GoogleTrends

Thursday, September 3, 2015

FeedaMail: Science News Headlines - Yahoo! News

Science News Headlines - Yahoo! News

(Sponsor this newsletter)

Odd ancient lizard-like reptile called earliest-known turtle

By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - It was a creature that one scientist said resembled "a strange, gluttonous lizard that swallowed a small Frisbee." But a sophisticated skull analysis showed that this reptile called Eunotosaurus africanus that lived in southern Africa 260 million years ago is actually the earliest-known turtle, even though it had no shell, researchers said on Wednesday. Eunotosaurus, about a foot (30 cm) long, possessed wide and flat ribs that gave it a distinctly rounded and turtle-like profile. "Think of your neighborhood box turtle, but much more flattened and with scaly skin and a long tail," said New York Institute of Technology anatomy professor Gaberiel Bever, describing Eunotosaurus.

NASA Wants to Use Hoverboard Tech to Control Tiny Satellites

NASA wants to make this vision a reality, and soon. The space agency is teaming up with California-based company Arx Pax, which has developed a real-life hoverboard using a technology called Magnetic Field Architecture (MFA). "Arx Pax and NASA will work together to design a device with the ability to attract one object to another from a distance," Arx Pax representatives said in a statement today (Sept. 2).

NASA vehicles maintenance contractors in federal fraud lawsuit

ORLANDO, Fla. (Reuters) - Two contractors hired to manage NASA's vehicle fleet at the Kennedy Space Center defrauded the agency of at least $387,000 for unnecessary tire replacements, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday by federal prosecutors in Florida.

New NASA soil moisture satellite loses 1 science instrument

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A NASA satellite launched seven months ago has lost use of one of two science instruments, but the agency says the mission to map global soil moisture will continue.

In Men with Breast Cancer, Double Mastectomies Are on the Rise

More men with breast cancer are opting to get both breasts removed, even the healthy one, a new study finds. Between 2004 and 2011, the rates of contralateral prophylactic mastectomies in men nearly doubled, with 5.6 percent of men with breast cancer undergoing the operation in 2011, compared with 3 percent in 2004, according to the study. A contralateral prophylactic mastectomy is an operation to remove a healthy, unaffected breast after a diagnosis of invasive cancer in the other breast.

Powerful Rocket Launches Light Up the Skies Just Hours Apart (Photos)

Just before dawn today (Sept. 2), a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket lifted off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station carrying a military communications satellite. Earlier in the day (12:37 a.m. EDT (0437 GMT), a Russian Soyuz rocket blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan carrying three human passengers headed for the International Space Station.

Syfy Space Shows 'Dark Matter' and 'Killjoys' Will Be Back for 2nd Seasons

The space-based action shows "Killjoys" and "Dark Matter" will both be getting second seasons in 2016, the Syfy network announced this week. "Killjoys" follows three space-romping bounty hunters and their talking spaceship through a planetary system called The Quad, where class tensions are about to boil over. The show averaged 1.5 million viewers in its first season, according to Syfy.

Alien Oceans' Glint Could Reveal Habitable Water Worlds

The planet's oceans reflect a great deal of light, especially during the crescent phase. "Seeing excessive brightness at the crescent phases could be a telltale signal of ocean planets," Tyler Robinson, of NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California, said at the Astrobiology Science Conference in Chicago in June. In 1993, for example, Carl Sagan and other researchers used observations made by NASA's Jupiter-studying Galileo spacecraft during a 1990 flyby of Earth to search for signs of life on our planet.

Why Record-Breaking Hurricane Trio Swirls Above the Pacific

A parade of tropical storms traipses across the Pacific in a new satellite image showing the once-in-a-lifetime (or more than one lifetime) event. Kilo, Ignacio and Jimena were all Category 4 hurricanes when these mosaic images over Hawaii were made on Aug. 29 and 30. Category 4 storms have winds ranging from 130 to 156 mph (209 to 251 km/h) — strong enough to uproot trees and severely damage structures, according to the National Weather Service.

60,000 Antelopes Died in 4 Days — And No One Knows Why

When geoecologist Steffen Zuther and his colleagues arrived in central Kazakhstan to monitor the calving of one herd of saigas, a critically endangered, steppe-dwelling antelope, veterinarians in the area had already reported dead animals on the ground. "But since there happened to be die-offs of limited extent during the last years, at first we were not really alarmed," Zuther, the international coordinator of the Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative, told Live Science. But within four days, the entire herd — 60,000 saiga — had died.

Fairy-Tale-Inspired 'Gremlin Drones' Could Spy in Swarms

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which is responsible for developing new technologies for the military, recently announced its "gremlin" program, a drone design initiative. The program is named for the "imaginary, mischievous imps that became the good luck charms of many British pilots during World War II," DARPA said. Like their make-believe counterparts, DARPA's mechanical gremlins will reside inside of manned aircraft.

Say 'Aaaah': Zoo's Aardvark Gets 2 Teeth Pulled

Getting a tooth pulled is never fun, but it's especially irksome if you're an aardvark. Ali, an aardvark at the Cincinnati Zoo, recently learned this lesson firsthand after two infected teeth landed her in the dentist's chair. Aardvarks, the only extant species in the order Tubulidentata, are unusual animals — and they have unusual teeth, said Jack Easley, a Kentucky-based veterinarian who specializes in dentistry.

Earth Lost Half Its Trees to Humans

A new global census of all the trees on Earth estimates that more than 3 trillion call this "pale blue dot" home. The study is billed as the most accurate inventory of Earth's tree population to date, revealing that there are 3.04 trillion trees, which is roughly equivalent to 422 trees for every person on the planet. Researchers used satellite images, forest inventories and supercomputing technologies to calculate the number of trees on Earth.

#JunkOff: Why Animal Genitals Are Important to Science

Did you know that male black widow spiders have corkscrew-shaped genitals? If you've been following scientists on Twitter in the past week or so, you probably do. "It all goes back to the basis of animal behavior and evolution," said Anne Hilborn, a doctoral student at Virginia Tech and cheetah researcher who launched #JunkOff and helped start the warmer-and-fuzzier follow-up hashtag, #CuteOff.

Jimmy Carter: I Want the 'Last Guinea Worm to Die Before I Do'

When former U.S. President Jimmy Carter announced earlier this month that he had melanoma, he also took the opportunity to slam another health issue: the Guinea worm. At the Aug. 20 news conference, Carter said that, even as he receives treatment for his cancer, he still wants to hear updates on the world's last few remaining cases of Guinea worm, a parasite that spreads through contaminated water and causes a devastating disease, leaving people incapacitated for months. "I would like the last Guinea worm to die before I do," said Carter, who will turn 91 on Oct. 1.

Why Is Powdered Caffeine Dangerous?

Powdered caffeine products are much more potent than caffeine-containing beverages like coffee, and they're dangerous because it is easy for people to consume a lethal amount of powdered caffeine, the FDA said. Just 1 teaspoon of the caffeine powder contains about the same amount of caffeine as 28 cups of regular coffee, the FDA said. "Powdered caffeine is very concentrated," said Henry Spiller, director of Central Ohio Poison Center at Nationwide Children's Hospital.

Spinal Manipulation Relieves Back Pain … for Some

Manipulating the spine can help people with lower back pain — but it doesn't work for everyone, according to a new study. Spinal manipulation, or applying force to the joints of the spine, is a technique commonly used by chiropractors and physical therapists, according to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. "The big finding is that both sides have been right all along," said Greg Kawchuk, a professor of rehabilitation medicine at the University of Alberta and co-author of the study.

Tatooine-Like Planets with 2 Suns Need Perfect Ingredients to Form

"It may seem surprising given the disk is less massive, but if you're moving far from the central star a lot of the disk material is around you, while the central binary is concentrated toward the center," Kedron Silsbee, a graduate student at Princeton University, said at the recent Emerging Researchers in Exoplanet Science Symposium at Pennsylvania State University. Working with Roman Rafikov, also of Princeton, Silsbee modeled planetary formation in close binaries. "It turns out the disk can actually be the dominant component," Silsbee said.

'Floating Spoon' on Mars Is Just a Weird Rock, But Still Awesome

A so-called "floating spoon" on Mars spotted by NASA's Curiosity rover is cooking up a storm on the Internet, but it's actually a cool rock formation sculpted over time by the Martian winds, officials with the space agency say. The uncannily spoon-shaped rock was photographed by Curiosity on Sunday (Aug. 30) during the rover's 1,089th day on Mars, and word of the rock spread online in the days that followed. In the Curiosity photo, a handle shape juts out from an outcrop and ends in a rounded tip much like a spoon.

Scientists turn to aspirin to turbo-charge cancer immunotherapy

By Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) - Giving cheap aspirin to cancer patients may turbo-charge the effectiveness of expensive new medicines that help their immune systems fight tumors, experiments on mice suggest. Immunotherapy promises to revolutionize cancer care by offering a better, longer-lasting response with fewer adverse side effects than conventional treatment, but the new drugs do not work well in all cases. One reason is that cancer cells often produce large amounts of the molecule prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), which turns down the immune system's normal attack response to tumor cells, according to scientists at London's new Francis Crick Institute.

Robot mother builds and improves its own children

By Matthew and Stock Scientists from the University of Cambridge have built a mother robot that independently builds its own children and then tests their performance to inform the design of the next generation. By analyzing the data it collects from observing the child, the mother robot ensures that preferential traits are passed down to the next iteration, while letting weaknesses fall by the wayside. "We developed a robot that creates robots.

20 kilometer high space elevator tower planned

By Jim Drury Ambitious plans to build a twenty kilometer (12.4 miles) tall space elevator tower have been announced by a Canadian space technology firm. Although this distance is a mere fraction of that reached in space missions, Thoth Technology says its ThothX Tower will make a major cost reduction in space flights by helping navigate the difficult first 50 kilometers (31 miles) of travel that traditionally requires rockets. Despite first being proposed more than a century ago, the idea of a space elevator has always appeared fanciful.

Scientists turn to aspirin to turbo-charge cancer immunotherapy

By Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) - Giving cheap aspirin to cancer patients may turbo-charge the effectiveness of expensive new medicines that help their immune systems fight tumours, experiments on mice suggest. Immunotherapy promises to revolutionise cancer care by offering a better, longer-lasting response with fewer adverse side effects than conventional treatment, but the new drugs do not work well in all cases. One reason is that cancer cells often produce large amounts of the molecule prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), which turns down the immune system's normal attack response to tumour cells, according to scientists at London's new Francis Crick Institute.

The Science of Adorable: What It Takes to Win #CuteOff

Science Twitter has gone full squee. "I don't generally think of fish as cute, but there were some alarmingly cute fish," said Anne Hilborn, a doctoral student and cheetah researcher at Virginia Tech who helped launch the hashtag. Based on the types of animals posted — and previous scientific research on adorableness — here are seven features that could help an animal win a cuteness contest.

(Sponsor this newsletter)

Delievered to you by Feedamail.
Unsubscribe

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

FeedaMail: Science News Headlines - Yahoo! News

Science News Headlines - Yahoo! News

(Sponsor this newsletter)

New Space Station Crew Will Launch Into Orbit Tonight: Watch Live

Three new crewmembers will blast off toward the International Space Station late tonight (Sept. 1) and you can watch the liftoff live online. NASA will begin live coverage of the launch at 11:45 p.m. EDT (0345 GMT) and you can watch the broadcast on Space.com, courtesy of NASA TV.

The Brightest Planets in September's Night Sky: How to See Them (and When)

Eye-popping Venus, low-riding Mercury and stealthy Saturn will all make appearances among the bright objects in September's night sky, and this day-by-day description shows how to find them. This month, Mercury might be glimpsed very low near the west-southwest horizon while Saturn gets lower each evening in the southwest at dusk. Meanwhile Mars, Jupiter and Venus have crossed into the morning sky, but only dazzling Venus is readily seen at dawn as it rapidly rises higher each morning.

King of clubs: intriguing tale of the 'tank' dinosaur's tail

By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - One of the most impressive weapons to appear during the dinosaur arms race of the Cretaceous Period was the big bony tail club wielded by some members of a group of tank-like plant-eaters. A new study provides a step-by-step account of the evolution of this distinctive feature possessed by the heavily armored dinosaur Ankylosaurus and its cousins, a bludgeon that may have given even the ferocious Tyrannosaurus rex reason to worry. The researchers studied fossils of the group called ankylosaurs including early, primitive species with no tail club and later ones with a fully developed one.

Medical specialists urge more debate on gene-editing technology

By Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) - Medical researchers called on Wednesday for detailed, thoughtful debate on future use of 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, including in human embryos, enabling them to find and change or replace genetic defects. Describing CRISPR as "game-changing", the Wellcome Trust global medical charity and four other leading British research organizations urged the scientific community to proceed considerately, allowing time and space for ethical debate.

Russian Rocket Launches International Crew of 3 Toward Space Station

Three new crewmembers launched toward the International Space Station early Wednesday morning, embarking on a mission that will boost the orbiting lab's population to a level not seen in nearly two years. A Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying cosmonaut Sergei Volkov, Andreas Mogensen from the European Space Agency and Kazakhstan's Aidyn Aimbetov blasted off atop a Soyuz rocket Wednesday (Sept. 2) from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 12:37 a.m. EDT (0437 GMT). It was 10:37 a.m. local time in Baikonur at launch time.

Rocket with 'Denmark's Gagarin' lifts off to space station

By Shamil Zhumatov BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan (Reuters) - A Russian Soyuz rocket carrying a three-man international crew, including Denmark's first astronaut, roared off on Wednesday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, beginning a two-day journey to the International Space Station (ISS). The crew is commanded by veteran Russian cosmonaut Sergei Volkov, joined by rookie Andreas Mogensen from the European Space Agency (ESA) and Aidyn Aimbetov, another first-time space flyer from Kazakhstan's space agency Kazcosmos. ESA dubbed Mogensen "Denmark's Gagarin", a reference to the Soviet cosmonaut and first man in space, Yuri Gagarin.

How 'Starshades' Could Aid Search for Alien Life

The next step in the exoplanet revolution may be an in-space "starshade" that lets alien worlds step out of a blinding glare. The starshade, also known as an "external occulter," would block the light from a star while allowing the scope to spot emissions from much dimmer orbiting planets. Scientists are conducting desert tests of the technology on Earth.

United Launch Alliance rocket blasts off with military satellite

By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla (Reuters) - An unmanned Atlas 5 rocket blasted off from Florida on Wednesday to put a next-generation communications satellite into orbit for the U.S. military. The 20-story tall rocket, manufactured and launched by United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin Corp. and Boeing Co., lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 6:18 a.m. EDT. Perched on top of the rocket was the fourth satellite in the U.S. Navy's $7.3 billion Mobile User Objective System, or MUOS, network, which is intended to provide 3G-cellular technology to vehicles, ships, submarines, aircraft and troops on the move.

US Military Launches Advanced Tactical Communications Satellite Into Orbit

An unmanned Atlas V rocket carrying the Navy's fourth Mobile User Objective System satellite, or MUOS-4, lit up the pre-dawn sky in a dazzling display as it lifted off from a launchpad at Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 6:18 a.m. EDT (1018 GMT). The mission, which was overseen by the U.S. launch provider United Launch Alliance (ULA) was originally scheduled for Aug. 31, but delayed due to bad weather. The satellite is the fourth installment in the MUOS communications system, which is "designed to significantly improve ground communications for U.S. forces on the move," according to a statement from Lockheed Martin, is building a total of five MUOS satellites for the U.S. military.

Ride Along on New Horizons Probe's Epic Pluto Flyby (Video)

An amazing new video takes viewers along for the ride during a NASA spacecraft's epic July flyby of Pluto. The Pluto flyby video gives a probe's-eye view of the historic July 14 encounter, during which the New Horizons spacecraft zoomed within just 7,800 miles (12,550 kilometers) of the dwarf planet's frigid surface. The short video stitches together real images captured by New Horizons, showing a dramatically sped-up depiction of the probe's approach and close Pluto flyby, as well as its passage out into the dark depths of the faraway Kuiper Belt.

Why Creative Geniuses Are Often Neurotic

Sir Isaac Newton formulated the laws of gravity, built telescopes and delved into mathematical theories. Whatever the truth behind these prominent men's mental health, multiple studies have found a link between creativity and neuroticism — a tendency toward rumination and negative thinking. Now, British researchers have proposed a possible reason for the connection: Creativity and neuroticism could be two sides of the same coin.

Iguana Relative Shows How Lizards Spread Worldwide

"This fossil is an 80-million-year-old specimen of an acrodontan in the New World," study co-author Michael Caldwell, a biological sciences professor at the University of Alberta in Canada, said in a statement.

Why 'Denali?' Explaining Mount McKinley's New (Old) Name

North America's tallest mountain peak just got a new name. Or, more accurately, the mountain formerly known as Mount McKinley just got its old name back. On Sunday (Aug. 30), during a trip to Alaska, President Obama said the name of the state's 20,237-foot (6,168 meters) mountain would officially be changed to Denali, which is what many Alaskans have called the peak all along.

Daily Marijuana Use Among College Students Reaches 30-Year High

The percentage of U.S. college students who say they smoke marijuana daily or nearly every day is at its highest in more than three decades, according to a new survey. In 2014, 5.9 percent of college students said they smoked marijuana 20 or more times in the prior month. In fact, in 2014, near-daily use of marijuana was more common than daily cigarette use for the first time, the researchers found.

Cycling Injuries Increasing Among Middle-Age & Older Adults

More U.S. adults, particularly those older than 45, are visiting the emergency room for bicycle-related injuries in recent years, according to a new study. Researchers examined emergency room visits for bicycle-related injuries between 1998 and 2013. In 1998-1999, people in this age group accounted for 23 percent of ER visits for bike injuries, but in 2012-2013, they accounted for 42 percent of these ER visits.

Living Small: The Psychology of Tiny Houses

Tiny houses can make big dreams come true. The teensy living spaces, which are usually 500 square feet or less, are often perched on the wheels of a flatbed trailer, legally making them recreational vehicles (RVs), and easy to move. Tiny houses appeal to home buyers who are not interested in "living large" and would never give a McMansion a second thought.

Medical specialists urge more debate on gene-editing technology

20 kilometer high space elevator tower planned

By Jim and Drury Ambitious plans to build a twenty kilometer (12.4 miles) tall space elevator tower have been announced by a Canadian space technology firm. Although this distance is a mere fraction of that reached in space missions, Thoth Technology says its ThothX Tower will make a major cost reduction in space flights by helping navigate the difficult first 50 kilometers (31 miles) of travel that traditionally requires rockets. In addition to needing to carry sufficient fuel to get a payload into orbit, they need extra fuel in order to carry the required fuel to reach that point in the first place. Despite first being proposed more than a century ago, the idea of a space elevator has always appeared fanciful. Thoth Technology has been granted a United States (US) patent for the elevator, which is pneumatically pressurized and actively-guided over its base.

This Photo of Saturn's Moon Dione Crossing the Planet Is Simply Jaw-Dropping

The photo, which Cassini took on May 21, shows the moon Dione crossing Saturn's disk. Careful study of such "transits" can help astronomers better understand the orbits of Dione and other moons in the solar system, NASA officials said. Parts of Dione are heavily cratered, and the satellite's trailing side features mysterious ice cliffs and fractures that run for tens or hundreds of kilometers.

Prawn Nebula View Offers Stunning Glimpse of 'Cosmic Recycling' (Video)

A new view of the Prawn Nebula shows "cosmic recycling" at work: Glowing clusters of newborn stars illuminate surrounding gas, expelled from an earlier stellar generation, which will eventually form into even newer stars. The 2.2-meter telescope at the European Southern Obsevatory's La Silla Observatory in Chile snapped a choice section of the reddish nebula studded by young blue stars in a newly released image. The nebula, also called Gum 56 and IC 4628, is hard to see with the naked eye although it's around 250 light-years across — it is very faint, and mostly emits light at wavelengths not visible to humans.

Regeneron scientists discover key to excess bone growth in rare disease

By Julie Steenhuysen CHICAGO (Reuters) - Scientists at U.S. biotechnology company Regeneron Pharmaceuticals researching a rare genetic disease that traps sufferers in a second skeleton have discovered a treatment that shuts down excessive bone growth in mice engineered to develop the illness. Company scientists said on Wednesday the protein Activin-A, which normally blocks bone growth, triggers hyperactive bone growth in patients with a genetic mutation that causes the disease. The disease is known as Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva, or FOP.

(Sponsor this newsletter)

Delievered to you by Feedamail.
Unsubscribe