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Wednesday, June 3, 2015

FeedaMail: Science News Headlines - Yahoo! News

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American Nobel chemistry laureate Irwin Rose dies at 88

(Reuters) - American Nobel laureate Irwin Rose, a biochemist whose groundbreaking work helped in the development of treatments for cervical cancer and cystic fibrosis, died on Tuesday, the University of California, Irvine said. Rose won the 2004 Nobel Prize in chemistry, along with Israel Institute of Technology researchers Aaron Ciechanover and Avram Hershko, for research into how cells break down and dispose of old and damaged proteins in plants and animals. Errors in the degradation process can lead to diseases such as cervical cancer and cystic fibrosis, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said at the time it made the Nobel award.

Study reveals famous California redwood is 777 years young

A new study to determine the age of iconic old-growth redwoods in California's Muir Woods has revealed that one of the tallest and most famous trees in the forest is much younger than many assumed given its massive size, scientists said on Tuesday. Tree 76, so named because it towers 76 meters or 249 feet above the forest floor, is 777 years old, much younger than the oldest known redwood, according to a study by Humboldt State University, which has long been working with conservation group Save the Redwoods League on the impact of climate change on the trees. "Tree 76 is one of the larger trees that you can walk near so I think people have been guessing about its age for a long time," Save the Redwoods League Science Director Emily Burns said.

US Bird Flu Outbreak in Poultry: Workers at Higher Risk, CDC Warn

The chance that a person will get bird flu in the United States remains very low, but people who come into close contact with infected birds may be at higher risk of infection, officials warned today, in light of the recent U.S. outbreaks of bird flu in poultry. Since December, more than 40 million birds in the United States have been infected or exposed to harmful bird flu viruses that typically cause severe illness or death in the animals. The outbreak has led authorities to kill millions of birds on poultry farms in the Midwest, in an effort to prevent the spread of the virus through the flocks on those farms.

Skin Protection Could Prevent 230,000 Melanoma Cases Over a Decade

The rate of melanoma cases in the United States has doubled in the last three decades, and the number of cases will continue to rise if more efforts aren't made to prevent the disease, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In recent years, the rate of new cases of the deadly skin cancer has increased from 11.2 cases per 100,000 people in 1982 to 22.7 cases per 100,000 people in 2011, the report found. Overall, there were more than 65,000 cases of melanoma diagnosed in the United States in 2011.

Chimps have mental skills to cook: study

By Sharon Begley NEW YORK (Reuters) - They're not likely to start barbecuing in the rainforest, but chimpanzees can understand the concept of cooking and are willing to postpone eating raw food, even carrying food some distance to cook it rather than eat immediately, scientists reported on Tuesday. Surprisingly, since chimps usually eat food immediately, they were often willing to walk across a room to cook.

PlanetiQ tests sensor for commercial weather satellites

By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL (Reuters) - PlanetiQ, a privately owned company, is beginning a key test intended to pave the way for the first commercial weather satellites. The Bethesda, Maryland-based company is among a handful of startups designing commercial weather satellite networks, similar to what companies like DigitalGlobe, Planet Labs and Google Inc's Skybox Imaging are undertaking in the sister commercial satellite industry of remote sensing. "I think weather is the next big market," PlanetiQ's chief executive and president, Anne Hale Miglarese, said.

CERN's Large Hadron Collider to resume smashing particles in hunt for dark matter

By Tom Miles GENEVA (Reuters) - The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) will start smashing particles together at unprecedented speed on Wednesday, churning out data for the first time in more than two years that scientists hope might help crack the mystery of "dark matter". The LHC, a 27 km (17 mile) underground complex near Geneva, will smash protons at 13 tera-electron-volts (TeV), almost twice the energy achieved in an initial three-year run that began in 2010. This proved the existence of the elusive Higgs boson particle, a discovery that produced two Nobel prizes in 2013.

Bird with Flashy Tail Was 1st of its Kind on Ancient Supercontinent

About 115 million years ago, a teenage bird with spotted, ribbonlike tail feathers flew around the trees of the supercontinent Gondwana, until it perished and fossilized in what is now northeastern Brazil, a new study finds. At 5.5 inches (14 centimeters) from head to tail, the hummingbird-size fossil is the first of its kind to be uncovered in South America, and one of the oldest known bird fossils from Gondwana, a supercontinent that once encompassed Africa, Antarctica, Australia, India and South America, the researchers said. What's more, it's one of the most complete and well-preserved fossils of a bird with ribbonlike tail feathers from the Early Cretaceous period, and gives researchers an unprecedented view of the intriguing plume that adorned its derriere.

Scientists document Florida 'virgin births' of endangered sawfish

By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Scientists have documented in Florida a series of "virgin births," reproduction without mating, in a critically endangered sawfish species pushed to the brink of extinction by over-fishing and habitat destruction. The scientists said on Monday it marks the first time the phenomenon called parthenogenesis has been seen in a vertebrate in the wild. Some females may be resorting to asexual reproduction because smalltooth sawfish numbers are so low mating opportunities may not exist, they said.

FIFA Scandal: The Complicated Science of Corruption

The soccer world is abuzz with the allegations that officials at FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) engaged in racketeering, money laundering and other criminal activities. Officials at FIFA engaged in a "24-year scheme to enrich themselves through the corruption of international soccer," according to a statement released by the United States Department of Justice on Wednesday (May 27). But while it's tempting to blame such activities on poor morals, research shows that corruption — or abuse of power for private gain — is far more complicated, said Marina Zaloznaya, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Iowa.

Sounds of Science: NASA Satellites Sing at World Science Festival

At the World Science Festival, running through Sunday here, NASA debuted the "NASA Orbit Pavilion." The exhibit's metal enclosure looks something like a spiral seashell and offers an auditory experience inspired by NASA's Earth-watching satellites. "Most people don't know that NASA studies the Earth," said Dan Goods, a NASA visual strategist who helped create the Orbit Pavilion.

Science journal retracts gay-marriage study after evidence of fraud

Amid evidence of fraud in a high-profile study on how canvassers can convince people to back same-sex marriage, the journal Science, which published the study, retracted it on Thursday. The senior author agreed to the retraction, Science editor-in-chief Marcia McNutt said in a statement on the journal's website. Specifically, the study examined whether door-to-door canvassers who identify as gay can convince people to support same-sex marriage and do so more effectively than heterosexual canvassers.

Science magazine retracts study on voters' gay-rights views

NEW YORK (AP) — Science magazine on Thursday formally retracted a highly publicized article about a study gauging the ability of openly gay canvassers to shift voters' views toward support for same-sex marriage.

For Kremlin, a charity teaching science to kids is viewed as suspect

By Denis Pinchuk MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian law designed to stop civil society groups trying to stir rebellion against President Vladimir Putin's rule is having unforeseen side effects: it threatens to close down a foundation that helps gifted school children study science. Russia's Justice Ministry has added the Dynasty charitable foundation to a register of organizations designated "foreign agents", and the wealthy businessman who finances it has said he will now have to halt its activities. Until now, most of the bodies added to the register have been human rights organizations or groups critical of the Kremlin, but in the latest case those affected are far removed from politics.

California scientists test Ecstasy as anxiety-reducer for gravely ill

By Emmett Berg SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California scientists are testing whether the illegal psychoactive drug commonly known as Ecstasy could help alleviate anxiety for terminally ill patients, the trial's principal funder said on Tuesday. At least a dozen subjects with life-threatening diseases like cancer, and who are expected to live at least 9 months, will participate in the double-blind trial over the next year in Marin County, said Brad Burge, spokesman for the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies. Each subject will be randomly given either a full dose - 125 milligrams of MDMA followed up later by a supplemental dose - or a placebo with none of the drug, Burge said.

Cold case: scientists encounter prehistoric murder mystery

By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - This 430,000-year-old case may be the world's oldest murder mystery. Scientists on Wednesday said a fossilized skull discovered deep inside a Spanish cave shows telltale signs of homicide: two fractures inflicted by the same weapon. The skull, belonging to a primitive member of the Neanderthal lineage, was found in an apparent funerary site down a shaft in the appropriately bleak-sounding Sima de los Huesos, Spanish for "Pit of the Bones," in the Atapuerca mountains.

New Journal Tackles the Science of Weightlessness

The same organization that publishes Nature, a prestigious journal that commonly reports major space discoveries, has launched a new journal devoted to microgravity research. Called npj Microgravity, the new open-access journal is available online and is now looking for submissions. The journal is being published as a collaboration between the Nature Publishing Group and the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University, with the support of NASA, according to a statement on the new journal's website.

White House: ethics of human genome editing needs further review

The White House said on Tuesday the ethical issues associated with gene-editing on the human genome need further study by the scientific community and should not be pursued until issues are resolved. "The administration believes that altering the human germline for clinical purposes is a line that should not be crossed at this time," John Holdren, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, said in a statement. "Research along these lines raises serious and urgent questions about the potential implications for clinical applications that could lead to genetically altered humans," Holdren said in the statement on the White House website.

Study: Europeans to suffer more ragweed with global warming

WASHINGTON (AP) — Global warming will bring much more sneezing and wheezing to Europe by mid-century, a new study says.

Squid 'Sees' with Its Skin (No Eyes Needed)

Squid, cuttlefish and octopuses are masters of camouflage, capable of changing their skin colors and patterns in the blink of an eye. Two new studies, published this week in the Journal of Experimental Biology, find that cephalopod skin is chock-full of light-sensing cells typically found in eyes that help them "see." The cells likely send signals to alter skin coloration without involving the central nervous system, the researchers said. "It may be that the patterning is just generated directly on the spot, just by the cells," said Tom Cronin, a biologist at the University of Maryland and an author of one of the studies.

Prosecutors: Professor offered China data on US-made device

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The chairman of Temple University's physics department schemed to provide U.S. technology secrets to China in exchange for prestigious appointments for himself, federal authorities said in charging him with four counts of wire fraud.

Feds: Temple professor offered China data on US-made device

The chairman of Temple University's physics department was arrested in what prosecutors said was a scheme to provide U.S. technology secrets to China in exchange for prestigious appointments. Xi Xiaoxing, ...

Scientists want you to know plankton is not just whale food

By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Scientists on Thursday unveiled the most comprehensive analysis ever undertaken of the world's ocean plankton, the tiny organisms that serve as food for marine creatures such as the blue whale, but also provide half the oxygen we breathe. Plankton include microscopic plants and animals, fish larvae, bacteria, viruses and other microorganisms that drift in the oceans. "Plankton are much more than just food for the whales," said Chris Bowler, a research director at France's National Center for Scientific Research, and one of the scientists involved in the study published in the journal Science.

Ancient Wolf DNA Could Solve Dog Origin Mystery

Genetic evidence from an ancient wolf bone discovered lying on the tundra in Siberia's Taimyr Peninsula reveals that wolves and dogs split from their common ancestor at least 27,000 years ago. "Although separation isn't the same as domestication, this opens up the possibility that domestication occurred much earlier than we thought before," said lead study author Pontus Skoglund, who studies ancient DNA at Harvard Medical School and the Broad Institute in Massachusetts. "Siberian huskies have a portion of their genome that traces back exclusively to this ancient Siberian wolf," Skoglund told Live Science.

Bowwow wow! Dog domestication much older than previously known

By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Genetic information from a 35,000-year-old wolf bone found below a frozen cliff in Siberia is shedding new light on humankind's long relationship with dogs, showing canine domestication may have occurred earlier than previously thought. Scientists said on Thursday they pieced together the genome of the wolf that lived on Russia's Taimyr Peninsula and found that it belonged to a population that likely represented the most recent common ancestor between dogs and wolves. Using this genetic information, they estimated that dog domestication occurred between 27,000 and 40,000 years ago.

Scientists reveal Washington state's first dinosaur

SEATTLE (AP) — Scientists say they've discovered Washington state's first dinosaur fossil, an announcement that marks a unique find for the state and a rare moment for North America's Pacific coast.

Professor seeks retraction of Science article he co-authored

NEW YORK (AP) — Citing irregularities on the part of his colleague, a prominent Columbia University professor has asked Science magazine to retract a study he co-authored last year about the ability of openly gay canvassers to shift voters' views toward support for same-sex marriage.

Dolphin die-off in Gulf of Mexico spurred by BP oil spill: scientists

By Letitia Stein TAMPA, Fla. (Reuters) - A record dolphin die-off in the northern Gulf of Mexico was caused by the largest oil spill in U.S. history, researchers said on Wednesday, citing a new study that found many of the dolphins died with rare lesions linked to petroleum exposure. Scientists said the study of dead dolphins tissue rounded out the research into a spike of dolphin deaths in the region affected by BP Plc's oil spill that was caused by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion. Millions of barrels of crude oil spewed into Gulf waters, and a dolphin die-off was subsequently seen around coastal Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Scientists to submit GM mustard report to government

By Krishna N. Das and Rupam Jain Nair NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian scientists have completed final trials of a genetically modified (GM) variety of mustard and will submit a report to the government in a month, hoping to win over stiff opposition to make it the country's first commercial transgenic food crop. A powerful farmers group close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is one of the biggest critics of GM crops and wants the government to stop all field trials saying they "will destroy the entire agrarian economy". Allowing GM crops is critical to Modi's goal of boosting farm productivity in India, where urbanization is devouring arable land and population growth will mean there are 1.5 billion mouths to feed by 2030 - more even than China.

Scientists watching Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano for new eruption

(Reuters) - Scientists are closely watching a volcano on Hawaii's Big Island for a possible eruption after volatile changes in the level of a lake of lava on its summit and a series of earthquakes, the U.S. Geological Survey said on Monday. Observers said there was a chance of an eruption in the Southwest Rift Zone of the Kilauea Volcano, one of the most active in the world, accompanied by more earthquakes, according to the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. "The overall evolution of unrest in Kilauea's summit area and upper rift zones in the coming weeks to months is uncertain," the Hawaii Volcano Observatory said in a statement.

'Home-brew' morphine from brewer's yeast now possible - study

By Sharon Begley NEW YORK (Reuters) - Home-brewing could soon take on a more dangerous twist: Scientists have engineered brewer's yeast to synthesize opioids such as codeine and morphine from a common sugar, an international team reported on Monday. "It is going to be possible to 'home-brew' opiates in the near future," Christopher Voight of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who was not involved in the research, told reporters. The process described in Nature Chemical Biology is inefficient, requiring 300 liters of genetically engineered yeast to produce a single 30 milligram dose of morphine. For centuries, morphine and other opioids have been the go-to drugs for pain relief.

U.S. science leaders to tackle ethics of gene-editing technology

The leading U.S. scientific organization, responding to concerns expressed by scientists and ethicists, has launched an ambitious initiative to recommend guidelines for new genetic technology that has the potential to create "designer babies." The technology, called CRISPR-Cas9, allows scientists to edit virtually any gene they target. The technique has taken biology by storm, igniting fierce patent battles between start-up companies and universities that say it could prove as profitable and revolutionary as recombinant DNA technology, which was developed in the 1970s and 1980s and launched the biotechnology industry. In response, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and its Institute of Medicine will convene an international summit this fall where researchers and other experts will "explore the scientific, ethical, and policy issues associated with human gene-editing research," the academies said in a statement. In addition, NAS - an honorary body that was chartered by Congress in 1863 and performs studies for the federal government and others - will appoint a multidisciplinary, international committee to study the scientific basis and the ethical, legal, and social implications of human gene editing.

Oil CEO Hamm sought ouster of scientists looking at quakes: Bloomberg

Oilman Harold Hamm, CEO of Continental Resources Inc., told a University of Oklahoma dean last year that scientists studying links between oil drilling and earthquakes should be dismissed, Bloomberg News reported on Friday. Bloomberg, citing emails obtained through a public records request, said Hamm indicated he wanted to see some scientists at the Oklahoma Geological Survey, which is based at the university, let go. Scientists have said the reinjection of drilling and fracking wastewater into disposal walls could be tied to earthquakes. Bloomberg said a university spokeswoman denied any interference from Hamm, who has been a donor to the university.

Strange Signal from Space May Solve One of Science's Greatest Mysteries

A clue to one of the biggest questions in cosmology — why regular matter, rather than antimatter, survived to fill the universe — may have been found in data from a NASA space telescope. A new study suggests that gamma-rays (high-energy light) detected by the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope show signs of the existence of a magnetic field that originated mere nanoseconds after the Big Bang. In addition, the researchers on the new study speculate that the magnetic field carries evidence of the fact that there is far more matter than antimatter in our universe. The detection of the signal in the Fermi data is currently too weak to be claimed as a "discovery," and no other solid evidence of an early-universe magnetic field exists.

Science of 'the Dress': Why We Confuse White & Gold with Blue & Black

It's been well-documented that people can see shapes and colors differently, but "the dress" is perhaps one of the most dramatic examples of a difference in color perception, the researchers said. People who saw the dress as a white-gold color probably assumed it was lit by daylight, so their brains ignored shorter, bluer wavelengths.

Cleveland Clinic partners with Venter's firm for sequencing study

By Julie Steenhuysen CHICAGO (Reuters) - Genome pioneer J. Craig Venter's company has signed a broad collaboration agreement with the Cleveland Clinic to sequence and analyze de-identified blood samples from the health system's patients, the two parties said on Thursday. The two organizations will apply whole genome, cancer and microbiome sequencing with the goal of discovering new disease genes and disease pathways associated with heart disease. The deal is the latest in a string for Venter's La Jolla, California-based Human Longevity Inc (HLI), a start-up formed in March 2014 with the goal of sequencing 1 million genomes by 2020.In January, Venter's company signed a multi-year deal to sequence and analyze tens of thousands of genomes for Roche's Genentech unit in a deal aimed at identifying new drug targets and biomarkers. In a recent interview, Venter said his company was in talks with eight other entities for similar arrangements.

How DNA sequencing is transforming the hunt for new drugs

The efforts will help researchers identify rare genetic mutations by scanning large databases of volunteers who agree to have their DNA sequenced and to provide access to detailed medical records. It is made possible by the dramatically lower cost of genetic sequencing - it took government-funded scientists $3 billion and 13 years to sequence the first human genome by 2003. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc, which signed a deal with Pennsylvania's Geisinger Health System in January 2014 to sequence partial genomes of some 250,000 volunteers, is already claiming discoveries based on the new approach. Company executives told Reuters they have used data from the first 35,000 volunteers to confirm the promise of 250 genes on a list of targets for drugs aimed at common medical conditions, including high levels of cholesterol and triglycerides.

Factbox: How companies are mining patient DNA, data for drugs

Until recently, whole genome sequencing - technology that allows researchers to map all of an individual's 20,500 genes - was prohibitively expensive, costing about $20,000 just five years ago. Genentech is also working with privately-held 23andMe to generate whole genome sequencing data for about 3,000 people with Parkinson's disease to identify new treatments for the degenerative neurological condition.

NASA Chief Wants to Cut Mars Travel Time in Half

Getting astronauts to Mars will take all the spacefaring expertise the United States can muster, including advanced propulsion technologies such as solar-electric engines and perhaps even nuclear rockets, according to NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden. In statements made during a visit to the Aerojet Rocketdyne plant here last Thursday (May 28), Bolden stressed that he'd like to slash the travel time required to send astronauts to Mars. Superfast propulsion tech would help limit astronauts' radiation exposure during the trek to Mars and reduce the amount of water, food and other "consumables" such a mission would require, NASA officials have said.

Eerie Comet Landscape Revealed by Rosetta Spacecraft Photos

A deluge of newly released photos from the Rosetta mission reveals the haunting alien landscape on the surface of a comet as it orbits the sun. Over the last few weeks, the European Space Agency (ESA) has released over 1,700 new images of the Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, taken by the Rosetta spacecraft during its closest approach to the 2.5-mile-wide (4 kilometers) space rock. The two-lobe shape of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko has drawn comparisons to a rubber duck (with a round head and larger body joined together by a narrow section).

Space Exploration Changed 50 Years Ago Today: The 1st US Spacewalk

The United States first stepped out into the void of space 50 years ago today (June 3). On June 3, 1965, NASA astronaut Ed White left the safety of his Gemini 4 spacecraft equipped with a spacesuit, a tether and a small gas gun for maneuvering. For about 23 minutes, White floated near the spacecraft with Earth backdropped behind him.

Da Vinci Discovered: Art Sleuthing Reveals Leonardo Engraving

A 500-year-old engraving may show Leonardo da Vinci playing a musical instrument called a lira da braccio. If verified, the engraving would represent just the third contemporary depiction of da Vinci (created while he was alive) still in existence. An artist named Marcantonio Raimondi created the engraving in 1505.

'Furry' Clouds Create Spectacular Effect Over Ocean (Photo)

Wispy, featherlike clouds off the coast of Chile appear to cover the Pacific Ocean in white fur in a newly released satellite photo. The natural-color image, taken May 21 by NASA's Aqua satellite, shows high-altitude clouds diagonally sweeping across the frame. Although the hairlike quality of the clouds identifies them as cirrus, their exact type is less obvious, according to NASA scientists.

Surviving 42 Minutes Underwater…How Boy Beat the Odds

While Michael's story is certainly unusual, it's not unheard of for people to survive prolonged stints underwater, according to Dr. Zianka Fallil, a neurologist at North Shore-LIJ's Cushing Neuroscience Institute in New York. Fallil, who called the teenager's recovery "quite remarkable," told Live Science that there are two physiological processes that may come into play when a person is submerged underwater for an extended period of time with no oxygen. The first of these processes is known as the "diving reflex," or bradycardic response, a physiological response that has been observed most strongly in aquatic mammals, but which is also believed to take place in humans.

New Yorkers Set Sail on the 'Mystic Whaler' Schooner

Sailing and science enthusiasts took to the schooner Mystic Whaler over the weekend to learn what tall ship sailing, life in space and studying Antarctica have in common. Passengers had the chance to hoist the sails and cruise around the waters of New York Harbor, while listening to retired NASA astronaut Nicole Stott and Columbia University geophysicist Frank Nitsche recount stories of their own expeditions. As the ship cruised around the harbor and took in stunning views of the Manhattan skyline and the Statue of Liberty, Stott and Nitsche regaled the guests with stories of their respective missions to space and Antarctica.

What Is Sleep? Contest Winners Explain Science of Zzzz's

Five months ago, actor Alan Alda joined 11-year-olds around the world in asking scientists a seemingly simple question: What is sleep? The winners, announced Sunday (May 31) here at the World Science Festival, joked about dreaming of mutant ninjas and playing the video game "Destiny" late into the night, but also explained how sleep helps the brain heal the body, as well as organize and strengthen skills learned throughout the day. Health physicist Eric Galicia, of Des Plaines, Illinois, won the video entry for his goofy and engaging video berating a sleep-deprived "Destiny" player for skipping his zzz's. More than 20,000 11-year-olds from countries such as the United States, Australia, China, Pakistan, Kuwait and the United Kingdom watched his video and others, and voted for their favorite.

Tracy Morgan Car Accident: Crashes Leave Many with Emotional Scars

Tracy Morgan made his first public appearance this week since he was critically injured in a car accident nearly a year ago, and his friend, the comedian Jimmy Mack, was killed. Long-lasting emotional and psychological trauma after a vehicle collision is fairly common, especially when someone felt death was imminent, said Justin Kenardy, a psychology professor and the acting director of the Centre of National Research on Disability and Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. However, there are treatments that can help people heal from traumatic car accidents, Kenardy said.

Teen Bullying Doubles Adult Risk of Depression

Bullying during adolescence may be responsible for almost a third of cases of depression during adulthood, new research finds. A long-running study of British youth reveals that the people who experienced frequent bullying at age 13 had double the risk of developing clinical depression at age 18, compared with people who were never bullied. It's impossible to say for sure whether the bullying caused the depression, said study researcher Lucy Bowes, a psychologist at the University of Oxford.

Niels Bohr's Atomic Legacy Recalled by Grandson: How to Watch Live

The name Niels Bohr may take you back to high school chemistry class, but an event tonight (June 3) promises to take people beyond textbooks, for a behind-the-scenes look at the pioneering scientist. Bohr's grandson Dr. Vilhelm Bohr will speak tonight about his grandfather's enduring contributions to the field of physics, and will offer a glimpse of the personality and family behind the legacy. The Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Canada, hosts the event, and you can watch a live webcast on Live Science beginning at 7 p.m. EDT.

Five Floating Facts for the 50th Anniversary of the 1st American Spacewalk

Ed White may not have been the first man to walk in space, but his extravehicular activity, or EVA, 50 years ago Wednesday (June 3) was no less historic. The first U.S. astronaut to exit a spacecraft while in orbit, White spent more than 20 minutes floating in the vacuum of space, protected only by a spacesuit. "I feel like a million dollars!" White exclaimed to his crewmate James McDivitt, who was snapping photos from his seat on the spacecraft.

World's Largest Atom Smasher Is Back in Action

The world's largest atom smasher is finally producing new data, after a two-year hiatus and months of test collisions at mind-boggling energies. The new run of the collider could reveal hints of dark matter, extra dimensions or completely new particles. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), a 17-mile (27 kilometers) underground ring between France and Switzerland, speeds protons to within a hair's breadth of the speed of light before they crash into each other.

Artifacts of Doom: Relics from Arctic Shipwreck Unveiled

These artifacts saw new light last month in a flash exhibition at the Canadian Museum of History. Until the rediscovery of the HMS Erebus in 2014, no one knew where that ship had come to rest. Fifteen artifacts have now been pulled from the wreck site, located in Queen Maud Gulf between Victoria Island and mainland Canada.

El Nino to disrupt rains, cut Africa, East Asia harvests, scientists say

By Chris Arsenault ROME (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Farmers in Africa and East Asia are expected to suffer crop losses as extreme weather linked to the El Nino phenomenon alters rainfall patterns, scientists told a conference on climate change in Bonn on Wednesday. The rainy season has been delayed in several African nations, and it is difficult to predict exactly how large the crop losses will be, said Sonja Vermeulen, a University of Copenhagen scientist. "Peanut farmers in Gambia, for example, have already been hit this year," Vermeulen told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone from Bonn, where the conference took place.

Mystery of Greenland's 'Disappearing Lakes' Solved

Geoscientists have solved a decade-long mystery of how some of the large lakes that sit atop the Greenland ice sheet can completely drain billions of gallons of water in a matter of hours. In the new study, published today (June 3) in the journal Nature, scientists using GPS technology discovered that the hydro-fractures form from tension-related stress caused by movements of the ice sheet. "The images would show the lake there one day, and gone the next day," said first author of the new study, Laura Stevens, a glaciology doctoral candidate with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (MIT-WHOI) Joint Program.

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Monday, May 25, 2015

FeedaMail: Science News Headlines - Yahoo! News

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See Mystery Spots on Dwarf Planet Ceres Shine in New Video

The dwarf planet Ceres' puzzling bright spots are starting to come into focus. NASA's Dawn spacecraft has obtained the best views yet of the mysterious features, capturing them from a distance of just 8,400 miles (13,600 kilometers) in a series of images that mission team members combined to make a new video of the bright spots on Ceres.

Merck KGaA, Threshold win fast track for pancreatic cancer drug

Germany's Merck KGaA said that experimental cancer drug evofosfamide, which it is jointly developing with Threshold Pharmaceuticals, won fast track status for the treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Merck had licensed in evofosfamide, previously known as TH-302, from Threshold in 2012. The drug, currently being tested in the third and last phase required for regulatory approval, already has the FDA's fast track designation for treatment of soft tissue sarcoma.
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Healthy Woman's Stroke Linked to Drug in Sports Supplement

A woman in Sweden had a stroke while exercising, and doctors suspect it was caused by an ingredient in a workout supplement that she was taking — a compound similar to amphetamine. Consumers should avoid preworkout supplements in general, because "we have found too many times that they are spiked with synthetic drugs like BMPEA," Cohen said.
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Aerojet Rocketdyne, others look at keeping Atlas 5 rocket in use

By Andrea Shalal WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Aerojet Rocketdyne and two other firms on Monday said they are exploring options to obtain data rights to the Atlas 5 launch vehicle and to swap its Russian-built engine with the AR1 engine that Aerojet Rocketdyne is developing. The Pentagon is scrambling to comply with a U.S. law that bans use after 2019 of the Russian RD-180 rocket engine that fuels the Atlas 5 rocket for military and intelligence satellite launches. United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin Corp and Boeing Co that now launches most big U.S. military and spy satellites, is working to develop a less expensive U.S.-fueled rocket called Vulcan, to use for military, civilian and commercial launches from 2022 or 2023. The joint venture hopes to use a new engine being developed by Blue Origin, a company owned by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, but sees Aerojet Rocketdyne's AR1 engine as a backup.

Cyborg beetles to the rescue

By BEN GRUBER BERKELEY, California - In the wake of the devastating Nepal earthquake, researchers are hard at work developing the next generation of search and rescue tools in the hopes of saving more lives in the aftermath of deadly natural disasters. At a laboratory in Singapore, a researcher uses a joystick to control the movements of a giant beetle in flight. Depending on the signal the beetle turns accordingly. From a scientific point of view the experiments, led by Hirotaka Sato, have proven a huge success. From a practical point of view it means that we are one step closer to remote controlled cyborg beetles that could search for survivors in disaster zones where it's too dangerous for humans to operate. Michele Maharbiz, associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the University of California Berkeley, has been at the forefront of cyborg beetle research.
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Mediterranean Diet May Be Good for Your Brain

Eating a Mediterranean diet that is rich in nuts and olive oil may help delay cognitive decline in older adults, according to a new study. In the study, 155 of the people who were on a Mediterranean diet were asked to include one liter of extra virgin olive oil in their diet per week, and 147 people were asked to supplement their diet with 30 grams per day of a mix of walnuts, hazelnuts and almonds. After four years, researchers compared the cognitive function of the people in each group. It turned out that the groups of people who followed the Mediterranean diet experienced an improvement in cognitive function over four years, whereas it declined in the people eating the low-fat diet.
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No Warp Drive Here: NASA Downplays 'Impossible' EM Drive Space Engine

Despite the fevered reports rocketing around the Internet recently, NASA is not on the verge of developing a fuel-free, faster-than-light propulsion system, space agency officials stress. A team based at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston reportedly tested a prototype engine system in a vacuum recently and determined that it produced a small amount of thrust. But NASA is downplaying the research and its potential to deliver a huge propulsion breakthrough in the near future. "While conceptual research into novel propulsion methods by a team at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston has created headlines, this is a small effort that has not yet shown any tangible results," NASA officials told Space.com in a statement.

Advanced Alien Civilizations Still Science Fiction — For Now

A wide-ranging search of faraway galaxies has turned up no obvious signs of advanced alien civilizations. A team of scientists dug through observations made by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) spacecraft, hunting for telltale heat signatures coming from 100,000 galaxies— a strategy suggested by theoretical physicist Freeman Dyson back in the 1960s. "Whether an advanced spacefaring civilization uses the large amounts of energy from its galaxy's stars to power computers, spaceflight, communication or something we can't yet imagine, fundamental thermodynamics tells us that this energy must be radiated away as heat in the midinfrared wavelengths," study co-author Jason Wright, of Pennsylvania State University, said in a statement. The team found no smoking guns during this pilot study, known as the Glimpsing Heat from Alien Technologies Survey (G-HAT).

Snapshot of a Storm: Scientists Capture 1st 'Image' of Thunder

Lightning strikes Earth more than 4 million times every day, but the physics behind these electric bolts and their accompanying thunder is still poorly understood. Scientists at the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in San Antonio, Texas, generated artificial lightning by launching a tiny rocket trailing a grounded copper wire into the clouds. "The initial constructed images looked like a colorful piece of modern art that you could hang over your fireplace," said Maher A. Dayeh, a research scientist in the Space Science Department at SwRI.

Amazing Images of Proteins May Help Scientists Design Drugs

This unprecedented view of the molecular world may help researchers design drugs and understand how medications interact with the environment in the human body, the researchers said in their report on the technique, published online today (May 7) in the journal Science Express. "This represents a new era in imaging of proteins in humans with immense implications for drug design," Dr. Francis Collins, the director of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, said in a statement.

Giant Whales' Mouths Have Unique Nerves: They Stretch

Researchers discovered the surprisingly elastic nerves after collecting samples from a commercial whaling station in Iceland. "This discovery was totally unexpected and unlike other nerve structures we've seen in vertebrates, which are of a more fixed length," said Wayne Vogl, a professor of cell and developmental biology at the University of British Columbia in Canada. Rorqual whales represent the largest group among baleen whales, tipping the scales at 40 to 80 tons.

Autism Truths and Myths: The State of the Science (Op-Ed)

Francesca Happé is president of the International Society for Autism Research (INSAR) and director of the MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King's College London. Autism is everywhere. Characters with autism, especially high-functioning autism or Asperger Syndrome, abound in TV shows, films and novels. You can barely look at a newspaper, magazine or newsfeed without finding something about autism: a new "miracle cure," a claim that "the gene for autism" has been discovered, or talk of scientists creating autistic mice.

Some Native Hawaiians see telescope as science learning boon

HONOLULU (AP) — Before going up to Mauna Kea's summit on Hawaii's Big Island, Heather Kaluna makes an offering to Poliahu, the snow goddess of the mountain. She holds it sacred, as do other Native Hawaiians.

Failed Russian spacecraft falls from orbit, burns up

By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla (Reuters) - An unmanned Russian spaceship loitering in orbit after a failed cargo run to the International Space Station plunged into Earth's atmosphere on Thursday, the Russian space agency reported. The capsule, loaded with more than three tons of food, fuel and supplies for the station crew, fell from orbit at 10:04 p.m. EDT (0204 GMT), the Russian space agency Roscosmos said in a statement. At the time, the Progress-59 spacecraft was flying over the central Pacific Ocean, the statement said. Most of the spacecraft was expected to burn up during its high-speed descent through the atmosphere, but small pieces of the structure could have survived and splashed down in the ocean.

Huffing and puffing won't blow these straw homes down

A batch of straw houses have gone on sale in the UK - and their manufacturers insist that unlike the home featured in classic nursery rhyme The Three Little Pigs, huffing and puffing will not lead the buildings to blow down. In fact, the architect of the scheme, Professor Pete Walker of the University of Bath, says that using straw in home construction isn't just viable, but safer than other traditional building materials, and will lead to vastly reduced energy bills for inhabitants. According to Walker, "you can see that the building is clad in red brick but underneath that are the straw bales which form this super-insulated wall construction, whereas the houses around here are largely brick cavity construction. So the innovation really has laid in developing the suitability of straw as a construction material and also convincing people that straw is a viable construction material.
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