May 18, 2015

Wildlife and habitat

Black Locust: The Tree on Which the US Was Built

Regions at Greatest Risk for Species Extinction the Least Studied
Drought kills 12 million trees in California's national forests
Scientists discover swirling, oxygen-depleted dead zones in North Atlantic
White House Gives Conditional Approval for Shell to Drill in Arctic
Thirty thousand square kilometers of land lost to oil and gas development
Vulnerable Grassland Birds Abandon Mating Sites Near Wind Turbines
All invasive parakeets come from a small region in South America
Cattle damage to riverbanks can be undone
Feds eye giving endangered status to Gulf whale species
Diabetes Drug Found in Freshwater Is a Potential Cause of Intersex Fish
Botswana's marauding elephants trigger hunting ban debate
You’re Worrying About the Wrong Bees
    Related: Bee studies stir up pesticide debate
                   Bumblebees use nicotine to fight off parasites
International team discovers elusive new bird in China
Tracking tiny songbirds across continents
See the strange creatures NOAA found at the bottom of the sea
Eagle versus porcupine: Camera snaps a painful face-off
Coyote captured outside lower Manhattan cafe
Penn State doctoral candidate creates virtual tour of Ricketts Glen State Park

Discoveries about the natural world

Rats forsake chocolate to save a drowning companion
    Also see: Study shows that rats will try to save members of their own species from drowning
80 percent of Burmese long-tailed macaques use stone-tools to hammer food
Some monkeys can understand danger calls made by different monkey species
Scientists have discovered the first fully warm-blooded fish
Massive southern invasions by northern birds linked to climate shifts
Sixth DNA base discovered?
Fossil of world's earliest modern bird could help us understand the extinction of dinosaurs
    Also see: Scientists find the oldest ever relative of modern birds
Small Jurassic Dinosaur May Have Flown Without Feathers
Found Under the Sea, a Missing Link in the Evolution of Complex Cells
Oldest fossils controversy resolved
UT research uncovers lakes, signs of life under Antarctica's dry valleys
Reverse Engineering Birds’ Beaks Into Dinosaur Bones
Massive Lava Flows Linked to Dinosaur-Killing Impact
Scientists find missing link in Yellowstone plumbing
    More info: Two huge magma chambers spied beneath Yellowstone National Park

Weather and climate

El Niño is back, and global temperature records are in danger
400ppm monthly average greenhouse gas benchmark reached
Study: Global warming has dramatically upped the odds of extreme heat events
    Also see: Is it global warming or just the weather?
Gravity data show that Antarctic ice sheet is melting increasingly faster
    Related: Sea levels are rising at faster clip as polar melt accelerates, new study shows
                   This massive Antrctic ice shelf will be gone in just a few years, NASA says
                   Young Arctic Ice Creates New Climate-Driven Era
Warming climate may release vast amounts of carbon from long-frozen Arctic soils
Unexplained gap in global emissions of potent greenhouse gases resolved
Climate change denial affects scientists
Researchers find 200-year lag between climate events in Greenland, Antarctica
US in Longest 'Hurricane Drought' in Recorded History

Environmental policy

The GOP’s widening effort to stop environmental policies by targeting science

Energy

How Tesla's Powerwall Stacks Up to Conventional Energy, By the Numbers
    Also see: Why Tesla's Powerwall Is Just Another Toy For Rich Green People
Electric consumption rises with automated bill payment
Supreme Court to review U.S. electricity market efficiency rule
Major Advance in Artificial Photosynthesis Poses Win/Win for the Environment
ORNL scientists generate landmark DOE hydropower report
Computer cooling system could save U.S. $6.3 billion in electricity a year
Oil and gas operations could trigger large earthquakes

Water

California regulators adopt unprecedented mandatory water cutbacks to address ongoing drought
       More info: Amid drought, state is poised to adopt emergency water regulations
                        Water-waster fines of $10,000 proposed by Gov. Jerry Brown amid California drought
MIT and JAIN team wins the Desal Prize for desalination system
U.S. updates water fluoridation guideline for the first time in 53 years

Air

Scientists: EPA’s curbs on coal-burning will save thousands of lives

Toxic combination of air pollution and poverty lowers child IQ

Chemical concerns, radiation, waste management, recycling

Perfect Nails, Poisoned Workers
    Update: Cuomo Orders Emergency Measures to Protect Workers at Nail Salons
USGS Release: Coal-Tar-Sealant Runoff Causes Toxicity and DNA Damage
Study: Environmental exposure to hormones used in animal agriculture greater than expected

Agriculture and food, livestock and pets

Dying honeybees, and the uncertain future of honey
    More info: Bee Survey: Lower Winter Losses, Higher Summer Losses
Article in journal Science outlines threats to soil productivity
Study finds climate change may dramatically reduce wheat production
Dutch saltwater potatoes offer hope for world's hungry
Genetically modified coffee could be just around the corner
First beef with the goodness of fish
Scientists have created the tear-less onion of your dreams
Farmers Flying Drones May Soon Be Given Clearance
No charges for Colorado farmworkers videotaped hitting pigs; 7 employees fired
Tyson Foods to end use of human antibiotics in U.S. chickens by 2017
U.S. loses WTO appeal in meat label dispute with Canada, Mexico
More Consensus on Coffee’s Benefits Than You Might Think (!)
Fructose May Increase Cravings for High-Calorie Foods
Pepsi is ditching aspartame — based on no evidence whatsoever
    Also see: Pepsi Removing Aspartame
The appeal of being anti-GMO
One miracle fruit can cure disease and make people lose weight? That’s bananas.
Prevent Type 2 Diabetes Blood-Sugar Spikes by Eating More Protein for Breakfast
Kenya: Cow 'starts eating sheep' on Nakuru farm
High-pitched sounds cause seizures in old cats

Health and medicine, human behavior

Measles May Increase Susceptibility to Other Infections
Many Children with Asthma Have Reaction to Peanuts, But Do Not Know It
Health care access for low-income Pennsylvanians is about to get a lot easier
Two thirds of the world’s population have no access to safe and affordable surgery
Surgery for terminal cancer patients still common
Statin drugs can delay prostate cancer progression in patients receiving androgen deprivation therapy
    Related: Advanced viral gene therapy eradicates prostate cancer in preclinical experiments
New Test for Ovarian Cancer Finds More Cases
Danish discovery may change cancer treatment
How cancer tricks the lymphatic system into spreading tumours
Grass plants can transport infectious prions
Gorgeous and creepy GIFs of guts, brains and bones from GE’s new body scanner
The Right Dose of Exercise for a Longer Life
    Related: Half hour of physical activity 6 days a week linked to 40 percent lower risk of early death
Aging baby boomers, childless and unmarried, at risk of becoming 'elder orphans'
Calling 911 in rural areas leads to faster heart attack care
Herbal Supplement May Successfully Treat Glaucoma
Rubella Has Been Eliminated From the Americas, Health Officials Say
After Nearly Claiming His Life, Ebola Lurked in a Doctor’s Eye
    Related: UN: Lowest number of new weekly Ebola cases in West Africa
Dog Infects Humans With Plague for First Time in US
    More info: A Colorado pit bull infected humans with the plague
Drug-resistant typhoid now 'epidemic' in Africa
Chinese paper on embryo engineering splits scientific community
    More info: A guide to CRISPR, the human gene-editing tool that has scientists excited — and terrified
    Related: Virus-cutting enzyme helps bacteria remember a threat
The wisdom of CrowdMed: how one website is trying to solve medical mysteries
U.S. Clinics Avoiding Government Oversight of “Stem Cell” Treatments
Researchers Organize to Decipher Possible Role of Gut Bacteria in Autism
No association found between MMR vaccine and autism, even among children at higher risk
Alternative therapies: what’s the harm?
    Related: An Alternative-Medicine Believer’s Journey Back to Science
                  Legislative Alchemy: Naturopathic licensing and practice expansion 2015
                  Oprah just dumped Dr. Oz's radio show
Your adolescent brain on alcohol: Changes last into adulthood
Most women don't know female-specific stroke signs
Scientists discover key driver of human aging: May lead to slowing or reversing aging process
Neurons constantly rewrite their DNA
Popular electric brain stimulation method detrimental to IQ scores
Out-of-Body Experience Is Traced in the Brain
Viewing violent news on social media can cause trauma
For men, online generosity is a competition
Fixing the Problem of Liberal Bias in Social Psychology
Mounting Evidence of Advantages for Children of Working Mothers

Education

Fake Diplomas, Real Cash: Pakistani Company Axact Reaps Millions
Pa. schools are the nation’s most inequitable. The new governor wants to fix that.

Law

Witness Accounts in Midtown Hammer Attack Show the Power of False Memory

N.S.A. Phone Data Collection Illegal, Appeals Court Rules
Judge’s Ruling Against 2 Banks Finds Misconduct in ’08 Crash
What does gun violence really cost?
Police Struggle With Loss of Privileged Position
First Amendment generally protects videorecording of police, and this right is ‘clearly established’
FBI Releases 2014 Preliminary Statistics for Law Enforcement Officers Killed in the Line of Duty
6 Baltimore Police Officers Charged in Freddie Gray Death
    Related: Freddie Gray’s life a study on the effects of lead paint on poor blacks
Surveillance planes spotted in the sky for days after West Baltimore rioting
Can unrest be predicted?
Obama administration bans some military-style assault gear from local police departments
Appeals Court Overturns Privacy Win in Phone-Tracking Case
Feds drop case in which cops nailed webcam to utility pole to spy on house
Federal court rules against Rowan commissioners’ prayer practice before public meetings
Supreme Court hearing about lethal injection procedures turns into heated debate
Norway tests out 'animal rights cops'

Archeology, anthropology, art and history

Did Neanderthals Die Off Because They Couldn't Harness Fire?
    Related: Sophisticated tools may have spelled doom for Neandertals
DNA suggests all early eskimos migrated from Alaska's North Slope
‘Megafloods’ Spurred Collapse of Ancient City of Cahokia, New Study Finds
Site of Deadliest Native American Massacre Identified in Idaho
Early Urban Planning: Ancient Mayan City Built on Grid
Stone Age People Hooked Eels Like Modern Fishermen
The world’s languages, in 7 maps and charts
America’s Changing Religious Landscape
Map: These are the world’s least religious countries

National security, defense

U.S. military proposes challenge to China Sea claims

US and Russian missiles should be taken off high alert to keep possible cyberattack from starting nuclear war
With 580 U.S. boots on the ground in Ukraine, what’s Vladimir Putin’s next move?
U.S. Attacks in Afghanistan Go Beyond White House’s Pledges
After years of tension, anti-American sentiment ebbs in Pakistan
China, Pursuing Strategic Interests, Builds Presence in Antarctica

Astronomy and cosmology, spaceflight

New Test Suggests NASA's "Impossible" EM Drive Will Work In Space
    Also see: You Still Shouldn't Believe in the emDrive
                    No, NASA Did Not Accidentally Invent Warp Drive
                    That NASA Warp Drive? Yeah, It’s Still Poppycock
Long-term galactic cosmic ray exposure leads to dementia-like cognitive impairments
Dark Matter May Feel a “Dark Force” That the Rest of the Universe Does Not
Dark matter guides growth of supermassive black holes
Cold cosmic mystery solved: Largest known structure in the universe leaves its imprint on CMB radiation
Beyond the James Webb, a future high-definition telescope could probe life on exoplanets
Is the Universe a Hologram?

Cold cosmic mystery solved: Largest known structure in the universe leaves its imprint on CMB radiation

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-04-cold-cosmic-mystery-largest-universe.html#jCp
Cold cosmic mystery solved: Largest known structure in the universe leaves its imprint on CMB radiation

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-04-cold-cosmic-mystery-largest-universe.html#jCp
Cold cosmic mystery solved: Largest known structure in the universe leaves its imprint on CMB radiation

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-04-cold-cosmic-mystery-largest-universe.html#jCp
Physics, chemistry and materials science, mathematics

Spiders sprayed with carbon nanotubes spin superstrong webs
Researchers create lens to turn smartphone into microscope
Ames Laboratory scientists create cheaper magnetic material for cars, wind turbines
Bendable glass devices
The trillion-frame-per-second camera

Technology and engineering, robotics

This is the first licensed self-driving truck. There will be many more.
The Rise of Automated Cars Will Kill Thousands of Jobs Beyond Driving
What’s Wrong With Electric Bicycles
NASA Radar Device Found 4 Men Trapped in Rubble in Nepal By Their Heartbeats
Robot pets to rise in an overpopulated world

Computers and software, the Internet

Entire broadband industry seeks immediate halt to Title II classification
Publishers Send Diverse Group of News Articles in Facebook Debut
Facebook Study Disputes Theory of Political Polarization Among Users
This terrifying malware destroys your PC if detected

Of note

Tax cuts for middle, lower income Americans boost the economy while tax breaks for the rich do little to help
Why you should never, ever play the lottery
New study examines relationship between electricity usage and stock market return

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