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Here is your customized PHYSorg.com Newsletter for September 10, 2010:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
- Physicists investigate fate of five-dimensional black strings- Early exit for hot Jupiter due to deadly tides
- Paris building to be warmed by commuters' body heat
- Sloth movement secrets revealed
- Graphene may hold key to speeding up DNA sequencing
- Soldiers' helmets could control brain activity with ultrasound
- Many roads lead to superconductivity
- Study on genetics in fruit flies leads to new method for understanding brain function
- Drug holds promise to halt debilitating condition of diabetes
- Making massive stars
- A smart use for wisdom teeth: Making stem cells
- Discovery offers hope of saving sub-Saharan crops from devastating parasites
- Android to challenge Nokia's Symbian by 2014: Gartner
- Study finds that sorghum bran has more antioxidants than blueberries, pomegranates
- Superconductors face the future
Space & Earth news
First James Webb Space Telescope primary mirror segment to achieve final step
A bit of gold made its way into the Rocket City last week in the form of a gold-coated James Webb Space Telescope primary mirror segment. It is the first primary mirror segment to achieve the final step in the manufacturing process, prior to undergoing cryogenic testing in the X-ray & Cryogenic Facility at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.
Southern soils mitigate manure microbes
That swine manure sprayed on to fields adds valuable nutrients to the soil is well known. But what is not known is whether all that manure is bringing harmful bacteria with it.
We're thinking of you, 'Mars astronauts' tell Chilean miners
Six men who are cut off from the rest of the world in an experiment to simulate a voyage to Mars have sent a message of support to Chile's trapped miners and urged them to "stay busy."
Tracking triclosan's field footprint
A study by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists and cooperators provides new details about how fertilizing soils with biosolids also introduces triclosan -- an antibacterial agent in soaps and other cleaning supplies -- into the environment.
US asks firms to reveal gas extraction liquid
The US environmental regulator on Thursday asked gas companies to reveal what chemicals are used in deep extraction, addressing concerns by residents that their drinking water is being contaminated.
China preps next lunar space mission
China is on track to launch its second lunar satellite by year's end, as the country pursues its plans for a manned mission to the moon by 2020, state media said Friday.
Sea temperatures around Japan hit record high
Japan, which has just endured its hottest summer on record, said Friday it had also last month recorded the warmest sea temperatures since it started gathering comparable data 25 years ago.
Potential lab in outer space to open for amateur astronomers
Two amateur astronomers who independently observed and videotaped an asteroid striking the giant planet Jupiter on June 3 have opened the possibility, in effect, of a giant research lab in space for planetary scientists.
Improved climate forecasts sought out by new report
From farmers to government officials in charge of efficiently managing Earth's precious water and energy resources, people all over the world rely on accurate short-term climate forecasts on timescales ranging from a few weeks to a few years to make more informed decisions. But today's climate forecast systems have limited ability to operate on such timescales. That's because it's difficult to realistically represent the complex interactions between Earth's ocean, atmosphere and land surface in the climate models from which forecasts are developed.
Image: C3-class solar flare erupts on Sept. 8, 2010
Just as sunspot 1105 was turning away from Earth on Sept. 8, the active region erupted, producing a C3-class solar flare (peak @ 2330 UT) and a fantastic prominence.
TRMM satellite measures Hermine's severe Texas rainfall from space
The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite estimates rainfall from space and has provided NASA and other scientists with a visual tool to see just how much Tropical Storm Hermine has drenched Texas with since it made landfall earlier this week.
Objects impacting Jupiter detected first by amateur astronomers
(PhysOrg.com) -- Amateur astronomers using backyard telescopes were the first to detect two small objects that burned up in Jupiter's atmosphere on June 3 and Aug. 20.
Colonization of Mars might be microbes away
Tiny rock-eating microbes could mine precious extraterrestrial resources from Mars and pave the way for the first human colonists. Just don't expect them to transform the red planet's surface into a new Earth on a short deadline, researchers say.
Accessing the risk of arsenic ingestion with mineralogy
Canadian researchers working at Brookhaven's National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS) have created a method for determining how much of the arsenic in soil tailings -- byproducts of the mining industry -- will enter the bloodstream if ingested.
Making massive stars
Massive stars -- those with more than about eight times the mass of the sun -- are arguably the most important actors in the universe. Much hotter and more luminous than the sun, they live only hundreds of millions of years before exploding in supernovae, but during their lives their nuclear furnaces produce a wide range of chemical elements (the universe was created with primarily hydrogen and helium).
Early exit for hot Jupiter due to deadly tides
(PhysOrg.com) -- Bad news for planet hunters: most of the "hot Jupiters" that astronomers have been searching for in star clusters were likely destroyed long ago by their stars. In a paper accepted for publication by the Astrophysical Journal, John Debes and Brian Jackson of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., offer this new explanation for why no transiting planets (planets that pass in front of their stars and temporarily block some of the light) have been found yet in star clusters. The researchers also predict that the planet hunting being done by the Kepler mission is more likely to succeed in younger star clusters than older ones.
Technology news
US videogame sales continue downward slide
US videogame sales slid again in August as the industry hoped that hot titles and new motion-sensing controllers due out in coming months would reverse its fortunes.
Renewable energy needs more community power
An analysis of wind farm applications in England shows that rejection of wind energy projects is connected to areas with high political engagement and high life expectancy. The current trend shows that many technically suitable locations may remain unused because of the threat of effective local resistance by people who are relatively privileged.
WikiLeaks to release cache of Iraq war documents: Newsweek
Whistleblower website WikiLeaks is teaming up with news outlets to release a "massive cache" of classified US military field reports on the conflict in Iraq, Newsweek magazine reported on Friday.
Social media inflames news cycle of Quran burning
(AP) -- The swelling story of a tiny Florida church's plan to burn copies of the Quran is raising questions of news judgment not only for the media, but for Web users and readers, too.
Toyota plant in Australia to build greener engines
(AP) -- Toyota will build a 300 million Australian dollars ($277 million) plant in Melbourne that will produce greener engines that deliver reduced carbon emissions, the company said Friday.
Facebook inches past Google for Web users' minutes
(AP) -- U.S. Web surfers are spending more time socializing on Facebook than searching with Google, according to new data from researchers at comScore Inc.
EBay wins a round in court against Craigslist
(AP) -- In a skirmish between two Internet heavy hitters with a tangled relationship, eBay Inc. has convinced a court that it was wronged by antitakeover moves adopted by Craigslist after eBay started encroaching on its online classifieds turf in the U.S.
Japan rapid scanning system can digitise book in one minute (w/ Video)
Japanese researchers said Friday they had developed technology to scan a book as fast as a person can flip through it.
Nokia dumps CEO, turns to Microsoft exec
(AP) -- Nokia Corp. is replacing CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo with top Microsoft executive Stephen Elop as the world's top handset maker aims to regain lost ground in the fiercely competitive smartphone market.
US widens probe of HP bribery allegations
(AP) -- U.S. investigators have widened their probe of alleged kickbacks paid to Russian authorities by employees of a Hewlett-Packard Co. subsidiary in Germany.
Playing snooker with atoms
Scientists speak of sputtering when energy-rich ions hit a solid object and cause atoms to be released from its surface. The phenomenon can be exploited to apply microscopically thin coatings to glass surfaces. A German research team has developed a special sputtering technique that greatly increases the efficiency of the coating process.
Sandia Labs' device helps U.S. troops in Afghanistan disable improvised explosive devices
(PhysOrg.com) -- A device developed by Sandia National Laboratories researchers that shoots a blade of water capable of penetrating steel is headed to U.S. troops in Afghanistan to help them disable deadly improvised explosive devices, or IEDs — the No. 1 killer and threat to troops in Afghanistan, according to the Pentagon.
'Halo: Reach' aims to grab gamers again
(AP) -- Since fans lined up at midnight nearly three years ago for the release of the last "Halo" video game, a recession struck the economy, President Barack Obama took office and "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" became the best-selling shooter game of all time. When the prequel "Halo: Reach" debuts Sept. 14, it will land on a very different world.
Security firms issue warning over email worm
Computer security firms issued warnings on Friday over a computer virus that arrives by email offering downloads of "free sex movies" or documents.
Hackers make 57,000 booby-trapped websites weekly: experts
About 57,000 seemingly legitimate websites booby-trapped by hackers spring up on the Internet each week, computer security researchers at PandaLabs said.
Mapping new paths for stressed-out Internet
(PhysOrg.com) -- The San Diego Supercomputer Center and Cooperative Association for Internet Data Analysis (CAIDA) at the University of California, San Diego, in a collaboration with researchers from Universitat de Barcelona in Spain and the University of Cyprus, have created the first geometric "atlas" of the Internet as part of a project to prevent our most ubiquitous form of communication from collapsing within the next decade or so.
Android to challenge Nokia's Symbian by 2014: Gartner
Google's open-source Android will become the number two mobile operating system this year, leapfrogging BlackBerry and challenging market leader Nokia's Symbian by 2014, a research firm said Friday.
Paris building to be warmed by commuters' body heat
(PhysOrg.com) -- Paris Habitat, owner of a low-income public housing project in Paris, is planning to use the excess body heat of commuters in a subway station beneath it to warm an apartment building.
Medicine & Health news
Lack of trust in hospitals a major deterrent for blood donation among African-Americans
Disparities in healthcare between races exist in the United States. A new study published in the journal Transfusion explores why African Americans donate blood at lower rates than whites. The findings reveal that there is a significant distrust in the healthcare system among the African American community, and African Americans who distrust hospitals are less likely to donate.
The cost of over-triage on our nation's health system
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified "secondary over-triage" as a potential area of cost savings for our nation's health care. The phenomenon of over-triage occurs when patients are transferred twice, and discharged from a second facility in less than 24 hours. These findings will be published in the September 10th issue of The Journal of Trauma.
AIDS doctors, activists call for more health funds
(AP) -- Doctors and AIDS activists on Friday urged African governments to fulfill a decade-old pledge to spend more of their own money on health if they want international help in fighting AIDS.
Mental health affected by perceived life-threat
Feeling like your life is in danger during an accident or disaster can have long-term negative effects on health - whether or not the threat to your life was real. This is one of the results of a new doctoral thesis from Karolinska Institutet on the experiences and mental health of Stockholm residents who survived the 2004 Tsunami in the Indian Ocean. A few simple questions to survivors early on could help health care personnel identify those in need of extra support and follow-up, according to Lars Wahlström, the researcher behind the thesis.
IV drips can be left in place
Small intravenous devices (IVDs) commonly used in the hand or arm do not need to be moved routinely every 3 days. A randomized controlled trial comparing regular relocation with relocation on clinical indication, published in the open access journal BMC Medicine, found that rates of complications were the same for both regimens.
World's first transcontinental anesthesia
Videoconferences may be known for putting people to sleep, but never like this. Dr. Thomas Hemmerling and his team of McGill's Department of Anesthesia achieved a world first on August 30, 2010, when they treated patients undergoing thyroid gland surgery in Italy remotely from Montreal. The approach is part of new technological advancements, known as 'Teleanesthesia', and it involves a team of engineers, researchers and anesthesiologists who will ultimately apply the drugs intravenously which are then controlled remotely through an automated system.
Mental health leaves most costly disability to Canadian employers
Mental illness is associated with more lost work days than any other chronic condition, costing the Canadian economy $51 billion annually in lost productivity. In the first study of its kind, researchers from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) have calculated the actual cost of mental health leave and found that on average it's double the cost of a leave for a physical illness.
European Union could create incentive for new drug treatments
Drug companies may be more willing to develop treatments for neglected diseases including malaria, tuberculosis and leishmanaiasis if the European Union would adopt a "priority review voucher" reward system.
Basic physical capability can predict mortality in later life
People who are better at simple physical acts such as gripping, walking, rising from a chair and balancing on one leg are more likely to live longer, according to a new study published in the British Medical Journal today.
Diagnostic errors 'greatest threat to patient safety in hospitals,' claims senior doctor
Diagnostic errors are the most important causes of avoidable harm to patients in hospitals, warns a senior doctor in the British Medical Journal today.
Gene activity in humane intestines changed with probiotic bacteria
Drinks with probiotic bacteria change the activity of the genes in the small intestine. This is the conclusion of Dutch research of TI Food and Nutrition published in the American journal PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) carried out by Maastricht University, NIZO Food Research, UMC St Radboud and Wageningen University.
Researchers analyze impact of chemical BPA in dental sealants used in children
Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine have found that bisphenol A (BPA) released from some plastic resins used in pediatric dentistry is detectable in the saliva after placement in children's mouths. BPA is a widely used synthetic chemical that has been associated with changes in behavior, prostate and urinary tract development, and early onset of puberty. The findings are published in the current issue of Pediatrics.
Cholera stalks West Africa as rains spread disease
(AP) -- Patients jammed rudimentary clinics and health workers in surgical masks sprayed anti-bacterial solution on muddy paths as the government struggled to contain a cholera epidemic that has killed nearly 800 Nigerians in two months.
Program to improve palliative care falls short of hopes
There may be no simple one-size-fits-all approach to improving end-of-life care in ICU settings, according to a recent study from some of the world's leading researchers in palliative care.
Function found for Alzheimer's protein
In people with Alzheimer's, the brain becomes riddled with clumps of protein, forming what are known as amyloid plaques. Now, a report appearing in the September 17th print issue of Cell appears to have found a function for the amyloid precursor protein (APP for short) that yields the prime ingredient in those plaques.
Researchers identify new neurological deficit behind lazy eye
Researchers at New York University's Center for Neural Science have identified a new neurological deficit behind amblyopia, or "lazy eye." Their findings, which appear in the most recent issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, shed additional light on how amblyopia results from disrupted links between the brain and normal visual processing.
Drug holds promise to halt debilitating condition of diabetes
A drug developed at the University of Kansas has the potential to stop a debilitating condition of diabetes that often leads to pain in the extremities and even amputations, KU researchers have found.
Study finds that sorghum bran has more antioxidants than blueberries, pomegranates
(PhysOrg.com) -- A new University of Georgia study has found that select varieties of sorghum bran have greater antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties than well-known foods such as blueberries and pomegranates.
Soldiers' helmets could control brain activity with ultrasound
(PhysOrg.com) -- One of DARPA's latest pursuits of cutting-edge research involves a neurotechnology lab at Arizona State University that specializes in ultrasonic brain stimulation. By implementing the technology in soldiers' helmets, DARPA hopes to provide advantages to US troops by enhancing cognitive abilities; improving long-term alertness; and reducing stress, anxiety, and pain.
Biology news
Researchers Doggedly Investigate What Canines See
(PhysOrg.com) -- What do dogs see that catches their attention? The researchers in the Cognition Applied Research Laboratory (CARL) at Florida Institute of Technology are working to find the answer. They usually conduct their eye-tracking research with humans, but they made an exception and invited a group of dogs and their owners to the lab. As a result, CARL is the first lab in the world to eye-track canines.
SEINet offers desert plant guide online
Imagine that you're going to take a hike in the Superstition Mountains. You love plants, and are always curious about the various bushes, trees and flowers that you encounter in the desert.
Stem cell research: What progress has been made, what is its potential?
The use of stem cells for research and their possible application in the treatment of disease are hotly debated topics. In a special issue of Translational Research published this month an international group of medical experts presents an in-depth and balanced view of the rapidly evolving field of stem cell research and considers the potential of harnessing stem cells for therapy of human diseases including cardiovascular diseases, renal failure, neurologic disorders, gastrointestinal diseases, pulmonary diseases, neoplastic diseases, and type 1 diabetes mellitus.
Blue whales have perfect pitch
Blue whales have the remarkable ability to synchronize the pitch of their songs so that they all hit the exact same note, according to a new study. Professor of Physics Roger Bland recorded thousands of whale songs off the coast of California and found that whales in the eastern North Pacific are tuning into a common frequency--behavior that may help these giant creatures find potential mates.
Wildflower uses self-imposed armour to fight off disease
An unusual wildflower that accumulates metals in its leaves has been found to use them as a kind of 'armour' against bacterial infection.
For rapid non-linear information processing in the brain, small synaptic impulses are key
A novel theoretical framework for mathematically modeling nerve cells has illuminated for the first time how small synaptic impulses enable non-linear information processing in the brain. Reported in PLoS Computational Biology, the findings offer fundamental insights relevant to a wide range of biological, physical and technical systems.
Hong Kong seizes 1.5 tonnes of smuggled elephant ivory
Hong Kong customs officers have seized over one and a half tonnes of smuggled elephant ivory worth 10.9 million Hong Kong dollars (1.3 million US) shipped from Tanzania, they said Friday.
Panda in Japan zoo dies during breeding programme
A male giant panda in a Japanese zoo died after it was sedated so it could donate semen in an artificial insemination programme, a zoo official said Friday.
Flying fish glide as well as birds
How well do flying fish fly? This is the question that puzzled Haecheon Choi from Seoul National University, Korea. Measuring aerodynamic forces on dried darkedged-wing flying fish in a wind tunnel, Choi and Hyungmin Park discovered that flying fish glide better than insects and as well as birds. The fish also derive an aerodynamic advantage from gliding close to the water's surface to cover distances as great as 400 meters.
Hope for malaria may be inside African mosquitoes
In the realm of human suffering, few diseases afflict more widespread misery than malaria, which strikes hundreds of millions of people every year and claims about a million lives -- mostly children living in sub-Saharan Africa.
Wave of gene expression gives root tips wild ride
Duke researchers have found a surprising parallel between the development of an animal's spinal column and a plant's root system. Both appear to be controlled by a "molecular clock" that governs a regular spatial pattern of development.
Study on genetics in fruit flies leads to new method for understanding brain function
A team of University of Oklahoma researchers studying neurobiology in fruit flies (Drosophila) has developed a new method for understanding brain function with potential applications in studies of human neurological diseases.
Discovery offers hope of saving sub-Saharan crops from devastating parasites
Each year, thousands of acres of crops are planted throughout Africa, Asia and Australia only to be laid to waste by a parasitic plant called Striga, also known as witchweed. It is one of the largest challenges to food security in Africa, and a team of scientists led by researchers from the University of Toronto have discovered chemicals and genes that may break Striga's stranglehold.
Sloth movement secrets revealed
(PhysOrg.com) -- New studies of the movements of sloths have revealed more information about how they move around in the trees, traveling upside down.
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