Wednesday Science News Roundup #22

Below are 10 science news that I found interesting and are related to topics I care about.

Tracking the impact of early abuse and neglect – Maltreatment experienced before age 5 can have negative effects that continue to be seen nearly three decades later, according to a new study. Science Daily

Don’t hold your nose and close your mouth when you sneeze, doctors warn – Pinching your nose while clamping your mouth shut to contain a forceful sneeze isn’t a good idea, warn doctors. Science Daily

Pollution is endangering the future of astronomy – Even as technological advances allow astronomers to peer more deeply into the cosmos than ever before, new technologies also have the potential to create blinding pollution. Science News

Large Amounts Of Water Found On Mars, And It’s Tantalizingly Within Reach – Scientists say they’ve found significant deposits of water ice hiding extremely close to the surface of Mars, a discovery that could be hugely beneficial for future Mars exploration missions. IFLScience

Over 2,000 Newly Discovered Biological Markers Could Help Explain How Autism Develops – Scientists have discovered a swathe of biochemical regions that look to be deeply involved with the risk factors behind autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Science Alert

A new gel could help in the fight against deadly, drug-resistant superbugs – A new antibacterial ointment could help take down drug-resistant bacteria. Science News

Trio of dead stars upholds a key part of Einstein’s theory of gravity – Observations of a trio of dead stars have confirmed that a foundation of Einstein’s gravitational theory holds even for ultradense objects with strong gravitational fields. Science News

Scientists Catch A Glimpse Of A Four-Dimensional Effect In Two Dimensions – Two independent groups of scientists have been able to reproduce four-dimensional properties of a quantum mechanical effect using a two-dimensional analog. IFLScience

Dark Energy Survey Reveals That The Milky Way Has Devoured 11 Other Galaxies – As part of an effort to find out more about the elusive nature of the cosmos, the Dark Energy Survey (DES) – a joint venture between the University of Chicago and dozens of other institutions across the world – was launched back in the summer of 2013. IFLScience

A Salt-Rich Diet Has An Unusual Effect On Your Brain – It’s hardly news to hear that too much salt is bad for you, but new research has shown that a salt-rich diet can have an unexpected effect on your health beyond heart problems and high blood pressure. IFLScience

Wednesday Science News Roundup #21

Below are 10 science news that I found interesting and are related to topics I care about.

Alzheimer’s drug turns back clock in powerhouse of cell – The experimental drug J147 is something of a modern elixir of life; it’s been shown to treat Alzheimer’s disease and reverse aging in mice and is almost ready for clinical trials in humans. Now, Salk scientists have solved the puzzle of what, exactly, J147 does. In a paper published January 7, 2018, in the journal Aging Cell, they report that the drug binds to a protein found in mitochondria, the energy-generating powerhouses of cells. In turn, they showed, it makes aging cells, mice and flies appear more youthful. Science Daily

At least 3 out of 5 people who try a cigarette become daily smokers – At least 61 per cent of people who try their first cigarette become, at least temporarily, daily smokers, suggests an analysis of survey data by Queen Mary University of London. Science Daily

This Common Painkiller Could Be Negatively Affecting Male Fertility – Male fertility could be at a tipping point. Last year, scientists discovered sperm counts in western countries had plummeted by 50 percent in 40 years, and while the reasons behind the decline are complex, many researchers say the phenomenon is due to men’s hormones being disrupted. Science Alert

Britain Now Generates Twice as Much Electricity From Wind as Coal, And That’s a Big Deal – Just six years ago, more than 40 percent of Britain’s electricity was generated by burning coal. Today, that figure is just 7 percent. Science Alert

These Birds of Prey Are Deliberately Setting Forests on Fire – It’s pretty hot in Australia right now. A brutal heatwave that’s incinerated temperature records threatens devastating bushfires – and to make matters worse, authorities have to contend with an ancient breed of flying arsonists that may as well be miniature dragons. Science Alert

Magic Mushrooms Could Treat Depression Without The Emotional Numbing Caused By Traditional Antidepressants – Magic mushrooms could hold the key to alleviating symptoms of depression, particularly in those who have not benefited from more traditional treatments, new research finds. IFLScience

Pharmaceutical Giant Pfizer Pulls Plug On Alzheimer’s And Parkinson’s Drug Research – Pfizer, one of the world’s biggest pharmaceutical giants, is going to ditch their research efforts into new drugs to fight against Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. IFLScience

Protein Linked To Alzheimer’s Seen Spreading Like An Infection – For the first time, researchers have observed tau proteins, one of the presumed causes of Alzheimer’s disease, spreading from neuron to neuron in a manner similar to how an infection might advance in tissue. IFLScience

White dwarf’s inner makeup is mapped for the first time – Astronomers have probed the inner life of a dead star. Tiny changes in a white dwarf’s brightness reveal that the stellar corpse has more oxygen in its core than expected, researchers report online January 8 in Nature. The finding could challenge theories of how stars live and die, and may have implications for measuring the expansion of the universe. Science News

CRISPR gene editor could spark immune reaction in people – Immune reactions against proteins commonly used as molecular scissors might make CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing ineffective in people, a new study suggests. Science News

Wednesday Science News Roundup #20

Below are 10 science news that I found interesting and are related to topics I care about.

Diabetes drug ‘significantly reverses memory loss’ in mice with Alzheimer’s – A drug developed for diabetes could be used to treat Alzheimer’s after scientists found it ‘significantly reversed memory loss’ in mice through a triple method of action. This is the first time that a triple receptor drug has been used which acts in multiple ways to protect the brain from degeneration. It combines three growth factors. Problems with growth factor signalling have been shown to be impaired in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. Science Daily

State-of-the-art MRI technology bypasses need for biopsy – The most common type of tumor found in the kidney is generally quite small (less than 1.5 in). These tumors are usually found by accident when CAT scans are performed for other reasons and the serendipitous finding poses a problem for doctors. Science Daily

New brain mapping technique highlights relationship between connectivity and IQ – A new and relatively simple technique for mapping the wiring of the brain has shown a correlation between how well connected an individual’s brain regions are and their intelligence, say researchers. Science Daily

Food Comas Are Real And They’re Slowing Down Your Brain, New Study Finds – Ever felt your brain a little sluggish a little while after eating sugar or a giant meal? You are probably feeling the effects of a sugar crash, which, new research shows, really can slow down your cognitive function. Science Alert

Some People Have an Uncanny Sixth Sense For Detecting Sickness – Humans may possess an inherent ability to detect sick people from subtle visual cues. This skill could act as a behavioural defence against disease by limiting the risk of contamination, according to new research. Science Alert

If We Don’t Act Now, Climate Change Could Devastate The Chocolate Industry In Just 30 Years – It’s that time of the year when even just looking at another piece of chocolate runs the risk of making you feel slightly queasy. But our insatiable appetite for the sweet treat coupled with predicted temperature rises due to climate change could mean that we might run out of chocolate within just three decades if nothing is done to prevent it. IFLScience

Hybrid Bird Species Discovered In The Amazon For The First Time– A species of bird first described in 1957, but then not seen again until its rediscovery 45 years later, is even more mysterious than previously thought. It turns out that the golden-crowned manakin – a small, vivid green bird with a yellow noggin – is actually the result of a hybridization event between two other species of manakin birds. IFLScience

The World Didn’t Have Many Natural Disasters In 2017 (Except For The US) – It’s fair to say that the US will remember 2017 for two things: political shitstorms and literal storms. Over the past year, North America has had more than its fair share of extreme weather events, from an onslaught of hurricanes and blazing wildfires to droughts and floods. IFLScience

A sinking, melting ancient tectonic plate may fuel Yellowstone’s supervolcano – The driving force behind Yellowstone’s long and explosive volcanic history may not be as deep as once thought. A new study suggests that instead of a plume of hot mantle that extends down to Earth’s core, the real culprit is a subducting tectonic plate that began sinking beneath North America hundreds of millions of years ago. Science News

Spider’s web inspires removable implant that may control type 1 diabetes – For the more than 1 million Americans who live with type 1 diabetes, daily insulin injections are literally a matter of life and death. And while there is no cure, a team has developed a device that could revolutionize management of the disease. Science Daily

Wednesday Science News Roundup #19

Below are 10 science news that I found interesting and are related to topics I care about.

Scientists describe how solar system could have formed in bubble around giant star – Scientists have laid out a comprehensive theory for how our solar system could have formed in the wind-blown bubbles around a giant, long-dead star. The study addresses a nagging cosmic mystery about the abundance of two elements in our solar system compared to the rest of the galaxy. Science Daily

Memristors power quick-learning neural network – A new type of neural network made with memristors can dramatically improve the efficiency of teaching machines to think like humans. The network, called a reservoir computing system, could predict words before they are said during conversation, and help predict future outcomes based on the present. Science Daily

Specks in the brain attract Alzheimer’s plaque-forming protein – Globs of an inflammation protein beckon an Alzheimer’s protein and cause it to accumulate in the brain, a study in mice finds. The results, described in the Dec. 21/28 Nature, add new details to the relationship between brain inflammation and Alzheimer’s disease. Science News

New Type Of Bizarre Quantum Material Discovered – Reports are flying around the Web that speak of the creation of a fabled quantum material that may have some relatively magical properties. Whenever anyone suggests that a new quantum material has been discovered, skepticism should be front and center. IFLScience

Physicists Have Created a Set of Conditions in Which Time Seems to Run in Reverse – While we all take for granted the fact that time’s arrow forever points towards the future, physicists have always had trouble showing why this is necessarily the case. Science Alert

Scientists Observe Bizarre ‘Double Whirlpools’ in The Ocean For The First Time – For the first time, scientists have recorded a bizarre phenomenon in fluid dynamics, which up until now had only ever been theoretically predicted, but never observed in the wild. Science Alert

Federal maps underestimate flood risk for tens of millions of people, scientists warn – NEW ORLEANS — National flood maps are underestimating the risk for tens of millions of people in the United States. That’s the conclusion of researchers presenting a new study December 11 at the American Geophysical Union’s fall meeting. Science News

Christmas Music Could Harm Your Mental Health – You might want to put the Christmas decorations down for a second and unwrap some presents, because there’s a new warning that Christmas music could be bad for your mental health. That’s right, if you’re in the mood to hum along to Mariah Carey’s Christmas jingles, it might be best to leave the high notes to her this year. IFLScience

Gay, lesbian and bisexual high schoolers report ‘tragically high’ suicide risk – High school students who identify as gay, lesbian or bisexual are more likely to report planning or attempting suicide compared with their heterosexual peers, a new study finds. Science News

Why Left-Handers Are Less Likely To Believe In God But More likely To Believe In The Paranormal – What do left-handed people and those with schizophrenia have in common? It may not be the first thing that springs to mind, but it’s religion, or rather a lack thereof, according to a new study. IFLScience

Wednesday Science News Roundup #18

Since science news roundups are done every Wednesday, it is decided the heading becomes: Wednesday Science News Roundup.

Below are 10 science news that I found interesting and are related to topics I care about.

Unexpected side effect to cleaning up urban air discovered – As levels of atmospheric nitric oxide decline rapidly due to air quality regulations, North American cities may soon experience higher levels of airborne organic hydroperoxides, with unknown implications for air quality and human health. Science Daily

Direct amygdala stimulation can enhance human memory for a day – The findings are the first example of electrical brain stimulation in humans giving an event-specific boost to memory lasting until the next day, the scientists say. Science Daily

NASA Has Found A Planetary System With As Many Planets As Our Own – Thanks to a novel artificial intelligence technique in partnership with Google, NASA has discovered a planetary system that has as many planets as our own. It’s the most planets in one system we’ve ever found elsewhere. IFLScience

FDA Just Approved The First-Ever Gene Therapy For an Inherited Disease – In a historic move, the Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved a pioneering gene therapy for a rare form of childhood blindness, the first such treatment cleared in the United States for an inherited disease. Science Alert

This Wild New Study Says Mars Didn’t Form Where We Thought It Did – Mars and Earth are widely thought to have formed into planets in the same region of the early Solar System, but if that’s the case, why are their compositions so different? A new study might have the answer. Science Alert

In The First Months Of Pregnancy Natural Killer Cells Actually Nurture The Fetus – Natural killer cells are part of the body’s defense system, ruthless destroyers of invading armies of bacteria or viruses. Yet in the first trimester of pregnancy they show another side, gentle and nurturing. Far from attacking the fetus as a foreign object, as the immune system can sometimes do, they ensure it gets the nutrients it needs to grow. The team that discovered this trait have taken the first steps to harnessing it to combat nutrient starvation of the fetus. IFLScience

Could cognitive interventions be useful in treating depression? – A new study has examined whether cognitive bias modification (CBM) for facial interpretation, a digital health intervention that changes our perception for emotional expressions from negative to positive, might be useful in treating depression. Science Daily

Lyme bacteria survive 28-day course of antibiotics months after infection – Lyme bacteria can survive a 28-day course of antibiotic treatment four months following infection by tick bite, according to a new study using a primate model for the disease. Despite testing negative for Lyme disease, some subjects were infected with Lyme bacteria in heart, brain and other organs. Science Daily

To sleep or not: Researchers explore complex genetic network behind sleep duration – Scientists have identified differences in a group of genes they say might help explain why some people need a lot more sleep — and others less — than most. The study, conducted using fruit fly populations bred to model natural variations in human sleep patterns, provides new clues to how genes for sleep duration are linked to a wide variety of biological processes. Science Daily

These weather events turned extreme thanks to human-driven climate change – For the first time, scientists have definitively linked human-caused climate change to extreme weather events. Science News