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Wednesday, September 16, 2015

FeedaMail: Science News Headlines - Yahoo! News

Science News Headlines - Yahoo! News

Scientists link oil exposure to reduced survival of fish

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — New federal research shows that embryonic salmon and herring exposed to very low levels of crude oil can develop heart defects that hurt their chances for survival.

California Faces Threat of Earthquake-Triggered Tsunamis

Californians may be used to hearing about the threat of potentially deadly earthquakes, but a new study finds that quake-triggered tsunamis pose a greater risk to Southern California than previously thought. Tsunamis are monster waves that can reach more than 100 feet (30 meters) high. Tsunamis increase in size as the depth of water in which they occur decreases.

Hot Superblobs at Earth's Core Feed Rivers of Molten Rock

The searing-hot plumes, which feed volcanoes on the surface, are likely themselves fed by two "superblobs" beneath Africa and the Pacific Ocean, the researchers said. The new results may settle a long-standing debate about whether these molten jets of magma, called mantle plumes, trigger volcanic eruptions. For decades, scientists have debated the existence of mantle plumes, or hot columns of magma that rise in the Earth's mantle, the layer between the crust and the molten iron and nickel outer core.

No Organs, No Problem: Weird Animal Hunts Without Nerves or Muscles

This tiny multicellular animal — only a millimeter across — has nothing recognizable as muscle or nerve cells. Trichoplax "behaves as if it has a nervous system, yet lacks typical nerves and synapses," the connections between brain cells over which information travels, said study senior author Thomas Reese, a senior investigator at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke in Bethesda, Maryland. Trichoplax adhaerans (or Trix, as the researchers call it) is found worldwide, crawling capably across shallow seafloors on a belly covered in hairlike cilia, and feeding on algae.

Kermit the Cannibal? Frogs Sometimes Eat Each Other

While it may seem like frogs are insectivores (a long tongue snatching a fly comes to mind), these amphibians are actually "generalist" carnivores. "You would be more likely to find frogs eating other frogs in the Amazon than you would in New York state.

Low emission biogas also produces fertilizer

By Jim Drury TORONTO, CANADA (Reuters) - A Canadian chemical engineer has devised a product that transforms the waste generated by biogas production into fertilizer. Andrew White says his SulfaCHAR system eliminates chemical waste from the biogas process, while increasing renewable gas plants' profitability and stopping the degradation to gas engines caused by hydrogen sulfide (H2S). Biogas can help create electricity or be used as a replacement for natural gas and is often cited as a clean and carbon-neutral alternative to fossil fuels.

U.S. universities lead in innovation, Asia a rising power

By Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. universities lead the world in scientific innovation but face strong competition from Asian rivals with close ties to industry, according to a detailed analysis of academic papers and patent filings. Stanford alumni have gone on to create some of the world's biggest technology companies, including Hewlett-Packard, Yahoo and Google. The top nine places are all taken by U.S. schools, with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University ranked second and third.

Aerojet Rocketdyne says new AR-1 engine timetable could slip

By Andrea Shalal NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. (Reuters) - Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc on Tuesday said it expected to complete its new AR-1 rocket engine by 2019 to replace a soon-to-be banned Russian engine, but the date could slip if it does not receive enough U.S. government funding. Aerojet Vice President Julie Van Kleeck declined comment on reports that Aerojet has offered $2 billion to acquire United Launch Alliance (ULA), a 50-50 rocket launch venture of Lockheed Martin Corp and Boeing Co. Analysts say the bid is a strategic move by Aerojet to shut out rival Blue Origin, a company owned by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, that is developing a new engine favored by ULA for use in its new Vulcan rocket.

Skip the Anti-Bacterial Soap: Regular Suds Work Just as Well

Regular soap is just as effective as anti-bacterial soap at getting rid of germs through hand washing, a new study finds. In both the lab and the real-life trials, regular soap performed just as well as anti-bacterial soap, which contained the controversial chemical triclosan, according to the study from researchers in South Korea, published online today (Sept. 15) in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. "This study shows that presence of antiseptic ingredients (in this case, triclosan) in soap does not always guarantee higher anti-microbial efficacy during hand washing," the study's senior author, Min-Suk Rhee, a researcher of food bioscience and technology at Korea University in Seoul, South Korea, told Live Science in an email.

Kids May See Better If They Play Outside

Children who spend more time outdoors may have a lower risk of becoming nearsighted, new research suggests. The scientists found that the kids who had been instructed to spend more time outdoors over three years were 23 percent less likely to develop nearsightedness during this time than those who had not been instructed to spend more time outdoors. Although the study was conducted in China, the results likely apply to children elsewhere, too, said study author Dr. Mingguang He, of the Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, in Guangzhou.

Amazon's Jeff Bezos ups his stake in billionaires' space race

By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - Amazon founder Jeff Bezos unveiled plans on Tuesday to build a rocket manufacturing plant and launch site in Florida to better compete with fellow billionaires using their fortunes and tech prowess to open a new frontier in human space travel and exploration. Bezos' space startup, Blue Origin, intends to invest more than $200 million to build the rocket-making facility adjacent to NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The vehicles will blast off from a refurbished launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, located just south of NASA's seaside spaceport.

Hidden Superchain of Volcanoes Discovered in Australia

Scientists have just found the world's longest chain of volcanoes on a continent, hiding in plain sight. The newly discovered Australian volcano chain isn't a complete surprise, though: Geologists have long known of small, separate chains of volcanic activity on the island continent. That 1,240-mile-long (2,000 kilometers) chain of fire spanned most of eastern Australia, from Hillsborough in the north, where rainforest meets the Great Barrier Reef, to the island of Tasmania in the south.

Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin Will Launch Rockets and Spaceships from Florida

Jeff Bezos, the billionaire founder of private spaceflight company Blue Origin and founder and CEO of Amazon.com, announced today that Blue Origin will make Florida's Space Coast its home port for reusable rocket launches. Blue Origin, which Bezos founded in 2000, will launch rockets and spacecraft from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. "As a kid, I was inspired by the giant Saturn V missions that roared to life from these very shores," Bezos said during the announcement here today (Sept. 15).

New Antenna Could Give Mars Rovers a Direct Line to Earth

Talking to rovers on the surface of Mars could become much easier, thanks to a new type of antenna that would send messages directly between the robotic explorers and Earth. The new antenna design would also dramatically increase the available communication time between Red Planet rovers and Earth, according to a statement from the University of California at Los Angeles. The new design could be a major boost for future missions, such as NASA's Mars 2020 rover, scheduled to begin its journey to Mars in 2020.

Ashley Madison Scandal: Science Reveals 2 Main Reasons People Cheat

We may never know exactly what drove millions of men and women in committed relationships to log on to AshleyMadison.com to find lovers, but most cheaters fall into two categories, science shows. Upward of 30 million Ashley Madison accounts may sound like a lot (and some of those accounts may be fake "robot" accounts), but about 1 in 5 men and women in the United States cheat, according to a study published in 2011 in the Archives of Sexual Behavior. "There's almost as many different reasons for why people cheat as there are people," said Pepper Schwartz, a professor of sociology at the University of Washington and co-author of "Snap Strategies for Couples: 40 Fast Fixes for Everyday Relationship Pitfalls" (Seal Press, 2015).

Nicole Kidman returns to London in tale of overlooked DNA scientist

By Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) - Nicole Kidman, whose last appearance on stage in London was described by one reviewer as "pure theatrical Viagra", has captivated audiences again with her performance as the sidelined scientist who helped unlock the secret of DNA. The Oscar-winning actor's portrait of Rosalind Franklin, who battles sexism in male-dominated 1950s Britain in Anna Ziegler's play "Photograph 51", opened to glowing reviews on Monday. Kidman's return to the London stage had been eagerly awaited following her debut here 17 years ago in David Hare's "The Blue Room", a play about a chain of sexual encounters.

A device to zap away motion sickness

By Matthew Stock A new treatment being developed by scientists from Imperial College London could end the misery of motion sickness. Research from Imperial College London, recently published in the scientific journal Neurology, explained how motion sickness occurs when what the eyes see and what the inner ear senses are confused. Clinical scientist Dr Qadeer Arshad hit upon the idea for treating motion sickness when investigating what can influence a person's sense of balance.

The Cute and Complicated Science of Raising Twin Pandas

Veterinarians are unsure whether the cub got the condition during a bottle-feeding blunder or from formula it regurgitated, said Dr. Donald Neiffer, the chief veterinarian at Smithsonian's National Zoo. "Whether or not the baby aspirated some of that [regurgitated] material or whether he aspirated material earlier in the day, we don't know, and we will never know," Neiffer told Live Science. The pink and fuzzy cubs are part of a delicate plan, orchestrated on an international level, to preserve the giant panda species and, one day, introduce captive-bred pandas back into the wild.

U.S., China, UK experts to tackle vexed issue of gene editing

By Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists from the United States, China and Britain will come together to discuss the future of human gene editing, which holds great promise for treating diseases but also has the potential to create "designer babies". The Chinese Academy of Sciences and Britain's Royal Society said on Monday they would join the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in co-hosting an international summit on the topic in Washington on Dec. 1-3. CRISPR has excited academic researchers and drug companies alike, since it may allow them to rewrite the DNA of diseased cells.

Global warming hiatus could be coming to an end - UK's Met Office

Record temperatures and changes to climate patterns in the world's oceans are among signs that a global warming pause is coming to an end, Britain's Met Office said in a report on Monday. The report comes just over two months before negotiators from almost 200 countries meet in Paris to thrash out a U.N. deal to curb global climate change. "All of these signals are consistent with what we would expect to see at the end of the slowdown," Adam Scaife, one of the reports authors, said at a press briefing.

Professor says he's grateful feds dropped China secrets case

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A Temple University physics professor who had been accused of scheming to provide secret U.S. technology to China said he's grateful and relieved prosecutors dropped the case against him, and is thankful to friends and colleagues who supported him.

Scientists expect Hawaii's worst coral bleaching ever

HONOLULU (AP) — Warmer-than-normal ocean temperatures around Hawaii this year will likely lead to the worst coral bleaching the islands have ever seen, scientists said Friday.

US dropping sale-of-secrets-to-China case against professor

Federal prosecutors sought to dismiss charges Friday against a Temple University physics professor who was accused of scheming to provide secret U.S. technology to China after being confronted with statements ...

Poor Sleep May Increase Heart Disease Risk

Getting too much or too little sleep may increase a person's risk of heart disease, according to a new study from South Korea. Men and women in the study who snoozed for 9 or more hours per night had more calcium in their arterial walls and stiffer arteries — two factors that put them at risk for heart disease — than those who slept 7 hours a night. The researchers found that the people who said they slept poorly were more likely to have these two early signs of heart disease than those who said they slept better, according to the study, published today (Sept. 10) in the journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology.

What Americans Know (and Don't Know) About Science

Do you understand the relationship between elevation and the boiling point of water? If so, than you likely know more about science than most Americans, the majority of whom got these questions wrong on a recent survey by the Pew Research Center. The people who fared the best on Pew's questionnaire were those with the most education.

Surprise! Newfound Venomous Spider Drops in on Scientists

Many species of funnel-web spiders, named for their funnel-shaped webs, are indigenous to Australia, but only one of these species, the Sydney funnel-web spider, is known to live in Booderee National Park. Sydney funnel-webs (Atrax robustus) are ground-dwelling spiders with highly venomous bites that, before the development of an anti-venom, posed a serious medical risk to humans. Funnel-webs, including Atrax robustus, were believed to be responsible for at least 13 deaths in Australia before the anti-venom became available, in 1981.

African scientists funded to seek cures for AIDS, Ebola at home

By Katy Migiro NAIROBI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - An African research fund launched in Kenya on Thursday aims to raise the quality of Africa's scientific output and tackle diseases primarily affecting the world's poorest continent, such as HIV/AIDS, malaria and Ebola. The Alliance for Accelerating Excellence in Science in Africa (AESA), based at the African Academy of Sciences in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, aims to draw increased funding from the West and African governments to set up centres of scientific excellence on the continent.

Scientists shift medicinal properties from one plant to another

By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A number of important drugs come from plants, but some medicinal plants are endangered or tricky to grow. Researchers on Thursday said they have identified the genes that enable an endangered Himalayan plant to produce a chemical vital to making a widely used chemotherapy drug, and inserted them into an easily grown laboratory plant that then produced the same chemical. The endangered plant, called the mayapple, produces a precursor chemical to the chemotherapy drug etoposide, which is used in many patients with lung cancer, testicular cancer, brain cancer, lymphoma, leukemia and other cancers.

Americans don't flunk, but don't ace survey's science quiz

WASHINGTON (AP) — When put to the test, Americans rate a solid if unspectacular C in science, a survey shows.

Genetically modified embryos 'essential' for science, experts say

By Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists should be allowed to genetically modify human embryos because such experiments are essential to deepen understanding of basic biology, an international group of science and ethics experts said on Thursday. A report by the Hinxton Group, a global network of stem cell researchers, bioethicists and science policy and publishing experts, said being able to edit the genetic code of human embryos was of tremendous value to research. It added, however, that allowing genetically modified embryos to be used in clinical settings where they would go on to be born as GM babies was, for now, a step too far.

These Men Ate 6,000 Calories a Day for Science

The researchers were interested in learning how obesity triggers insulin resistance, a condition in which the body's cells stop responding to the hormone insulin. Because insulin helps blood sugar get inside cells, insulin resistance leads to a buildup of sugar in the bloodstream, and can cause type 2 diabetes. Scientists have a number of theories for why obesity leads to insulin resistance, including that obesity increases fatty acids in the blood, or promotes inflammation.

Expert group says embryo genetic modification should be allowed

Research involving genetic modification of human embryos, though controversial, is essential to gain basic understanding of the biology of early embryos and should be permitted, an international group of experts said on Wednesday. The statement was issued by members of the so-called Hinxton Group, a global network of stem cell researchers, bioethicists and policy experts who met in Britain last week. "However, we acknowledge that when all safety, efficacy and governance needs are met, there may be morally acceptable uses of this technology in human reproduction, though further substantial discussion and debate will be required," the group said in a statement.

Visibility a challenge for scientists studying German U-boat

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Scientists who set out to use submersibles to study a German U-boat off the Rhode Island coast said Tuesday they were hampered by poor visibility but the mission was still a success because they were able to test new technologies that allow such expeditions to be broadcast to large audiences.

The Science of Essential Oils: Does Using Scents Make Sense?

More and more Americans may have heard some buzz about essential oils, and may be experimenting with them in hopes of improving their moods or feeling better. People may turn to essential oils as part of aromatherapy, an alternative-medicine approach in which these highly concentrated, aromatic plant oils are used in small amounts in hopes of improving someone's physical or emotional health. Essential oils are mixtures, sometimes containing almost 300 substances, said Gerhard Buchbauer, a professor of pharmaceutical chemistry at the University of Vienna in Austria, who has researched and written about the chemical compounds used in aromatherapy.

US dropping sale-of-secrets-to-China case against professor

Critics question fossil find, but South Africa basks in scientific glory

By Ed Stoddard JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - A dramatic fossil find has given South Africa reason to celebrate amid economic gloom, but some experts question its scientific significance. By contrast, the political significance is not in doubt. "We are delighted that discoveries that we would never have imagined have been found here," said South African Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, who shared the stage with scientists last week during the televised announcement of "Homo naledi." The discovery, in a cave 50 kms (30 miles) northwest of Johannesburg, is Africa's largest collection of hominin (human and human-related) fossils - 15 individuals pieced together from over 1,500 fragments.

Ancient Human-Size Fish Breathed with Lungs

Before the dinosaur age, the coelacanth — a hefty, mysterious fish that now breathes with its gills — sported a well-developed lung, a new study finds. During the Mesozoic era, more commonly known as the dinosaur age, it's likely that some species of coelacanth (see-leh-kanth) moved to deeper waters, stopped using their lungs and began relying exclusively on their gills to breathe, the researchers said. This adaptation to deep water likely helped coelacanths survive the asteroid that slammed into ancient Earth and killed the nonavian dinosaurs, the researchers said.

Leaf-Eating Caterpillars Use Their Poop to Trick Plants

Caterpillars that munch on corn leaves have developed a clever way to get the most nutrients from their meals: They use their poop to trick the plants into lowering their defenses. Scientists at Pennsylvania State University recently discovered that fall armyworm caterpillars (Spodoptera frugiperda) can send chemical signals to plants through their poop, or frass. "It turns out that the caterpillar frass tricks the plant into sensing that it is being attacked by fungal pathogens," study co-author Dawn Luthe, a professor of plant stress biology at Pennsylvania State University, said in a statement.

Launching 'The Mars Generation': Teen on Mission to Get People to Mars

Abigail Harrison wasn't alive to see the moon landings. For the past five years, under the social media identity "Astronaut Abby," Harrison has gone about not only advancing her own dream, but sharing her passion for space exploration with tens of thousands of students her age and younger. Now, as a college freshman, Harrison is launching "Astronaut Abby" on an even larger mission —getting people of all ages excited and educated about what it means to be a member of the generation that will land humans on Mars.

Magma Oceans on Jupiter's Moon Io May Solve Volcano Mystery

Something strange is happening on Io: The Jupiter moon's vigorous volcanoes are mysteriously offset from where scientists expected, and its underground magma oceans may be the cause. A new model suggests that worlds caught in an intense push and pull of gravity, like the volcanic moon Io, are likely to have below-ground oceans of magma or water that stick around for a long time — in the water's case, providing a potential hotspot for the development of life. "This is the first time the amount and distribution of heat produced by fluid tides in a subterranean magma ocean on Io has been studied in detail," Robert Tyler, the lead author of the new research from the University of Maryland, College Park and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, said in a statement.

In warming Arctic, mosquitoes may live long and prosper

By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Rising temperatures at the top of the world may be bad news for Arctic denizens like polar bears, but good news for the local mosquitoes, pesky bloodsuckers that prosper with warmer weather. Researchers said on Tuesday that increasing temperatures were enabling Arctic mosquitoes to grow more quickly and emerge sooner from their pupal stage, greatly expanding their numbers and menacing the caribou whose blood they eat. Arctic mosquitoes develop in shallow springtime tundra ponds formed by melting snow.

Why Diet Soda Could Sink Your Diet

Drinking diet soda may go hand in hand with indulging in extra helpings of sugar- and fat-laden foods like cookies or french fries, a new study suggests. Or, it could be that people feel less guilty about consuming more calories after drinking a diet beverage, and therefore they feel justified in eating muffins or chips, An added.

Frozen Giant Virus Still Infectious After 30,000 Years

It's 30,000 years old and still ticking: A giant virus recently discovered deep in the Siberian permafrost reveals that huge ancient viruses are much more diverse than scientists had ever known. They're also potentially infectious if thawed from their Siberian deep freeze, though they pose no danger to humans, said Chantal Abergel, a scientist at the National Center for Scientific Research at Aix-Marseille University in France and co-author of a new study announcing the discovery of the new virus.

Starving Polar Bear Photo: Don't Blame (Just) Climate Change

For tourists and wildlife photographers, the main reason to come to Svalbard is to see polar bears. Polar bears have become the fuzzy face of the impacts of climate change, with shrinking sea ice in the Arctic affecting how the bears normally roam and hunt. Now, after a photograph of an emaciated polar bear hobbling on ice went viral online, some people are wondering if global warming is causing these majestic creatures to starve.

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