Wednesday Science News Roundup #28

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

Hidden secret of immortality enzyme telomerase – Research has recently uncovered a crucial step in the telomerase enzyme catalytic cycle. This catalytic cycle determines the ability of the human telomerase enzyme to synthesize DNA. Science Daily

Behavior in high school predicts income and occupational success later in life – Being a responsible student, maintaining an interest in school and having good reading and writing skills will not only help a teenager get good grades in high school but could also be predictors of educational and occupational success decades later, regardless of IQ, parental socioeconomic status or other personality factors, according to new research. Science Daily

Simple urine test could measure how much our body has aged – New research shows that a substance indicating oxidative damage increases in urine as people get older, and describes an easy method to measure the level of this biomarker in human urine samples. This potentially provides a method to measure how much our body has aged, which could help predict our risk of developing age-related disease, and even the likely time-frame for our death. Science Daily

A rare rainstorm wakes undead microbes in Chile’s Atacama Desert – Chile’s Atacama Desert is so dry that some spots see rain only once a decade. Salt turns the sandy soil inhospitable, and ultraviolet radiation scorches the surface. So little can survive there that scientists have wondered whether snippets of DNA found in the soil are just part of the desiccated skeletons of long-dead microbes or traces of hunkered-down but still living colonies. Science News

Some flu strains can make mice forgetful – With fevers, chills and aches, the flu can pound the body. Some influenza viruses may hammer the brain, too. Months after being infected with influenza, mice had signs of brain damage and memory trouble, researchers report online February 26 in the Journal of Neuroscience. Science News

Man Risks Death By Not Pooping For 40 Days – A man has been holding in a poo for over 40 days now, seriously risking his own health. IFLScience

There’s Very Little (Convincing) Proof That Standing Desks Are Actually Good For You – A wealth of scientific research shows us that regularly sitting for long stretches of time has severe consequences for both mental and physical health –and yet computer-based, industrial societies make it extremely difficult to avoid a sedentary lifestyle. IFLScience

The North Pole Has Gone Above Freezing in The Dead of Winter, Stunning Scientists – The sun won’t rise at the North Pole until March 20, and it’s normally close to the coldest time of year – but an extraordinary and possibly historic thaw swelled over the tip of the planet this weekend. Science Alert

The Closest Star to Our Solar System Has Suffered an Insane Eruption – Our closest stellar neighbour, Proxima Centauri, knows how to belch ’em out. According to new research, in March of last year it erupted into an absolute beast of a stellar flare, 10 times brighter than the largest flares produced by our own Sun, even though it has only about one-eighth of the mass. Science Alert

Water on The Moon Has a Surprising Quality, According to This New Study – Recently, scientists discovered that there is an enormous quantity of water on the Moon, hiding beneath the surface. Science Alert

Wednesday Science News Roundup #25

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

New CRISPR method efficiently corrects Duchenne muscular dystrophy defect in heart tissue – Scientists have developed a CRISPR gene-editing technique that can potentially correct a majority of the 3,000 mutations that cause Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) by making a single cut at strategic points along the patient’s DNA, according to a new study. Science Daily

Magnetic brain stimulation alters negative emotion perception – A new study reports that processing of negative emotion can be strengthened or weakened by tuning the excitability of the right frontal part of the brain. Science Daily

Brain pacemaker study shows promise in slowing decline of Alzheimer’s – Researchers have studied how using an implant — likened to a pacemaker for the brain — could help Alzheimer’s patients to retain cognitive, behavioral and functional abilities longer while also improving quality of life. Science Daily

It’s a bad idea for a toad to swallow a bombardier beetle – Toad versus bombardier beetle is almost a fair fight. Toads are hugely bigger, can tongue-strike in an eyeblink and swallow all kinds of nasty stuff. But bombardier beetles can shoot hot steam and noxious chemicals from their back ends. Science News

A blood test could predict the risk of Alzheimer’s disease – A new blood test might reveal whether someone is at risk of getting Alzheimer’s disease. Science News

Insane Numbers of Viruses Are Constantly Falling on Us From The Sky, Study Shows – If there are viruses on the ground and viruses in the water, one might expect there are viruses in the sky as well. Science Alert

Ingredient In McDonalds Fries Key To Curing Baldness, Researchers Find – You wouldn’t expect a McDonald’s Happy Meal to be a cure for anything, unless you’re chronically underweight. However, a new study has found that a key ingredient in making the meals might be better used to cure baldness. IFLScience

Woodpeckers Seemingly Avoid Brain Damage Despite The Build Up Of Abnormal Tau Proteins – As an animal that spends much of its time hammering its head against trees at a force of 1,200 g’s, it’s unsurprising that many sports companies have looked to the woodpecker’s biology to design better safety equipment and helmets for football players, in order to protect them against brain damage. IFLScience

New Data Shows TRAPPIST-1 Planets Are More Habitable Than We Ever Thought – You’ve probably been on the edge of your seat wondering what the TRAPPIST-1 planetary system has been up to. Now we have four new studies that have probed the planets and its star, and found that they definitely bear further investigation in our search for extraterrestrial life. Science Alert

For The First Time Ever, Astronomers Have Detected Planets Outside Our Galaxy – In an incredible world first, astrophysicists have detected multiple planets in another galaxy, ranging from masses as small as the Moon to ones as great as Jupiter. Science Alert

Wednesday Science News Roundup #24

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

Your brain reveals who your friends are – You may perceive the world the way your friends do, according to a new study finding that friends have similar neural responses to real-world stimuli and these similarities can be used to predict who your friends are. Science Daily

TBI is associated with increased dementia risk for decades after injury – Traumatic brain injuries increase the risk of a dementia diagnosis for more than 30 years after a trauma, though the risk of dementia decreases over time, according to a new study. Science Daily

Language is learned in brain circuits that predate humans – It has often been claimed that humans learn language using brain components that are specifically dedicated to this purpose. Now, new evidence strongly suggests that language is in fact learned in brain systems that are also used for many other purposes and even pre-existed humans. Science Daily

Life may have been possible in Earth’s earliest, most hellish eon – Maybe Earth’s early years weren’t so hellish after all. Science News

Here’s why so many saiga antelope mysteriously died in 2015 – Spring calving season for the saiga antelope of central Kazakhstan is a delight for the researchers who keep tabs on the critically endangered animals. During the day, thousands of newborn saigas lie quiet, hidden within a sea of waving grass. Mothers return twice daily to feed them. “If you come at dawn and dusk, it’s magical,” says E.J. Milner-Gulland, a conservation biologist at the University of Oxford who has studied saigas for 27 years. “You hear this mewing noise, and all the babies come rushing up to the females.” Science News

There’s a Scary Link Between Bad Sleep And The Onset of Alzheimer’s – Fragmented sleep, marked by repeated wake-ups during the night and a need to nap during the day, could be an early sign of Alzheimer’s disease, according to new research. Science Alert

Earth Went Strangely Quiet About 2 Billion Years Ago And We Don’t Know Why – A new study has added evidence to the hypothesis that our planet experienced a lull in geology between 2.2 and 2.3 billion years ago, when not a lot went on as far as rock-forming processes go. Science Alert

The Eastern Cougar Is Declared Extinct After Not Being Seen For 80 Years – The eastern cougar is now officially extinct. IFLScience

Discoverer Of Gabon’s Strange Orange Crocodiles Thinks They’re Evolving Into A New Species – Just 10 years ago, an expedition of biologists came across a very strange group of cave-dwelling, bat-munching dwarf crocodiles living within Gabon’s Abanda cave system. IFLScience

More Evidence Has Been Found For A Link Between Sugar And Alzheimer’s – A new study provides more evidence for a link between diabetes and Alzheimer’s, something that’s been hinted at before. IFLScience

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