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Here is your customized PHYSorg.com Newsletter for February 19, 2012:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
- Atomtronics: A new phase- A classic model for ecological stability revised, 40 years later
- Study links ultrafast machine trading with risk of crash
- DARPA sets aside $7 million for 'Avatar' robot pals in battle
- Researchers develop new way to oxidize graphene: A step toward better electronics
- New connections between brain cells form in clusters during learning
- Single-atom transistor is 'perfect'
- Alan Turing's 1950s tiger stripe theory proved
- Study finds faulty fat sensor implicated in obesity and liver disease
- Serious Facebook hack lands UK student in prison
- A surprising molecular switch: Lipids help control the development of cell polarity
- Scientists identify protein that sends 'painful touch' signals
- Glaciers: Fossil fuel signature found in Alaskan ice
- Yosemite's alpine chipmunks take genetic hit from climate change
- Discovery that migrating cells 'turn right' has implications for engineering tissues, organs
Space & Earth news
Climate change takes back seat to decision-making in water security: researcher
Phoenix, the sixth largest U.S. city, is vulnerable to water shortages even without climate change because of heavy outdoor water use and fragmented governance, according to research conducted at the Decision Center for a Desert City (DCDC) at Arizona State University.
Expert panel deliberates hydraulic fracturing in shale gas development
The use of hydraulic fracturing in shale gas development took center stage Friday as a panel of U.S. and Canadian experts discussed the contentious practice in a three-hour symposium hosted by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
Stanford scientist discusses the challenges and opportunities of carbon sequestration
When the Environmental Protection Agency issued its first comprehensive report on major greenhouse gas emitters last month, power plants topped the list, accounting for more than 70 percent of industrial carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the United States.
Beyond climate models: Rethinking how to envision the future with climate change
Professor Stephen Sheppard will present at the symposium Beyond Climate Models: Rethinking How to Envision the Future with Climate Change Friday, at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) conference in Vancouver.
Peat fires could accelerate climate change: researchers
In 1997, a forest fire in Indonesia ignited an area of peatlands that smouldered for months. By the time it was over, the fire had released greenhouse gases equal to 20 to 40 percent of the total worldwide emissions that year from fossil fuels.
From 'science from above' to 'science in the community'
Most research initiatives aim to discover more knowledge. The International Polar Year (IPY) went even further; it created more discoverers.
Researchers: Information flow can help farmers cope with climate change
The instant communications technology that nurtured grassroots revolutions in the Arab world could also help farmers cope with climate change, according to Iowa State University researchers.
Window into world's future oceans unveiled
An international team from the Nippon Foundation-University of British Columbia Nereus program has unveiled the first global model of life in the world's oceans, allowing scientists and policymakers to predict – and show through 3D visualizations – the state of life in the oceans of the future.
The star factory: observing Arp 220
Using the Herschel Space Observatory, Wilson's group has found Arp 220 to have large amounts of very warm molecular hydrogen gas, a surprising find that implies molecular hydrogen is the dominant coolant in the high-temperature gas. Wilson's team has also observed a massive wind from the center of the galaxy, removing molecular gas from the central star forming core.
Building blocks of early Earth survived collision that created moon
Unexpected new findings by a University of Maryland team of geochemists show that some portions of the Earth's mantle (the rocky layer between Earth's metallic core and crust) formed when the planet was much smaller than it is now, and that some of this early-formed mantle survived Earth's turbulent formation, including a collision with another planet-sized body that many scientists believe led to the creation of the Moon.
Tiny shrimp leave giant carbon footprint: scientist
Measured by environmental impact, a humble shrimp cocktail could be the most costly part of a typical restaurant meal, scientists said Friday.
John Glenn reunites with 50-year-old Mercury team
(AP) -- John Glenn joined the proud, surviving veterans of NASA's Project Mercury on Saturday in celebrating the 50th anniversary of his historic orbital flight.
Wildfires kill 339,000 people per year: study
Wildfires, peat fires and controlled burns on farming lands kill 339,000 people worldwide each year, said a study released on Saturday that is the first to estimate a death toll for landscape fires.
Better models needed to track atmospheric pollution's impact on health, climate
The past decade has witnessed a significant growth in Asian air pollution, causing a great concern for air quality and climate. If government policy makers hope to contain the problem, they will need increased research and better computer models of black carbon and other aerosol pollutants, also known as atmospheric brown cloud (ABC), according to University of Iowa engineering professor Gregory Carmichael.
Gamma-ray bursts' highest power side unveiled by Fermi telescope
(PhysOrg.com) -- Detectable for only a few seconds but possessing enormous energy, gamma-ray bursts are difficult to capture because their energy does not penetrate the Earth's atmosphere. Now, thanks to an orbiting telescope, astrophysicists are filling in the unknowns surrounding these bursts and uncovering new questions.
X-rays of synthesized moon rocks illuminate the interior of the Moon
Contrary to Earth, our Moon has no active volcanoes, and the traces of its past volcanic activity date from billions of years ago. This is surprising, because recent Moonquake data suggest that there is plenty of liquid magma deep within the Moon because part of the rocks residing there are thought to be molten. Scientists have now identified a likely reason for this peaceful surface life: the hot, molten rock in the Moon's deep interior could be so dense that it is simply too heavy to rise to the surface like a bubble in water.
Glaciers: Fossil fuel signature found in Alaskan ice
New clues as to how the Earth's remote ecosystems have been influenced by the industrial revolution are locked, frozen in the ice of glaciers. That is the finding of a group of scientists, including Robert Spencer of the Woods Hole Research Center. The research will be published in the March 2012 issue of Nature Geoscience.
Technology news
Demand Media stock soars as 4Q results renew hope
(AP) -- Demand Media Inc.'s stock soared by more than 30 percent Friday after the online content publisher's fourth-quarter earnings and outlook for this year gave investors hope that it is starting to recover from diminished traffic that had stemmed from changes to Google's Internet search formula.
Australian sues Twitter over hate blog: report
An Australian man is suing Twitter for defamation after he was wrongly named as the author of a hate blog, a report said Friday.
Taiwan's Foxconn raises wages for Chinese workers
(AP) -- Taiwan's Foxconn Technology Group said Saturday that it has raised wages by up to 25 percent in the second major salary hike in less than two years, as the world's largest electronics contract manufacturer comes under intensive scrutiny after a spate of suicides.
Bill Gates attends Obama fundraiser
Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates attended a campaign fundraiser for President Barack Obama on Friday, where the US leader cited his example to push for raising taxes on wealthy Americans.
Spain to extend life of its oldest nuclear plant
Spain will extend operations at its oldest nuclear power plant by five years, Industry Minister Jose Manuel Soria said Saturday as the country seeks to make the most of its energy sources.
Smart grids could outsmart criminals
Your smart phone uses broadband to connect you to the world. But when charging it, you're relying on an electrical system that was designed and built in the era of the rotary phone.
US iPad owners tend to be older, have money
US owners of iPads tend to be older and richer than people who buy rival tablet computers, according to a study released on Friday by NPD Group.
Startup sends live local TV to the iPhone
(AP) -- A startup backed by media billionaire Barry Diller has launched a service that sends live local TV feeds to iPhones and iPads. But the service may be short-lived, since TV stations are likely to challenge its right to use their broadcasts.
US authorities hit Megaupload with more charges
The US authorities have filed additional copyright infringement and fraud charges against Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom and other employees of the file-sharing site shut down last month.
Improving logistics of biofuel raw materials
If the increased use of biomass to produce alternative fuels is to become a reality, more attention needs to be paid to logistics – how, for example, biomass raw materials are shipped from farm to refinery, as well as the development of better ways of preparing the products for shipping.
Computer scientist developing intersections of the future with fully autonomous vehicles
Intersections of the future will not need stop lights or stop signs, but will look like a somewhat chaotic flow of driverless, autonomous cars slipping past one another as they are managed by a virtual traffic controller, says computer scientist Peter Stone.
Eastern Europeans fuel fight for Internet freedoms
(AP) -- Eastern Europe's tradition of political revolt has met the digital age. This time it's not communists or food shortages fueling fury, but an international copyright treaty that opponents say threatens freedom on the Internet.
Ex-Google CEO Schmidt to sell up to 2.4M shares
(AP) -- Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt plans to sell up to 2.4 million shares of stock currently worth nearly $1.5 billion.
Youth shaping future of online TV, movies, music
(AP) -- Young people want their music, TV and movies now - even if it means they get these things illegally.
Researcher presents latest work on tracking ideas in social media
Indiana University's Filippo Menczer has shown how to "out" political astroturfers through his complex networks laboratory's study of information diffusion on Twitter. The research team went on to learn that while retweet networks are politically segregated between left- and right-leaners, Twitter "mentions" actually create a communication bridge between the two partisan groups.
Serious Facebook hack lands UK student in prison
(AP) -- A British student who stole sensitive information from Facebook's internal network was sentenced to eight months in prison Friday in what prosecutors described as the most serious case of social media hacking ever brought before the country's courts.
US Congress approves wireless spectrum auction
The US Congress approved legislation on Friday that would free up spectrum for next generation wireless networks to meet the surging growth of mobile devices.
Taking biofuel from forest to highway
The world is moving from a hydrocarbon economy to a carbohydrate economy, according to University of British Columbia biofuel expert Jack Saddler. He is presenting his work at the 2012 Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Vancouver on Feb. 17.
'Duet of 1' possible with hand-controlled voice synthesizer
New technology at the University of British Columbia makes it possible for a person to speak or sing just by using their hands to control a speech synthesizer.
DARPA sets aside $7 million for 'Avatar' robot pals in battle
(PhysOrg.com) -- The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced this week that it will be setting aside $7 million out of its $2 billion budget to work on a next-step robotics program called Avatar. Beyond battlefield robots built like big dogs, and beyond a headless robot called Petman, the Avatar result will be a "semi-autonomous bi-pedal machine" that can smartly and effectively behave as a soldier surrogate. DARPA’s Avatar robots will be able to perform human-like military operations such as room clearing, sentry control and recovering combat casualties, tasks that may help minimize injuries and deaths.
Medicine & Health news
Is clot-busting drug safe for kids with strokes?
New research looks at whether clot-busting drugs can safely be given to children who have strokes. The research was released today and will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 64th Annual Meeting in New Orleans April 21 to April 28, 2012.
Switching antiepileptic drugs could increase risk of seizures
The substitution of brand-name antiepileptic drugs with cheaper generic equivalents has been an ongoing point of contention among doctors, federal officials and people with epilepsy.
Alzheimer's drugs may have adverse side effects
Alzheimer's disease drugs now being tested in clinical trials may have potentially adverse side effects, according to new Northwestern Medicine research. A study with mice suggests the drugs could act like a bad electrician, causing neurons to be miswired and interfering with their ability to send messages to the brain.
A new EEG shows how brain tracts are formed
In the past few years, researchers at the University of Helsinki have made several breakthroughs in discovering how the brain of preterm babies work, in developing treatments to protect the brain, and in developing research methods suitable for hospital use.
Before they can speak, babies make friends: study
Babies still too small to speak know how to make jokes and form friendships, say researchers at an Australian university who have spent two years filming the behaviour of young children.
Nodding disease confounds experts, kills children
Patrick Anywar, 14, lies curled up naked in the dust and midday heat of a Ugandan village, struggling to look up at his younger brother and sister playing in front of the family home.
APNewsBreak: FDA to review inhalable caffeine
(AP) -- U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials plan to investigate whether inhalable caffeine sold in lipstick-sized canisters is safe for consumers and if its manufacturer was right to brand it as a dietary supplement.
New combo of chemo and well-known malaria drug delivers double punch to tumors
Blocking autophagy -- the process of "self-eating" within cells -- is turning out to be a viable way to enhance the effectiveness of a wide variety of cancer treatments.
Research shows substituting with smokeless tobacco saves lives
Substituting smokeless tobacco products can save smokers' lives, and there is a scientific foundation that proves it.
As climate change increases forest fires, smoke forecasting could help protect public health
Satellite images, air quality measurements and smoke forecasting models are useful tools to help individuals and public health professionals prepare for smoke episodes in areas at risk from forest fire smoke, according to University of British Columbia researcher Michael Brauer.
Sunburnt Australia to pull plug on sunbed tans
Jay Allen used to love having what he thought was a healthy tan -- so much so that he would regularly expose his body to the lights of a sunbed to ensure he maintained his overall colour.
The USP15 biological thermostat: A promising novel therapeutic target in cancer
After years studying the molecular bases of glioblastoma - the most common brain tumor and one of the most aggressive of all cancers, the group led by Dr. Joan Seoane , Director of Translational Research at the Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO) and ICREA Research Professor has today published a study in Nature Medicine identifying USP15 as a critical protein in cancer which, thanks to its molecular characteristics, shows enormous therapeutic promise.
Discovery that migrating cells 'turn right' has implications for engineering tissues, organs
What if we could engineer a liver or kidney from a patient's own stem cells? How about helping regenerate tissue damaged by diseases such as osteoporosis and arthritis? A new UCLA study bring scientists a little closer to these possibilities by providing a better understanding how tissue is formed and organized in the body.
Scientists identify protein that sends 'painful touch' signals
In two landmark papers in the journal Nature this week, scientists at The Scripps Research Institute report that they have identified a class of proteins that detect "painful touch."
Study finds faulty fat sensor implicated in obesity and liver disease
Defects in a protein that functions as a dietary fat sensor may be a cause of obesity and liver disease, according to a study published in the journal Nature, led by researchers at Imperial College London. The findings highlight a promising target for new drugs to treat obesity and metabolic disorders.
New connections between brain cells form in clusters during learning
New connections between brain cells emerge in clusters in the brain as animals learn to perform a new task, according to a study published in Nature on February 19 (advance online publication). Led by researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, the study reveals details of how brain circuits are rewired during the formation of new motor memories.
Biology news
'Wild west' approach to claiming the oceans' genetic resources must end: researchers
New international agreements are required to ensure nations benefit equally from medicines, foods and biofuels derived from the ocean's untapped genetic riches, according to a panel of University of British Columbia and European researchers presenting at the 2012 Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Vancouver on Feb. 17.
Repelling the knapweed invasion
The problem of invasive species may seem remote from most people's lives. But in some parts of the United Kingdom, an invasive plant creates a problem that hits home, literally. That's because the presence of invasive knotweed on a property prevents potential buyers from obtaining a mortgage. This destructive plant from Asia, which can tear down walls and rip up roads, is also putting down roots in many parts of Canada.
Scientists see big 'scientific event' as Pacific whales turn up far from home
When scientists fired a cigar-sized satellite tag into the blubber of a western gray whale off Russia's Sakhalin Island in September, they expected to track her along Asia's Pacific shoreline down to the South China Sea.
Yosemite's alpine chipmunks take genetic hit from climate change
Global warming has forced alpine chipmunks in Yosemite to higher ground, prompting a startling decline in the species' genetic diversity, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley.
A surprising molecular switch: Lipids help control the development of cell polarity
In a standard biology textbook, cells tend to look more or less the same from all sides. But in real life cells have fronts and backs, tops and bottoms, and they orient many of their structures according to this polarity explaining, for example, why yeast cells bud at one end and not the other.
Alan Turing's 1950s tiger stripe theory proved
Researchers from King's College London have provided the first experimental evidence confirming a great British mathematician's theory of how biological patterns such as tiger stripes or leopard spots are formed.
A classic model for ecological stability revised, 40 years later
A famous mathematical formula which shook the world of ecology 40 years ago has been revisited and refined by two University of Chicago researchers in the current issue of Nature.
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