Science News from around the Web
- Finally, We Know What Killed Sea Life in The Deadliest Mass Extinction in HistoryIn one sweep, 96% of all marine species perished.... Read more »
- This Politician Says Porn Is a "Public Health Crisis". Uh, Here's The ScienceIs porn really the new tobacco?... Read more »
- Insanely Powerful Jet Stream Boosts an Airliner to Top Speed of Over 800 MphFly like the wind.... Read more »
- NASA Is Launching a Submarine to Hunt For Life in The Mysterious Depths of The SeaA deep ocean detective.... Read more »
- Researchers engineer a tougher fiberResearchers have developed a fiber that combines the elasticity of rubber with the strength of a metal, resulting in a tougher material that could be incorporated into soft robotics, packaging materials or next-generation textiles.... Read more »
- Predicting the monsoon a year aheadWith average precipitation of 35 inches per four-month season over an area encompassing most of the Indian subcontinent, the South Asia summer monsoon is intense, only partly understood, and notoriously difficult to predict. Until now.... Read more »
- Captured carbon dioxide converts into oxalic acid to process rare earth elementsRemoving carbon dioxide from power plant emissions is a good idea to start with -- and it may have an extra economic benefit. Engineers are presenting results on turning carbon dioxide into oxalic acid, which is used to process rare earth elements for electronic devices.... Read more »
- A quantum magnet with a topological twistResearchers probed a special kind of magnet containing atoms arranged in a pattern called a kagome lattice, which takes its name from a Japanese basket. They found that electrons in this material exhibit exotic behaviors that could be exploited for futuristic applications -- and that under a high magnetic field... Read more »
- Scientists unravel genetic basis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathyOne third of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy cases in Finland are caused by one of the four major mutations, a new study shows. Overall, 40 percent of patients carried a specific or a likely mutation causing the disease, and 20 percent were carriers of a rare gene mutation whose role in the... Read more »
- Study links Celebrex, heart valve calcification after earlier research declared drug safe(Vanderbilt University) On National Heart Valve Disease Awareness Day, Vanderbilt study disputes that Celebrex has no more impact on valves than older drugs in its class.... Read more »
- New dynamic dependency framework may lead to better neural social and tech systems models(Bar-Ilan University) In a paper published recently in Nature Physics, researchers present a dynamic dependency framework that can capture interdependent and competitive interactions between dynamic systems which are used to study synchronization and spreading processes in multilayer networks with interacting layers. "This dynamic dependency framework provides a powerful... Read more »
- Stopping inflammation from becoming chronic(Friedrich-Schiller-Universitaet Jena) An international research team led by Friedrich Schiller University in Jena has developed a highly sensitive cell model to study the complex effects -- and side effects -- of anti-inflammatory drugs, with the ultimate aim of preventing chronic inflammation.... Read more »
- Treatment to a T? Taking a 'BiTE' out of lung cancer(Osaka University) An Osaka University-led research team assayed T cell cytotoxicity in tumor tissue in lung cancer, along with normal lung tissue and peripheral blood. They found associations of tumor T-cell cytotoxicity with smoking and cytokine levels. They also revealed that T-cell cytotoxicity in peripheral blood correlated with that in... Read more »
- Scientists sharpen their molecular scissors and expand the gene editing toolbox(Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center) Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine scientists have figured out a better way to deliver a DNA editing tool to shorten the presence of the editor proteins in the cells in what they describe as a 'hit and run' approach.... Read more »
- In Search of Life's Origins, Japan's Hayabusa 2 Spacecraft Lands on an AsteroidThe mission to Asteroid Ryugu could return samples of the space rock to Earth in 2020 -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com ... Read more »
- Gene in Infamous Experiment on Embryos Points to New Stroke TreatmentBiology at the center of last year’s contentious gene-edited twins result may hold other benefits for brain injury -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com ... Read more »
- The Real Dino Killer: A One–Two PunchAn asteroid impact and volcanoes acting together could have done in the beasts, new rock dates indicate -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com ... Read more »
- Zombie Stars Shine On after Mystery DetonationsA newly discovered class of odd stars appears to have persevered through supernova explosions—providing a rare glimpse into these astrophysical catastrophes -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com ... Read more »
- Should We Kill Off Disease-Causing Pests? Not So FastEradicating harmful species may have unintended consequences -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com ... Read more »
- Quantum experiment suggests there really are ‘alternative facts’A complex probe of the foundations of quantum mechanics suggests that the nature of reality depends on who is looking – there are no objective facts we can agree on... Read more »
- The race to see the start of time in the first light of the universeA lone observatory at the South Pole has a rare chance to glimpse a secret written in the sky. Spot it, and we will know how time and space were born... Read more »
- Grapes in a microwave generate a fiery plasma and now we know whyFor years people have been uploading videos of the blazing eruption caused by microwaving sliced grapes – but the explanations were all wrong... Read more »
- Evidence of new physics could have been under our noses all alongFor almost a decade, the world's most expensive experiment failed to break new ground. But its biggest discoveries may have gone unnoticed... Read more »
- Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge, the godfather of caffeineToday's Google doodle celebrates Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge, who was the first to isolate caffeine and quinine but his contributions to chemistry are often overlooked... Read more »
- Wolves are spreading in Germany by moving into military landWolves have returned to Germany. The animals seems to be spreading by moving between military training grounds, preferring these to protected natural areas... Read more »
- Virgin Galactic reaches space again - this time with a passengerThe first test passenger has gone to the edge of space aboard Virgin Galactic’s Unity space plane, a key milestone in the firm’s quest to send paying customers to space... Read more »
- Quantum experiment suggests there really are ‘alternative facts’A complex probe of the foundations of quantum mechanics suggests that the nature of reality depends on who is looking – there are no objective facts we can agree on... Read more »
- Four stars full of burnt nuclear ash are speeding through the galaxyWhen a star goes supernova it is usually destroyed in a powerful explosion, but four stars have survived to tell the tale and are running away fast... Read more »
- How the zebra got its stripes: The problem with 'just-so' storiesThe mystery of why zebras have stripes has puzzled biologists for decades, and while we are closing in on the answer, the question isn’t settled yet... Read more »