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Tuesday, February 2, 2016

FeedaMail: Science News Headlines - Yahoo! News

Science News Headlines - Yahoo! News

Flu Season Is Here; CDC Warns of Severe Cases in Young Adults

Flu season has started, and although so far it has not been as bad as last year's, there have been reports of some young and middle-age adults developing severe cases of influenza, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Today (Feb. 1), the CDC announced that flu cases are increasing across the country. The most common flu strain circulating now is H1N1, the same strain of flu that caused a pandemic in 2009.

Moms' Beneficial Vaginal Microbes Given to C-Section Babies by New Method

In a new procedure, doctors wiped down the skin of newborns delivered by cesarean section with a gauze carrying their mothers' vaginal fluid. The doctors found that this was a successful way to transfer beneficial microbes from pregnant women to their infants, a new pilot study suggests. This small study showed that this swabbing procedure, known as vaginal microbial transfer, can safely and effectively change the microbial communities of babies delivered by C-section to make them more closely resemble those of vaginally born babies, said José Clemente, an assistant professor of genetics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City and a co-author of the research, published today (Feb. 1) in the journal Nature Medicine.

Prehistoric man enjoyed roasted tortoise appetizers, Israeli archaeologist says

Prehistoric cave-dwellers enjoyed munching on tortoises roasted in their shells as an appetizer or side dish, Ran Barkai, an archaeologist at Tel Aviv University, said on Tuesday. Barkai helped lead a research team who found 400,000-year-old tortoise shells and bones in a cave in Israel that showed hunter-gatherers butchered and cooked tortoises as part of a diet dominated by large animals and vegetation. "Now we know they ate tortoises in a rather sophisticated way," Barkai said.

Groundhogs on the Menu? The Wild History of Punxsutawney Phil

Punxsutawney Phil may not know it, but groundhogs were part of the menu on Groundhog Day in the late 1800s. Apparently, groundhogs were the "other white meat" on that day. These days, Punxsutawney Phil doesn't have to worry about ending up on a dish.

What's That Word? Marijuana May Affect Verbal Memory

Years of smoking pot may have an effect on a person's verbal memory, which is the ability to remember certain words, a new study finds. For every five years of marijuana use, researchers found that, on average, one out of two people remembered one word fewer from a list of 15 words, according to the study. Long-term use was not, however, significantly associated with decreases in other measures of cognitive function, such as processing speed or executive function, the researchers wrote in the study, published today (Feb. 1) in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.

Microcephaly Linked to Zika Virus Is a 'Public Health Emergency,' Officials Say

The recent, dramatic increase in babies in Brazil born with microcephaly — underdeveloped skulls and brains — that has been linked with the Zika virus constitutes "a public health emergency of international concern," Dr. Margaret Chan, director-general of the World Health Organization, said today. Clusters of microcephaly and other neurological complications that are possibly linked to the virus make up "an extraordinary event and a public health threat to other parts of the world," Chan said at a news conference in Geneva today (Feb. 1). However, Chan noted that the Zika virus itself, which is spread by mosquitos and typically causes only mild symptoms and sometimes none at all, did not merit emergency status.

US Military's F-35 Fighter Jets to Make British Debut in July

The U.S. military's next-generation F-35 fighter jets will make their long-awaited overseas debut this summer at two air shows in the United Kingdom, Air Force officials recently announced. The 56th Fighter Wing, stationed at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona, will showcase F-35A Lightning IIs at the Royal International Air Tattoo in Gloucestershire and the Farnborough International Airshow in Hampshire, both in July. The summer events will be the first time the F-35s cross the Atlantic Ocean for the overseas air shows.

Scientists' path to usable Zika vaccine strewn with hurdles

Making a shot to generate an immune response against Zika virus, which is sweeping through the Americas, shouldn't be too hard in theory. For a start, scientists around the world know even less about Zika than they did about the Ebola virus that caused an unprecedented epidemic in West Africa last year. Ebola, due to its deadly power, was the subject of bioterrorism research, giving at least a base for speeding up vaccine work.

As the World Tackles Climate Change, is Meat Off the Table? (Op-Ed)

Alexandra Clark is a sustainable-food campaigner at Humane Society International. Prior to joining HSI, Clark worked for the vice president of the European Parliament and was responsible for a number of high-profile parliamentary initiatives on sustainable food systems. There is extensive research showing the outsize impacts of animal agriculture on the environment.

Scientists' path to usable Zika vaccine strewn with hurdles

'Climate Snow Job'? Scientists Respond to Attack on Evidence (Op-Ed)

Emmanuel Vincent holds a Ph.D. in climate science and is the founder of Climate Feedback (@ClimateFdbk), a global network of scientists who provide readers, authors and editors with feedback about the accuracy of climate change media articles. Daniel Nethery is editor of Climate Feedback. An opinion piece published Jan. 24 in The Wall Street Journal presented false and misleading statements as if they were fact.

Want to Make a Volcano Explode? Just Add Heat

Volcanoes erupt explosively when gas-charged magma reaches Earth's surface. The formation and growth of gas bubbles are complex processes that fascinate nearly every volcanologist. There are volcanologists who peer inside tiny crystals to measure minuscule amounts of dissolved gas, and there are volcanologists who use spectroscopy — specifically studies of how minerals absorb ultraviolet light — to measure the copious gases billowing from a vent.

The Stars Within Us: Why Everything in You is Stellar

Paul Sutter is a visiting scholar at The Ohio State University's Center for Cosmology and AstroParticle Physics (CCAPP). Sutter is also host of the podcasts "Ask a Spaceman" and "RealSpace," and the YouTube series "Space in Your Face." Sutter contributed this article to Space.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.

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Monday, February 1, 2016

FeedaMail: Science News Headlines - Yahoo! News

Science News Headlines - Yahoo! News

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There May Be an Exercise 'Sweet Spot' for Losing Weight

Working out has numerous health benefits, but if you are trying to lose weight, exercise alone may not be enough: The body may adapt to higher levels of physical activity, so you may not burn more calories even if you exercise a lot, a new study suggests. The researchers found that the people in the study who engaged in moderate levels of physical activity burned about 200 more calories per day, on average, than those who had the lowest levels of physical activity. It is not clear why, exactly, higher levels of physical activity may not lead to burning more calories, the researchers said.

Autism Risk Linked to Obesity, Diabetes Combination in Moms

Children born to women with obesity and diabetes may have an increased risk of autism, a new study suggests. The children in the study who were born to women who were obese before becoming pregnant were nearly twice as likely to be diagnosed with autism by age 6, compared with those children born to mothers whose weight was normal before they got pregnant, the researchers found. And the babies born to women who had developed diabetes at some point before they got pregnant were more than twice as likely to be diagnosed with autism by age 6, compared with those children born to women without diabetes.

Smartphone Trick Could Change Your Sedentary Lifestyle

The researchers found that people in the study who used such smartphone reminders spent 3 percent less time sitting per day, on average, compared with people who did not receive the frequent reminders. This translated into about 25 minutes more time spent moving instead of sitting per day. "We really didn't do an elaborate intervention here," said study author Darla E. Kendzor, a clinical psychologist at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.

Britain gives scientist go-ahead to genetically modify human embryos

By Kate Kelland LONDON, Feb 1 (Reuters) - - Scientists in Britain have been give the go-ahead to edit the genes of human embryos for research, using a technique that some say could eventually be used to create "designer babies". Less than a year after Chinese scientists caused an international furor by saying they had genetically modified human embryos, Kathy Niakan, a stem cell scientist from London's Francis Crick Institute, was granted a license to carry out similar experiments. "The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has approved a research application from the Francis Crick Institute to use new 'gene editing' techniques on human embryos," Niakan's lab said on Monday.

Swan song: humans implicated in huge Australian bird's demise

By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The mystery behind the extinction of a huge flightless bird called Genyornis that flourished in the grasslands and woodlands of prehistoric Australia may have been solved, with burned eggshells as the clue and people as the culprits. Scientists said on Friday burn patterns detected on eggshell fragments indicate that the humans who first arrived in Australia roughly 50,000 years ago gathered and cooked the big bird's eggs, playing havoc with its reproductive success. The study is the first to provide direct evidence that these early human inhabitants preyed on the remarkable large animals that once thrived in Australia but disappeared after people got there, University of Colorado geological sciences professor Gifford Miller said.

Britain gives scientist go-ahead to genetically modify human embryos

By Kate Kelland LONDON, (Reuters) - Scientists in Britain have been give the go-ahead to edit the genes of human embryos for research, using a technique that some say could eventually be used to create "designer babies". Less than a year after Chinese scientists caused an international furore by saying they had genetically modified human embryos, Kathy Niakan, a stem cell scientist from London's Francis Crick Institute, was granted a licence to carry out similar experiments. "The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has approved a research application from the Francis Crick Institute to use new 'gene editing' techniques on human embryos," Niakan's lab said on Monday.

Mind-Reading Computer Instantly Decodes People's Thoughts

A new computer program can decode people's thoughts almost in real time, new research shows. Researchers can predict what people are seeing based on the electrical signals coming from electrodes implanted in their brain, and this decoding happens within milliseconds of someone first seeing the image, the scientists found. The new results could one day have applications for helping people, such as those who cannot speak or have trouble communicating, express their thoughts, Rajesh Rao, a neuroscientist at the University of Washington in Seattle, said in a statement.

Britain gives scientist go-ahead to genetically modify human embryos

By Kate Kelland LONDON, Feb 1 (Reuters) - - Scientists in Britain have been give the go-ahead to edit the genes of human embryos for research, using a technique that some say could eventually be used to create "designer babies". Less than a year after Chinese scientists caused an international furore by saying they had genetically modified human embryos, Kathy Niakan, a stem cell scientist from London's Francis Crick Institute, was granted a licence to carry out similar experiments. "The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has approved a research application from the Francis Crick Institute to use new 'gene editing' techniques on human embryos," Niakan's lab said on Monday.

Tombs of Ancient Rabbis Possibly Discovered in Galilee

Archaeologists surveying an ancient cemetery in Israel say they have discovered 1,700-year-old inscriptions in stone that may mark the burial place of elite rabbis. The inscriptions were uncovered at Zippori, also known as Sepphoris, which was once the Jewish capital of Galilee in northern Israel. For the past three years, archaeologist Motti Aviam, of the Kinneret Institute for Galilean Archaeology, and his colleagues have documented several hundred ancient tombs of Zippori.

Ancient Humans Ate Cantaloupe-Size Eggs from 500-Pound Birds

The burnt eggshell fragments of an ancient giant bird have helped scientists solve a 50,000-year-old whodunit in Australia. Before humans arrived in Australia about 50,000 years ago, these flightless birds lived across much of the continent. Now, evidence of human-scorched eggshells suggests that the new arrivals were cooking up the eggs for supper, likely putting a large dent in the birds' reproductive success, a new study shows.

Sharpshooting spray system cuts crop chemical use

By Matthew Stock A new spray technology that shoots a targeted droplet with incredible accuracy could cut agricultural use of chemicals by more than 99 percent, according to the developers. The technology has the potential to not only save farmers money, but also help protect the environment by dramatically reducing the amount of chemicals that are applied. Through that we can massively reduce both cost and environmental impact," said Niall Mottram, head of agrifood product development at developers Cambridge Consultants.

'4D-Printed' Objects Change Shape After They're Made

By mimicking the way orchids, calla lilies and other plants bend and twist, scientists have created shape-shifting "4D-printed" structures that they say could one day help heal wounds and be used in robotic surgical tools. The scientists found that they could make the structures they created shift into cone, saddle, ruffle and spiral shapes minutes after they were soaked in water.

Gadget That 'Eavesdrops' on Water Warns You of Waste

A sleek, white gadget that looks more like a trendy speaker than a tool for water conservation could stop people from wasting precious H2O, said one Silicon Valley startup. "I know more about the sound of water than you'll ever believe," said Baback Elmieh, founder and CEO of Nascent. The device, dubbed the "Droppler," is like Shazam (an app that can identify artists and song titles just by hearing the music) for water, Elmieh said.

Drone's-Eye View: Flying Vehicles Could Monitor Ice in Remote Regions

Over the past year, powerhouse companies like Amazon, Google and Facebook have all announced big plans to integrate different forms of drone technology into their businesses. But in the Arctic and Antarctica, drones face a different roster of challenges, as specially trained and certified scientists test how these autonomous flying machines could help create maps of sea ice in some of the most remote locations on Earth. Researchers published a report describing their pilot program on Jan. 19 in Eos, a publication of the American Geophysical Union, outlining an April 2015 expedition to East Antarctica's ice shelves onboard the U.S. icebreaker Nathaniel B. Palmer, to determine just how well drones would handle the harsh polar environment.

Nice Guys Win: Women Choose Altruism Over Looks

Altruism is the term for when someone acts in a way that is beneficial to others and not themselves. Scientists from the University of Worcester and the University of Sunderland, both in the United Kingdom, said they wanted to know if this trait has any impact on how women choose a partner. In the new study, the researchers analyzed what happened when two desirable characteristics, physical attractiveness and altruism, were investigated together, and whether women preferred one quality over the other.

High-Fiber Diet May Help Lower Breast Cancer Risk

Teenage girls and young women who eat a lot of foods high in fiber, such as fruits and vegetables, may have a lower risk of breast cancer later in life, a new study suggests. The researchers found that the women who consumed high amounts of fiber during early adulthood had a 12 to 19 percent lower risk of developing breast cancer over the 20-year study, compared with the women who consumed very little fiber in early adulthood. And the women who consumed high amounts of fiber during their teenage years had a 24 percent lower risk of developing breast cancer before menopause, compared with those who consumed little fiber as teens.

Cases of Gastroschisis, a Birth Defect, on the Rise in the US

Cases of a rare birth defect called gastroschisis are increasing in the U.S., according to a recent government report. Gastroschisis (GAS-tro-SKEE-sis) occurs when the muscles in the intestinal wall of a fetus do not develop properly, thus causing the intestines to poke through an opening in the skin, to the right of the umbilical cord. In some cases, other organs, like the stomach, may also develop outside the baby's body, said Dr. Holly Hedrick, an attending pediatric and fetal surgeon at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Zika Prevention: Can Pregnant Women Safely Use Mosquito Repellants?

The possible connection between Zika virus and microcephaly, a potentially fatal condition in infants, is a serious concern for pregnant women and women trying to become pregnant. Women are being told to take all possible measures to prevent mosquito bites, including using some pretty heavy-duty insect repellants. But generally, pregnant women are bombarded by advice about avoiding chemicals.

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