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Wednesday, April 6, 2016

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Genetic study tracks start of Zika's invasion of Americas back to 2013

The Zika virus currently sweeping through the Americas looks to have hitched a ride on a plane into Brazil in 2013 and begun its invasion of the continent from there, scientists said on Thursday. In the first genome analysis of the current Zika epidemic, which has been linked in Brazil to cases of birth defects known as microcephaly, researchers said the virus' introduction to the Americas almost three years ago coincided with a 50 percent rise in air passengers from Zika-affected areas. The strain of the virus circulating in the current outbreak is most closely related to one from French Polynesia, the scientists said, although it is also possible that Zika was introduced separately to the Americas and French Polynesia from South East Asia.

GM adenovirus used by doctors to attack tumor cells

Researchers in Argentina say they have genetically modified an adenovirus - which can cause colds, conjunctivitis and bronchitis - to home in on cancer, killing tumor cells in patients without harming healthy tissue. Scientists have long been intrigued by the idea of using viruses to alert the immune system to seek and destroy cancerous cells. Dr. Osvaldo Podhjacer, Chief of the Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Therapy at the Fundacion Instituto Leloir in Buenos Aires, and his team developed an 'oncolytic' virus designed to target both malignant cells and tumor-associated stromal cells.

Preserved Poop Points the Way to General Hannibal's Historic Path

The question of precisely where the historically acclaimed general Hannibal and his army crossed the Alps into Italy to defeat the Romans — during the Second Punic War, around 218 to 201 B.C. — has perplexed historians for nearly 2,000 years. Mystery solved — not with a smoking gun, but with a once-steaming pile.

NASA Science Chief, Former Astronaut John Grunsfeld Retiring

NASA science chief John Grunsfeld, a former astronaut who famously helped repair and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope in orbit, will end his nearly quarter-century of service to the agency at the end of the month. Grunsfeld — who has headed NASA's Science Mission Directorate since January 2012, and has therefore been in charge for big moments such as the Mars rover Curiosity's Red Planet touchdown in August 2012 and the New Horizons spacecraft's epic flyby of Pluto in July 2015 — will retire effective April 30, agency officials announced today (April 5). Grunsfeld, 57, was selected as a NASA astronaut in 1992 and flew on five space shuttle missions between 1995 and 2009, logging more than 58 days in orbit.

After Their Egg Is Stolen, Condors Raise Foster Chick

After a California condor pair's egg went mysteriously missing in the middle of the night, the duo is back on track, raising a foster chick that biologists surreptitiously slipped into the birds' mountain nest. The two began courting in 2014, and nested together near the Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge in southern California, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. A team of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) biologists snuck into the nest on March 2 to set up a bird cam and check the egg's viability with a candle test, in which a bright light is used to check the growing fetus inside.

Real-Life 'Moby-Dick'? Testing Sperm Whales' Ramming Ability

Based on an incident described in 1820 involving the Nantucket whaling vessel the Essex, the film relays the terrifying tale of an enraged sperm whale turning the tables on its tormenters, using its enormous head as a battering ram to smash a whaling ship to splinters. Recently, a team of engineers took a look at whether the unusual and oversize head of the sperm whale would be able to sustain the force required to demolish a whaling boat by ramming it. Sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) are the largest of the toothed whales.

Think Fast! Caffeine Speeds Up Older Adults' Reaction Time

Coffee has been linked to a slew of health benefits, and now, a new study suggests that it may improve reaction time in older adults. In the study, presented today (April 5) here at the Cognitive Neuroscience Society's annual meeting, researchers set out to examine the effects of caffeine on a number of cognitive abilities in healthy, older adults. Ultimately, their goal is to see what role caffeine may play in treating dementia, said Kanchan Sharma, a neurology researcher at the University of Bristol in England and the lead researcher on the new study.

Wrong Baby Daddy? It's Not Likely, Science Says

Contrary to what daytime talk shows might have you believe, men are rarely hoodwinked into raising children who aren't their own, according to several recent studies. The findings challenge the evolutionary idea that "women 'shop around' for good genes" for their children by having sex outside a monogamous relationship, said Maarten Larmuseau, a researcher at the Belgian university KU Leuven who wrote a review article on the topic, published today (April 5) in the journal Trends in Ecology & Evolution.

Brains Scans Reveal How People with Insomnia May Be Wired Differently

To sleep, perchance to dream … and to keep your brain working: Scientists have long known about the importance of getting a good night's sleep to improve memory, learning and mental health. But the underlying cause of primary insomnia — a chronic inability to sleep soundly that's not associated with the use of stimulants, or medical disorders such as depression — has eluded researchers. Now, a small study comparing healthy participants to patients who have primary insomnia has found that the people with insomnia have weakened neural connections to and from the thalamus, the region of the brain that regulates consciousness, sleep and alertness.

Distant Volcanic Roars Reveal Eruption Hazards

The roar of a volcano erupting on a remote Alaska island reveals important details about the blast, such as its size and location, a new study reports. Armed with this new information, scientists in Alaska are listening to volcanoes to better pinpoint eruption hazards. "Sound waves are very good at telling you about how, when and where a volcano is erupting," said lead study author David Fee, a research assistant professor at the Alaska Volcano Observatory and Wilson Alaska Technical Center in Fairbanks.

42 Tombs and a Shrine Discovered in Egypt

Forty-two rock-cut tombs and a shrine decorated with a winged sun disc have been found along the banks of the Nile River in Egypt. "This is actually a major hub of commerce, worship and possibly political [activity]," said John Ward, assistant director of the Gebel el Silsila Survey Project. Survey project mission director Maria Nilsson, Ward and their colleagues have been discovering much more than that at the site, however.

Suit that mimics life at age 85 has no creases, just creaks

By Barbara Goldberg JERSEY CITY, N.J. (Reuters) - With the push of a button, a perfectly healthy 34-year-old museum-goer named Ugo Dumont was transformed into a confused 85-year-old man with cataracts, glaucoma and a ringing in his ears known as tinnitus. Dumont had volunteered at Liberty Science Center on Tuesday to don a computer-controlled exoskeleton that can be remotely manipulated to debilitate joints, vision and hearing and shared with the crowd what aging feels like decades before his time. Headphones muffled his hearing while goggles left him with only peripheral vision due to macular degeneration while the suit's joints were adjusted to simulate the stiffness of rheumatoid arthritis.

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Tuesday, April 5, 2016

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If Hitomi is Lost, What Science is Lost With It? (Op-Ed)

Elizabeth received her doctorate in astrophysics from the University of Oxford and a Master in Science in theoretical physics from Durham University. At 4:40 p.m. JST (07:40 GMT) on Saturday, March 26, scientists at the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) waited to communicate with the five-week-old X-ray space observatory Hitomi. Hitomi's name comes from the Japanese word for "eye pupil." But unlike our eyes that focus visible light, Hitomi's four telescopes focus X-ray radiation.

Fever: Federal report says global warming making US sick

WASHINGTON (AP) — Man-made global warming is making America sicker, and it's only going to get worse, according to a new federal government report.

Orbital presses U.S. lawmakers to end ban on retired missiles

By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - Orbital ATK is pressing U.S. lawmakers to end a 20-year ban on using decommissioned intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) for launching commercial satellites and the effort has raised concern among companies that have invested millions of dollars in potential rival rockets. Orbital Vice President Barron Beneski said in an interview on Friday that the company was pushing Washington to get the ban lifted as part of the National Defense Authorization Act that sets defense policy for fiscal 2017, which begins Oct. 1. Virgin Galactic and other space startups said in interviews last week they worry that lifting the ban would give Orbital an unfair competitive advantage if it was allowed to use surplus government rocket motors in its commercial launch vehicles.

At Venus, a Japanese Spacecraft is Almost Ready for Big Science

A Japanese spacecraft's long-awaited Venus campaign is finally about to begin. Japan's Akatsuki probe was originally supposed to arrive at Venus in December 2010, but an engine failure caused the spacecraft to miss its target and zoom off into orbit around the sun.

Size vs. Shape: What's More Important for Heart Health?

When it comes to heart health, body shape matters: A new study finds that having an apple-shaped body may increase the risk for heart disease in people with diabetes. In the study, people who had a higher waist circumference were more likely to have problems with the left ventricle of their heart, which is a common cause of heart disease, compared with people with smaller waists, according to the findings presented today (April 2) at the American College of Cardiology's annual meeting in Chicago. "This study confirms that having an apple-shaped body — or a high waist circumference — can lead to heart disease, and that reducing your waist size can reduce your risks," Dr. Joseph Muhlestein, the director of cardiovascular research at Intermountain Medical Center in Utah and the senior author on the study, said in a statement.

Concussions and Cognitive Skills: What's the Impact?

Concussions may have lasting and widespread effects on a person's cognitive abilities, according to two new studies presented here at the Cognitive Neuroscience Society's annual meeting. There's been an assumption that a concussion can affect a person's thinking skills for several weeks, the researchers said. Each group included some people who had a concussion and some who had never experienced one.

Grilling Danger: Wire Brushes Cause Injuries, Doctors Warn

In a new study, researchers attempted to estimate how many Americans are injured by ingesting wire bristles from grill brushes. The study found that between 2002 and 2014, nearly 1,700 Americans visited the emergency room for injuries related to ingesting grill-brush bristles. Among these cases, injuries to the mouth, throat and tonsils were the most common, but people also suffered injuries to the stomach or intestines.

How a Sleepless Night Affects Your Ability to Focus

In the study, the researchers confirmed that sleep deprivation can impair what's known as "selective attention," or the ability to focus on specific information when other things are occurring at the same time. A classic example of a setting that requires your selective attention is a cocktail party, said Eve Wiggins, a former student at Willamette University in Oregon and the lead researcher on the study. Selective attention is the ability to focus on a conversation you're having with someone at that party, even though you can hear other conversations going on all around you, she said.

Curse Tablets Discovered in 2,400-Year-Old Grave

The grave would have provided the tablets a path to such gods, who would then do the curses' biddings, according to ancient beliefs. One of the curses targeted husband-and-wife tavern keepers named Demetrios and Phanagora. The word kynotos literally means "dog's ear," an ancient gambling term that "was the name for the lowest possible throw of dice," Jessica Lamont, an instructor at John Hopkins University in Baltimore who recently completed a doctorate in classics, wrote in an article published recently in the journal Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik.

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Monday, April 4, 2016

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Religious Reveal: Men Lag Behind Women in Devoutness

The new survey results represent six faith groups (Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Jews and the religiously unaffiliated) from 84 different countries, according to the Pew Research Center, which collected the data from 2008 to 2015.

California's Extreme Droughts Blamed on 'Ridiculously Resilient Ridge'

The weird weather pattern that hatched California's ongoing drought is becoming more common, and could bring more extreme dry spells in the future, a new study finds. California is suffering its worst drought in 1,200 years because of a persistent atmospheric "high" parked just offshore. This high-pressure ridge — aptly named the "ridiculously resilient ridge" — deflects winter storms northward, away from California, according to the researchers.

Possible Viking Settlement in Canada Revealed in Satellite Images

Scientists have uncovered what may be a previously unknown Viking settlement in Newfoundland, Canada, news sources report. The newly identified site, known as Point Rosee, contains a hearthstone that was likely used for working iron, making it only the second known pre-Columbian, iron-processing site in North America, the researchers told National Geographic. The public can follow their progress by tuning into "Vikings Unearthed," a 2-hour NOVA special that can be watched online Monday (April 4) and on TV Wednesday (April 6).

Are You Ready for America's 1st Virtual-Reality Roller Coasters?

Buckle up, roller coaster enthusiasts! The amusement park Six Flags has joined forces with Samsung to bump up the thrill factor of rides with virtual-reality roller coasters that are set to be the first of their kind in North America. Virtual reality (VR) is already changing how people experience museum exhibits and conduct medical training, and now roller coasters that blend physical sensations with digital worlds can be added to the list. Park-goers will be able to experience these new rides at six different Six Flags locations, with another opening up next Friday (Apr 9) at Six Flags New England in Agawam, Massachusetts, and two more at Six Flags The Great Escape in Lake George, New York, and La Ronde in Montreal, Canada, later this spring.

Strangely in Sync: Scientists Solve 350-Year-Old Pendulum Clock Mystery

The 350-year-old mystery of why pendulum clocks hanging from the same wall can influence each other and synchronize over time may hold even more secrets than previously thought, researchers say. In 1665, the inventor of the pendulum clock, Dutch physicist Christiaan Huygens, was lying in bed sick, watching two of his clocks, when he noticed something odd: No matter how the pendulums on these clocks started, they ended up swinging in exactly the opposite direction from each other within about a half-hour. Solving the puzzle could help shed light on the mysterious phenomenon of synchronization, scientists say.

Giant Mammoth Skull Discovered by Bulldozer Operator

A bulldozer operator at a sand pit in northwestern Oklahoma got quite a surprise this month when he spotted a huge skull that belonged to a Columbian mammoth. These giants were plentiful across the plains of Oklahoma during the Pleistocene epoch, which lasted from about 1.8 million to 11,700 years ago, said Leland Bement of the Oklahoma Archaeological Survey. The discovery was not unheard of, as the Survey typically receives about three "mammoth-sighting" calls a year, Bement said.

Great Barrier Reef Coral Bleaching is 'Worst in its History'

Australia's Great Barrier Reef corals are in trouble. The northern part of the world's largest coral reef ecosystem is experiencing "the worst mass bleaching event in its history," according to a statement released Tuesday (March 29) by the Australian Research Council. Documented by the National Coral Bleaching Taskforce (NCBT) in aerial surveys, observations of more than 500 coral reefs spanning 2,485 miles (4,000 kilometers) showed that the majority of reefs were undergoing extensive and severe bleaching.

Scientists bemoan SeaWorld decision to stop breeding orcas

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — There's one last orca birth to come at SeaWorld, and it will probably be the last chance for research biologist Dawn Noren to study up close how female killer whales pass toxins to their calves through their milk.

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