PhysOrg Newsletter Friday, Mar 16

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Here is your customized PHYSorg.com Newsletter for March 16, 2012:

Spotlight Stories Headlines

- New insights into ancient life: Chromosome segregation in Archaea
- Straintronics: Engineers create piezoelectric graphene
- 'Faster-than-light' particles fade after cross-check
- Third research team close to creating Majorana fermion
- Graphene battery demonstrated to power an LED
- Google's moves raise questions about 'don't be evil' motto
- Study of isotopes shows recycling of Earth's crust began 3 billion years ago
- Skeleton found near Cambridge evidence of first Christian burial in England
- Obesity raises death risk tied to sleeping pills
- Glowing White: Solvent-free luminescent organic liquids for organic electronics
- Researchers uncover molecular pathway through which common yeast becomes fungal pathogen
- Highly exposed to phthalates as fetuses, female mice have altered reproductive lives
- Study: The right strategy doesn't guarantee advantage in auctions, real estate or stock market
- Researchers print live cells with a standard inkjet printer
- First step taken to image ultra-fast movements in chemical reactions

Space & Earth news

Canada considers fate of Arctic explorer's ship
A panel of experts on Thursday considered a proposal to repatriate Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen's three-mast ship Maud from the Canadian Arctic.

North Korea plans to launch long-range rocket
(AP) -- North Korea announced plans Friday to blast a satellite into space on the back of a long-range rocket, a provocative move that could jeopardize a weeks-old agreement with the U.S. exchanging food aid for nuclear concessions.

Space Image: Enceladus, Saturn's moon
(PhysOrg.com) -- Below a darkened Enceladus, a plume of water ice is backlit in this view of one of Saturn's most dramatic moons.

Moroccan villagers steamed up over silver mine
Atop a remote mountain overlooking one of Africa's largest silver mines, a group of Moroccan activists -- many of them women and children -- are trying to choke off the facility's water supply.

Plastics in electrical waste: Disposal or recycling?
Every year, the editors of the scientific journal Environmental Science & Technology, select the best papers among their peer-reviewed contributions, which numbered more than 1500 in 2011 alone. This year, a contribution by Empa researchers has been awarded the title "Best Paper" in the "Policy Analysis" category. The scientists studied the proportion of restricted substances found in plastic components from waste electrical and electronic equipment.

New dataset provides 40-year record of carbon dioxide accumulation in the surface ocean
The most comprehensive dataset of surface water carbon dioxide (CO2) measurements for the world's oceans and coastal seas is launched today by an international team of scientists led by the University of East Anglia (UEA).

Scientists make discoveries about the ways oceans form
(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at Missouri University of Science and Technology have discovered magnetic stripes in Ethiopia that could indicate the coming formation of a new ocean basin in the next two million years or so. The findings are reported in the March issue of the journal Geology.

The amazing technology that crafted the Webb Telescope technology
The creation of the next generation James Webb Space Telescope was only possible as a result of imagining and developing the industrial machines that would make it a reality. In the near future, some of that industrial technology could be in an exhibit for a museum of Industry and Technology.

New analysis of clay deposits in ancient Martian Lakes
Mars was once a much wetter world than it is now, with hot springs, rivers, lakes and perhaps even oceans. Just how wet exactly, and for how long, is still a subject of considerable debate. One vital clue comes from clay mineral deposits and sediments left over after the water disappeared, but still visible now. They provide a valuable insight into what Mars used to be like, and why it is the cold, dry place we see today.

Risk of major flooding in spring is low for the first time in four years
For the first time in four years, no area of the country faces a high risk of major to record spring flooding, largely due to the limited winter snowfall, according to NOAA’s annual Spring Outlook, which forecasts the potential for flooding from April to June. 

Glacier-fed river systems threatened by climate change
Glacial meltwater increases biodiversity in mountainous freshwater ecosystems. As glaciers vanish due to global warming, so will those species dependent upon the icy runoff. This is the conclusion of a study authored by researchers from, among other institutions, the University of Copenhagen.

NASA sees cyclone Lua strengthening for March 17 landfall
Northern Australia's Pilbara coast is under warnings, alerts and watches as powerful Cyclone Lua nears for a landfall. NASA's Aqua satellite has been providing infrared, visible and microwave data on Lua that have shown forecasters the storm is strengthening on its approach to land.

Glittering jewels of Messier 9
(PhysOrg.com) -- The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has produced the most detailed image so far of Messier 9, a globular star cluster located close to the center of the galaxy. This ball of stars is too faint to see with the naked eye, yet Hubble can see over 250 000 individual stars shining in it.

Near-miss asteroid will return next year
(PhysOrg.com) -- When it whizzes past Earth in 2013, a newly discovered asteroid is going to miss our planet – but not by much. The 50 m space rock is expected to come closer than many satellites, highlighting the growing need to keep watch on hazards from above.

Study of isotopes shows recycling of Earth's crust began 3 billion years ago
(PhysOrg.com) -- New research by a team of British Earth scientists shows that while the Earth’s crust was made up of new material for much of its early life, it later began to recycle material three billion years ago, leading to the development of the continents we know today. The research team came to this conclusion, as they report in their paper published in Science, after studying oxygen isotopes in zircon samples taken from several different points across the globe.

Technology news

US newspaper ad revenue down 7.3% in 2011
US newspaper advertising revenue fell 7.3 percent last year to $23.94 billion, according to figures released Thursday by the Newspaper Association of American, continuing a six-year slide.

Technical row over 'F-duct' Formula One wing
Red Bull chief Christian Horner Friday said Formula One teams would be forced to copy Mercedes' new rear wing design after it was cleared by officials in the year's first technical controversy.

PayPal to expand in Asia after mobile app launch
PayPal Asia-Pacific chief Rupert Keeley said Friday the US company plans to expand in the region over the next 12 to 18 months, after it launched the region's first payments service for smartphones.

Sprint ends deal with LightSquared
(AP) -- Sprint Nextel Corp. is ending its spectrum hosting agreement with LightSquared, whose network looks doomed because regulators say it interferes with GPS navigation devices.

China smartphone market 'to overtake US'
China is set to be the biggest smartphone market this year after shipments in the second-half of 2011 outstripped the US, a technology research firm said.

Lawsuit slams 'apps' for mining smartphone contacts
A small group of US smartphone owners has filed a lawsuit demanding that Facebook, Twitter and other makers of smartphone "apps" pay dearly for mining people's contact lists.

WTO chief plays down China rare earth row
The head of the World Trade Organization on Friday played down a dispute over China's controls on exports of rare earth minerals, saying it was unlikely to escalate into a trade war.

New report on how UK should deal with future energy needs
A new report by the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at the University of Oxford says an urgent remodelling of the UK’s energy infrastructure is needed.

Groupon amends practices after UK probe
(AP) -- A British regulator says online deals site Groupon will change the way it markets its products after drawing criticism from consumers.

Google invests in social with Kevin Rose hire
Google confirmed Friday that it has hired Digg co-founder Kevin Rose and other members of the team at his latest project, a Milk incubator for startups making "apps" for mobile gadgets.

Google making search smarter with 'semantic' capabilities
Google says it is retooling its search machine to go beyond recognizing words in queries and begin understanding what it is people are asking for.

Cheaper, quieter and fuel-efficient biplanes could put supersonic travel on the horizon
(PhysOrg.com) -- For 27 years, the Concorde provided its passengers with a rare luxury: time saved. For a pricey fare, the sleek supersonic jet ferried its ticketholders from New York to Paris in a mere three-and-a-half hours -- just enough time for a nap and an aperitif. Over the years, expensive tickets, high fuel costs, limited seating and noise disruption from the jet’s sonic boom slowed interest and ticket sales. On Nov. 26, 2003, the Concorde -- and commercial supersonic travel -- retired from service.

Google's moves raise questions about 'don't be evil' motto
With its "Don't Be Evil" motto, Google Inc. has always held itself to a higher moral standard.

Using virtual worlds to 'soft control' people's movements in the real one
Eighty-eight percent of Americans now own a cell phone, forming a massive network that offers scientists a wealth of information and an infinite number of new applications. With the help of these phone users — and their devices' cameras, audio recorders, and other features — researchers envision endless possibilities for gathering huge amounts of data, from services that collect user data to monitor noise pollution and air quality to applications that build maps from people's cell phone snapshots.

Medicine & Health news

Poor literacy skills linked to increased mortality risk among older people
One in three older people who have difficulty reading and understanding basic health related information may be at increased risk of death, concludes a study published in the British Medical Journal today.

Mental health problems twice as prevalent in deaf people
A Review in this week's Lancet says that mental health problems are about twice as prevalent in deaf people compared with the general population, and also reports disparities in access to and quality of mental health care for deaf people. The Review is by Dr Johannes Fellinger, Health Centre for the Deaf at the Hospital of St John of God, Linz, Austria, and Medical University, Vienna, Austria, and colleagues.

Depression increases death risk in coronary stent patients
Copenhagen, 16 March 2012: Depression increases the risk of death in patients who have a coronary stent implanted. After seven years of follow up, depressed patients were 1.5 times more likely to have died than non-depressed patients. The findings were independent of age, gender, clinical characteristics, anxiety and the distressed (Type D) personality.

Inflammatory biomarkers improve the clinical prediction of mortality in COPD
The addition of changes in inflammatory biomarkers to established clinical variables improves the prediction of mortality in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to a new study.

Art improves stroke survivors' quality of life
Copenhagen, 16 March 2012: Stroke survivors who like art have a significantly higher quality of life than those who do not, according to new research. Patients who appreciated music, painting and theatre recovered better from their stroke than patients who did not.

Feds to halt Texas Women's Health Program funding
(AP) -- The federal government on Thursday began making good on its promise to cut off all funding for the Texas Medicaid Women's Health Program amid an escalating fight over the state's ban on funding for clinics affiliated with abortion providers.

Some schools planning to drop 'pink slime' meat
(AP) -- The lunch lady won't be serving up "pink slime" anymore at several school districts around the country.

HPV pushes UK oral cancer cases past 6,000 a year
The number of oral cancer cases diagnosed each year in the UK has risen above 6,000 for the first time, new figures from Cancer Research UK show today.

Expert warns of dangers of Internet gambling, especially on youth
Participating in an online March Madness bracket or fantasy sport league is harmless fun for most people, but for someone with a gambling addiction, it can be a dangerous temptation.

Training more black physicians to do colonoscopies could save lives
(Medical Xpress) -- Nobody likes to talk about a colonoscopy, much less get one. Sure, there’s the “ick” factor. But for certain segments of the population, including African Americans and other medically underserved groups, “ick” is the least of the hurdles and is often overshadowed by costs and access.

A matter of great weight
Obesity is described today as a global epidemic. If no action is taken, a billion people will be overweight by 2030. This is an acute challenge to our society, says researcher Claes Held.

Researchers find blame game doesn't help obese patients
Doctors should be more understanding when it comes to obese patients and their lack of success, according to a team of Vanderbilt University Medical Center obesity researchers.

The next decade of mental health drugs
Academics advocate for changes to how we development better treatments for mental health.

Largest gene therapy trial for cystic fibrosis begins
(Medical Xpress) -- British scientists are to carry out the largest trial anywhere in the world of a gene therapy for cystic fibrosis.

To no longer grow is a 'blessing' for world's tallest man
Turkey's Sultan Kosen, at eight foot three (2.51 meters) the world's tallest living man, says it's "a blessing" he is no longer growing thanks to radiosurgery in the United States.

Study determines critical skills for PCPs to safely manage opioid risk in chronic pain patients
Primary care physicians are faced with treating a large proportion of chronic pain patients, but many do not often have specific training in the assessment and management of chronic pain, including the use of opioid medications for chronic pain management. Recognizing the significant role prescribers can play in reducing the risk of addiction, unintentional overdose, and death from the misuse and abuse of opioids, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has made prescriber education a central part of its Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) requirements for manufacturers of long-acting and extended-release (LA/ER) opioids.

Environmental factors in Tiny Tim's near fatal illness
Le Bonheur Professor Russell Chesney, M.D. believes he knows what was ailing Tiny Tim, the iconic character from Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol." Based on detailed descriptions of both the symptoms and living conditions of 18th century London, Dr. Chesney hypothesizes that Tiny Tim suffered from a combination of rickets and tuberculosis (TB). His findings were published in the March 5 edition of Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.

Poor dental hygiene puts congenital heart disease patients at risk of further heart damage
Copenhagen, 16 March 2012: Poor dental hygiene behaviours in patients with congenital heart disease are increasing their risk of endocarditis. Teens with congenital heart disease floss, brush and visit the dentist less than their peers. But they have healthier behaviours when it comes to alcohol, cigarettes and illicit drugs. Adults with single ventricle physiology (a type of congenital heart disease) also have poorer dental hygiene practices than their peers despite having better health behaviours overall.

White rice increases risk of Type 2 diabetes
The risk of type 2 diabetes is significantly increased if white rice is eaten regularly, claims a study published today in the British Medical Journal.

Fast-updosed subcutaneous immunotherapy effective
(HealthDay) -- An immunologically-enhanced subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) formulation, with an optimized ratio of allergen to adjuvant, induces a significant immunologic response with acceptable safety when injected every three to four days compared with standard weekly injections, according to a study published online March 3 in Allergy.

Stressed parents may affect preemie behavior later
(HealthDay) -- When parents of very small premature infants are stressed or depressed, their children are more likely to develop behavioral problems by age 3, according to new research.

World tallest man finally stops growing, US doctors say
Good news for Turkey's Sultan Kosen, at eight foot three (2.51 meters) the world's tallest living man: he can now say with confidence that he's finally grown up.

Consumers mistake fair-trade foods for lower-calorie
(Medical Xpress) -- Claims on food labels that a product is organic, locally produced or made by workers subject to fair labor practices may mislead consumers into thinking that such foods are low in calories, says a University of Michigan researcher.

Low-fat milk is good, but some sun is an option for vitamin D
(Medical Xpress) -- With obesity on the rise, nutritional issues have been taken on by public and governmental officials.   In January, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a federally funded, five-year plan to improve cafeteria food and reduce childhood obesity.

Exposure to antibiotics linked to severity of allergic asthma: research
Widely used antibiotics may increase incidence and severity of allergic asthma in early life, according to a University of British Columbia study.

Antipsychotic drug combinations are often given to patients early in treatment
Patients with schizophrenia and other mental illnesses are commonly prescribed high dose combinations of antipsychotic drugs earlier than recommended by some guidelines, finds a new study in the March issue of General Hospital Psychiatry.

Caffeine gives a small boost to painkillers' effectiveness
Caffeine improves the effectiveness of over-the-counter pain relieving drugs, but only by a small margin, according to a new evidence review in The Cochrane Library.

New tools to answer timeless questions
After finishing his PhD in molecular biophysics, Alan Jasanoff decided to veer away from that field and try looking into some of the biggest questions in neuroscience: How do we perceive things? What happens in our brains when we make decisions?

Cell-signaling pathway has key role in development of gestational diabetes
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have identified a cell-signaling pathway that plays a key role in increasing insulin secretion during pregnancy and, when blocked, leads to the development of gestational diabetes. Their findings are available online today in Diabetes, one of the journals of the American Diabetes Association.

Treating psoriasis to prevent heart attacks and strokes
A clinical study co-led by the Montreal Heart Institute and Innovaderm Research Inc., which was presented today at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology, shows that a new treatment for psoriasis could be associated with a significant decrease in vascular inflammation, a major risk factor of cardiovascular disease.

Response rate high for some patients with metastatic melanoma treated with vemurafenib
An international team of researchers from the United States and Australia, including researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., have found that the oral BRAF inhibitor vemurafenib (PLX4032) when tested in a phase II clinical trial offered a high rate of response in patients with previously treated metastatic melanoma and who had the BRAF mutation. More than 50 percent of the patients in the trial had positive, prolonged responses and a median survival of almost 16 months.

Bicycle handlebar position affects female genital sensation
(HealthDay) -- Low handlebar positioning relative to the bicycle saddle is associated with increased perineal saddle pressure and decreased sensation in critical pelvic floor structures, according to research published online March 5 in the Journal of Sexual Medicine.

Study looks at effect of emotions on pain and itch intensity
(HealthDay) -- Emotions influence the experience of somatosensory sensations of both pain and itch, with negative emotions eliciting higher levels of itch and pain compared to positive emotions, according to research published online March 8 in the British Journal of Dermatology.

Gene profile correlates with glycemia in type 1 diabetes
(HealthDay) -- A gene expression profile in peripheral blood correlates with glycemic control in the first year for patients recently diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, according to a study published online March 8 in Diabetes.

Psoriasis patients may face higher heart risk
(HealthDay) -- People with the painful skin condition psoriasis may be at increased risk for health problems that affect the heart, an expert says.

Tobacco smoke affects early human embryonic development
(Medical Xpress) -- Scientists have gained insight into how second-hand tobacco smoke damages the earliest stages of human embryonic development.

Brain imaging study finds evidence of basis for caregiving impulse
Distinct patterns of activity-- which may indicate a predisposition to care for infants -- appear in the brains of adults who view an image of an infant face -- even when the child is not theirs, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and in Germany, Italy, and Japan.

Highly exposed to phthalates as fetuses, female mice have altered reproductive lives
Female mouse fetuses exposed to very high doses of a common industrial chemical that makes plastics more pliable develop significant reproductive alterations and precancerous lesions as they grow up, according to a new toxicology study conducted at Brown University.

Obesity raises death risk tied to sleeping pills
Obesity appears to significantly increase the risk of death tied to sleeping pills, nearly doubling the rate of mortality even among those prescribed 18 or fewer pills in a year, researchers reported Friday.

Biology news

Increase in Arctic shipping poses risk to marine mammals
A rapid increase in shipping in the formerly ice-choked waterways of the Arctic poses a significant increase in risk to the region's marine mammals and the local communities that rely on them for food security and cultural identity, according to an Alaska Native groups and the Wildlife Conservation Society who convened at a recent workshop.

Isle Royale wolves may go extinct
Isle Royale National Park's gray wolves, one of the world's most closely monitored predator populations, are at their lowest ebb in more than a half-century and could die out within a few years, scientists said Friday.

By temporarily silencing a hyperactive gene, scientists dramatically boost the efficiency of mouse cloning
In principle, somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) is a potent tool for scientists looking to produce exact genetic replicas of a particular animal. By injecting a nucleus from an adult cell into an oocyte from which the nucleus has been removed, one can initiate the embryonic development process and derive a clone of the ‘donor’ animal.

Lyme disease surge predicted for the northeastern US
The northeastern U.S. should prepare for a surge in Lyme disease this spring. And we can blame fluctuations in acorns and mouse populations, not the mild winter. So reports Dr. Richard S. Ostfeld, a disease ecologist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, NY.

An invasive Asian fly is taking over European fruit
Coming from the Asian continent, Drosophila suzukii has only been in Spain for a short time. Far away from slipping through into the Iberian Peninsula, it accelerated towards the north of Europe where it has already crossed the Alps. Amongst its preferred target are cherries and red fruits but any type of fruit is suitable for it to lay its eggs. This insect is posing a threat to the fruit of more and more European countries.

France bans strain of Monsanto genetically modified maize
French Agricultural Minister Bruno Le Maire imposed Friday a temporary ban on a genetically modified strain of maize made by US company Monsanto "to protect the environment".

European grasslands challenge rainforests as the most species-rich spaces on Earth
The city of Manila holds the human world record for the most densely populated space and now an international team of ecologists are seeking the natural equivalent, the most species rich area on earth. The team's findings, published in the Journal of Vegetation Science, reveal the record is contested between South America's tropical rainforests and Central European meadows.

Hummingbirds take no notice of flower color
Hummingbirds pay no attention to what colour a flower is when figuring out whether to raid it for nectar, the latest research suggests.

New paper examines poison resistance in snakes around the world
(PhysOrg.com) -- A new study by University of Notre Dame biologist Michael Pfrender and a team of researchers from the University of Nevada, Reno; Utah State University; and the University of Virginia suggests that snakes from different regions of the world have evolved a similar, remarkable resistance to a deadly neurotoxin.

Far-out photosynthesis
Photosynthesis maintains Earth's habitability for life as we know it, and shapes the way we search for habitable worlds around distant stars. Scientists have discovered a microbe that can use low-energy light to perform photosynthesis. This discovery could alter theories about the types of stars that could support Earth-like worlds.

Researchers uncover molecular pathway through which common yeast becomes fungal pathogen
Scientists at the University of Toronto have found a molecular mechanism that plays a key role in the transition of Candida albicans yeast into disease-causing fungus—one of the leading causes of hospital-acquired infection. The finding highlights the importance of heat in fungal growth, and provides a new target for drug therapies to counter Candida albicans infection.

Researchers print live cells with a standard inkjet printer
Researchers from Clemson University have found a way to create temporary holes in the membranes of live cells using a standard inkjet printer. The method will be published in JoVE, the Journal of Visualized Experiments, on March 16.

New insights into ancient life: Chromosome segregation in Archaea
(PhysOrg.com) -- The effort to classify life into various groups has been a bumpy ride. Prior to the 1900s, living things were usually pegged as either plants or animals – period. By the middle of the 20th century, however, it was asserted that this scheme did not adequately represent fungi, bacteria and protists, leading to a five-group classification – Monera (bacteria), Protista, Fungi, Plantae, and Animalia. At roughly the same time, however, a fundamental distinction between prokaryotic bacteria and the four eukaryotic kingdoms (plants, animals, fungi, and protists) based on nuclei, cytoskeleton, internal membranes, and other shared eukaryote characteristics – for example, unlike eukaryotes, their genetic material is not wrapped by a membrane into a separate compartment – was acknowledged, resulting in a different system – and considerable confusion. Then, things changed anew when an entirely new prokaryotic group – the so-called th! ird domain of life, living in high temperatures and producing methane – was discovered in the late 1970s.

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