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Tuesday, November 24, 2015

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Scientists create mosquito strain with malaria-blocking genes

By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Scientists aiming to take the bite out of malaria have produced a strain of mosquitoes carrying genes that block its transmission, with the idea that they could breed with other members of their species in the wild and produce offspring that cannot spread the disease. The researchers said on Monday they used gene-editing, a genetic engineering technique in which DNA can be inserted, replaced or deleted from a genome, on a species called Anopheles stephensi that spreads malaria in urban India. Malaria is caused by parasites transmitted to people through the bites of infected female mosquitoes.

How Earth's Hidden Magma Ocean Formed

The rotation of the newborn Earth may have helped to control the evolution of a giant magma ocean sitting on top of its core, researchers say. Knowing how Earth's magma oceans evolved over time could shed light on when the plate tectonics— the shifting of the rocky slabs that make up the planet and underlie earthquakes and volcanoes — began, scientists added. Previous calculations suggested that Earth possessed one or more giant oceans of magma, or molten rock.

Scientists create mosquito strain with malaria-blocking genes

More Infant Deaths Blamed on Crib Bumpers

The number of infant deaths linked to crib bumpers has increased in recent years, according to a new study. Crib bumpers are padded blankets that can be placed inside a crib, to prevent a baby's limbs from getting stuck between the slats. In the new study, researchers found that, over the seven-year period between 2006 and 2012, there were 23 deaths tied to crib bumpers reported to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

1,700-Year-Old Ring Depicts Nude Cupid, the Homewrecking God

An intricately carved gold ring containing a stone engraved with an image of Cupid — a god associated with erotic love — has been discovered near the village of Tangley in the United Kingdom. The ring dates back around 1,700 years, to a time when the Roman Empire controlled England. The ring was discovered by an amateur metal detectorist.

Some of Earth's Rocky Plates Are Gooey on the Inside

Tectonic plates may be similar to chocolate candies: Stiff on the outside, but as soft as marshmallow fluff on the inside. That is the conclusion of a new study that suggests at least some of the rigid plates that cover the Earth's surface may be stretchier than thought. The plate tectonics findings, which were described today (Nov. 23) in the journal Nature Geoscience, are based on investigations of the region under Peru, where the Nazca Plate is diving beneath the continental South American Plate.

Mars May Become a Ringed Planet Someday

In a few tens of millions of years, the Red Planet may completely crush its innermost moon, Phobos, and form a ring of rocky debris, according to the new work. Phobos is moving closer to Mars every year, meaning the planet's gravitational pull on the satellite is increasing. Some scientists have theorized that Phobos will eventually collide with Mars, but the new research suggests that the small moon may not last that long.

NASA Orders 1st Crewed Mission from SpaceX

It's official: SpaceX will fly NASA astronauts to the International Space Station a few years from now. California-based SpaceX has secured its first astronaut taxi order under its Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) contract with NASA, agency officials announced Friday (Nov. 20). "It's really exciting to see SpaceX and Boeing with hardware in flow for their first crew rotation missions," Kathy Lueders, manager of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, said in a statement.

Goodbye, Nola: Only 3 Northern White Rhinos Remain in the World

One of the four northern white rhinoceros left on Earth died yesterday (Nov. 22), leaving only three surviving members of the critically endangered species. In recent weeks, Nola suffered from a bacterial infection, and on Nov. 13, the aging animal underwent surgery to drain a large abscess in her pelvic region, which veterinarians finally identified as the source of her sickness. When intensified treatment efforts were unsuccessful, the animal's caretakers chose to euthanize her yesterday, in what was a "difficult decision," according to a statement released by the San Diego Zoo.

Beetles Speed-Grow Their Built-In Bifocal Eyes

Sunburst diving beetles, also known as "water tigers," are efficient predators that depend on their eyes to help them nab their mosquito prey. Each tube holds a lens, cone and retina, which are features common to the image-forming eyes in most vertebrates (and some invertebrates) known as "camera eyes." In camera eyes, images enter the eye through the lens and are reflected onto the retina. "Functionally, their eyes are more similar to our own eyes than to a fruit fly or other insect," Elke Buschbeck, a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Cincinnati, and co-author of the new study, told Live Science.

Round for Round: Women's Drinking Rates Catching Up to Men's

Over the decade-long period between 2002 and 2012, the percentage of U.S. women who reported drinking in the past month increased, and so did the the average number of days that women reported drinking, according to the report from researchers at the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). The percentage of women who reported drinking alcohol in the past 30 days increased from 45 percent to 48 percent over the study period. Among men, however, the percentage decreased slightly, from 57 percent to 56 percent, according to the findings published today (Nov. 23) in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.

Lonely? You May Be More Likely to Get Sick

Loneliness may be a health risk and can even increase a person's risk of premature death, studies have shown, but the reason for the link hasn't been clear. Now, researchers have found one way that loneliness may affect a person's health: It may trigger cellular changes that might lower a person's ability to fight viral infections. In a study of 141 older adults, researchers looked at the relationship between loneliness and patterns of gene expression in white blood cells, which are involved in protecting the body against viruses and bacteria.

Amazon founder Bezos' rocket company passes landing test

By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' space transportation company, Blue Origin, successfully landed a suborbital rocket back at its launch site, a key step in its drive to make reusable rockets, the company said on Tuesday. The New Shepard rocket, which is designed to carry six passengers, blasted off from a launch site in West Texas at 12:21 p.m. CST (1821 GMT) on Monday. The rocket reached an altitude of 62 miles (100 km) – breaching the boundary between Earth's atmosphere and space – and landed back at the launch site eight minutes later, the company said.

Gecko's amazing wall-walking talent is all in the genes

By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Geckos boast one of the most impressive talents of any animal: the ability to scamper up a smooth wall or across a ceiling with ease. Scientists on Tuesday said they have sequenced the genome of the gecko species Gekko japonicus, or Schlegel's Japanese gecko, and found the genetic underpinning of the lizard's gravity-defying feat. The scientists found in Gekko japonicus an expansion in the genes related to beta-keratin, accounting for the gecko's ability to generate its setae.

Blue Origin Makes Historic Reusable Rocket Landing in Epic Test Flight

The private spaceflight company Blue Origin just launched itself into the history books by successfully flying and landing a reusable rocket. Powered by the company's own BE-3 engine, the rocket kicked off the launchpad yesterday (Nov. 23) at 11:21 a.m. Central Time, carrying the New Shepard space vehicle. The stunning feat was captured in an amazing test flight video released by the company.

Better batteries to beat global warming: A race against time

WASHINGTON (AP) — One of the key technologies that could help wean the globe off fossil fuel is probably at your fingertips or in your pocket right now: the battery.

Gecko's amazing wall-walking talent is all in the genes

Don't Spill the Beans: Zero-G Cup Lets Astronauts 'Smell the Coffee'

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station are testing beverage cups that let them literally wake up and smell the coffee. But astronauts have been testing out some strangely shaped cups that keep liquid under control well enough to contain tasty juice or scalding coffee in an open-topped container, and hold it steady even while astronauts do flips or toss the cups back and forth. "Astronauts' responses when testing out the cups so far range from 'Hey, you can smell the coffee,' to 'This is eerily like drinking on Earth,'" representatives from the American Physical Society's Division of Fluid Dynamics said in a statement.

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United Launch Alliance Wants Your Vote to Name New Rocket

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United Launch Alliance Wants Your Vote to Name New Rocket

United Launch Alliance — the rocket company that launched NASA's New Horizons probe to Pluto — is asking people around the world to help name a new kind of booster. People have until April 6 to vote on three names — Eagle, Freedom or GalaxyOne — for the ULA rocket that the company plans to use for most of its future launches. The three names are finalists from more than 400 suggestions submitted by ULA employees and space enthusiasts earlier this year. "ULA's new rocket represents the future of space — innovative, affordable and reliable," Tory Bruno, ULA's president and CEO, said in a statement.

Ancient Moon Crater Named After Amelia Earhart

Scientists have named a crater on the moon for perhaps the most famous female aviator of all time: Amelia Earhart. The massive crater, provisionally named Crater Earhart, was found thanks to to data from NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory mission (GRAIL). A team from Purdue University has been testing a new technique that sharpens the GRAIL observations of the moon to see smaller-scale features, like ridges and valleys.

NASA Astronaut Already Feels at Home in Space as 1-Year Journey Begins

NASA's Scott Kelly — one of two people spending a year on the International Space Station — already feels like the orbiting outpost is home. "It's great to be up here," veteran astronaut Kelly said during a live interview from the space station with NASA administrator Charles Bolden today (March 30). NASA officials hope that the research Kornienko and Kelly conduct on the station during their stay could help send astronauts to Mars by the 2030s. At the moment, NASA scientists know a lot about what happens to astronauts after six months in weightlessness — the usual amount of time a crewmember spends on the station.

Pesticides in Fruit Could Damage Sperm

For men who are having fertility problems, eating lots of pesticide-laden fruits and vegetables may be bad news, a new study suggests. Among the men in the study, who were all attending a fertility clinic, those who ate lots of fruits and vegetables known to contain high levels of pesticides had about half as many sperm, and almost a third fewer normal sperm, than men who consumed less of the toxin-laden produce. "These results do not mean you should stop consuming fruits and vegetables," said Dr. Jorge Chavarro, the senior author of the new study and a professor of nutrition and epidemiology at Harvard University's School of Public Health. Rather, the study suggests that men seeking a healthy sperm count should eat fruit and vegetables that are organically grown, or known to be low in pesticide residues, Chavarro said.
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Tampons Can Screen for Leaking Sewage

Ordinary tampons can detect sewage pollution, a new study shows. "It's cheap, it's easy and it does the detective work," said study co-author David Lerner, a professor of environmental engineering at the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom. But study author Dave Chandler, the Sheffield graduate student who came up with the tampon test, needed a cheap way to monitor stream pollution, Lerner said. Chandler realized that tampons could absorb optical brighteners, which are additives in laundry detergent, toothpaste and other cleaners that make colors and whites seem cleaner and brighter.

Dutch architects show off 3D house-building prowess

Dutch architects are using a giant 3D printer to construct a prototype house in a bid to pave the way to a sustainable, environmentally-friendly, future for construction. DUS Architects of Amsterdam began construction of the house in 2014 and the prototype walls can already be seen - and touched - on site by curious visitors. The house structure uses a plastic heavily based on plant oil that co-founder Hans Vermeulen, who initiated the project, says is waste-free and eco-friendly. Vermeulen says the building industry is one of the most polluting and inefficient around, whereas with 3D-printing, there is no waste, reduced transportation costs, and everything can be melted down and recycled.
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Solitair device aims to takes guesswork out of sun safety

By Matthew Stock Scientists in the UK have developed a new wearable device that monitors the correct amount of sun exposure for a person's skin type in order to stay healthy. The Solitair device consists of a tiny sensor to measure how much sunlight the user is exposed to, with the information synchronized to a smartphone app that offers real time recommendations on when it is time to seek out some shade. The developers hope Solitair will reduce the confusion that surrounds just how much sun we should be getting. UVA and UVB radiation from the sun damage skin-cell DNA and are partly responsible for skin ageing and for promoting skin cancer.
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'Super' Termite Hybrid May Wreak Havoc on Florida

The two most invasive termite species in the world are shacking up, producing a potentially powerful new termite hybrid in South Florida, a new study finds. Together, the Asian (Coptotermes gestroi) and Formosan (Coptotermes formosanus) subterranean termite species cause an estimated $40 billion worth of damage worldwide, the researchers said. Both types of termite have evolved separately for hundreds of thousands of years, but now human movement and trade have brought the invasive species together in Taiwan, Hawaii and South Florida. Researchers in South Florida have observed the two mating, raising concerns the hybrid offspring might have a temperature tolerance that stretches from North Carolina to Brazil, said the study's lead researcher, Thomas Chouvenc, an assistant research scientist of entomology at the University of Florida.

Aral Sea Looks Like a Painting from Space

The Aral Sea is shrinking, leaving a dried-up white lakebed where there used to be blue water. The image actually combines three separate radar scans: the red parts show data from Oct. 17 2014, the green from Dec. 28 2014 and blue from Feb. 14 2015.

How Many Americans Could Get Ebola? Study Provides Estimates

The United States could have had more than a dozen Ebola cases monthly during the height of the epidemic in West Africa last year, and a half dozen cases in treatment simultaneously, according to a new study. Researchers estimated the potential highest number and lowest number of U.S. Ebola cases, and how many people would need treatment in this country at the same time. For their report, the researchers took into account the number of people who traveled to the United States from Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, as well as the number of health care workers involved with the Ebola response in those countries, including those who caught the disease in West Africa and were evacuated to the United States. The researchers estimated that under the 2014 conditions, there could be as many as 14 U.S. Ebola cases per month, and as few as 1 case per month.

Letting Kids Taste Alcohol May Promote Early Drinking

Children who try a sip of alcohol before sixth grade may be more likely to start drinking by the time they enter high school, a new study suggests. Researchers found that kids who had tastes of an alcoholic beverage before they started middle school were five times more likely to have a full drink by ninth grade, compared with their classmates who had not tasted alcohol.
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Guess Your Age? 3D Facial Scan Beats Doctor's Exam

The researchers also found that levels of several biological markers in people's blood are associated with the markers of aging that appear on people's faces. For instance, women with older-looking faces tend to have higher levels of "bad" cholesterol, the researchers found. "3D facial images can really tell your biological age," said the study's senior researcher Jing-Dong Han, a professor of computational biology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Max Planck Partner Institute in Shanghai. The scientists also collected blood samples from the participants, who ranged in age from 17 to 77 years old.

Wow! 8 Rocket Missions Launched in 6 Days Last Week

Spacefaring nations greeted the arrival of the Northern Hemisphere spring with a pretty impressive fireworks display last week.

Birds' Foldable Wings Could Inspire Nimble Drones

A drone that mimics the way birds fold and flap their wings could improve the design of future unmanned autonomous vehicles, and could even help the machines withstand midair collisions. Now, researchers at Stanford University have designed a 3D-printed hinge inspired by this wrist joint.

Electrical fault corrected, 'Big Bang' collider to restart soon

CERN engineers said on Tuesday they have resolved a problem that had delayed the relaunch after a two-year refit of the Large Hadron Collider particle smasher, which is probing the mysteries of the universe. The relaunch of the so-called 'Big Bang' machine had to be postponed last week because of the problem. These collisions, at almost the speed of light, create the chaotic conditions inside the LHC close to those that followed the Big Bang 13.8 billion years ago, from which the universe eventually emerged.

NASA Chief: 1-Year Space Station Mission Advances NASA Journey to Mars (Op-Ed)

Charles Bolden is the NASA Administrator. Today, we launch an American astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut to live and work in space for an entire year — the longest continuous stretch an American astronaut will have been in space.

Shocking Discovery: Egypt's 'Mona Lisa' May Be a Fake

The "Meidum Geese," as modern-day Egyptologists and art historians call it, was supposedly found in 1871 in a tomb located near the Meidum Pyramid, which was built by the pharaoh Snefru (reign 2610-2590 B.C). A man named Luigi Vassalli discovered and removed the painting, which is now located in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. "Some scholars compared it, with due respect, to 'The Gioconda' (Mona Lisa) for the Egyptian art," wrote Francesco Tiradritti, a professor at the Kore University of Enna anddirector of the Italian archaeological mission to Egypt, in a summary of his finds sent to Live Science. But while Tiradritti's research suggests the painting is a fake, a real one may be hidden underneath.

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