PhysOrg Newsletter Monday, Dec 19

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Here is your customized PHYSorg.com Newsletter for December 19, 2011:

Spotlight Stories Headlines

- Tinkering with evolution: Ecological implications of modular software networks
- A new kind of metal in the deep Earth
- Evolution at warp speed: Hatcheries change salmon genetics after a single generation
- Biopixels: Researchers create living 'neon signs' composed of millions of glowing bacteria (w/ video)
- Mystery of car battery's current solved
- Cockroach 'let's hook up' chemical signal could benefit endangered woodpecker
- Study: Eating less keeps the brain young
- New discovery expected to significantly change biomedical research
- Study settles 125-year debate on how nitrogen-fixing bacteria breaches cell walls of legumes
- Babies remember even as they seem to forget
- Protein associated with learning implicated in causing grasshoppers to swarm
- Snipping key nerves may help life threatening heart rhythms
- Acupuncture reduces protein linked to stress in first of its kind animal study
- Brain function - A new way to measure the burden of aging across nations
- Research could improve laser-manufacturing technique

Space & Earth news

Africa pitches new promised land for astronomers
Africa, the birthplace of the human species, has long been a magnet for archaeologists.

Space image: Spiral galaxy
(PhysOrg.com) -- Resembling festive lights on a holiday wreath, this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image of the nearby spiral galaxy M74 is an iconic reminder of the impending season. Bright knots of glowing gas light up the spiral arms, indicating a rich environment of star formation.

Vega to fly ESA experimental reentry vehicle
(PhysOrg.com) -- The launch of ESA’s IXV Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle on Europe’s new Vega rocket is now in detailed planning, a major step towards the craft’s flight in 2014.

NASA, industry leaders discuss new booster development for space launch system
(PhysOrg.com) -- On Dec. 15, more than 120 aerospace industry leaders from more than 70 companies attended the Space Launch System's Advanced Booster Industry Day held at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. The event focused on a NASA Research Announcement for the Space Launch System's (SLS) advanced booster.

Cosmic research picked in breakthroughs of 2011
(PhysOrg.com) -- Astronomers from the Dark Cosmology Center at the Niels Bohr Institute have developed a groundbreaking method for measuring long distances in the universe using light from quasars. Quasars are active black holes and their light surpasses all other sources of light in the universe. This new groundbreaking method was published in Astrophysical Journal Letters in September, and now Physics World, the magazine of the UK's physical society has chosen this research as one of the most important breakthroughs in physics in 2011. 

Report identifies health, environmental issues and best practices
A number of health and environmental issues and related risks need to be addressed when considering whether to lift the almost 30-year moratorium on uranium mining in Virginia, says a new report from the National Research Council, the operating arm of the National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Engineering.

Nigeria launches satellite to replace earlier failed attempt
Nigeria on Monday launched a communications satellite into space to replace one that failed in 2008, the country's satellite agency said.

420 magical seconds in space
(PhysOrg.com) -- A new tool to calculate the orientation of a satellite with respect to the Earth, developed by EPFL students, will be on board a European Space Agency rocket scheduled to launch in March 2012. This will be an opportunity to test the tool in ideal microgravity conditions.

Aliens hanging out in the Kuiper Belt? We could see the light from their cities
When it comes to searching for ET, current efforts have been almost exclusively placed in picking up a radio signal – just a small portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. Consider for a moment just how much lighting we here on Earth produce and how our “night side” might appear as viewed from a telescope on another planet. If we can assume that alternate civilizations would evolve enjoying their natural lighting, wouldn’t it be plausible to also assume they might develop artificial lighting sources as well?

How can growing galaxies stay silent?
Beginning around 2005, astronomers began discovering the presence of very large galaxies at a distance of around 10 billion lightyears. But while these galaxies were large, they didn’t appear to have a similarly large number of formed stars. Given that astronomers expect galaxies to grow through mergers and mergers tend to trigger star formation, the presence of such large, undeveloped galaxies seemed odd. How could galaxies grow so much, yet have so few stars?

Pilbara mistletoe faces sub-regional extinction
A new study from the Department of Environment and Conservation suggests long-term modern fire regimes could pose a threat to WA mistletoes (Loranthaceae sp).

Ultra-compact dwarf galaxies are bright star clusters
(PhysOrg.com) -- Astronomy & Astrophysics is publishing a new statistical study of the so-called 'ultra-compact dwarf galaxies' (UCDs), which are still mysterious objects. A team of astronomers has investigated how many of these UCDs exist in nearby galaxy clusters and groups. They show that the properties of UCDs match those of bright star clusters.

What are the prospects for sustaining high-quality groundwater?
Intensive agriculture practices developed during the past century have helped improve food security for many people but have also added to nitrate pollution in surface and groundwaters. New research has looked at water quality measurement over the last 140 years to track this problem in the Thames River basin.

Research reveals new data-driven methods for understanding climate change
(PhysOrg.com) -- In February 2012, the journal Nature Climate Change will publish a paper on rainfall extremes in India by principal investigator Vipin Kumar of the University of Minnesota's computer science and engineering department and co-principal investigator Auroop Ganguly of the civil and environmental engineering department at Northeastern University in Boston, members of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Expeditions project team. Nature pre-published the paper online today. 

The earliest stars in the Universe
(PhysOrg.com) -- Matter in the universe after the big bang consisted almost entirely of hydrogen and helium atoms. Only later, after undergoing fusion reactions in the nuclear furnaces of stars, did these light elements transform into all the other (so-called "heavy") elements that are found in the cosmos today. But astronomers know that the process of making stars, at least today, includes important roles for these heavy elements, for example helping the pre-stellar cloud collapse until the first nuclear reactions can ignite. How, then, did the first stars form, and what did subsequent generations of stars look like?

Comet Lovejoy plunges into the sun and survives (w/ video)
Last week, an armada of spacecraft witnessed something that many experts thought impossible.  Comet Lovejoy flew through the hot atmosphere of the sun and emerged intact.

New insight into the bar in the center of the Milky Way
(PhysOrg.com) -- It sounds like the start of a bad joke: do you know about the bar in the center of the Milky Way Galaxy? Astronomers first recognized almost 80 years ago that the Milky Way Galaxy, around which the sun and its planets orbit, is a huge spiral galaxy. This isn’t obvious when you look at the band of starlight across the sky, because we are inside the galaxy: it’s as if the sun and solar system is a bug on the spoke of a bicycle wheel. But in recent decades astronomers have suspected that the center of our galaxy has an elongated stellar structure, or bar, that is hidden by dust and gas from easy view. Many spiral galaxies in the universe are known to exhibit such a bar through the center bulge, while other spiral galaxies are simple spirals. And astronomers ask, why? In a recent paper Dr. Andrea Kunder, of Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) in northern Chile, and a team of colleagues have presented data that demonstrates how this bar is ! rotating.

Big quakes no more likely than in past: study
Massive earthquakes are no more likely today than they were a century ago, despite an apparent rise of the devastating temblors in recent years, US researchers said on Monday.

Technology news

Infrared technology for measuring the effect of fire on materials
Researchers at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid are developing an infrared measuring method to analyze the thermal properties and resistance to fire of composite materials. This advance would have applications in aerospace engineering and other areas where fire safety requires that the "composite" materials withstand high temperatures.

Kim's 11-ace debut round recalled on Twitter
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il's death was noted on Twitter as an epic loss to golf, with hundreds recalling the Stalinist state media's reports of Kim's 11 holes-in-one in a single round in 1994.

Groupon acts locally with $10 credit offer
(AP) -- Groupon is thinking locally. The online deals site is offering a $10 credit to the first 150,000 people who purchase a local Groupon by Dec. 24.

Juror in Microsoft case at peace with decision
(AP) -- The lone holdout juror who prevented a Utah company from getting as much as $1.2 billion from one-time rival Microsoft Corp. for alleged antitrust violations says he's at peace with his decision.

Saudi prince buys $300 million stake in Twitter
Saudi billionaire Prince Walid bin Talal and his Kingdom Holding Company announced a combined investment of $300 million in the social networking site Twitter, in a statement Monday.

Samsung files new claims against Apple in Germany
South Korea's Samsung Electronics said Monday it has filed new legal claims against US rival Apple in Germany, claiming that the iPhone maker infringed four of its patents.

The role of social media in protests
(PhysOrg.com) -- A study has explored the dynamics behind social network sites in recruiting and spreading  calls for action that contribute to riots, revolutions and protests.

Star images helping to save Vatican books
(PhysOrg.com) -- Antique books in the Vatican Library are being digitised to preserve them for future generations using a technique developed through ESA to store satellite images of the sky.

Romania, FBI agents to crack down on cybercriminals
On computer screens and on the ground, Romanian and American FBI agents stalk cybercriminals, trying to beat them at their own game as fraud originating in Romania has risen dramatically.

US online holiday shopping climbs 15 pct to $30.9B
U.S. shoppers spent 15 percent more in online holiday buying compared to last year, after what may have been the busiest week of the season, said research firm comScore on Sunday.

'Portal 2,' 'Skyrim' top a thrilling year in games
(AP) -- It's a good time to be a gamer, as studios continue to release thrilling adventures with clever stories, tight gameplay and spectacular production values. So many fine games have been released in 2011 - particularly in the last few months - that you'd need to use up a lot of sick days to catch up to them all.

Parents break rule to help young kids join Facebook
Nancy Gerstein is a savvy marketing executive who knows a lot about Facebook. She supervises corporate Facebook pages for her company's clients.

What happens to your Facebook when you die? Digital assets oft forgotten
When most people think about bequeathing their belongings, it's the obvious: the house, the car, bank accounts, the sentimental family mementos.

Online shopping moves into mainstream
When it comes to the holiday shopping season, online purchases have not only earned a seat at the adult's table but are increasingly eating all the food.

Google wins patent for driverless car technology
(PhysOrg.com) -- News surfaced this week that Google has won a patent for driverless car technology. Google filed the patent in May this year. The application is titled “Transitioning a Mixed-mode Vehicle to Autonomous Mode.” The patent presents a method listing numerous “embodiments” suggested, for a vehicle that switches from being driven by a human to moving, stopping, and parking autonomously.

IBM reveals five innovations that will change our lives in the next five years
Today IBM formally unveiled the fifth annual "Next Five in Five" – a list of innovations that have the potential to change the way people work, live and play over the next five years: You'll beam up your friends in 3-D, Batteries will breathe air to power our devices, You won’t need to be a scientist to save the planet, Your commute will be personalized, and Computers will help energize your city.

AT&T agrees to drop bid for T-Mobile
AT&T Inc. said Monday that it is ending its $39 billion bid to buy T-Mobile USA after facing fierce government objections.

Tinkering with evolution: Ecological implications of modular software networks
(PhysOrg.com) -- In the 1960s, Dr. Lawrence J. Fogel introduced what would come to be known as evolutionary programming to the nascent field of Artificial Intelligence in an attempt to produce intelligent software without relying on neural networks modeled on the brain or human expert-based heuristic programming. Now, researchers in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Princeton University have shown the inverse – namely, that network theory, when applied to software systems, provides surprising insights into biology, ecology and evolution. Specifically, they explored evolutionary behavior in complex systems by analyzing how the Debian GNU/Linux operating system utilizes modular code. The researchers found that how the network becomes more modular over time in various OS installations often parallels that of ecological relationships between interacting species.

Medicine & Health news

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics advocates for expanded nutritional coverage under Medicare
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has prepared a request to submit to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to expand coverage of medical nutrition therapy (MNT) for specific diseases, including hypertension, obesity, and cancer, as part of the CMS National Coverage Determination (NCD) Process. Most chronic health conditions can be controlled or treated with medical nutrition therapy, yet Medicare will only reimburse nutrition therapy services provided by a registered dietitian for individuals with diabetes and renal disease. "That's just not enough if we want to improve the health of the nation and rein in escalating healthcare costs," says Marsha Schofield, MS, RD, LD, the Academy's Director of Nutrition Services Coverage.

Knee pain common complaint in middle-aged and mature women
New research shows 63% of women age 50 and older reported persistent, incident, or intermittent knee pain during a 12-year study period. Predictors for persistent pain included higher body mass index (BMI), previous knee injury, and radiographic osteoarthritis (OA). Details of this longitudinal study are available in Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR).

The benefits of cardiac resynchronisation therapy in heart failure
However, large-scale clinical trials have highlighted the beneficial effect of cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) in the improvement of symptoms and reduction of mortality, and CRT is now recommended in the major European and American guidelines for the treatment and prevention of heart failure.(1)

Chile girl dies after split from conjoined twin
(AP) -- A 10-month-old girl who was surgically separated from her conjoined twin died Sunday after suffering general organ failure, said the director of a Chilean children's hospital.

Exploring the mechanism behind the differentiation of immune cells
Ichiro Taniuchi at the RIKEN Research Center for Allergy and Immunology, Japan, is carrying out research to understand the mysteries of organism evolution by investigating the mechanism responsible for the differentiation of T cells.

In preventing vitamin A deficiency, a little friendly bacteria might go a long way
(Medical Xpress) -- Human beings need vitamin A but the human body can’t synthesize it. We have to get it from our food. Vitamin A deficiency is a serious public health problem, especially in the developing world. The World Health Organization estimates that between 250,000 and 500,000 children in the developing world go blind each year as a result of vitamin A deficiency.

Internet service improves care for newborns and chronically ill
(Medical Xpress) -- Premature infants often do better at home than in hospitals. The relationships with parents and siblings are more natural, and they run a lower risk of contracting contagious diseases than at the hospital. With the new Internet service developed and tested by Chalmers, patients can be at home and at the same time get better follow-up and maintain a dialog with caring staff.

Chinese scientists announce the first complete sequencing of Mongolian genome
Inner Mongolia Agricultural University (IMAU), Inner Mongolia University for the Nationalities (IMUN) and BGI, the world's largest genomics organization, jointly announced the first complete sequencing of Mongolian genome. This genomic study will help researchers to better understand the evolutionary process and migration of Mongolians and their ancestors from Africa to Asia, which also lays an important genomic foundation for further development of human genetic diseases research.

ESC calls for European studies exploring readmissions to hospital following PCI
The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) welcomes the spotlight that a US study has placed on the importance of measuring rates of rehospitalisation following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) procedures.

Physician notifications improve postfracture care for patients
A simple physician notification system can help prevent further fractures in osteoporotic patients who have had already had fractures, according to a study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

Abolish the criminalization of HIV
Routine criminal prosecutions for not disclosing HIV status should be abolished, write three HIV/AIDS experts in an article in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

Stop the violence and play hockey
The tradition of fighting in hockey should be stopped, as research shows that repeated head trauma causes severe and progressive brain damage, states an editorial in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

Blood pressure drug limits cigarette smoke-induced lung injury in mice
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is among the most common causes of death in the US. It is a smoking-related disease for which there are currently no disease-altering therapies. However, hope that one could be developed is now provided by the work of Enid Neptune and colleagues, at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, in a mouse model of lung disease caused by exposure to cigarette smoke.

Effect of adenotonsillectomy in children with sleep-disordered breathing
Children may have a better quality of life (QOL) and diminished cardiovascular disease risk from the decreased endothelin 1 (ET-1) levels after adenotonsillectomy, according to new research published in the December 2011 issue of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery.

Hospitals invest heavily in new heart attack care programs but fail to improve access
In a new study, researchers have found a 44 percent increase since 2001 in the number of hospitals that offer definitive emergency care to patients with heart attack, but only a 1 percent increase in access to that care. The study, led by Thomas W. Concannon, PhD, Assistant Professor Tufts Medical Center and Tufts University School of Medicine, will be published January 1, 2012 in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, a journal of the American Heart Association.

Opting to track, not treat, early prostate cancer
(AP) -- John Shoemaker visited six doctors in his quest to find the best treatment for his early stage prostate cancer - and only the last one offered what made the most sense to the California man: Keep a close watch on the tumor and treat only if it starts to grow.

Australian woman wins thalidomide hearing: court
A woman born without arms or legs on Monday won the right to have the class action she is leading against the firms behind thalidomide, a sedative blamed for birth defects, proceed in Australia.

Social norms for obesity learned in childhood
Newcastle University research studying siblings has revealed that childhood experience and genes may set your weight rather than social networks later in life. 

Myths about psychopaths busted
(Medical Xpress) -- New research challenges the belief that psychopaths are born not made, and suggests psychopaths may even be able to change their spots.

Soybean compounds enhances effects of cancer radiotherapy
A Wayne State University researcher has shown that compounds found in soybeans can make radiation treatment of lung cancer tumors more effective while helping to preserve normal tissue.

In cancer, molecular signals that recruit blood vessels also trigger metastasis
(Medical Xpress) -- Cancer cells are most deadly when they’re on the move — able not only to destroy whatever organ they are first formed in, but also to create colonies elsewhere in the body. New research has now shown how a small RNA prevents the recruitment and formation of blood vessels near cancer cell destined to become metastases, a process that must occur in order for them to grow. The scientists say that if drugs could be developed that act on the pathways regulated by this microRNA, they might be able to block the metastatic process and prevent some breast cancers from becoming deadly.

Ultraviolet rays believed to prevent chickenpox spreading
(Medical Xpress) -- Ultraviolet rays help prevent the spread of chickenpox, meaning people in milder climates are more at risk of catching the disease, according to new research. The discovery could lead to new ways of preventing chickenpox and its more severe relative, shingles.

Starving cancer
A research group led by ETH Zurich professor Dario Neri have developed a new strategy to fight cancer. Blood vessels in the environment of tumors are killed with a new molecule which leads to the "starvation” of the tumor. Compared to currently applied treatments, this new strategy has a series of advantages.

Shorter malaria treatment proven as effective in treating seriously ill children as standard course
(Medical Xpress) -- A shorter anti-malaria treatment is as effective in treating seriously ill children as the standard regimen, according to new research. Researchers have shown that three doses over two days of the drug artesunate are as effective in killing the malaria parasite in the blood as five doses over three days.

Athletes warming up wrong: study
(Medical Xpress) -- Static stretching warm ups are being overused by athletes even though they can be counter-productive, according to Victoria University research.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning's illness deciphered after 150 years
Known for her poetry, letters, love affair and marriage to Robert Browning, Elizabeth Barrett Browning also left a legacy of unanswered questions about her lifelong chronic illness. Now, a Penn State anthropologist, with the aid of her daughter, may have unraveled the mystery.

Targeting EETs to treat cardiovascular disease may prove a double-edged sword
A group of small molecules called EETs – currently under scrutiny as possible treatment targets for a host of cardiovascular diseases – may also drive the growth and spread of cancer, according to researchers at the Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Center (DF/CHCC) and other institutions. Their findings also raise the possibility that drugs that block EETs could serve as a new avenue for cancer treatment.

Innovative new strategy to treat Parkinson's disease
Stabilizing the cell's power-generating center protects against Parkinson's disease (PD) in a rat model, according to a report published online this week in the Journal of Experimental Medicine.

What makes patients complex? Ask their primary care physicians
As Americans live longer with multiple medical conditions, managing their care is becoming increasingly challenging. Being able to define and measure patient complexity has important implications for how care is organized, how physicians and health care systems are paid, and how resources are allocated. In an article in the Dec. 20 Annals of Internal Medicine, a team of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers report finding that primary care physicians define patient complexity using a broader range of factors – including mental health, social factors and financial issues – than do commonly used approaches based only on diagnoses and prior costs.

Commentary calls for awareness of Internet pharmacies' role in prescription drug abuse
Efforts to halt the growing abuse of prescription drugs must include addressing the availability of these drugs on the Internet and increasing physician awareness of the dangers posed by Internet pharmacies. In a commentary in the December 20 Annals of Internal Medicine, investigators from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), the Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics at the University of Southern California (USC), and The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA Columbia) describe the probable contribution of Internet pharmacies to the problem and outline potential strategies for addressing the problem.

Avian flu breakthrough raises question of potential risk
A University of Wisconsin-Madison scientist who is an expert on the avian flu virus is under federal scrutiny because of concerns his new research may fall into the wrong hands.

Discovering Autism: An industry built on hope
In 1987, Ivar Lovaas, a charismatic UCLA psychology professor, published what remains the most famous study on the treatment of autism.

Discovering Autism: Homing in on the right label
When autism researchers arrived at Norristown State Hospital near Philadelphia a few years ago, they found a 63-year-old man who rambled on about Elvis Presley, compulsively rocked in his chair and patted the corridor walls.

Discovering Autism: An unsettling boom
Amber Dias couldn't be sure what was wrong with her little boy.

Discovering Autism: Services go to those who fight hardest
From the day her son was diagnosed with autism nine years ago, Stacie Funk has made it her full-time job to find him the best possible help. Hiring lawyers and experts to press her case, she established herself as a mother whose demands could not easily be dismissed.

Breast cancers at lower-risk detected with widespread use of mammograms
As a woman ages, her chances of being diagnosed with a lower-risk breast tumor increase, according to a novel study led by UCSF which found that for women over 50, a substantial number of cancers detected by mammograms have good prognoses.

Middle-age blood pressure changes affect lifetime heart disease, stroke risk
An increase or decrease in your blood pressure during middle age can significantly impact your lifetime risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD), according to research in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Doctors are cautious, patients enthusiastic about sharing medical notes
Patients are overwhelmingly interested in exploring the notes doctors write about them after an office visit, but doctors worry about the impact of such transparency on their patients and on their own workflow, a Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) study suggests.

Bone marrow-derived cells differentiate in the brain through mechanisms of plasticity
Bone marrow-derived stem cells (BMDCs) have been recognized as a source for transplantation because they can contribute to different cell populations in a variety of organs under both normal and pathological conditions. Many BMDC studies have been aimed at repairing damaged brain tissue or helping to restore lost neural function, with much research focused on BMDC transplants to the cerebellum at the back of the brain. In a recent study, a research team from Spain has found that BMDCs, can contribute to a variety of neural cell types in other areas of the brain as well, including the olfactory bulb, because of a mechanism of "plasticity".

Grafting of human spinal stem cells into ALS rats best with immunosuppressant combination
A team of researchers grafting human spinal stem cells into rats modeled with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as "Lou Gehrig's Disease," a degenerative, lethal, neuromuscular disease, have tested four different immunosuppressive protocols aimed at determining which regimen improved long-term therapeutic effects. Their study demonstrated that a combined, systematically delivered immunosuppression regimen of two drugs significantly improved the survival of the human spinal stem cells. Their results are published in the current issue of Cell Transplantation (20:8), now freely available on-line at http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/cog/ct/.

Researchers find misinformation about emergency contraception common in low-income neighborhoods
Researchers from Boston Medical Center (BMC) and Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have found that in low-income neighborhoods, misinformation about access to emergency contraception is a common occurrence. These findings appear as a research letter in the Dec. 19 on-line issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

FDA adds new heart warning to Sanofi's Multaq
Federal health officials have added new safety warnings to the heart rhythm drug Multaq after company studies linked the pill to higher rates of heart attack, stroke and death in a subset of patients.

US Supreme Court sets hearings on Obama health reform
The US Supreme Court will hear evidence challenging President Barack Obama's health care reform -- which has come under fire from Republicans -- over three days in March, a spokeswoman said Monday.

New discovery may lead to safer treatments for asthma, allergies and arthritis
Scientists have discovered a missing link between the body's biological clock and sugar metabolism system, a finding that may help avoid the serious side effects of drugs used for treating asthma, allergies and arthritis.

New discovery expected to significantly change biomedical research
In a major step that could revolutionize biomedical research, scientists have discovered a way to keep normal cells as well as tumor cells taken from an individual cancer patient alive in the laboratory — which previously had not been possible. Normal cells usually die in the lab after dividing only a few times, and many common cancers will not grow, unaltered, outside of the body.

Timing is key in the proper wiring of the brain: study
(Medical Xpress) -- After birth, the developing brain is largely shaped by experiences in the environment. However, neurobiologists at Yale and elsewhere have also shown that for many functions the successful wiring of neural circuits depends upon spontaneous activity in the brain that arises before birth independent of external influences.

Study: Eating less keeps the brain young
Overeating may cause brain aging while eating less turns on a molecule that helps the brain stay young.

Snipping key nerves may help life threatening heart rhythms
What do sweaty palms and abnormal heart rhythms have in common? Both can be initiated by the nervous system during adrenaline-driven "flight or fight" stress reaction when the body senses danger.

One trait has huge impact on whether alcohol makes you aggressive
Drinking enough alcohol to become intoxicated increases aggression significantly in people who have one particular personality trait, according to new research.

Babies remember even as they seem to forget
Fifteen years ago, textbooks on human development stated that babies 6 months of age or younger had no sense of "object permanence" – the psychological term that describes an infant's belief that an object still exists even when it is out of sight. That meant that if mom or dad wasn't in the same room with junior, junior didn't have the sense that his parents were still in the world.

Acupuncture reduces protein linked to stress in first of its kind animal study
Acupuncture significantly reduces levels of a protein in rats linked to chronic stress, researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) have found. They say their animal study may help explain the sense of well-being that many people receive from this ancient Chinese therapy.

Biology news

Beautiful, but deadly to salmonella
(PhysOrg.com) -- A virus that was first found in sewers and shares its name – P22 – with a semi-automatic handgun might seem an unlikely object of beauty.

Exotic plants do not necessarily become invasive
Introduced plant species do not necessarily have to outgrow indigenous plant species. That makes it difficult to predict the potential harm of exotic plants. NWO-funded researcher Annelein Meisner recently published an article about this in the Journal of Ecology.

US zoo receives $4.5 mn panda donation
The National Zoo in Washington announced Monday it had received a $4.5 million donation from a rich US benefactor which will fund a five-year study into preservation of the giant panda.

Researchers find pet kidney injuries are similar to human kidney injuries
When evaluating early kidney injuries in people, doctors monitor blood level increases of creatinine, a waste product of muscle breakdown, to understand the severity of the injury. Creatinine is filtered by the kidneys, and small increases are an indication of early damage to vital kidney function. For pets suffering critical illness or injury, University of Missouri researchers have found that even tiny increases of creatinine in blood also could indicate acute kidney damage. Using human blood measurement guidelines for acute kidney injuries, the researchers believe they can now help pet owners better know the severity of their animals' illness.

Family composition determines success of great tit parents
Great tits who have as many sons as daughters acquire more grandchildren than great tits with an uneven family composition. That is because their children are reproductively more successful concludes NWO researcher Reinder Radersma. He expects that his results are broadly applicable in the animal kingdom. Radersma gained his doctorate on 2 December from the University of Groningen.

Sensational bird finding in China
In June 2011, a team of Chinese and Swedish researchers rediscovered the breeding area for the poorly known Blackthroat Luscinia obscura, in the Qinling mountains, Shaanxi province, north central China.

Project uses mummy DNA to differentiate croc species
The Nile crocodile is a species that was identified by ancient Egyptians. Genetic analysis done by a group of geneticists using samples taken from species throughout the animal's range and including DNA from mummified crocodile remains indicates that more than one species is known by this name.

Hellbender salamander study seeks answers for global amphibian decline
A new study co-authored by University of Florida researchers on the endangered Ozark Hellbender giant salamander is the first to detail its skin microbes, the bacteria and fungi that defend against pathogens.

Scientists find genes to tackle climate change in outback rice
(PhysOrg.com) -- University of Queensland scientists have discovered that an ancient relative of rice contains genes that could potentially save food crops from the devastating effects of global warming.

Researchers use whole-genome sequencing to monitor evolution of drug resistance in bacteria
(PhysOrg.com) -- Two research groups working independently have come up with two different ways to use whole-genome sequencing to follow the path bacteria take in developing resistance to anti-bacterial drugs. Such research could prove useful in figuring out ways to stop the evolutionary process, thereby safeguarding current anti-bacterial agents for future patients. Both groups have published papers describing their work in Nature Genetics. The first group has found a way to actually monitor the evolution of the E. coli bacteria over several generations as it’s exposed to three types of anti-bacterial agents. The second group has figured out a way to follow mutations in bacteria that occur after anti-bacterial agents have been discontinued.

High-energy lifestyles led to evolution of the sexes
Scientists are a step closer to explaining one of the most enduring mysteries of modern biology; why are there males and females?

Protein associated with learning implicated in causing grasshoppers to swarm
New research has found that a protein associated with learning and memory plays an integral role in changing the behaviour of locusts from that of harmless grasshoppers into swarming pests.

Study settles 125-year debate on how nitrogen-fixing bacteria breaches cell walls of legumes
A 125-year debate on how nitrogen-fixing bacteria are able to breach the cell walls of legumes has been settled. A paper to be published on Monday by John Innes Centre scientists reports that plants themselves allow bacteria in.

A major step forward towards drought tolerance in crops
When a plant encounters drought, it does its best to cope with this stress by activating a set of protein molecules called receptors. These receptors, once activated, turn on processes that help the plant survive the stress.

Biopixels: Researchers create living 'neon signs' composed of millions of glowing bacteria (w/ video)
(PhysOrg.com) -- In an example of life imitating art, biologists and bioengineers at UC San Diego have created a living neon sign composed of millions of bacterial cells that periodically fluoresce in unison like blinking light bulbs.

Cockroach 'let's hook up' chemical signal could benefit endangered woodpecker
A North Carolina State University discovery of the unique chemical composition of a cockroach signal -- a "Let's hook up" sex pheromone emitted by certain female wood cockroaches to entice potential mates -- could have far-ranging benefits, including improved conservation of an endangered woodpecker.

Evolution at warp speed: Hatcheries change salmon genetics after a single generation
The impact of hatcheries on salmon is so profound that in just one generation traits are selected that allow fish to survive and prosper in the hatchery environment, at the cost of their ability to thrive and reproduce in a wild environment.

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