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upstart writes:

Submitted via IRC for chromas

FamilyTreeDNA Deputizes Itself, Starts Pitching DNA Matching Services To Law Enforcement

One DNA-matching company has decided it's going to corner an under-served market: US law enforcement. FamilyTreeDNA -- last seen here opening up its database to the FBI without informing its users first -- is actively pitching its services to law enforcement.

The television spot, to air in San Diego first, asks anyone who has had a direct-to-consumer DNA test from another company, like 23andMe or Ancestry.com, to upload a copy so that law enforcement can spot any connections to DNA found at crime scenes.

The advertisement features Ed Smart, father of Elizabeth Smart, a Salt Lake City teen who was abducted in 2002 but later found alive. “If you are one of the millions of people who have taken a DNA test, your help can provide the missing link,” he says in the spot.

Welcome to FamilyTreeDNA's cooperating witness program -- one it profits from by selling information customers give it to law enforcement. The tug at the heartstrings is a nice touch. FamilyTreeDNA is finally being upfront with users about its intentions for their DNA samples. This is due to its founder deciding -- without consulting his customers -- that they're all as willing as he is to convert your DNA samples into public goods.

Bennett Greenspan, the firm’s founder, said he had decided he had a moral obligation to help solve old murders and rapes. Now he thinks that customers will agree and make their DNA available specifically to help out.

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Phoenix666 writes:

Phys.org:

An international team of researchers has found evidence of Denisovans interbreeding with modern humans in Southeast Asia more recently than thought. The group gave a presentation at this year's meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists outlining a genetic study they conducted.

The Denisovans were a species or subspecies of humans that are believed to have lived in Asia and Southeast Asia. Little physical evidence of their existence has ever been found, all of it in Denisova Cave in the Altai Mountains in Siberia. But much more evidence of them exists in our genes. Like Neanderthals, the Denisovans interbred with humans. It is currently believed that as humans migrated out of Africa, they encountered and mated with Neanderthal—as they moved farther east, they encountered and mated with the Denisovans. In this new effort, the researchers report evidence suggesting Denisovans mated with humans possibly as recently as 15,000 years ago, in Papua New Guinea.

The researchers collected tissue samples from 161 people (representing 14 groups) in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea and sequenced their DNA. They report that in the samples from people in New Guinea, they found evidence of Denisovan DNA from populations that were different from those living in the cave in Siberia. They describe them as D1 and D2 (the population in Siberia is described as D0). They report further that D1 and D2 were so distantly related to D0 that they had to have diverged at least 283,000 years ago. They also found that D2 was so distant that it likely split off approximately 363,000 years ago. The researchers suggest such distant divergence makes D1 and D2 as different from D0 as they were from Neanderthals. They also suggest that D2 might even have to be reclassified to give the group its own name. And finally, they reported that they had found evidence of Denisovans interbreeding with modern humans between 30,000 and 15,000 years ago.

Other rare species of human have been found in Oceania, such as the hobbits of the Flores Islands.

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Phoenix666 writes:

ScienceNews:

David Baltimore: I fully agree — and the whole group of us involved in the summits agree — that we're not ready to be doing germline modification of humans, if we ever are. You might say, "Well, that's a moratorium," and, in a sense, it is. I don't have a big argument about that.

But the important point is to be flexible going forward. That's what's wrong with a moratorium. It's that the idea gets fixed in people's minds that we're making firm statements about what we don't want to do and for how long we don't want to do it.

With a science that's moving forward as rapidly as this science is, you want to be able to adapt to new discoveries, new opportunities and new understandings. To make rules is probably not a good idea.

What's a good idea is to be on top of a changing environment and to adjust to it as time goes by. And that's both an ethical environment and a practical environment of the mechanics of gene editing.

The Clone Wars, begun they have.

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takyon writes:

Google's constant product shutdowns are damaging its brand

We are 91 days into the year, and so far, Google is racking up an unprecedented body count. If we just take the official shutdown dates that have already occurred in 2019, a Google-branded product, feature, or service has died, on average, about every nine days.

Some of these product shutdowns have transition plans, and some of them (like Google+) represent Google completely abandoning a user base. The specifics aren't crucial, though. What matters is that every single one of these actions has a negative consequence for Google's brand, and the near-constant stream of shutdown announcements makes Google seem more unstable and untrustworthy than it has ever been. Yes, there was the one time Google killed Google Wave nine years ago or when it took Google Reader away six years ago, but things were never this bad.

For a while there has been a subset of people concerned about Google's privacy and antitrust issues, but now Google is eroding trust that its existing customers have in the company. That's a huge problem. Google has significantly harmed its brand over the last few months, and I'm not even sure the company realizes it.

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Phoenix666 writes:

Phys.org:

A team of scientists from Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University used 3-D printing to create biocompatible structures on the basis of chitin obtained from crab shells. This method will help develop structures with given shapes for biomedical purposes, including the replacement of damaged soft tissues in the human body. The article was published in Marine Drugs.

Shells and other byproducts account for 50 percent to 70 percent of the weight of all crabs caught in the world. As a rule, they are destroyed, which requires additional investment. Only a minor part is processed. However, the bodies of marine crustaceans contain a lot of chitin. This polysaccharide is widespread in the wild—for example, the exoskeletons of insects are made of it. By removing certain acetyl groups from chitin, researchers can obtain chitosan, a biopolymer with a unique set of biological, physical, and chemical properties. It is biocompatible, i.e. does not cause inflammation or immune response when implanted into the body. It also has antifungal and antimicrobial properties and gradually decomposes in the body without leaving any toxic components. That is why chitosan and its derivatives are promising for medicine. On this basis, new types of biocompatible structures can be created to restore damaged tissues or carriers for targeted delivery of drugs.

Does this mean my long-held dream of growing an exo-skeleton may now come true?

Original Submission

Phoenix666 writes:

Phys.org:

[...] a worldwide collaboration involving more than 40 scientists and three hospitals led by researchers at Sanford Burnham Prebys has demonstrated a causal link between the gut microbiome and the immune system's ability to fight cancer. Together, the researchers identified a cocktail of 11 bacterial strains that activated the immune system and slowed the growth of melanoma in mice.

[...] Transferring these 11 bacterial strains to regular mice that lack intestinal bacteria (germ-free) induced anti-tumor immune response and slowed tumor growth.

To confirm that the results were relevant in human disease, the scientists obtained tissue samples from three cohorts of people with metastatic melanoma who subsequently received checkpoint inhibitor treatment. Indeed, reduced expression of UPR components (sXBP1, ATF4 and BiP) correlated with responsiveness to treatment, suggesting that there are potentially predictive biomarkers for the selection of patients who should receive immune checkpoint therapy.

Is there any limit to what poo can do?

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Mars methane surge spotted from space

A European spacecraft has confirmed a report of methane being released from the surface of Mars.

The methane spike was first measured by Nasa's Curiosity rover on the surface; now it has been confirmed by the Mars Express orbiter.

The nature and extent of methane in the Martian atmosphere is intensely debated.

The gas is of interest because terrestrial methane can be made by life forms, as well as geological processes.

Methane is only supposed to have a very short lifetime in the Martian atmosphere, so detecting it there means it must have been released very recently.

Also at NYT.

Previously: NASA Rover Discovers Mysterious Martian Methane Emissions
Remember the Discovery of Methane in the Martian Atmosphere? Now Scientists Can't Find Any Evidence

Related: Organic Matter Found on Mars

Original Submission

martyb writes:

Dark Matter is Not Made Up of Tiny Black Holes:

An international team of researchers has put a theory speculated by the late Stephen Hawking to its most rigorous test to date, and their results have ruled out the possibility that primordial black holes smaller than a tenth of a millimeter make up most of dark matter. Details of their study have been published in this week's Nature Astronomy.

Scientists know that 85 per cent of the matter in the Universe is made up of dark matter. Its gravitational force prevents stars in our Milky Way from flying apart. However, attempts to detect such dark matter particles using underground experiments, or accelerator experiments including the world's largest accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider, have failed so far.

This has led scientists to consider Hawking's 1974 theory of the existence of primordial black holes, born shortly after the Big Bang, and his speculation that they could make up a large fraction of the elusive dark matter scientists are trying to discover today.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

USDA Terminates Deadly Cat Experiments, Plans To Adopt Out Remaining Animals

The U.S. Agriculture Department announced Tuesday that it's putting an end to a controversial research program that led scientists to kill thousands of cats over decades.

Since 1982 the USDA's Agricultural Research Services division had been conducting experiments that involved infecting cats with toxoplasmosis — a disease usually caused by eating undercooked contaminated meat — in order to study the foodborne illness. Once the cats were infected, and the parasite harvested, the felines were put down.

In a statement announcing the decision, the agency said "toxoplasmosis research has been redirected and the use of cats as part of any research protocol in any ARS laboratory has been discontinued and will not be reinstated."

Additionally, the USDA said it is in the process of putting the 14 remaining uninfected cats up for adoption by agency employees.

The experiments came under increasing scrutiny over the last year and public outcry intensified over recent weeks in the wake of a report by the White Coat Waste Project that found the USDA's researchers also forced the lab cats to eat dog and cat meat obtained in overseas markets.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Submitted via IRC for Bytram

Liver, colon cancer cells thwarted by compounds derived from hops

Unlike the primary compound, xanthohumol, known as XN, the derivatives don't metabolize into phytoestrogens. Phytoestrogens are plant-based chemicals similar to female sex hormones that help some types of tumors grow and can cause other health problems as well.

The research showed, for the first time, that the derivatives have cancer-fighting effectiveness similar to that of XN in liver and colon carcinomas. That means the two non-estrogenic derivatives are attractive alternatives for testing, along with XN, in future preclinical studies..

[...] Xanthohumol is produced by humulus lupulus, the common hop plant. More than 20 years ago, researchers discovered that XN inhibits cell growth in a variety of cancer cell lines.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

New Era Name 'Reiwa' Defines Japan As Emperor Akihito Prepares To Abdicate

Japan has revealed the name of its next imperial era to be "Reiwa," set to begin May 1 as Crown Prince Naruhito is expected to take the throne.

Yoshihide Suga, Japan's chief cabinet secretary, announced the name at a press conference Monday morning local time, unveiling a board with the two kanji characters written on it. While there was some deliberation over the exact meaning, the two characters that make up the new name, or the "gengo," translate roughly to "good fortune" and "peace" or "harmony," according to The Japan Times.

"We hope [the era name] will be widely accepted by the people and deeply rooted as part of their daily lives," Suga told reporters.

The announcement comes as the current "Heisei" era draws to a close after three decades, with Emperor Akihito set to step down on April 30 in the first abdication of the throne in over 200 years.

[...]Announcing the name one month in advance gives companies and government entities time to incorporate the name into paperwork and computer systems, The Guardian reports. Even as the Western calendar has become more widespread in Japan, the era name is still used frequently, including on newspapers, coins and official documents like driving licenses. Under the system, 2019 is known as Heisei 31, or the 31st year of Akihito's reign.

Also at BBC.

See also: Japan's New Era Gets a Name, but No One Can Agree What It Means

Previously: MonarchyNews: The King is My Co-Pilot and Japanese Succession "Crisis"
Japan Clears Way for Emperor to Step Down in 1st Abdication in 200 Years
Big Tech Warns of 'Japan's Millennium Bug' Ahead of Akihito's Abdication

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upstart writes:

Submitted via IRC for Bytram

Water flows on California dam's spillway after 2017 crisis

Officials at the nation's tallest dam unleashed water down a rebuilt spillway Tuesday for the first time since it crumbled two years ago and drove hundreds of thousands of California residents from their homes over fears of catastrophic flooding.

Water flowed down the spillway and into the Feather River as storms this week and melting snowpack are expected to swell the lake behind Oroville Dam in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, said Molly White, principal engineer with the California Department of Water Resources.

The spring storms follow a very wet winter that coated the mountains with thick snowpack, which state experts will coincidentally measure Tuesday to determine the outlook for California's water supplies. Heavy winter rain and snow has left the state drought-free for the first time since December 2011, experts say.

Original Submission

RandomFactor writes:

According to a recent study at the University of Exeter, Male field crickets age more slowly if there is an excess of females around.

The new study compared years when male-female numbers were roughly equal with years when there were twice as many females as males. When females were plentiful, the rate at which male mortality increased as they aged was reduced by about 50%.

The scientists came to the conclusion that competing heavily with other males for limited females was more detrimental than having access to more females, mating more, and competing less.

As well [as] becoming more frail with age, in years with equal numbers of males and females, males experienced a rapid decline in chirping—but when females outnumbered males two-to-one there was no decline at all.

Similarly "males in years with more competition aged faster"

The study was conducted over nine years on field cricket populations that had varying ratios of male and female crickets.

Perhaps wisely, the authors did not draw any human implications from their results.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Bitcoin jumps 20 percent, mystery order seen as catalyst

Bitcoin soared to its highest in almost five months on Tuesday, pulling smaller cryptocurrencies up with it, after a major order by an anonymous buyer set off a frenzy of computer-driven trading, analysts said.

The original cryptocurrency soared as much as 20 percent in Asian trading, breaking $5,000 for the first time since mid-November. By mid-afternoon, it had settled around $4,800, still up 16 percent in its biggest one-day gain since April last year.

[...] Today's gain was probably triggered by an order worth about $100 million spread across U.S.-based exchanges Coinbase and Kraken and Luxembourg's Bitstamp, said Oliver von Landsberg-Sadie, chief executive of cryptocurrency firm BCB Group.

"There has been a single order that has been algorithmically-managed across these three venues, of around 20,000 BTC," he said. "If you look at the volumes on each of those three exchanges – there were in-concert, synchronized, units of volume of around 7,000 BTC in an hour".

See also: Bitcoin (BTC) Prices Explode after Fool's Day with "Zero" Fundamentals

Original Submission

takyon writes:

India anti-satellite missile test a 'terrible thing,' NASA chief says

India's anti-satellite missile test created at least 400 pieces of orbital debris, the head of NASA says -- placing the International Space Station (ISS) and its astronauts at risk.

NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine said Monday that just 60 pieces of debris were large enough to track. Of those, 24 went above the apogee of the ISS, the point of the space station's orbit farthest from the Earth.

"That is a terrible, terrible thing to create an event that sends debris at an apogee that goes above the International Space Station," Bridenstine said in a live-streamed NASA town hall meeting. "That kind of activity is not compatible with the future of human spaceflight." He added: "It is not acceptable for us to allow people to create orbital debris fields that put at risk our people."

Also at BBC and The Guardian.

Previously: India Shoots Down Satellite in Test

Original Submission