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Wednesday, April 13, 2016

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Obama plans to attend his final White House Science Fair

WASHINGTON (AP) — Some of America's brightest children will visit the White House as President Barack Obama holds his final science fair to highlight work that excelled in a broad range of competitions.

The Tee-Hee Test: Laughter Reveals Your Real Friends

It's no joke — laughter can actually provide clues about whether people are among friends or strangers, a new study finds. When people laugh among friends, their guffaws tend to sound more excited than when that laughter occurs between strangers, said study lead researcher Greg Bryant, an associate professor in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). "It is often faster and has more irregularities in frequency and loudness that gives it an aroused sound," Bryant told Live Science in an email.

Israel's Oldest Glass Factory Discovered

Archaeologists say they've have unearthed the oldest known glass factory in Israel, dating back to the fourth century A.D. The discovery of turquoise chunks of raw glass and collapsed, ash-covered kilns provide the first archaeological evidence of glass production in Israel during the Late Roman period. "We know from historical sources dating to the Roman period that the Valley of Akko was renowned for the excellent-quality sand located there, which was highly suitable for the manufacture of glass," said Yael Gorin-Rosen, head curator of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) glass department.

Is the Universe a Simulation? Scientists Debate

Is the universe just an enormous, fantastically complex simulation? These were the big questions that a group of scientists, as well as one philosopher, tackled on April 5 during the 17th annual Isaac Asimov Debate here at the American Museum of Natural History. The event honors Asimov, the visionary science-fiction writer, by inviting experts in diverse fields to discuss pressing questions on the scientific frontiers.

No more curtains thanks to next generation window technology

By Ben Gruber Cambridge, MASS (Reuters) - - Curtains and blinds may soon be a design choice as opposed as to a tool for privacy. Windows that can transition between clear and cloudy in a second may soon be a reality thanks to technology under development at Harvard University's School of Engineering.

Swiss group buys Airbus jet for zero-gravity flights

A Swiss aerospace group plans to offer zero-gravity flights this year in an airliner that will expose thrill-seekers with strong stomachs to repeated bouts of weightlessness. In what it called a world premiere, Swiss Space Systems (S3) said on Tuesday it had bought an Airbus A340-300 jet that will carry around 70 passengers on 90-minute flights featuring 15 parabolic arcs. Each parabola will generate 20 to 25 seconds of weightlessness as passengers pass through the top of the arc.

Device harnessing thoughts allows quadriplegic to use his hands

An Ohio man paralyzed in an accident while diving in waves can now pick up a bottle or play the video game Guitar Hero thanks to a small computer chip in his brain that lets his mind guide his hands and fingers, bypassing his damaged spinal cord. Scientists on Wednesday described accomplishments achieved by 24-year-old quadriplegic Ian Burkhart using an implanted chip that relays signals from his brain through 130 electrodes on his forearm to produce muscle movement in his hands and fingers. Burkhart first demonstrated the "neural bypass" technology in 2014 when he was able simply to open and close his hand.

United Launch Alliance suspends Atlas 5 flights

By Irene Klotz COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Reuters) - United Launch Alliance said on Wednesday its Atlas 5 rocket will need to be repaired before flights resume following an early engine shutdown on its last mission. "There will be corrective action," Tory Bruno, chief executive of the joint venture by Lockheed Martin Corp and Boeing Co,told Reuters in an interview at the Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colorado. "I'm still confident that we're going to get all the missions off within a year, but there's going to be a little shuffling around," Bruno said.

Why Hope Remains for Saving the World's Largest Gorillas (Op-Ed)

Andrew Plumptre is a senior conservationist in the Uganda Program at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). Radar Nishuli is chief park warden for the Kahuzi-Biega National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo working for the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN). The Rwandan genocide in 1994 forced hundreds of thousands of refugees to flee to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which two years later became embroiled in a calamitous civil war — an estimated five million lives were lost there over the following seven years.

Siblings' Dilemma? Solve Backseat Bickering with Game Theory (Op-Ed)

Kevin Zollman, a game theorist and associate professor of philosophy at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, contributed this article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Game theory is the science of strategic thinking. While the name brings to mind a chess master or poker savant, this area of study deals with much more than what people ordinarily call "games." Although traces of game theory go back millennia, this study of strategy was invented as a field in the 1940s by mathematician John von Neumann and economist Oskar Morgenstern.

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Tuesday, April 12, 2016

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ULA to partner with Bigelow on commercial space habitats

By Irene Klotz COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Reuters) - United Launch Alliance will team with billionaire entrepreneur Robert Bigelow to market and fly habitats for humans in space, a project that hinges on space taxis being developed by SpaceX, Boeing Co and other firms, ULA and Bigelow said on Monday. The agreement, announced at a news conference at the U.S. Space Symposium in Colorado Spring, Colorado, includes a 2020 launch of a 12,000-cubic foot (330-cubic meter) inflatable habitat aboard a ULA Atlas 5 rocket, currently the only vehicle with a big enough payload container to hold the module. Bigelow told the news conference that partnering with ULA, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin Corp and Boeing, is "a potentially enormously important relationship," to open space to non-government research, commercial endeavors and tourism.

Brain scans show how LSD mimics mind of a baby

By Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists have for the first time scanned the brains of people using LSD and found the psychedelic drug frees the brain to become less compartmentalized and more like the mind of a baby. A research team led by scientists at Imperial College London said that while normally the brain works on independent networks performing separate functions such as vision, movement and hearing, under LSD the separateness of these networks breaks down, leading to a more unified system. "In many ways, the brain in the LSD state resembles the state our brains were in when we were infants: free and unconstrained," said Robin Cahart-Harris, who led the study.

The Bible Is Really Old, Handwriting Analysis Reveals

Key parts of the Old Testament may have been compiled earlier than some scholars thought, suggests a new handwriting analysis of text on pottery shards. The shards, found at a frontier fort dating to around 600 B.C., were written by at least six different people, suggesting that literacy was widespread in the ancient kingdom of Judah, said study co-author Israel Finkelstein, an archaeologist and biblical scholar at Tel Aviv University in Israel. "We're dealing with really low-level soldiers in a remote place who can write," Finkelstein told Live Science.

New 'Rembrandt' Painting Was Created by Computer

Last week, scholars revealed an as-yet-unknown Rembrandt painting. But it turns out this mysterious picture wasn't a long-lost Rembrandt canvas uncovered in some forgotten 17th-century warehouse: It was instead made out of whole cloth by a computer algorithm and a 3D printer. The computer algorithm created the "new Rembrandt" after painstakingly studying the painter's entire corpus, then mimicking Rembrandt's painting techniques, styles and subjects.

Here's How You Can Prevent Foot Blisters While Running

All it takes is some paper tape applied to the foot in blister-prone areas before running, the researchers said. The researchers applied paper tape to just part of each runner's foot, so that the untaped areas would serve as a control. "People have been doing studies on blister prevention for 30 or 40 years and never found anything easy that works," Dr. Grant Lipman, a co-author of the study and an emergency-medicine physician at Stanford University Medical Center in California, said in a statement.

The Brain on LSD: New Scans Show Drug's Trippy Effects

From hallucinations to a loss of your sense of self, the effects of taking a drug such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) have been known for some time. Taking LSD leads to increases in activity in the visual parts of the brain, which helps to explain the visual hallucinations associated with taking the drug, according to the new study, published today (April 11) in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. These results reveal how LSD can alter a person's consciousness so profoundly, said Robin Carhart-Harris, a research associate in neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College London and the lead author of the study.

Zika Virus Linked with Another Brain Disease: What's ADEM?

Some people infected with the Zika virus may develop a rare neurological disorder that is similar to multiple sclerosis, a new study from Brazil suggests. The study reports two cases of people who were infected with the Zika virus and who later developed a condition called acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM). In people with this condition, the body's own immune system causes swelling in the brain and spinal cord, and damages the protective coating of nerve fibers called myelin.

World's Longest Snake Dies 3 Days After Being Captured

A humongous reticulated python measuring 26.2-foot-long (8 meters) long was captured at a Malaysian construction site last week, but the snake died three days later while laying an egg, news sources report. In October 2011, Medusa, a reticulated python (Python reticulatus), measured 25.1 feet (7.67 m) at her home in Kansas City, Missouri, Guinness World Records reported.

Red Crabs Swarm Like Insects in Incredible Underwater Video

A strange cloud of disturbed silt in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Panama unexpectedly led marine biologists to an incredible sight: thousands of red crabs close to the sea bottom that were "swarming like insects," according to the researchers. The scientists were in a submersible investigating biodiversity at the Hannibal Bank seamount — an underwater mountain and a known ecological hotspot — when they spotted a disturbance in the water that led them to the unusual sight at depths of 1,165 feet to 1,263 feet (355 to 385 meters).

Daily Aspirin Is Most Beneficial in Your 50s, Panel Says

Daily aspirin is also beneficial for men and women who start taking it in their 60s, but its overall benefits are smaller than those for people who start taking it in their 50s, according to the new advice from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). Taking one daily low-dose (81 milligrams) aspirin tablet may be an inexpensive and effective way to help reduce the rates of heart disease, cancer and stroke, which are major causes of deaths for adults in the U.S., the USPSTF said. But when people are in their 60s, the balance between the potential benefits and possible harms of using aspirin changes, said Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, chairwoman of the USPSTF and a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco.

Billionaire Yuri Milner bids another $100 million to explore the cosmos

By Sarah McBride SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Billionaire Internet investor Yuri Milner announced another $100 million initiative on Tuesday to better understand the cosmos, this time by deploying thousands of tiny spacecraft to travel to our nearest neighboring star system and send back pictures. If successful, scientists could determine if Alpha Centauri, a star system about 25 trillion miles away, contains an Earth-like planet capable of sustaining life. Tuesday's announcement, made with cosmologist Stephen Hawking, comes less than a year after the announcement of Breakthrough Listen.

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Monday, April 11, 2016

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See Stunning 360-Degree Views of Spectacular Victoria Falls (Video)

Now, even those who can't make it to Africa can get an unforgettable look at Victoria Falls. A new video, courtesy of National Geographic, shows the mighty Zambezi River pounding its way through stunning gorges and canyons, and then rushing over the impressive falls, which lie between Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Are These 'Antiques' Imported from Syria Funding Terrorists?

"Antiques" with a declared value of $26 million have been imported to the United States from Syria since 2011, when the civil war there began, according to documents that the U.S. Census Bureau provided to Live Science. It's not clear what, exactly, the antiques actually are, nor whether the items were illegally brought here or where the money from any sales is going. The documents say that the bulk of them are brought to New York City where numerous antiquities dealers, art galleries and auction houses are based.

Ancient Bronze Shovel May Have Been Used in Jewish Cultic Rituals

An ancient bronze shovel that may have been used in Jewish cultic rituals has been unearthed in Israel. The 2,000-year-old shovel, which was unearthed near the Sea of Galilee, is similar to others used by ancient priests in the Second Temple period. "The incense shovel that was found is one of ten others that are known in the country from the Second Temple period.

Bullet Links Lawrence of Arabia to Famous Ambush

The early 20th-century British military leader T.E. Lawrence, widely known as "Lawrence of Arabia" for allying with and advising Arab forces fighting against Ottoman Turks, wrote about taking part in a train ambush in Saudi Arabia in 1917 that proved to be a pivotal skirmish during the Arab revolution. In the decades since Lawrence published the memoir "Seven Pillars of Wisdom" describing his wartime experiences, critics have accused him of exaggerating or even falsifying his participation in certain events. For instance, some biographers have said he embellished his role in the Hallat Ammar train ambush, recognized by historians as a clash that helped define tactics used in modern guerilla warfare.

Medieval Metal Whip, Used During Black Death, Found in Abbey

An ancient whip uncovered at a medieval English monastery may be one of only four metal scourges found in the country, according to the Nottinghamshire County Council, which manages the archaeological site. In England, the Black Death lasted only a year — from 1348 to 1349 — but records show that it was enough to wipe out entire families and resulted in a decline in Rufford's wool trade, which was also a primary source of income for Rufford Abbey, in the following years. During a dig underneath the meadow at Rufford Abbey in 2014, archaeologists discovered a stain of green copper coloring the soil.

Mysterious Plain of Jars Site Holds Human Remains

An ancient burial site, including an oddly shaped quartz stone covering the face of one of the newly uncovered human skeletons, has been discovered at the mysterious Plain of Jars, an archaeological site in remote central Laos littered with thousands of stone vessels. The new findings could help researchers solve the long-standing puzzle of why the stone jars were scattered across this part of Laos. When it was found, the skull beneath the quartz adornment appeared to be looking through a large hole in the stone, said Dougald O'Reilly, an archaeologist at the Australian National University (ANU), who led a team of scientists on a joint Laos-Australian expedition to the Plain of Jars in February.

Genes used to extend banana lifespan

Dr. Haya Friedman, a researcher at Israel's Volcani Institute, also known as the Agricultural Research Organization (ARO), told Reuters that the genetically-altered bananas can stay fresh for at least double the time of normal bananas. "You can see here that these are bananas that we changed the expression of the gene and which now the ripening is delayed. You have to understand that these fruits were picked more than a month ago," she said, pointing at two bunches of bananas on the table in front of her, one is obviously blackened and the second is still freshly-looking yellow." Friedman's research was initially based on previously-known findings in tomatoes.

U.N. panel to study a cap on global warming that may be out of reach

By Alister Doyle and Nina Chestney OSLO/LONDON (Reuters) - Top climate scientists will launch a study this week of how hard it would be to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit), although many of them fear it might be too late to reach that level. The world's average surface temperatures reached 1C (1.8F) above pre-industrial times in a record-hot 2015. A 195-nation climate summit in Paris in December asked the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for a report in 2018 on limiting warming to just 1.5C.

'Sea Hunter': World's First Unmanned Ship Stalks Subs

A new hunter is lurking in the deep — and it's made of metal, silicon, and lots and lots of artificial intelligence. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) officially launched its unmanned submarine-hunting ship, holding a christening ceremony on Thursday (April 7) for the "Sea Hunter." The new vessel is part of DARPA's larger initiative to use artificial intelligence (AI) for a wider array of military decisions and tasks. While the Sea Hunter, which is part of DARPA's Anti-Submarine Warfare Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel (ACTUV) program, is not helmed by a human captain, people are still in the loop (at least for now).

Panama Papers: Just How Big Is the World's Biggest Data Leak?

The leak of more than 11.5 million documents from a law firm in Panama that specializes in creating off-shore tax havens for wealthy clients around the world is being dubbed an unprecedented event — the largest leak in history. More than 100 news outlets around the world have published material based on the so-called Panama Papers. According to journalists at the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, who first received the leaked documents, the 2.6 terabytes of leaked data consist of emails, photographs, PDF documents, spreadsheets and entries from a company database, some which date back to the 1970s.

Shape-Shifting Drones Could Be Made from Metal-Foam Hybrid

Designed by engineers from Cornell University, in Ithaca, New York, and with funding from the U.S. Air Force, the composite material consists partly of silicone and partly of a metal with a melting point of 144 degrees Fahrenheit (62 degrees Celsius). "The driving vision behind this is the puffin," said study first author Ilse Van Meerbeek, a Cornell graduate student in the field of mechanical engineering.

Not So Gnarly: Skateboarding Sends 176 Kids to the ER Every Day

The growing popularity of skateboarding over the past few decades comes with an unfortunate side effect: an increase in injuries, a new study spanning nearly two decades finds. The vast majority (89 percent) of injured skateboarders were males, the researchers found. In addition, the researchers found, the most commonly injured areas of the body were the upper extremities (45 percent of injuries) and the lower extremities (32 percent of injuries).

Sleepy Teens Are More Likely to Engage in Risky Behaviors

"Insufficient sleep might cause persons to take more risks and disregard the possibility of negative consequences," the researchers, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, wrote in the journal Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The National Sleep Foundation recommends that teens ages 14 to 17 get 8 to 10 hours of sleep per night. Health care providers may also consider screening teens for behaviors that increase the risk for injury, and counseling them, the CDC said.

I Put on a Robotic Suit and Aged 50 Years

They say that youth is wasted on the young, but I'd like to amend that. It was heavy, largely because of the lithium-ion phosphate batteries and the cooling system in the backpack, but I stiffly plodded out of the dressing room.

Tiny Ancient Creature Carried Its Babies Like 'Kites'

A shield protected its head, which was topped by two sweeping antennalike structures, and it used its 12 pairs of legs to scuttle across the sea bottom in what is now Herefordshire in the U.K. The region looks very different today — for one, it's not underwater anymore — but fossils of numerous small creatures like A. spinosus that once inhabited the ocean are preserved in outcrops inside rocky spheres, "like baseballs," of hardened volcanic ash called concretions, which formed around their remains, said Derek Briggs, a paleontology professor at Yale University and lead author of the study. "The tendency is to think of this as Pompeii on the ocean floor," Briggs said. So Briggs turned to the only surefire way to study these tiny fossils in three dimensions: He and his colleagues split open each concretion and cut out the rock holding the fossil.

Unexplained 'Genetic Superheroes' Overcome Disease Mutations

A tiny number of people in the world carry genetic mutations that were thought to guarantee the development of severe childhood diseases, but these people do not actually have these diseases, according to a new study. The scientists found 13 adults who carried the exact genetic mutations that cause diseases such as cystic fibrosis, which severely affects the lungs and digestive system, or a condition called Pfeiffer syndrome, which affects the bones of the skull. "If you want to develop therapies for prevention, if you want to come up with ways of not just finding the cause, but [also] ways of preventing the manifestations of disease," then these individuals may help find a way, Stephen Friend, a co-author of the study and a researcher at Sage Bionetworks in Seattle, said in a press briefing about the new study.

Why Neanderthals Likely Fathered Few Kids with Modern Humans

Humans today often carry around a small chunk of DNA from Neanderthals, suggesting we interbred with our closest known extinct relatives at some point in our history. Turns out, the Y chromosome may have been key in keeping the two lineages apart by creating conditions that might often have led to miscarriages if or when the two got together, researchers now say. In 2010, scientists first sequenced the Neanderthal genome.

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