Science: What Geeks are talking about from ScienceMag

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Here is the latest Science News from ScienceMag.

Test your smarts on coral reefs, a lost Japanese satellite, and the biggest map of the brain’s connections
Take the Science Quiz and test your knowledge of the week’s hottest science news

Top stories: An older age for hobbits, a tumbling Japanese satellite, and studying dementia from atop Mount Everest
The week’s top Science news

Japan's damaged x-ray satellite: Space scientists looking for clues
Recently launched observatory likely suffered onboard explosion rather than collision with space junk

Groups protest House demands for names of fetal tissue researchers
Subpoenas aimed at university faculty and abortion providers raise safety concerns

Killer bat fungus jumps to West Coast
White-nose syndrome in Washington is “nightmare scenario”

Mummy genomes reveal just how catastrophic European contact was for New World
DNA sheds light on how first people got to the Americas

Artificial intelligence steals money from banking customers
Technologists shocked by program’s ability to set its own priorities—such as getting rich

Good social skills make animals smarter
Lions beat tigers on puzzle test

Update: Vacationing Turkish scholar arrested after her return
Three of Meral Camcı’s fellow academics are imprisoned for criticizing the government; more arrests may follow

Mysterious kidney disease goes global
Scientists are struggling to explain why Indian farm workers are suffering from the same epidemic seen in Central America

GSK to make cancer drugs more accessible in poor countries
Retiring CEO says the new approach combines societal needs with profit motive

A 10-million-year-old snake, in full color
Preserved pigment cells color in the outline of an ancient serpent

Buzz! Thwack! How sounds become words
Onomatopoeia might be more widespread than we thought

Compact drug synthesis machine produces medicines on the fly
System could combat shortages producing medicines where and when they are needed

Over-pruning synapses may drive early-stage Alzheimer’s disease
Study targets new mechanism in fight against cognitive decline

French scientist accused of perjury for allegedly concealing industry payments
Pulmonologist Michel Aubier didn’t mention tries with oil firm in Senate air pollution inquiry

Video: African bird ‘sings’ by fluttering its wings
Downstroke of flight feathers generates loud, bizarre tone

The ‘hobbit’ was a separate species of human, new dating reveals
Tiny hominin found on Indonesian island likely predated arrival of Homo sapiens

Cause of rare immune disease identified
Condition removes brake on antimicrobial protein

Sandy ripples point to Mars’s past
Unique dune features emerge from rover’s campaign in the sand

Tiny gravity sensor could detect drug tunnels, mineral deposits
Silicon-based gadget detects miniscule changes in Earth’s gravity

Super-Earth sports hot zone warm enough to melt iron
Temps on 55 Cancri e vary by as much as 1300°C

Ancient spider relative hints at origins of web spinning
Idmonarachne looked a bit like a spider, but lacked some important features

Ebola no longer a public health emergency
WHO’s Margaret Chan cites strong response by West Africa to sporadic reports of new cases

Wild dogs have adapted to threats by hunting more like cheetahs
Different terrain may have shifted roaming predators’ hunting strategy

El Niño’s warmth devastating reefs worldwide
Recent aerial surveys of famed Great Barrier Reef find massive coral bleaching

A simple change of stance could dramatically increase your dating success
A bigger posture makes you more attractive

Q&A with Damian Bailey: Studying dementia from atop Mount Everest
Blood and tissue from a mountaineer’s oxygen-deprived body could help reveal the mechanisms of cognitive decline

Scientists create largest map of brain connections to date
Map of mouse visual cortex shows some striking functional connections

What’s causing cliffs to crumble all over the world?
Cracking driven by daily and seasonal temperature changes may help explain substantial fraction of sunny-day rockfalls

Our ancestors may have mated more than once with mysterious ancient humans
Scientists pin down date of hookups between modern humans and Denisovans

Test your smarts on comb jellies, prehistoric warfare, and the smallest genome ever!
Take the Science Quiz and test your knowledge of the week’s hottest science news.

Japan loses contact with its new x-ray space observatory
Radar evidence hits at possible break-up, but Japan space agency still offers hope of recovering recently launched satellite

Huge enemy spotted! The surprisingly sophisticated warning buzzes of bees
Sounds distinguish large predators from small ones

Biologists ask NSF to reconsider plan to pause collections funding program
Agency wants to reassess infrastructure spending

Top stories: Pooping comb jellies, how to read a scientific paper, and a synthetic microbe with fewer than 500 genes
The week’s top Science news

Cosmic rays help give Jupiter’s Great Red Spot its color
Lab tests finger radiation-generated sulfur compounds

Ape ‘language ace’ gets tripped up by simple grammar
Kanzi has trouble with syntax

Synthetic microbe lives with less than 500 genes
But function of many of these remains a mystery

Don’t blame sports for Zika’s spread
Viral genomes suggest ordinary travel brought the disease to Brazil in late 2013

Cells can do the twist, but sometimes their nuclei burst
Crawling through tight spaces tears the membrane around the cell nucleus

Like the flavor of coffee and chocolate? Thank the yeast that hitchhiked on human migration
Local strains of yeast may contribute to flavor differences across the world

Could Earth be fried by a ‘superflare’ from the sun?
Study surveys 100,000 stars for potentially deadly blasts

House budget plan would rearrange and restrict federal research portfolio
Key panel wants to break up Commerce Department and redirect NSF and DOE research

Slaughter at the bridge: Uncovering a colossal Bronze Age battle
Grisly find suggests Bronze Age northern Europe was more organized—and violent—than thought

Simple test might predict who gets world’s deadliest infectious disease
New assay could help doctors find future tuberculosis patients before they can infect others

Karolinska Institute fires fallen star surgeon Paolo Macchiarini
Swedish scandal has triggered more than a dozen investigations and reviews

Evolution is not kind to older dads
Study suggests older fathers will have fewer grandchildren

Update: Lopsided ice on the moon points to past shift in poles
Ancient lunar hot spot could have tilted the moon 5.5°

Microsoft pioneer invests big, again, in bioscience
Two new centers and four investigators selected by Paul Allen’s new funding group

New funding matchmaker will cater to NIH rejects
Online pilot program will connect unfunded grant applications with foundations

This time, it’s North Dakota that sinks an experiment related to burying nuclear waste
DOE wanted to test feasibility of drilling very deep boreholes

Why watching comb jellies poop has stunned evolutionary biologists
Videos of captive marine creatures unexpectedly show jellies defecate from pores, not via their mouths

Prairie dogs reap rewards from being cold-blooded killers
Killing but not eating ground squirrels decreases competition

Woodpeckers partner with fungi to build homes
Wood-eating fungus helps birds dig holes in trees

Canadian scientists smile as Liberals deliver a déjà vu budget
Trudeau government plans big spending increases for science

Turkish scholar who eluded arrest describes 'witch hunt'
Three of Meral Camcı’s fellow academics are imprisoned for criticizing the government; more arrests may follow

Bright spot on dwarf planet may be portal to its interior
Spacecraft nabs high-resolution picture of fractured dome within fresh crater on Ceres

Ancient Romans wrote with metallic ink
High-tech method reveals makeup of ink inside ancient scrolls

China finally setting guidelines for treating lab animals
Scientists hope standards will benefit both animals and research efforts

Why the big change to Lilly’s Alzheimer’s trial is not evidence its drug has failed again
The company’s unusual midtrial move to change its measure of success is based in science

<i>Science</i> story wins top Newsbrief Award
Another nabs honorable mention

Wild relatives of key crops not protected in gene banks, study finds
Crop cousins face growing threats in home ranges

Relatively slow greenhouse injections triggered ancient hothouse
Rate of carbon emissions today dwarfs that of the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum

Climate change has been good for winemakers, but that may be changing
Grape harvests have come earlier with rising temperatures, 400-year-old vineyard records show

Test your smarts on fairy circles, rat snakes, and King Tut's tomb!
Take the Science Quiz and test your knowledge of the week’s hottest science news.

Posture and waggle control butterfly flight
Butterflies must tilt and sway to stay aloft

Say again? NSF massages grant titles with eye on critics in Congress
Survey finds that 24% of research projects get new titles, up from 10% in 2012

Top stories: Cancer-killing nano-balls, a European neutron drought, and a rich sexual past between modern humans and Neandertals
The week’s top Science news

Researchers take small step toward silicon-based life
Team evolves an enzyme that incorporates silicon into hydrocarbon molecules

People on autism spectrum die 18 years younger than average
New report highlights need for better medical care for autistic people

Why Pluto is a frigid prison for nitrogen ice
NASA’s New Horizons team finds nitrogen escaping more slowly than expected

Water molecules break bonds through quantum tunneling
Chemists spot a quantum-mechanical pas de deux among just six molecules

Rich sexual past between modern humans and Neandertals revealed
Powerful genetic analyses trace at least five matings to different times and places during the last 60,000 years

As SeaWorld stops breeding orcas, what are the impacts for research?
Experts debate the pros and cons of keeping cetaceans in captivity

U.S. and China cooperate to thwart nuclear smuggling
Bilateral agreement cooperation aims to thwart dirty bombs

Hubble unveils monster stars
But how they form is still a mystery

Top Republican relents on dictating spending for each NSF directorate
Representative John Culberson (R–TX) says agency should have flexibility to pursue “most promising” science

Opposition stalls GMO food–labeling bill in U.S. Senate
Measure would have barred states from requiring GMO labels

Milky Way’s black hole may be spewing out cosmic rays
Study fingers new source of mysterious high-energy particles

Some trees could help fight climate change
New finding could tweak models of global carbon emissions

Ancient ‘Tully Monster’ finally gets its place on tree of life
Mysterious creature was related to lampreys

These snakes strike in half the blink of an eye
Study busts myth that vipers have the fastest strike

Most species that disappear today will leave no trace in the fossil record
Study finds threatened species less likely to be preserved in the rock record

Tests of blood-borne DNA pinpoint tissue damage
Assays spot cell death from diabetes, cancer, and more

U.S. agencies need better data to protect bees, watchdog says
GAO says USDA, EPA should do more to monitor populations and study pesticides

NSF picks Battelle to run NEON
Contractor’s extensive lab experience seen as boon to troubled project

Rising seas could displace more Americans than the Great Migration
Climate change could put more than 13 million people at risk

Tyrannosaur ‘missing link’ may reveal how <i>T</i>. <i>rex</i> got so big
90-million-year-old find suggests complex ear was key to beast’s dominance

U.S. needs Robin Hood approach to saving endangered species, researcher argues
Moving money from well-funded to underfunded efforts would save more biodiversity

‘Fairy circles’ spotted in Australia
Mysterious phenomenon had never been seen outside Africa

Europe on course for a neutron drought
Billion-Euro accelerator won’t make up the shortfall, experts say

Nano-balls filled with poison wipe out metastatic cancer in mice
Polymers laden with chemotherapy drugs assemble at tumor cells and slip past their defenses

Iron-eating fungus disintegrates rocks with acid and cellular knives
Study suggests microbial weathering at mineral surfaces has been underestimated

Test your smarts on forensics in this special topics quiz!
Test your knowledge of the week’s hottest forensics stories!

Methane sniffer on its way to Mars
Orbiter will seek to solve mystery over whether methane is or was produced by microbial martians

Can a long-dead reverend help save Amazonia’s freshwater dolphins?
To track population trends, researchers reach for centuries-old Bayes’ theorem

Video: Ice-fighting coating could protect cars, airplanes
Durable plastics can be sprayed or painted on just about any surface, protecting against icy buildup

Twitter can predict hurricane damage as well as emergency agencies
New study shows the costs of Superstorm Sandy were accurately mapped by tweets

Top stories: How sliced meat drove human evolution, new accusations in the CRISPR patent fight, and why high ‘good’ cholesterol can be bad news
The week’s top Science news

 

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