cells increase ROS to activate protumorigenic signaling while activating antioxidant pathways to maintain redox homeostasis. Here we show that, in basal-like and BRCA1-related breast cancer (BC), ROS… :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 755
The Snowflake in Chief :: To support President Donald Trump is to be complicit in the rule of a thin-skinned authoritarian who denigrates the free-speech rights of people who criticize him. The latest illustration: his weekend outburst against Saturday Night Live , a sketch-comedy show that has regularly poked fun at every American president for 40 years. The most powerful snowflake in America was triggered by Alec Baldwi :=:Tue, 19 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 756
Gypsum as an agricultural product :: Gypsum, a source of calcium and sulfur, can benefit crops and soils. When recovered from power plant smokestacks, it brings the additional benefits of recycling. :=:Mon, 25 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 757
Local frustration around enzyme active sites [Biophysics and Computational Biology] :: Conflicting biological goals often meet in the specification of protein sequences for structure and function. Overall, strong energetic conflicts are minimized in folded native states according to the principle of minimal frustration, so that a sequence can spontaneously fold, but local violations of this principle open up the possibility to… :=:Tue, 19 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 758
Eating mushrooms may reduce the risk of cognitive decline :: Researchers found that seniors who consume more than two standard portions of mushrooms weekly may have 50 percent reduced odds of having mild cognitive impairment. :=:Tue, 26 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 759
Consciousness rests on the brain's ability to sustain rich dynamics of neural activity :: Consciousness, from the moment we go to sleep until we wake up, seems to come and go every day. Consciousness can be temporarily abolished by pharmacological agents or more permanently by brain injury. Each of these departures from conscious wakefulness brings about different changes in brain function, behaviour and in the brain's neurochemistry. However, they all share a common feature: the lack :=:Sat, 09 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 760
Exceptionally high {delta}15N values in collagen single amino acids confirm Neandertals as high-trophic level carnivores [Anthropology] :: Isotope and archeological analyses of Paleolithic food webs have suggested that Neandertal subsistence relied mainly on the consumption of large herbivores. This conclusion was primarily based on elevated nitrogen isotope ratios in Neandertal bone collagen and has been significantly debated. This discussion relies on the observation that similar high nitrogen… :=:Mon, 25 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 761
Nearly half of adults with heart disease can't afford their medical bills :: More than 45 percent of non-elderly adults with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) report financial hardship due to the associated medical bills. Worse still, about one in five report being unable to pay those medical bills at all, said the researchers. :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 762
Impact of abrupt sea ice loss on Greenland water isotopes during the last glacial period [Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences] :: Greenland ice cores provide excellent evidence of past abrupt climate changes. However, there is no universally accepted theory of how and why these Dansgaard–Oeschger (DO) events occur. Several mechanisms have been proposed to explain DO events, including sea ice, ice shelf buildup, ice sheets, atmospheric circulation, and meltwater changes. DO… :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 763
Crop variety management for climate adaptation supported by citizen science [Sustainability Science] :: Crop adaptation to climate change requires accelerated crop variety introduction accompanied by recommendations to help farmers match the best variety with their field contexts. Existing approaches to generate these recommendations lack scalability and predictivity in marginal production environments. We tested if crowdsourced citizen science can address this challenge, producing empirical… :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 764
Nitrogen-fixing red alder trees tap rock-derived nutrients [Ecology] :: Symbiotic nitrogen (N)-fixing trees supply significant N inputs to forest ecosystems, leading to increased soil fertility, forest growth, and carbon storage. Rapid growth and stoichiometric constraints of N fixers also create high demands for rock-derived nutrients such as phosphorus (P), while excess fixed N can generate acidity and accelerate leaching… :=:Fri, 08 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 765
New AI Generates Freakishly Realistic People Who Don't Actually Exist :: What a time to… not be alive? :=:Wed, 06 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 766
All Publicly Funded Research Could Soon Be Free For All of Us Taxpayers to Read :: As it should be. :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 767
NASA Has Translated a Hubble Photo Into Music, And It's Absolutely Terrifying :: We can't stop listening. :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 768
YouTube Is Taking a Huge Step Against 'Dangerous' Anti-Vax Videos :: About time! :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 769
FDA Approves Ketamine-Based Nasal Spray to Treat Depression :: Ketamine Cleared On Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a prescription treatment for depression that’s based on ketamine — and though they’re advocating caution, researchers appear excited about a new avenue of treatment for stubborn symptoms of depression, anxiety, and suicidal thinking. “We’ve had nothing new in 30 years,” Steven Hollon, a researcher at Vanderbilt Univers :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 770
European Parliament Approves Controversial “Meme Ban” :: Copyright Directive The doomsday clock is ticking for European internet users. Last night, the European Parliament approved the final text of a controversial online copyright law that would force internet platforms to filter everything users upload for copyright — including memes — and charge news aggregators to link to news publications. The move comes after months of adjustments to the Parliame :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 771
Skeleton of Teen Girl Found Buried Next to Mysterious Pyramid in Egypt :: The 13-year-old was buried next to a partially collapsed pyramid dating back 4,600 years. :=:Mon, 25 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 772
Late-blooming exercisers may get the same benefits as lifelong gym rats :: Health It’s never too late to get active. If you weren’t active in your youth, it’s easy to feel like you’re starting off at a disadvantage. :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 773
Have We Mismeasured the Universe? :: New studies of the oldest light and sound in the cosmos suggest novel physics—rather than systematic errors—could explain an unsolved scientific mystery — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 774
A cell-killing strategy to slow aging passed its first test this year :: Are tired-out cells what make people old? A new generation of drugs is designed to wipe them out. :=:Tue, 19 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 775
Pricing algorithms can learn to collude with each other to raise prices :: [no content] :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 776
AR Will Spark the Next Big Tech Platform—Call It Mirrorworld :: We are building a 1-to-1 map of almost unimaginable scope. When it's complete, our physical reality will merge with the digital universe. :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 777
The NSA Makes Ghidra, a Powerful Cybersecurity Tool, Open Source :: No one's better at hacking than the NSA. And now one if its powerful tools is available to everyone for free. :=:Tue, 19 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 778
Tesla’s Model 3 Is Now Selling for $35,000
Tesla $35 Elon Musk 3
:: Elon Musk’s automaker is also introducing a slightly more capable version of the car, moving its sales process online, and shuttering many of its stores. :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 779
New research casts doubt on cause of Angkor's collapse :: New University of Sydney research has revealed the ancient Cambodian city of Angkor underwent a gradual decline in occupation rather than an abrupt collapse. :=:Fri, 22 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 780
Earth's magnetic shield booms like a drum when hit by impulses :: The Earth's magnetic shield booms like a drum when it is hit by strong impulses, according to new research from Queen Mary University of London. :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 781
James Clerk Maxwell Telescope discovers flare 10 billion times more powerful than those on the sun :: The Hawaii-based James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) has discovered a stellar flare 10 billion times more powerful than the Sun's solar flares, a history-making discovery that could unlock decades-old questions about the origin of our own Sun and planets, giving insight into how these celestial bodies were born. :=:Mon, 25 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 782
New machine learning technique rapidly analyzes nanomedicines for cancer immunotherapy :: Spherical nucleic acids are a class of personalized medicines for treating cancer and other diseasesSNAs are challenging to optimize because their structures can vary in many waysNorthwestern University team developed a library approach and machine learning to rapidly synthesize, analyze and select for potent SNA medicines :=:Thu, 07 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 783
Spain police seize over 200 stuffed endangered animals :: Spanish police said Tuesday they had seized more than 200 stuffed endangered animals, including giraffes, rhinos, lions and tigers, from an illegal taxidermy workshop that was selling them online. :=:Mon, 25 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 784
New tarantula species from Angola distinct with a one-of-a-kind 'horn' on its back :: A new to science species of tarantula with a peculiar horn-like protuberance sticking out of its back was recently identified from Angola, a largely underexplored country located at the intersection of several Afrotropical ecoregions. :=:Sun, 03 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 785
Engineers can detect ultra rare proteins in blood using a cellphone camera :: One of the frontiers of medical diagnostics is the race for more sensitive blood tests. The ability to detect extremely rare proteins could make a life-saving difference for many conditions, such as the early detection of certain cancers or the diagnosis of traumatic brain injury, where the relevant biomarkers only appear in vanishingly small quantities. :=:Thu, 07 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 786
Hearts Ripped from 140 Children and 200 Llamas in Largest Child Sacrifice in Ancient World :: The largest child sacrifice on record took place after a torrential rainfall, when about 140 children and 200 young llamas likely had their hearts ripped out by the ancient Chimú culture in A.D. 1450, in what is now Peru. :=:Tue, 05 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 787
Israel’s first lunar lander is on its way to the moon :: [no content] :=:Thu, 07 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 788
Migrating snowline plays outsized role in setting pace of Greenland ice melt :: In a finding that may help scientists better predict sea-level rise in a warming world, Brown University researchers have found an underappreciated factor that controls the rate at which Greenland's ice sheet melts. :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 789
Geoarchaeological evidence from Angkor, Cambodia, reveals a gradual decline rather than a catastrophic 15th-century collapse [Environmental Sciences] :: Alternative models exist for the movement of large urban populations following the 15th-century CE abandonment of Angkor, Cambodia. One model emphasizes an urban diaspora following the implosion of state control in the capital related, in part, to hydroclimatic variability. An alternative model suggests a more complex picture and a gradual… :=:Sat, 02 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 790
New 'acoustic metamaterial' cancels sound :: Researchers have demonstrated it's possible to silence noise using an open, ringlike structure, created to mathematically perfect specifications, for cutting out sounds while maintaining airflow. :=:Tue, 26 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 791
Graphite offers up new quantum surprise :: Researchers at The University of Manchester in the UK, led by Dr. Artem Mishchenko, Prof Volodya Fal'ko and Prof Andre Geim, have discovered the quantum Hall effect in bulk graphite—a layered crystal consisting of stacked graphene layers. This is an unexpected result because the quantum Hall effect is possible only in so-called two-dimensional (2-D) systems where electrons' motion is restricted to :=:Wed, 27 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 792
Alien species (da: INVASIVE ARTER) are primary cause of recent global extinctions :: Alien species are the main driver of recent extinctions in both animals and plants, according to a new study by UCL researchers. They found that since 1500, alien species have been solely responsible for 126 extinctions, 13 percent of the total number studied. :=:Fri, 01 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 793
Transcription factor network gets to heart of wood formation :: North Carolina State University researchers have uncovered how a complex network of transcription factors switch wood formation genes on and off. Understanding this transcriptional regulatory network has applications for modifying wood properties for timber, paper and biofuels, as well as making forest trees more disease- and pest-resistant. :=:Fri, 01 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 794
Australian dingo is a unique Australian species in its own right :: Since the arrival of British settlers over 230 years ago, most Australians have assumed dingoes are a breed of wild dog. But 20 leading researchers have confirmed in a new study that the dingo is actually a unique, Australian species in its own right. :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 795
Be braiNY in the Big Apple :: Brain Awareness Week begins on Monday, and partners all around the world have been working hard coordinating events and activities—now it’s up to you to attend! If you live in the New York City area, our good friends at braiNY, the Greater NYC Chapter of the Society for Neuroscience, have put together a diverse series of events happening throughout the month of March. The BioBus will be parked up :=:Sat, 09 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 796
Arctic sea ice loss in the past linked to abrupt climate events :: A new study on ice cores shows that reductions in sea ice in the Arctic in the period between 30-100,000 years ago led to major climate events. During this period, Greenland temperatures rose by as much as 16 degrees Celsius. The results are published today (Monday 11 February) in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 797
This Rare Fish Has No Eyes, Needle Teeth, And Looks Like It May Burst From Your Chest :: Australia, what have you done now? :=:Tue, 05 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 798
A Dead Whale Has Been Found on The Edge of The Amazon Jungle :: What a terrible way to die. :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 799
Scientists Have Found an Efficient Way to Turn Carbon Dioxide Back Into Coal :: A second chance? :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 800
Even a 'Limited' Nuclear War Could Wreck Earth's Climate And Trigger Global Famine :: Tensions are boiling over between India and Pakistan. :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 801
Watch a Gigantic Tarantula Drag a Baby Opossum Away to Devour It :: Nopenononopenonono. :=:Tue, 12 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 802
How Many Creationists Are There in America? :: A new survey shows the number can vary considerably depending how you ask questions about evolution — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com :=:Tue, 05 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 803
New Chemistry Technique Turns Waste Plastic Into Clean Fuel :: Fuel Rules Waste plastic is choking the Earth’s oceans and poisoning its wildlife . That’s why researchers at Purdue University are excited about a new chemical technique technique that turns waste plastic back into useful polymers — or even clean fuel . Immortal Technique The new technique works on polypropelene, according to a new paper published in the journal Sustainable Chemistry and Enginee :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 804
These Are the Americans Who Live in a Bubble :: Most Americans do not live in a totalizing bubble. They regularly encounter people of different races, ideologies, and religions. For the most part, they view these interactions as positive, or at least neutral. Yet according to a new study by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) and The Atlantic , a significant minority of Americans do not live this way. They seldom or never meet people :=:Tue, 12 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 805
Is This The End of Recycling? :: After decades of earnest public-information campaigns, Americans are finally recycling . Airports, malls, schools, and office buildings across the country have bins for plastic bottles and aluminum cans and newspapers. In some cities, you can be fined if inspectors discover you haven’t recycled appropriately. But now, much of that carefully sorted recycling is ending up in the trash. For decades, :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 806
10 Golden Age science fiction novels :: The early 20th century saw explosive growth for the science fiction genre. A wide range of these books would go on to become classics. These great works explore the strange, zany and absurd profundities of our existence. The first Golden Age of Science Fiction was officially considered to be from 1938 to 1946. As a whole and how most readers view it — the era extended into the early- to mid-1960s :=:Wed, 27 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 807
Shaping light lets 2-D microscopes capture 4-D data :: Rice University researchers have added a new dimension to their breakthrough technique that expands the capabilities of standard laboratory microscopes. :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 808
Hyperbolic metamaterials enable nanoscale 'fingerprinting' :: Hyperbolic metamaterials are artificially made structures that can be formed by depositing alternating thin layers of a conductor such as silver or graphene onto a substrate. One of their special abilities is supporting the propagation of a very narrow light beam, which can be generated by placing a nanoparticle on its top surface and illuminating it with a laser beam. :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 809
Asteroid Bennu, target of NASA's sample return mission, is rotating faster over time :: In late 2018, the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft arrived at Bennu, the asteroid it will be studying and sampling over the next several years. :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 810
New reactor-liner alloy material offers strength, resilience :: A new tungsten-based alloy developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory can withstand unprecedented amounts of radiation without damage. Essential for extreme irradiation environments such as the interiors of magnetic fusion reactors, previously explored materials have thus far been hobbled by weakness against fracture, but this new alloy seems to defeat that problem. :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 811
How do sea snakes in salt water get a drink? :: New research solves the mystery of how sea snakes, who live surrounded by salty ocean water, stay hydrated. Previously, scientists thought that sea snakes were able to drink seawater, but recent research has shown that they need to access freshwater. The new study, which appears in PLOS ONE , shows that sea snakes living where there is drought relieve their dehydration as soon as the wet season h :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 812
In Mississippi backwater, flood rises after weeks of waiting :: For decades, Peggy Sellars and her husband George have warily watched periodic floodwaters inundate the land around their home in the Mississippi Delta, but the dwelling always remained dry—until this year. :=:Sun, 17 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 813
Oxytocin/vasopressin-like peptide inotocin regulates cuticular hydrocarbon synthesis and water balancing in ants [Ecology] :: Oxytocin/vasopressin-like peptides are important regulators of physiology and social behavior in vertebrates. However, the function of inotocin, the homologous peptide in arthropods, remains largely unknown. Here, we show that the level of expression of inotocin and inotocin receptor are correlated with task allocation in the ant Camponotus fellah. Both genes… :=:Mon, 18 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 814
Kina stod for 45 pct. af al ny vindkraft i 2018 :: For første gang er Kina nu også nummer ét i udbygning med vindkraft offshore, hvor UK ellers har siddet på topplaceringen. Det viser nye tal fra den globale brancheforening, GWEC. :=:Fri, 15 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 815
Darwin's rabbit helps to explain the fightback against myxomatosis :: Nearly seventy years after myxomatosis decimated the rabbit populations of Australia, Britain and France, a new study reveals how the species has evolved genetic resistance to the disease through natural selection. :=:Wed, 20 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 816
Norsk forsvar samarbejder med politiet: Forlist fregat kan være gerningssted :: Det norske søværn har sendt personel udstyret med GoPro-kameraer om bord på den forliste fregat Helge Ingstad. Politiet bekræfter, at vraget betragtes som et muligt gerningssted. :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 817
Bacterial lipolysis of immune-activating ligands promotes evasion of innate defenses [Microbiology] :: Commensal and pathogenic bacteria hydrolyze host lipid substrates with secreted lipases and phospholipases for nutrient acquisition, colonization, and infection. Bacterial lipase activity on mammalian lipids and phospholipids can promote release of free fatty acids from lipid stores, detoxify antimicrobial lipids, and facilitate membrane dissolution. The gram-positive bacterium Staphylococcus aure :=:Tue, 05 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 818
These Twins Have Strange Semi-Identical DNA, in Only The Second Case Ever Discovered :: A middle kind of twin. :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 819
World's First Private Lunar Lander Just Took a Breathtaking Selfie With Earth :: Say cheese! :=:Fri, 15 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 820
Research: Planting Trillions of Trees Could Cancel Out CO2 Emissions :: Fresh Air An ambitious new analysis of the world’s forests found that there’s space to plant 1.2 trillion new trees — a number that would absorb more carbon than human emissions. According to the new data, ETH Zurich researcher Thomas Crowther told The Independent , trees are “our most powerful weapon in the fight against climate change.” Wiped Out Crowther told the Independent that the new analy :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 821
Dear Therapist: I’m Worried the College-Admissions Process Is Rigged Against My Son :: Editor’s Note: Every Monday, Lori Gottlieb answers questions from readers about their problems, big and small. Have a question? Email her at dear.therapist@theatlantic.com . Dear Therapist, My son is in the middle of the college-application process. He has very good grades and very good SAT and ACT scores; he is an Eagle Scout and a captain of the cross-country team. He is also white, male, and u :=:Fri, 15 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 822
Stop Alleging Anti-Semitism Just to Score Political Points :: There’s little doubt that Israel is shaping up to be one of the hottest of hot-button issues in the 2020 presidential-election cycle. While one might hope that a presidential campaign could feature a productive discussion about policy toward a region vital to U.S. interests, what we’re likely to have instead is a toxic political firefight, rife with partisan attacks and recrimination, bereft of i :=:Fri, 01 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 823
Why are conservatives healthier than liberals? Personal responsibility, study suggests. :: A growing body of research suggests there's some relationship between our measurable personality traits and our political beliefs. A recent study examined the relationship between political beliefs, personal responsibility and overall health. The results suggest that an emphasis on responsibility might explain health differences between liberals and conservatives. None It's fairly well documented :=:Mon, 25 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 824
Older Adults Are Especially Prone to Social Media Bubbles :: Research suggests that fake news will become an even bigger problem as the population ages — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 825
Massive Study Confirms That Vaccines Don’t Cause Autism :: Vaccines Don’t Cause Autism More than two decades ago, a doctor published a study claiming that vaccines can cause autism. Despite the fact that that study was later completely discredited and debunked — and the doctor behind it barred from practicing medicine — the belief continues to persist throughout society . Now, a massive study of more than half a million children has confirmed what those :=:Tue, 26 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 826
Underwater Archaeologists Find Surprising Artifacts from Major Roman Naval Battle :: The battle happened 2,200 years ago and archaeologists are left with several mysteries. :=:Fri, 15 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 827
A Solar Flare '10 Billion Times More Powerful' Than Earth's Sun Blasted Out of Orion's Sword :: This crazy solar flare is more powerful than any ever blasted by Earth’s sun. :=:Thu, 14 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 828
Mysterious 'Planet Nine' Is Probably 5 to 10 Times the Size of Earth :: There could be a planet hiding out on the distant frontiers of our solar system. Astronomers have published new details about what it probably looks like. :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 829
Kids skipping school to protest climate change isn't just reasonable—it's logical :: Environment Why adults no longer have the right to object to their children taking radical action. Speaking as both a climate campaigner and an academic philosopher, I believe school walkouts are morally and politically justifiable. :=:Wed, 20 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 830
The scientific reason you find that Momo picture so creepy :: Health Your brain doesn't like uncertainty. The human brain is wired to read faces and Momo doesn't fit the patterns. :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 831
A World Without Clouds :: On a 1987 voyage to the Antarctic, the paleoceanographer James Kennett and his crew dropped anchor in the Weddell Sea, drilled into the seabed, and extracted a vertical cylinder of sediment. In an inch-thick layer of plankton fossils and other detritus buried more than 500 feet deep, they found a disturbing clue about the planet’s past that could spell disaster for the future. Lower in the sedime :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 832
How Our Universe Could Emerge as a Hologram :: The fabric of space and time is widely believed by physicists to be emergent, stitched out of quantum threads according to an unknown pattern. And for 22 years, they’ve had a toy model of how emergent space-time can work: a theoretical “universe in a bottle,” as its discoverer, Juan Maldacena , has described it. The space-time filling the region inside the bottle — a continuum that bends and undu :=:Thu, 07 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 833
This celebrity cat has broken the internet. Now we have its genome :: Scientists now know more about what makes Lil Bub such a unique feline :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 834
Ancient Earth's Weakened Magnetic Field May Have Driven Mass Extinction :: When our planet’s magnetosphere nearly disappeared 565 million years ago, it may have almost taken all life with it — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com :=:Thu, 07 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 835
No, scientists didn’t just “reverse time” with a quantum computer :: Amazing headlines about time machines are a long way off the mark, sadly. :=:Tue, 26 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 836
A new chemical process could turn a quarter of our plastic waste into clean fuel :: [no content] :=:Thu, 07 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 837
Boaty McBoatface Gears Up for Epic Swim Across the Arctic :: The probe with the famous name may soon have a new claim to fame, by crossing the Arctic Ocean on the longest underwater robot journey yet. :=:Tue, 05 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 838
How Measles Hacks the Body—and Harms Its Victims for Years :: The virus is the most contagious in the world, exploiting the human body's immune system to spread with extreme agility and harming its victims for years. :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 839
Environment in multiple crises – report :: Policymakers are not grasping the seriousness of what we’re doing to the planet, a think-tank warns. :=:Wed, 27 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 840
EU-Domstolen: EU's studier om glyphosat skal være offentligt tilgængelige :: EU-Domstolen har i dag vurderet, at der skal være offentlig adgang til de data og studier, som EU’s fødevareagentur, Efsa, har benyttet sig af, når de har vurderet sundhedsrisikoen ved glyphosat, den aktive ingrediens i Roundup. :=:Sat, 09 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 841
Mexico: at most only 22 vaquita porpoises remain :: Experts said Wednesday that at most only 22 vaquitas remain in the Gulf of California, where a grim, increasingly violent battle is playing out between emboldened fishermen and the last line of defense for the smallest and most endangered porpoise in the world. :=:Mon, 11 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 842
Archaeologists Open a Sealed 'Jaguar God' Cave Undisturbed For Over 1,000 Years :: Untouched for over 1,000 years. :=:Wed, 20 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 843
AOC: Facing Down Climate Change, Should We “Still Have Children?” :: Family Planning The impact of climate change will be felt long after those currently living on Earth take our final breaths. In fact, the effects — high temperatures, extreme weather events, poor air quality — will likely be far worse for future generations. According to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, that’s forcing many young people to reconsider whether or not they should have children . Univer :=:Mon, 11 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 844
The People Who Eat the Same Meal Every Day :: Vern Loomis, a retired structural draftsman in West Bloomfield, Michigan, had a standard office lunch: a peanut-butter sandwich, with various fruit, vegetable, and dessert accompaniments. He ate this, he estimates, nearly every workday for about 25 years. His meal underwent slight modifications over time—jelly was added to the sandwich in the final five or so years—but its foundation remained the :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 845
Bernie Sanders’s Staffers Want Him to Be Less Grumpy :: G rumpy has always been Bernie Sanders’s brand. But now that he’s running for president to win, his advisers keep pushing him to soften up. The senator from Vermont fought his staff for weeks as they pushed him to get more personal, and be a little less gruff, as he launched his second presidential campaign. He didn’t think talking about himself was just stupid—he thought it risked undermining th :=:Tue, 05 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 846
Why A.I. trained to recognize giraffe torsos :: A new automated method makes it easier for wildlife researchers to use photos to identify the unique markings of individual animals. “Many researchers need to identify and collect data on specific individuals in their work, for example, to estimate survival, reproduction, and movement,” says Derek Lee, associate research professor of biology at Penn State and principal scientist of the Wild Natur :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 847
Spiders that pretend to be ants keep their spiderly proportions to attract mates :: Spiders that pretend to be ants to fool predators have an unusual problem when it comes to sex. :=:Mon, 11 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 848
Success! SpaceX's Crew Dragon Looks Toasted After First Successful Re-Entry And Landing :: A new phase in American spaceflight. :=:Mon, 18 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 849
This Incredibly Simple Math Trick Is Blowing People's Minds on Twitter :: We had no idea. :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 850
Scientists Release Controversial Genetically Modified Mosquitoes In High-Security Lab :: The insects were created, using CRISPR, to carry a powerful "gene drive." The mosquitoes could provide a potent weapon against malaria, but they raise fears about unpredictable environmental effects. (Image credit: Pierre Kattar for NPR) :=:Thu, 07 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 851
The Western Erasure of African Tragedy :: On Sunday morning, an Ethiopian Airlines jetliner crashed shortly after leaving Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, en route to Nairobi, the capital city of neighboring Kenya. Minutes after takeoff, the Boeing 737 Max 8—the same model of aircraft that went down in Indonesia several months ago —lost contact with air-traffic controllers. Soon after, the aircraft crashed; :=:Thu, 07 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 852
Climate change shrinks many fisheries globally, study finds :: Climate change has taken a toll on many of the world's fisheries, and overfishing has magnified the problem, according to a Rutgers-led study in the journal Science today. :=:Mon, 25 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 853
Volvo unveils driverless electric bus in Singapore :: Volvo and a Singapore university unveiled a driverless electric bus Tuesday that will soon undergo tests in the city-state, the latest move towards rolling out autonomous vehicles for public transport. :=:Sun, 17 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 854
New mechanisms regulating neural stem cells :: The use of stem cells to repair organs is one of the foremost goals of modern regenerative medicine. Scientists have discovered that the protein Akna plays a key role in this process. It controls, for example, the behavior of neural stem cells via a mechanism that may also be involved in the formation of metastases. :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 855
Fossil teeth from Kenya solve ancient monkey mystery :: The teeth of a new fossil monkey, unearthed in the badlands of northwest Kenya, help fill a 6-million-year void in Old World monkey evolution, according to a study by U.S. and Kenyan scientists published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. :=:Sun, 24 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 856
Scientists reveal how 3-D arrangement of DNA helps perpetuate the species :: From fathers to children, the delivery of hereditary information requires the careful packing of DNA in sperm. But just how nature packages this DNA to prepare offspring isn't clear. Using new technology to reveal the 3-D organization of DNA in maturing male reproductive cells, scientists revealed a crucial period in development that helps explain how fathers pass on genetic information to future :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 857
Chemical pollutants in the home degrade fertility in both men and dogs, study finds :: New research suggests that environmental contaminants found in the home and diet have the same adverse effects on male fertility in both humans and in domestic dogs. :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 858
Clarence Thomas Is in the Wrong Line of Work :: Updated at 2:53 p.m. ET on March 7, 2019. February is a slow, miserable slog, but late last month Justice Clarence Thomas was having the time of his life. As Adam Liptak lays out in Tuesday’s New York Times , in a two-week period, Thomas managed to attack the basis of American press freedom and negate the right to appointed counsel for criminal defendants. He also casually suggested that the Supr :=:Sun, 17 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 859
I’ve Faced the Charge of Dual Loyalty :: I’m all for new voices in the U.S. Congress. But lately, some of those new voices have been voicing some very old canards. I’m talking about Representative Ilhan Omar, one of the newly elected Democrats who populate the 116th Congress. Omar has attracted much news coverage, and the condemnation of most of her fellow Democrats, for promoting some ugly tropes about Jews. First, when questioning lon :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 860
Human Generosity Study Shows Altruistic Societies Better Survive Hard Times :: In January 2016, Cathryn Townsend set out to live among “the loveless people.” So named by anthropologist Colin Turnbull, the Ik are a tribe of some 11,600 hunter-gatherers and subsistence farmers living in an arid and harsh mountainous region of Uganda. Turnbull studied the Ik in the 1960s and famously characterized them as “inhospitable and generally mean” in his book The Mountain People. He doc :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 861
Want to get a politician to listen to science? Here’s some advice :: Experts provide tips for getting evidence-based research into Congress :=:Fri, 08 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 862
Så här gör du en 1700-talssemla :: Idag firar vi semmeldagen och innan dagen är slut kommer cirka 6 miljoner semlor ha ätits upp. Men var kommer semlan egentligen ifrån och varför har den fått en egen dag? Följ med hem till mathistorikern bakom historieätarna Richard Tellström som förklarar. :=:Wed, 27 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 863
China's Huawei set to unveil 5G phone with folding screen :: China's Huawei is set to take the wraps off a new folding-screen phone, joining the latest trend for bendable devices as it challenges the global smartphone market's dominant players, Apple and Samsung. :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 864
Hall effect becomes viscous in graphene :: Researchers at The University of Manchester in the UK have discovered that the Hall effect—a phenomenon well known for more than a century—is no longer as universal as it was thought to be. :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 865
Protein released from fat after exercise improves glucose :: Exercise training causes dramatic changes to fat. Additionally, this 'trained' fat releases beneficial factors into the bloodstream. :=:Sat, 16 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 866
Diagnosing 'art acne' in Georgia O'Keeffe's paintings :: Even Georgia O'Keeffe noticed the pin-sized blisters bubbling on the surface of her paintings. For decades, conservationists and scholars assumed these tiny protrusions were grains of sand, kicked up from the New Mexico desert where O'Keeffe lived and worked. But as the protrusions began to grow, spread and eventually flake off, people shifted from curious to concerned. :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 867
Opportunity's Finest Moments on Mars :: A look back at the rover's more than 15 years of exploration on the Red Planet. :=:Thu, 14 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 868
NASA Astronaut Runs for Senate, Warns Of “Retreat From Science” :: Space Candidate Former NASA astronaut Mark Kelly announced Tuesday that he’s running for Senate in Arizona — and he’s positioning himself as a defender of science during an era when it’s under threat. “We’ve seen this retreat from science and data and facts, and if we don’t take these issues seriously, we can’t solve these problems,” Kelly said in an announcement video . “We’re going to need to b :=:Thu, 07 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 869
6 Reasons Paul Manafort Got Off So Lightly :: Paul Manafort, the former campaign manager for President Donald Trump, entered Virginia federal court on Thursday facing a recommended sentence of 19 to 24 years, and left with a sentence of less than four years. Many people are outraged by what they see as an unreasonably lenient penalty for an unrepentant crook, and have accused United States District Judge T. S. Ellis of bias. Others have decr :=:Wed, 27 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 870
Michael Cohen’s Stunning Testimony About Trump :: In written testimony ahead of a hearing conducted by the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday, President Donald Trump’s former fixer Michael Cohen will deliver a series of bombshells that could transform the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Cohen’s testimony , at less than 4,000 words, doesn’t change the fundamental picture so much as fill in essential gaps. Cohen w :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 871
New titanosaur fossil sheds light on dino evolution :: “Exceptional” African specimen excites paelontologists. Samantha Page reports. :=:Wed, 06 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 872
Quantum strangeness gives rise to new electronics :: Noting the startling advances in semiconductor technology, Intel co-founder Gordon Moore proposed that the number of transistors on a chip will double each year, an observation that has been born out since he made the claim in 1965. Still, it's unlikely Moore could have foreseen the extent of the electronics revolution currently underway. :=:Tue, 26 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 873
B&W-professor: Om 20 år har vi atomdrevne handelsskibe :: USA kom først med den atomdrevne ubåd ‘Nautilus’, men en række lande var i 1950’erne i gang med at udvikle atomdrevne tankskibe. I en villa i Hellerup havde B&W sin afdeling for reaktorforskning med seks ingeniører under professor Sven Werners ledelse. :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 874
Stimulating the vagus nerve in the neck might help ease pain associated with PTSD :: In a randomized, controlled pilot trial, researchers found that participants pre-treated with noninvasive vagus nerve stimulation experienced less pain after heat stimulus than mock-treated participants. :=:Mon, 25 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 875
Greta Thunberg nominated for Nobel Peace Prize for climate activism :: The 16-year-old climate campaigner who has inspired school strikes is in the running to receive the Nobel. :=:Fri, 08 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 876
The Well-Meaning Bad Ideas Spoiling a Generation – Issue 70: Variables :: Read More… :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 877
The best case for worst case scenarios :: The “end of the world” or “good for you” are the two least likely among the spectrum of potential outcomes. Stephen Schneider Scientists have been looking at best, middling and worst case scenarios for anthropogenic climate change for decades. For instance, Stephen Schneider himself took a turn back in 2009. And others have postulated both far more rosy and far more catastrophic possibilities as :=:Wed, 27 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 878
Ultima Thule latest: less Star Wars, more Star Trek :: Images from New Horizons reveal unexpected aspects of the Kuiper Belt object. Richard A Lovett reports. :=:Sat, 09 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 879
Oslofærge får landstrøm i Norge, men pulser videre i København :: DFDS-færgen Pearl Seaways, der sejler mellem København og Oslo, er netop ombygget til at modtage landstrøm i Oslo Havn. Men København har ingen konkrete planer om landstrømsanlæg. :=:Wed, 06 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 880
ALMA differentiates two birth cries from a single star—strong evidence of independent origins for two gas flows :: Astronomers have unveiled the enigmatic origins of two different gas streams from a baby star. Using ALMA, they found that the slow outflow and the high speed jet from a protostar have misaligned axes and that the former started to be ejected earlier than the latter. The origins of these two flows have been a mystery, but these observations provide telltale signs that these two streams were launch :=:Fri, 08 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 881
Amoebae diversified at least 750 million years ago, far earlier than expected :: Brazilian researchers have reconstructed the evolutionary history of amoebae and demonstrated that at the end of the Precambrian period, at least 750 million years ago, life on Earth was much more diverse than suggested by classic theory. :=:Wed, 20 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 882
How a certain bacterium communicates and makes us sick :: Researchers at Binghamton University, State University of New York have uncovered the unique way in which a type of Gram-negative bacterium delivers the toxins that make us sick. Understanding this mechanism may help design better ways to block and eventually control those toxins. :=:Wed, 20 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 883
Bone cancer found in 240-million-year-old stem-turtle fossil :: A team of researchers with Museum für Naturkunde and Charité—Universitätsmedizin, both in Germany, reports a case of a rare type of cancer in a 240-million-year-old stem-turtle fossil. In their paper published in JAMA Oncology, the group describes their study of the unique growth on the ancient fossil. :=:Wed, 27 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 884
British Airways announces huge Boeing order :: British Airways on Thursday announced a multi-billion dollar deal to buy up to 42 Boeing 777 fuel-efficient passenger jets, after Airbus said it would no longer make the A380 superjumbo. :=:Fri, 15 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 885
Evolutionary rotation of fly genitalia tied to mating success :: In the order Diptera, more-primitive species such as mosquitos generally do their deed in the end-to-end position. Higher (more evolved) species such as flies tend toward the male mounting the female from behind (male-above position). :=:Mon, 25 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 886
New Horizons' evocative farewell glance at Ultima Thule :: An evocative new image sequence from NASA's New Horizons spacecraft offers a departing view of the Kuiper Belt object (KBO) nicknamed Ultima Thule—the target of its New Year's 2019 flyby and the most distant world ever explored. :=:Fri, 01 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 887
Molecular Velcro helps illuminate DNA repair :: Using a piece of molecular "Velcro" to attach a light-emitting probe to a protein molecule, University of Wollongong (UOW) researchers have unlocked the mystery of how an important protein goes about repairing damaged DNA in bacteria, with implications for understanding how antibiotic resistance develops. :=:Tue, 12 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 888
Nanomachines taught to fight cancer :: Scientists from ITMO in collaboration with international colleagues have proposed new DNA-based nanomachines that can be used for gene therapy for cancer. This new invention can greatly contribute to more effective and selective treatment of oncological diseases. The results were published in Angewandte Chemie. :=:Tue, 12 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 889
Researchers peer inside the mind of the worm for clues on how memories form :: Try as you might, some events cannot be remembered. Known in psychology as memory blocking, the phenomenon has remained elusive since first described more than half a century ago. Now Donnelly Centre researchers have found that blocking is not due to problems with forming memories, as previously thought, but with memory recall—in worms at least. :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 890
Scientists solve mystery of a fish called Mary's 'virgin' birth :: A female stickleback fish, nick-named 'Mary', has produced offspring from eggs that appear to have been fertilised while they were still inside her, according to scientists at the University of Nottingham. :=:Mon, 11 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 891
Snapshot technique helps scientists 'hear' the quantum world :: When scientists examine very small and swift objects they see the laws of physics working wildly differently than in the everyday "normal-sized" world. :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 892
Tiny particles can switch back and forth between phases :: Three years ago, when Richard Robinson, associate professor of materials science and engineering, was on sabbatical at Hebrew University in Israel, he asked a graduate student to send him some nanoparticles of a specific size. :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 893
Tweets tell scientists how quickly we normalize unusual weather
Twitter Weather
:: What kinds of weather do people find remarkable, when does that change, and what does that say about the public's perception of climate change? A study led by the University of California, Davis, examined those questions through the lens of more than 2 billion U.S. Twitter posts. :=:Wed, 13 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 894
When Concorde first took to the sky 50 years ago :: When the misty skies cleared over southern France on the afternoon of Sunday March 2, 1969, the green light was signalled for the highly anticipated first ever flight of the Concorde. :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 895
Meet India's starry dwarf frog, lone member of newly discovered ancient lineage :: The starry dwarf frog is an expert hider. Plunging into leaf litter at the slightest disturbance, it has successfully evaded attention for millions of years—until now. :=:Thu, 07 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 896
Jupiter's magnetic field could be moving Europa's ocean :: A pair of researchers, one with École Normale Supérieure, the other Laboratory for Studies of Radiation and Matter in Astrophysics and Atmospheres has found evidence that Jupiter's magnetic field could be causing a jet stream in Europa's underground ocean. In their paper published in the journal Nature Astronomy, Christophe Gissinger and Ludovic Petitdemange describe their analysis of data from th :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 897
Magnonic devices can replace electronics without much noise :: Electronic devices such as transistors are getting smaller and will soon hit the limits of conventional performance based on electrical currents. :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 898
Massive twin star discovered snuggling close to its stellar sibling in its cradle :: Astronomers have discovered a binary star system with the closest high-mass young stellar objects ever measured, providing a valuable "laboratory" to test theories on high mass binary star formation. :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 899
Swimming microbes steer themselves into mathematical order :: Freeing thousands of microorganisms to swim in random directions in an infinite pool of liquid may not sound like a recipe for order, but eventually the swarm will go with its own flow. :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 900
Wildfire risk in California no longer coupled to winter precipitation :: Wet winters no longer predict possible relief from severe wildfires for California, according to a new study from an international team that includes a University of Arizona scientist. :=:Tue, 19 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 901
Quantum-critical conductivity of the Dirac fluid in graphene :: Graphene is expected to behave like a quantum-critical, relativistic plasma known as "Dirac fluid" near charge neutrality in which massless electrons and holes rapidly collide. In a recent study now published in Science, Patrick Gallagher and co-workers at the departments of physics and materials science in the U.S., Taiwan, China and Japan used on-chip terahertz spectroscopy and measured the freq :=:Mon, 11 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 902
Quasiparticles experimentally shown to interfere for first time :: Qubits, the units used to encode information in quantum computing, are not all created equal. Some researchers believe that topological qubits, which are tougher and less susceptible to environmental noise than other kinds, may be the best medium for pushing quantum computing forward. :=:Fri, 15 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 903
Tropical forests naturally regrow quickly, but without species variety :: Tropical forests are threatened by high levels of deforestation, mostly driven by agricultural expansion. But, once agricultural fields are abandoned, they tend to naturally regrow, leading researchers to ask whether that process reverses species loss and brings native species back. :=:Tue, 26 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 904
Water tunnel experiments show how mako shark scales help generate super speeds :: Shortfin mako sharks have been called the "cheetahs of the ocean," capable of swimming at estimated speeds of 70 or 80 miles per hour. To investigate just how the animals achieve this impressive feat, aeronautical engineer Amy Lang of the University of Alabama and colleagues tested real mako shark skin samples, taken from the flank region of the animal, in water tunnel experiments. :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 905
Loss of kidney function in old age is not inevitable :: Hunter-gatherers do not suffer from it :=:Tue, 26 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 906
Remains of USS Hornet, Storied WWII Aircraft Carrier, Discovered at Bottom of South Pacific :: After a fierce battle in 1942, the USS Hornet succumbed to an onslaught from Japanese dive-bombers, torpedo planes and destroyers, which hit the ship with torpedoes. But now, shipwreck hunters have finally located the Hornet's remains. :=:Mon, 25 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 907
Explainer: What is quantum communication? :: Researchers and companies are creating ultra-secure communication networks that could form the basis of a quantum internet. This is how it works. :=:Mon, 25 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 908
Scientists Raise Concerns About Revisions to Human Research Regulations :: Authors of a new paper take issue with revisions to regulations on biospecimen research enacted last month, and argue that cell lines should be treated differently from other biospecimens. :=:Fri, 01 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 909
An Email Marketing Company Left 809 Million Records Exposed Online :: A exposed database belonging to Verifications.io contained both personal and business information, including 763 million unique email addresses.
New study uncovers insights about the nature of the ultraviolet-bright star Barnard 29 :: Analyzing data from spectroscopic instruments, astronomers have reported fundamental properties of Barnard 29, an ultraviolet-bright star in globular cluster Messier 13. Results of the analysis, presented in a paper published March 1 on arXiv.org, provide important insights into the nature of this star. :=:Sun, 24 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 911
Climate strike: Schoolchildren protest over climate change :: Students in cities around the UK walked out of school to call for action from the government. :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 912
In Show of Bipartisanship, House Approves a Sweeping Land Conservation Bill :: The measure, which has passed the Senate and now goes to President Trump, is the first significant land conservation bill in years. :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 913
The Least Politically Prejudiced Place in America :: WATERTOWN, N.Y.—Watertown, in a remote stretch of upstate New York known as the North Country, is an unforgiving place. In winter, the snow careens off Lake Ontario and entombs the town in installments of feet, not inches. The crows arrive around the same time, in whirling flocks, to roost along the Black River. There are so many of them that city contractors have to scare them off with fireworks :=:Fri, 15 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 914
We Just Got an Insane Photo From Japan's Spacecraft After Sampling an Asteroid :: Pics or it didn't happen. :=:Fri, 15 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 915
NASA's Curiosity Rover Entered 'Safe Mode' Last Week, And We're Still Not Sure Why :: It seems to be functioning normally again. :=:Fri, 08 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 916
White House Is Forming a Panel to 'Reassess' The Government's Climate Change Consensus :: Yep, this is really happening. :=:Mon, 25 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 917
Spaniards are healthiest people in world, Bloomberg reports :: Bloomberg recently released its annual index of the world's healthiest countries, which it compiles by grading countries on factors such as smoking rates, access to clean water, obesity, sanitation and more. Spain topped the list this year — thanks in part to the nation's healthy Mediterranean diet, the report suggested. The U.S. ranked 35th, likely due in part to poor American eating habits. Non :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 918
Do industries that kill more people than they employ have a right to exist? :: A study developed a formula to identify industries that do more bad than good. The U.S. coal and tobacco qualify as having a net negative value to society. Should we tolerate any industry that makes a profit? None Joshua Pearce of Michigan Technological University has raised an interesting question: If "The unwritten rule with industry is you get to make money if you're a benefit to society," wha :=:Fri, 08 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 919
Right-wingers find more meaning in life, say researchers :: A team of psychologists looked at the link between right-wing attitudes and having meaning in life. They found that supporters of authoritarian ideologies felt their lives had more significance. Future studies are necessary to see if this holds true outside of the U.S. None Do right-wingers feel more significance in life? Such is the implication of a new study that found an existential connection :=:Fri, 08 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 920
Humans Are Still Mating with Neandertals :: A Valentine’s Day meditation on why bright women sometimes gravitate to not-so-bright men — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com :=:Fri, 15 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 921
Wolves and Wolverines: A Complicated Relationship :: The larger mammal will prey on the smaller, but wolverines prefer areas occupied by wolves over areas that aren’t — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com :=:Mon, 11 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 922
Anti-Aging Drug That Kills Old Cells Passes First Human Trial :: Cleaning House Not all damaged cells die. Some stick around as senescent cells, unable to divide but still able to produce chemical signals — and they could play a major role in the battle against aging. “It is thought that these cells and the substances they produce are involved in the process of aging,” longevity researcher Nicolas Musi from the University of Texas at Austin told MIT Technology :=:Fri, 15 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 923
CA Governor Wants Tech Companies to Pay People for Personal Data :: One For All Californians may soon get a cut of the proceeds when tech giants like Facebook sell their personal data. Governor Gavin Newsom announced his support for such an initiative during his State of the State address on Tuesday, according to Gizmodo — a move that could permanently upset the balance of power between the world’s biggest tech corporations and their users. “Companies that make b :=:Mon, 11 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 924
Tesla’s New “Dog Mode” Will Keep Canines Happy With AC, Music :: Roll Out Tesla CEO Elon Musk doesn’t want dogs to get trapped in hot Teslas. On Thursday, Musk tweeted that his company will roll out two new Enhanced Autopilot features next week via an over-the-air software update — including one suggested by a dog-loving Twitter follower that’ll keep pups cool and entertained while their owners run errands. Puppy Love On Oct. 18, Twitter user Josh Atchle y use :=:Fri, 08 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 925
The Maker of AK-47 Rifles Just Unveiled a “Suicide Drone” :: Suicide Drone Russian weapons manufacturer Kalashnikov, maker of the ubiquitous AK-47 assault rifle, has unveiled a tiny drone that’s meant to destroy remote ground targets from a distance of up to 40 miles (64 km) away — by blowing itself up like a suicide bomber. The “high-precision attack unmanned aerial system” dubbed KUB-UAV in a press release, was revealed earlier this month at the Internat :=:Fri, 08 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 926
A Court Just Sent a Man to Prison For 3D Printing a Gun :: Prison Sentence A 43-year-old Texan man named Eric McGinnis was sentenced to eight years in prison yesterday for the possession of a partially 3D printed AR-15 rifle, the BBC reports — a sign that 3D printed guns could be moving from a hypothetical concern to a real one. McGinnis was prohibited from owning firearms for two years after attacking his girlfriend in 2015. He was arrested in 2017 afte :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 927
A New Cocktail of Proteins Makes Mice Regenerate Toes Like Lizards :: We Can Rebuild Him For the first time, scientists have figured out how to regrow not just the bone but even the joints of a mouse’s amputated toes. Normally mammals like mice don’t regenerate body parts — meaning the new development could help lead to futuristic medical procedures in which amputees are able to grow back their missing limbs. Expanding Reach Thanks to a cocktail of proteins that st :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 928
“Trojan Horse” Cancer Drug Sneaks Inside Tumor Cells to Kill Them :: Gift Horse According to “The Iliad,” the Greeks won the Trojan War by sneaking a few dozen soldiers into the city of Troy inside a giant wooden horse disguised as a gift of surrender. The men waited until nightfall before emerging from the horse and opening the city gates for the rest of the Greek army, which destroyed Troy and ended the war. It wasn’t the most forthright battle plan, but it work :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 929
Watch This Epic “Trailer” for the Commercial Lunar Space Station :: Rotating Space Station Welcome on board the Von Braun Rotating Space Station. At least, that’s what the Gateway Foundation is envisioning. Dreamed up by former pilot John Blincow and retired Jet Propulsion Laboratory mission architect Tom Spilker, the station would allow for both low-gravity scientific experiments conducted by national space agencies and space tourism. In a slick new video posted :=:Tue, 19 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 930
Naturopaths try (and fail yet again) to argue that they are science-based :: That booster of all things "integrative," John Weeks has devoted the entire most recent issue of The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine , which he edits, to trying to demonstrate that naturopathy is science-based. It does not go well. Same as it ever was. :=:Sun, 10 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 931
Black Snow Is Falling from the Skies in Siberia, and It Is Toxic :: Don't eat the black snow. :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 932
Monastery of 7th-Century Scottish Princess (and Saint) Possibly Discovered :: Archaeologists and citizen scientists have unearthed what may be the monastery of Princess Aebbe, who was born a pagan but later spread Christianity along the northeast British coast in the seventh century. :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 933
Universal income study finds money for nothing won't make us work less :: The most robust trial of universal basic income yet shows that it boosts well-being and doesn't decrease employment, as some had feared :=:Fri, 01 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 934
Universal basic income boosts well-being without affecting employment :: The most robust trial of universal basic income yet shows that it boosts well-being and doesn't decrease employment, as some had feared :=:Wed, 27 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 935
The best indoor plants for people who kill plants :: DIY Plants that will survive your dark apartment and forgetful nature. If you’re interested in getting plants but are wavering on your decision because you have a self-proclaimed rotten thumb, take heart. . :=:Wed, 27 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 936
Megapixels: This fossilized spider's eyes are still glowing 110 million years later :: Science Courtesy of some spooky shale. The first discovery of ancient arachnid tapetum is even spookier than it sounds. :=:Thu, 07 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 937
Megapixels: What a sonic boom looks like :: Technology NASA shot incredible images of supersonic jets and their shockwaves. Check out these shockwaves, seen from above, on supersonic aircraft. :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 938
This massive fisheye lens weighs more than 25 pounds and can see behind itself :: Technology It has a 270 degree field of view. The C-4 Optics 4.9mm f/3.5 circular fisheye is an awesome piece of optical engineering. :=:Thu, 07 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 939
Astronomers Think They Can Explain Mysterious Cosmic Bursts :: A new, testable theory proposes that fast radio bursts may draw their power from young neutron stars called magnetars. :=:Tue, 19 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 940
Measles cases have tripled in Europe, fueled by Ukrainian outbreak :: With more than 54,000 cases in 1 year, Ukraine tries to encourage vaccination :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 941
Photons reveal a weird effect called the quantum pigeonhole paradox :: Quantum particles seem to disobey a fundamental principle of mathematics. :=:Wed, 20 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 942
Susceptibility to Mental Illness May Have Helped Humans Adapt over the Millennia :: Psychiatrist Randolph Nesse, one of the founders of evolutionary medicine, explains why natural selection did not rid our species of onerous psychiatric disorders — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com :=:Mon, 11 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 943
Why Do We Crave Sweets When We're Stressed? :: A brain researcher explains our desire for chocolate and other carbs during tough times — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 944
Why Do We Crave Sweets When We're Stressed? :: A brain researcher explains our desire for chocolate and other carbs during tough times — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com :=:Fri, 22 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 945
How the Microbiome Could Be the Key to New Cancer Treatments :: The effectiveness of drugs that help the immune system fight cancer cells appears to depend on bacteria in the gut :=:Wed, 20 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 946
It’s official. NASA has finally called the end of the Opportunity Mars rover mission.NASA Opportunity Mars :: NASA has ended its attempts to communicate with the robot, which has been on Mars for 15 years. :=:Wed, 20 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 947
Zuckerberg’s new privacy essay shows why Facebook needs to be broken up
Mark Zuckerberg Facebook
:: Mark Zuckerberg doesn’t understand what privacy means—he can’t be trusted to define it for the rest of us. :=:Wed, 20 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 948
Russian hackers are eight times faster than North Korean groups :: [no content] :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 949
Is your country at risk of becoming a dictatorship? Here's how to know | Farida Nabourema :: Farida Nabourema has dedicated her life to fighting the military regime in Togo, Africa's oldest autocracy. She's learned two truths along the way: no country is destined to be oppressed — and no country is immune to dictatorship. But how can you tell if you're at risk before it happens? In a stirring talk, Nabourema shares the four key signs of a dictatorship, along with the secret to defiance f :=:Sat, 09 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 950
What if all US health care costs were transparent? | Jeanne Pinder :: In the US, the very same blood test can cost $19 at one clinic and $522 at another clinic just blocks away — and nobody knows the difference until they get a bill weeks later. Journalist Jeanne Pinder says it doesn't have to be this way. She's built a platform that crowdsources the true costs of medical procedures and makes the data public, revealing the secrets of health care pricing. Learn how :=:Fri, 08 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 951
The "dementia village" that's redefining elder care | Yvonne van Amerongen :: How would you prefer to spend the last years of your life: in a sterile, hospital-like institution or in a village with a supermarket, pub, theater and park within easy walking distance? The answer seems obvious now, but when Yvonne van Amerongen helped develop the groundbreaking Hogeweyk dementia care center in Amsterdam 25 years ago, it was seen as a risky break from tradition. Journey with van :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 952
The Religious-Liberty Claim the Justices Didn’t Want to Hear :: On Thursday night, the Supreme Court, by a vote of 5–4, allowed the Alabama state prison in Atmore to execute Domineque Ray , a convert to Islam, by lethal injection for the 1995 rape and murder of 15-year-old Tiffany Harville, and the murders of two brothers. He died alone. He was denied his request to have his imam, Yusuf Maisonet, by his side. Reading the majority’s decision, I kept asking mys :=:Mon, 25 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 953
North Carolina Had No Choice :: The decision came after a dramatic day, during a dramatic hearing, in a dramatic race. North Carolina election officials on Thursday ordered a new election in the state’s fraud-tainted Ninth Congressional District, the only 2018 U.S. House race that still doesn’t have a winner. The contest between the Republican Mark Harris and the Democrat Dan McCready appeared to have been decided, albeit by a :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 954
Trump's New Red Scare :: There are a lot of people talking about socialism these days. Senator Bernie Sanders, who on Tuesday launched a bid for the Democratic nomination for president, calls himself a democratic socialist, and so does Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Public intellectuals are debating the label anew. And then there’s the most high-profile participant in the discussion: Donald Trump. The president :=:Thu, 07 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 955
Russia may be forced to aim weapons at Washington, suggests Putin :: ‘Centres of decision making’ will be targeted if west deploys new missiles in Europe Vladimir Putin has said that Russia will develop new weapons and aim them at western “centres of decision-making” if the west deploys new short and medium-range missiles in Europe. The threat, which appears to describe Washington and other western capitals, came after the United States and then Russia suspended c :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 956
Elon Musk Promises a Really Truly Self-Driving Tesla in 2020Elon Musk Tesla Months :: The CEO says his Autopilot system will be "feature-complete" this year, and ready to ferry snoozing passengers by the end of next year. :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 957
7 Scenarios for How the Mueller Probe Might End :: Reports say that the special counsel will be "wrapping up" his investigation soon. Here's what that might actually mean. :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 958
An Apple-Hacking Teen, SIM-Swap Indictments, and More Security News This Week :: Location data scandals, a Zcash bug, and more of the week's top security news. :=:Fri, 22 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 959
The Green New Deal Shows How Grand Climate Politics Can Be :: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her allies' sprawling plan leans heavily on what local governments are already doing to fend off climate change. :=:Wed, 06 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 960
Couples creating art or playing board games release 'love hormone' :: When couples play board games together or take a painting class with each other, their bodies release oxytocin — sometimes dubbed the 'hugging hormone.' But men wielding paintbrushes released twice as much or more as the level of women painters and couples playing games, a Baylor University study has found. :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 961
Neanderthals walked upright just like the humans of today :: Neanderthals are often depicted as having straight spines and poor posture. However, these prehistoric humans were more similar to us than many assume. University of Zurich researchers have shown that Neanderthals walked upright just like modern humans — thanks to a virtual reconstruction of the pelvis and spine of a very well-preserved Neanderthal skeleton found in France. :=:Wed, 06 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 962
Using sleep disorder to predict Parkinson's disease :: A large multi-center study of more than 1,200 patients provides important predictors of Parkinson's disease progression, which will allow better candidate selection for clinical trials and more effective therapy development. :=:Fri, 22 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 963
To cut calories overall, pick dessert first :: Choosing an indulgent dessert at the start of your meal may lead you to pick healthier meal options, according to new research. Researchers conducted four experiments, both in a cafeteria and on a mock food-delivery website, to see if choosing a healthy or unhealthy dessert at the beginning of a meal would influence participants’ main and side dish selections. The researchers placed indulgent des :=:Mon, 25 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 964
Extreme diversification of floral volatiles within and among species of Lithophragma (Saxifragaceae) [Evolution] :: A major challenge in evolutionary biology is to understand how complex traits of multiple functions have diversified and codiversified across interacting lineages and geographic ranges. We evaluate intra- and interspecific variation in floral scent, which is a complex trait of documented importance for mutualistic and antagonistic interactions between plants, pollinators,… :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 965
Potent marijuana edibles can pose a major unrecognized risk to patients with cardiovascular disease :: With widespread legalization and increasing use, more care, education a research needed about how each marijuana formulation may affect and sometimes compromise the cardiovascular system of our aging population, according to a new article and editorial. :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 966
'Lack of cleaning' in brain cells is central to Alzheimer's disease :: An international research team has created a better understanding of Alzheimer's. They have shown that the cleaning system of the brain cells, the so-called mitophagy, is very weakened in animals and humans with Alzheimer's. And when they improve the cleaning system in the animals, the Alzheimer's symptoms almost disappear. :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 967
Antarctic flies protect fragile eggs with 'antifreeze' :: The good thing about the short Antarctic summer is it's a lot like a Midwest winter. :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 968
New anti-CRISPR proteins discovered in soil and human gut :: Scientists from the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability (DTU) have found four new anti-CRISPR proteins that are distributed across different environments. The new study published in Cell Host & Microbe suggests that some anti-CRISPR proteins are more widespread in nature than previously anticipated. These anti-CRISPRs can potentially be used to regulate the activity of CRISPR-Cas9 :=:Wed, 20 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 969
Research creates DNA-like molecule to aid search for alien life :: In a research breakthrough funded by NASA, scientists have synthesized a molecular system that, like DNA, can store and transmit information. This unprecedented feat suggests there could be an alternative to DNA-based life, as we know it on Earth – a genetic system for life that may be possible on other worlds. :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 970
Japan's Hayabusa2 probe to land on asteroid on Feb 22 :: A Japanese probe sent to examine an asteroid in order to shed light on the origins of the solar system is expected to land on the rock later this month, officials said Wednesday. :=:Mon, 25 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 971
Liquid has structure, which may be key to understanding metallic glass :: Researchers have found that liquid has structure in certain circumstances, and that this structure significantly influences the mysterious and complex formation of metallic glasses. :=:Tue, 05 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 972
New NASA mission could find more than 1,000 planets
NASA Israeli Life Ocean
:: A NASA telescope that will give humans the largest, deepest, clearest picture of the universe since the Hubble Space Telescope could find as many as 1,400 new planets outside Earth's solar system, new research suggests. :=:Fri, 01 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 973
New study suggests possibility of recent underground volcanism on Mars :: A study published last year in the journal Science suggested liquid water is present beneath the south polar ice cap of Mars. Now, a new study in the AGU journal Geophysical Research Letters argues there needs to be an underground source of heat for liquid water to exist underneath the polar ice cap. :=:Sat, 16 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 974
US Senate votes to expand nationals parks, protected lands :: The US Senate approved a landmark expansion of protected lands Tuesday, the first major gain for conservationists in two years after repeated setbacks by the Trump administration. :=:Thu, 14 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 975
Van Allen probes begin final phase of exploration in Earth's radiation belts :: Two tough, resilient, NASA spacecraft have been orbiting Earth for the past six and a half years, flying repeatedly through a hazardous zone of charged particles around our planet called the Van Allen radiation belts. The twin Van Allen Probes, launched in August 2012, have confirmed scientific theories and revealed new structures and processes at work in these dynamic regions. Now, they're starti :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 976
A reviewer stole a manuscript and published it himself. But you wouldn’t know it from this retraction notice. :: Fish off someone else’s peer review! So writes (in somewhat different words) Mina Mehregan, a mechanical engineer at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad in Iran. Mehregan and a colleague recently discovered that they’d been victimized by a group of unscrupulous reviewers who used the pretext of a long turnaround time to publish a hijacked version of … Continue reading A reviewer stole a manuscript and :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 977
Journal retracts more than 400 papers at once :: Ladies and gentlemen, we appear to have a new record. The Journal of Fundamental and Applied Sciences (JFAS) recently retracted 434 articles from three issues of their journal. Yes, 434, giving it more retractions than any other journal ever, according to our records. All of the articles, on topics ranging from “Effect of olive leaf … Continue reading Journal retracts more than 400 papers at once :=:Sat, 16 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 978
Ultima Thule Beyond Pluto Is Flat Like a Pancake (and Not a Space Snowman After All) :: The final photos that NASA's New Horizons spacecraft snapped of Ultima Thule during the probe's epic Jan. 1 flyby reveal the distant object to be much flatter than scientists had thought. :=:Wed, 20 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 979
Physicists Just Solved a 35-Year-Old Mystery Hidden Inside Atomic Cores :: The quarks inside atoms move slower than the quarks inside free-floating protons and neutrons. But why? :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 980
A Second Person May Be Cured of HIV :: A man in the United Kingdom may be the second person ever to be cured of HIV. :=:Mon, 25 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 981
Blixtkrig :: Kæmper Liselott Blixt så lægernes sag? Det er en sandhed med modifikationer af hidtil usete dimensioner. :=:Tue, 19 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 982
Beloved rhinoceros dies at age 49 in North Carolina zoo :: The North Carolina Zoo says that a beloved rhinoceros named Stanley has died. :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 983
Speed limit on DNA-making sets pace for life's first steps :: Fruit flies make for stingy mothers, imparting only a portion of the genetic building blocks their offspring need to survive. The rest must be produced by the fertilized egg in its first few steps of growth. :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 984
More than half a million breast cancer deaths averted in the US over three decades :: Latest US estimates indicate that since 1989, hundreds of thousands of women's lives have been saved by mammography and improvements in breast cancer treatment. The findings point to progress made in early detection and management of breast cancer. :=:Thu, 07 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 985
Shameful secrets bother us more than guilty secrets :: Everyone has secrets, but what causes someone to think about them over and over again? People who feel shame about a secret, as opposed to guilt, are more likely to be consumed by thoughts of what they are hiding, according to new research. :=:Mon, 25 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 986
How to feed the world by 2050? Recent breakthrough boosts plant growth by 40 percent :: Recent advances to address hunger through agricultural advancement have been shown to boost crop growth by 40 percent by creating a shortcut for a glitch that plagues most food crops. :=:Sun, 17 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 987
A volcanic binge and its frosty hangover :: A major volcanic event could have triggered one of the largest glaciations in Earth's history — the Gaskiers glaciation, which turned the Earth into a giant snowball approximately 580 million years ago. Researchers have discovered remnants of such a large igneous province that resulted from vast lava flows. :=:Tue, 12 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 988
F.D.A. Panel Recommends New Depression Treatment :: The active ingredients of ketamine, a popular club drug, show promise in battling deep despair. :=:Tue, 19 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 989
Advantaged socioeconomic conditions in childhood are associated with higher cognitive functioning but stronger cognitive decline in older age [Psychological and Cognitive Sciences] :: Cognitive aging is characterized by large heterogeneity, which may be due to variations in childhood socioeconomic conditions (CSC). Although there is substantial evidence for an effect of CSC on levels of cognitive functioning at older age, results on associations with cognitive decline are mixed. We examined by means of an… :=:Fri, 08 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 990
Processing generates 3' ends of RNA masking transcription termination events in prokaryotes [Genetics] :: Two kinds of signal-dependent transcription termination and RNA release mechanisms have been established in prokaryotes in vitro by: (i) binding of Rho to cytidine-rich nascent RNA [Rho-dependent termination (RDT)], and (ii) the formation of a hairpin structure in the nascent RNA, ending predominantly with uridine residues [Rho-independent termination (RIT)]. As… :=:Fri, 08 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 991
Republicans Committed the Classic Cross-Examination Blunder :: Everyone involved in the House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing on Wednesday needed a good lawyer. Michael Cohen, the convicted felon, disbarred lawyer, and former fixer to Donald Trump, needed a trial lawyer to rein in his mugging for the camera and his tendency to take cheap shots at his detractors, and to remind him of the limits of his own credibility. He needed a stern counselor to elb :=:Wed, 27 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 992
Global energy demand to soar one third by 2040: BP :: Global energy demand will surge by a third over the next two decades on advancing prosperity, but Indian demand growth will eclipse that of flagging giant China, Britain's BP forecast Thursday. :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 993
Grammar of protein domain architectures [Evolution] :: From an abstract, informational perspective, protein domains appear analogous to words in natural languages in which the rules of word association are dictated by linguistic rules, or grammar. Such rules exist for protein domains as well, because only a small fraction of all possible domain combinations is viable in evolution…. :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 994
Fecal stanols show simultaneous flooding and seasonal precipitation change correlate with Cahokia’s population decline [Anthropology] :: A number of competing hypotheses, including hydroclimatic variations, environmental degradation and disturbance, and sociopolitical disintegration, have emerged to explain the dissolution of Cahokia, the largest prehistoric population center in the United States. Because it is likely that Cahokia’s decline was precipitated by multiple factors, some environmental and some societal, a… :=:Mon, 11 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 995
Children carry evidence of toxins from home flooring and furniture :: Children living in homes with all vinyl flooring or flame-retardant chemicals in the sofa have significantly higher concentrations of potentially harmful semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) in their blood or urine than children from homes where these materials are not present, according to new research. :=:Sun, 24 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 996
Air pollution causes 8.8 million extra early deaths a year :: Air pollution could be causing double the number of extra deaths a year in Europe than has been estimated previously, according to a new study. :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 997
Trilobite evolutionary rates constrain the duration of the Cambrian explosion [Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences] :: Trilobites are often considered exemplary for understanding the Cambrian explosion of animal life, due to their unsurpassed diversity and abundance. These biomineralized arthropods appear abruptly in the fossil record with an established diversity, phylogenetic disparity, and provincialism at the beginning of Cambrian Series 2 (∼521 Ma), suggesting a protracted but… :=:Tue, 12 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 998
Mitochondrial UPR repression during Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection requires the bZIP protein ZIP-3 [Cell Biology] :: Mitochondria generate most cellular energy and are targeted by multiple pathogens during infection. In turn, metazoans employ surveillance mechanisms such as the mitochondrial unfolded protein response (UPRmt) to detect and respond to mitochondrial dysfunction as an indicator of infection. The UPRmt is an adaptive transcriptional program regulated by the transcription… :=:Wed, 27 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 999
Interplay between DNA sequence and negative superhelicity drives R-loop structures [Genetics] :: R-loops are abundant three-stranded nucleic-acid structures that form in cis during transcription. Experimental evidence suggests that R-loop formation is affected by DNA sequence and topology. However, the exact manner by which these factors interact to determine R-loop susceptibility is unclear. To investigate this, we developed a statistical mechanical equilibrium model… :=:Fri, 01 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1000
Team discovers 'incredibly' diverse microbial community high in Yellowstone :: More than 10 miles into the backcountry of Yellowstone National Park, on the edge of the caldera, lives a high-elevation community so diverse that Montana State University scientists call it "incredible, unique and truly weird." :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1001
Neural crest-derived neurons invade the ovary but not the testis during mouse gonad development [Developmental Biology] :: Testes and ovaries undergo sex-specific morphogenetic changes and adopt strikingly different morphologies, despite the fact that both arise from a common precursor, the bipotential gonad. Previous studies showed that recruitment of vasculature is critical for testis patterning. However, vasculature is not recruited into the early ovary. Peripheral innervation is involved… :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1002
'Orange water' :: Families in West Virginia say the coal mines have poisoned their water. Now they're fighting back. :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1003
Gasbus eksploderet i Stockholm: Gastank i taget punkteret af skilt :: Søndag eksploderede en bybus i den svenske hovedstad, da den kolliderede med et skilt i en tunnel. Ifølge trafikselskabet fulgte chaufføren ikke den planlagte rute, da ulykken skete. :=:Tue, 05 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1004
For bees, growing up and leaving home has a scent :: Honey bees develop different scent profiles as they age, and the gatekeeper bees respond differently to returning foragers than they do when they encounter younger bees who have never ventured out, report researchers. A honey bee ( Apis mellifera ) hatches and grows up deep inside a hive. Surrounded by 40,000 of her closest relatives, this dark and constantly buzzing place is all that she knows. :=:Sun, 03 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1005
Evolutionarily informed deep learning methods for predicting relative transcript abundance from DNA sequence [Biophysics and Computational Biology] :: Deep learning methodologies have revolutionized prediction in many fields and show potential to do the same in molecular biology and genetics. However, applying these methods in their current forms ignores evolutionary dependencies within biological systems and can result in false positives and spurious conclusions. We developed two approaches that account… :=:Mon, 11 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1006
Coal power stations disrupt rainfall: Global study :: Modern coal-fired power stations produce more ultrafine dust particles than road traffic and can even modify and redistribute rainfall patterns, a new 15-year international study shows. The study indicates filtration systems on modern coal-fired power stations are the biggest source of ultrafine particles and can have considerable impacts on climate in several ways. :=:Wed, 20 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1007
A Dead Man Was Cremated in Arizona, But Nobody Knew He Was Radioactive :: From the ashes. :=:Mon, 11 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1008
SpaceX Is About to Launch Its New Spacecraft For The First Time. Watch It Live Here! :: NASA is broadcasting it live this Saturday. :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1009
These Crows Are So Smart, They Plan 3 Steps Ahead When Using Tools :: All in the name of snacks, of course. :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1010
Wolves and Wolverines: A Complicated Relationship :: The larger mammal will prey on the smaller, but wolverines prefer areas occupied by wolves over areas that aren’t — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1011
Bill Gates: Custom Cancer Vaccines Will Revolutionize Medicine :: Ciao, Cancer Every year since 2001 , MIT Technology Review has published a list of 10 “breakthrough technologies” it believes will profoundly affect our lives in the future. This year, the publication turned over the reins on its annual list to Bill Gates, and one of the technologies that made his cut could eviscerate the second-leading cause of death globally. “Scientists are on the cusp of comm :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1012
Climate Change Has Young People Questioning Having Kids :: Young and Worried Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recently argued in an Instagram Live video that climate change is forcing many young people to reconsider whether or not they should have children. According to a recent Business Insider poll , Ocasio-Cortez’s assertion wasn’t off-base. Thirty-seven percent of respondents between the ages of 18 and 29 said climate change should factor into family pl :=:Sat, 23 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1013
Elon Musk Wants to Build a “Permanently Occupied Human Base” on the Moon :: To the ISS and Beyond SpaceX CEO Elon Musk hasn’t gotten much sleep this weekend. But true to form, he’s already dreaming of something far more ambitious. “To be frank, I’m a little emotionally exhausted,” Musk said at a post-launch press conference at four o’clock in the morning on Saturday. “Because that was super stressful. But it worked, so far.” The private space company has achieved a lot w :=:Sat, 02 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1014
Famous Hacker Thinks We’re Living in Simulation, Wants to Escape :: Jailbreak George Hotz, a self-driving car developer and famous hacker, is the latest tech celebrity to suggest that our universe may be a simulation built by some society more advanced than our own. “There’s no evidence this is not true,” Hotz announced during his talk at the Austin tech conference SXSW, according to The Verge . “It’s easy to imagine things that are so much smarter than you and t :=:Sun, 17 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1015
Japan Sends Robot Into the Nuclear Hell of the Fukushima Reactor :: Nuclear Probe The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) just sent a robot into one of the reactors of the Fukushima nuclear power plant, which was destroyed by a tsunami back in 2011. The robot made contact with the melted fuel, picking it up and putting it back down to determine whether it was solid enough to cart away during a future mission, according to Ars Technica . Image Credit: TEPCO The C :=:Sun, 10 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1016
New Toyota Patent Would Let Cars Spray Thieves With Tear Gas :: Unauthorized User In the future, Toyota vehicles may pack a nasty surprise to deter any would-be carjackers. Over the summer, Toyota filed a patent for a personalized fragrance dispenser system. Published online last week , the patent is fairly straightforward: when the car recognizes someone as an authorized user, it can spray their favorite scent. And if the car gets broken into, it can give th :=:Wed, 27 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1017
US Military: Our “Lethality Automated System” Definitely Isn’t a Killer Robot :: Autonomous Killing Machine In February, the U.S. Army asked experts for ideas on how to build a system that would allow tanks and other ground-combat vehicles to quickly and automatically “acquire, identify, and engage” targets. Some saw this as a step toward autonomous killer robots, leading the Army to now tweak its request. Yes, it now says, it wants bots to be able to identify and kill target :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1018
Opportunity Mars rover is officially dead after 15-year missionNASA Opportunity Mars :: A huge dust storm in June 2018 left NASA unable to contact the Opportunity rover. Now the space agency has said goodbye to their epic Mars explorer :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1019
Charles Darwin wrote enough one-liners to fill a burn book :: Science Here are the saddest, meanest, funniest Darwin quotes. Between experiments and excursions, Charles Darwin was a prolific author of scalding one-liners. :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1020
For Alzheimer's Sufferers, Brain Inflammation Ignites a Neuron-Killing "Forest Fire" :: And it could also be the kindling sparking Parkinson’s and other neurodegenerative maladies — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1021
The Two Amy Klobuchars :: Treating subordinates like dirt is a moral flaw, and I would be mortified to be accused of it. (I avoid these accusations by having no subordinates.) By now the evidence of Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar’s guilt in this respect is overwhelming. The New York Times has replicated the findings of BuzzFeed and The Huffington Post before it: Klobuchar, who is now seeking the Democratic presidential :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1022
The Democrat Who Wants to Stop the Rage :: POLK CITY, Iowa—Sitting under a framed ticket from an old Obama town hall meeting, down in the basement of a farmhouse surrounded by snowy fields of corn and soybeans, I tell Michael Bennet that an Iowa Democrat who’d come to hear him speak compared him to pea soup. Good pea soup, hearty. But still pea soup, in a 2020 primary field that has sizzling fajitas and cake on the table. Some politicians :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1023
Cooking Sunday roast causes indoor pollution ‘worse than Delhi’ :: Scientists say roast meal can make household air dirtier than in sixth most polluted city Cooking a Sunday roast can drive indoor air pollution far above the levels found in the most polluted cities on Earth, scientists have said. Researchers found that roasting meat and vegetables, and using a gas hob, released a surge of fine particles that could make household air dirtier than that in Delhi. C :=:Tue, 12 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1024
Amanda Feilding: ‘LSD can get deep down and reset the brain – like shaking up a snow globe’ :: The campaign to legalise LSD in Britain is gathering pace. The force behind the movement is an English countess for whom lobbying – and experimenting – has been a life’s work If you were to close your eyes and conjure the headquarters of a 50-year campaign to legalise and license psychedelic drugs, you might well see “Brainblood Hall”. A Tudor hunting lodge, surrounded by three concentric moats an :=:Thu, 14 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1025
Residential green space in childhood is associated with lower risk of psychiatric disorders from adolescence into adulthood [Environmental Sciences] :: Urban residence is associated with a higher risk of some psychiatric disorders, but the underlying drivers remain unknown. There is increasing evidence that the level of exposure to natural environments impacts mental health, but few large-scale epidemiological studies have assessed the general existence and importance of such associations. Here, we… :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1026
Forskere løser mysteriet om zebraens striber :: Zebraens striber forvirrer fluerne. Det viser forsøg med udklædte heste og avanceret videoteknik. :=:Sat, 09 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1027
Graphene Shows Promise for Repairing Broken Bones :: When you were a kid, did you ever sign a classmate’s cast after they broke an arm or a leg? Your name would be on display there for the rest of the semester. Broken bones are one of the worst trade-offs in childhood—a few seconds of calamity followed by months of boring rest and recovery. But children in the future may have a different story to tell as emerging tech overhauls how we fix broken bo :=:Wed, 20 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1028
Psychologists Seek a Broader, Healthier Definition of ‘Masculinity’ :: The new guidelines are hardly controversial, aiming only to support men who are “brave and strong and tough in difficult situations," a lead author noted. "But when there is a situation that requires sensitivity, empathy, and communication, men should be able to shift gears and be able to do that as well.” :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1029
AI Sucks at Making Adorable Cat Photos, Clearly Misses the Entire Point of the Internet :: When neural networks attempted to create images of cats, the results were cat-astrophic. :=:Tue, 26 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1030
Green New Deal proposal includes free higher education and fair pay :: The Green New Deal is an ambitious plan to remake the US energy sector and fight climate change, but it’s bundled with progressive social goals that may stop it passing :=:Sun, 24 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1031
Pioneering black scientist to win Nobel Prize of climate change :: Nexus Media News Climate scientist Warren Washington will be awarded the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement. Warren Washington is a legend for his pioneering work in the field of climate science. Now, he will be recognized with the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement. :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1032
A Genetic Basis for Insomnia Emerges from the Twilight :: Gargantuan studies show links between sleep difficulties and cardiovascular and psychiatric illnesses — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com :=:Fri, 01 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1033
An Hour of Light and Sound a Day Might Keep Alzheimer's at Bay :: Playing a flashing white light and a trilling sound reversed signs of Alzheimer’s in mice. Researchers are now trying it in humans — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1034
As Russian Military Moves into Thawing Arctic, U.S. Strategy Shifts :: Two generals told a Senate panel that climate change is already affecting the U.S. military — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com :=:Wed, 27 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1035
Forskare kan ha hittat hjärnans “lyckopunkt” :: Skratt och glädje verkar vara förknippat med en viss punkt i hjärnan. När amerikanska forskare stimulerade en centimeterstor stor punkt i hjärnan hos några epilepsipatienter började de skratta. Även när de ansträngde sig för att låta bli. :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1036
President Trump has signed a directive to establish Space Force :: [no content] :=:Wed, 20 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1037
Now any business can access the same type of AI that powered AlphaGo :: [no content] :=:Mon, 11 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1038
Species evolve ways to back up life's machinery :: Scientists have learned a lot about evolution by studying fossils, by observing nature and, more recently, by unraveling the genetic code stored in DNA. :=:Tue, 19 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1039
Scientists Just Added Four New Letters to the Genetic Code
NASA Mars ISS Curiosity
:: A four-letter alphabet might seem limited, but it’s all nature needed to write the instructions for all life on the planet. News that researchers have added four letters to the genetic alphabet opens the door to new possibilities in synthetic biology, data storage, and even the search for life beyond our planet. The genetic code at the heart of all living things is elegantly simple. Each half of :=:Mon, 11 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1040
Reaching peak whale :: Research has revealed some large whale populations have defied over-exploitation and near-extinction to reach 'peak' abundance – or will do so early in the next decade. :=:Wed, 20 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1041
Leder: Når forskernes frihed trues, bør alle lytte :: [no content] :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1042
Long-lived parents produce better quality offspring :: Genetic manipulation that more than doubles lifespan also leads to better offspring—according to new collaborative research from the University of East Anglia and Uppsala University. :=:Thu, 07 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1043
New treatment offers potentially promising results for the possibility of slowing, stopping, or even reversing Parkinson's disease :: A pioneering clinical trials program that delivered an experimental treatment directly to the brain offers hope that it may be possible to restore the cells damaged in Parkinson's disease. The study investigated whether boosting the levels of a naturally-occurring growth factor, Glial Cell Line Derived Neurotrophic Factor (GDNF), can regenerate dying dopamine brain cells in patients with Parkinson :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1044
Fast-Acting Depression Drug, Newly Approved, Could Help Millions
FDA Scott Gottlieb
:: A nasal spray version of the drug ketamine has shown promise as an antidepressant, even if its properties still aren’t well understood. :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1045
Research reveals why the zebra got its stripes :: Why do zebras have stripes? A study published in PLOS ONE today takes us another step closer to answering this puzzling question and to understanding how stripes actually work. :=:Sat, 09 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1046
Hubble's dazzling display of 2 colliding galaxies :: Located in the constellation of Hercules, about 230 million light-years away, NGC 6052 is a pair of colliding galaxies first discovered in 1784. A long time ago gravity drew the two galaxies together into the chaotic state we now observe. :=:Fri, 15 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1047
Rosetta's comet sculpted by stress :: Feeling stressed? You're not alone. ESA's Rosetta mission has revealed that geological stress arising from the shape of Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko has been a key process in sculpting the comet's surface and interior following its formation. :=:Fri, 15 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1048
Pluginhybrider har overhalet elbiler :: Elbiler og pluginhybrider er langsomt på vej frem, efter at salget styrtdykkede med registreringsafgiften i 2016. De udgør stadig kun to procent af bilsalget i Danmark. :=:Thu, 07 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1049
When does one of the central ideas in economics work? :: The concept of equilibrium is one of the most central ideas in economics. It is one of the core assumptions in the vast majority of economic models, including models used by policymakers on issues ranging from monetary policy to climate change, trade policy and the minimum wage. But is it a good assumption? In a forthcoming Science Advances paper, Marco Pangallo, Torsten Heinrich and Doyne Farmer :=:Sat, 23 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1050
To Start Life at The Nearest Star System, This Is How Big a Spaceship We Would Need :: One day… :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1051
What if It's Not Dark Matter Making The Universe's Extra 'Gravity', But Light? :: Whoa. :=:Mon, 18 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1052
Study: THC Has More Therapeutic Benefits Than We Thought :: CBDenied Thanks to loosening legal constraints , cannabis products have flooded the health and wellness market in recent years. But research on the most effective compounds, doses, and delivery methods for various ailments hasn’t kept up with that surge in products. In an attempt to fill that knowledge gap, a team of researchers tracked nearly 20,000 cannabis sessions by more than 3,000 patients :=:Wed, 27 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1053
The Myth of Vaccine Shedding :: No – the measles vaccine cannot cause an outbreak through virus shedding, but this myth persists in antivaccine circles. :=:Fri, 22 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1054
A First Date for Two Rare Tigers Ends in Death :: London Zoo’s female Sumatran tiger, Melati, was fatally mauled by Asim, a male brought from Denmark as a potential mate. :=:Wed, 20 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1055
A School Nurse Is on a Mission to Count the Women Killed by Men :: PLANO, Texas—In February 2017, a school nurse in this Dallas suburb began counting women murdered by men. Seated at her desk, beside shelves of cookbooks, novels, and books on violence against women, Dawn Wilcox, 54, scours the internet for news stories of women killed by men in the United States. For dozens of hours each week, she digs through online news reports and obituaries to tell the stori :=:Sun, 10 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1056
Trump’s Emergency Declaration Is a Test Republicans Didn’t Want to Take :: There was a climactic moment Thursday afternoon as Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced on the Senate floor that President Donald Trump would sign a compromise deal on border-security funding, but would also declare a national emergency to try to build his wall. What happens next will be a test of the mettle of Republicans in the Senate—though if the past is any indication, it’s likely to be :=:Fri, 08 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1057
Physicists Want to Use Quantum Particles to Find Out What Happens Inside a Black Hole :: So weird it just might work. :=:Fri, 01 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1058
Ajit Pai Claims His FCC Improved Broadband Access :: But progress was actually similar to what it was during the Obama era. :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1059
FDA approves ketamine-like nasal spray for depression
FDA Scott Gottlieb
:: The drug is closely related to the anesthetic ketamine, and it's likely to be covered by many insurance plans. It's to be used in addition with antidepressants, and only by patients who've tried two antidepressants and still don't feel better. Intravenous ketamine treatments are already available in the U.S., but they're not approved by the FDA. None The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has app :=:Wed, 27 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1060
Liberals and Conservatives Are Both Susceptible to Fake News, but for Different Reasons :: New research suggests both liberals and conservatives are motivated to believe fake news, and dismiss real news that contradicts their ideologies — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1061
Engineered yeast can brew up the active ingredients in cannabis plants :: A yeast with added genes from the cannabis plant can brew up cannabinoids more cheaply and with less environmental damage than farming the plant, say its makers :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1062
Engineering HIV-resistant babies may have accidentally changed their brains :: Health In genetics, one small tweak can have tons of unexpected results. In November 2018, a group of researchers in China divulged what scientists around the world feared: In what many researchers now call an ethically dubious clinical trial… :=:Mon, 11 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1063
Möbius Strips Defy a Link With Infinity :: In math, three-dimensional space sprawls out to infinity in every direction. With an infinite amount of room, it should be able to hold an infinite number of things inside of it — pearls, peacocks or even planets. But a recent proof by Olga Frolkina, a mathematician at Moscow State University, shows that one relatively well-known mathematical object can’t be packed an uncountably infinite number :=:Mon, 25 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1064
Brain-zapping implants that fight depression are inching closer to reality :: Researchers are using electric jolts to correct the faulty brain activity that sparks depression. :=:Fri, 08 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1065
DNA reveals early mating between Asian herders and European farmers :: A new genetic analysis could upend assumptions about the origins of Indo-European languages. :=:Mon, 25 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1066
AI arms control may not be possible, warns Henry Kissinger :: [no content] :=:Thu, 14 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1067
A 'Breaking Bad' Movie Is Coming to Netflix :: Also: Apple is reportedly announcing its streaming plans in March, and Thanos is going to 'Dune'. :=:Thu, 07 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1068
How Chris Evans Became Twitter's Avatar of Male Decency :: The actor helped Regina King up some stairs at the Oscars. Why is the internet praising him for doing the bare minimum? :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1069
This Scary Map Shows How Climate Change Will Transform Your City :: Click on your city, and the map will pinpoint a modern analog city that matches what your climate may be in 2080. The results are startling. :=:Thu, 07 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1070
China and India help make planet leafier :: There are now more than 2 million sq miles of extra leaf area per year, compared with the early 2000s. :=:Mon, 25 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1071
Stem cells divide faster in space :: Chinese researchers discover cell performance accelerates in microgravity. :=:Fri, 22 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1072
Near ground-state cooling of 2-D trapped ion crystals :: Researchers have been trying to cool macroscopic mechanical oscillators down to their ground state for several decades. Nonetheless, past studies have merely attained the cooling of a few selected vibrational modes of such oscillators. :=:Wed, 20 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1073
Life on the edge in the quantum world :: Quantum physics sets the laws that dominate the universe at a small scale. The ability to harness quantum phenomena could lead to machines like quantum computers, which are predicted to perform certain calculations much faster than conventional computers. One major problem with building quantum processors is that the tracking and controlling quantum systems in real time is a difficult task because :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1074
Solid-state battery testing to be part of ispace HAKUTO-R program :: Officials with ispace, a commercial enterprise with ambitions of creating a lunar exploration system, have announced that part of their initial program will include testing a solid-state battery on the surface of the moon. The current plan is to test the battery with a lunar rover as early as 2021. :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1075
Cheminova-grunden gemmer på 15 tons pesticider og seks tons kviksølv :: Region Midtjylland har undersøgt jordlagene i Cheminovas gamle fabriksgrund for at kortlægge kemikalieforureningen. Et enkelt sted er der målt 4.000 mg kviksølv pr. kg. jord. Grænseværdien er 3 mg. :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1076
Solar Dynamics Observatory catches lunar freeze frame :: On the evening of March 6, 2019, the Moon started to transit the Sun, then doubled back and retraced its steps in the other direction—at least, that's what it looked like from the perspective of NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, in orbit around Earth. :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1077
Spinal cord is 'smarter' than previously thought :: New research has shown that the spinal cord is able to process and control complex functions, like the positioning of your hand in external space. 'This research has shown that a least one important function is being done at the level of the spinal cord and it opens up a whole new area of investigation. :=:Mon, 11 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1078
'Goldilocks' stars may be 'just right' for finding habitable worlds :: Scientists looking for signs of life beyond our solar system face major challenges, one of which is that there are hundreds of billions of stars in our galaxy alone to consider. To narrow the search, they must figure out: What kinds of stars are most likely to host habitable planets? :=:Sat, 09 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1079
Beskyttelse mod elektrisk stød på København H udskydes på ubestemt tid :: Vandrende strøm er en reel risiko, kendt fra Gl. Lillebæltsbro sidste år. Alligevel udsættes det, fordi pengene skal bruges til at lukke et underskud i Ringsted. :=:Fri, 08 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1080
An exoplanet with an 11-hour orbit :: The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) was launched on April 18 of last year with the primary objective of discovering transiting planets smaller than Neptune around stars bright enough for spectroscopic investigations of their masses and atmospheres. Before TESS there were roughly 385 exoplanets known with masses smaller than Neptune, with orbital periods ranging from less than half-a-d :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1081
Researchers discover a flipping crab feeding on methane seeps :: Researchers have documented a group of tanner crabs vigorously feeding at a methane seep on the seafloor off British Columbia—one of the first times a commercially harvested species has been seen using this energy source. :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1082
Better red than dread: Barrier keeps batteries safe :: Rice University scientists have taken the next step toward the deployment of powerful, rechargeable lithium metal batteries by making them safer and simpler to manufacture. :=:Wed, 27 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1083
Human Beings Are Susceptible to 'Boiling Frog' Phenomenon, Climate Scientists Warn :: Totally oblivious. :=:Fri, 01 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1084
Startling Interactive Map Shows What Climate Change Will Do to Your City by 2080 :: There's going to be a 500 mile difference. :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1085
A Teen Who Got Vaccinated Against His Parents' Wishes Is Testifying Before Congress :: He was unvaccinated for years because of his mother's belief in vaccine conspiracies. :=:Wed, 27 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1086
You've Heard of Black Holes. But 'White Holes' Might Just Break Your Puny Brain :: Like black holes, but inside-out. :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1087
Matthew Whitaker Plays to an Audience of One :: It took about five minutes of questioning for the acting attorney general to provoke gasps and jeers in the congressional hearing room. “Your five minutes is up,” Matthew Whitaker, an ex–U.S. attorney turned toilet salesman , told the House Judiciary Committee’s Democratic chairman, Jerry Nadler. Nadler cracked a smile, but from that point on, the rules of engagement seemed clear: Whitaker, with :=:Fri, 15 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1088
Beer before wine not fine, scientists find after vomit-filled tests :: Research into old saying about alcohol consumption shows you get a hangover either way Beer before wine, or wine before beer; whatever the order, you’ll feel queer. That, at least, is the updated aphorism drinkers will have to embrace now scientists have proved that drink order has no effect on the magnitude of one’s hangover. Under carefully-controlled lab conditions, British and German research :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1089
These 7 Rules Could Be The Universal Moral Code Shared by Every Culture, Study Finds :: Can you guess what they are? :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1090
Growing up in nature reduces mental issues by up to 55% :: A childhood spent in green spaces reduces the chance of acquiring adult mental disorders by 15% to 55%. A comprehensive study tracked the life stories of one million Danes to reach this conclusion. Humanity is moving to cities, and the report underscores the need for ample green spaces for children. None In 1950, two-thirds of us lived in rural settings, with just one-third living in cities. That :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1091
Scientists can now turn CO2 in the air into solid coal :: A team of scientists used liquid metal and a liquid electrolyte to convert gaseous CO2 into a solid, coal-like substance. Compared to current methods, the new approach could prove to be a more efficient and scalable way to remove carbon from the atmosphere and safely store it. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says the global community must remove 100 billion to 1 trill :=:Wed, 20 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1092
Jay Inslee: Washington governor to run on climate change :: The two-term governor will focus his campaign on "defeating climate change" and creating energy jobs. :=:Tue, 05 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1093
Marijuana Lollipop May Have Triggered Man's Heart Attack :: A marijuana lollipop with a very high dose THC may have triggered a man's heart attack. :=:Fri, 01 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1094
A Man's Trouble Smelling Was Caused By a Tooth Growing in His Nose :: A man got a completely unexpected diagnosis after he told his doctors that for the past two years, his left nostril had been stuffy, drippy and losing its ability to smell. :=:Tue, 05 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1095
Prickly Pear Cactus Needles Are Oldest Tattoo Tool in Western North America :: A 2,000-year-old spiky object recently rediscovered in museum storage is the oldest known tattoo-making tool from western North America, a new study finds. :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1096
The children striking over climate change speak to New Scientist :: New Scientist went to meet the UK schoolchildren who have left their classrooms to join a global protest that calls for the government to declare a climate emergency :=:Mon, 11 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1097
World’s biggest bee rediscovered after decades on ‘most wanted’ list :: The giant black bee is the size of a human thumb, with a wingspan of 6 centimetres and fierce-looking mandibles :=:Fri, 08 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1098
EU sued for making global warming worse by subsidising wood burning :: The European Union is accelerating global warming and damaging forests worldwide by encouraging wood burning without counting the carbon emissions, says the lawsuit :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1099
Everything you need to know about the Green New Deal :: Environment The vast proposal outlines a plan to save the Earth from environmental catastrophe. The Green New Deal—a broad resolution introduced Feb. 7 by Democrats Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York in the House and Ed Markley of Massachusetts in the… :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1100
What does it actually mean for a commercial plane to hit 801 mph? :: Technology The jet stream propelled a 787 to super-fast speeds, but determining a plane’s velocity is a complex matter. On Monday, a Boeing 787 operated by Virgin Atlantic hit an astounding ground speed: 801 miles per hour. :=:Fri, 22 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1101
The human bone trade is legal—and booming on Instagram :: Health Excerpt: Skeleton Keys: The Secret Life of Bone Brian Switek's new book, Skeleton Keys: The Secret Life of Bone , explores the calcium that keeps us together. In this excerpt, Switek documents the booming human bone… :=:Mon, 11 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1102
SpaceX's Crew Dragon launch is a pivotal moment for American spaceflight—here's how to watch :: Space Get ready to stay up past your bedtime for this historic moment. SpaceX has never launched a human being into space, but on March 2, it will take a massive step forward towards finally reaching that goal. :=:Wed, 13 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1103
A 10-million-pound undersea cable just set an internet speed record :: Technology Breaking down, by the numbers, a new submarine data-transfer accomplishment. Undersea cables are the backbone of the internet as we know it. :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1104
Hindu nationalists claim that ancient Indians had airplanes, stem cell technology, and the internet :: The rapid rise of pseudoscience in the Modi era triggers ridicule and concern :=:Wed, 27 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1105
Democrats Want Any Infrastructure Bill to Address Climate Change :: Proponents have floated proposals ranging from energy efficiency to electric grid modernization — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com :=:Sun, 03 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1106
The real reason America is scared of Huawei: internet-connected everything :: Five things you need to know about 5G, the next generation of wireless tech that’s fueling tensions between the US and China. :=:Tue, 12 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1107
A philosopher argues that an AI can’t be an artist :: Creativity is, and always will be, a human endeavor. :=:Tue, 05 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1108
Finland’s universal basic income trial made people happier—but not employed :: [no content] :=:Fri, 22 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1109
How to overcome apathy and find your power | Dolores Huerta :: "Sí, se puede!" — "Yes, we can!" It's the rallying cry Dolores Huerta came up with as a young activist in the 1970s, and she's lived by it in her tireless pursuit of civil rights ever since. With her signature wit and humor, Huerta reflects on her life's work, offering inspiration for anybody trying to overcome apathy, get involved and find their own power. :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1110
'Captain Marvel' Beat Its Own Box Office Projections :: Carol Danvers made bank last weekend. :=:Thu, 07 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1111
Facebook Can Make VR Avatars Look—and Move—Exactly Like You :: "Codec avatars," as Facebook researchers call them, are all but indistinguishable from the humans they represent—and may be a staple of our virtual lives sooner than we think. :=:Fri, 15 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1112
AR Will Spark the Next Big Tech Platform—Call It Mirrorworld :: We are building a 1-to-1 map of almost unimaginable scope. When it's complete, our physical reality will merge with the digital universe. :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1113
Why do some galactic unions lead to doom? :: Three images from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope show pairs of galaxies on the cusp of cosmic consolidations. Though the galaxies appear separate now, gravity is pulling them together, and soon they will combine to form new, merged galaxies. Some merged galaxies will experience billions of years of growth. For others, however, the merger will kick off processes that eventually halt star formation, :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1114
With IPO due, Uber aims to be 'Amazon of transportation' :: Uber, the ridesharing behemoth set to launch a stock offering soon, is aiming beyond sharing car rides to becoming the "Amazon of transportation" in a future where people share instead of owning vehicles. :=:Fri, 01 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1115
Svenska mikroalger producerar biobränsle medan de renar vatten :: Gröna mikroalger är fotosyntetiska vattenorganismer som med hjälp av solljus och några andra näringsämnen omvandlar koldioxid (CO2) till energi och biomassa. Algbiomassa anses vara ett bra utgångsmaterial för produktion av olika biobränslen eftersom dessa mikroorganismer naturligt kan bilda och lagra stora mängder lipider som kan omvandlas till biodiesel. Dessutom kan kväve och fosfor som finns i :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1116
Israel's first spacecraft to moon sends selfie :: An Israeli spacecraft on its maiden mission to the moon has sent its first selfie back to Earth, mission chiefs said on Tuesday. :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1117
Pharmaceutical residues in fresh water pose a growing environmental risk :: Over the past 20 years, concentrations of pharmaceuticals have increased in freshwater sources all over the world, as research by environmental experts at Radboud University has revealed. Levels of the antibiotic ciprofloxacin have reached the point of potentially causing damaging ecological effects. The research is the first to examine the risks of two particular medicines in global freshwater so :=:Mon, 25 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1118
Swifts are born to eat and sleep in the air :: "They eat and sleep while they are airborne. This is something that researchers have believed since the 1950s, and now we can show that it's true", says Anders Hedenström, professor at the Department of Biology at Lund University. :=:Mon, 25 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1119
Breakthrough could enable cheaper infrared cameras :: There's an entire world our eyes miss, hidden in the ranges of light wavelengths that human eyes can't see. But infrared cameras can pick up the secret light emitted as plants photosynthesize, as cool stars burn and batteries get hot. They can see through smoke and fog and plastic. :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1120
Leder: Stop forureningen fra krydstogtskibene :: [no content] :=:Tue, 19 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1121
New Horizons research indicates small Kuiper Belt objects are surprisingly rare :: Using New Horizons data from the Pluto-Charon flyby in 2015, a Southwest Research Institute-led team of scientists have indirectly discovered a distinct and surprising lack of very small objects in the Kuiper Belt. The evidence for the paucity of small Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs) comes from New Horizons imaging that revealed a dearth of small craters on Pluto's largest satellite, Charon, indicating :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1122
How air pollution exposure may lead to autism :: Researchers have previously linked air pollution exposure—particularly traffic-related air pollution—to a higher risk of autism, but new research may have an answer for how that relationship works. In an earlier study, researchers discovered that mice exposed to very unhealthy levels of diesel exhaust, or particulate matter, during pregnancy and early in development displayed behavioral alteratio :=:Fri, 15 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1123
Breast milk microbiome contains yeast and fungi: Do these benefit the infant? :: Investigators have now shown that the breast milk microbiome contains fungi. Multiple previous studies had found bacteria in breast milk. Certain fungi and bacteria have been shown to be important probiotics for infant health. :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1124
2015-2016 El Nino triggered disease outbreaks across globe :: The 2015-2016 El Niño event brought weather conditions that triggered regional disease outbreaks throughout the world, according to a new NASA study that is the first to comprehensively assess the public health impacts of the major climate event on a global scale. :=:Wed, 06 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1125
New Study Suggests You Can Learn While You Sleep :: As a chronic insomniac, I have a trick to lure me to sleep without drugs: podcasts. Every night before bed, I queue up a list of podcasts lengthy enough to last me the night. And sometimes, their contents bleed through into my dreams. Over the years, I’ve dreamed of microbiomes, politics, pop culture, molecular gastronomy—and intriguingly, sometimes the things I heard while sleeping seem to stick :=:Mon, 11 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1126
High CO2 levels can destabilize marine layer clouds :: Computer modeling shows that marine stratus clouds could disappear if atmospheric CO2 levels climb high enough, raising global temperatures. :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1127
Entangling photons of different colors :: Researchers have developed a novel way to entangle two photons — one with a wavelength suitable for quantum-computing devices and the other for fiber-optics transmissions. :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1128
The U.S. is About to Hit Facebook With a Multi-Billion Dollar Fine :: Massive Fine Facebook’s sketchy history with users’ privacy rights is finally starting to catch up with it. The Washington Post reports that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Facebook are negotiating over a “multi-billion dollar fine” to settle the FTC’s investigation into the social network’s shady privacy practices. The Commission’s investigation began almost a year ago , when the Cambridg :=:Tue, 19 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1129
Scientists Just Discovered 300,000 New Galaxies :: On the Map The Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) telescope is quickly making good on its promise. The Netherlands-based array picks up low radio frequencies, including the traces of radiation that form when galaxies merge. Now, an international team of scientists has published the first research made possible by LOFAR — and it adds 300,000 previously unknown galaxies to our map of the universe. Data Fl :=:Fri, 15 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1130
New Bionic Heart Charges Wirelessly Inside Patient’s Chest :: Beating Heart Failure More than 50 years ago , a doctor implanted the first mechanical heart pump, also known as a ventricular assist device (VAD), in the chest of a patient whose heart couldn’t pump blood on its own. Since then, the devices have saved countless lives, including that of Ismail Tursunov. The 24-year-old man was experiencing end-stage heart failure when doctors in Kazakhstan implan :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1131
Ride out Climate Change in This $5.5 Million Self-Sustaining Yacht :: Luxury Living In 2017 we wrote about Arkup , a company designing “hurricane-proof” livable yachts powered by solar energy and capable of operating completely off the grid. Now, the company has finally debuted a real-life version of one of its designs, and it could let you ride out the worst that climate change might throw at the Earth in the near future — assuming you have $5.5 million to spend o :=:Thu, 14 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1132
Tesla Owners Are Enraged That the Company Cut Its Prices :: Bad Timing Last week, Tesla announced plans to cut the prices of eight of its vehicle models. That’s great news if you’re looking to buy a Tesla. But not-so-great if you already own one. Some owners saw the value of their EVs decrease by tens of thousands of dollars overnight, leading to a slew of Tesla protests overseas — and the outrage could hurt Tesla’s chances of success in the world’s most :=:Fri, 08 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1133
Stacey Abrams’s New Strategy for Democrats :: Live from Atlanta, Stacey Abrams delivered the Democratic response to the State of the Union address, standing in front of a slowly swaying group of people in which women and minorities were notably represented. The former Georgia House minority leader and the Democratic nominee for Georgia’s governor in the 2018 election began with a story of her parents’ dedication to faith and education, and c :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1134
'A big jump': People might have lived in Australia twice as long as we thought | Paul Daley :: The result of 11 years of research suggests that human habitation could stretch to 120,000 years Extensive archaeological research in southern Victoria has again raised the prospect that people have lived in Australia for 120,000 years – twice as long as the broadly accepted period of human continental habitation. The research, with its contentious potential implications for Indigenous habitation :=:Thu, 07 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1135
ExxonMobil finds largest Cyprus gas reserve yet :: US energy giant ExxonMobil has discovered a huge natural gas reserve off the coast of Cyprus, Cypriot authorities said Thursday, a find that could raise tensions with nearby Turkey. :=:Mon, 18 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1136
Ultra-lightweight ceramic material withstands extreme temperatures :: Researchers have created an extremely light, very durable ceramic aerogel. The material could be used for applications like insulating spacecraft because it can withstand the intense heat and severe temperature changes that space missions endure. :=:Fri, 22 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1137
Solar tadpole-like jets seen with NASA'S IRIS add new clue to age-old mystery :: Scientists have discovered tadpole-shaped jets coming out of the Sun that may help explain why the corona (the wispy upper atmosphere of our star) is so inexplicably hot. :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1138
CMS gets first result using largest-ever LHC data sample :: Just under three months after the final proton–proton collisions from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC)'s second run (Run 2), the CMS collaboration has submitted its first paper based on the full LHC dataset collected in 2018 – the largest sample ever collected at the LHC – and data collected in 2016 and 2017. The findings reflect an immense achievement, as a complex chain of data reconstruction and :=:Mon, 25 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1139
Seven moral rules found all around the world :: Anthropologists at the University of Oxford have discovered what they believe to be seven universal moral rules. :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1140
What the world's oldest eggs reveal about dinosaur evolution :: A study of the world's earliest known dinosaur eggs reveals new information about the evolution of dinosaur reproduction. :=:Mon, 11 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1141
Wide variations in how well or poorly people age :: A new study reveals wide variations in how well or poorly people age. A 30-year gap separates countries with the highest and lowest ages at which people experience the health problems of a 65-year-old, according to a new scientific study. Researchers found 76-year-olds in Japan and 46-year-olds in Papua New Guinea have the same level of age-related health problems as an "average" person aged 65. :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1142
To see the value of love, look to animals :: For Valentine’s Day, a biologist explains animals in love and what they can teach us. Humans just love seeing animals demonstrate love: cuddly chimps grooming each other, say, or penguin pairs carefully passing their egg in the driving snow. Viral videos of cows joining dog packs or cats and birds becoming friends dot our social media feeds. “There are lots of biological explanations for these ki :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1143
Body building supplement could be bad for the brain :: L-norvaline is an ingredient widely used in body building supplements and is promoted as a compound that can boost workouts and aid recovery. Similar compounds have been linked to neurodegenerative diseases, and a study on human cells suggests L-norvaline may also cause damage to brain cells. :=:Wed, 20 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1144
Professor: 12.000 nye job på Avedøre Holme er 'grebet ud af luften' :: Hvis Hvidovres ambition om de mange tusind nye arbejdspladser skal lykkes, skal dampen under den danske økonomi fortsætte mange år frem. :=:Fri, 22 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1145
Researchers watch molecules in a light-triggered catalyst ring 'like an ensemble of bells' :: Photocatalysts – materials that trigger chemical reactions when hit by light – are important in a number of natural and industrial processes, from producing hydrogen for fuel to enabling photosynthesis. :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1146
Scientists build the smallest optical frequency comb to-date :: Optical frequency combs are laser sources whose spectrum consists of a series of discrete, equally spaced frequency lines that can be used for precise measurements. In the last two decades, they have become a major tool for applications such as precise distance measurement, spectroscopy, and telecommunications. :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1147
Quantum optical micro-combs :: Compact quantum devices could be incorporated into laptops and mobile phones, thanks in part to small devices called quantum optical micro-combs. :=:Sun, 10 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1148
Key instrument on NASA's InSight lander is stuck. A Martian rock may be to blame :: NASA's Mars InSight mission has hit a snag: Its heat probe appears to have struck an obstacle just below the surface of the red planet. :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1149
Information literacy can combat 'fake news' :: It's not difficult to verify whether a new piece of information is accurate; however, most people don't take that step before sharing it on social media, regardless of age, social class or gender, a new study has found. :=:Tue, 19 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1150
Prehistoric humans loved their dogs to death :: Neolithic communities clustered near present-day Barcelona some 6,000 years ago were really keen on dogs, in this life and the next. :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1151
Searching for missing particles :: The Standard Model of particle physics has been confirmed many times, but it is far from complete. Alan Duffy reports. :=:Tue, 19 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1152
Ingredients for water could be made on surface of moon, a chemical factory :: When a stream of charged particles known as the solar wind careens onto the Moon's surface at 450 kilometers per second (or nearly 1 million miles per hour), they enrich the Moon's surface in ingredients that could make water, NASA scientists have found. :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1153
New theory could lead to better batteries, fuel cells :: A new theory could enable researchers and industry to tune and improve the performance of a material called ionic ceramics in rechargeable batteries, fuel cells and other energy applications. :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1154
Making long-lived positronium atoms for antimatter gravity experiments :: The universe is almost devoid of antimatter, and physicists haven't yet figured out why. Discovering any slight difference between the behaviour of antimatter and matter in Earth's gravitational field could shed light on this question. Positronium atoms, which consist of an electron and a positron, are one type of antimatter atoms being considered to test whether antimatter falls at the same rate :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1155
Long-lived parents produce better quality offspring :: Researchers studied a gene associated with ageing in roundworms. They found that by reducing this gene's expression, they could not only more than double the worm's lifespan – but also improve the fitness of its offspring. The findings support an emerging new theory that we have genes that age us, and that shutting down these genes in later life could one day help us stay younger and healthier for :=:Mon, 11 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1156
Wildlife World Zoo: Jaguar attacks selfie-taker :: Zoo officials warn that barriers are "there for a good reason" after a woman is injured. :=:Tue, 19 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1157
Population increases and climate change point to future US water shortages :: Climate change plus population growth are setting the stage for water shortages in parts of the U.S. long before the end of the century, according to a new study in the AGU journal Earth's Future. :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1158
Ancient humans, fearless squirrel hunters :: Sophisticated tools and technologies helped Homo sapiens survive in challenging rainforests. Dyani Lewis reports. :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1159
Why We Stink at Tackling Climate Change – Issue 69: Patterns :: What’s wrong with us? Not us Democrats, Republicans, or Americans. Rather, what’s wrong with our species, Homo sapiens ? If human beings are as Hamlet suggested, “noble in reason, infinite in faculty,” then why are we facing so many problems? In many ways, people are better off than ever before: reduced infant mortality, longer lifespans, less poverty, fewer epidemic diseases, even fewer deaths p :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1160
Marsupial lived among Arctic dinosaurs :: A research team has discovered a previously unknown species of marsupial that lived in Alaska's Arctic during the era of dinosaurs, adding a vivid new detail to a complex ancient landscape. The thumb-sized animal, named Unnuakomys hutchisoni, lived in the Arctic about 69 million years ago during the late Cretaceous Period. :=:Fri, 15 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1161
The smell of food controls cellular recycling and affects life expectancy :: The smell of food induces a variety of physiological processes in our body. Thus, the production of saliva and digestive enzymes is stimulated before the actual food intake in order to prepare the gastrointestinal tract for the upcoming digestive process. In a healthy organism, this coordination depends on a dynamic balance between formation and degradation of proteins (proteostasis). This plays a :=:Mon, 25 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1162
Newly isolated human gut bacterium reveals possible connection to depression :: Researchers have established a correlation between depression and a group of neurotransmitter-producing bacteria found in the human gut. :=:Wed, 20 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1163
Researchers develop direct-write quantum calligraphy in monolayer semiconductors :: Scientists at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) and the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) have developed a way to directly write quantum light sources, which emit a single photon of light at a time, into monolayer semiconductors such as tungsten diselenide (WSe2). Single photon emitters (SPEs), or quantum emitters, are key components in a wide range of nascent quantum-based technologies, :=:Mon, 11 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1164
Opening the path to scaling silicon quantum computers :: Research collaboration between UNSW and the University of Sydney has overcome a fundamental hurdle to building quantum computers in silicon, opening the way to further develop the machines at scale. :=:Thu, 07 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1165
20-million-year-old tusked sea cow is Central America's oldest marine mammal :: A researcher searching the shoreline of the Panama Canal for fossil plants instead found an ancient sea cow. An 'emergency fossil excavation' due to rising water levels yielded a remarkably complete skeleton of a new genus and species of dugong, estimated to be about 20 million years old, the first evidence of a marine mammal from the Pacific side of the canal. :=:Tue, 12 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1166
Giant flare detected on an L dwarf :: European astronomers have spotted a giant white-light flare on the ultracool L dwarf designated ULAS J224940.13-011236.9. The newly detected flare is one of the largest flares ever observed from an ultracool dwarf. The discovery is detailed in a paper published February 3 on the arXiv.org pre-print server. :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1167
Injectable sponge-like gel enhances the quantity and quality of T-cells :: Bone marrow transplants, also known as hematopoietic stem cell transplants, are life-saving treatments for aggressive diseases, such as leukemia and multiple myeloma, and infections such as HIV. The procedure entails infusion of blood stem cells from a matched donor into the patient to 'reset' the blood and immune system. :=:Fri, 08 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1168
Totally cool turtles may help save species :: A trial of ways to cool turtle nests is underway in Queensland's Far North as global warming threatens turtle populations throughout the tropics. :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1169
Værkstedsfejl: Politiets biler ramt af bremsesvigt :: Politibiler i to politikredse har i store dele af 2018 kørt udrykningskørsel med fejl på bremserne til fare for politibetjente og andre trafikanter. :=:Fri, 01 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1170
New comparative study on DNA modifications across the fungal tree of life :: DNA activity can change without changing the sequence of the DNA segment itself. Gene activation and inactivation can be the basis for how species produce unique individuals. Some processes that change gene activity are well understood in the context of model species. However, scientists are still grappling with how some processes, like DNA methylation, change gene activity in many diverse organis :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1171
The holy grail of nanowire production :: Nanowires have the potential to revolutionize the technology around us. Measuring just 5-100 nanometers in diameter (a nanometer is a millionth of a millimeter), these tiny, needle-shaped crystalline structures can alter how electricity or light passes through them. :=:Thu, 14 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1172
Honey bees can help monitor pollution in cities :: Honey from urban bees can tell us how clean a city is and help pinpoint the sources of environmental pollutants such as lead, new University of British Columbia research has found. :=:Mon, 18 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1173
New photography approach gives traditional cameras ultra-high imaging speeds :: Researchers have developed a new imaging method that can capture images at speeds of up to 1.5 million frames per second using standard imaging sensors typically limited to 100 frames per second. This new technology will make it possible to capture extremely fast events for applications such as biomedical research or slow-motion scenes in a film. :=:Tue, 12 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1174
This Diver in South Africa Ended Up Inside a Whale, And Survived :: What a story to tell. :=:Mon, 11 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1175
Global insect decline may see 'plague of pests' :: Houseflies and cockroaches will thrive as bees, butterflies and beetles decline, says a new analysis. :=:Mon, 18 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1176
Why the Wall Will Never Rise :: The brush country along the Rio Grande on the Texas-Mexico border grows thick: a jagged, tangled landscape of thorny trees, prickly pear, and grass so tall, it can hide a horse. Eight-foot rattlesnakes blend into rocks. Feral hogs wallow beneath mesquite thickets. If President Donald Trump ever gets the funding for his long-promised wall, he will have to plot a course through Texas. But he will n :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1177
Blomman doftar olika på olika platser :: – På ett ställe doftar de tallskog, på ett annat precis som jenkatuggummi, och lite längre söderut parfym, berättar Magne Friberg, lektor vid biologiska institutionen, Lunds universitet. I åtta år har han studerat blomdoften i 94 populationer av stenbräckesläktet Lithophragma på den amerikanska västkusten, tillsammans med forskare från University of California, Cornell University och University o :=:Tue, 26 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1178
High-fat diet and age alter microflora and cause inflammation in heart failure :: Growing older and a high-fat diet enriched with omega 6 fatty acids are major contributors to health risks ranging from diabetes to heart failure. How these factors regulate the immune response is now described — a calorie-dense, obesity-generating diet in aging mice disrupts the composition of the gut microbiome. This correlates with development of a system-wide nonresolving inflammation in acut :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1179
Complete world map of tree diversity :: Biodiversity is one of Earth's most precious resources. However, for most places in the world, scientists only have a tiny picture of what this diversity actually is. Researchers at the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) and Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) have now constructed from scattered data a world map of biodiversity showing numbers of tree species. W :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1180
Researchers use SLAC instrument to learn what happens to silicon under intense pressure :: Elasticity, the ability of an object to bounce back to its original shape, is a universal property in solid materials. But when pushed too far, materials change in unrecoverable ways: Rubber bands snap in half, metal frames bend or melt and phone screens shatter. :=:Wed, 13 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1181
World's biggest terrestrial carbon sinks are found in young forests :: More than half of the carbon sink in the world's forests is in areas where the trees are relatively young — under 140 years old — rather than in tropical rainforests, research shows. :=:Mon, 04 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1182
Astronomers detect X-ray emitting clumps ejected from the binary PSR B1259–63/LS 2883 :: Using NASA's Chandra X-ray observatory, astronomers have spotted X-ray-emitting clumps being ejected with high velocities from the gamma-ray binary PSR B1259–63/LS 2883. The findings were presented in a paper published March 2 on arXiv.org, in which the authors also discuss possible explanations of this phenomenon. :=:Tue, 12 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1183
Landbruget har leveret under én procent af de lovede kvælstof-reduktioner :: »Vildt lidt,« siger professor om, at landbruget kun har sænket udslippet af kvælstof med 12 ton med frivillige tiltag. Målet var 1.450 ton i dag og 2.907 ton i 2021. :=:Thu, 28 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1184
Engineered metasurfaces reflect waves in unusual directions :: In our daily lives, we can find many examples of manipulation of reflected waves, such as mirrors, or reflective surfaces for sound that improve auditorium acoustics. When a wave impinges on a reflective surface with a certain angle of incidence and the energy is sent back, the angle of reflection is equal to the angle of incidence. This classical reflection law is valid for any homogenous surface :=:Tue, 19 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1185
SpaceX to launch test for resumption of manned US flights :: SpaceX will try to send a dummy to the International Space Station this weekend in a key test for resuming manned US space flights, perhaps this year if all goes well. :=:Wed, 13 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1186
Signals from distant lightning could help secure electric substations :: Side channel signals and bolts of lightning from distant storms could one day help prevent hackers from sabotaging electric power substations and other critical infrastructure, a new study suggests. :=:Thu, 07 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1187
What Dark Matter Needs Are New Kinds of Experiments – Issue 69: Patterns :: Three decades have passed since the first direct search for dark matter, a modest attempt at recycling the data from a particle detector originally built for another purpose. This work was a rapid response to a proposal by theoretical physicists Mark Goodman and Edward Witten, who called attention to the possibility of detecting dark matter via nuclear recoils. The experimental approach proposed :=:Thu, 14 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1188
Ocean acidification shown to have negative impact on fish skeletons :: For more than a century, the world's oceans have been becoming steadily more acidic as they soak up ever-increasing amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and the impacts can be fatal for invertebrates such as shellfish, plankton, and corals that rely on dissolved minerals to build their shells and exoskeletons. :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 1189
New Quantum Physics Experiment Suggests That Reality Isn't Objective :: Eeek. :=:Tue, 12 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 1190
Is Your Child An Orchid Or A Dandelion? Unlocking The Science Of Sensitive Kids :: Some kids seem resilient from the start — readily able, like dandelions, to cope with stress and adversity. But pediatrician Thomas Boyce says biologically reactive kids need more support to thrive. (Image credit: Michael H/Getty Images) _:=:_ 1191
It’s Time for U.S. Troops to Leave Afghanistan :: This year, the United States marks 18 years of combat in Afghanistan. We remember and honor the more than 2,300 brave U.S. service members who made the ultimate sacrifice and the over 20,000 who have been wounded in action. We thank the courageous men and women in uniform who are still abroad, a world away from their homes and families, fighting this war. Soon, we will reach a watershed moment in _:=:_ 1192
Exiled planet linked to stellar flyby three million years ago :: Some of the peculiar aspects of our solar system—an enveloping cloud of comets, dwarf planets in weird orbits and, if it truly exists, a possible Planet Nine far from the sun—have been linked to the close approach of another star in our system's infancy flung things helter-skelter. _:=:_ 1193
Pottery reveals America's first social media networks :: Long before Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook and even MySpace, early Mississippian Mound cultures in America's southern Appalachian Mountains shared artistic trends and technologies across regional networks that functioned in similar ways as modern social media, suggests new research. _:=:_ 1194
Undersea gases could superheat the planet :: Geologic carbon and hydrate reservoirs in the ocean pose a climate threat beyond humanmade greenhouse gases. _:=:_ 1195
High-speed, 3-D microscope captures stunning videos of fruit fly nerve cells in action :: Columbia engineers and neuroscientists have joined forces to create 3-D videos of individual nerve cells moving, stretching and switching on inside fruit fly larvae as they move. Data gleaned from these videos reveals how nerve cells called proprioceptive neurons work together to help the body sense where it is in space. To accomplish this feat, the researchers harnessed SCAPE, a cutting-edge micr _:=:_ 1196
Why Misinformation Is About Who You Trust, Not What You Think – Issue 69: Patterns :: I can’t see them. Therefore they’re not real.” From which century was this quote drawn? Not a medieval one. The utterance emerged on Sunday from Fox & Friends presenter Pete Hegseth, who was referring to … germs. The former Princeton University undergraduate and Afghanistan counterinsurgency instructor said, to the mirth of his co-hosts, that he hadn’t washed his hands in a decade. Naturally this _:=:_ 1197
High cadence cycling offers no benefit to amateurs, finds new study :: A new study has found that exercise efficiency decreases in recreational cyclists when they pedal very hard, incorporating more revolutions per minute. _:=:_ 1198
Prof Stephen Hawking commemorated on new 50p coin :: The Royal Mint's tribute reflects the physicist's pioneering work and making science accessible. _:=:_ 1199
Australia Is Planting a Billion Trees to Fight Climate Change :: Tree Guy The Australian government is gearing up to plant a billion new trees , as part of a vast campaign aimed to meet the climate targets set by the Paris Agreement. The government estimates that the project, which will run until 2050, will eventually remove 18 million tons of greenhouse gases per years — an intriguing example of a less technical response to climate change. Forest Gump The new :=:Tue, 12 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 580
Minskad risk för alzheimer hos kulturellt aktiva :: – Resultaten visar att hjärnstimulerande aktiviteter, som att läsa, sjunga, gå på teater eller konsert, och att vara fysiskt aktiv, som att promenera, spelar en viktig roll i förebyggandet av demens i högre åldrar, säger Jenna Najar, läkare och doktorand från Sahlgrenska akademin vid Göteborgs universitet. – Det är enkla och roliga aktiviteter som alla kan ägna sig åt samtidigt som de skyddar mot :=:Mon, 18 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 584
How to Be The Most Effective Advocate For Vaccination You Can Be :: What you need to know. :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 587
How to freeze heat conduction :: Physicists have discovered a new effect, which makes it possible to create excellent thermal insulators which conduct electricity. Such materials can be used to convert waste heat into electrical energy. :=:Fri, 01 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 592
Researchers discover the secret to bats' immunity :: An international research team led by Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, has identified molecular and genetic mechanisms that allow bats to stay healthy while hosting viruses that kill other animals, according to a new study published in the journal Nature Microbiology. :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 595
Bacteria in frog skin may help fight fungal infections in humans :: In the past few decades, a lethal disease has decimated populations of frogs and other amphibians worldwide, even driving some species to extinction. Yet other amphibians resisted the epidemic. Based on previous research, scientists at the INDICASAT AIP, Smithsonian and collaborating institutions knew that skin bacteria could be protecting the animals by producing fungi-fighting compounds. However :=:Thu, 07 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 597
New graphene-based device is first step toward ultrasensitive biosensors :: Researchers in the University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering have developed a unique new device using the wonder material graphene that provides the first step toward ultrasensitive biosensors to detect diseases at the molecular level with near perfect efficiency. :=:Thu, 21 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 599
A Woman Died After Reportedly Eating Prized Mushrooms at Fancy Restaurant in Spain :: A woman has died and more than two dozen others are ill after eating at a Michelin-starred restaurant in Spain. :=:Wed, 06 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 604
How the Brain Keeps Its Memories in the Right Order :: A long-standing mystery in neuroscience is how the brain attaches a timestamp to our memories. Researchers now may have identified a neural mechanism. :=:Tue, 19 Feb 2019 _:=:_ 621
Why Do We Crave Sweets When We're Stressed? :: A brain researcher explains our desire for chocolate and other carbs during tough times — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com :=:Wed, 06 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 623
Statins linked to higher diabetes risk :: Individuals who take cholesterol-lowering statins may be at higher risk for developing high blood sugar levels, insulin resistance, and eventually type 2 diabetes, according to an analysis published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. :=:Tue, 12 Mar 2019 _:=:_ 628
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