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Here is your customized PHYSorg.com Newsletter for December 11, 2011:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
- Broadcom will ship 802.11ac products in 2012- Multi-purpose photonic chip paves the way to programmable quantum processors
- The world's smallest steam engine measures a few micrometers
- Sky-watchers get rare treat: total lunar eclipse
- New method boosts blood-clotting for hemophiliacs
- Apple seeks patents for display and noise-out systems
- Rare genetic disorder provides clues to development of the pancreas
- Scientists elevate little-studied cellular mechanism to potential drug target
- Scar findings could lead to new therapies
Space & Earth news
Conference in overtime on future of climate talks
(AP) -- Deep into overtime, negotiators from 194 nations worked straight through a second night, parsing drafts and seeking compromises to map out the future pathway to fight global warming.
Durban climate deal leaves difficult road ahead
The world's nations on Sunday set their sights on a new all-encompassing pact on climate change that marks a break with the past and will also be gruelling to achieve.
Model shows how facade pollutants make it into the environment
Anti-fungal and anti-bacterial additives in house paint are present in dangerous quantities in the Vauchère river basin in the city of Lausanne, says a study to be presented the 9th of December, at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) conference in San Francisco. Chemicals engineered to kill microorganisms, called biocides, are added to exterior paints in order to prevent molding and plant growth. Washed off of building facades during heavy rains, however, these chemicals can be wind up in soil, groundwater and river basins where they attack bacteria, fungi and algae at the bottom of the food chain. Researchers at EPFL's Ecological Engineering Laboratory have now modeled the flow of biocides from building façades into river basins with surprising accuracy, which could lead to stricter regulations for Switzerland and abroad.
Climate conference approves landmark deal
(AP) -- A U.N. climate conference reached a hard-fought agreement Sunday on a far-reaching program meant to set a new course for the global fight against climate change.
Radioactive water leaked at second Japan plant
A Japanese nuclear plant leaked 1.8 tonnes of radioactive water from its cooling system, the government said, heightening safety worries as an atomic crisis continues at another plant.
Sky-watchers get rare treat: total lunar eclipse
Moon watchers in the western U.S., Hawaii and elsewhere across the globe were treated Saturday to a rare celestial phenomenon: a total lunar eclipse.
Technology news
Steve Jobs to be remembered with statue in Hungary
(AP) -- In the Hungarian capital, Steve Jobs has been cast in bronze.
Top China official urges more 'forceful' web controls
A top Chinese government official has urged authorities to be "more forceful" in the way they manage the web, state media said, as Beijing tries to tighten online controls over fears of social unrest.
NYPD Facebook probe raises free speech question
(AP) -- The Facebook group was titled "No More West Indian Day Detail," referring to police patrol for a raucous annual Brooklyn parade.
Nuclear giant Areva to post 'significant' loss'
French state-owned nuclear giant Areva is to announce significant losses when it unveils its new corporate strategy this week, Industry Minister Eric Besson said on Sunday.
Amazon slammed for price reporting deal
Online retailing giant Amazon was criticized as "anti-competitive" Saturday for its latest promotion that encourages consumers to enter stores and leave empty-handed, after reporting back the prices they find there.
SAP sees new acquisition as boon for cloud computing
The acquisition of US firm Success Factors by SAP will make the German software giant number one in "cloud computing" and show a profit from 2013, a top SAP executive said in an interview published Saturday.
Wind farm fuels Ethiopia's green power ambitions
Villagers in Ethiopia's arid north live as they have for centuries surrounded by cattle and donkeys; only the rows of towering white wind turbines look out of place.
Indonesia threatens to cut BlackBerry data service
Indonesia has threatened to cut data services used by millions of BlackBerry customers, the industry body said Saturday, in an ongoing spat over infrastructure and government access to information.
Apple seeks patents for display and noise-out systems
(PhysOrg.com) -- Apple made patent news this week in two directions, toward a Kinect like system and toward a quest for excellence in sound quality on phones. It’s been reported that Apple has filed patent applications for a 3-D image and display system, and for technology techniques that can deliver significant improvements in the audio quality of portable devices, especially in noise cancellation.
Broadcom will ship 802.11ac products in 2012
(PhysOrg.com) -- Broadcom is highlighting a second coming of Wi-Fi in the name of the new IEEE standard 802.11ac, with this week’s announcement that its products based on the nascent standard will be ready for shipping in the second half of next year. The IEEE 802.11ac is a wireless standard of 802.11 under development.
Medicine & Health news
In Iraq war, a revolution in battlefield medicine
The Iraq war ushered in dramatic advances in battlefield medicine, with the effects of homemade bombs leading the US military to radically change how it treats wounded soldiers.
FDA panel backs birth control patch despite risks
(AP) -- A panel of federal health advisers said Friday that a birth control patch from Johnson & Johnson probably carries a higher risk of blood clots than older drugs, but should remain available as an option for women who have trouble taking a daily pill.
Biker's warning! Erythropoietin hits blood vessels to raise blood pressure in the brain
Erythropoietin or EPO might be considered a "performance enhancing" substance for athletes, but new research published online in The FASEB Journal shows that these enhancements come at a high cost--increased risk of vascular problems in the brain. According to the study, short- or long-term use of EPO raises blood pressure by constricting arteries, which reduces the flow of blood to the brain. This finding also contradicts earlier evidence suggesting that EPO may be a viable early treatment for stroke victims.
How patients will respond to immunomodulator therapy for multiple myeloma
Research on the same protein that was a primary mediator of the birth defects caused by thalidomide now holds hope in the battle against multiple myeloma, says the study's senior investigator, Keith Stewart, M.B., Ch.B. of Mayo Clinic in Arizona. Dr. Stewart presented the results at the 53rd annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology in San Diego.
B cell receptor inhibitor causes chronic lymphocytic leukemia remission
A new, targeted approach to treating chronic lymphocytic leukemia has produced durable remissions in a Phase I/II clinical trial for patients with relapsed or resistant disease, investigators report at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology.
Novel experimental agent is highly active in CLL patients, interim study shows
An interim analysis of a phase Ib/II clinical trial indicates that a novel experimental agent for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is highly active and well tolerated in patients who have relapsed and are resistant to other therapy. The agent, called PCI-32765, is the first drug designed to target Bruton's tyrosine kinase, a protein essential for CLL-cell survival and proliferation. CLL is the most common form of leukemia, with about 15,000 new cases annually in the U.S. About 4,400 Americans die of the disease each year.
New method boosts blood-clotting for hemophiliacs
Symptoms improved significantly in adults with the bleeding disorder hemophilia B following a single treatment with gene therapy developed by researchers at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis and demonstrated to be safe in a clinical trial conducted at the University College London (UCL) in the U.K.
Scar findings could lead to new therapies
Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine report that they have identified the molecular pathway through which physical force contributes to scarring in mice.
Rare genetic disorder provides clues to development of the pancreas
A rare genetic disorder has given researchers at the University of Exeter a surprising insight into how the pancreas develops. The finding provides a clue to how it may be possible to 'programme' stem cells – master cells in the body that can develop into specialised cells – to become pancreatic cells.
Biology news
New study provides comprehensive view of the status of Atlantic bluefin tuna
A new model built around biological data from electronic tags, ear bone microchemistry and fisheries catch data for Atlantic bluefin tuna indicates fishing on one side of the Atlantic influences the other side. Bluefin populations on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean have declined precipitously since 1950, according to the study published today in the peer-reviewed online journal PLoS ONE. The model estimates the number of Atlantic bluefin tuna remaining in the ocean and projects future population sizes based on alternative management scenarios. The new model is revolutionary in its ability to account for population overlap (mixing) of this highly migratory animal on the North Atlantic foraging grounds.
A lake fauna in a shot-glass
Danish research team leads the way for future biodiversity monitoring using DNA traces in the environment to keep track of threatened wildlife – a lake water sample the size of a shot-glass can contain evidence of an entire lake fauna.
Deadly Tasmanian Devil cancer found in 'clean' area
A deadly cancer riddling Australia's Tasmanian Devil has been found in an area thought to be free of the disease, troubling officials struggling to keep the animal alive in the wild.
Resequencing 50 accessions of rice cast new light on molecular breeding
BGI, the world's largest genomics organization, announced that a study on resequencing 50 accessions of cultivated and wild rice was published online today in Nature Biotechnology. The study provides one of the largest genome variation data sets for wild and cultivated rice, which is valuable for breeding and for identifying agronomically important genes in rice. This data also yields new insights for geneticists and biologists to deeply explore the domestication history of cultivated rice.
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