science new 4.1.2019

Today's round-up of science stories. Links are normally to press releases on EurekAlert (at the bottom end I may also add a couple of newspaper stories). I include quotes from the summary (using quotation marks) in cases where the title alone doesn't reveal what the story is about.


Slime proves valuable in developing method for counting salmon in Alaska
"Scientists have published a novel method for counting Pacific salmon -- analyzing DNA from the slime the fish leave behind in their spawning streams."

Artificial intelligence advances threaten privacy of health data

Bulldogs' screw tails linked to human genetic disease

DNA on auto-pilot
"Hao Yan and his colleagues, in collaboration with scientists at MIT, describe a method allowing for the automation of DNA origami construction, vastly accelerating and simplifying the process of crafting desired forms, and opening the world of DNA architecture to a broader audience."


Catastrophic galactic collision could send Solar System flying into space
Don't panic, we still have 2 billion years left ...


This vibrant image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy to our own Milky Way galaxy. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/STScI

Forest soundscapes monitor conservation efforts inexpensively, effectively
See also my recent feature on soundscape ecology.

Melting ice sheets release tons of methane into the atmosphere, study finds

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in the news media:

Greater Manchester region moves to ban fracking