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+ - Fasting triggers stem cell regeneration of damaged, old immune system->

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 (797399) writes "In the first evidence of a natural intervention triggering stem cell-based regeneration of an organ or system, a study in the June 5 issue of the Cell Stem Cell shows that cycles of prolonged fasting not only protect against immune system damage — a major side effect of chemotherapy — but also induce immune system regeneration, shifting stem cells from a dormant state to a state of self-renewal.

In both mice and a Phase 1 human clinical trial, long periods of not eating significantly lowered white blood cell counts. In mice, fasting cycles then “flipped a regenerative switch,” changing the signaling pathways for hematopoietic stem cells, which are responsible for the generation of blood and immune systems, the research showed.

“PKA is the key gene that needs to shut down in order for these stem cells to switch into regenerative mode. It gives the OK for stem cells to go ahead and begin proliferating and rebuild the entire system,” “And the good news is that the body got rid of the parts of the system that might be damaged or old, the inefficient parts, during the fasting. Now, if you start with a system heavily damaged by chemotherapy or aging, fasting cycles can generate, literally, a new immune system.”"
Link to Original Source

+ - Lose Sleep, Fail to Form Memory 1

Submitted by Rambo Tribble
Rambo Tribble (1273454) writes "A research team of Chinese and American scientists claim to have witnessed the mechanism by which sleep contributes to the formation of memories. Using advanced microscopy the researchers witnessed synapses being formed in the brain of sleeping mice recently exposed to a learning task. They compared this to similarly tasked mice, that were subsequently sleep-deprived. The sleeping mice showed a marked increase in the formation of new synapses. As one researcher explained, 'We thought sleep helped, but it could have been other causes, and we show it really helps to make connections and that in sleep the brain is not quiet, it is replaying what happened during the day and it seems quite important for making the connections.' Link to original publication [abstract, paywall]"

+ - Redemption of a forgotten Astronomy Hero

Submitted by StartsWithABang
StartsWithABang (3485481) writes "In the 1800s, British astronomer John Couch Adams spent his life devoted to explaining the minor orbital deviations of the then-newly discovered planet, Uranus. But despite his best efforts to find the theoretical new planet responsible, he was scooped by the French theorist Urbain Le Verrier. To make matters worse, Adams sported one of the worst combovers in photographic history! But everyone gets a shot at redemption, and for Adams, discovering the origin of meteor showers and growing an epic beard saw him make good on both of those counts. Happy 195th birthday to one of astronomy's (and history's) forgotten heroes!"

+ - My Neighbor Totoro in virtual reality – bus stop scene for the Oculus Rift->

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes "Nick Pitton, the developer behind the Spirited Away Boiler Room VR experience (http://bit.ly/1nE0v1a), has released his second project: the bus stop seam from Studio Ghibli's famous movie 'My Neighbor Totoro' once again in virtual reality for the Oculus Rift (http://bit.ly/1oenps8). Pittom 'hand-painted' the textures in Photoshop to recreated the painted-background feel of the movie. For the characters (Totoro and the Catbus) he used a cel-shaded approached to approximate the animated look from the movie. For his next project, he plans to recreate the ship and characters from the acclaimed anime, Cowboy Bebop."
Link to Original Source

+ - D-Wave Quantum Computers Able to Demonstrate Entanglement->

Submitted by lecoupdejarnac
lecoupdejarnac (1742408) writes "A study published by the peer-reviewed journal Physical Review X shows that D-Wave's quantum computers are able to attain at least 8-qubits of entanglement:

"Dr Federico Spedalieri of University of Southern California's Viterbi Information Sciences Institute and co-author of the paper, said: 'There's no way around it. Only quantum systems can be entangled. This test provides the experimental proof that we've been looking for.'""
Link to Original Source

+ - Finding the mass graves in Srebrenica->

Submitted by Lasrick
Lasrick (2629253) writes "This is a heartbreaking read that profiles Amor Masovic, who works for the Bosnian government's Missing Persons Institute. Masovic traverses the "Valley of Death," the Drina River basin, looking for the mass graves of people (mostly Muslim men) killed during the genocide of the Bosnian war: 'For Masovic, the massacre in Srebrenica presents a special professional challenge. Only about a thousand of those fleeing were killed outright. The other 7,000 were captured and taken to various killing fields for execution, their bodies dumped into mass graves. Shortly afterward, however, Serb commanders ordered the original graves dug up and the remains moved to a series of smaller mass graves along the Drina River basin — the so-called Valley of Death — that they hoped would never be found. “This has made Srebrenica our greatest challenge,” Masovic said.'"
Link to Original Source

+ - Two-thirds of Americans are doing nothing to protect their privacy->

Submitted by CanadianCorner
CanadianCorner (3676819) writes ""one in seven US residents, or about 45 million people, received some kind of notice that their personal data was compromised. Those stats reflect a lot of corporate negligence, but individuals aren't innocent, either. About 11 million people fell for email phishing scams and 29 percent had their PCs infected by malware. And despite frequent media reports about such attacks, 62 percent of us have done virtually nothing to toughen our security.

Most problems can be avoided by taking a few small actions: using difficult-to-guess passwords and not re-using them, avoiding websites of dubious origin, not posting private info on social networks and not clicking on unknown email attachments, for starters.""
Link to Original Source

+ - Lawsuit: Tuition should be free->

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes ""The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art is a unique college in New York City that has provided a full-tuition scholarship to every enrolled student for over 150 years. Its founder, Peter Cooper, who wanted to provide talented youth with opportunities, secured an enormous endowment for Cooper Union that now includes the Chrysler Building. ÂAfter a series of fiscally imprudent steps, including building an expensive new building without first securing adequate financing, not following through on a promised 10% expense reduction, and excessive administrative compensation and expenses, the Board of Directors, in a split decision, decided to charge tuition beginning September 2014."

"The Committee to Save Cooper Union is pursuing legal action as a last resort after Cooper Unionâ(TM)s Board of Trustees and administration proceeded with their plans to abolish a 150 year tradition of free tuition, refusing alternatives that would preserve free tuition.""
Link to Original Source

+ - MIT Researchers Creates 3D Printed Self Assembling Robots-> 1

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes "Researchers at MIT have found a way of creating 3D printed robots, which assemble themselves once placed in an oven. The printer prints the robot in a flat form, with slits within the material. When heated the slits forces the material to deform, assembling the shape of the robot. More details: http://3dprint.com/4836/3d-pri..."
Link to Original Source

+ - Daniel Ellsberg criticizes Kerry for calling Snowden a coward and traitor ->

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes "Daniel Ellsberg, the former Defence Department staff who leaked the Vietnam War Pentagon Papers to the New York Times has some harsh criticism of Kerry's recent call for Snowden to come back to USA and "man up".

"Nothing excuses Kerry's slanderous and despicable characterisations of a young man who, in my opinion, has done more than anyone in or out of government in this century to demonstrate his patriotism, moral courage and loyalty to the oath of office the three of us swore: to support and defend the Constitution of the United States," he concludes."
Link to Original Source

+ - Why does light stretch as the Universe expands?

Submitted by StartsWithABang
StartsWithABang (3485481) writes "On the one hand, galaxies are definitely redshifted, and they're redshifted more severely the farther they are; that's been indisputable since Hubble's data from the 1920s. But spacetime's expansion — the idea that photons get redshfited because expanding space stretches their wavelength — is just one possibility. Sure, it's the possibility predicted by General Relativity, but a fast-moving, receding galaxy could cause a redshift, too. How do we know what the cause is? Here's how."

Comment: Re:Yeah, but.... (Score 1) 1198

by tloh (#47113097) Attached to: Misogyny, Entitlement, and Nerds

The discussion is *absolutely* necessary. Because we should expect better from our lot. For the impatient "tl;dr", Chu ends with the words "He [Elliot] needed to grow up. We all do." Some of us need to talk it out in order reach that maturity. I, for one, feel that if we are intelligent enough to parse knowledge incomprehensible to that majority of non-technical human masses, we should be intelligent enough to understand that some things, like the way you think about and treat others, are just NOT FUCKING COOL!

Comment: Re:Peer review (Score 4, Insightful) 154

by tloh (#46996151) Attached to: Momentous Big Bang Findings Questioned

One side won, the other defeated. But it did not feel settled until someone admitted defeat. Someone has to go on record saying its dead, Jim.

This is utter B/S! What's with this black/white way of looking at things? By this line of reasoning, Copernicus was a hack for being too obsessed with the Sun. Galileo failed for not anticipating Newton. Newton failed for not anticipating Einstein. Einstein is a looser for being unable to handle QM. And we're all Dumbasses for not knowing the answer to every question ever asked. Seriously?

Whatever the case may be, BICEP should be acknowledged for taking a gutsy and ingenious shot at a daunting question. The approach is laudable and should be appreciated as modern, cutting-edge scientific research at its best: the meticulousness and dedication of working out of the South Pole, the engineering effort that went into such precise equipment design, the camaraderie and team spirit mustered among all the professional collaborators.

People who are eager to smear the project are doing a great disservice to science literacy by perpetuating low-brow stereotypical notion of what scientific research is about in this day and age. It is unsettling that the tendency toward sensationalism has somehow become a legitimate way of thinking and talking about these things. We're all becoming brain-dead National Inquirerers. This is shameful for a modern civilized society.

Comment: Re:Peer review (Score 5, Informative) 154

by tloh (#46995409) Attached to: Momentous Big Bang Findings Questioned

Hold on there, Nellie. Aren't we being just a bit quick to point fingers? It is entirely appropriate to stand your ground if it is firmly rooted in solid evidence and good reason. Let the data be subjected to scrutiny and defend itself to the extent possible. More likely than not, it isn't as conclusive or accurate as some may hope, but it doesn't automatically make it bad science. Whatever short-coming is uncovered this time around is another stepping stone toward getting it right. No one is wrong simply because you or anyone else arbitrarily say so.

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