Dear Reader ,
Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for April 12, 2012:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
- See Dan read: Baboons can learn to spot real words- Naked Energy touts hybrid solar panel in tube design
- H3+: The molecule that made the Universe
- US grabs lead over China in clean energy race
- Breakthrough study finds 'master switches' in colon cancer
- Determining a stem cell's fate: Biologists scour mouse genome for genes and markers that lead to T cells
- How sperm and eggs develop precisely 23 chromosomes each
- Listen up, parents: For toddlers (and chimps), the majority rules
- Researchers discover cellular system for detecting and responding to poisons and pathogens
- Facebook lets users take more data home
- Volcanic plumbing provides clues on eruptions and earthquakes
- Test links strains of common parasite to severe illness in US newborns
- Athletic frogs have faster-changing genomes
- Unmanned vessel could soon be working for Navy
- Two neutrons at the same time: Discovery of dineutron decay
Space & Earth news
Researchers call for a new direction in oil spill research
Inadequate knowledge about the effects of deepwater oil well blowouts such as the Deepwater Horizon event of 2010 threatens scientists' ability to help manage and assess comparable events in future, according to an article that a multi-author group of specialists will publish in the May issue of BioScience. Even federal "rapid response" grants awarded to study the Deepwater Horizon event were far more focused on near-surface effects than on the deepwater processes that the BioScience authors judge to be most in need of more research.
Canada cuts CO2 emissions, but misses target
Canada's greenhouse gas emissions fell steadily from a peak in 2007 to 692 megatons in 2010, but remain far above its original target, according to government data released Wednesday.
'Serious' pesticide threat in former Soviet Union: UN agency
The European Union and the UN's food agency announced an agreement on Thursday to manage vast stocks of obsolete pesticides in the former Soviet Union, warning they had become a "serious threat".
Rapid climate change threatens Asia's Rice Bowl
As Asia's monsoon season begins, leading climate specialists and agricultural scientists warned today that rapid climate change and its potential to intensify droughts and floods could threaten Asia's rice production and pose a significant threat to millions of people across the region.
Determining total fertility in strip-tilled fields
Band fertilizer placement may cause non-uniform distribution in the soil. Why does this matter?
Poor spring rain projected in Africa
Spring rains in the eastern Horn of Africa are projected to begin late this year and be substantially lower than normal.
Asian tsunami warnings test post-2004 systems
Giant quakes off Indonesia caused panic but little damage, in a successful test of warning systems and evacuation plans introduced after the catastrophic 2004 Asian tsunami, experts said Thursday.
Tsunami warnings improving but still not ideal, expert says
(Phys.org) -- An Australian earthquake expert says it will be years before tsunami warnings can be made accurate enough to avoid unnecessary evacuations or alerts.
Dragon expected to set historic course
(Phys.org) -- The upcoming launch of a SpaceX spacecraft and rocket on a demonstration flight to the International Space Station is expected to cross a key milestone on the path to operational, commercial missions.
Space weather forecast: Sunspotty, with an increasing chance of solar storms
(Phys.org) -- The past few months have seen a spate of solar flares – bringing spectacular views of the northern lights as far south as Seattle – along with media speculation that the electrical activity could disrupt power grids, satellites or ground airplanes.
Telling changes on the tundra
(Phys.org) -- University of Alberta researchers are part of a groundbreaking, multinational study of the effect of global warming on tundra vegetation in various regions around the world.
Study on extrasolar planet orbits suggests that Solar System structure is the norm
The EXOEarths team (Centro de Astrofísica da Universidade do Porto - CAUP), in collaboration with Geneva University, did a joint analysis of data from the HARPS spectrograph and the Kepler satellite. This analysis revealed that the orbits of other planetary systems are aligned, like in a disk, just like in our own Solar System.
SpaceX is considering coastal Texas town for rocket launch site
Expansion-minded rocket venture Space Exploration Technologies Corp. may add a small Texas town on the Gulf of Mexico to its list of rocket launch sites.
Gulf Coast residents say BP Oil Spill changed their environmental views, research finds
University of New Hampshire researchers have found that residents of Louisiana and Florida most acutely and directly affected by the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster -- the largest marine oil spill in U.S. history -- said they have changed their views on other environmental issues as a result of the spill.
New KIPAC tool gives scientists a closer look at merging galaxies
(Phys.org) -- Scientists at SLAC’s Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology (KIPAC) have created sophisticated computer simulations that show galaxy mergers in much more detail than ever before.
CO2 is messing with coral skeletons
(Phys.org) -- An international scientific team has carried out the world’s first analysis of the impact of ocean acidification on every gene in the coral genome, throwing new light on the likely fate of corals under climate change.
Search is on for source of US Gulf of Mexico oil sheen
The US Coast Guard and oil company experts on Thursday used aircraft and undersea probes to monitor and search for the source of a 10-mile long oil sheen in the Gulf of Mexico.
Southern sea levels rise drastically
(Phys.org) -- Sea levels have risen about 20cm in the South West Pacific since the late 19th century, a new scientific study shows.
Herschel spots comet massacre around nearby star
(Phys.org) -- ESA’s Herschel Space Observatory has studied the dusty belt around the nearby star Fomalhaut. The dust appears to be coming from collisions that destroy up to thousands of icy comets every day.
ALMA reveals workings of nearby planetary system
A new observatory still under construction has given astronomers a major breakthrough in understanding a nearby planetary system that can provide valuable clues about how such systems form and evolve. The scientists used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to discover that planets orbiting the star Fomalhaut must be much smaller than originally thought.
Discovery of the Musket Ball Cluster
(Phys.org) -- Using a combination of powerful observatories in space and on the ground, astronomers have observed a violent collision between two galaxy clusters in which so-called normal matter has been wrenched apart from dark matter through a violent collision between two galaxy clusters.
Envisat - biggest environment satellite - goes silent
The European Space Agency said Thursday it had lost contact with Envisat, the biggest Earth-monitoring satellite in history.
Volcanic plumbing provides clues on eruptions and earthquakes
Two new studies into the "plumbing systems" that lie under volcanoes could bring scientists closer to understanding plate ruptures and predicting eruptions—both of which are important steps for protecting the public from earthquake and volcanic hazards.
IBEX and TWINS join forces to observe a solar storm
(Phys.org) -- On April 5, 2010, the sun spewed a two million-mile-per-hour stream of charged particles toward the invisible magnetic fields surrounding Earth, known as the magnetosphere. As the particles interacted with the magnetic fields, the incoming stream of energy caused stormy conditions near Earth. Some scientists believe that it was this solar storm that interfered with commands to a communications satellite, Galaxy-15, which subsequently foundered and drifted, taking almost a year to return to its station.
Technology news
South Korean phone company bets on K-pop
(AP) -- South Korea's largest fixed-line telephone company is trying to capitalize on the worldwide popularity of Korean pop music, or K-pop, to increase revenue from overseas.
'Marley' to stream on Facebook while in theaters
(AP) -- The Bob Marley documentary "Marley" will stream on Facebook simultaneously during its theatrical opening, a signal that social media may also play a role in shifting movie release windows.
Novel coding technique patented
Over the past decade, tablet computers and smartphones have taken the world by storm, in no small part due to the way in which they can be switched on almost instantly. The race has been on to develop computers that can similarly be up and running in a matter of moments. Such advances are currently hindered due to the fact that computers need to boot up, as silicon memory chips cannot hold information if the power is turned off. In order to retain information even if the power is turned off, the memory needs to be non-volatile, as is the type of memory commonly found in memory sticks. However, existing memory technologies are expensive, difficult to scale up and often cannot keep up with the demands of current desktop computers. A key contender for future non-volatile memories is the so-called spin-torque transfer magnetic random access memory (STT-MRAM).
Stolen digital photographs on display in London
(AP) -- Recognize that picture? Two Italian-born artists are showing off more than 10,000 private photographs they claim to have stolen from random people's hard drives, part of an exhibit that also features fragments cut, torn or chipped off of iconic works by Andy Warhol, Marcel Duchamp and Jeff Koons.
Wal-Mart previews 'Disc to Digital' movie service
(AP) -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. previewed its "Disc to Digital" service for converting DVDs into an online library on Wednesday. Based on my experience, I'd give it a six out of 10.
French group Areva to build big Indian solar power plant
The French energy group Areva said Wednesday that it would build the biggest concentrated solar power installation in Asia for Reliance Power of India.
Instagram fans moan over slap in the Facebook
Facebook's $1 billion gobbling up of Instagram has sent disgruntled fans of the quirky photo-sharing app to the delete button.
Google likely next in antitrust push on tech giants
Google is likely the next major tech target of US and EU trust-busters after the US Justice Department sued Apple Wednesday for illegally colluding with publishers in the e-book market, legal experts said.
Sony to cut 10,000 jobs, turn around TV business
(AP) -- Faced with mounting losses, Sony Corp. said Thursday it will slash 10,000 jobs, or about 6 percent of its global workforce, and try to turn around its money-losing TV business over the next two years.
IBM, partners enable smarter charging for electric vehicles
IBM announced that it has teamed with American Honda Motor Co., Inc. and Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) on a new pilot project that will allow communication between electric vehicles (EVs) and the power grid. This project will demonstrate and test an electric vehicle's ability to receive and respond to charge instructions based on the grid condition and the vehicle's battery state. With visibility into charging patterns, energy providers will have the ability to more effectively manage charging during peak hours and create consumer-friendly programs to encourage electric vehicle adoption.
Instagram co-founders are young, widely praised -- and very, very rich
When word broke Monday morning that Facebook was buying a tiny San Francisco startup for $1 billion, many asked: "Who are these guys?"
Regulators, ad companies huddle over 'Do Not Track' features
The momentum of a growing multibillion-dollar industry is colliding with online privacy worries this week, as regulators and privacy advocates face off against the Internet advertising industry to hash out how proposed "Do Not Track" features in Web browsers will actually work.
Online piracy pact ACTA hit by new EU setback
A controversial global pact to battle counterfeiting and online piracy faced a new setback on Thursday as the European Parliament's pointman on the legislation urged fellow lawmakers to reject it.
Policies, learning-by-doing played important role in reducing ethanol costs
A new study from the University of Illinois concludes that learning-by-doing, stimulated by increased ethanol production, played an important role in inducing technological progress in the corn ethanol industry. It also suggests that biofuel policies, which induced ethanol production beyond the free-market level, served to increase the competitiveness of the industry over time.
Flood of streaming-video options could confound TV watchers
Streaming video is about to hit its tipping point. Competing online video services have become so successful that about one-third of Americans have streamed a movie or TV show on Netflix, Hulu, Vudu, Crackle or another Net-based video service, according to Nielsen.
Now that you have a smartphone, it's time for a smart home
You've got a smartphone and maybe a smart TV, and may have heard that smart refrigerators are in the works. Next up: the smart home.
Facebook insiders stay pals
All eyes are on Facebook Inc., which is on the verge of a $100-billion initial public stock offering.
Hacker's NYC impersonation case set to be closed
(AP) -- A computer hacker-turned-FBI informant is on track to get out of trouble after being accused of telling a police officer he was a federal agent.
Putin unveils $500 bn offshore energy drive
Vladimir Putin vowed Thursday to win $500 billion in investment for Russian offshore field development over 30 years to tap the country's full energy potential with the help of foreign expertise.
British police 'confident' anti-terror hotline not hacked
London's Metropolitan Police said Thursday they were satisfied that recorded conversations between staff on Britain's anti-terrorist hotline were not obtained through hacking.
HP shows recovery following PC flip-flop fallout
(AP) -- Hewlett-Packard Co. is showing signs of recovery as it strengthened its position as the world's largest maker of personal computers and gained back some of the business it had lost while weighing whether to dump its PC division.
Britain keen to tap Iceland's energy reserves: minister
Britain is in talks to exploit Iceland's huge geothermal resources and has drawn up plans to lay submarine cables between the two countries, Britain's energy secretary told AFP on Thursday.
Google proposes stock split as profit soars
Google on Thursday posted a quarterly profit of $2.89 billion and said its board is backing a proposal for a stock split.
US grabs lead over China in clean energy race
The United States has regained the lead in the clean energy race, investing $48 billion last year to surpass China, which held the world's top spending spot since 2009, said a study Wednesday.
70MW: Kyocera and partners to build largest photovoltaic power plant in Japan
(Phys.org) -- Electronics giant Kyocera, along with partners IHI Corp. and Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd have jointly announced plans to build a photovoltaic power plant in the southern Japanese city of Kagoshima, in Kagoshima Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, which is just across the Kanmon Strait from the big island of Honshu. The move is in response to the devastating Tohoku earthquake, tsunami and nuclear power plant disaster the country experienced last year that has left the country in near crises mode in developing new infrastructure to support the electrical needs of the nation; since the earthquake, all but one of Japan’s nuclear plants have been shut down. In response, the government has set up a feed-in tariff program designed to spur renewable energy growth. The new plant in Kagoshima will benefit from that program.
British anti-terror hotline breached by hackers: police
Hackers have recorded calls between staff manning Britain's anti-terrorist hotline, Scotland Yard revealed Thursday, in the second security breach involving the force in recent months.
Facebook lets users take more data home
Facebook on Thursday began letting members of the world's leading online community take more of their pictures, posts, messages and other data home with them.
Unmanned vessel could soon be working for Navy
Technology that sent unmanned aircraft over Iraq and Afghanistan soon could be steering unstaffed naval boats for such dangerous tasks as minesweeping, submarine detection, intelligence gathering and approaching hostile vessels.
Naked Energy touts hybrid solar panel in tube design
(Phys.org) -- A British company, Guildford-based Naked Energy, has come up with a “hybrid” solar panel that has generated much interest in the past weeks because of its design, function, and test results, comparing favorably to traditional solar panels. The solar panel is of the “hybrid” variety because it does two jobs at the same time. The product, called Virtu, can generate both electricity and hot water simultaneously. The company believes that with Virtu they have invented the right design and process to achieve an effective thermal transfer system.
Medicine & Health news
Having Huntington's disease or other 'polyQ' diseases protects against cancer, suggesting common genetic mechanism
Having Huntington's disease or other diseases known as polyglutamine (polyQ) diseases reduces a person's risk of getting cancer, suggesting a common genetic mechanism, concludes an Article published Online First by The Lancet Oncology. The study is by Dr Jianguang Ji, Lund University, and Skåne University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden, and colleagues.
CDC: Nearly 1 in 4 babies born to unwed cohabitors
(AP) -- Health officials say nearly 1 in 4 babies are born to unmarried couples who are living together, a significant jump from a decade ago.
Putting pressure on lymphoedema
(Medical Xpress) -- Researchers from Flinders University are trialling a new treatment for lymphoedema of the legs, giving fresh hope to sufferers of the disabling condition.
Preventing problems after cancer
Medical researchers at the University of Alberta are part of a national team that has one common vision—to prevent long-term complications from childhood cancer treatment.
Regret when keeping sexual assault a secret
(Medical Xpress) -- According to the 2006 National Violence Against Women Survey, one in six women is a victim of sexual assault, a crime that Carol Anne Marchetti said is committed repeatedly by a relatively few number of perpetrators.
Austrian scientists challenge the clinical relevance of the term 'basal-like' breast cancer subtype
(Medical Xpress) -- Not all breast cancers are the same. Different types can mean different prognoses for the patient, and a different kind of treatment may be adequate. But how to classify tumors? Are molecular classification methods reliable? Mohammad Ali Lavasani and Farid Moinfar from the Unit of Breast and Gynecologic Pathology at the Medical University of Graz, Austria give a critical review of the literature with focus on “basal-like” carcinoma.
German MPs call for under-18 ban on cosmetic surgery
Plastic surgery could be outlawed for under 18-year-olds unless medically necessary under a proposal by lawmakers from Germany's ruling party, according to a document seen by AFP Thursday.
New advances in the understanding of cancer progression
Researchers at the Hospital de Mar Research Institute (IMIM) have discovered that the protein LOXL2 has a function within the cell nucleus thus far unknown. They have also described a new chemical reaction of this protein on histone H3 that would be involved in gene silencing, one of which would be involved in the progression of breast, larynx, lung and skin tumours.
BMC study shows diverting passengers to elevators could help reduce falls at Logan airport
(Medical Xpress) -- A first of its kind study conducted by researchers at Boston Medical Center (BMC)’s Injury Prevention Center (IPC) found that one fall requiring first responder emergency medical services response occurs, on average, approximately every 56 hours at Boston Logan International Airport, with 37 percent of those incidents involving transport to a hospital. The study, which was done at the request of the Massachusetts Port Authority and Massport Fire/Rescue, concludes that diverting at-risk passengers from escalators to elevators could significantly reduce the number of falls.
New study explores how to decrease risky behavior among parolees in the community
Police officers are always trying to control the misconduct of those who are on parole in order to control crime in the community, but what types of behaviors land them back in jail and what can law enforcement officials do about it? A recent article in the Journal of Correctional Health Care (JCHC), published by SAGE, discusses how to target the most common risky behaviors among specific groups of parolees in order to lower crime in the community.
New study identifies promising, achievable solutions to Nigeria's childhood mortality crisis
A study released today by the International Vaccine Access Center (IVAC) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has identified the most feasible and impactful solutions for Nigeria's immunization program that could offer the best hope yet for scaling up vaccine access to the nation's most rural areas and taking aim at the country's precipitous number of child deaths.
Vitamin D does not boost kids' brainpower, study finds
High levels of vitamin D do not seem to boost teens' academic performance, indicates research published online in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
Little evidence that insect bite remedies work
There is little evidence that over the counter remedies for simple insect bites actually work, and in most cases, no treatment at all will suffice, concludes an evidence review in the April Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin (DTB).
Pride and prejudice: Pride impacts racism and homophobia
A new University of British Columbia study finds that the way individuals experience the universal emotion of pride directly impacts how racist and homophobic their attitudes toward other people are.
Pattern of disc degeneration impacts low back pain
(HealthDay) -- Contiguous, multilevel disc degeneration (CMDD) is associated with increased likelihood of low back pain (LBP) and pain severity compared with skipped level disc degeneration (SLDD), according to a study published in the April 1 issue of Spine.
Study assesses glucose monitoring trends in tweens
(HealthDay) -- During the transition to adolescence, children with type 1 diabetes monitor their blood glucose less frequently, resulting in significant increases in HbA1c levels, according to research published online April 3 in Diabetes Care.
New classification criteria released for research on Sjogren's Syndrome
An international team of researchers released new classification criteria for the common autoimmune condition Sjogren’s syndrome. Classification criteria are the consensus opinion of a group of experts that researchers use in clinical studies to confirm a previous diagnosis and/or subclassify patients who have the same type of a given condition. The new guidelines appear in the April issue of the journal Arthritis Care & Research.
To tweet, or not to tweet: Physicians misusing the internet
(Medical Xpress) -- It’s a brave new world online. As the influence of social media widens, the lines between users’ personal and professional lives are blurring. Doctors are no exception. According to a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), violations of online professionalism are prevalent among physicians. The study found that 92 percent of state medical boards in the United States have received reports of violations ranging from inappropriate contact with patients to misrepresentation of credentials.
Discovery could help to develop new drugs to treat organ transplant and cancer patients
(Medical Xpress) -- Loyola researchers are reporting surprising findings about a molecule that helps ramp up the immune system in some cases and suppress it in others.
Left hand - right hand, premature babies make the link
From the 31st week of pregnancy, preterm babies are capable of recognizing with one hand an object they have already explored with the other. This ability, known as "intermanual transfer", has been demonstrated in premature infants by a team from the Laboratoire de Psychologie et Neurocognition in collaboration with the Laboratoire de Psychologie de la Perception and the CHU de Grenoble. These results show that the corpus callosum, also known as the colossal commissure, i.e. the brain structure involved in information transfer, is functional from this early age. This work has been published online, on the journal Child Development's website.
Early milk feeds best for vulnerable premature babies
(Medical Xpress) -- The way premature babies are fed in hospitals could change following the results of an Oxford University-led study.
Mass participation dream experiment launches
Is it possible to influence people as they sleep and give them their perfect dream? Today sees the launch of a new study that uses a specially designed iPhone app in an attempt to improve the dreams of millions of people around the world. If successful, the study will allow people to create their perfect dream and so wake up feeling especially happy and refreshed.
Kinase test may yield big gains for drug-resistant cancers
In a paper published today in the journal Cell, a team from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill unveils the first broad-based test for activation of protein kinases "en masse", enabling measurement of the mechanism behind drug-resistant cancer and rational prediction of successful combination therapies.
Multitasking -- not so bad for you after all?
Our obsession with multiple forms of media is not necessarily all bad news, according to a new study by Kelvin Lui and Alan Wong from The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Their work shows that those who frequently use different types of media at the same time appear to be better at integrating information from multiple senses - vision and hearing in this instance - when asked to perform a specific task. This may be due to their experience of spreading their attention to different sources of information while media multitasking. Their study is published online in Springer's Psychonomic Bulletin & Review.
High levels of phthalates can lead to greater risk for type-2 diabetes
There is a connection between phthalates found in cosmetics and plastics and the risk of developing diabetes among seniors. Even at a modest increase in circulating phthalate levels, the risk of diabetes is doubled. This conclusion is drawn by researchers at Uppsala University in a study published in the journal Diabetes Care.
Targeting glucagon pathway may offer a new approach to treating diabetes
Maintaining the right level of sugar in the blood is the responsibility not only of insulin, which removes glucose, but also of a hormone called glucagon, which adds glucose.
Biomarker family found for chemo resistant breast cancers
Biomarkers which could help to predict resistance to chemotherapy in breast cancer patients have been identified by researchers from the University of Hull, UK.
Potential gene therapy for patients with rare disease
Australian scientists have discovered that a biological phenomenon known as ‘somatic reversion’, when an abnormal gene spontaneously becomes normal again, explains why some patients with a rare genetic disorder live much longer than they should.
Rebuffing racial insults: How culture shapes our behavior
The color of our skin or where we come does matter when it comes to how we react to a racist insult. A new study has found that African American women are more likely than Asian American women to directly rebuff racist comments, a difference that may reflect deeply rooted cultural differences.
Nearly 30 percent of all college athlete injuries a result of 'overuse'
Overuse injuries –found most often in low-contact sports that involve long training sessions or where the same movement is repeated numerous times – make up nearly 30 percent of all injuries sustained by collegiate athletes.
Lose body weight before gaining baby weight
A new University of Illinois study contains a warning for obese women who are planning pregnancies. Even if they eat a healthy diet when they are pregnant, their babies will develop in an unhealthy environment that places the infants at risk for future health problems.
Exercise and attitude may be thermostat for hot flashes
(Medical Xpress) -- Attitude may play an important role in how exercise affects menopausal women, according to Penn State researchers, who identified two types of women -- one experiences more hot flashes after physical activity, while the other experiences fewer.
Fine-scale analysis of the human brain yields insight into its distinctive composition
Scientists at the Allen Institute for Brain Science have identified similarities and differences among regions of the human brain, among the brains of human individuals, and between humans and mice by analyzing the expression of approximately 1,000 genes in the brain. The study, published online today in the journal Cell, sheds light on the human brain in general and also serves as an introduction to what the associated publicly available dataset can offer the scientific community.
U.S. fertility measures largely unchanged since 2002
(HealthDay) -- Fertility measures for 15- to 44-year olds for 2006 to 2010 are similar to findings from 2002, according to an April 12 data brief issued by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).
Chronic depression patients pick acupuncture over counseling
(HealthDay) -- Patients with depression can be recruited from primary care to compare acupuncture with counseling and general practitioner (GP) care, according to a study published in the April issue of CNS Neurosciences & Therapeutics.
Excessive worrying may have co-evolved with intelligence
Worrying may have evolved along with intelligence as a beneficial trait, according to a recent study by scientists at SUNY Downstate Medical Center and other institutions. Jeremy Coplan, MD, professor of psychiatry at SUNY Downstate, and colleagues found that high intelligence and worry both correlate with brain activity measured by the depletion of the nutrient choline in theGlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals, Sackler Institute of Columbia University, NIH/National Institute of Mental Health, National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression, Psychiatric Institute subcortical white matter of the brain. According to the researchers, this suggests that intelligence may have co-evolved with worry in humans.
Passengers on 'Bat' plane cleared of rabies risk
(HealthDay) -- Health investigators have confirmed that a bat that flew through the cabin of a U.S. commercial airliner last summer did not transmit rabies to 45 of 50 passengers assessed, the three flight crew members or 16 ground crew members who were in close proximity to the winged stowaway.
Researchers identify key regulator of inflammatory response
(Medical Xpress) -- Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have identified a gene that plays a key role in regulating inflammatory response and homeostasis. These findings could help lead to the development of innovative methods to reduce the inflammation associated with cancer, type 2 diabetes and other diseases.
China aims for 74.5 years life expectancy: minister
In China, life expectancy should reach 74.5 years by 2015, Chinese Health Minister Chen Zhu said on Thursday.
SMART heart eases heart ache, targets cardiac patients' emotional well-being
Two years ago, 57-year-old Allus Brown underwent a simultaneous heart-kidney transplant and spent months in and out of the hospital after battling dilated cardiomyopathy, a condition that enlarges and weakens the heart. Now fully recovered, Brown is still in and out of Northwestern Memorial Hospital's Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute each week. Only nowadays when he visits, he's laughing it up, playing board games, and sharing accounts of his own struggles with heart disease as part of the Bluhm Institute's new and innovative program, SMART Heart, stress management and recreational therapy for heart patients. Brown says he thrives in his new role because it's one way he can give back and help others coping with the emotional aftermath of cardiac surgery.
Baldness drug may cause sexual side effects: FDA
(HealthDay) -- Two Merck & Co. drugs -- one to treat hair loss in men, the other to treat an enlarged prostate gland -- will get revised labels warning of potential sexual side effects that can last even after patients stop taking the drugs, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Thursday.
Nature reports on unapproved stem-cell therapies in China
(Phys.org) -- A report in the journal Nature on the extent of unapproved stem-cell treatments in China has found that the practice is still widespread and is attracting thousands of medical tourists to the country.
Being in power does not always magnify personality
(Medical Xpress) -- “If you want to test a man’s character, give him power,” said Abraham Lincoln. It’s a truism that power magnifies personality—but is it true? A new study says no. “Before, people thought that disposition is linked to will; it’s mainly internally driven,” says University College London psychologist Ana Guinote, who conducted the study with Mario Weick of the University of Kent and London doctoral student Alice Cai. “Our findings show that the environment crucially triggers dispositional or counter-dispositional behavior in powerful people.” The findings appear in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
Genetic adaptation of fat metabolism key to development of human brain
About 300 000 years ago humans adapted genetically to be able to produce larger amounts of Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids. This adaptation may have been crucial to the development of the unique brain capacity in modern humans. In today's life situation, this genetic adaptation contributes instead to a higher risk of developing disorders like cardiovascular disease.
Engineered stem cells seek out, kill HIV in living organisms
Expanding on previous research providing proof-of-principal that human stem cells can be genetically engineered into HIV-fighting cells, a team of UCLA researchers have now demonstrated that these cells can actually attack HIV-infected cells in a living organism.
Breakthrough study finds 'master switches' in colon cancer
A team of researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have identified a new mechanism by which colon cancer develops. By focusing on segments of DNA located between genes, or so-called "junk DNA," the team has discovered a set of master switches, i.e., gene enhancer elements, that turn "on and off" key genes whose altered expression is defining for colon cancers. They have coined the term Variant Enhancer Loci or "VELs," to describe these master switches.
Test links strains of common parasite to severe illness in US newborns
Scientists have identified which strains of the Toxoplasma gondii parasite, the cause of toxoplasmosis, are most strongly associated with premature births and severe birth defects in the United States. The researchers used a new blood test developed by scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, to pinpoint T. gondii strains that children acquire from their acutely infected mothers while in the womb.
Biology news
Stem cells 'by default'
In spite of considerable research efforts around the world, we still do not know the determining factors that confer stem cells their main particular features: capacity to self-renew and to divide and proliferate. The scientist Jordi Casanova, head of the "Morphogenesis in Drosophila" lab at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine and CSIC Research Professor, proposes in an article in the journal Embo Reports that we may be working from an incorrect angle.
Whale carcass washes ashore in S.Africa
The carcass of a 14-metre (46-foot) southern right whale has washed ashore in the south coast tourist town of Knysna, where volunteers Thursday were trying to haul it from rocks and back out to sea.
Strip-till improves soybean yield
Crop yield can be improved by ensuring adequate nutrient availability. But how should you place the fertilizer and what cropping system gives the best yields?
Endangered bats find sanctuary in Israeli 'ghost bunkers'
Abandoned army bunkers along the Jordan River have become a habitat for 12 indigenous bat species, three of which are already designated as endangered and two that are on the critical list. The bats were recently identified by a group of Tel Aviv University researchers who were granted access to the bunkers, spread out along a 60-mile-long stretch of land between the Sea of Galilee in the north of Israel to the Dead Sea's northern edge.
Manatee hearing good enough to sense approaching motorboats
Every year, manatees are injured in boat collisions. Why don't they just move when they hear a boat approach? A team of scientists led by Joe Gaspard from Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium, USA, have found that manatee hearing is likely good enough to detect sounds of approaching craft above loud background noise, but their findings point to new questions about how this hearing operates in the wild and why manatees remain susceptible to collisions.
Exclusive species found at higher altitudes
Researchers have long postulated that animal and vegetation species living in mountainous areas of high altitude are isolated, and thus much more exclusive. A new Spanish-German study substantiates this long-held theory, suggesting that altitude plays a key role in biodiversity. The findings of the study are published in the journal Ecography.
Experts sleuth out what killed Puget Sound orca
(AP) -- Two months after a 3-year-old endangered orca washed ashore bloodied and bruised in Washington state the cause of her death remains a mystery.
Proteogenomic strategies help refine annotations of three Yersinia strains
(Phys.org) -- Strains of bacteria from the genus Yersinia are pathogenic with a wide virulence range -- Y. pseudotuberculosis causes intestinal distress, and Y. pestis causes the plague.
Study resolves debate on human cell shut-down process
Researchers at the University of Liverpool have resolved the debate over the mechanisms involved in the shut-down process during cell division in the body.
Traffic harms Asturian amphibians
The roads are the main cause of fragmenting the habitats of many species, especially amphibians, as they cause them to be run over and a loss of genetic diversity. Furthermore, traffic harms two abundant species that represent the amphibious Asturian fauna and have been declared vulnerable in Spain: the midwife toad (Alytes obstetricans) and the palmate newt (Lissotriton helveticus).
How plants absorb the perfect quantity of minerals
In order to survive, plants should take up neither too many nor too few minerals from the soil. New insights into how they operate this critical balance have now been published by biologists at the Ruhr-Universität in a series of three papers in the journal The Plant Cell. The researchers discovered novel functions of the metal-binding molecule nicotianamine. "The results are important for sustainable agriculture and also for people – to prevent health problems caused by deficiencies of vital nutrients in our diet" says Prof. Dr. Ute Krämer of the RUB Department of Plant Physiology.
Under climate change, winners and losers on the coral reef
As ocean temperatures rise, some species of corals are likely to succeed at the expense of others, according to a report published online on April 12 in the Cell Press journal Current Biology that details the first large-scale investigation of climate effects on corals.
Stoneflies mapped across Ohio, with implications for water quality and nature conservation
Stoneflies, or Plecoptera, are insects that live in water during immature stages, but are terrestrial as adults. They are among the best bioindicators of river water quality and general landscape disturbance. Anglers often model their dry and wet flies (lures) after these insects.
Study finds significant skull differences between closely linked groups
In order to accurately identify skulls as male or female, forensic anthropologists need to have a good understanding of how the characteristics of male and female skulls differ between populations. A new study from North Carolina State University shows that these differences can be significant, even between populations that are geographically close to one another.
Thrips soldiers found able to ward off fungus
(Phys.org) -- Researchers studying the tiny bugs known as thrips have made two discoveries concerning one species: Kladothrips intermedius. The first is that though such thrips soldiers have big forearms, they don’t seem to gain any advantage from them in battle. The second is that the soldiers create a body coating that is able to ward off a type of fungus that invades their nests. The research team, a combined mix of Canadians and Australians studying the native Australian species, have published the results of their study in the journal Biology Letters.
Determining a stem cell's fate: Biologists scour mouse genome for genes and markers that lead to T cells
What happens to a stem cell at the molecular level that causes it to become one type of cell rather than another? At what point is it committed to that cell fate, and how does it become committed? The answers to these questions have been largely unknown. But now, in studies that mark a major step forward in our understanding of stem cells' fates, a team of researchers from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) has traced the stepwise developmental process that ensures certain stem cells will become T cells—cells of the immune system that help destroy invading pathogens.
Researchers discover cellular system for detecting and responding to poisons and pathogens
Two Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)-based research teams, along with a group from the University of California at San Diego, have discovered that animals have a previously unknown system for detecting and responding to pathogens and toxins. In three papers published in the journals Cell and Cell Host & Microbe, the investigators describe finding evidence that disruptions to the core functions of animal cells trigger immune and detoxification responses, along with behavioral changes.
How sperm and eggs develop precisely 23 chromosomes each
Researchers at the University of California, Davis have discovered a key tool that helps sperm and eggs develop exactly 23 chromosomes each. The work, which could lead to insights into fertility, spontaneous miscarriages, cancer and developmental disorders, is published April 13 in the journal Cell.
Listen up, parents: For toddlers (and chimps), the majority rules
A study published online on April 12 in the journal Current Biology offers some news for parents: even toddlers have a tendency to follow the crowd. That sensitivity isn't unique to humans either; chimpanzees also appear more likely to pick up habits if "everyone else is doing it."
Deep sequencing reveals undeclared, potentially toxic ingredients within 15 samples of traditional Chinese medicines
Researchers at Murdoch University have used new DNA sequencing technology to reveal the animal and plant composition of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs). Some of the TCM samples tested contained potentially toxic plant ingredients, allergens, and traces of endangered animals.
Athletic frogs have faster-changing genomes
Physically fit frogs have faster-changing genomes, says a new study of poison frogs from Central and South America.
See Dan read: Baboons can learn to spot real words
Dan the baboon sits in front of a computer screen. The letters BRRU pop up. With a quick and almost dismissive tap, the monkey signals it's not a word. Correct. Next comes, ITCS. Again, not a word. Finally KITE comes up.
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