Official "Science News" Thread

[firejuggler]

nasa comfirm liquid water on today 's mars
http://www.nasa.gov/press-release/na...-today-s-mars/

[ewmayer]

Why some scientists are worried about a surprisingly cold 'blob' in the North Atlantic Ocean - The Washington Post

Foretaste of what happens when one's thermohaline conveyor belt breaks down.

[Xyzzy]

http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/201...t-happen-again

[Xyzzy]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/...0S316Q20151009

A growing awareness of how the Ebola virus can hide in parts of the body such as eyes, breasts and testicles long after leaving the bloodstream raises questions about whether the disease can ever be beaten.

[Xyzzy]

http://mashable.com/2015/10/14/pauli.../#6MxYWZ0G0uq7

A Scottish nurse re-admitted to hospital on Friday with a complication related to the Ebola virus, which she contracted as an aid worker in Sierra Leone last year, is now in a "critical condition."

[xilman]

The most mysterious star in our galaxy is the hyperbolic title of an article I came across via Twitter today. Well worth reading the paper (linked within) of which it is a report.

[retina]

Originally Posted by xilman

The most mysterious star in our galaxy is the hyperbolic title of an article I came across via Twitter today. Well worth reading the paper (linked within) of which it is a report.

A shame that the last sentence is lacking in rigour:

In the meantime, Boyajian, Siemion, Wright, the citizen scientists, and the rest of us, will have to content ourselves with longing looks at the sky, aimed between the swan and the lyre, where maybe, just maybe, someone is looking back, and seeing the sun dim ever so slightly, every 365 days.

Since we are looking towards the North to see this then there is no way "they" could look back and see our sun dimming from any planet, the angles are all wrong.

[xilman]

Originally Posted by retina

A shame that the last sentence is lacking in rigour:Since we are looking towards the North to see this then there is no way "they" could look back and see our sun dimming from any planet, the angles are all wrong.

Indeed.

They could, perhaps, see Jupiter and Saturn by direct imaging. They might be able to find either or both by astrometry. They are too far away to pick up our military radar transmissions. All these are based on the assumption that they have present-day or near-future human technology. More than that and all bets are off. There are all sorts of ways in which insufficiently advanced magic could allow them to know of our existence.

[only_human]

Genetic changes could make pig organs usable for human transplant

The CRISPR gene-editing technology uses the Cas9 protein to guide RNA into a cell, allowing scientists to alter genes.

In the new study, researchers at Harvard describe disrupting 62 copies of the PERV gene in an pig's kidney epithelial cell line. When these cells were then introduced to human cells in the lab, a nearly 1000-fold decrease in PERV transmission was seen. This, the researchers wrote, shows that the virus can be inactivated for clinical application to pig-to-human transplants.

Church told Nature that his research team also changed more than 20 other pig genes that cause an immune response in human cells. The research has yet to be published, but Church said that for pig organs to be a viable option for human transplant, both sets of modifications would need to be made.

Offal isn't awful protein and bugs are the other other-white-meat.

Researchers at the University of Oxford used two different metrics of nutritiousness: The first, the Ofcom model, appoints a score from one to 100 based on a food's calorie, sodium, sugar and saturated fat content per 100 grams of weight. The second, Nutrient Value Scores, offers a similar score to Ofcom, but includes vitamin and mineral values.

The Ofcom test didn't show any significant differences between bugs and livestock. But when vitamins and minerals were taken into account for the NVS evaluation, crickets, palm weevils (beetles), honeybees and larvae scored much higher than chicken and beef in particular.

no bees
no honey
no work
no money

Backyard Beekeeping Approved In Los Angeles

According to an op-ed in The Los Angeles Times by Noah Wilson-Rich, author of The Bee: A Natural History, the repeal of the beekeeping regulation is long overdue:

"On June 10, 1879, Los Angeles lawmakers banned beekeeping within city limits. According to Mark Vallianatos, who teaches environmental policy at Occidental College, their rationale was frankly preposterous. Having noted the affinity between bees and fruit trees, they reasoned that bees attacked and damaged fruit, and concluded that outlawing bees was the best way to preserve crops.

Los Angeles buzzing over backyard beehives

In New York, which legalized beekeeping in 2010, some beekeepers have worried that bees might run out of food, leading to weaker bees when more hives are being kept.

“It takes one million flowers to produce enough nectar for one pound of honey,” said Andrew Cote, founder of the New York City Beekeepers Association, in a July 2013 interview with Live Science. “We have the same amount of flowers and trees, but more bees.”

Denver legalized beekeeping in 2008, but regulations can differ from neighborhood to neighborhood, according to David Baker, owner of To Bee or Not to Bee, a store in Littleton, Colo., that sells beekeeping equipment and teaches classes.

Beekeeping is legal in downtown Denver and has been successful, he adds – to the point where the Brown Palace Hotel, one of the city’s most luxurious buildings, has installed beehives on the roof.

[Xyzzy]

http://arstechnica.com/science/2015/...cience-is-art/

[Xyzzy]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...-it-heres-why/