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Here is your customized PHYSorg.com Newsletter for May 6, 2011:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
- Chemistry curbs spreading of carbon dioxide- Thermoelectrics generating electricity from waste heat is a step closer
- 'Swiss cheese' design enables thin film silicon solar cells with potential for higher efficiencies
- Scientists show how shifts in temperature prime immune response
- Pentagonal tiles pave the way towards organic electronics
- Birth control prescribed for Hong Kong monkeys
- Testing technicolor physics
- Quarter-life crisis as common as a mid-life crisis, study says
- Facebook pays users to view ads
- China doubles solar power target by 2020: report
- Snail Braille reader could read books to the blind
- Study finds livestock-related 'Staph' strain in child care worker
- Paper announces discovery of one of earliest minerals formed in solar system
- Japanese company introduces irresistibly cute mind-controlled 'cat ears' (w/ video)
- Gemini images a psychedelic stellar nursery
Space & Earth news
Space Image: The Trajectory
(PhysOrg.com) -- Fifty years ago on May 5, 1961 only 23 day after Yuri Gagarin of the then-Soviet Union became the first person in space, NASA astronaut Alan Shepard launched at 9:34 a.m. EDT aboard his Freedom 7 capsule powered by a Redstone booster to become the first American in space. His historic flight lasted 15 minutes, 28 seconds.
Another 93 gigabytes of data added to the Kepler archive
(PhysOrg.com) -- During a regularly scheduled science data download on Tuesday, April 26, the project team reoriented the Kepler spacecraft to downlink data from its solid-state recorder (SSR). All data collected since March 20 was returned successfully. The Quarter 9, Month 1 science data collection download now is complete.
NASA administrator visits jupiter-Bound spacecraft
(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA Administrator Charles Bolden visited NASA's Jupiter-bound Juno spacecraft on Thursday, May 5, 2011, at the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The solar-powered Juno spacecraft will orbit Jupiter's poles 33 times to find out more about the gas giant's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere.
STAR TRAK for May 2011
The closest gathering of four bright planets in decades will be on display low in the eastern sky before dawn during May.
Vatican science panel calls attention to the threat of glacial melt
A panel of some of the world's leading climate and glacier scientists co-chaired by a Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego researcher issued a report today commissioned by the Vatican's Pontifical Academy of Sciences citing the moral imperative before society to properly address climate change.
Study probes sources of Mississippi River phosphorus
In their eagerness to cut nitrogen and phosphorus pollution in the Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico, people have often sought simple explanations for the problem: too many large animal operations, for instance, or farmers who apply too much fertilizer, which then flows into waterways.
Space Adventures wants to fly you to the moon
Space Adventures – the company that brought the first space tourists to the International Space Station – has longer space tourist excursions planned for as early as 2015: a trip around the Moon. Company chairman Eric Anderson said during a teleconference they have sold the first of the two seats on their circumlunar flight program, and once the second seat is sold and finalized they could fly the first private mission to the Moon in 4 years.
NASA selects investigations for future key missions
(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA has selected three science investigations from which it will pick one potential 2016 mission to look at Mars' interior for the first time; study an extraterrestrial sea on one of Saturn's moons; or study in unprecedented detail the surface of a comet's nucleus. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., would lead the Mars investigation.
Four planets huddle up before dawn next week
Four of the five planets visible to the unaided eye huddle quite close together in the pre-dawn sky next week, according to the editors of StarDate magazine.
Sailing the Titan seas
(PhysOrg.com) -- The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Md., is managing a project to explore the organic seas of Saturn's moon Titan, one of three proposals selected by NASA this week as candidates for the agency's next Discovery Program mission.
Tree rings tell a 1,100-year history of El Nino
El Niño and its partner La Niña, the warm and cold phases in the eastern half of the tropical Pacific, play havoc with climate worldwide. Predicting El Niño events more than several months ahead is now routine, but predicting how it will change in a warming world has been hampered by the short instrumental record. An international team of climate scientists has now shown that annually resolved tree-ring records from North America, particularly from the US Southwest, give a continuous representation of the intensity of El Niño events over the past 1100 years and can be used to improve El Niño prediction in climate models. The study, spearheaded by Jinbao Li, International Pacific Research Center, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, is published in the May 6 issue of Nature Climate Change.
Finger on the pulse of the pulsars
(PhysOrg.com) -- An international team of astronomers including German scientists has succeeded in recording the most sensitive observations to date of pulsars at low frequency. The measurement was undertaken with the European Lofar radio telescope network. Pulsars are fast-rotating neutron stars that are formed in the explosion of very massive stars (supernovae).
Mars Express sees deep fractures on Mars
Newly released images from ESA's Mars Express show Nili Fossae, a system of deep fractures around the giant Isidis impact basin. Some of these incisions into the martian crust are up to 500 m deep and probably formed at the same time as the basin.
Gemini images a psychedelic stellar nursery
(PhysOrg.com) -- An all-time favorite of skywatchers on both hemispheres, the Lagoon Nebula (Messier 8, or M8) is among the most striking examples of a stellar nursery in our neighborhood of the Milky Way galaxy. Visible in small telescopes and binoculars its fuzzy glow reveals the type of chaotic environment where new stars are born.
Paper announces discovery of one of earliest minerals formed in solar system
In the May-June issue of the journal American Mineralogist, a team of scientists announced the discovery of the new mineral krotite, one of the earliest minerals formed in our solar system. It is the main component of an unusual inclusion embedded in a meteorite (NWA 1934), found in northwest Africa. These objects, known as refractory inclusions, are thought to be the first planetary materials formed in our solar system, dating back to before the formation of the Earth and the other planets.
Next-to-last space shuttle launch faces more delay
The next-to-last space shuttle flight has been delayed again, this time to at least the middle of May for extra electrical tests.
Technology news
Live Nation trims 1Q losses, ticket sales up
(AP) -- Live Nation Entertainment Inc.'s losses narrowed in the first three months of the year as the concert promoter boosted sales of concert tickets through price cuts.
New water-filter factory in Ghana
In northern Ghana, that nation’s poorest and most rural region, most families get their drinking water from rivers or large, shallow ponds. The water in these bodies, which are also used by livestock, is clouded with sediment and teeming with bacteria and parasites.
Mobile action lab trains young people to design, develop and market apps
In nearly 20 years, Youth Radio has grown from a small radio skills training program in Berkeley, Calif. to a national organization with bureaus in Los Angeles, Atlanta and Washington, D.C. The program has helped young people develop marketable behind-the-scenes and on-air skills, winning it the most coveted awards in journalism.
Washington Post profit down 67 percent
The Washington Post Co. said Friday that revenue was flat in its newspaper publishing division in the first quarter but net profit fell by two-thirds on lower enrollment in its education business.
Sony CEO apologizes for massive data breach
(AP) -- Sony Corp. Chief Executive Howard Stringer apologized for "inconvenience and concern" caused by the security breach that compromised personal data from more than 100 million online gaming accounts.
Cisco narrows focus with new business structure
(AP) -- Cisco will undergo a number of structural changes following several challenging quarters as the networking behemoth attempts to become more efficient in bringing products to market.
Demand Media 1Q results ease worries about Google
(AP) -- Demand Media Inc. fared better than analysts anticipated in the first quarter, easing investor worries that Google Inc.'s recent changes to how it culls search results may have damaged the online content generator's ability to win Internet traffic.
Deutsche Telekom profit down 37 pct to $696 mln
(AP) -- German telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom AG saw net profits fall 37 percent in the first quarter as it lost mobile phone customers in the U.S. and its business suffered in crisis-stricken Greece.
Alcatel-Lucent loss narrows in 1st quarter
(AP) -- Alcatel-Lucent SA said Friday its net loss narrowed sharply in the first quarter compared with a year earlier, when a components shortage caused the telecommunications gear maker's losses to balloon.
Russian-born billionaire buys Warner Music
Russian-American billionaire Len Blavatnik's Access Industries won a bidding war on Friday for Warner Music Group, buying the storied music company for $3.3 billion in an all-cash transaction.
Malaysia defends government email project
Malaysia on Friday defended a multi-million dollar plan to provide email accounts to its citizens against accusations of cronyism and waste.
Swiftly formed coalition doomed Amazon's S.C. tax break
The seeds for Amazon's departure from South Carolina were planted upon its arrival.
T-Mobile USA posts record subscriber losses
(AP) -- T-Mobile USA lost a record number of subscribers in the first three months of the year, posing a conundrum for regulators as they look at whether to let AT&T Inc. buy the smaller carrier for $39 billion.
Cyber-guided clean-up hopes to sweep globe
Cyber-environmentalists from Cambodia to Brazil are using Google Earth-based software to target and banish trash from the countryside as they gear up for World Cleanup 2012, event organisers said Friday.
Twitter hits new high with Everest 'tweet'
A renowned British climber has taken Twitter to a new high, firing off the first "tweet" from the peak of world's tallest mountain.
72 million live YouTube streams for royal wedding
The wedding of Prince William to Kate Middleton attracted 72 million live streams on YouTube in 188 countries and over 100 million views on the big day itself, the Google-owned video-sharing site said Friday.
Court lets Skyhook case against Google proceed
A Massachusetts judge has ruled that Skyhook Wireless Inc. can move ahead with its legal case against Google Inc., intended to bolster its claim that the Internet search giant interfered with Skyhook's business partnerships.
China doubles solar power target by 2020: report
China has more than doubled its target for solar power capacity to 50 gigawatts by 2020, state media said, as the world's largest polluter steps up efforts to boost clean energy sources.
Computers sing to a better tune
Would you dance to a synthetic song? A new approach to making computer-generated vocals more "human" is reported this month in the International Journal of Knowledge Engineering and Soft Data Paradigms.
Japanese company introduces irresistibly cute mind-controlled 'cat ears' (w/ video)
(PhysOrg.com) -- In a bit of science mixed with whimsy, a Japanese company has created a set of electromechanical cat ears that can be worn on the human head and manipulated with nothing but the mind. Called the necomimi (a combination of the Japanese words for cat and ear) and looking very much like the ears that come with a cat costume, the ears respond to thoughts or mood by means of a sensor on a second small band pressed against the forehead; they can stand straight up when the wearer is concentrating, or wriggle and turn slightly when amused, or lay flat when tired or bored, demonstrating what the company calls, an ability to reveal emotion.
Facebook pays users to view ads
(PhysOrg.com) -- The general consensus is that end users hate ads. That is why companies either try to make them as unobtrusive as possible, such as the small ads you would find in the sidebar of a blog, or make them unavoidable, such as the full page splash screen ads that occur on page loads. Neither of these theories really gives the viewer a reason to engage in the ad, so success levels in online advertising campaigns can vary widely.
Snail Braille reader could read books to the blind
(PhysOrg.com) -- To most of us, Braille is largely a mystery. It feels really cool, but the idea of actually reading it is kind of a pipe dream. Our sense of touch simply is not as sensitive as that of a blind person. That is not a problem if you happen to have picked up a Braille book out of curiosity. If however, you have recently lost your eyesight, then this is a major problem. As with learning any new language, it takes time to adapt.
Medicine & Health news
Weight-loss counseling most prevalent between male physicians and obese men
A study published in the June 2011 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine examined the association between patient–physician gender concordance and weight-related counseling in obese individuals. Investigators from the University of Pennsylvania and Johns Hopkins University found that obese male patients seeing male physicians had higher odds of receiving weight-related counseling than obese women seeing a female physician.
Doctor's office is usually first stop in medication mishaps
Harmful effects of medication bring an estimated 4.5 million patients to doctors’ offices and emergency rooms yearly, according to a new study, and people who take multiple medications are particularly vulnerable to unpleasant or dangerous side effects, allergic reactions and toxicity.
Football players can beat the summer heat by getting ready now
Getting acclimated to the heat now, before two-a-days begin in August, will help football players avoid cramps, dehydration and other potentially serious injuries that could put a damper on the upcoming season.
Health reform may require a crisis
A new, more sweeping version of health care reform that provides universal coverage and controls costs is still a few years away, according to ABC-TV’s medical editor Timothy Johnson. Unfortunately, it likely will take a budget crisis to get it through Congress, Johnson said.
New guidelines for cardiovascular genetic testing
An international panel of experts from The Heart Rhythm Society and the European Heart Rhythm Association issued new guideline recommendations for all health care professionals about cardiovascular genetic testing at the Heart Rhythm Society's 32nd Annual Scientific Sessions.
Treating acute appendicitis with antibiotics not as effective as having appendix removed
Treating acute appendicitis with antibiotics is not as effective as the gold standard treatment of having the appendix surgically removed (appendicectomy). This is the conclusion of an Article in this week's edition of The Lancet, written by Professor Corinne Vons, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris and Université Paris XI, Paris, France, and colleagues.
Cigarette smoking and arsenic exposure: A deadly combination
Arsenic exposure and smoking each elevate the risk of disease. But when combined together, the danger of dying from cardiovascular disease is magnified, a new study finds.
Parents' work influences how often family meals are eaten outside of home
According to the United States Department of Agriculture, Americans are spending about half their food budget in restaurants. As it is widely known, food prepared away from home, as compared to food prepared at home, is often higher in calories, saturated fat, and sodium. With children's dietary quality at risk, a study in the May/June 2011 issue of the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior explores the influence of parental styles and work schedules on children's use of and time spent in fast-food and full-service restaurants.
Painful periods increase sensitivity to pain throughout the month
(Medical Xpress) -- Women with painful periods show increased sensitivity to pain throughout their cycles, even when there is no background period pain.
Insight into HIV immunity may lead to vaccine
(Medical Xpress) -- Latest insights into immunity to HIV could help to develop a vaccine to build antibodies’ defences against the disease, a University of Melbourne study has found.
ADHD drug helps menopausal women with focus, memory deficits, study shows
(PhysOrg.com) -- At menopause, many women begin to notice a decline in their attention, organization, and short-term memory. These cognitive symptoms can lead to professional and personal challenges and unwarranted fears of early-onset dementia.
Obesity stigma prevalent in online news coverage
(PhysOrg.com) -- Obese individuals shown in online news images are frequently portrayed in a negative and stigmatizing way, according to a study from the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University. The study is published online in the Journal of Health Communication.
UCSF botulism research translates into bioterrorism treatment
(Medical Xpress) -- UCSF basic research into botulism has translated into a novel antitoxin to protect against bioterrorism, with the first clinical trials launching soon to assess the resulting vaccine's safety.
UCSF scientists play key role in success of Yervoy, a new cancer drug
Yervoy is unlikely to win a contest for best named drug, but recent US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for the new entrant in the battle against cancer marks the success of a novel treatment strategy, and is another indicator that immunotherapy has gone mainstream.
Walking and cycling have Increased in U.S. but remain at low levels
(Medical Xpress) -- A new study led by a Rutgers researcher and published in the American Journal of Public Health reports a significant increase in walking between 2001 and 2009 in the United States, but only slight growth in cycling.
'Motherese' important for children's language development
(Medical Xpress) -- Talking to children has always been fundamental to language development, but new research reveals that the way we talk to children is key to building their ability to understand and create sentences of their own. The exaggerated speech we naturally use with young children is special register – often called ‘motherese’.
Schizophrenia misunderstood, psychiatrist says
(Medical Xpress) -- Most people have heard the term "schizophrenia” and are aware that it’s a mental disorder. Unfortunately, a UC Health psychiatrist says, few people actually understand what schizophrenia is or how pervasively it affects society.
Discovery demonstrates potential MS therapy could kill brain cells
Researchers with the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta have discovered that some "protective" T-cells can kill neurons. This finding is significant because a specific type of T-cell therapy is being touted in the medical community as a potential treatment for MS and other autoimmune conditions.
Shifting focus a lot at work could wreck your diet
People who continually change gears to do different tasks may find it reduces their concentration and self-control in other areas of their lives.
Low sodium intake could be riskier than thought
Doctors have long encouraged patients to slash their salt intake for good heart health.
3 popular supplements fall short in preventing prostate cancer: study
(PhysOrg.com) -- For some time it has been believed that vitamin E, selenium and soy were natural ways to prevent prostate cancer. However, a new study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology shows that these supplements do not provide any additional benefit when it comes to prostate cancer prevention.
Researchers identify four key weapons in immune system's arsenal
(Medical Xpress) -- Yale University researchers have identified four unique host defense proteins among thousands that seem to play a crucial role in mobilizing the immune system's response to bacterial infections, they report in the May 6 issue of the journal Science.
Quarter-life crisis as common as a mid-life crisis, study says
(PhysOrg.com) -- According to findings presented at the British Psychological Society Annual Conference in Glasgow, young adults are just as vulnerable to suffering a quarter-life crisis as their older counterparts are to suffering a mid-life crisis. The stress of jobs, relationships, and expectations are the contributing factors.
Study finds livestock-related 'Staph' strain in child care worker
A new strain of Staphylococcus aureus bacteria associated with exposure to livestock was recently discovered in one Iowa child care worker who reported no contact with livestock, according to University of Iowa researchers.
Biology news
Taming nature, then man
The short version of human history might go something like this: First we were prey, then we were hunter-gatherers, then farmers — and from that came civilization.
Wisconsin bait shops are on the front line in battle against invasive aquatic species
Wisconsin bait dealers are aware of the risks associated with aquatic invasive species, and they are taking steps to help address the problem, a new University of Wisconsin-Madison study indicates.
Sticking their necks out for evolution: Why sloths and manatees have unusually long (or short) necks
As a rule all mammals have the same number of vertebrae in their necks regardless of whether they are a giraffe, a mouse, or a human. But both sloths and manatees are exceptions to this rule having abnormal numbers of cervical vertebrae. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal EvoDevo shows how such different species have evolved their unusual necks.
Wright State students working to preserve rare Himalayan animal
(PhysOrg.com) -- A rare Himalayan goat-like animal called the grey goral, threatened with extinction in Pakistan because of population and hunting pressures, is getting some help from Wright State University.
Darwin's travels may have led to illness, death
(AP) -- The very travels that inspired Charles Darwin's theory of evolution and shaped modern biology may have led to one of the illnesses that plagued the British naturalist for decades and ultimately led to his death, modern researchers say.
New species of lizard created in lab that reproduces by cloning itself
(PhysOrg.com) -- A genetics research group working in a lab in Kansas, has succeeded in creating a new species of lizard by mating two distinct species of North American Whiptails, both native to New Mexico. The offspring, all females are not only fertile, but can reproduce by laying eggs that don't need to be fertilized, which means, they actually clone themselves.
Research reveals how cancer-driving enzyme works
Cancer researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center are helping unlock the cellular-level function of the telomerase enzyme, which is linked to the disease's growth.
Single-cell marine organisms offer clues to how cells interact with the environment
From a bucket of seawater, scientists have unlocked information that may lead to deeper understanding of organisms as different as coral reefs and human disease. By analyzing genomes of a tiny, single-celled marine animal, they have demonstrated a possible way to address diverse questions such as how diseased cells differ from neighboring healthy cells and what it is about some Antarctic algae that allows them to live in warming waters while other algae die out.
Bumblebee nest boxes don't work
Bumblebees, honeybees, butterflies and other pollinating insects are in decline worldwide. So what better way to help stem their decline than by installing a bumblebee nest box in your garden? The only trouble is they don't work.
Birth control prescribed for Hong Kong monkeys
Wild monkeys don't seem to care that Hong Kong is a concrete jungle -- they thrive so well on its fringes that the government has introduced birth control to curb a population boom.
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