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Wednesday, January 8, 2014

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Docs Fail to Discuss Alcohol's Risks with Patients

About 38 million U.S. adults report binge drinking, but only 1 in 4 binge drinkers said a health professional had ever talked with them about the dangers of excessive drinking, according to the new report, which surveyed about 165,000 people in 44 states in 2011. "Drinking too much alcohol has many more health risks than most people realize," CDC director Dr. Tom Frieden told reporters today (Jan. 7). Studies have shown that asking patients about their drinking behavior and briefly counseling heavy drinkers on health risks effectively reduces alcohol consumption, and these practices are considered important in preventing disease, similar to blood pressure and breast cancer screening, the researchers said. Most common form of excessive drinking is binge drinking, defined as consuming four or more drinks for women and five or more drinks for men, on one occasion.

New Exoplanet Imager Snaps 1st Photos of Alien Worlds

WASHINGTON — Astronomers have detected nearly 1,000 planets outside of our own solar system, but little is known about their composition. Now, the Gemini Observatory's Planet Imager enables scientists to image exoplanets directly. "Almost nothing is known about the composition of the planets Kepler is seeing," principal investigator Bruce MacIntosh, a physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, said in a news conference here today (Jan. 7) at the 223rd meeting of the American Astronomical Society. The Gemini Planet Imager (GPI), an instrument at the 8-meter Gemini South telescope in Chile, can see exoplanets in the outer solar system of young stars.

Smoking Rates Drop Globally, but Millions Still Light Up

Because the world population grew in the same period, the total number of smokers increased from 721 million in 1980 to 967 million in 2012, according to the report published today (Jan. 7) in the journal JAMA. "Despite the tremendous progress made on tobacco control, much more remains to be done," study co-author Dr. Christopher Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, said in a statement.

Wow! Hubble Snaps Super-Deep View of Universe (Photos)

WASHINGTON — A new set of breathtaking photos reveals a never-before-seen deep view of the universe. Released as the first "Frontier Fields" view from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, the new images mark the deepest-ever observations of a cluster of galaxies. The images also capture background galaxies more than 12 billion light-years away, whose light has been magnified and brightened by the immense gravity of Abell 2744 in a phenomenon known as gravitational lensing, researchers said. "The Frontier Fields is combining the power of nature's telescopes — these massive clusters of galaxies — with Hubble to provide the intrinsically deepest yet view of the universe," Jennifer Lotz, a principal investigator with the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, said here today (Jan. 7) during a press conference at the 223rd meeting of the American Astronomical Society.

Furry Fans: Why Prairie Dogs Do 'the Wave'

Prairie dogs foraging near their burrows frequently pop up on their back legs, front paws in the air, and cry "wee-oo," a behavior that spreads throughout the pack as quickly as "the wave" at a football game. "Probably the most striking implication of the whole thing is it reveals to us that these prairie dogs have a concept of others as unique individuals," said study researcher James Hare, a biologist at the University of Manitoba. Prairie dogs find strength in numbers, and scientists knew that the rodents employ a complex system of alarm calls when danger nears. Previously, researchers had suggested that prairie dogs gave a wave of jump-yips as an "all clear" message.

Private Cygnus Cargo Ship Launching to Space Station Today: Watch It Live

WALLOPS ISLAND, Va. — A privately built robotic spacecraft is poised to blast off from Virginia's freezing cold Eastern Shore today (Jan. 8) on a debut delivery flight to the International Space Station, and you can watch it live online. The commercial spaceflight company Orbital Sciences will launch its first Cygnus cargo mission from a pad here at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility at 1:32 p.m. EDT (1832 GMT) to deliver more than a ton of supplies for astronauts in orbit. The spacecraft will launch atop a commercial Antares rocket, also built by Orbital Sciences. You can watch the Cygnus spacecraft launch live online here, courtesy of NASA TV.

Sun Unleashes 1st Major Solar Flare of 2014 (Video)

A massive solar flare erupted from the sun on Tuesday (Jan. 7), rising up from what appears to be one of the largest sunspot groups seen on the star's surface in a decade, NASA officials say. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured a video of the huge solar flare as it developed, showing it as an intense burst of radiation from a colossal sunspot region known as AR1944. The sunspot group — which is currently in the middle of the sun as viewed from Earth — is "one of the largest sunspots seen in the last 10 years," NASA officials wrote in a statement. It occurred at 1:32 p.m. EST (1832 GMT) and came just hours after an M7.2-class flare. Space weather officials at the the Space Weather Prediction Center overseen by NOAA are expecting the flare to spark geomagnetic storms in Earth's magnetic field when a wave of super-hot solar plasma associated with the flare - known as a coronal mass ejection - reaches Earth in the next few days.

First Dinosaur Fossils from Saudi Arabia Discovered

A plant-eating titanosaur and a sharp-toothed theropod are the first confirmed dinosaur fossils ever found in Saudi Arabia, scientists reported Dec. 26 in the journal PLOS ONE. Dinosaur fossils are rare in the Arabian Peninsula; "This discovery is important not only because of where the remains were found, but also because of the fact that we can actually identify them," Benjamin Kear, lead study author, said in a statement. "These are the first taxonomically recognizable dinosaurs reported from the Arabian Peninsula," said Kear, a paleobiologist at Uppsala University in Sweden.

Ancient Syrian Trade Routes Recreated with Google Earth

Google Earth may be a fun way to bring the far reaches of the present-day globe to people's fingertips, but archaeologists are now using the high-tech software to recreate maps of ancient civilizations. Kristina Neumann, a doctoral candidate in the department of classics at the University of Cincinnati in Ohio, used Google Earth to track trade around the ancient city of Antioch, located in present-day southeastern Turkey, near the Syrian border, at the beginning of its takeover by the Roman Empire in 64 B.C. Neumann found the use of Antioch's civic coins was more widespread than was previously thought, suggesting the city had developed broad political authority within the region before being absorbed into the Roman Empire. Neumann used the movement of ancient coins to track political relationships between cities, since authorities typically decided which foreign currencies were accepted in commerce. As such, if coins from Antioch were prevalent in a neighboring city, the two governments likely shared a political agreement, Neumann explained.

I (Barely) Spy: Starfish Have Poor Vision, Are Color Blind

Starfish may have the incredible ability to regenerate their limbs, but when it comes to the power of sight, these marine creatures fall a bit short, a new study finds. Researchers at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark studied the eyes of Linckia laevigata, a species of starfish commonly found in the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean and the western and central Pacific Ocean; "We studied their spectral sensitivity, meaning what colors of light they see, and found that they don't have color vision," said study lead author Anders Garm, an associate professor in the department of biology at the University of Copenhagen. The researchers also found that starfish do not see sharp, clear images.

Huge Solar Flare Delays Private Rocket Launch to Space Station

WALLOPS ISLAND, Va. — A huge solar flare unleashed by the sun has delayed plans to launch a private cargo ship to the International Space Station today (Jan. 8) due to worry over space weather radiation. The event occurred as the commercial spaceflight company Orbital Sciences was preparing to launch a landmark cargo delivery flight to the space station today with its Antares rocket and robotic Cygnus spacecraft. "Early this morning the Antares launch team decided to scrub today's launch attempt due to an unusually high level of space radiation that exceeded by a considerable margin the constraints imposed on the mission to ensure the rocket's electronic systems are not impacted by a harsh radiation environment," Orbital Sciences officials said in a statement today. The Antares rocket was awaiting an afternoon launch at its pad here at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility when the decision was made.

Can a Pill Give You Perfect Pitch?

Before your next karaoke contest, you might want to visit a pharmacist: Researchers have found that a drug known as valproate, or valproic acid, might help people learn how to produce perfect pitch. Besides the assistance valproate could give to "American Idol" contestants, the study is intriguing because it suggests the adult brain can learn better and faster through drugs that enhance its "neuroplasticity." Perfect pitch, which scientists refer to as absolute pitch, is the rare ability to identify or produce the pitch of a musical note without any reference point. Experts believe that the ability to produce absolute pitch may be a genetic trait that must be nurtured through musical training in early childhood — by the age of 5, ideally — or it's unlikely to develop.

'Most Threatened' Tribe Gets Respite from Illegal Loggers

A tribe of indigenous Brazilians dubbed the world's most threatened are getting some breathing room in a new government effort to remove illegal loggers and ranchers from tribal lands. The Awá, a group of about 450 men, women and children who are among the 800,000 or so indigenous residents of Brazil have been in a long legal battle over the rights to their lands in northeastern Brazil. "This is a momentous and potentially lifesaving occasion for the Awá," said Stephen Corry, the director of Survival International, a tribal advocacy group that began a campaign to save the Awá in 2012. That deadline, however, passed without action as FUNAI lacked manpower and coordination with local agencies, Survival International reported.

Ancient Sea Monsters Were Black, Study Finds

Ancient leatherback turtles, toothy predators called mosasaurs and dolphinlike reptiles called ichthyosaurs all had black pigmentation, researchers report today (Jan. 8) in the journal Nature. The animals' blackness likely helped them in a variety of ways, said study researcher Johan Lindgren, a mosasaur expert at Lund University in Sweden. "We suggest … that they used it not only as camouflage and UV protection, but also to be able to regulate their body temperature," Lindgren told LiveScience.

U.S. polar vortex brings Big Chill to forest pests: scientists

By Ian Simpson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The record cold U.S. temperatures may have a silver lining - killing off some tree-eating forest pests that have spread dangerously as the general climate warms up, scientists said. The deep freeze that shattered decades-old records this week - causing fatalities and snarling air, road and rail traffic - could adversely affect pests such as the emerald ash bore, which is responsible for killing more than 10 million trees, said Robert Venette, a research biologist with the U.S. Forest Service in St. Paul, Minnesota. Eighty percent of emerald ash bore may have been destroyed where temperatures fell to -22 to -26 Fahrenheit (-30 to 32 Celsius), he said. And we've been seeing those kind of temperatures here in Minnesota, particularly in the Twin Cities and points north," Venette explained.

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Tuesday, January 7, 2014

FeedaMail: Science News Headlines - Yahoo! News

Science News Headlines - Yahoo! News

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Magma's Balloon-Like Buoyancy Drives Super-Eruptions

The most powerful volcanic eruptions on Earth may be caused by the way molten rock buoys up through the ground, like a balloon floats upward in water, researchers say in a new study. The study, detailed online Jan. 5 in the journal Nature Geoscience, also reveals that the largest super-eruption on Earth could be thousands of times larger than anything in recorded history. Twenty or so supervolcanoes exist today, including well-known examples beneath Yellowstone National Park in the United States and at Lake Toba in Indonesia. No supervolcano has been active since the earliest human records began.

Swirling 'Polar Vortex' Over Northern US Seen From Space

A whirling onslaught of frigid air, known as a polar vortex, moves menacingly over the northern United States in a new photo from a weather satellite in orbit. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's GOES-East satellite snapped the telling photo today (Jan. 6) at 11:01 a.m. EST (1601 GMT). In the image, the polar vortex is pushing southward over western Wisconsin and eastern Minnesota, blasting half of the continental United States with chilly Arctic air. The polar vortex is a sprawling area of low pressure typically found over both the North and South poles, according to NASA.

Paleo Diet May Have Included Some Sweets, Carbs

Ancient hunter-gatherers from the area that is now Morocco had cavities and missing teeth, a new study finds. The rotten teeth on the ancient skeletons, which date back to about 15,000 years ago, probably resulted from a carbohydrate-rich diet full of acorns, according to the study, described today (Jan. 6) in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The findings show that at least some ancient populations were loading up on carbs thousands of years before the cultivation of grain took hold, said study co-author Louise Humphrey, a paleobiologist at the Natural History Museum in London. The skeletal remains of the hunter-gatherers were found in a large cave known as Grotte des Pigeons, in northern Morocco.

Newfound Earth-Mass Planet Is a Gassy Puffball

Astronomers have spotted a hotter and puffier version of Earth circling a distant star. The oddball exoplanet candidate KOI-314c is located about 200 light-years away and is roughly the same mass as Earth, but its extremely thick atmosphere makes the world about 60 percent larger than our home planet, scientists say. "This planet might have the same mass as Earth, but it is certainly not Earth-like," study lead author David Kipping, of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA), said in a statement. "It proves that there is no clear dividing line between rocky worlds like Earth and fluffier planets like water worlds or gas giants." [The Strangest Alien Planets (Gallery)]

SpaceX Launching First Private Rocket of 2014 Today: Watch It Live

Private spaceflight firm SpaceX is blasting a telecommunications satellite into orbit today (Jan. 6), and you can watch all the fiery action live online.

Finally, A 3D-Printed Drone for Archaeologists

CHICAGO — Though archaeologists have come a long way since Indiana Jones, they sometimes still cling to antiquated technologies, like balloons and ladders to take photos of their discoveries and trenches from above. This month, a company formed by recent college grads called Arch Aerial rolled out a small drone designed to accompany archaeologists on far-flung expeditions. Arch Aerial showed off their small vehicle — which is made largely from 3D-printed parts and runs on open-source flight software — here at the Archaeological Institute of America's annual meeting this past weekend. For CEO Ryan Baker, 22, the seeds of inspiration for a field-ready drone came while he was working on georeferenced maps of the Poggio Civitate, an Etruscan archaeological site in Italy, using four photos taken (quite expensively) from a helium balloon.

Mindfulness Meditation May Reduce Anxiety, Depression

Mediation programs may help reduce anxiety, depression and pain in some patients, but may not lead to a boost in positive feelings or overall health, according to a new review study. Most participants had a mental health condition (such as anxiety or depression) or a physical health condition (such as lower back pain or heart disease.) [Mind Games: 7 Reasons You Should Meditate] Participants who practiced mindfulness meditation for about eight weeks to six months showed small but meaningful reductions in anxiety, depression and pain. Mindfulness meditation is a form of meditation in which people learn to pay attention to what they are feeling physically and mentally from moment to moment.

SpaceX Falcon rocket lifts off with Thaicom digital TV satellite

By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - A Space Exploration Technologies' Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Monday to put a commercial communications spacecraft into orbit for Thai satellite operator Thaicom. From that position, the 6,649-pound (3,016 kg) Thaicom 6 satellite is expected to lower itself to about 22,300 miles above Earth and shift the angle of its orbit so that it can be permanently stationed to beam high-definition and digital television services to customers in Thailand and surrounding areas. The satellite, built by Virginia-based Orbital Sciences Corp, also is equipped to provide other communications services for customers in Southeast Asia and Africa, including Madagascar, Thaicom's website shows. Including launch services and insurance, the Thaicom 6 satellite cost about $160 million, and so far, about two-thirds of the satellite's capacity has been sold, according to Thaicom.

Century-Old Photos Provide Glimpse of Historic Antarctic Voyage

Twenty-two century-old images of Antarctica have been developed for the first time in New Zealand, providing a glimpse of the historic exploration of the southernmost continent. Damaged negatives pulled from Capt. Robert Falcon Scott's last expedition base at Cape Evans on Antarctica's Ross Island reveal landscapes and icebergs from between 1914 and 1917 — and one striking portrait of an expedition geologist. The pictures come from explorer Ernest Shackleton's last Antarctic expedition, the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. The goal of this expedition was to cross the entire continent, passing over the South Pole on the way.

Mediterranean Diet May Prevent Diabetes

Following a Mediterranean diet may help prevent diabetes in people who are at risk for heart disease, even if they do not also lose weight or increase exercise, a new study from Spain suggests. In the study, people at risk for heart disease who followed a Mediterranean diet — which consisted mostly of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish and fats from either extra-virgin olive oil or nuts — were about 30 percent less likely to develop type 2 diabetes over a four-year period than people who were advised to follow a low-fat diet. Participants who supplemented their diet specifically with fats from extra-virgin olive oil were 40 percent less likely to develop diabetes during the study compared with those who followed a low-fat diet. The study involved mostly white, older adults (ages 55 to 80) who were at high risk for heart disease, so the findings may not apply to other populations, the researchers said.

Mock Mars Mission Begins in Utah

In the case of Crew 133 — with six people flying from as far away as France to meet here for a simulated Mars mission — weather and other logistics issues meant most of the crew arrived later than planned. Have a burning question about the mission or a picture you really would like to see from the site?

49-Million-Year-Old Cockroach Fossil Found

A common European and African cockroach may have gotten its evolutionary start in North America, according to new fossil findings. More than 70 species of cockroaches in the genus Ectobius currently crawl through Europe and Africa, making them amongst the most common cockroaches in that part of the world. Researchers have previously thought that Ectobius first evolved in Europe and Africa, scuttling around the region since at least 44 million years ago, based on a specimen preserved in Baltic amber of this age. Now, researchers based at the Slovak Academy of Sciences have discovered 49-million-year-old fossils of four different Ectobius species in northwest Colorado, pushing back the insects' first appearance on Earth by roughly 5 million years and its place of origin as modern-day United States rather than the Old World.

One Weird Trick To Improve Women's Chances in Science

One simple fix could improve the visibility and opportunities of women in science, a new study finds — possibly combating the "leaky pipeline" that moves female PhDs out of academia. The organization sent him lists of speakers in past years, along with lists of the two-person teams who organize each topic session.

Crop Circle Was a Publicity Stunt: Why 'Experts' Were Fooled

A mysterious 310-foot-diameter crop circle that appeared in a farmer's barley field in Chualar, Calif., as 2013 ended puzzled the public for more than a week. Echoing the sentiments of many, the field's owner told CNN, "To be that intricate in design, it kind of baffles me as to how that was done."Videos and photos of it went viral, and though some dismissed the crop circle as a hoax, others weren't so sure. The "crop circle" was not an astronomical calendar forewarning of an impending comet, but instead a drawing of the company's new Tegra K1 processing chip.

As Schools Boost Access to EpiPens, Do Teachers Know How to Use Them?

Dr. Dave Stukus, a pediatric allergist at Nationwide Children's Hospital, contributed this article to LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Anyone with severe allergies knows that an epinephrine auto-injector can be the difference between life and death. With approximately two and a half million epinephrine auto-injectors (such as EpiPens and Auvi-Qs) in circulation, my colleagues and I at Nationwide Children's Hospital want to ensure that people know how to administer them appropriately — you could save a life. A new law signed by President Barack Obama on Nov. 13 last year provides states with financial incentives to pass laws that allow schools to stock epinephrine, and to treat children who do not have a prescription for the drug.

SpaceX Falcon rocket lifts off with Thaicom digital TV satellite

Ancient Palace's Painted Floors Display Bronze-Age Creativity

The brightly patterned floors of an ancient Greek palace were painted to mimic patchworks of textiles and stone masonry — an innovative way that Bronze Age artists decorated palatial rooms, a new study finds. Emily Catherine Egan, a doctoral student at the University of Cincinnati in Ohio, studied the floor of the Throne Room at the Palace of Nestor, one of the best-preserved palaces of Mycenaean Greece, a civilization from the late Bronze Age.

Early Earth's Crust Was a Drippy, Hot Mess

Dense chunks of Earth's crust may have dripped into the mantle layer underneath it early in the planet's history, a new study suggests. This led more of the mantle layer to melt, and this molten rock would have risen upward and cooled to become part of an ancient, primitive crust that was much thicker than it is today. "At mid-ocean ridges on the modern Earth, temperatures are such that around 5 to 10 percent of the mantle melts to produce crust of around 5 to 10 kilometers [3 to 6 miles] thickness," said study lead author Tim Johnson, a petrologist at the University of Mainz in Germany.

Trapped Ships Break Free From Antarctic Ice

Two ships trapped in thick sea ice offshore Antarctica broke free today (Jan. 7) thanks to a weather change that cleared a path to open water, according to news reports. The Russian ship Akademik Shokalskiy, which is escaping via the ice crack, had been snared near Antarctica's Commonwealth Bay since a Christmas Eve blizzard surrounded the ship with tightly packed sea ice. The ship was carrying Australian climate researchers recreating the journey of Australian geologist Douglas Mawson 100 years ago. A combination of impenetrable ice and bad weather meant none of the icebreakers could reach the Shokalskiy by early January, so the Xue Long evacuated the researchers by helicopter to an Australian ship, the Aurora Australis, on Jan. 2.

Bad to the Bone: Dealer Pleads Guilty in Fossil Smuggling Scheme

The feds have unearthed a trove of fossils brought into the United States illegally. An investigation of a Wyoming fossil dealer uncovered dozens of fossils from Mongolia and China, countries that prohibit their export. The Wyoming dealer, John Richard "Rick" Rolater, pleaded guilty on Thursday (Jan. 2) to charges he conspired to smuggle fossils into the United States with the intent of selling them. Rolater, 69, owns two stores called By Nature Gallery, where he sells fossils and other items.

Frozen Fun: Try These Cold-Weather Science Experiments

Here, LiveScience has rounded up a few fun experiments that can be done with just a little time outdoors (make sure to bundle up!), from making frozen soap bubbles to creating your own colorful snow. Seeley says it has to be quite cold to attempt this one, somewhere in the region of minus 30 F (minus 34 C) or lower.

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