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Tuesday, December 3, 2013

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Python's Extreme Eating Abilities Explained

The first complete sequence of any snake genome reveals that Burmese pythons evolved rapidly to be able to eat prey as big as their own bodies.

Earthquake 'Autopsy' Helps Shine Light on Aftershocks

An incredibly detailed look at Earth's twitches and shudders after a magnitude-8.8 earthquake in Chile reveals a potential new trigger for aftershocks, the smaller temblors that follow an earthquake. The findings, published Dec. 1 in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters, come from a massive research effort to conduct an earthquake "autopsy" in Chile. The Feb. 27, 2010, Maule earthquake struck offshore, on a subduction zone where the Nazca tectonic plate crashes into and dives under the South American tectonic plate. After the earthquake, researchers set out 67 GPS stations and seismic monitoring equipment to track subtle shifts in the Earth's crust.

How Men's Brains Are Wired Differently Than Women's

Men aren't from Mars and women aren't from Venus, but their brains really are wired differently, a new study suggests.

Possible Male Birth Control Blocks Sperm

Keeping sperm from being ejaculated may provide the key to creating a birth control drug for men, according to a new mouse study.

How Much Will That Heart Test Cost? Many Hospitals Won't Tell You

In the study, the researchers called 20 hospitals in the Philadelphia area, and asked how much it would cost to get an electrocardiogram (EKG) — a simple test of the heart's electrical activity that's carried out the same way on all patients. The researchers later called up the same hospitals and asked how much it would cost to park at the hospital, as a test of whether hospitals could provide price information about anything over the phone. Just three of the 20 hospitals gave a price for an EKG. In contrast, all but one hospital were able to provide information about the cost of parking.

China Moon Rover Mission to be 1st Lunar Landing in 37 Years

China's first lunar rover is bound for the moon after launching Sunday (Dec. 1) on a mission that, if successful, will establish China as the third nation to soft land a spacecraft on Earth's natural satellite. China's Chang'e 3 probe, with its "Yutu" moon rover, lifted off at 11:30 a.m. CST (1730 GMT;

'Love Hormone' Oxytocin May Help Children with Autism

For children with autism, a dose of oxytocin — the so-called "love hormone" — seems to fine-tune the activity in brain areas linked to social interactions, according to a new study. Although the hormone didn't change children's social skills in the study, its boosting effect on the brain's social areas suggests that using oxytocin nasal sprays immediately before behavioral therapies could boost the effects of those treatments, the researchers said. "Oxytocin temporarily normalized brain regions responsible for the social deficits seen in children with autism," said study researcher Ilanit Gordon, a neuroscientist at Yale University in New Haven, Conn. [11 Interesting Effects of Oxytocin] The study involved 17 children and teens with autism spectrum disorders who underwent two sessions of brain imaging as they performed a task related to social behavior.

Can You Be Obese and 'Healthy'?

The idea that people can be obese and still be "healthy" is called into question by a new study, that finds that, at least over the long term, obesity itself may confer a small increased risk of death. In the study, people who were obese but did not have metabolic problems — meaning they had normal blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and other measures of metabolic health — were still 24 percent more likely to experience a heart problem, such as a heart attack, or die from any cause over a 10-year period, compared with people who were a normal weight and also had no metabolic problems. The results "demonstrate that there is no 'healthy' pattern of obesity," said the researchers, from Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto. In an editorial accompanying the study, James Hill and Dr. Holly Wyatt, of the University of Colorado, said the findings are consistent with the idea that obesity itself is a disease, a controversial issue that the American Medical Association supported this year.

Rare Weather Event Fills Grand Canyon with Fog

Usually the Grand Canyon offers stunning views stretching for miles, deep into valleys etched by the Colorado River. But that vista has changed over the past few days, as a rare weather event has filled the canyon with fog, offering an even more stunning view than is typical. The weather event is known as a temperature inversion, and it only happens every few years, according to the National Park Service, who wrote about the event and posted photos of it on its Facebook page. Temperature inversions typically happen in the winter when there are long nights, and as the name implies, an inversion takes place when a layer of cool air gets trapped underneath warmer air, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).

How Safe Is Train Travel?

In the wake of a deadly New York City train accident that left four people dead and more than 60 injured, commuters may be wondering how safe it is to travel by rail. An early morning train into New York City went off the rails Sunday (Dec. 1) while navigating a bend in the tracks. The accident is currently under investigation, but officials with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced today that the train was going 82 mph (132 km/h) as it entered the curve, where the speed limit is 30 mph (48 km/h), according to CNN. Despite the dramatic nature of train accidents like Sunday's derailment, and a devastating accident in July that left more than 79 people dead in Spain, travel by rail still compares favorably to other types of travel, including airplanes and automobiles.

Physics Solves Centuries-Old Mystery of Red Paint Darkening

Human Stem Cells Used to Create Lung Tissue

Human stem cells have been converted into functioning lung cells for the first time, paving the way for better models of lung diseases, ways to test potential drugs and, ultimately, creation of tissue for lung transplants.

Fate of Comet ISON Uncertain After Fiery Sun Encounter

The celestial saga continues for Comet ISON, which crept close to the sun like the fabled Icarus, only to apparently survive the encounter at first. But on Friday, to paraphrase Mark Twain: "The report of Comet ISON's death was an exaggeration." But by Friday, the comet most definitely appeared alive and well, suggesting that previous reports of ISON being "sun and done" were at the very least, premature. Comet ISON (or perhaps a large fragment of it) appeareddistinctly on images from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft hovering above the sun.

Winter Star Clusters Dot Milky Way Like Ornaments

Now that autumn is fading into winter, the beautiful winter Milky Way is coming into view in the eastern sky. Though you need a dark country sky to see the Milky Way itself, even the city-bound stargazer can view many of the star clusters that decorate it like ornaments on a Christmas tree. For instance, such a star cluster is forming in the Orion Nebula, where the newly born stars and the nebula from which they form are visible simultaneously. Later in a star cluster's history, the gas and dust has dissipated, leaving a naked cloud of newborn stars.

In your face, selfie! 'Science' also tops for 2013

NEW YORK (AP) — Look alive, selfie. There's another word of the year that's not all about you.

Ancient Humans Had Sex with Mystery Relatives, Study Suggests

A new, improved sequencing of ancient human relative genomes reveals that Homo sapiens didn't only have sex with Neanderthals and a little-understood line of humans called Denisovans. This group of kissing cousins included an unknown human ancestor not yet revealed by the ancient DNA record. "It's implied it could be something like Homo erectus or similar," said Carles Lalueza-Fox, a paleogenomics researcher at Pompeu Fabra University in Spain, who was not involved in the research, but who was present at a talk on the findings given by lead author David Reich of Harvard Medical School at a meeting on ancient DNA sponsored by the Royal Society in London on Nov. 18. Homo erectus is an extinct species of human that originated in India and spread into Asia.

Why Killing Vampire Bats Doesn't Stop Rabies

Controlling the population of vampire bats by using poison or even explosives has been a decades-old way of trying to curb the spread of rabies in Latin America, but new research suggests culling these bat colonies does little to stem the deadly virus. Scientists from the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor, and the University of Georgia, in Athens, combined results from a long-term vampire bat field study, research on captive vampire bats and computer models of rabies transmission, and found that culling bat populations does not stop the rabies virus. In some cases, the researchers found, controlling bat colonies may actually increase the spread of rabies by provoking infected bats to seek refuge in other, nearby colonies. Last year, the researchers published findings from their field study that demonstrated the size of bat colonies did not predict the prevalence of rabies, indicating efforts to cull these populations of bats had not reduced transmission of the viral disease.

SpaceX to Make 3rd Launch Attempt of Commercial Satellite Today: Watch It Live

The private spaceflight company SpaceX is counting down to launch a critical commercial satellite mission from Florida today (Dec. 3) after two delays due to technical glitches, and you can watch the liftoff live online. The mission will mark SpaceX's first Florida launch of its upgraded Falcon 9 rocket, its first major communications satellite launch and its first flight to a high geostationary transfer orbit needed for commercial satellites. The mission has a 66-minute launch window, with Wednesday reserved as a backup day, SpaceX officials said. Today's launch try will mark SpaceX's third attempt to launch the SES-8 spacecraft for satellite communications provider SES World Skies.

City of David Discovery Fills Gap in Jerusalem History

Archaeologists have discovered the first ruins of a building from the Hasmonean period in Jerusalem, filling a gap in the ancient city's history, the Israeli Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced.

Real-Time Flu Forecast Predicts Outbreaks in Each US City

Borrowing ideas from weather forecasting, researchers have developed a system to predict, weeks in advance, when a city will see the peak of its seasonal flu outbreak. The researchers tested the model on 108 cities across the United States during the 2012-2013 flu season, and found they could accurately predict the timing of the influenza peak in more than 60 percent of the cities two to four weeks in advance, on average, according to the study, published today (Dec. 3) in the journal Nature Communications. "Having greater advance warning of the timing and intensity of influenza outbreaks could prevent a portion of these influenza infections," said study researcher Jeffrey Shaman, an assistant professor of environmental health sciences at Columbia University in New York. Just as information about pollution levels or pollen levels can help people avoid health problems related to these issues, knowing that a flu outbreak will reach its peak in the coming weeks can prompt people to change their behaviors — for example, they might be more cautious about their personal health and consider getting vaccinated, Shaman said.

New 3D Metal Printer Is Open Source and Affordable

Anyone with access to a welder and the Internet soon could make his or her own replacement parts or tools with a new 3D metal printer that can be built in any garage. Until recently, most of the 3D printing hype has swirled around plastic 3D printers, which have been used to make everything from clothing to art. And while 3D metal printers do exist, their price tag starts at a half million dollars. "We have open-sourced the plans," in the hopes of accelerating the technology by allowing others to build upon the design, said project leader Joshua Pearce, a materials engineer at Michigan Technological University in Houghton.

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Contents page + Editorial Board + Cover figure legend

Manipulating sleep spindles – expanding views on sleep, memory, and disease

Simone Astori, Ralf D. Wimmer, Anita Lüthi.

• Newly recognized ion channel subtypes generating spindle rhythms are described.
• The contribution of spindles to arousal threshold and sleep quality is discussed.<....

Basal ganglia output to the thalamus: still a paradox

Jesse H. Goldberg, Michael A. Farries, Michale S. Fee.

• We review disinhibition, rebound, and entrainment modes of basal ganglia output.
• We propose a unifying framework for three types of basal ganglia–thalamic transmi....

Reflections on agranular architecture: predictive coding in the motor cortex

Stewart Shipp, Rick A. Adams, Karl J. Friston.

• Predictive coding explains the recursive hierarchical structure of cortical processes.
• Granular layer 4, which relays ascending cortical pathways, is absent from ....

New genetic insights highlight 'old' ideas on motor dysfunction in dystonia

Rose E. Goodchild, Kathrin Grundmann, Antonio Pisani.

• New genetic discoveries implicate dysfunction of signal transduction in primary dystonia.
• The dystonia-associated signaling pathway is specifically important for ....

Modulation of neuronal activity by phosphorylation of the K–Cl cotransporter KCC2

Kristopher T. Kahle, Tarek Z. Deeb, Martin Puskarjov, Liliya Silayeva, Bo Liang, Kai Kaila, Stephen J. Moss.

• The rapid and reversible phosphorylation and/or dephosphorylation of critical phosphoresidues in the KCC2 cytoplasmic carboxyl terminus constitutes a potent and dynamic....

Meeting at the crossroads: common mechanisms in Fragile X and Down syndrome

Karen T. Chang, Hyunah Ro, Wei Wang, Kyung-Tai Min.

• DSCR1 and FMRP are involved in local protein synthesis at dendritic spines.
• DSCR1 biochemically and genetically interacts with FMRP.
• DSCR1 and FMRP modulate....

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Monday, December 2, 2013

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China launches lunar probe carrying 'Jade Rabbit' buggy

China launched its first ever extraterrestrial landing craft into orbit en route for the moon in the small hours of Monday, in a major milestone for its space program. The Chang'e-3 lunar probe, which includes the Yutu or Jade Rabbit buggy, blasted off on board an enhanced Long March-3B carrier rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in China's southwestern Sichuan province at 1:30 a.m. (12.30 p.m. EDT). President Xi Jinping has said he wants China to establish itself as a space superpower, and the mission has inspired pride in China's growing technological prowess. If all goes smoothly, the rover will conduct geological surveys and search for natural resources after the probe touches down on the moon in mid-December as China's first spacecraft to make a soft landing beyond Earth.

A Universe Made of Stories: Why We Need a Science and Technology Dialogue

Found! First Known Predator To Lure Prey By Mimicking Flowers

The orchid mantis, which resembles a flower, takes on this appearance in order to lure in prey, researchers say. In fact, orchid mantises are even better at drawing in insects than some actual blossoms;

High Chairs Help Toddlers Learn Messy Words

"If you expose them to these things when they're in a high chair, they do better," study researcher Larissa Samuelson, a psychologist at the University of Iowa, said in a statement. "They're familiar with the setting and that helps them remember and use what they already know about nonsolids." [That's Incredible! 9 Brainy Baby Abilities]

SpaceX plans third launch attempt on Monday

By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Space Exploration Technologies, also known as SpaceX, plans to try again on Monday to launch its first commercial communications satellite after its Falcon 9 rocket was twice sidelined by technical issues, officials said. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket and a 3.5-ton (3,175 kg) communications satellite owned by Luxembourg-based SES S.A. was targeted for 5:41 p.m. EST (2241 GMT) on Monday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

Robotic Mars Landing Module Named 'Schiaparelli' to Honor 19th-Century Astronomer

A future Mars landing module tasked with mapping the Red Planet will bear the name of the Earthling that did it first. It was Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli who first mapped the surface of Mars in the late 19th century, and when the European Space Agency's ExoMars module begins to map the Martian surface in 2016, it will be named in honor of its famed namesake. "Considering the importance of Giovanni Schiaparelli's pioneering observations of Mars, it was an easy decision to give his name to the ExoMars module that is paving the way to the further exploration of the Red Planet," Alvaro Giménez, ESA's Director of Science and Robotic Exploration, said in a statement.

'Secret' Labyrinth of Tunnels Under Rome Mapped

Deep under the streets and buildings of Rome is a maze of tunnels and quarries that dates back to the very beginning of this ancient city. Now, geologists are venturing beneath Rome to map these underground passageways, hoping to prevent modern structures from crumbling into the voids below.

Weird Organ Makes Koalas Sound Like Frogs Vomiting

Simple calculations suggest koalas should have high-pitched voices. That's because the pitch generated by an object is linked to its size, and usually animals' vocal chords tend to be large or small according to the mass of their bodies. The animals actually have an extra "organ" outside the larynx, which contains the vocal chords that mammals and other animals use. In the koala's case, the vocal chords consist of long fleshy folds of tissue in the soft pallet between the upper throat, or pharynx, and the nasal cavities. When the koalas breathe in, they can push air through these "velar vocal folds," as the authors call them, to make low-pitched sounds, according to the study.

How to Preserve Historic Moon Landing Sites for Posterity

On Sunday (Dec. 1), China launched a spacecraft designed to land safely on the lunar surface, and some private companies hope to stage launches to the moon as well. If industry and other nations aren't careful, the uptick in lunar traffic might disturb the landing sites from the Apollo era, as well as Russia's landing sites on the lunar surface. In order to protect the United States' lunar heritage, U.S. legislators have recently proposed a "moon bill" that would qualify the Apollo landing sites as a national park. the United States, Russia and 126 other nations have ratified the treaty.

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Sunday, December 1, 2013

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India's Mars mission enters second stage; outpaces space rival China

By Shyamantha Asokan NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's first mission to Mars left Earth's orbit in the early hours of Sunday, clearing a critical hurdle in its journey to the red planet and overtaking the recent efforts of rival Asian giant China. The success of the spacecraft, scheduled to orbit Mars by next September, would carry India into a small club of nations including the United States, Europe, and Russia, whose probes have orbited or landed on Mars. India's venture, called Mangalyaan, faces further hurdles still on its journey to Mars. "While Mangalyaan takes 1.2 billion dreams to Mars, we wish you sweet dreams!" India's space agency said in a tweet soon after the event, referring to the citizens of the world's second-most populous country.

'Zombie' comet ISON may be back from the dead

By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - A smaller, paler version of Comet ISON may have survived incineration in the sun's corona and may be brightening, scientists said on Friday. Since its discovery in September 2012, Comet ISON has been full of surprises. Conflicting pictures of the comet's future continued until Thursday when ISON apparently flew too close to the sun. Its long tail and nucleus seemingly vaporized in the solar furnace, dashing hopes of a naked-eye comet visible in Earth's skies in December.

Ancient 'Ghostbuster Demon' Creatures Pooped Together

Enormous herds of rhinolike animals turned parts of what is now Argentina into minefields of dung, new fossils reveal. These massive herbivores were dicynodonts, mammal-like reptiles that looked something like a cross between a rhinoceros and the demon dogs from "Ghostbusters." Argentine researchers have now found that these dicynodonts pooped in communal latrines, designated areas for depositing dung. "This is the only case of megaherbavore latrine and it's the oldest," found fossilized, said study researcher Lucas Fiorelli of the Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica in La Rioja, Argentina. Fiorelli and his colleagues began excavating in northwest Argentina two years ago and quickly uncovered fossilized poop — known as coprolites — by the bucket load.

China launches lunar probe carrying 'Jade Rabbit' moon buggy

China launched its first ever extraterrestrial landing craft into orbit en route for the moon in the small hours of Monday, in a major milestone for its space program. The Chang'e-3 lunar probe, which includes the Yutu or Jade Rabbit buggy, blasted off on board an enhanced Long March-3B carrier rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in China's southwestern Sichuan province at 1:30 a.m. (12.30 p.m. EDT). President Xi Jinping has said he wants China to establish itself as a space superpower, and the mission has inspired widespread pride in China's growing technological prowess. If all goes smoothly, the rover will conduct geological surveys and search for natural resources after the probe touches down on the moon in mid-December as China's first spacecraft to make a soft landing beyond Earth.

National Zoo's Panda Cub Named Bao Bao

The newest giant panda cub at the Smithsonian's National Zoo was named Bao Bao on Sunday (Dec. 1) in a ceremony in Washington, D.C. Bao Bao, which means "treasure" or "precious," beat out four other Mandarin monikers, including: Combined this represents a sign of luck for panda cooperation between China and the U.S. During the naming ceremony, the success of the panda breeding program was praised by zoo officials, the Chinese ambassador and U.S. first lady Michelle Obama.

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