e! Science News - Popular science news

The proteins that domesticated our genomes

Wed, 08 Mar 2017 20:57:24 +0000

EPFL scientists have carried out a genomic and evolutionary study of a large and enigmatic family of human proteins, to demonstrate that it is responsible for harnessing the millions of transposable elements in the human genome. The work reveals the largely species-specific gene-regulatory networks that impact all of human biology, in both health and disease.

Land-based food not nutritionally sufficient for wild polar bears, according to new study

Wed, 14 Sep 2016 00:03:28 +0000

A study, by San Diego Zoo Global conservationists, released this week (Sept. 12, 2016) is shedding new light on how scientists evaluate polar bear diet and weight loss during their fasting season. On average, a polar bear loses up to 30 percent of its total body mass while fasting during the open-water season. Although some scientists previously believed land-based foods could supplement the bears' nutritional needs until the sea ice returns, a new study published in the scientific journal Physiological and Biochemical Zoology has revealed that access to terrestrial food is not sufficient to reduce the rate of body mass loss for fasting polar bears.

Study links altered brain chemistry, behavioral impairments in fish exposed to elevated CO2

Wed, 14 Sep 2016 00:02:25 +0000

Study Links Altered Brain Chemistry, Behavioral Impairments in Fish Exposed to Elevated CO2 Research team studied damselfish behavior and physiology under ocean acidification conditions predicted for year 2300

Experts anticipate significant continued reductions in wind energy costs

Wed, 14 Sep 2016 00:03:04 +0000

Technology advancements are expected to continue to drive down the cost of wind energy, according to a survey of the world's foremost wind power experts led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). Experts anticipate cost reductions of 24%-30% by 2030 and 35%-41% by 2050, under a median or 'best guess' scenario, driven by bigger and more efficient turbines, lower capital and operating costs, and other advancements (see Figure 1).

Water helps assembly of biofibers that could capture sunlight

Wed, 14 Sep 2016 00:02:44 +0000

When it comes to water, some materials have a split personality - and some of these materials could hold the key to new ways of harnessing solar energy.

Westerly winds have blown across central Asia for at least 42 million years

Wed, 14 Sep 2016 00:02:11 +0000

The gusting westerly winds that dominate the climate in central Asia, setting the pattern of dryness and location of central Asian deserts, have blown mostly unchanged for 42 million years. A University of Washington geologist led a team that has discovered a surprising resilience to one of the world's dominant weather systems. The finding could help long-term climate forecasts, since it suggests these winds are likely to persist through radical climate shifts.

Astronomers observe star reborn in a flash

Wed, 14 Sep 2016 00:01:50 +0000

An international team of astronomers using Hubble have been able to study stellar evolution in real time. Over a period of 30 years dramatic increases in the temperature of the star SAO 244567 have been observed. Now the star is cooling again, having been reborn into an earlier phase of stellar evolution. This makes it the first reborn star to have been observed during both the heating and cooling stages of rebirth.

Killing superbugs with star-shaped polymers, not antibiotics

Wed, 14 Sep 2016 00:02:01 +0000

The study, published today in Nature Microbiology, holds promise for a new treatment method against antibiotic-resistant bacteria (commonly known as superbugs).

NASA's Aqua satellite sees Super Typhoon Meranti approaching Taiwan, Philippines

Tue, 13 Sep 2016 19:45:02 +0000

NASA's Aqua satellite provided a visible image of Super Typhoon Meranti as it continued to move toward Taiwan and the northern Philippines.

Language delivers fourfold speedups on big-data problems

Wed, 14 Sep 2016 00:03:16 +0000

In today's computer chips, memory management is based on what computer scientists call the principle of locality: If a program needs a chunk of data stored at some memory location, it probably needs the neighboring chunks as well.

Manipulation of liquid crystals could help control drug-delivery process

Tue, 13 Sep 2016 10:16:41 +0000

Liquid crystals are strange substances, both fish and fowl. They can flow like a liquid, but have the orderly molecular structure of a crystalline solid. And that internal structure can be changed by small cues from outside.

Termination of lethal arrhythmia with light

Tue, 13 Sep 2016 18:15:57 +0000

A research team from the University of Bonn has succeeded for the first time in using light stimuli to stop life-threatening cardiac arrhythmia in mouse hearts. Furthermore, as shown in computer simulations at Johns Hopkins University, this technique could also be used successfully for human hearts. The study opens up a whole new approach to the development of implantable optical defibrillators, in which the strong electrical impulses of conventional defibrillators are replaced by gentler, pain-free light impulses. The Journal of Clinical Investigation has now published the results.

First accurate simulation of a virus invading a cell

Tue, 13 Sep 2016 10:17:02 +0000

For the first time, scientists know what happens to a virus' shape when it invades a host cell, thanks to an experiment by researchers at Penn State College of Medicine and University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Understanding how the virus shape changes could lead to more effective anti-viral therapies.

Explaining why the universe can be transparent

Tue, 13 Sep 2016 10:16:51 +0000

Two papers published by an assistant professor at the University of California, Riverside and several collaborators explain why the universe has enough energy to become transparent.

Chemists offer enhanced 3-D look inside batteries

Tue, 13 Sep 2016 10:16:25 +0000

A team of chemists has developed a method to yield highly detailed, three-dimensional images of the insides of batteries. The technique, based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), offers an enhanced approach to monitor the condition of these power sources in real time.