Science News
Trump directs NASA to send astronauts to the moon and then Mars
New Scientist - 11 Dec 2017 23:47
The US space programme has a new focus on an old destination. President Trump has directed NASA to focus its efforts on crewed missions to the moon before Mars
Electromagnetic water cloak eliminates drag and wake
Phys.org - 11 Dec 2017 23:17
Researchers have developed a water cloaking concept based on electromagnetic forces that could eliminate an object's wake, greatly reducing its drag while simultaneously helping it avoid detection.
How To Build Better Rockets By Crumpling Beer Cans
Physics Buzz - 11 Dec 2017 22:38
Knowing more about how a metal tube crumples might improve the design of everything from beer cans to space rockets. Now scientists find that poking such cylinders in the side could help predict when they might buckle fr...
Turning pathogens against each other to prevent drug resistance
Science Daily - 11 Dec 2017 22:28
Limiting a much-needed resource could pit pathogens against one another and prevent the emergence of drug resistance. New research demonstrates that harnessing competition among pathogens inside a patient could extend th...
Patients' individual genomes may affect efficacy, safety of gene editing
Science Daily - 11 Dec 2017 22:28
Gene editing has begun to be tested in clinical trials, using CRISPR-Cas9 and other technologies to directly edit DNA inside people's cells, and multiple trials are recruiting or in planning. A new study raises a note of...
Protein Daple coordinates single-cell and organ-wide directionality in the inner ear
Science Daily - 11 Dec 2017 22:28
Sensory hair cells in the inner ear combine into hair bundles to convert sound waves into electrical signals. Both single-cell and organ-wide directionality are critical for hearing, but these two levels of organization ...
Social media trends can predict tipping points in vaccine scares
Science Daily - 11 Dec 2017 22:28
Analyzing trends on Twitter and Google can help predict vaccine scares that can lead to disease outbreaks, according to a study from the University of Waterloo.
Violence a matter of scale, not quantity, researchers show
Science Daily - 11 Dec 2017 22:28
Are societies more or less violent today than they were thousands of years ago? It's a matter of scale, researchers show. In a new study, researchers present an expanded data set showing that the larger the population of...
DNA element may cause rare movement disorder
Science Daily - 11 Dec 2017 22:28
A team of researchers has identified a specific genetic change that may be the cause of a rare but severe neurological disorder called X-linked dystonia parkinsonism.
The force is strong: Amputee controls individual prosthetic fingers
Science Daily - 11 Dec 2017 22:16
Luke Skywalker's bionic hand is a step closer to reality for amputees in this galaxy. Researchers have created an ultrasonic sensor that allows amputees to control each of their prosthetic fingers individually. It provid...
AML study reports high response rates with combination targeted therapy
Science Daily - 11 Dec 2017 22:16
Initial findings from a multi-national open-label phase Ib study of inhibitory drug therapy for relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) have demonstrated a complete response in up to 50 percent patients say r...
Blueprints for anti-cancer drugs discovered in bacterial genomes
Science Daily - 11 Dec 2017 22:16
New research suggests bacterial genomes hold the blueprints for designing new, even more effective cancer-targeting compounds.
We may know why younger brothers are more likely to be gay
New Scientist - 11 Dec 2017 22:00
An immune response in some pregnant women's bodies may explain the "fraternal birth order effect" - that men are more likely to be gay the more older brothers they have
New model for Zika developed to aid in testing vaccines and treatments
Science Daily - 11 Dec 2017 21:57
An alternative animal model that mimics key features of the Zika virus infection, including its lingering presence in bodily fluids, has been developed.
Bumblebees solve the travelling salesman problem on the fly
New Scientist - 11 Dec 2017 21:09
While buzzing between flowers, bees can solve the maths dilemma called the travelling salesman problem by finding the shortest route that visits every blossom
Presurgical imaging may predict whether epilepsy surgery will work
Science Daily - 11 Dec 2017 21:08
A statistical approach to combining presurgical PET scans and functional MRI of the brain may help predict which patients with drug-resistant epilepsy are most likely to benefit from surgery.
Managing concerning behaviors when opioids are taken for chronic pain
Science Daily - 11 Dec 2017 21:08
Patients receiving long-term opioid therapy for chronic pain sometimes demonstrate challenging and concerning behaviors, such as using more opioid medication than prescribed or concomitant alcohol or drug use. A new stud...
Typhoid fever toxin has a sweet tooth
Science Daily - 11 Dec 2017 21:08
Although the insidious bacterium Salmonella typhi has been around for centuries, very little is actually known about its molecular mechanisms. A new study addresses this knowledge gap and may lead to novel, targeted trea...
How Zika virus induces congenital microcephaly
Science Daily - 11 Dec 2017 21:08
Epidemiological studies show that in utero fetal infection with the Zika virus (ZIKV) may lead to microcephaly, an irreversible congenital malformation of the brain characterized by an incomplete development of the cereb...
More effective photothermal tumor therapy with infrared light
Science Daily - 11 Dec 2017 21:08
Nanorods made of bismuth sulfide kill tumor cells with heat when they are irradiated with near-infrared light (NIR). Scientists are now making these weapons more powerful by remodeling the defect state of the nanorod cry...
Multiple health implications of women's early marriage go beyond early childbearing
Science Daily - 11 Dec 2017 21:08
A new study of four South Asian countries argues that early marriage should be considered a major public health issue, due to its complex associations with women's education, health and nutrition -- which may also affect...
Brain structure linked to hallucinations and musical aptitude
Science Daily - 11 Dec 2017 21:08
New research links brain structure to an individual's likelihood of experiencing hallucinations and to their musical aptitude. Participants with higher musical aptitude showed lower hallucination proneness.