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Here is your customized PHYSorg.com Newsletter for May 20, 2011:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
- Simplifying the process of detecting genuine multiparticle entanglement- Gossip serves a useful purpose after all
- In-car device monitors blood sugar for diabetic drivers
- Tiny turbine in human artery harvests energy from blood flow
- Researcher shows how cone snails developed poison gland from spare gut parts
- Scientists make strides in vision research
- 'Time' not necessarily deeply rooted in our brains
- Seeing the planets for the trees
- New study reveals environment's role in post-natal depression
- Crossing your arms relieves pain
- AMS is ready to discover the particle universe
- NASA's two lunar-bound spacecraft, vacuum-packed
- University of Pennsylvania's PR2 robot learns to read (w/ video)
- CDC's 'zombie apocalypse' advice an Internet hit
- Spiders suffer from human impact
Space & Earth news
Research ship Polarstern returns from Antartica
Bremerhaven, 19 May 2011. The research vessel Polarstern of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association will arrive back at its homeport of Bremerhaven after a seven-month expedition on Friday, 20 May. Nearly 200 researchers from institutes in 15 countries took part in the expedition. The oceanographers on board conducted measurements showing that warming of the water in the deep Weddell Sea continues further. The observations of biologists indicated that organisms in the Antarctic adapt very slowly to changes in the environment.
Space Image: Endeavour's close up
(PhysOrg.com) -- This image of the space shuttle Endeavour's starboard wing was taken by the Expedition 27 crew during a survey of the approaching STS-134 mission prior to docking with the International Space Station.
Endeavour astronauts stroll out for spacewalk
(AP) -- Two space shuttle Endeavour astronauts are spacewalking outside the International Space Station.
Galaxy Evolution Explorer finds dark energy repulsive
(PhysOrg.com) -- A five-year survey of 200,000 galaxies, stretching back seven billion years in cosmic time, has led to one of the best independent confirmations that dark energy is driving our universe apart at accelerating speeds.
NASA aims for July 8 launch of last-ever shuttle flight
NASA said Friday it is aiming to launch the space shuttle Atlantis on July 8 for the last-ever flight of the 30-year-old American shuttle program.
Watch Spaceship Two's first feathered flight
On May 4, 2011 Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo achieved a major milestone by flying for the first time using its “feathered” configuration, and the company has now released a close-up video of the flight. Feathering is designed to create drag and slow the ship down after it reenters the atmosphere from eventual suborbital flights taking tourists into space. This flight confirmed the feathering design should work.
Monitoring Mississippi Delta flood from space
As floodwaters roll downstream, earth scientists at the University of Pennsylvania are keeping a watchful eye on the Mississippi Delta using satellite images and measurements of the sea surface in the Gulf of Mexico.
Landsat offers stunning comparison of flooding
Extreme rainfall and heavy snowmelt have combined this spring to bring the Mississippi River roaring beyond its banks. While humans on the ground have scrambled to evacuate, build sandbag walls and taken dramatic measures not seen in decades – blowing levees and opening the Morganza Spillway – satellites have provided a distinct view of the extraordinary extent of the flooding.
Skydiving on Saturn
Daredevils regularly bail out at high altitude to skydive through Earth’s atmosphere but what would it be like to skydive on Saturn?
Quantifying melting glaciers' effect on ocean currents
(PhysOrg.com) -- A team of scientists from Bangor University and the University of Sheffield have used a computer climate model to study how freshwater entering the oceans at the end of ice-ages 140,000 years ago, affected the parts of the ocean currents that control climate. This is the first study of this kind for the time period.
Glitch makes NASA cut short Endeavour spacewalk
NASA managers cut short a task on Friday's otherwise routine spacewalk by two Endeavour astronauts because one of their carbon dioxide sensors stopped working, but most of their work was already finished.
Seeing the planets for the trees
A recent study says that a particular mathematical technique could be used to detect forests on extrasolar planets.
NASA's two lunar-bound spacecraft, vacuum-packed
(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's two Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (Grail) spacecraft have completed all assembly and testing prior to shipment to Florida.
Technology news
New Dish CEO: More acquisitions on horizon
(AP) -- Joe Clayton, the incoming chief executive of Dish Network Corp., said Thursday that more acquisitions are on the horizon as the satellite TV provider pieces together a "new video model" to compete other pay TV operators and rising stars such as Netflix Inc.
Virtual reality players form real-world community
(AP) -- In a downtown New York restaurant, a high-ranking Mafia meeting was underway. Three men who robbed, murdered and extorted together were having a top-level sit-down.
DOCOMO develops compact multi-band power amplifier
NTT DOCOMO today announced that it has developed a prototype power amplifier for six frequency bands between 1.5 GHz and 2.5 GHz in a form factor smaller than multiple single-band power amplifiers conventionally used to provide the same function.
Microsoft trying to take another bite of the Apple?
It was recently announced that Apple, assessed at $150 billion, surpassed Google as the world’s most valuable brand. This comes a year after overtaking Microsoft as the globe’s most valuable technology company. The day after the announcement, Microsoft made its biggest purchase to date, buying Skype for $8.5 billion.
US lawmakers query smartphone 'apps' in privacy
Apple, Facebook, and Google on Thursday fielded questions from US lawmakers concerned that smartphones and popular mobile "apps" were putting people's privacy at risk.
The wrong sites for solar
Is it possible that solar energy - clean, renewable, virtually infinite - could have a downside? As it's being pursued on our public lands, yes.
Power plants vulnerable to hackers: security firm
US computer security research firm NSS Labs warned that it uncovered new ways that hackers could sabotage power plants, oil refineries or manufacturing operations.
In reminder of '90s, LinkedIn has big first day
(AP) -- There was an unmistakable echo of the dot-com boom Thursday on Wall Street. LinkedIn, a trailblazer in the online networking craze, went public with a roaring stock offering. Within minutes, shares were trading at twice the value set by the company.
Device heralds big technology changes
A passive microwave device developed at The University of Queensland is expected to bring revolutionary changes for the medical and telecommunications industries.
Panasonic sees light after darkness of disaster
(AP) -- Panasonic Corp., which faces a tough road this year after Japan's earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis, believes it can turn disaster into opportunity as the country rethinks its energy policy.
Seeing through the eyes of the colorblind
Toyohashi Tech researcher receives coveted Japanese government award for the invention of unique color filter–glasses. Allowing those with normal color vision to experience colorblindness, the glasses enable understanding of problems arising for people with color vision deficiency.
How sensors can detect the crime-solving clues at our fingertips
A new approach to fingerprinting using sensor technology developed at the University of Sussex could soon be helping forensics teams date and identify prints left at a crime scene - by capturing their electrical imprint.
Google works to close security loophole in Android
Google is in the process of updating its Android operating system to fix an issue that is believed to have left millions of smartphones and tablets vulnerable to personal data leaks.
In-car device monitors blood sugar for diabetic drivers
People with diabetes and their caregivers know that careful and constant monitoring of their blood sugar levels is critical to managing the disease. But even while driving?
Working to drive electric vehicles from niche to mass market
With several new models of electric vehicles hitting the market this year and more next year, President Obama’s goal of putting 1 million EVs on U.S. roads by 2015 is tantalizingly within grasp. But what will it take for that number to reach 10 million or even 100 million in 20 years?
Process could improve economics of ethanol production
(PhysOrg.com) -- Iowa State University's Hans van Leeuwen has moved his research team's award-winning idea for improving ethanol production from a laboratory to a pilot plant.
Tiny turbine in human artery harvests energy from blood flow
(PhysOrg.com) -- A small turbine located inside a millimeters-wide human artery could harvest enough energy from blood flow to power implanted medical devices, such as pacemakers and drug-delivery pumps. The concept has been presented by researchers at the University of Bern and the Bern University of Applied Sciences during the Microtechnologies in Medicine and Biology conference in Lucerne, Switzerland, earlier this month.
Eurocopter X3: The world's fastest copter
(PhysOrg.com) -- If you asked a child how they would make a helicopter go faster, they would probably tell you to add another engine. The answer would be Zen simple and dead right. The engineers at Eurocopter also seem to have that same mentality and it worked.
CDC's 'zombie apocalypse' advice an Internet hit
(AP) -- "Zombie apocalypse." That blog posting headline is all it took for a behind-the-scenes public health doctor to set off an Internet frenzy over tired old advice about keeping water and flashlights on hand in case of a hurricane.
Medicine & Health news
New tool to measure outcomes could help improve arm surgery for devastating nerve injury
The way that clinicians report outcomes of surgery for a traumatic nerve injury involving the arm is not standardized, and it is thus difficult to compare the efficacy of different surgical treatments, according to a study by researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York. In a second HSS study, investigators say they have developed a tool to measure outcomes that they hope can be refined and used worldwide. Both studies will be presented at the International Symposium on Brachial Plexus Surgery, which will be held in Lisbon, Portugal, May 19-21.
Childhood cancer survivors at higher risk for future GI complications
(Medical Xpress) -- Individuals who are treated for cancer during childhood have a significantly higher risk of developing gastrointestinal (GI) complications — from mild to severe — later in life, according to a study led by the University of California, San Francisco. The findings underscore the need for childhood cancer survivors and their physicians to be aware of these risk factors to ensure patients’ ongoing health care needs are met.
Kept in chains: Mental illness rampant in Somalia
(AP) -- Hassan Qasim lies shackled to a wall in a hallway with 25 other patients at a clinic for the mentally ill. He whispers under his breath and spits at his neighbors. Torn and dirty clothes hang off his skinny frame.
Poor understanding of anesthesiologist's role during labor may affect maternal and fetal outcomes
Today, one in four or five women in Ontario will give birth through a cesarean or "C-section." A new study, led by researchers from St. Michael's Hospital and The Wilson Centre for Research in Education and the Department of Anesthesia, University of Toronto, has found that many labour and delivery health professionals lack a clear understanding of the anesthesiologist's role as a physician with specialized skills in the management of seriously unwell pregnant patients. This role misperception may affect the quality of care delivered to mothers and their babies.
The struggle for personal identity in cancer patient
We all know shorts and swimsuit season is right around the corner, but what if body image issues went past wiggling thighs and a bulging tummy to a deeper level? What if the body image issues were part of a life-and-death struggle? For people with cancer, the diagnosis not only brings a fight for one’s life but may also introduce a battle for personal identity.
Blood donation still safe for those with tattoos
The weather is finally starting to warm up, and people are breaking out the shorts, bathing suits and flip-flops.
Standardized concussion-assessment gets hockey players healthily back on the ice
As the chase for the 2011 Stanley Cup heads to the finish, several players are off the ice suffering from concussion, an injury all too common in this contact sport.
Breakthrough medical food reverses risk of heart disease and diabetes
Researchers at the University of Florida and Metagenics Inc. today announced that a program consisting of a breakthrough medical food combined with a low-glycemic, Mediterranean-style diet is almost twice as effective as one of the best diets alone for lowering risk factors for cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in the U.S.
Wolbachia bacteria reduce parasite levels and kill the mosquito that spreads malaria
Wolbachia are bacteria that infect many insects, including mosquitoes. However, Wolbachia do not naturally infect Anopheles mosquitoes, which are the type that spreads malaria to humans. Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that artificial infection with different Wolbachia strains can significantly reduce levels of the human malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, in the mosquito, Anopheles gambiae. The investigators also determined that one of the Wolbachia strains rapidly killed the mosquito after it fed on blood. According to the researchers, Wolbachia could potentially be used as part of a strategy to control malaria if stable infections can be established in Anopheles. Their study is published in the May 19 edition PLoS Pathogens.
Malaria risk reduced by genetic predisposition for cell suicide
A human genetic variant associated with an almost 30 percent reduced risk of developing severe malaria has been identified. Scientists from the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine (BNITM), Hamburg, and Kumasi University, Ghana, reveal that a variant at the FAS locus can prevent an excessive and potentially hazardous immune response in infected children. The study appears in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics on May 19.
New study suggests dietary supplement can protect against pre-eclampsia
A dietary supplement containing an amino acid and antioxidant vitamins, given to pregnant women at high risk of pre-eclampsia, can reduce the occurrence of the disease, finds a study published in the British Medical Journal today.
The traditional remedy bitter cumin is a great source antioxidant plant phenols
Bitter cumin is used extensively in traditional medicine to treat a range of diseases from vitiligo to hyperglycemia. It is considered to be antiparasitic and antimicrobial and science has backed up claims of its use to reduce fever or as a painkiller. New research published in BioMedCentral's open access journal BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine shows that this humble spice also contains high levels of antioxidants.
US home births increase 20 percent from 2004 to 2008
After a gradual decline from 1990 to 2004, a new study published online in Birth: Issues in Perinatal Care finds that United States births occurring at home increased by 20 percent between 2004 and 2008.
Enlarged prostate: decade-long study demonstrates immediate and long-term benefits of holmium laser treatment
(Medical Xpress) -- New research presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Urology Association (AUA) in Washington, DC demonstrates that holmium laser therapy is a safe and durable treatment option for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) - an enlargement of the prostate that affects most men as they age. The study, conducted by researchers from the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC), is the longest comprehensive assessment of this technology to date, and researchers suggest it may now safely be considered the new, size independent, gold standard for treatment of BPH.
Computer game helps eye specialists treat disease in children
(PhysOrg.com) -- An eye consultant has drawn on his teenage passion for computer programming to create a special test to check the vision of children as young as four, in a way that can flag up problems caused by glaucoma, drug side-effects, brain tumours and other conditions.
Research provides insight into quality of stored blood used for transfusions
Old red blood cells shown to have undergone ?significant changes and damage?; techniques could help rapidly monitoring quality of blood supply.
Does eating give you pleasure or make you anxious?
(Medical Xpress) -- Perhaps the most puzzling symptom of anorexia nervosa -- a disorder that tends to occur in young women -- is the refusal to eat, resulting in extreme weight loss. While most people have a great deal of difficulty in dieting and losing weight, particularly if a diet extends over many months or years, individuals with anorexia nervosa can literally diet themselves to death. In fact, this disorder has a very high death rate from starvation. A new study, now online in the journal International Journal of Eating Disorders, sheds light on why these symptoms occur in anorexia nervosa.
Diet high in vegetables and fruit associated with less weight gain in African-American women
Investigators from the Slone Epidemiology Center at Boston University have reported that African American women who consumed a diet high in vegetables and fruit gained less weight over a 14-year period than those who consumed a diet high in red meat and fried foods. This is the first prospective study to show that a healthier diet is associated with less weight gain in African American women, a population with a high prevalence of obesity. The study results, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, were based on data from the Black Women's Health Study (BWHS), a large follow-up study of 59,000 African American women from across the U.S. conducted since 1995.
Buying 'legal highs' from the Internet is a risky business
Many drugs sold as 'legal highs' on the internet do not contain the ingredients they claim. Some instead contain controlled substances and are illegal to sell over the internet. These are findings of Dr. Mark Baron, who bought a range of tablets from different websites to see what each contained. The study is published today in the journal Drug Testing and Analysis.
Innovative device offers earlier breast-cancer detection
A team of EU-funded researchers has developed a new type of mammogram technique using molecular imaging which could help detect breast cancer earlier.
High iron, copper levels block brain-cell DNA repair
No one knows the cause of most cases of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and other neurodegenerative disorders. But researchers have found that certain factors are consistently associated with these debilitating conditions. One is DNA damage by reactive oxygen species, highly destructive molecules usually formed as a byproduct of cellular respiration. Another is the presence of excessive levels of copper and iron in regions of the brain associated with the particular disorder.
No evidence WHO in cahoots with vaccine makers: members
The World Health Organisation had problems handling the swine flu epidemic, but there was no evidence it tried to boost vaccine makers, the UN body's member countries agreed on Friday.
Unplanned pregnancies in U.S. at 40 percent
About 40 percent of pregnancies across the United States were unwanted or mistimed, according to the first-ever state-by-state analysis of unintended pregnancies.
Implant breakthrough helps paraplegic man stand, step with assistance, move legs voluntarily
A team of scientists at the University of Louisville, UCLA and the California Institute of Technology has achieved a significant breakthrough in its initial work with a paralyzed male volunteer at Louisville's Frazier Rehab Institute. It is the result of 30 years of research to find potential clinical therapies for paralysis.
Breaking rules makes you seem powerful
When people have power, they act the part. Powerful people smile less, interrupt others, and speak in a louder voice. When people do not respect the basic rules of social behavior, they lead others to believe that they have power, according to a study in the current Social Psychological and Personality Science.
Scientists make strides in vision research
New research at UC Santa Barbara is contributing to the basic biological understanding of how retinas develop. The study is part of the campus's expanding vision research.
'Time' not necessarily deeply rooted in our brains
(Medical Xpress) -- Hidden away in the Amazonian rainforest a small tribe have successfully managed what so many dream of being able to do – to ignore the pressures of time so successfully that they don’t even have a word for it.
New study reveals environment's role in post-natal depression
(Medical Xpress) -- As part of the continuing Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, launched in 1997, researchers, including Professor John Hobcraft, of York’s Department of Social Policy and Social Work and academics from Princeton, Penn State and Columbia Universities in the USA, examined the DNA of more than 1,200 mothers.
Crossing your arms relieves pain
(Medical Xpress) -- Crossing your arms reduces the intensity of pain you feel when receiving a painful stimulus on the hand, according to research by scientists at University College London.
Gossip serves a useful purpose after all
(Medical Xpress) -- Researchers in the US have discovered that hearing gossip about a person literally changes the way you see them, and hearing negative information about people makes their faces stand out.
Biology news
The structure-based design of zinc finger nucleases can facilitate genomic editing
A recent study carried out at the State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China-Research, and published in the May 2011 issue of Science China Life Sciences (Issue 54) described a novel method using FoldX force field based protein modeling that can be applied in zinc finger nucleases design.
Hong Kong bans trawling to save fish stocks
Hong Kong has banned trawl fishing in its waters, a decision welcomed by conservationists Friday as a crucial move to save fish stocks and revive the city's depleted marine environment.
First analysis of invasive plant impacts worldwide
This week the scientific journal Ecology Letters has published a synthesis of the ecological impacts of invasive plants worldwide. This global analysis has been based on more than one thousand studies that in total describe the impacts of 135 invasive plant species. The lead author, Dr. Montserrat Vilà, a professor at the Spanish Higher Research Council (CSIC) adds: "This assessment would have been impossible to achieve ten years ago, because the evidence was anecdotal, it has only been in the last decade that well designed field studies have been conducted".
Small insects attack and kill amphibians much bigger than themselves
New findings of researchers from Tel-Aviv University show that predator-prey interactions between ground beetles of the genus Epomis and amphibians are much more complex than expected. The study was published in the open access journal Zoo Keys.
Studying 'squid skin' to create new camouflage patterns
As an octopus, a squid, or a cuttlefish moves around a reef in the ocean, it instantly camouflages itself against the background. Known as cephalopods, these animals have the extraordinary ability to conceal themselves from predators by adjusting their skin to take on the colors, shapes and patterns of their local environment.
Herbal remedies offer hope as the new antibiotics
Cancer treatments often have the side effect of impairing the patient's immune system. This can result in life-threatening secondary infections from bacteria and fungi, especially since bacteria, like Staphylococcus aureus, are becoming multi-drug resistant (MRSA). New research published by BioMed Central's open access journal Annals of Clinical Microbiology and Antimicrobials investigates the potency of Indian wild plants against bacterial and fungal infections in the mouths of oral cancer patients.
Penguins in peril find refuge in New Zealand
"You're a bit grumpy aren't you mate," says conservationist Shirleen Helps as she expertly handles a squawking penguin doing its best to peck her unprotected fingers.
Stink bug spread worries growers across nation
(AP) -- An insect with a voracious appetite, no domestic natural predators and a taste for everything from apples to lima beans has caused millions of dollars in crop damage and may just be getting started.
Wildlife in trouble from oil palm plantations, according to scientists
(PhysOrg.com) -- Forest fragmentation driven by demand for palm oil is having a catastrophic effect on multiple levels of biodiversity, scientists from Queen Mary, University of London have discovered.
Enzyme helps control extension of cellular tendrils by regulating delivery of supplies needed for growth
The body of the adult fruit fly is covered with hair-like bristles (Fig. 1) that act as sensory organs for detecting tactile stimuli. Each one consists of a single cell that has gradually elongated over the course of pupal development, reinforced by bundles of actin protein filaments.
How plants self heal
Many animals and plants regenerate tissues or even whole organs after injury. Typically, specialized cells at the wound site revert to a ‘pluripotent’ state–via a process called dedifferentiation—which means they regain the ability to develop into the various cell types required for regeneration. The dedifferentiated cells rapidly divide to form a callus from which the damaged tissue or organ will regenerate. Now, a research team from the RIKEN Plant Science Center in Yokohama has identified a master regulator of the response of plants to injury.
Native thugs as bad for woodlands as foreign invaders
Some of Britain's most recognisable plants – like brambles, bracken and ivy – can damage British woodlands just as much as marauding invasive plants, according to new research.
Species reemergence after collapse: Possible but different
Species pairs that disappear through hybridization after human-induced changes to the environment can reemerge if the disturbance is removed, according to a new mathematical model that shows the conditions under which reemergence might happen.
Genetic study clarifies evolutionary origin of elusive montane red fox
North American red foxes originated from two separate genetic lineages that were isolated from each other by glaciers some half a million years ago, according to a U.S. Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station study.
Researchers explain how tiny roundworms sense different kinds of touch
(PhysOrg.com) -- Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) is the very long name of a very small creature, and one of the most commonly used animals in biological research.
Gorillas' right-handedness gives new clues to human language development
(PhysOrg.com) -- A new study that has identified a right-handed dominance in gorillas may also reveal how tool use led to language development in humans.
Spiders suffer from human impact
Researchers from the King Juan Carlos University (URJC) have carried out a research study published in Biological Conservation, which looked at whether spiders were more tolerant of human impact than other animals. The answer was no: arachnids suffer the consequences of changes to their landscape just like any other animal.
Researcher shows how cone snails developed poison gland from spare gut parts
(PhysOrg.com) -- Canadian Louise Page, associate professor at the University of Victoria, BC, has solved a mystery that has perplexed zoologists since early 19th century naturalists first wondered if venomous cone snails might have developed their poison producing glands through evolution of their esophagus somehow; speculation that of course led many to wonder if that were so, how did the snail continue with swallowing and digesting its food.
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