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Here is your customized PHYSorg.com Newsletter for June 3, 2011:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
- Study raises questions on what causes silicon solar cell degradation- Family of flower-like defects may help graphene structures respond to stress without ripping
- How doctors and public health officials deal with dilemmas
- Chinese team entangles eight photons, breaking record
- Company that transforms garbage into ethanol attracts big investors
- People of color will be the new majority by 2042 (w/ Video)
- Marlborough mound revealed to be 4,400 years old
- Bacterial roundabouts determine cell shape
- Tsunami sensor detects mysterious background signal in Panama
- One tough microscope
- Disruption of giant molecular clouds by massive star clusters
- Research into ancient global cooling published in Science
- Measuring evolution's waistline
- The new kid on the block
- Researchers discover genetic mutation causing excessive hair growth
Space & Earth news
Spain: Germany weighing EU aid to Spanish farmers
(AP) -- Germany is considering pushing for EU compensation for Spanish farmers after it erroneously blamed its vegetable produce for starting the E. coli outbreak that has killed 18 people, says Spain.
Carbon projects first to reach verification status for well regarded CCB standards
The Climate, Community & Biodiversity Alliance (CCBA) announced that the first two carbon forestry projects have reached verification status against the Climate, Community & Biodiversity (CCB) Standards, meaning that the projects have been implemented using best practices for community engagement and have generated benefits for local communities and biodiversity as well as for the climate. In addition, both projects will add the newly established 'CCB Label' to their carbon credits, which is a permanent marker added to each credit's unique carbon registry identification code that that will make it easier for investors and offset buyers to identify a project that has met the CCB Standards.
Study maps global 'hotspots' of climate-induced food insecurity
A new study has matched future climate change "hotspots" with regions already suffering chronic food problems to identify highly-vulnerable populations, chiefly in Africa and South Asia, but potentially in China and Latin America as well, where in fewer than 40 years, the prospect of shorter, hotter or drier growing seasons could imperil hundreds of millions of already-impoverished people.
River mystery solved
The pristine state of unpolluted waterways may be their downfall, according to research results published in a paper this week in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
What motivates people to prepare, or not prepare, for natural disasters?
Preparing for a natural disaster like a hurricane is critical in minimizing damage, but what motivates individuals to listen to warnings and act is largely unexplored territory.
Disruption of giant molecular clouds by massive star clusters
(PhysOrg.com) -- New computer simulations show that the light from massive stars is, by itself, enough to blow apart the nebula where the stars are born. While this 'radiation pressure' was by and large overlooked in the past, these new results show how, even before a single star explodes as a supernova, massive stars carve out huge bubbles and limit the star formation rates in galaxies.
A supernova that's super different
A researcher at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics believes that a new kind of supernova is at work in recent observations of bright but short-lasting stellar explosions that don’t appear to fit known categories.
Rising temperatures threaten a food crisis
A recent study reports that the geographical range of some agricultural crops -- such as corn and beans -- may be greatly reduced if temperatures continue to rise. While some farmers may be able to readjust what they grow, others may have to give up, producing a disaster.
Tiny particles, big impact
Atmospheric aerosols may be small, ranging in size from a few nanometers to a few microns, but they have a big impact on climate. At the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, capabilities developed through the Laboratory Directed Research and Development program are delivering new insights into the formation, aging and transport of aerosol particles, whether they are created by nature or human activity. Two computational advances: the Aerosol Modeling Testbed and a computational approach, known as the particle resolved model, are bringing into sharper focus the effects of aerosols on climate change.
New NASA salt mapper to spice up climate forecasts
Salt is essential to human life. Most people don't know, however, that salt -- in a form nearly the same as the simple table variety -- is just as essential to Earth's ocean, serving as a critical driver of key ocean processes. While ancient Greek soothsayers believed they could foretell the future by reading the patterns in sprinkled salt, today's scientists have learned that they can indeed harness this invaluable mineral to foresee the future -- of Earth's climate.
Cloud composition cliffhanger at point reyes national seashore
Turns out, polluted air from San Francisco is not the culprit. It's a thermal trough pushing north from Arizona. In a surprise result, scientists found that this weather pattern significantly affects the chemistry of fog and clouds over Point Reyes National Seashore. Scientists from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Washington State University, the University of Colorado, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration found very high amounts of ammonia and organic material in aerosol particles and cloud droplets during a large-scale weather pattern originating in Arizona. Their results also show the interactions between these small airborne particles and the cloud water chemistry during clear and foggy conditions.
Tsunami sensor detects mysterious background signal in Panama
An unusual signal detected by the seismic monitoring station at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute's research facility on Barro Colorado Island results from waves in Lake Gatun, the reservoir that forms the Panama Canal channel, scientists report. Understanding seismic background signals leads to improved earthquake and tsunami detection in the Caribbean region where 100 tsunamis have been reported in the past 500 years.
Research into ancient global cooling published in Science
Thirty-eight million years ago, tropical jungles thrived in what are now the cornfields of the American Midwest and furry marsupials wandered temperate forests in what is now the frozen Antarctic. The temperature differences of that era, known as the late Eocene, between the equator and Antarctica were only half of what they are today. A debate has long been raging in the scientific community on what changes in our global climate system led to such a major shift from the more tropical, greenhouse climate of the Eocene to the modern and much cooler climates of today.
Homemade Danish rocket takes off
A home-made rocket built by two Danes successfully blasted off from a floating launch pad off the Danish Baltic island of Bornholm Friday, nine months after its first test flight failed due to a defective hair drier.
Technology news
Microstructure-induced biomechanical responses of dragonfly wing veins
Wang's research team discovered the sandwich microstructure of dragonfly wing veins1 and recently revealed the organic junction between these longitudinal veins and membranes of the dragonfly wing2. Based on observed microstructural model and previously reported model about the main longitudinal veins and membrane, in which the former is based on the tubular model with sandwich structure in thickness of tubular, and the latter is based on the sample tubular model with the same material in thickness of tubular, they were used to simulate and characterize the biomechanical responses of dragonfly wings under symmetrical loading.
Pandora hopes IPO will raise $123 million
Pandora Media Inc., which announced plans earlier this year to sell its stock in an initial public offering, said it and its investors were seeking to raise as much as $123 million - an amount that would value the Internet radio pioneer at about $1.4 billion.
Study: Web users worry about snooping businesses
(AP) -- It's not Big Brother, but "big business" that Internet users are more worried about. A new survey found that nearly half of Internet-connected Americans age 16 and older worry about businesses checking what they do online. By comparison, 38 percent worry about the government doing so.
Apple has deals with record labels for cloud music service
Apple Inc. sewed up contracts with the four major record labels by Thursday for a cloud music service, with agreements from music publishers to follow Friday, according to sources familiar with the negotiations.
Cyberattacks also targeted Gmail rivals: Trend Micro
Internet security firm Trend Micro warned on Friday that cyber attackers have attempted to infiltrate Web-based email services run by Microsoft and Yahoo! as well as Google.
Zuckerberg: Contract for Facebook ownership 'fake'
(AP) -- Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg says emails and a signed document that form the basis of a New York man's lawsuit claiming part ownership of the social networking phenomenon are fakes.
Google devoted to search and staying nimble: CEO
Google executives assured investors that the Internet giant remained devoted to search and advertising while embracing risky new projects that could lead to big payoffs.
Hackers claim new Sony cyberattack
Hackers have claimed to have compromised more than one million passwords, email addresses and other information from SonyPictures.com in the latest cyberattack on the Japanese electronics giant.
Japan firm develops 'sun-chasing' solar panels
A new Japanese solar power device can generate twice the electricity of current models thanks to moving mirrors that follow the sun throughout the day, according to its developers.
China calls US culprit in global 'Internet war'
(AP) -- The Chinese military accused the U.S. on Friday of launching a global "Internet war" to bring down Arab and other governments, turning the tables on allegations of major online attacks on Western targets originating in China.
One tough microscope
When it comes to seeing how carbon dioxide behaves in a geologic storehouse, most instruments can't take the pressure. But, a new apparatus created by scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Wright State University and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory can handle the pressures that the stored greenhouse gas would encounter. Using their newly developed atomic force microscope, scientists can now get sharp pictures and movies of reactions as they happen, under conditions you'd find at a carbon sequestration site.
Army tests iOS and Android devices for potential combat usage
The US Army is beginning some interesting testing. They are considering dropping out some of the bulkier and significantly more expensive communications gear currently carried by soldiers, and replacing it with a smart phone. The phones, which run between $400 to $700, would either be Apple models, running on the iOS, or one of Google’s Android-based OS phones.
Panasonic to build 'sustainable smart town' in Japan by the year 2014
The people of Japan may be some of the most energy conscious in the world, and now Panasonic, with the help of eight partner companies, is looking to make them even greener. The project, which would as much re-building as it would be building, aims to turn on of Panasonic's former factory sites into a green smart town.
Spotlight falls on Sony's troubled cybersecurity
(AP) -- Another massive data breach at Sony has left hackers exulting, customers steaming and security experts questioning why basic fixes haven't been made to the company's stricken cybersecurity program.
Company that transforms garbage into ethanol attracts big investors
(PhysOrg.com) -- For the past several years, Montreal-based company Enerkem has been working on a way to make ethanol from old utility poles and household garbage. Earlier this week, the company announced that they have received $60 million in new financing from the major independent oil refiner Valero and the trash-hauling company Waste Management. Total investment in Enerkem is now $130 million.
Medicine & Health news
C-reactive protein levels predict breast cancer survival rates
Levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) are increased in response to acute inflammation, infection and tissue damage. There are also reports that CRP levels are elevated because of cancer. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Breast Cancer Research shows that elevated CRP levels are predictive of a poor prognosis for breast cancer sufferers.
Helping Latinos quit smoking: Miriam Hospital studies offers new insight
Latinos looking to quit smoking are more successful when they have a significant other and partner support, say researchers from The Miriam Hospital's Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine. According to the study, published in the May/June issue of the American Journal of Health Promotion, this support can also buffer the demonstrated negative effect that depression can have on smoking cessation.
Antiretroviral drugs can significantly lower risk of getting HIV, but is the public buying?
In a recent clinical trial, non–HIV-infected individuals who used the antiretroviral drug Truvada on a daily basis cut their risk of becoming infected with HIV by 44 percent.
Cellular target may aid in drug therapies for acute liver failure
(Medical Xpress) -- New insights into the biological mechanisms that contribute to acute liver failure could help scientists better understand—and eventually treat—a broader spectrum of liver diseases, according to University of Cincinnati (UC) researchers.
Research needed to improve developing country food chains
For food production to benefit poor people in developing countries and be environmentally sustainable, much more research is needed, says a Cornell researcher in a policy article in the June 3 issue of Science.
Pressure to look more muscular may lead some men to consider steroids
Most people associate steroid use with oiled-up bodybuilders or professional athletes, but for some college-age men, steroids seem like the only way to measure up to the muscle-bound men in fitness magazines.
Caring for caregivers
If your parent, spouse or best friend developed dementia this year, would you be prepared to care for them? How would you know if they wandered outside in the middle of the night and couldn’t find their way home? How would you feel if they no longer remembered your name?
Cancer, aging, and too few data are the perfect storm
When an 80-year-old gets cancer, the conventional thinking has been that treatment in most cases would be too risky. A group of geriatric oncologists is pushing a new, national agenda, however, that challenges those assumptions and calls for more research that would provide for evidence-based decisions in the decades ahead.
As cancer survivorship grows, so do questions of related health issues
Treating cancer often represents a double-edged sword, as gains in survival years can be offset by other serious health problems related to the treatment, including second cancers. Lois B. Travis, M.D., of the James P Wilmot Cancer Center, was invited to chair a session on June 3, 2011, in which oncologists are to be debriefed on this topic at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting in Chicago.
PCPs treat hepatitis C as effectively as specialists through new delivery model
Under a completely new way of providing health care, primary care clinicians in remote villages, prisons and poor urban neighborhoods who were trained to treat patients with hepatitis C achieved excellent results identical to those of specialists at a university medical center.
Paper and computer workarounds challenge but may improve health IT
A new research study investigates the challenges that pen and paper workarounds or computerized communication breakdowns pose to the use of electronic health records. Understanding these challenges may lead to improved coordination of care supported by health IT.
New strategy to combat cystitis
One in three women will be faced at least once in her life with cystitis, for some the start of a constantly recurring infection. Cystitis is caused by Escherichia coli bacteria which fasten on to the wall of the bladder by means of thread-like structures (pili). Han Remaut of the VIB Department for Structural Biology Brussels, Vrije Universiteit Brussel reveals for the first time the complex interactions which lead to the formation of these pili. This knowledge can be used to develop new antibiotics to treat infections of the urinary tract.
Helping the aged during natural disasters
When earthquake, tsunami, tornado or flood strike, among the most vulnerable group are the elderly. Writing in the International Journal of Emergency Management, researchers in New Zealand suggest that emergency response plans must take into account the age-related needs of adults with regards to the personal and social resources they have available.
Letters from home may help prevent post-traumatic stress disorder in happily married soldiers
A new study from the Journal of Traumatic Stress finds that for active-duty male soldiers in the U.S. Army who are happily married, communicating frequently with one's spouse through letters and emails during deployment may protect against the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms after returning home.
Fast track to vascular disease
In Western societies, atherosclerosis of the arteries is one of the leading causes of death. Chronic, localized inflammation of the blood vessel wall facilitates the growth of fibrous plaques, which leads to narrowing or occlusion of the vessel, and thereby promotes heart attacks and stroke. The persistence of the inflammatory reaction is due to a loss of control over the activity of the immune system.
Not all hospitals treat elderly the same
Hospitals that provide quality care for young people do not always provide the same quality care for the elderly, a new study has found.
FSU scientist leads research on AIDS-related cancer
In the early days of the AIDS epidemic, a once-rare form of cancer known as Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) emerged as a frequent harbinger of HIV. Its stigma was best illustrated by Tom Hanks, who portrayed a gay man trying to conceal the cancerous skin lesions from his co-workers in the 1993 movie "Philadelphia."
Study finds older men more likely to lose the ability to orgasm due to gabapentin
Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) researchers have found that Gabapentin, (trade name Neurontin) a medication commonly used to treat neuropathic pain, seizures and biopolar disease in older and elderly patients, seems to have a higher incidence of anorgasmia, or failure to experience orgasm, than previously reported. This study appears in the current issue of the American Journal of Geriatric Pharmacotherapy.
Breakthrough in the study of Autoimmune Disease
Diseases of the immune system such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis could be treated by a gas produced naturally by the body, scientists at the University have found.
Emergency department physicians growing weary of frequent users
Emergency department physicians are frustrated and burned out from treating patients who frequent the ED for their care, according to a Henry Ford Hospital survey of physicians from across the country.
Study links empathy, self-esteem, and autonomy with increased sexual enjoyment
Sexual pleasure among young adults (ages 18-26) is linked to healthy psychological and social development, according to a new study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The study is the first to use a representative population sample of heterosexuals to find a relationship between key developmental assets and sexual pleasure. The findings are published in the June 2011 issue of The Journal of Adolescent Health.
Scientists reactivate immune cells exhausted by chronic HIV
Scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, have demonstrated why certain immune cells chronically exposed to HIV shut down, and how they can be reactivated.
7,000 people a day still catching AIDS: UN
About 7,000 people are being infected with AIDS each day and about half of the 33 million people with HIV do not know they have it, according to a UN report released to mark the disease's 30th anniversary.
'All-natural' bodybuilders don't use performance-enhancing drugs
ST. LOUIS - When Keith Hunter competes in a bodybuilding contest, he actually wants to have a polygraph test and urinalysis. That way he knows he'll get a fair shake.
Matching targeted therapies to tumor's specific gene mutations key to personalized cancer treatment
(Medical Xpress) -- Customizing targeted therapies to each tumor's molecular characteristics, instead of a one-size-fits-all approach by tumor type, may be more effective for some types of cancer, according to research conducted by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Benefit of targeted lung cancer therapy confirmed
A drug that targets a specific type of lung cancer shows a dramatic response in more than half of the people who take it. The drug, called crizotinib, has been in clinical trials since 2006, and the results from the largest group of patients to take it within the first of these clinical trials are being presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
E. coli outbreak points to gaps in US food system
(AP) -- The nasty form of E. coli hitting Europe points out gaps in the U.S. food safety system that raise concern that similar outbreaks might happen here.
Longevity of AIDS patients presents new risks: US
Thirty years after the AIDS epidemic first surfaced, more people than ever before in the United States -- more than 1.1 million -- are living with HIV, the Centers for Disease Control said Thursday.
30 years after first AIDS cases, hope for a cure
(AP) -- Sunday marks 30 years since the first AIDS cases were reported in the United States. And this anniversary brings fresh hope for something many had come to think was impossible: finding a cure.
New strain of MRSA discovered
Scientists have identified a new strain of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) which occurs both in human and dairy cow populations.
Moral responses change as people age
Moral responses change as people age says a new study from the University of Chicago.
A new form of DNA
(Medical Xpress) -- Northwestern University chemists have synthesized a new form of DNA, one that can begin to be used to create new gene regulation therapies, for the prevention or treatment of diseases such as cancer.
Autism blurs distinctions between brain regions
Autism blurs the molecular differences that normally distinguish different brain regions, a new study suggests. Among more than 500 genes that are normally expressed at significantly different levels in the front versus the lower middle part of the brain’s outer mantle, or cortex, only 8 showed such differences in brains of people with autism, say researchers funded in part by the National Institutes of Health.
Stress levels for couples examined in study
A new study found that it isn’t enough for couples to relax together for their stress levels to fall at the end of the day. Men find it easier to chill if their wives are still busy. Women prefer hands-on help: Their stress levels improve if their husbands chip in with housework.
Weight loss success in a 3-D virtual world
(Medical Xpress) -- Participants in two weight-loss programs - one involving traditional health club sessions and the other delivered online in a 3D virtual world - lost similar amounts of weight and body fat, but the online contingent reported significantly greater gains in behaviors that could help them live healthier and leaner lives.
8 tips for fun in the sun with less cancer risk
After enduring an especially brutal winter, Americans may be tempted to catch more than a little sunshine this summer.
Smoking fathers could lead to early menopausal daughters
According to a study published in Fertility and Sterility, men who smoke in the presence of their pregnant partner may be putting their unborn daughter at risk for early menopause by as much as a year. While other research has looked at a woman’s own smoking habit and that of her partner playing a role in early menopause and fertility, this is the first time exposure to smoking by an embryo has been examined.
App for mobile phones helps diagnose concussions
(AP) -- The next tool in the campaign against concussions might be your smartphone. A doctor at the University of North Carolina teamed with other head-trauma researchers to develop an application for mobile devices that helps determine whether someone may have suffered a concussion.
Researchers discover genetic mutation causing excessive hair growth
(Medical Xpress) -- Researchers in the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC), together with scientists in Beijing, China, have discovered a chromosomal mutation responsible for a very rare condition in which people grow excess hair all over their bodies. Investigators hope the finding ultimately will lead to new treatments for this and less severe forms of excessive hair growth as well as baldness.
How doctors and public health officials deal with dilemmas
Scientists in the US have investigated the ways in which medical doctors and public health professionals deal with hypothetical dilemmas that require them to decide whether to sacrifice a few for the sake of saving many. Their research extends the kind of dilemma often seen in ethics and philosophy courses, such as the well-known footbridge dilemma, originally suggested by philosophers Philippa Foot and Judith Jarvis Thomson, in which a trolley is about to hurtle into and kill five workers on a railway track. You are on a footbridge spanning the track and can save the workers by pushing a large man next to you off the bridge and into the path of the trolley. The question is, is it morally permissible to kill the one to save the five?
Biology news
Mountain gorilla twins born in Rwanda
A mountain gorilla in northern Rwanda has given birth to twins, a rare occurrence for an endangered species whose numbers have dwindled to less than 800, officials said Friday.
Philippines launches suit in reef plunder
The Philippines on Friday began legal action against traders accused of plundering corals and marine turtles in a case that officials said may have destroyed large tracts of precious reefs.
Again, but faster! The spectacular courtship dance of a tiny bird (w/ Video)
A small male bird called a golden-collared manakin performs a difficult, elaborate, physically demanding courtship dance. In new research, life scientists report that female golden-collared manakins select mates based on subtle differences in motor performance during these dances.
From pre-gut cells to glory
For all animals, development begins with the embryo. It is here that uniform cells divide and diversify, and blueprints are laid for future structures, like skeletal and digestive systems. Although biologists have known for some time that signaling processes—messages that tell a cell to express certain genes so as to become certain parts of these structures—exist at this stage, there has not been a clear framework explanation of how it all comes together.
It doesn't add up
An important new finding by Harvard researchers indicates that cellular mutations responsible for an organism’s successful adaptation do not, when combined over time, provide as much benefit as they would individually be expected to provide.
Bacterial roundabouts determine cell shape
Almost all bacteria owe their structure to an outer cell wall that interacts closely with the supporting MreB protein inside the cell. As scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry and at the French INRA now show, MreB molecules assemble into larger units, but not - as previously believed – into continuous helical structures.
Measuring evolution's waistline
Nearly 150 years ago, noted German biologist Ernst Haeckel made the bold assertion that ‘ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny’: in other words, morphological changes that occur during an organism’s embryonic development mirror its evolutionary history.
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