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Monday, November 23, 2015

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Expectant Moms: Coffee Won't Harm Kids' IQ

Pregnant women, perk up! It's okay to indulge in your morning cup of coffee without worrying about it affecting your child's IQ, a new study finds. In the study, researchers found that children born to women who consumed caffeine while pregnant did not have lower IQs or more behavior problems than those born to women who didn't indulge in coffee. "Taken as a whole, we consider our results to be reassuring for pregnant women who consume moderate amounts of caffeine, or the equivalent to one or two cups of coffee per day," Sarah Keim, an assistant professor of pediatrics and epidemiology at The Ohio State University College of Medicine and co-author of the study, said in a statement.

Speaking More Than One Language Eases Stroke Recovery

There are ways to reduce your risk of having a stroke — for example, you can exercise more and not smoke. In a new study, bilingual stroke patients were twice as likely as those who spoke one language to have normal cognitive functions after a stroke, according to findings reported today (Nov. 19) in the journal Stroke. The reason for the difference appears to be a feature of the brain called "cognitive reserve," in which a brain that has built a rich network of neural connections — highways that can can still carry the busy traffic of thoughts even if a few bridges are destroyed.

The Science of Sugar: Is Corn Syrup the Same?

Scientists are still debating whether there is a real difference between the effects on a person's health of high-fructose corn syrup and those of sugar, even as the issue features in an ongoing lawsuit. The suits stem from an earlier lawsuit that sugar refiners brought in 2011 against the corn trade group, claiming that the group's description of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) as "corn sugar" and "natural" in an ad campaign was false. In 2012, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ruled that corn syrup could not be called sugar.

Attention Disorder Drugs May Harm Kids' Sleep

Some children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who take stimulant medications to treat their symptoms may develop sleep problems, according to a new analysis of previous research. Researchers analyzed nine previous studies involving a total of 246 children and teens that examined the relationship between ADHD medications and sleep.

These Ancient Monster Galaxies Have Scientists Perplexed

New research has revealed 574 massive, ancient galaxies lurking in the night sky, and their existence so close to the time of the Big Bang calls into question scientists' best understanding of how large galaxies form. A new video released Wednesday (Nov. 18) from the European Southern Observatory (ESO) reveals the ancient galaxies' locations. "We are talking about massive galaxies, twice as massive as the Milky Way today," said Karina Caputi, an astronomer at University of Groningen in the Netherlands and lead author on the new work.

Why NASA Europa Probe Will Study Jupiter Moon's Dust

BOULDER, Colo. — "Think about it as pieces of a puzzle," Zoltan Sternovsky said. NASA plans to launch a robotic Europa flyby mission in the early 2020s to address this question, and Sternovsky is part of a team developing one of the spacecraft's nine instruments — the Surface Dust Mass Analyzer (SUDA), which will determine the composition of materials ejected from the surface of the frigid moon. "Each instrument on the Europa mission is going to assess one piece of this puzzle," Sternovsky said here Nov. 4 at the university's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, following a presentation by SUDA principal investigator Sascha Kempf, who's also based at UC Boulder.

Cyborg Roses Wired with Self-Growing Circuits

Scientists have created a kind of cyborg flower: living roses with tiny electronic circuits threaded through their vascular systems. The miniscule electronic polymers are inserted into the plant, then almost magically self-assemble thanks to the rose's internal structure. "In a sense, the plant is helping to organize the electronic devices," said study co-author Magnus Berggren, an organic electronics researcher at Linköping University in Sweden.

Antarctica Is Gaining Ice, So Why Is the Earth Still Warming?

NASA recently released a study suggesting that the Antarctic Ice Sheet is gaining more ice than it is losing — a finding that, at first blush, seems to contradict the idea of global warming. So, how can Antarctica be gaining ice mass in a warming world where ice sheets are collapsing and the melting is predicted to increase sea levels across the globe?

Green car technologies collide in Los Angeles

By Alexandria Sage LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Asian automakers are opening up a new front in the contest to define the future of cars in California, fielding a flock of cars powered by hydrogen in a bid to woo green car buyers from Tesla Motors Inc, the battery electric vehicle leader. Toyota, Honda and Hyundai used the opening days of the Los Angeles auto show, which draws thousands of car enthusiasts in one of the world's richest vehicle markets, to tout new fuel-cell cars. Automakers plan to offer these cars in California, although the rollout will be limited.

Songbirds Woo Mates with Invisible Tap Dance

With the help of high-speed video, researchers from Hokkaido University in Japan and the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Germany have discovered that blue-capped cordon-bleu songbirds (Uraeginthus cyanocephalus) perform foot-stomping step dances during their courtship displays that are too quick to view with the naked eye. Because the birds only start tapping when their potential mates are on the same perch, the study authors think the dancers might punctuate the display with pleasing sounds or vibrations.

Scientists on quest for friction-free oil

By Matthew Stock Scientists from BP are applying molecular science in their laboratories to make the perfect oil blend to reduce engine friction and increase efficiency. According to the company, friction caused by various metal-to-metal contact points is a major problem for car engines; costing the UK economy an estimated 24 billion pounds (36.2 billion USD) each year through lost efficiency and damage through wear and tear. The only barrier between the high-force contacts of engine surfaces is a thin layer of lubricant, but they are coming under increasing pressure from modern engines. ...

'Letterlocked' Trove: X-Rays to Peer into Sealed 17th-Century Notes

For years, Jana Dambrogio, a conservator at MIT, has been studying the elaborate ways people used to fold and seal their letters to keep busybodies and spies from reading their secrets. The way a paleontologist analyzes fossils to reconstruct extinct creatures, Dambrogio looks at the blobs of wax and the folding patterns on flat, already-opened letters in manuscript collections so that she can reverse-engineer "letterlocking" techniques. "He asked me, 'What would you do if I told you there was a trunk with 600 unopened letters?'"Dambrogio said.

For Severe Weather, 'Is This Climate Change?' Is the Wrong Question (Op-Ed)

For the first five years of his career, Alex Rodriguez averaged 37 home runs a season. Then, he moved to the Texas Rangers, where his average swelled to 52 home runs a season. A-Rod's other statistics — runs batted in, slugging average — rose as well.

Carbon Falling, Economies Rising: Expectations for the Paris Climate Summit (Op-Ed)?

Lynn Scarlett is the global managing director for public policy at The Nature Conservancy. Recently, she served as the deputy secretary and chief operating officer of the U.S. Department of the Interior and acting secretary of the Interior in 2006 during the George W. Bush administration. She contributed this article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.

Einstein's Unfinished Dream: Marrying Relativity to the Quantum World

Don Lincoln is a senior scientist at the U.S. Department of Energy's Fermilab, the U.S.' largest Large Hadron Collider research institution. Lincoln contributed this article to Space.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. This November marks the centennial of Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity.

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Saturday, November 21, 2015

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Watch for the Mischievous 'Demon Star' This Week

Perseus — will pass directly overhead. Its prominent variable star, Algol — known as "the Demon" — will be vividly visible as well. In case you're not familiar with the story — which, in some ways, seems almost like a soap opera — Perseus' mission was to behead the Gorgon Medusa, a hideous creature with rather unusual "naturally curly" hair composed of poisonous snakes.

Astronauts in Space Honor Paris Attack Victims (Video)

The crew of the International Space Station and flight controllers worldwide held a moment of silence this week for the victims of the Nov. 13 Paris terrorist attacks, and NASA astronaut Scott Kelly shared some remarks in a new video. The space station personnel joined a stunned and grieving world in the wake of Friday's attacks in Paris, which killed 129 people and injured 352. The space station's six-man crew took part in the tribute on Monday (Nov. 16), NASA officials said.

Giant Bling: World's Second-Largest Diamond Unearthed

A mining company operating in Botswana recently announced that it has "recovered" the second-largest diamond in the world. At 1,111 carats, the rock weighs nearly half a pound (227 grams) and measures 2.6 by 2.2 by 1.6 inches (65 by 56 by 40 millimeters). The gem is the largest of its kind to ever be found in Botswana and the largest diamond to be discovered anywhere in the world in more than 100 years, according to officials from the Lucara Diamond Corp., which discovered the massive gemstone.

More than half of Amazon tree species seen at risk of extinction

By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - South America's vast Amazon region harbors one of the world's most diverse collection of tree species, but more than half may be at risk for extinction due to ongoing deforestation to clear land for farming, ranching and other purposes, scientists say. Researchers said on Friday that if recent trends continued, between 36 and 57 percent of the estimated 15,000 Amazonian tree species likely would qualify as threatened with extinction under criteria used by the group that makes such determinations, the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The researchers analyzed Amazonian forest surveys and data on current and projected deforestation areas.

Fossilized Tropical Forest Found — in Arctic Norway

A tropical forest densely packed with 12-foot-tall trees with flared trunks and curved branches of needle leaves — Dr. Seuss would have felt right at home — covered an area near the equator some 380 million years ago. During the Devonian period (416 million to 358 million years ago), Earth's first large trees were emerging. Also around this time, atmospheric carbon dioxide dropped significantly.

Spooky Action Is Real: Bizarre Quantum Entanglement Confirmed in New Tests

Two recent studies have confirmed that the "spooky action at a distance" that so upset Albert Einstein — the notion that two entangled particles separated by long distances can instantly affect each other — has been proven to work in a stunning array of different experimental setups. One experiment closed two of the three loopholes in proofs of spooky action at a distance. Another found that quantum entanglement works over astonishingly large distances.

Scientists: Fungus causes snake ailment, but reason elusive

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — A fungus has been identified as the cause of a mysterious ailment that has been infecting some snake species in the eastern United States, threatening some isolated snake populations such as the timber rattlesnakes found in western Vermont.

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Friday, November 20, 2015

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Abraham Lincoln Was a Science Champion, Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson Says

Abraham Lincoln is best known for abolishing slavery and keeping the United States together through the Civil War, but he also helped the country become the scientific and engineering powerhouse we know today. For example, Lincoln signed the Morrill Act in 1862, creating a system of land-grant colleges and universities that revolutionized higher education in the United States, notes famed astrophysicist and science communicator Neil deGrasse Tyson. "Known also as the people's colleges, they were conceived with the idea that they would provide practical knowledge and science in a developing democratic republic," Tyson, the director of the American Museum of Natural History's Hayden Planetarium in New York City, writes in an editorial that appeared online today (Nov. 19) in the journal Science.

Stellar Graveyard Reveals Clues About Milky Way's Ancient Birth

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has peered far back in time, detecting clues about how the Milky Way galaxy came together, shortly after the universe's birth. Astronomers trained Hubble on the Milky Way's dense central bulge and spotted a population of superdense stellar corpses called white dwarfs that are remnants of stars that formed about 12 billion years ago. "It is important to observe the Milky Way's bulge, because it is the only bulge we can study in detail," study lead author Annalisa Calamida, of the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland, said in a statement.

Weird Sea Mollusk Sports Hundreds of Eyes Made of Armor

Acanthopleura granulata is a chiton, a pill bug of the sea. Researchers have long known that chitons have soft tissue embedded in their flexible suits of armor, and that some of this soft tissue is sensitive to light. Even weirder, these eyes are made of the same calcium-carbonate mineral as the chiton shell.

No Fair! Children's Sense of Equality Is Shaped by Culture

Across cultures, children develop a dislike of receiving less than others by age 10, but it isn't until later that they begin to feel discomfort when others get the short end of the deal, the new research found. In the study of kids ages 4 to 15 from seven countries, children in just three countries showed any sign of caring about fairness for other kids. "A negative reaction to getting less than others may be a human universal," said study co-author Katherine McAuliffe, a psychologist at Yale University.

'Flying' Tadpoles & Fleeing Fish Win Prestigious Photo Contest

What does the world look like to a tadpole? The photo he took came out swimmingly, earning him first place in a photography competition hosted by the Royal Society, London. The man behind the pollywog photo is Bert Willaert, a biologist and environmental advisor in Belgium who has snapped thousands of photos of the natural world.

A Magic Moment: The Milky Way from Yellowstone National Park (Photo)

Before twilight and shortly after the moon set in Yellowstone National Park, astrophotographer A. Garrett Evans found the perfect moment to capture this stunning image. Evans took the image from near the edge of the Grand Prismatic Spring in the Midway Geyser Basin in Yellowstone on June 27 and recently shared it with Space.com.

Kids Quiz One-Year Astronaut on Life in Space

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station fielded rapid-fire questions from curious middle schoolers this morning (Nov. 19), delving into life on the orbiting lab and the everyday strangeness that invites. Sixty-five students from East Side Middle School in New York City, chosen for its science, technology, engineering and math focus, got the chance to talk with NASA astronauts Scott Kelly and Kjell Lindgren aboard the station as part of an event hosted in the Time-Life building by the publication Time for Kids. "This is [Time for Kids'] 20th anniversary, so we think this is a fantastic way to celebrate 20 years of bringing the world to kids — and now, bringing 'outside the world' to kids," Nellie Gonzalez Cutler, Time for Kids' editor in chief, told Space.com.

Pick Up the Pace: Walking Speed Linked with Heart Health in Older Adults

For older adults, walking a little faster, or for a few extra blocks, may increase the heart-healthy benefits of your stroll, a new study finds. In the study, the researchers found that older adults who walked faster than 3 miles per hour had a 50 percent lower risk of heart disease than those who walked at a pace slower than 2 miles per hour. In addition, those who walked an average of seven blocks daily had a 47 percent lower risk of heart disease than those who walked five or fewer blocks each week, according to the study, published today (Nov. 19) in the journal Circulation.

Researchers Grow Vocal Cord Tissue That Can 'Talk'

Researchers have grown vocal cord tissue in the lab, and it works — the tissue was able to produce sound when it was transplanted into intact voice boxes from animals, according to a new study. "This is years away from trial just because of reality of the regulatory requirements," said study author Nathan Welham, a speech-language pathologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Vocal cords consist of two flexible bands of muscle that are lined with a specialized tissue, called mucosa, which vibrates as air moves over the cords, generating the voice.

Bright Light Therapy Can Ease Depression Symptoms

For people with depression, using "bright light therapy" either alone or combined with an antidepressant might help treat their condition, a new study suggests. In the eight-week study of 122 people with major depression, the researchers found that people who were treated with either a bright light box or a combination of light box therapy with an antidepressant drug experienced more improvement in their symptoms than people treated with a placebo. In comparison, those treated with an antidepressant drug (without light therapy) did not show improvements over those taking only a placebo pill.

Jet-Propelled 3D-Printed Drone Claims Speed Record

A new jet-powered drone might be the most complex flying machine ever built using 3D printing. The drone, which made its debut at the Dubai Airshow earlier this month, looks nothing like your average 3D-printed toy plane. It has a 9-foot-long (3 meters) wingspan and an aerodynamic design that gives it a futuristic appearance.

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