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Here is your customized PHYSorg.com Newsletter for May 15, 2011:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
- D-Wave researchers demonstrate progress in quantum computing- Tiny variation in one gene may have led to crucial changes in human brain
- Swiss solar-powered aircraft lands in Brussels
- Obesity linked to higher risk of prostate cancer progression
- Mars landing sites narrowed down to final 4
- New class of compounds offers great potential for research and drug development
- Malaria against malaria: Pre-existing malaria infection can prevent second infection
- Plasticity of hormonal response permits rapid gene expression reprogramming
- Researchers discover 'master switch' gene for obesity, diabetes
- Extreme makeover: are humans reshaping Earth?
- Sony Playstation Network begins restoration of their online network (w/video)
- US astronomers launch search for alien life on 86 planets
- Moon's rough 'wrinkles' reveal clues to its past
- Venom tears: Snake bites can turn out to be groovy
- Endeavour poised for next-to-last US shuttle flight
Space & Earth news
Satellite images display extreme Mississippi River flooding from space
(PhysOrg.com) -- Recent Landsat satellite data captured by the USGS and NASA on May 10 shows the major flooding of the Mississippi River around Memphis, Tenn. and along the state borders of Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, and Arkansas as seen from 438 miles above the Earth.
NASA puts Earth's nearest neighbor, 'the Moon', within reach
NASA has created a new interactive web-based tool that incorporates observations from past and current lunar missions creating one of the most comprehensive lunar research websites to date.
US storms have no bearing on hurricane season
Natural disasters and a record number of tornadoes in the southeastern United States should not have any bearing on the severity of the upcoming hurricane season, the director of the National Hurricane Center said Friday.
Countdown begins for US shuttle Endeavour
Countdown has begun for the final flight of the Endeavour, scheduled to lift off Monday on the American space program's second to last mission to the International Space Station.
India court orders 2-month ban on pesticide, study
(AP) -- India's top court temporarily banned production and sale of a pesticide widely used in the country so its effects on humans and wildlife can be studied.
Moon's rough 'wrinkles' reveal clues to its past
(PhysOrg.com) -- Written on the moon's weary face are the damages it has endured for the past 4-1/2 billion years. From impact craters to the dark plains of maria left behind by volcanic eruptions, the scars are all that remain to tell the tale of what happened to the moon. But they only hint at the processes that once acted—and act today—to shape the surface.
US astronomers launch search for alien life on 86 planets
A massive radio telescope in rural West Virginia has begun listening for signs of alien life on 86 possible Earth-like planets, US astronomers said Friday.
Extreme makeover: are humans reshaping Earth?
If alien geologists were to visit our planet 10 million years from now, would they discern a distinct human fingerprint in Earth's accumulating layers of rock and sediment?
Mars landing sites narrowed down to final 4
After years of debating where on Mars the next NASA rover should land, it comes down to the final four.
Endeavour poised for next-to-last US shuttle flight
NASA Sunday readied the space shuttle Endeavour for its final mission with liftoff set for 8:56 am (1256 GMT) Monday on the next-to-last flight for the American shuttle program.
Technology news
Northern Ireland forms new govt 1 tweet at a time
(AP) -- Chalk up another first for Twitter: It's now helped to form a whole government.
Website to serve as hub for teaching Web skills
(AP) -- A new Commerce Department website aims to give schools, libraries and job training centers the tools to help teach computer and Internet skills to Americans who are new to the Net.
Northwest power surplus may halt wind energy
(AP) -- The manager of most of the electricity in the Pacific Northwest is running such a surplus of power from hydroelectric dams that it put wind farms on notice Friday that they may be shut down as early as this weekend.
White House to unveil cybersecurity strategy
The White House plans to unveil its policy proposals next week for international cooperation in cyberspace.
Twitter feed lawsuit underscores power of a tweet
(AP) -- When Adorian Deck was home sick from high school, he entertained himself like countless other teenagers have in recent years: He started a Twitter account.
Alibaba head rejects Yahoo! protest over pay unit
The head of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba said Saturday the firm's move to transfer ownership of its online payment unit was "legal and 100 percent transparent", rejecting protests by US-based Yahoo!
Berlin to pay bln euro subsidy for electric cars
The German government is prepared to pay a billion euros ($ 1.4 billion) in subsidies over the next two years to help its industry develop electric cars, Welt am Sonntag newspaper said Sunday.
Square Enix customer data leaked after Sony problems
Japanese game developer Square Enix Holdings said email addresses of 25,000 customers as well as resumes of 250 job applicants were leaked after a hacker attack against its European subsidiary.
Swiss solar-powered aircraft lands in Brussels
Pioneering Swiss solar-powered aircraft Solar Impulse landed in Brussels on Friday after completing its first international flight, 13 hours after it took off from Switzerland.
Sony Playstation Network begins restoration of their online network (w/video)
(PhysOrg.com) -- Sony’s PSN has been offline since April 21 when a security breach was discovered. As a result 77 million customer records were lost and an additional 24 million accounts were compromised.
Medicine & Health news
Rochester autism researchers present new findings at IMFAR
Much about autism is unknown, but researchers from the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) are working to learn more about the neurodevelopmental disorder and its most effective treatments. A team of researchers from URMC joins researchers from across the world in San Diego this week for the 10th annual International Meeting for Autism Research (IMFAR).
Mayo Clinic finds surgeon caseload, practice setting affect treatment of small kidney tumors
Patients with small kidney tumors are more likely to be offered treatment options based on surgeons' case volume and type of practice than on tumor characteristics, a Mayo Clinic study has found. Fellowship-trained surgeons who practice in academic medical centers with high volumes of patients with kidney tumors were 70 to 80 percent more likely to follow American Urological Association (AUA) guidelines by recommending partial nephrectomy. Surgeons in private practice who see few patients with kidney tumors more often offered radical nephrectomy: removal of the entire kidney.
China gives press more freedom -- for food safety
(AP) -- Toxic bean sprouts, filthy cooking oil, drug-tainted pork: The relentless headlines in Chinese media have churned up queasy feelings for months about the dangers lurking in the nation's dinner bowls.
CPAP improves daytime sleepiness even in patients with low levels of symptoms
Continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, can increase alertness and even improve quality of life for sufferers of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), even if their symptoms are minimal, according to a study conducted by researchers in Europe. Patients enrolled in the study reported an improvement in daytime sleepiness within six months of beginning CPAP treatment.
Primary stroke centers more likely to be in states with certification programs
Searching public databases in 2010, researchers looked at the distribution of primary stroke centers, designated such by state health departments or national organizations (such as The Joint Commission in collaboration with the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association). They found that 24 percent of acute general hospitals are certified stroke centers.
Educating heart patients, families cut one hospital's falls by 64 percent
Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center had noticed that, despite a hospital-wide program to prevent patient falls, the cardiovascular progressive care unit experienced an increase in the rate of patient falls. To address the problem, investigators reviewed current literature about fall prevention and designed an education program. Using some basic guidelines from Ryu, Roche, and Brunton (2009), the program incorporated education for patients as well as families and included a booklet and a poster for each patient room.
Advanced-stage prostate cancer patients experience 20-year survival rates with surgery
Long-term survival rates for patients with advanced prostate cancer suggest they can be good candidates for surgery, Mayo Clinic researchers have found. Their study found a 20-year survival rate for 80 percent of patients diagnosed with cancer that has potentially spread beyond the prostate, known as cT3 prostate cancer, and treated with radical prostatectomy, or surgery to remove the prostate gland. Previously, patients found to have cT3 prostate cancer were offered radiation or hormone treatment, but not radical prostatectomy.
Zurich voters keep 'suicide tourism' alive
(AP) -- Voters in Zurich have overwhelmingly rejected calls to ban assisted suicide or to outlaw the practice for nonresidents.
School intervention may improve kids' heart health long term
Middle school students who were offered healthier cafeteria food, more physical education and lessons about health choices improved their cholesterol levels and resting heart rates, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Quality of Care and Outcomes Research 2011 Scientific Sessions.
Pirfenidone reduces rate of lung decline in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
The CAPACITY study, published Online First and in an upcoming Lancet, shows that pirfenidone reduces the rate of decline of lung function in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis—a condition of unknown cause affecting hundreds of thousands of patients worldwide that leads to progressive lung decline and kills four in five patients within five years. The Article is by Professor Paul W Noble, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA, and colleagues.
The nose knows: Allergy season here with vengeance
(AP) -- There may be a whiff of truth to claims by allergy sufferers who sniffle that this season is, well, a bigger headache than years past.
US regulators approve new hepatitis C drug
US regulators on Friday approved the first new treatment for hepatitis C in more than a decade, a Merck pharmaceutical known as Victrelis, to be taken with the current two-drug regimen.
Social Security, Medicare burning through funds
The United States is burning through its health care and retirement fund pools faster than planned, with the Medicare trust fund to be exhausted by 2024, five years earlier than expected, officials said Friday.
Researchers move closer to identifying new class of asthma, COPD drugs
Researchers in Baltimore have identified new compounds whichrelax airway muscles and may provide relief from shortness of breath for patients with COPD and asthma. The bitter-tasting compounds are at least as, if not more, effective than currently available agents used to manage these diseases, and may present new options for treatment.
Ebola virus case reported near Uganda's capital: officials
Initial test results indicate that a 12-year-old girl died of the deadly Ebola virus in a town about 35 kilometres (22 miles) north of Kampala, health officials told AFP on Saturday.
Gene expression changes in nasal cells may help identify lung cancer in earliest stages
A simple, minimally-invasive technique using cells from the interior of the nose could help clinicians detect lung cancer in its earliest – and most treatable – stages, according to a study conducted by researchers in Boston.
CPAP decreases cardiovascular mortality in elderly patients
Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) effectively decreases the risk of cardiovascular death in elderly patients who suffer from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), according to a study conducted by researchers in Spain. The study is the first large-scale study to assess the impact of OSA and the effectiveness of CPAP treatment in cardiovascular mortality in the elderly.
Pneumonia patients at risk for in-hospital cardiac arrest
Hospital patients with pneumonia may be at risk of experiencing sudden cardiac arrest, often with few or no warning signs, according to research from the University of Chicago Medical Center under the auspices of the American Heart Association's Get with the Guidelines project.
Cell division abnormality contributes to inflammation in COPD
Changes in the ability of lung cells to divide may play a role in initiating or prolonging lung tissue inflammation, a hallmark of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to a study conducted by researchers in France.
Cancer scientists discover new way breast cancer cells adapt to environmental stress
An international research team led by Dr. Tak Mak, Director, The Campbell Family Institute for Breast Cancer Research at Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH), has discovered a new aspect of "metabolic transformation", the process whereby tumour cells adapt and survive under conditions that would kill normal cells.
Plasticity of hormonal response permits rapid gene expression reprogramming
Gene expression is the process of converting the genetic information encoded in DNA into a final gene product such as a protein or any of several types of RNA. Scientists have long thought that the gene programs regulated by different physiological processes throughout the body are robustly pre-determined and relatively fixed for every specialized cell. But a new study by researchers from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine reveals the unsuspected plasticity of some of these gene expression programs.
Malaria against malaria: Pre-existing malaria infection can prevent second infection
A team of researchers have found that pre-existing malaria prevents secondary infection by another Plasmodium strain, the parasite responsible for malaria, by restricting iron availability in the liver of the host. This discovery will be published this Sunday, May 15, in Nature Medicine and has important implications for the management and prevention of malaria, a condition which affects millions of individuals worldwide.
Researchers discover 'master switch' gene for obesity, diabetes
A team of researchers, led by King's College London and the University of Oxford, have found that a gene linked to type 2 diabetes and cholesterol levels is in fact a 'master regulator' gene, which controls the behaviour of other genes found within fat in the body.
Obesity linked to higher risk of prostate cancer progression
Even when treated with hormone therapy to suppress tumor growth, obese men face an elevated risk of their prostate cancer worsening, researchers at Duke University Medical Center have found.
Tiny variation in one gene may have led to crucial changes in human brain
The human brain has yet to explain the origin of one its defining features – the deep fissures and convolutions that increase its surface area and allow for rational and abstract thoughts.
Biology news
Greeks mobilise to protect endangered seeds
The remote valley of Mesohori in northeastern Greece seems an unusual choice for a stand against genetically modified crop conglomerates who are knocking on Europe's door.
I know you, bad guy! Magpies recognize humans
Most people who have had the experience of having pet animals in their houses have the gut feeling that the animals can "recognize" us. They seem to recognize our faces, our voices and our smell. One way or another, they respond to us differently from other people.
Native groups sue over polar bear critical habitat
(AP) -- Alaska Native groups worried about losing tax revenues and royalties from oil development filed a lawsuit Friday challenging the federal government's designation of critical habitat for threatened polar bears on the state's oil-rich North Slope.
Canadian bears end long hibernation
Bears in westernmost Canada have begun leaving their dens in search of food after hibernating for the winter, officials said Friday, reminding residents to put away tempting treats to avoid deadly encounters.
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