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Here is your customized PHYSorg.com Newsletter for August 5, 2010:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
- Physicists use offshoot of string theory to describe puzzling behavior of superconductors- Scientists discover new method for regenerating heart muscle by direct reprogramming
- Computer Scientists Build Pedestrian Remover
- Push-Button Logic on the Nanoscale
- Japanese and US whizzes claim news record for pi calculation -- five trillion decimal places
- Robot climbs walls (w/ Video)
- Diving Robot Discovers Life in the Slow Lane
- Economic status, genetics together influence psychopathic traits
- Image: A Galactic Spectacle
- Reading the zip codes of 3,500-year-old letters
- Google adamant about 'net neutrality' (Update 2)
- New information about how Himalayas were formed
- NASA delays spacewalks to fix ISS cooling pump
- Research Shows Some May Be Wired for Wider Waists
- Frogs evolution tracks rise of Himalayas and rearrangement of Southeast Asia
Space & Earth news
Rep: Enbridge Inc. violated oil spill rules
(AP) -- A member of Congress said Wednesday that Enbridge Inc. violated federal regulations by dragging its feet on reporting a pipeline rupture that poured hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil into a southern Michigan waterway, although the company said it met legal requirements.
UN panel: New taxes needed for a climate fund
(AP) -- British economist Nicholas Stern says a U.N. economic panel is discussing carbon taxes, add-ons to international air fares and a levy on cross-border money transfers as ways to raise $100 billion a year to fight climate change.
Coastal creatures may have reduced ability to fight off infections in acidified oceans
Human impact is causing lower oxygen and higher carbon dioxide levels in coastal water bodies. Increased levels of carbon dioxide cause the water to become more acidic, having dramatic effects on the lifestyles of the wildlife that call these regions home. The problems are expected to worsen if steps aren't taken to reduce greenhouse emissions and minimize nutrient-rich run-off from developed areas along our coastlines.
Power plant waste to be used to clean up Gulf oil spill
Specially treated waste material from electric power plants will soon be used to clean up oil in the Gulf thanks to the ingenuity of a University of Central Florida professor.
Fires and Smoke in Russia
Intense fires continued to rage in western Russia on August 4, 2010. Burning in dry peat bogs and forests, the fires produced a dense plume of smoke that reached across hundreds of kilometers. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) captured this view of the fires and smoke in three consecutive overpasses on NASA's Terra satellite.
First satellite measurement of water volume in Amazon floodplain
For the first time, scientists have been able to measure the amount of water that rises and falls annually in the Amazon River floodplain.
Scientists forecast nine more Atlantic hurricanes, five big ones
The forecast for the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season calls for nine more hurricanes by November, including five major ones with winds topping 178 kilometers (110 miles) per hour, a Colorado State University study said Wednesday.
Ancient Hawaiian glaciers reveal clues to global climate impacts
Boulders deposited by an ancient glacier that once covered the summit of Mauna Kea on the island of Hawaii have provided more evidence of the extraordinary power and reach of global change, particularly the slowdown of a North Atlantic Ocean current system that could happen again and continues to be a concern to climate scientists.
Global tropical forests threatened by 2100
By 2100 only 18% to 45% of the plants and animals making up ecosystems in global, humid tropical forests may remain as we know them today, according to a new study led by Greg Asner at the Carnegie Institution's Department of Global Ecology. The research combined new deforestation and selective logging data with climate-change projections. It is the first study to consider these combined effects for all humid tropical forest ecosystems and can help conservationists pinpoint where their efforts will be most effective. The study is published in the August 5, 2010, issue of Conservation Letters.
Diving Robot Discovers Life in the Slow Lane
Scientists have found amazingly diverse microbial life in the world's deepest water-filled sinkhole, even down where sunlight can't reach. The discovery adds new insight into life's ability to thrive in Earth's most extreme environments. This research also could aid the search for life elsewhere in our solar system, such as on Jupiter's moon Europa.
Image: A Galactic Spectacle
A beautiful new image of two colliding galaxies has been released by NASA's Great Observatories. The Antennae galaxies, located about 62 million light-years from Earth, are shown in this composite image from the Chandra X-ray Observatory (blue), the Hubble Space Telescope (gold and brown), and the Spitzer Space Telescope (red). The Antennae galaxies take their name from the long antenna-like "arms," seen in wide-angle views of the system. These features were produced by tidal forces generated in the collision.
New information about how Himalayas were formed
Evidence of the mineral majorite in Himalayan rocks have overturned scientific theory about the birth of the tallest mountains on Earth.
NASA delays spacewalks to fix ISS cooling pump
NASA on Thursday pushed back by one day the first of two spacewalks to fix a pump module on the International Space Station's (ISS) cooling system that dramatically failed last week.
Frogs evolution tracks rise of Himalayas and rearrangement of Southeast Asia
The evolution of a group of muscled frogs scattered throughout Asia is telling geologists about the sequence of events that led to the rise of the Himalayas and the Tibetan plateau starting more than 55 million years ago.
Technology news
Indonesia denies plan to ban BlackBerry services
Indonesia on Thursday denied it is considering a ban on certain BlackBerry smartphone services in line with similar moves from the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
On Facebook, wife learns of husband's 2nd wedding
(AP) -- Dread of the unknown hung in the air as Lynn France typed two words into the search box on Facebook: the name of the woman with whom she believed her husband was having an affair.
Apps for enduring the storm
Stormy summer? Believe it or not, there are apps for that, too. Last night during a deluge, I found myself going to my iPhone 4 many times for many reasons, and that got me thinking about handy apps to peruse while watching the storm coverage on TV or just sitting stunned on the front porch as the rain came down.
Virginia Tech to build new supercomputer
Two million dollars is coming to Virginia Tech to create HokieSpeed, a versatile new supercomputing instrument for accelerating and transforming discovery and innovation across a myriad of disciplines.
Person-to-person payments catch on with banks
You're out for dinner with a friend and the bill arrives. But, oops, you're short on cash and can't pay up.
Publishing in Internet age: OpenSky puts writers face-to-face with buyers
About a year ago, Mary Ann Naples had a holy-cow moment. If she'd been a cartoon character, she would have smacked her forehead until stars came out.
Boosting online privacy
Hardly a month goes by without a new alarm being sounded about privacy online, either because companies are surreptitiously collecting and using data about Web users or because they're releasing information that users thought would be kept private. Web surfers' sense that they have little or no control over these data makes them suspicious even of efforts to make advertising more palatable, such as the shift from one-size-fits-all ads to more personalized and relevant pitches.
Source: Google, Verizon near net neutrality plan
(AP) -- Google Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. are close to finalizing a proposal for so-called "network neutrality" rules, which would dictate how broadband providers treat Internet traffic flowing over their lines, according to a person briefed on the negotiations.
Too few users catch Google's 'Wave'
Google on Wednesday said it would cease to develop its freshly launched Wave communications platform that aimed to liberate people from the constraints of traditional email.
Microsoft and Salesforce end patent duel
Packaged software giant Microsoft has announced it has settled a patent duel with cloud computing firm Salesforce.com.
News Corp sees black ink with profit in fiscal year
News Corporation on Wednesday reported a profit of 2.5 billion dollars for the fiscal year with blockbuster film "Avatar" boosting its bottom line.
T-Mobile USA loses 93,000 customers in 2nd quarter
(AP) -- T-Mobile USA, the fourth-largest U.S. wireless carrier, said Thursday that it added crucial contract-signing customers even though it lost subscribers in the second quarter as prepaying subscribers fled to other carriers.
US demands WikiLeaks return military documents
The Pentagon on Thursday demanded that the whistleblower website WikiLeaks "return immediately" leaked US military documents after the site released tens of thousands of secret files.
YouTube's 'Life in a Day' project nets 80K entries
(AP) -- YouTube's "Life in a Day" project has logged 80,000 video submissions as it moves closer to the finished product: a documentary film.
WikiLeaks posts huge encrypted file to Web
(AP) -- Online whistle-blower WikiLeaks has posted a huge encrypted file named "Insurance" to its website, sparking speculation that those behind the organization may be prepared to release more classified information if authorities interfere with them.
Warner Music CEO looks 'beyond iTunes' amid losses
(AP) -- Digital download sales growth slowed further for Warner Music Group Corp. in its fiscal third quarter, prompting CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr. to say Thursday that the company was looking "beyond the iTunes model" to return to growth.
Activision 2Q net income climbs, revenue falls
(AP) -- Activision Blizzard Inc. posted a higher net income for the second quarter Thursday as development expenses and other costs declined, but fewer game launches pushed revenue lower, shy of Wall Street's expectations.
US wades into BlackBerry disputes overseas
(AP) -- The Obama administration waded into the growing international dispute over the banning of BlackBerry services on Thursday, saying it is seeking to broker compromises between the company that makes the popular devices and foreign governments that say they pose a security risk.
Apple to fix security hole in iPhone software
(AP) -- Apple is planning to release a fix for a security hole in the software that runs on its iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch devices.
Ad recovery boosts revenue for broadcast, cable
(AP) -- Americans may be fond of the Web, but they are still in love with their TV sets - and so are the advertisers who want to reach them.
Shape-shifting robots (w/ Video)
By combining origami and electrical engineering, researchers at MIT and Harvard are working to develop the ultimate reconfigurable robot -- one that can turn into absolutely anything. The researchers have developed algorithms that, given a three-dimensional shape, can determine how to reproduce it by folding a sheet of semi-rigid material with a distinctive pattern of flexible creases. To test out their theories, they built a prototype that can automatically assume the shape of either an origami boat or a paper airplane when it receives different electrical signals. The researchers reported their results in the July 13 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Google adamant about 'net neutrality' (Update 2)
Google and US telecom carrier Verizon on Thursday denied they were in talks on a scheme to charge digital content makers fees to have their traffic routed more quickly across the Internet.
Computer Scientists Build Pedestrian Remover
(PhysOrg.com) -- Imagine encountering leashed dogs without dog walkers, or shoes filled just with ankles - when scoping out potential apartments using Google Street View. These are the sorts of visual hiccups that an experimental computer vision system occasionally generates when it automatically removes individual pedestrians from images that populate Google Street View.
Medicine & Health news
Falls the leading cause of injury among older adults in China
Falls are the most common injury for both urban and rural elderly in China, responsible for more than two-thirds of all injuries in people 65 and older, according to a new study by researchers from China and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health's Center for Injury Research and Policy. This is the first study to uncover the leading causes of non-fatal injuries among older adults in China, who make up 9 percent of the total population. The report is available on the Website of the journal Injury Prevention.
Lubricating the knee cartilage after ACL repair may prevent osteoarthritis
An injury to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is fairly common, especially among young athletes. While it can often be corrected through surgery, the injury can lead to increased risk of developing degenerative joint diseases, including osteoarthritis (OA). The problem is that fluid in the knee joint, which lubricates the cartilage, is impacted by the trauma of the injury and begins to deteriorate. A new study from Rhode Island Hospital researchers identifies options for restoring that lubrication to potentially prevent development of OA. The study is published in the August 2010 edition of the journal Arthritis & Rheumatism and is now available online ahead of print.
Community poverty impacts pre-dialysis care
The wealth or poverty of kidney disease patients' communities impacts the quality of care patients receive before starting dialysis, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN). The results suggest that medical professionals need to improve care for patients who have not yet started dialysis.
Studies offer encouraging data on preventing Crohn's disease recurrence
Biological agents may play an important role in maintaining remission in Crohn's disease, according to two new studies in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute.
Trial Studies New Way to Deliver Parkinson's Medication
(PhysOrg.com) -- Most medications for Parkinson's disease are taken orally, at certain times of the day. But doctors at UC Health University Hospital are participating in a clinical trial that significantly changes the Parkinson's drug-delivery model.
Hmong-American Women Far Less Likely to Get Pap Test
The Asian-American community of Hmong women in California carries a stunning burden of cervical cancer and resulting mortality four times as high as non-Hispanic white women in California do.
Study shows splitting bowel preparation dosage is most effective cleansing method before colonoscopy
A new study from researchers in Italy has found that a split-dosage schedule of bowel (colon) preparation is the most effective method for bowel cleansing before colonoscopy. Colonoscopies performed within six to eight hours of the end of preparation were associated with significantly better cleansing than those performed more than eight hours after the end of preparation. Two different types of bowel cleansing products were also assessed and researchers found that low-volume polyethylene glycol (PEG) plus ascorbic acid was as effective as high-volume PEG-electrolyte solution, but has superior palatability (or taste). This is the first study to demonstrate that the advantage of split-dosage intake is also true for low-volume bowel cleansing solutions. The study appears in the August issue of GIE: Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, the monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE).
Drug control efforts in Mexico reduce methamphetamine treatment admissions in Mexico and US
A study published today in the scientific journal Addiction shows that the Mexican government's recent efforts to control the manufacture of methamphetamine have caused a drop in methamphetamine treatment admissions in Mexico and in neighbouring Texas.
State cuts to community mental health services continues disturbing trend
Proposed cuts to community mental health centers in Illinois continues a disturbing trend in the state's lack of commitment to helping families and individuals experiencing a mental illness, according to a University of Illinois expert on community-based mental health services.
Prognosis guarded for Medicare and Social Security
(AP) -- Medicare and Social Security - the foundation of a secure retirement - are facing strains from an aging population and an economy that can't seem to get out of low gear.
Gene study offers new target for breast cancer drugs
(PhysOrg.com) -- A gene called POLQ is linked to an eight-fold risk of breast cancer returning, according to Oxford University research published in the journal OncoTarget. Developing drugs to block POLQ could increase survival and stop the cancer coming back, say the scientists.
Laser may reduce prostate surgery's sexual side effects
One of the challenges of prostate cancer surgery is removing the cancer-affected gland without side effects. The procedure is estimated to cause long-term sexual dysfunction in half of men.
Social ecology: Lost and found in psychological science
including political systems, economic systems, and even climate and geography—can affect our thinking and behavior, a field of study known as socioecological psychology. In a report in Perspectives on Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, psychological scientists Shigehiro Oishi and Jesse Graham from the University of Virginia examine the impact of social and physical environments on human thought and behavior.
Robot Speaks the Language of Kids
(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers are studying whether a small robot with a big personality holds the potential to help children with autism.
Diabetes or not, dietary habits of Aftrican-Americans are similar
Researchers looking for differences in eating habits of African Americans based on whether or not they had Type 2 diabetes uncovered an unexpected result: No matter what the blood sugar level was, the dietary intakes were pretty much the same.
Docs told to avoid 1 flu shot brand for small kids
(AP) -- A government panel is recommending doctors steer clear of giving one brand of flu vaccine to young children this year because of problems with it in Australia and New Zealand.
Large risk schizophrenia marker revealed
A group of scientists has identified a genetic variant that substantially increases the risk for developing schizophrenia in Ashkenazi Jewish and other populations. The study, published by Cell Press on August 5th in the American Journal of Human Genetics, associates a deletion on chromosome 3 with increased incidence of schizophrenia.
Medicare fund will last extra 12 years -- maybe
(AP) -- Medicare is in better shape because of President Barack Obama's sweeping health care overhaul, and the hospital fund for elderly Americans will stay afloat a dozen years longer than earlier forecast, the government said Thursday. But that depends on the program achieving big cost-cutting savings that even a top Medicare expert calls highly doubtful.
Researchers explore link between schizophrenia, cat parasite
Johns Hopkins University scientists trying to determine why people develop serious mental illness are focusing on an unlikely factor: a common parasite spread by cats.
Humans Imitate Aspects of Speech We See
(PhysOrg.com) -- New research by UC Riverside shows that unintentional speech imitation can make us sound like people whose voices we never hear.
Chew on this: 6 dental myths debunked
Brushing, flossing, and twice-yearly dental check-ups are standard for oral health care, but there are more health benefits to taking care of your pearly whites than most of us know. In a review article, a faculty member at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine (TUSDM) debunks common dental myths and outlines how diet and nutrition affects oral health in children, teenagers, expectant mothers, adults and elders.
Newts' ability to regenerate tissue replicated in mouse cells
Tissue regeneration a la salamanders and newts seems like it should be the stuff of science fiction. But it happens routinely. Why can't we mammals just re-grow a limb or churn out a few new heart muscle cells as needed? New research suggests there might be a very good reason: Restricting our cells' ability to pop in and out of the cell cycle at will -- a prerequisite for the cell division necessary to make new tissue -- reduces the chances that they'll run amok and form potentially deadly cancers.
H1N1 flu virus used new biochemical trick to cause pandemic
(PhysOrg.com) -- The influenza virus, scientists well know, is a crafty, shape-shifting organism, constantly changing form to evade host immune systems and jump from one species, like birds, to another, mammals.
Economic status, genetics together influence psychopathic traits
Researchers studying the genetic roots of antisocial behavior report that children with one variant of a serotonin transporter gene are more likely to exhibit psychopathic traits if they also grow up poor.
Research Shows Some May Be Wired for Wider Waists
(PhysOrg.com) -- Development of obesity may be predetermined by how neurons in the brain are plugged together. New research from the University of Cincinnati (UC) shows that the amount of weight gained from eating fatty foods may be decided by the wiring of specific neurocircuitry in the hypothalamus.
A little adversity bodes well for those with chronic back pain
A new study by researchers at the University at Buffalo and the University of California, Irvine, to be published in the September issue of the journal Pain, reveals that, for people with chronic back pain, having a little adversity in your life can be protective and beneficial.
Biology news
SDSU researchers look for genes that affect vaccine response
(PhysOrg.com) -- South Dakota State University livestock research is trying to determine whether the genes cattle inherit help determine the way they respond to vaccinations.
Increased destruction of bird populations are predicted with rise in global temperatures
In 2003, a massive heat wave struck and killed some 30,000 people in Europe in an area where heat was not considered a major threat. Similar mass die-offs occur in wild birds and some mammals during heat waves, but unlike humans, birds may not be able to take shelter or find fresh water in order to survive devastating heat. What is the outlook for desert bird communities in light of expected global temperature increases on Earth?
Penn biologist says fake eyes have enabled tropical caterpillars to thrive
Thirty-two years ago, Penn biologist Daniel Janzen broke some ribs falling into a ravine in the Area de Conservacion Guanacaste in northwestern Costa Rica. Sore and unable to leave his chair beneath a 25-watt light bulb deep in the forest, Janzen began to study the moths attracted to the dim light. What resulted was more than three decades of work collecting, photographing and raising caterpillars into adults, then identifying each of the species, half of which had never been described before. The operation continues to this day, 365 days a year, with the help of 33 trained Costa Rican assistants.
Scientists develop sustainable, environmentally friendly potting medium
A new type of sustainable and environmentally friendly potting medium made from thinned pine trees has been created by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists and their university cooperators.
Myanmar triples size of northern tiger reserve
(AP) -- Myanmar has tripled the size of the world's largest tiger reserve in an effort to save the endangered species, which now numbers less than 3,000 in the wild, a conservation group said in a statement seen Thursday.
Cow clone may have over 100 descendants in Britain
A cloned cow whose offspring's meat entered the British food chain may have more than 100 descendants in the country, records suggested Thursday, amid fears about their spread into the food system.
Hummingbird rehab is a fast-paced labor of love
They're kidnapped by children or captured by cats. They're cut down by tree trimmers or toppled by winds. Some fly into walls or windows, while others see their parents injured in territorial feuds. For baby hummingbirds, the summer is a time of great peril.
A 'crystal ball' for predicting the effects of global climate change
In trying to predict how species will respond to climate change caused by global warming, researchers and scientists are turning to comparative physiology, a sub-discipline of physiology that studies how different organisms function and adapt to diverse and changing environments. By comparing different species to each other, as well as to members within a species that live in different environments, researchers are learning which physiologic features establish environmental optima and tolerance limits. This approach gives the scientific community a "crystal ball" for predicting the effects of global warming, according to George N. Somero, Associate Director of Stanford University's Hopkins Marine Station.
High levels of carbon dioxide threaten oyster survival
It has been widely reported that the build up of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the air, which is caused by human behavior, will likely lead to climate change and have major implications for life on earth. But less focus has been given to global warming's evil twin, ocean acidification, which occurs when CO2 lowers the pH of water bodies, thus making them more acidic. This lesser known phenomenon may have catastrophic effects on all sea life.
Butterflies shed light on how some species respond to global warming
With global warming and climate change making headlines nearly every day, it could be reassuring to know that some creatures might cope by gradually moving to new areas as their current ones become less hospitable. Nevertheless, natural relocation of species is not something that can be taken for granted, according to Jessica Hellmann, Associate Professor at the University of Notre Dame Department of Biological Science in Notre Dame, Ind. By studying two species of butterfly, she and her team have found evidence suggesting that a number of genetic variables affect whether and how well a species will relocate.
Green turtles return to Malaysia but future bleak
Green turtles are returning to Malaysia in their hundreds after being nearly wiped out, but experts warned Thursday that the species is still headed for oblivion if habitat loss is not stopped.
The long and short of cell signaling
Like a telegraph transmission, the significance of a cellular signal can change greatly depending on whether it arrives as a brief 'dot' or a sustained 'dash'. For example, transient activation of extracellular receptor kinase 1/2 (ERK) by epidermal growth factor (EGF) causes cells to divide, while prolonged ERK activation induced by heregulin (HRG) instructs these same cells to differentiate.
Research breakthrough on the question of life expectancy
Why do we grow old and what can we do to stop it? This is the question asked by many, but it appears that we are now closer to an answer thanks to new research published by Monash University researcher Dr Damian Dowling.
Human embryonic stem cells and reprogrammed cells virtually identical
Human embryonic stem (ES) cells and adult cells reprogrammed to an embryonic stem cell-like state—so-called induced pluripotent stem or iPS cells—exhibit very few differences in their gene expression signatures and are nearly indistinguishable in their chromatin state, according to Whitehead Institute researchers.
Researchers unlocking the secrets of cross-species rabies transmission
Like most infectious diseases, rabies can attack several species. However, which species are going to be infected and why turns out to be a difficult problem that represents a major gap in our knowledge of how diseases emerge. A paper just published in the journal Science by a team of researchers led by Daniel G. Streicker, a PhD student at the University of Georgia Odum School of Ecology, has begun to close that knowledge gap.
Bats facing regional extinction from rapidly spreading disease
A new infectious disease spreading rapidly across the northeastern United States has killed millions of bats and is predicted to cause regional extinction of a once-common bat species, according to the findings of a University of California, Santa Cruz researcher.
Epigenomics approach illuminates the dark corners of the genome
(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers use patterns of chromatin modifications to learn about regions of the human genome outside of genes.
Scientists discover new method for regenerating heart muscle by direct reprogramming
Scientists at the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease (GICD) have found a new way to make beating heart cells from the body's own cells that could help regenerate damaged hearts. Over 5 million Americans suffer from heart failure because the heart has virtually no ability to repair itself after a heart attack. Only 2,000 hearts become available for heart transplant annually in the United States, leaving limited therapeutic options for the remaining millions.
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