Dear Reader ,
Here is your customized PHYSorg.com Newsletter for December 23, 2011:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
- Pions don't want to decay into faster-than-light neutrinos, study finds- Researchers show elephants really do have a sixth toe
- Flipping an egg carton of light traps giant atoms
- New bug eats sulfates, makes two kinds of magnet
- New-age prosthetic technique enables blind mice to see
- Mercury's magnetic field -- nipped in the bud
- Prozac works better when used with other therapies
- Shearing triggers odd behavior in microscopic particles
- Optogenetics -- Combination switch turns neurons on and off
- Engineers develop more effective MRI contrast agent for cancer detection
- A 40-year-old puzzle of superstring theory solved by supercomputer
- What are emotion expressions for?
- Apple applies for two fuel cell patents for use with portable computing devices
- Windows Phone an overlooked worthy alternative to Android, iPhone
Space & Earth news
Season's greetings from the other extreme
It is summer in Antarctica and the new crew for the Concordia research station will soon arrive. And since the place is second only to space for harsh conditions, they have been trained courtesy of ESA.
More accurate than Santa Claus: First Galileo satellite orbit determination with high precision
Every year for Christmas, the North American Air Defence Command NORAD posts an animation on their website, in which the exact flight path of Santa Claus' sled led by reindeer Rudolf is precisely located (http://www.noradsanta.org/en/). The path of navigation satellites, however, has to be determined much more accurately than Santa's flight path, when precise ground positioning is required. GPS is the best known system of this kind, the European system Galileo is planned to be decidedly more accurate.
Ships, planes attack major Shell oil spill off Nigeria
Shell on Friday deployed ships with dispersants and planes in a bid to mop up one of Nigeria's worst offshore oil spills in recent years, a spokesman said, amid fears it could soon reach the shoreline.
CryoSat ice satellite rides new waves
(PhysOrg.com) -- ESA’s CryoSat mission has been gathering detailed information on the thickness of Earth’s ice since its launch in 2010. Through international collaboration, this state-of-the-art mission is soon to be used to monitor conditions at sea for marine forecasting.
Russian satellite crashes into Siberia after launch
A Russian satellite on Friday crashed into Siberia minutes after its launch due to rocket failure, the defence ministry said, in the latest humiliating setback for Russia's embattled space programme.
Protecting UA telescopes during the winter cold
(PhysOrg.com) -- Just as property owners are working to protect pipes from bursting during the winter cold, a UA team is working to protect telescope observatories.
WISE presents a cosmic wreath
(PhysOrg.com) -- Just in time for the holidays, astronomers have come across a new image from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, that some say resembles a wreath. You might even think of the red dust cloud as a cheery red bow, and the bluish-white stars as silver bells.
New satellite observations reveal link between forests and acid rain
A team from LATMOS/IPSL, working in collaboration with Belgian researchers from the Institut d'Aeronomie Spatiale de Belgique (IASB) and the Universite Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), have revealed the existence of a major source of formic acid from boreal and tropical forests. Formic acid is known to be the main cause of rainfall acidity in these regions. These results, obtained using infrared data from France's IASI instrument on board the MetOp meteorological satellite, are published online in the scientific journal Nature Geoscience dated 18 December 2011.
Mercury's magnetic field -- nipped in the bud
(PhysOrg.com) -- Mercury, the smallest of the eight planets with a diameter of 4900 kilometres and the closest to the Sun, looks more like the Moon than the Earth from the outside. It is the only rocky planet that has a global magnetic field like Earth. But why is its magnetic field so much weaker than Earth’s? Scientists at the Technische Universität Braunschweig and the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research have now presented a new explanation: the solar wind counteracts Mercury’s internal dynamo and thus weakens its magnetic field.
Technology news
Vietnam store makes Christmas tree from cellphones
(AP) -- Southeast Asia is closer to the equator than the North Pole, but an electronics store in Vietnam is ringing in the holidays with a 15-foot Christmas tree made from more than 2500 unusable cellular phones.
US Internet users not as scam-savvy as they think
US Internet users are continuing to fall for online scams, especially if the promised prize is a chance at a hip new gadget such as a tablet computer, according to a new study.
VW gives employees break from their Blackberry
Are you fed up with your Blackberry because it effectively puts you on call for your employer 24/7? Are you a slave to its blinking red light and the vibrating alarm that tells you you have a new email?
Go to work on a Christmas card
If all the UK's discarded wrapping paper and Christmas cards were collected and fermented, they could make enough biofuel to run a double-decker bus to the moon and back more than 20 times, according to the researchers behind a new scientific study.
Vertical silicon nanowires for nonvolatile memory devices
As electronic devices become smaller and more sophisticated, the search for compact nonvolatile memory becomes increasingly important. However, conventional silicon technologies, such as complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) and floating gate flash memory, are fast reaching their scaling limit. Further miniaturization could seriously affect their performance and stability.
Many fliers refuse to turn off electronic gadgets
Gadget-dependent fliers are turning a deaf ear to flight attendants' instructions to turn off their devices during takeoff and landing, despite decades of government warnings, a USA TODAY investigation shows.
Regulators approve nuclear reactor design for Southeast utilities
Federal regulators on Thursday signed off on a next-generation nuclear reactor slated for Florida Power & Light's Turkey Point plant and five other utilities in the Southeast, paving the way for construction of the first new reactors in the U.S. in three decades.
Chip companies foresee slower growth
Microchip company executives expect the economy's continuing sluggishness to put a drag on their finances as well as their spending on new hires, capital improvements and research and development efforts next year, according to an industry survey made public Monday.
CEO calls Zynga his 'crowning achievement'
Before Zynga traded its first share on Friday, nervous investors in the social-gaming company didn't know whether to expect a killing or to be killed.
Speak and these apps will listen and transcribe
Voice recording for memos, interviews and lectures has moved - like so many tasks - to the smartphone. These applications help you save, or transcribe, the spoken word.
Local Indian court summons Google, Yahoo!: report
An Indian magistrates court has issued a summons to 21 internet sites, including Facebook, Google and Yahoo! to answer charges of circulating "obscene, lascivious content," a report said Friday.
Nevada adopts rules for Internet poker licenses
(AP) -- Nevada gambling regulators on Thursday unanimously approved rules that allow companies in the state apply for licenses to operate poker websites, a move that puts Nevada in a position to capitalize if Congress reverses its ban on Internet gambling.
4 personal finance technology trends for 2012
(AP) -- If you're one of the holdouts still paying bills with checks, tracking your accounts with pen and paper or clipping coupons from the newspaper, 2012 could be the year you take the digital plunge.
Apple applies for two fuel cell patents for use with portable computing devices
(PhysOrg.com) -- In a move that demonstrates Apple’s determination to create an ever lighter Macbook that is also more environmentally friendly, the company has applied for two different patents that describe ways to use a fuel cell to power a portable computing device, which could of course also include devices like an iPad. In the patent applications, Apple also took the unusual step of adding some bit of political discourse to underscore its motivations in trying to build portable computing devices that are not reliant on fossil fuels.
Medicine & Health news
Keep bones safe through winter weather
(Medical Xpress) -- Winter months can make simple outdoor activities a challenge, and dreary weather can leave you searching for sunshine.
UK researchers present findings from Kentucky breast cancer patients with disease relapse
The University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center breast oncologist Dr. Suleiman Massarweh and his research team presented findings from their studies on relapse of breast cancer at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium this month.
Viagra against heart failure: Researchers throw light on the mechanism
How sildenafil, the active ingredient in Viagra, can alleviate heart problems is reported by Bochum's researchers in cooperation with colleagues from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester (Minnesota) in the journal Circulation. They studied dogs with diastolic heart failure, a condition in which the heart chamber does not sufficiently fill with blood. The scientists showed that sildenafil makes stiffened cardiac walls more elastic again. The drug activates an enzyme that causes the giant protein titin in the myocardial cells to relax. "We have developed a therapy in an animal model that, for the first time, also raises hopes for the successful treatment of patients" says Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Linke of the RUB Institute of Physiology.
Reducing car use is the key to better health
With just 39 per cent of men and 29 per cent of women reaching the Department of Health’s recommended level of health-enhancing physical activity, the answer to the UK’s growing obesity problem could depend on people choosing to swap car journeys for walking and cycling, according to a new study by researchers at UCL.
Just messy or is it hoarding? Sorting out darker reality hidden inside clutter
It was a living room, but barely looked like one. The lecture-hall audience grew quiet seeing a photo of a room cluttered with mail, bills, and boxes projected onto the screen. The couch had only one empty spot – a butt-size space that faced the TV.
UCSF experts highlight need for innovation in recruiting participants for clinical trials
(Medical Xpress) -- In a commentary published in the November issue of Academic Medicine, top recruitment experts at UCSF urge academic medical researchers to embrace new methods for recruiting participants into clinical trials.
Eva Peron may have had secret lobotomy: researchers
Eva Peron, the glamorous first lady of Argentina in the 1940s and 50s, may have been given a secret lobotomy shortly before her death at age 33, scientific researchers said in a new report.
Arizona coma patient now speaking, walking
(AP) -- It will be a special Christmas for the family of a 21-year-old University of Arizona student who was nearly taken off life support but is now recovering after waking up from a coma.
MRI scan 'better' for heart patients
A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan for coronary heart disease is better than the most commonly-used alternative, a major UK trial of heart disease patients has shown.
France recommends removal of risky breast implants
(AP) -- Tens of thousands of women with risky, French-made breast implants should have them removed at the state's expense, the health minister recommended Friday, adding that such removals were "preventive" and not urgent.
Study shows persistence pays off in the mating game
(Medical Xpress) -- A new study co-authored by a University of Texas at Austin psychology professor suggests that self-deception may help men succeed in the mating game, while women will benefit more from effective communication.
Prostate cancer test still holds value: Urologist addresses common myths about the disease
(Medical Xpress) -- Earlier this year, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force announced recommendations that surprised the medical community: Healthy men should no longer have the prostate specific antigen (PSA) test to screen for prostate cancer. An article published in the Dec. 6, 2011, issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine concluded that PSA tests resulted in little or no reduction in the number of prostate cancer deaths.
Cleveland Clinic researcher discovers genetic cause of thyroid cancer
Cleveland Clinic researchers have discovered three genes that increase the risk of thyroid cancer, which is has the largest incidence increase in cancers among both men and women.
Study of WTC responders: PTSD and respiratory illness linked
(Medical Xpress) -- More than 10 years after 9/11, when thousands of rescue and recovery workers descended on the area surrounding the World Trade Center in the wake of the terrorist attacks, a research team led by Benjamin J. Luft, M.D., the Edmund D. Pellegrino Professor of Medicine, and Medical Director of Stony Brook’s World Trade Center Health Program, and Evelyn Bromet, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor, Departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, and Preventive Medicine, Stony Brook University School of Medicine, has published results of a study examining the relationship between the two signature health problems among WTC first responders—respiratory illness and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
99-year-old woman regains mobility following spinal procedures
(Medical Xpress) -- A 99-year-old woman has returned to her daily routine after doctors repaired three separate compression fractures in her spine three times in a month. Specialists at the University of Rochester Medical Center repaired the brittle vertebra using bone glue while the patient was under sedation, which is easier for elderly patients.
France advises 30,000 to have breast implants removed
France's health ministry advised 30,000 women with breast implants made by French firm PIP to have them removed on Friday, saying while there is no proven cancer risk, they could rupture dangerously.
What are emotion expressions for?
(Medical Xpress) -- That cartoon scary face – wide eyes, ready to run – may have helped our primate ancestors survive in a dangerous wild, according to the authors of an article published in Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. The authors present a way that fear and other facial expressions might have evolved and then come to signal a person’s feelings to the people around him.
Prozac works better when used with other therapies
(Medical Xpress) -- The antidepressant fluoxetine, which is marketed under the name "Prozac," has been approved for use in the US for over two decades, and while some people find it effective, the results vary widely from one person to another, and scientists do not fully understand how it works to change a person's mood over time. Now a study in mice has found that Prozac's benefits are enhanced by the addition of other therapies.
New-age prosthetic technique enables blind mice to see
(Medical Xpress) -- A recent TEDMED talk has scientists interested in a presenter’s novel techniques to help the blind. A device with two parts, encoder and transducer, can do the job. Sheila Nirenberg, a neuroscientist and professor at Weill Medical College of Cornell University, recently discussed the results of her work at TEDMED on how the brain takes external information and encodes it in patterns of electrical activity. She set out to describe what her team found in exploring how the retina communicates with the brain.
Biology news
What's more helpful: The chicken or the egg?
Success for Dr. Hoon Sunwoo can be traced back to a research project that began in the 1990’s and is perpetuated through his latest research benefiting the livestock industry.
State Department reports progress on bioweapons control
Progress has been made in protecting against the threat of biological weapons, the State Department said Friday at the end of global talks which agreed to boost moves to thwart their spread.
Unnatural disasters
Global wildlife is facing an unprecedented threat from natural disasters exacerbated by climate change, warn scientists in a paper published in Trends in Ecology and Evolution.
The machinery of chromatin regulation
Ten years after the human genome was first published, researchers have found new clues into the machinery that influences gene function. The team, led by Bradley Bernstein, an associate professor of pathology at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School and senior associate member at the Broad Institute, and Aviv Regev, a core member at the Broad Institute and associate professor at MIT, focused on chromatin, the complex of non-genetic material associated with DNA that drives gene expression, and specific regulators that orchestrate chromatin activity. “We know that many different chromatin regulators direct chromatin’s structure and activity,” explains Charles Epstein, Epigenomics Program manager at the Broad Institute. But the specifics of how these regulators operate have been unclear.
Millipede border control better than ours
A mysterious line where two millipede species meet has been mapped in northwest Tasmania, Australia. Both species are common in their respective ranges, but the two millipedes cross very little into each other's territory. The 'mixing zone' where they meet is about 230 km long and less than 100 m wide where carefully studied.
Optogenetics -- Combination switch turns neurons on and off
(PhysOrg.com) -- Flies that display courtship behaviour at the press of a button, worms made to wriggle by remote control: since the dawn of optogenetics, scientists can turn nerve cells on and off using pulses of light. A research team at the Max Planck Institute of Biophysics in Frankfurt am Main has developed a molecular light switch that makes it possible to control cells more accurately than ever before. The combination switch consists of two different light-sensitive membrane proteins – one for on, the other for off. The method used by the scientists to connect the two components can be used with different protein variants, making it highly versatile.
New bug eats sulfates, makes two kinds of magnet
(PhysOrg.com) -- A bacterium recently discovered near Death Valley has some very unusual properties according to a report published in the December 23 issue of Science magazine. While some ‘bugs’ are like migratory birds, making tiny magnets that they use to guide their navigation, this is the first bacterium to be found that makes two different kinds of magnetic particles.
Researchers show elephants really do have a sixth toe
(PhysOrg.com) -- Sometimes it seems, nature finds it must resort to some trickery to respond appropriately to changing conditions. Take the elephant, for example. Way back in time, say fifty million years ago, the hulking beasts spent most of their time standing in water, much like hippos do today. But then, over the next ten million years or so, they moved out of the water and began foraging on land. The problem with this though, was that walking on land meant forcing the feet to take up a lot more of the load. Elephants are really heavy after all.
This email is a free service of PhysOrg.com
You received this email because you subscribed to our list.
If you no longer want to receive this email use the link below to unsubscribe.
http://www.physorg.com/profile/nwletter/
You are subscribed as jmabs1@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment