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Ready for Takeoff? New Rules Would Limit Some Uses for Drones Read More » What Would It Be Like to Live on Venus? Read More » Earthquake early warning system begins testing in Pacific Northwest By Victoria Cavaliere SEATTLE (Reuters) - Testing began on Tuesday on the first early warning system to predict earthquakes before they rattle Oregon and Washington, with a group of businesses and hospitals trying out the tool before it is made available to the public, scientists said. The Pacific Northwest Seismic Network system will emit a blaring siren and a vocal warning that says "Earthquake. Shaking to begin in ... 15 seconds," the research team from the University of Washington said in a statement. The technology will issue an alert for any earthquakes above magnitude 3, which typically occur somewhere in Washington and Oregon about every two to three weeks, it said. Read More »Russian Supply Ship Makes 6-Hour Delivery Trip to Space Station
In a first for a fish, Oregon chub removed from endangered list Read More » Strongest known natural material - spider silk or limpet teeth? Spider silk may lose its claim as the strongest known natural material after researchers found that limpet teeth have more mettle. Spider silk is hailed by scientists for its strength and structure, but researchers in Britain have discovered that limpets -- snail-like sea creatures with conical shells -- have teeth with structures so strong they could be copied and used in making cars, boats and planes. "Until now we thought that spider silk was the strongest biological material because of its super-strength and potential applications in everything from bullet-proof vests to computer electronics," said Asa Barber, a professor at Portsmouth University's school of engineering, who led the study. "But now we have discovered that limpet teeth exhibit a strength that is potentially higher." Barber's team examined the detailed mechanical behaviour of teeth from limpets with atomic force microscopy, a method used to pull apart materials all the way down to the level of the atom. Read More »Preschoolers Who Nap May Sleep Worse at Night Read More » Scientists unveil map of 'epigenome,' a second genetic code By Sharon Begley NEW YORK (Reuters) - Scientists for the first time have mapped out the molecular "switches" that can turn on or silence individual genes in the DNA in more than 100 types of human cells, an accomplishment that reveals the complexity of genetic information and the challenges of interpreting it. Researchers unveiled the map of the "epigenome" in the journal Nature on Wednesday, alongside nearly two dozen related papers. The human genome is the blueprint for building an individual person. The epigenome can be thought of as the cross-outs and underlinings of that blueprint: if someone's genome contains DNA associated with cancer but that DNA is "crossed out" by molecules in the epigenome, for instance, the DNA is unlikely to lead to cancer. Read More »Marijuana munchies are all in the brain, U.S. study finds By Sharon Begley NEW YORK (Reuters) - If recent laws legalizing marijuana in more U.S. states also boost sales of potato chips and brownies, scientists will know why: A study in mice published on Wednesday found, unexpectedly, that the active ingredients in pot essentially make appetite-curbing regions of the brain reverse functions. When that happens, neurons that ordinarily transmit a signal that means, "you're full, stop eating," instead give the brain the munchies, neurobiologists reported in the journal Nature. A 2014 study by neuroscientists in Europe, for instance, found that the active ingredients in marijuana, cannabinoids, affect the olfactory center in the brains of mice. In their study, scientists led by Tamas Horvath of Yale University focused on molecules called receptors that cannabinoids bind to and activate in the brains of both mice and men. Read More »Vast Bed of Metal Balls Found in Deep Sea Read More » Sorry, Spiders: Sea Snails Make Strongest Material on Earth Read More » 'Mirage Planets' May Complicate Search for Extraterrestrial Life Some alien worlds might look like they're capable of hosting life as we know it on Earth, but in reality, these "mirage planets" might have burned away those chances for life, scientists think. In the past 20 years or so, astronomers have confirmed the existence of more than 1,800 planets around distant stars, and may soon prove that thousands more of these alien worlds exist. Of special interest are exoplanets in habitable zones, the regions around stars just warm enough for worlds to possess liquid water on their surfaces, as there is life virtually everywhere liquid water is found on Earth. The search for extraterrestrial life often focuses on red dwarfs, also known as M dwarf stars, which are the most common type of star in the universe. Read More »Scientists unveil map of 'epigenome,' a second genetic code Read More » A Fortune in Ancient Gold Coins Found Off Israel Read More » Flu Shot May Give You a Boost Against Bird Flu Getting a seasonal flu shot may give you a bit of protection against a deadly strain of the bird flu virus, a new study suggests. The study's researchers looked at 28 people who had received annual flu shots since 2007, and measured the levels of their antibodies, which are the proteins in the immune system that bind to pathogens to render them harmless. The researchers specifically looked at 83 antibodies known to bind to H3N2, a common strain of flu that's included in the seasonal flu vaccine. They found that a small portion of these antibodies — around 7 percent — were also able to bind to the H7N9 flu virus, a new strain of bird flu that first emerged in China in 2013. Read More »Inflammatory Bowel Disease May Be from Mom's Bacteria, not DNA The study found that a mother mouse can pass along to her offspring a susceptibility to intestinal disorders, such as inflammatory bowel disease, by way of a gut-residing bacterium called Sutterella, the researchers reported in the journal Nature yesterday (Feb. 16). Scientists have long speculated that a mother can transfer beneficial bacteria to her offspring through the birthing process and then through breast-feeding and kissing. "The implications for mouse experiments are profound, and could help us cut through some persistent sources of confusion," in genetic research, said Dr. Thaddeus Stappenbeck, an immunologist at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and a co-author of the new study. Until now, most doctors have thought that IgA deficiency, seen in people with diseases such as chronic diarrhea, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, is primarily hereditary, meaning the deficiency is inherited through one's genes. Read More »Mysterious Bright Spots Shine on Dwarf Planet Ceres (Photos) Read More » | ||||
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Wednesday, February 18, 2015
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