Science News
First commercial DNA data storage service set to launch in 2019
New Scientist - 4 Jul 2018 14:45
A start-up called Catalog claims it will be able to store a terabyte of data in a gram-sized DNA pellet, but questions remain over whether the technology is ready
Swimming bacteria work together to go with the flow
EurekAlert! - 4 Jul 2018 06:00
(University of Bristol) Swimming bacteria can reduce the viscosity of ordinary liquids like water and make them flow more easily, sometimes down to the point where the viscosity becomes zero: the flow is then frictionles...
Expanding primary care buprenorphine treatment could curb opioid overdose crisis
Science Daily - 4 Jul 2018 23:49
Physicians write that expanding the availability of medication treatment for opioid use disorder in primary care settings would be a major step toward reducing overdose deaths.
Our human ancestors walked on two feet but their children still had a backup plan
Science Daily - 4 Jul 2018 21:19
More than 3 million years ago, our ancient human ancestors, including their toddler-aged children, were standing on two feet and walking upright, according to a new study.
In India, swapping crops could save water and improve nutrition
Science Daily - 4 Jul 2018 21:18
India will need to feed approximately 394 million more people by 2050. Meanwhile, many of its regions are chronically water-stressed, and nutrient deficiencies are widespread -- 30 percent of Indians or more are anemic. ...
Prehistoric two-year-old could grip tree branches with her feet
New Scientist - 4 Jul 2018 21:00
A young hominin who lived 3.3 million years ago had flexible feet that she could use to climb trees like a chimp, suggesting our ancestors kept this trait for a long time
The second great battle for the future of our food is underway
New Scientist - 4 Jul 2018 20:00
First it was GM food. Now battle lines are being drawn over whether crops and animals modified with CRISPR gene-editing can make it on to supermarket shelves
Hybrid embryos made to save the doomed northern white rhino
New Scientist - 4 Jul 2018 20:00
Biologists have created hybrid rhino embryos as a first step towards creating pure northern rhino embryos and are confident they can save the species from the brink
It's ok that the public rejected GM food - after all, we did ask
New Scientist - 4 Jul 2018 20:00
Many people see the public's rejection of genetically-modified food as a failure, but I would argue it was successful public engagement, says Lesley Paterson
Combining antibiotics changes their effectiveness
Science Daily - 4 Jul 2018 19:53
The effectiveness of antibiotics can be altered by combining them with each other, non-antibiotic drugs or even with food additives. Depending on the bacterial species, some combinations stop antibiotics from working to ...
Study Finds No Strong Evidence Cannabis Reduces Chronic Pain
Neuroscience News - 4 Jul 2018 19:12
A controversial new study reports cannabis may not be as helpful in treating chronic pain as believed. Researchers say they have found no clear evidence that cannabis can reduce pain severity or pain interference in thos...
IVF may bring northern white rhinos back from the brink of extinction
The Economist - 4 Jul 2018 18:28
Game over? SUDAN, the last male northern white rhinoceros on Earth, died in March. He is survived by two females, Najin and her daughter Fatu, who live in a conservancy in Kenya. This pair (pictured) are thus the only re...
How to stop artificial intelligence being so racist and sexist
New Scientist - 4 Jul 2018 17:51
AI his frequently be biased, but a new technique may be able put fairness right at the heart of training algorithms
Crows are always the bullies when it comes to fighting with ravens
Science Daily - 4 Jul 2018 17:20
A new study presented citizen science data which supports that American Crows and Northwestern Crows almost exclusively (97 percent of the time) instigate any aggressive interactions with Common Ravens no matter where in...
A diet rich in nuts improves sperm count and motility
Science Daily - 4 Jul 2018 17:20
The inclusion of nuts in a regular diet significantly improves the quality and function of human sperm, according to results of a randomized trial which measured conventional semen parameters and molecular changes over a...
Laws of Flight: As Drones Take Off, Regulation Lags
Singularity Hub - 4 Jul 2018 17:00
In 2014, a drone got tangled in the power lines outside a South Carolina prison carrying a small payload of marijuana and a cellphone. Police arrested a man in a nearby campsite who'd been running this smuggling operatio...
Will the UK's plans to ban 'gay conversion therapy' succeed?
New Scientist - 4 Jul 2018 16:49
Similar bans in the US have saved thousands of teens from discredited "treatments", even though they have loopholes that allow religious advice
Facebook apologises after bug unblocks people who were blocked
New Scientist - 4 Jul 2018 16:45
Blocking is often used to help Facebook users avoid abuse or harassment, but a bug meant 800,000 people lost this safeguard for a week
Higgs search alumni: Where are they now?
Symmetry Magazine - 4 Jul 2018 16:10
Meet four physicists who have found different ways to apply the skills they learned through their studies of the Higgs boson. The discovery of the Higgs boson, considered the missing piece of the Standard Model of partic...
How to use the £20bn NHS birthday gift: an alternative wish list
New Scientist - 4 Jul 2018 15:58
An extra cash injection promised for the UK's National Health Service is earmarked to go on what it wants, not what it really needs, says Luke Allen
Smoke from moorland wildfires may hold toxic blast from the past
New Scientist - 4 Jul 2018 15:00
The UK's largest wildfire for decades is almost under control, but peat burning below the ground risks spewing historical pollution back into the sky