Dear Reader ,
Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for May 23, 2012:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
- Good vibes: Coupling electron spin states and carbon nanotube vibrations- Newly discovered sensory organ in the chin of baleen whales allows them to be world's largest hunters
- New inexpensive, environmentally friendly solar cell shines with potential
- Hacking code of leaf vein architecture solves mysteries, allows predictions of past climate
- Leap Motion creates finger-happy gesture control (w/ Video)
- Hawaii lab turns laser-powered bubbles into microrobots
- New model of geological strata may aid oil extraction, water recovery and Earth history studies
- Sensing the infrared: Researchers improve infrared detectors using single-walled carbon nanotubes
- Reverse engineering epilepsy's 'miracle' diet
- Color-changing contact lenses to help diabetics (w/ Video)
- Study shows how immune cells change wiring of the developing mouse brain
- Scientists turn patients' skin cells into heart muscle cells to repair their damaged hearts
- Repulsive polaron: Austrian physicists realize elusive quasiparticles
- Geological record shows air up there came from below
- Efficient and tunable interface for quantum networks
Space & Earth news
Kyoto Protocol architect 'frustrated' by climate dialogue
UN climate talks are going nowhere, as politicians dither or bicker while the pace of warming dangerously speeds up, one of the architects of the Kyoto Protocol told AFP.
Europe's beaches clean, but France lagging: study
Europe's beaches are generally clean but France is lagging behind other tourist destinations in the south of the continent, a report from European Environment Agency (EEA) showed on Wednesday.
Geology student drills into Tohoku quake source
(Phys.org) -- For the past eight weeks, geoscience graduate student Tamara Jeppson has traded her usual commute, from her Madison apartment to Weeks Hall on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus, for a single flight of stairs.
USDA irrigation research: Good to the last drop
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists are ensuring that farmers in the Pacific Northwest are benefiting from every drop of crop irrigation water.
Alaskan ecologists see surge in Japan tsunami debris
An "unprecedented" surge in debris from last year's Japanese tsunami is washing up on Alaska's coastline, environmentalists about to embark on a major cleanup operation said.
NASA's NuSTAR gearing up for launch
(Phys.org) -- Final pre-launch preparations are underway for NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR. The mission, which will use X-ray vision to hunt for hidden black holes, is scheduled to launch no earlier than June 13 from Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The observatory will launch from the belly of Orbital Sciences Corporation's L-1011 "Stargazer" aircraft aboard the company's Pegasus rocket.
Hinode witnesses solar eclipse
(Phys.org) -- Spectacular images from the Hinode spacecraft show the solar eclipse, which darkened the sky in parts of the Western United States and Southeast Asia yesterday.
Fukushima radiation mostly within accepted levels: WHO
Radiation affecting residents in Japan's Fukushima prefecture since the nuclear plant disaster is below the reference level for public exposure in all but two areas, the World Health Organization said Wednesday.
The other end of an eclipse
As the annular eclipse on May 20 sent skywatchers around the globe gazing upwards to see the Sun get darkened by the Moon’s silhouette, NASA’s Terra satellite caught the other side of the event: the Moon’s shadow striking the Earth!
Extremely rare transit of Venus to occur on June 5, 2012
A few hours before sunset on June 5th, 2012 residents of the Washington, DC metropolitan area will have a chance to witness one of the rarest celestial phenomena known: a “Transit of Venus”.
A planetary system that never was teaches about those that may be
While Kepler and similar missions are turning up planets by the fist full, there’s long been many places that astronomers haven’t expected to find planetary systems. The main places include regions where gravitational forces conspire to make the region around potential host stars too unstable to form into planets. And there’s no place in the galaxy with a larger gravitational force than the galactic center where a black hole four and a half million times more massive than the Sun, lurks. But a new study shows evidence that a disk, potentially far enough along to begin forming planets, is in the process of being disrupted.
Beetle-infested pine trees contribute more to air pollution and haze in forests
The hordes of bark beetles that have bored their way through more than 6 billion trees in the western U.S. and British Columbia since the 1990s do more than damage and kill stately pine, spruce and other trees. A new study finds that these pests can make trees release up to 20 times more of the organic substances that foster haze and air pollution in forested areas. It appears in ACS' journal Environmental Science & Technology.
Nomads of the galaxy
A recent study proposes the galaxy is crowded with nomad planets adrift in space. If this is the case, nomad planets may play a dynamic role in the universe.
Commercial space race gets crowded behind SpaceX
(AP) -- A privately built space capsule that's zipping its way to the International Space Station has also launched something else: A new for-profit space race.
SpaceX capsule completes first tests before ISS docking
The Dragon space capsule, which has launched a new era of commercial spaceflight, completed its first tests before its scheduled docking at the International Space Station, NASA said Wednesday.
TRMM satellite sees heavy rainfall in Tropical Storm Bud
Tropical Storm Bud is dropping heavy rainfall, and appears to be intensifying. NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite has been monitoring rainfall within the storm, and has watched it become heavier over the last day - a sign the storm is intensifying.
New satellite movie chases post-Tropical Storm Alberto in Atlantic
On May 23, 2012, the remnants of post-tropical storm Alberto were chasing a frontal system over the Atlantic Ocean, several hundred miles east of the U.S. East coast. A new NASA animation of imagery from NOAA's GOES-15 satellite shows the progression of Alberto's remnants.
NASA sees Tropical Storm Sanvu continue to intensify
Two NASA satellites have provided infrared and rainfall data that has shown Tropical Storm Sanvu continues to intensify as it heads toward Iwo To, Japan. NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite has scanned rainfall rates, and NASA's Aqua satellite has provided a look at cloud temperatures which indicates where the strongest thunderstorms and heaviest rainfall is occurring.
'Creeping quakes' rumble New Zealand: researchers
Researchers have discovered New Zealand's earthquake-prone landscape is even more unstable than previously thought, recording deep tremors lasting up to 30 minutes on its biggest fault line.
Dark shadows on Mars: Scene from durable NASA rover
(Phys.org) -- Like a tourist waiting for just the right lighting to snap a favorite shot during a stay at the Grand Canyon, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has used a low sun angle for a memorable view of a large Martian crater.
Cassini reveals details about charged 'nanograins' near Enceladus
(Phys.org) -- It was a call that Rice University physicist Tom Hill had waited more than 20 years to receive. It traveled almost a billion miles to reach him. And the message — once it arrived from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft near Saturn — was so enigmatic that it would take another three years to decipher.
Venus Express unearths new clues to the planet's geological history
(Phys.org) -- ESA's Venus Express has been used to study the geology in a region near Venus' equator. Using near-infrared observations collected by the Venus Monitoring Camera (VMC), scientists have found evidence that the planet's rugged highlands are scattered with geochemically more evolved rocks, rather than the basaltic rocks of the volcanic plains. This finding is in agreement with previous studies, which used data from the spacecraft's Visible and Infrared Thermal Imaging Spectrometer (VIRTIS) to map the planet's surface in the southern hemisphere.
Study shows how to keep a Mars tumbleweed rover moving on rocky terrain
New research from North Carolina State University shows that a wind-driven "tumbleweed" Mars rover would be capable of moving across rocky Martian terrain – findings that could also help the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) design the best possible vehicle.
New model of geological strata may aid oil extraction, water recovery and Earth history studies
(Phys.org) -- A Sandia modeling study contradicts a long-held belief of geologists that pore sizes and chemical compositions are uniform throughout a given strata, which are horizontal slices of sedimentary rock.
Geological record shows air up there came from below
The influence of the ground beneath us on the air around us could be greater than scientists had previously thought, according to new research that links the long-ago proliferation of oxygen in Earth's atmosphere to a sudden change in the inner workings of our planet.
Technology news
American Express plants money trees in "Farmville"
American Express on Tuesday began letting lovers of Zynga games plant money trees on "Farmville" acreage.
A new imaging system produces 3-D models of monuments using unmanned aircraft
University of Granada researchers have developed a 3D imaging system that scans 3D models of historical buildings using data obtained from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)–an aircraft without a human pilot onboard. This is the first 3D imaging system to combine the use of UAVs, image-based 3D modeling technologies, and virtual representation of models to produce a realistic modeling of 3D objects from images.
First map of Australia's Twittersphere
The first map of the Australian 'Twittersphere' has been generated by researchers at QUT.
Alcatel-Lucent introduces the world's most powerful Internet core router
Alcatel-Lucent today unveiled a new family of Internet core routers designed to address the major shifts that are happening in global networks. The 7950 XRS (Extensible Routing System) allows network operators to embrace the rapid adoption of ‘cloud’ applications, the explosion in video traffic and the widespread use of smartphones and tablets and prepare the core of their networks for the next decade of growth.
Regulators probe bank's role in Facebook IPO
(AP) -- Regulators are examining whether Morgan Stanley, the investment bank that shepherded Facebook through its highly publicized stock offering last week, selectively informed clients of an analyst's negative report about the company before the stock started trading.
Cyber crooks cranking out new weapons experts warn
Cyber criminals are cranking out new weapons at a brisk pace, tailoring malicious software for a spectrum of gadgets including smartphones, tablets, and Macintosh computers, a security firm said.
Mario Bros creator Miyamoto wins top Spanish prize
Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of Super Mario Bros, Donkey Kong and other hit video games, won a top Spanish prize Wednesday for "revolutionising" the industry.
Wearable electronics - the next fashion fad?
(Phys.org) -- When most of us think of electronics, we think of the sturdy stability of silicon and plastic. Flexibility is a trait that belongs to the organic world, where materials come in all shapes and stiffness. However, advances in materials science and electrical engineering have paved the way for a new type of electronic device: one that can bend and fold just like a piece of paper. From flexible displays to disposable RFID tags, these new materials have enabled electronics to end up in places they never have before. They could even, thanks to Berkeley electrical engineering and computer science professor Ana Claudia Arias, end up in our own clothing.
Days of 'one-size-fits-all' cloud contracts are numbered, report finds
Combined legal and market factors may force online companies to offer more flexible contract terms, suggests new research from Queen Mary, University of London.
Texting made possible for the illiterate
People incapable of reading and writing will have access to text messages from now on. A system using vocal synthesis, icons and contact management allows people to send and read text messages by those normally unable to read and write. It is already being used in Switzerland.
Lawsuits pile up over Facebook flotation
Facebook and its underwriters came under broad legal attack Wednesday as lawyers and investors filed lawsuits over Facebook's controversy-marred initial public offering.
No truce in Apple-Samsung patent war
Two days of court-directed peace talks between the chiefs of iPhone-maker Apple and smartphone giant Samsung ended with no sign of a truce in the legal battle headed for court in Silicon Valley.
Play on: Google posts synthesizer tribute to Moog
(AP) -- Bob Moog's synthesizer helped change the sound of modern music. On what would have been his 78th birthday, Google is paying tribute to the man with a virtual version of his famous Moog on their homepage - and it's completely playable.
Facebook stock climbs after rocky start
(AP) -- Facebook's stock is climbing higher, a reprieve for shareholders after the stock's rocky inaugural trading day Friday was followed by a two-day decline.
Google clears key mapping software for Syria
Google announced Wednesday that its mapping software and other products would be available in Syria after getting export approval by the US government.
Hewlett-Packard to slash 27,000 jobs by 2014
Hewlett-Packard said Wednesday it plans to cut 27,000 jobs, or eight percent of its global workforce, by 2014 in a major restructuring effort for the computer giant.
New mathematical framework formalizes oddball programming techniques
Two years ago, Martin Rinard's group at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory proposed a surprisingly simple way to make some computer procedures more efficient: Just skip a bunch of steps. Although the researchers demonstrated several practical applications of the technique, dubbed loop perforation, they realized it would be a hard sell. "The main impediment to adoption of this technique," Imperial College London's Cristian Cadar commented at the time, "is that developers are reluctant to adopt a technique where they don't exactly understand what it does to the program."
Solar Impulse ready for first intercontinental flight
The Swiss sun-powered aircraft Solar Impulse will on Thursday attempt its first intercontinental flight, travelling from Switzerland to Morocco without using a drop of fuel, organisers said.
Google cleared in Oracle suit on patents (Update)
A jury on Wednesday declared Google innocent of patent infringement in a high-stakes court battle pitting business software titan Oracle against the Internet giant.
Review: OnLive Desktop brings the PC to tablets
So you love your iPad, but you wish you could work on Microsoft Office software, watch Flash video and generally have more of a PC-like experience? OnLive Desktop is one way you can.
Leap Motion creates finger-happy gesture control (w/ Video)
(Phys.org) -- Developers and end users both have been indicating they are ready to start saying long goodbyes to mouse and keyboard. In this touchscreen generation of mobile users, the big stir among gadget reviewers this week is the announcement by Leap Motion that you can not only say goodbye to mouse and keyboard, but goodbye to touchscreen, too. "That nice LED display remains clean and untouched, as it should be,” says the company. The San Francisco based company has announced it is accepting pre-orders for its new Leap, a small USB peripheral that performs motion control with in-the-air sweeps of hand and movements of fingers. The Leap creates a 3-D interaction space of eight cubic feet to interact with and control software on a laptop or desktop. This gesture-control device for computers is running rings, and orbs, and swirls, and curlicues, around Kinect, the most well known of technologies that help users interact with computers without mouse and keyboard.
New inexpensive, environmentally friendly solar cell shines with potential
The limitations of conventional and current solar cells include high production cost, low operating efficiency and durability, and many cells rely on toxic and scarce materials. Northwestern University researchers have developed a new solar cell that, in principle, will minimize all of these solar energy technology limitations.
Medicine & Health news
South Korean smokers finally start to feel the heat
After decades of indifference, big businesses and the government are turning up the heat on smokers in South Korea, a nation with one of the developed world's highest male smoking rates.
Grassroots "networks" succeed in recruiting kidney donors, Hopkins program shows
Johns Hopkins researchers say a program they developed that uses personal advocates and community networks to find organ donors for friends and loved ones who need kidney transplants resulted in success for nearly half of the participants in its trial run.
Study shows antibiotic improves respiratory function in lung transplant patients
Researchers in the United Kingdom have determined that azithromycin, a broad-spectrum antibiotic that also has anti-inflammatory properties, can be an effective treatment option for patients suffering from bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS), a life-threatening complication that occurs in the majority of patients following lung transplantation.
Tiny implanted coil improves lung function in patients with severe emphysema
A tiny, resilient metal wire designed to gather and compress diseased lung tissue may offer relief to patients with severe heterogeneous emphysema, a subtype of the disease that involves specific, usually isolated areas of the lungs, according to the results of a multicenter international trial conducted in the Netherlands, Germany and France. The wire, called a lung volume reduction coil (LVRC), can be easily implanted and is designed to take the place of more invasive procedures used to improve the lung function of emphysema patients.
Long-term ICS use reduces pleural effusion in patients with community acquired pneumonia
Prior treatment with inhaled corticosteroids in patients with respiratory disorders who develop community acquired pneumonia (CAP) is associated with a lower incidence and severity of parapneumonic effusion, according to a new study from researchers in Spain.
Long-distance training teaches proper technique for asthma test
(Medical Xpress) -- Virtual, long-distance training can teach primary-care professionals the proper technique for performing a lung-function test, a University of Washington-led study has shown. The breathing test, called spirometry, is important in accurately diagnosing asthma in patients over age 5, and also in seeing if a chosen treatment is appropriate.
With cystic fibrosis and heart defect, baby faces unique set of challenges
Jason and Christie Steel had no reason to suspect they’d need pre-birth genetic screening for their second son. But the set of conditions with which little Gavin was born was so rare that it left many specialists from around the country stumped. Never before had they seen such a unique combination in one baby.
Patients to benefit from better advice on pain control
New UK guidance for doctors and other prescribers on the use of strong painkillers for patients with chronic or incurable disease has been welcomed by researchers at the University of Leeds.
Two-fly rule for Beijing toilets
Beijing's public toilets must not exceed two flies, according to new standards handed down by zealous officials striving to clean up China's notoriously filthy loos.
WHO's Chan re-elected for second term
The World Health Organisation on Wednesday re-appointed Margaret Chan as its chief, who declared universal health care as her top priority.
Mortality rates decrease, chronic disease rates increase among HIV+ ICU patients
The expanded use of antiretrovirals, potent drugs used to treat retroviral infections such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), has been linked to significant decreases in hospital mortality rates among severely ill HIV-positive(HIV+) patients nationwide, primarily due to a decrease in opportunistic infections, according to a new study by researchers at Stanford University. Despite these encouraging data, the study also revealed that in this population, chronic diseases and bloodstream infections are on the rise.
Study shows how patients use Facebook to solicit kidney donations
Loyola University Medical Center researchers are reporting one of the first studies to examine how patients and families are soliciting living kidney donors on Facebook.
Researchers develop IT solution to help disabled make better wheelchair selections
A Wayne State University researcher has introduced computer technology that makes it easier for people who need wheelchairs to select one that best suits their needs.
Quality standards for heparin further strengthened
To help further secure a safe supply of the widely–used blood thinner heparin, a third round of revisions to quality standards for the drug has been advanced by the U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP). USP's Expert Panel on Unfractionated Heparin ended a two-day meeting on May 16th, 2012, and recommended finalization of the proposed changes. The revisions are scheduled to appear in the November–December 2012 issue of Pharmacopeial Forum—USP's free-access, online publication for posting proposed standards and receiving public comments. The deadline for submitting comments on the revisions will be January 31, 2013. Thereafter, the proposed changes will be considered and finalized by the Expert Panel, followed by further consideration by the Council of Experts Monographs–Biologics and Biotechnology 1 Expert Committee. If acceptable to the Expert Committee, the final standards will appear in USP's compendia, United States Pharmacopoeia (37) and National For! mulary (32).
New quality standards limiting elemental impurities in medicines announced
As part of its ongoing efforts to help ensure the quality of medicines, the U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) has announced two new standards related to elemental impurities: General Chapters Elemental Impurities—Limits and Elemental Impurities—Procedures. The new standards provide procedures for the detection of selected impurities in drug products based on modern analytical methods, as well as acceptable limits for their presence based on toxicity data and exposure levels. Conformance to the new standards will be required starting May 1, 2014.
Sleep apnea 'mask' might also help the heart
(HealthDay) -- New research suggests that treating obstructive sleep apnea, a common cause of snoring and daytime sleepiness, might also cut down on a serious health hazard associated with the condition -- the risk of developing high blood pressure.
Pathological aging brains contain the same amyloid plaques as Alzheimer's disease
Pathological aging (PA) is used to describe the brains of people which have Alzheimer's disease (AD)-like pathology but where the person showed no signs of cognitive impairment whilst they were alive. New research, published in BioMed Central's open access journal Alzheimer's Research & Therapy, shows that PA and AD brains contain similar amyloid β (Aβ) plaques and that while on average AD brains contain more Aβ there was considerable overlap in Aβ subtypes. These results suggest that PA may simply be an early stage of AD.
Scientists start explaining Fat Bastard's vicious cycle
Fat Bastard's revelation "I eat because I'm depressed and I'm depressed because I eat" in the Austin Powers film series may be explained by sophisticated neuroscience research being undertaken by scientists affiliated with the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre (CR-CHUM) and the university's Faculty of Medicine.
Socioeconomics may affect toddlers' exposure to flame retardants
A Duke University-led study of North Carolina toddlers suggests that exposure to potentially toxic flame-retardant chemicals may be higher in nonwhite toddlers than in white toddlers.
Breast MRI helps predict chemotherapy's effectiveness
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides an indication of a breast tumor's response to pre-surgical chemotherapy significantly earlier than possible through clinical examination, according to a new study published online in the journal Radiology.
Kids suffer long-term from parents' smoking: study
Children exposed to their parents' cigarette smoke are at greater risk of suffering serious cardiovascular health problems later in life, a study showed Wednesday.
Hair loss pathology identified in pityriasis versicolor lesions
(HealthDay) -- Patients with pityriasis versicolor (PV) lesions may experience hair thinning and/or loss within the lesion, according to a study published online May 10 in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.
New study confirms value of cardiac output monitor
(Medical Xpress) -- A new Australian study has confirmed the accuracy of a modern non-invasive cardiac output monitor that can replace a 40-year-old standard in this field.
Simple motions, complex tool New robot successfully performs surgical closure in a beating heart
A new robotic device may be the solution to a longstanding surgical dilemma: how to precisely manipulate tools within the delicate tissues of a beating heart, report researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital. The team’s experiments with both ex vivo and in vivo models have demonstrated the efficacy of a concentric tube robot in closing a common defect, patent foramen ovale, while the heart continues to beat. The robot also allows surgeons to gauge and adjust the amount of force they are exerting during the procedure, according to a study published online May 8 by the International Journal of Robotics Research.
Researchers identify genetic markers to predict male fertility
A study performed by scientists at the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute and the Puigvert Foundation has identified a gene expression fingerprint associated with very low pregnancy rates in semen donors with normal seminal quality.
Severity of sleep disordered breathing predicts glycemic health
The severity of sleep disordered breathing and nocturnal hypoxemia independently predict both glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), according to a new study.
Weight loss improves SBD and metabolic dysregulation in obese children
Weight loss improved both metabolic parameters and sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) in obese children in a new study from researchers in Belgium, confirming links between metabolic dysregulation, SDB and obesity.
Viral infections in infancy are not associated with wheezing symptoms in later childhood
The number of viral infections during infancy is not associated with wheezing later in childhood, according to a new study from researchers in the Netherlands. While viral illnesses with wheezing in infancy predicted wheezing later in childhood, this association was due in part to decreased neonatal lung function.
British experts update addiction treatment guidelines
The British Association for Psychopharmacology (BAP) has released fresh guidelines on the best methods to treat substance abuse and addiction in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, published by SAGE. A panel of experts has carefully researched the new, comprehensive guidelines, offering practitioners a detailed review of the evidence to help them optimise their clinical decisions.
Phthalates in PVC floors taken up by the body in infants
A new study at Karlstad University in Sweden shows that phthalates from PVC flooring materials is taken up by our bodies. Phthalates are substances suspected to cause asthma and allergies, as well as other chronic diseases in children. The study shows that children can ingest these softening agents with food but also by breathing and through the skin.
Aggregating instead of stabilizing: New insights into the mechanisms of heart disease
Malformed desmin proteins aggregate with intact proteins of the same kind, thereby triggering skeletal and cardiac muscle diseases, the desminopathies. This was discovered by researchers from the RUB Heart and Diabetes Center NRW in Bad Oeynhausen led by PD Dr. Hendrik Milting in an interdisciplinary research project with colleagues from the universities in Karlsruhe, Würzburg and Bielefeld. They report in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.
Well-connected brains make you smarter in older age
Brains that maintain healthy nerve connections as we age help keep us sharp in later life, new research funded by the charity Age UK has found.
Exercising in your 50s, 60s, 70s and beyond
(Medical Xpress) -- A recent study has shown that exercise can add years to a person’s life. Still, as we age it can become more tedious and sometimes more difficult to exercise. Many people see aging as a time to slow down and take it easy. The reality is the more we age, the more we need exercise to keep us independent and healthy. Still, it sometimes takes a prescription from the doctor to get adults up and moving.
Assisted living options grow, nursing home occupancy declines
A new study finds an association between an increase in assisted living options, which provide older adults with an array of services such as help with everyday tasks in homelike settings, and a decline in nursing home occupancy. This shift in delivery of care has both positive and negative implications for seniors.
Dementia patients reveal how we construct a picture of the future
(Medical Xpress) -- Our ability to imagine and plan our future depends on brain regions that store general knowledge, new research shows.
Resilient people more satisfied with life
A study conducted by researchers at Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona reveals that individuals with a larger capacity to overcome adversities, those more resilient, are also the ones most satisfied with life. The research was published in Behavioral Psychology.
'Obesity genes' may influence food choices, eating patterns
Blame it on your genes? Researchers from The Miriam Hospital's Weight Control and Diabetes Research Center say individuals with variations in certain "obesity genes" tend to eat more meals and snacks, consume more calories per day and often choose the same types of high fat, sugary foods.
Cardio fitness levels of breast cancer patients may affect survival
Women receiving care for breast cancer have significantly impaired cardio-pulmonary function that can persist for years after they have completed treatment, according to a study led by scientists at Duke University Medical Center.
Study supports urate protection against Parkinson's disease, hints at novel mechanism
Use of the antioxidant urate to protect against the neurodegeneration caused by Parkinson's disease appears to rely on more than urate's ability to protect against oxidative damage. In the May issue of the open-access journal PLoS One, researchers from the MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases (MGH-MIND) describe experiments suggesting the involvement of a novel mechanism in urate's protection of cultured brain cells against Parkinson's-like damage.
Robotic-assisted prostate cancer surgery drives up costs
In one of the most comprehensive analyses to date of the cost of robotic-assisted, laparoscopic surgery for prostate cancer, researchers at UPMC found that this now-dominant surgical approach is significantly more costly than standard open surgery, despite little scientific evidence of long-term improved patient outcomes. The results of the study are available online and will appear in the July issue of the journal Urology.
DNA vaccine and duck eggs protect against hantavirus disease
Army scientists and industry collaborators have successfully protected laboratory animals from lethal hantavirus disease using a novel approach that combines DNA vaccines and duck eggs. The work appears in a recent edition of the online scientific journal PLoS ONE, published by the Public Library of Science.
Common acne medication doubles risk of eye infection
Millions of teenagers suffer from acne, and they deal with the embarrassing skin blemishes by taking popular prescription medications such as Accutane or Roaccutane. Now, however, research from Tel Aviv University shows that these pills can also cause eye infections such as conjunctivitis (pink eye) or sties.
Prevalence of kidney stones doubles in wake of obesity epidemic
The number of Americans suffering from kidney stones between 2007 and 2010 nearly doubled since 1994, according to a study by researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and RAND.
Researchers uncover new ways sleep-wake patterns are like clockwork
Researchers at New York University and Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have discovered new ways neurons work together to ease the transition between sleep and wakefulness. Their findings, which appear in the journal Neuron, provide additional insights into sleep-wake patterns and offer methods to explore what may disrupt them.
Children's body fat linked to Vitamin D insufficiency in mothers
Children are more likely to have more body fat during childhood if their mother has low levels of Vitamin D during pregnancy, according to scientists at the Medical Research Council Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit (MRC LEU), University of Southampton.
Anti-inflammatory drugs may improve survival from severe malaria
A novel anti-inflammatory drug could help to improve survival in the most severe cases of malaria by preventing the immune system from causing irrevocable brain and tissue damage.
Hormone plays surprise role in fighting skin infections
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are molecules produced in the skin to fend off infection-causing microbes. Vitamin D has been credited with a role in their production and in the body's overall immune response, but scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine say a hormone previously associated only with maintaining calcium homeostasis and bone health is also critical, boosting AMP expression when dietary vitamin D levels are inadequate.
P. aeruginosa bacteria associated with increased hospitalizations in COPD patients
Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who become infected with the bacterium Pseudomonas aerguinosa are more likely to have worse clinical outcomes and experience more hospitalizations during the course of their disease than COPD patients who are not infected, according to researchers from Buffalo, N.Y.
Half of Americans with individual health plans could gain better coverage under the ACA: report
More than half of Americans with individual market health insurance coverage in 2010 were enrolled in so-called "tin" plans, which provide less coverage than the lowest "bronze"-level plans in the Affordable Care Act, and therefore would not be able to be offered in the health insurance exchanges that are being created under the law, according to a Commonwealth Fund–supported study published today as a Web First in the journal Health Affairs. The analysis suggests that once the state-based exchanges—set up to make it easier for individuals and small businesses to shop for health insurance—go into effect in 2014, many of these Americans will be able to purchase plans that offer better coverage. In addition, many will be eligible for premium subsidies that will help offset the cost of the plans.
Make no mistake - male bosses' errors matter
What do employees think of their boss when he or she makes a mistake? According to a new study, leaders who make mistakes are seen as less competent, less desirable to work for and less effective than leaders who do not. And if the leader is a man making a mistake in a man's world, he is judged more harshly than a woman making the same mistake in a man's world. The work by Christian Thoroughgood, from the Pennsylvania State University in the US, and his colleagues, is published online in Springer's Journal of Business and Psychology.
Treating pain with transplants
A new study finds that transplanting embryonic cells into adult mouse spinal cord can alleviate persistent pain. The research, published by Cell Press in the May 24th issue of the journal Neuron, suggests that reduced pain results from successful integration of the embryonic cells into the host spinal cord. The findings open avenues for clinical strategies aimed not just at treating the symptoms of chronic debilitating pain, but correcting the underlying disease pathology.
Regorafenib active in metastatic GI stromal tumors
(HealthDay) -- Regorafenib, an inhibitor of multiple cancer-associated kinases, is active in patients with metastatic gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) who have failed to respond to imatinib and sunitinib, according to a study published online May 21 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Germs lurk in office kitchens, break rooms
(HealthDay) -- Office kitchens and break rooms are germ "hotspots," and sink and microwave handles in these areas are the dirtiest surfaces touched by office workers on a daily basis, according to a new study.
Cancer docs often deal with own grief, doubts when patients die
(HealthDay) -- Some cancer doctors may build up emotional walls -- distancing themselves from the patients they can't save -- to avoid grief, sadness and even despair, new research shows.
Study shows that fever during pregnancy more than doubles the risk of autism or developmental delay
A team of UC Davis researchers has found that mothers who had fevers during their pregnancies were more than twice as likely to have a child with autism or developmental delay than were mothers of typically developing children, and that taking medication to treat fever countered its effect.
Intrauterine devices, implants most effective birth control
A study to evaluate birth control methods has found dramatic differences in their effectiveness. Women who used birth control pills, the patch or vaginal ring were 20 times more likely to have an unintended pregnancy than those who used longer-acting forms such as an intrauterine device (IUD) or implant.
Whole genome sequencing of rare olfactory neuroblastoma
The Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) and the Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center at Scottsdale Healthcare have conducted whole genome sequencing (WGS) of a rare nasal tract cancer called olfactory neuroblastoma (ONB).
Women trying to have babies face different clock problem
A new Northwestern University study shows that the biological clock is not the only clock women trying to conceive should consider. The circadian clock needs attention, too.
Docs slower to drop 'black box' drugs, adopt new therapies, when access to drug reps is restricted
After years of reducing their contact with pharmaceutical sales representatives, physicians now risk an unintended consequence: Doctors who rarely meet with pharmaceutical sales representatives — or who do not meet with them — are much slower to drop medicines with the Food and Drug Administration's "black box" warnings and to adopt first-in-class therapies.
Scientists turn patients' skin cells into heart muscle cells to repair their damaged hearts
For the first time scientists have succeeded in taking skin cells from heart failure patients and reprogramming them to transform into healthy, new heart muscle cells that are capable of integrating with existing heart tissue.
Molecular 'on-off' switch for Parkinson's disease discovered
(Medical Xpress) -- Scientists at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Protein Phosphorylation Unit at the University of Dundee have discovered a new molecular switch that acts to protect the brain from developing Parkinson's disease.
Brain research shows visual perception system unconsciously affects our preferences
When grabbing a coffee mug out of a cluttered cabinet or choosing a pen to quickly sign a document, what brain processes guide your choices?
Color-changing contact lenses to help diabetics (w/ Video)
For the millions of Americans with diabetes, the inconvenient and often painful method of testing blood sugar levels is a way of life. But research and innovative product design by scientists at The University of Akron may eliminate the need for needle pricks, blood draws, or other invasive devices.
Reverse engineering epilepsy's 'miracle' diet
For decades, neurologists have known that a diet high in fat and extremely low in carbohydrates can reduce epileptic seizures that resist drug therapy. But how the diet worked, and why, was a mystery—so much so that in 2010, The New York Times Magazine called it "Epilepsy's Big, Fat Miracle."
Study shows how immune cells change wiring of the developing mouse brain
Researchers have shown in mice how immune cells in the brain target and remove unused connections between brain cells during normal development. This research, supported by the National Institutes of Health, sheds light on how brain activity influences brain development, and highlights the newly found importance of the immune system in how the brain is wired, as well as how the brain forms new connections throughout life in response to change.
Stem-cell-growing surface enables bone repair
University of Michigan researchers have proven that a special surface, free of biological contaminants, allows adult-derived stem cells to thrive and transform into multiple cell types. Their success brings stem cell therapies another step closer.
The Goldilocks effect: Babies learn from experiences that are 'just right'
Long before babies understand the story of Goldilocks, they have more than mastered the fairy tale heroine's method of decision-making. Infants ignore information that is too simple or too complex, focusing instead on situations that are "just right," according to a new study to be published in the journal PLoS ONE on May 23.
Biology news
Tracking endangered elephants with satellite technology
A hundred years ago wild elephants on the Malay Peninsular could be counted in their thousands — now there are less than 1500. Over the last century around 50 per cent of forest cover in Peninsular Malaysia has been lost.
Old herbicides enlisted in new 'war on the weeds'
The emergence of weeds resistant to the most widely used herbicide is fostering a new arms race in the war against these menaces, which cost society billions of dollars annually in control measures and lost agricultural production. That's the topic of a story in the current edition of Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the weekly magazine of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world's largest scientific society.
New tool for visualizing the distribution of vascular plants in Belgium
The Belgian Biodiversity Platform has just released a new website "IFBL Data Portal, Explore Flora Checklists of Belgium". It aggregates about 23,000 checklists of vascular plants in Belgium, compiled since 1939. Users can search a database of over 2.5 million observations of over 2,800 different species. The website will be updated on a monthly basis, in cooperation with the Florabank database.
Taiwan uses DNA mapping to save endangered sharks
Taiwan has begun testing DNA from shark fins sold in local markets in a bid to protect endangered species such as great whites and whale sharks, an official from the Fisheries Agency said Wednesday.
Yellow monkey flower could shed light on evolution's mysteries
(Phys.org) -- The French impressionist Claude Monet once credited flowers as the reason for him “having become a painter.”
Forensics ferret out fire beetle secret
Black fire beetles of the genus Melanophila possess unusual infrared sensors. Researchers from the University of Bonn and from the Forschungszentrum Julich have concluded that the beetles' sensors might even be more sensitive that uncooled infrared sensors designed by humans. Having this natural model opens up new perspectives, such as for early warning systems for forest fires. The results have been published in PLoS ONE.
Deterring signals: Tobacco plants advertise their defensive readiness to attacking leafhoppers
Following herbivory, plants produce jasmonic acid, a hormone which activates several plant defense reactions. Scientists found that leafhoppers can evaluate whether tobacco plants are ready for defense when attacked. If jasmonate-signaling is activated, leafhoppers desist from feeding and test other plants. If the hormonal signaling system is dysfunctional, the herbivores start their attack. In field experiments, the leafhoppers proved as "bloodhounds" to locate plants hidden in natural populations which are naturally defective in jasmonate signaling.
Velvet spiders emerge from underground in new cybertaxonomic monograph
Velvet spiders include some of the most beautiful arachnids in Europe and some of the world's most cooperative species. Social species can be very abundant in parts of tropical Africa and Asia with conspicuous colonies dotting the landscape. Social colonies may consist of hundreds of closely-related individuals that participate in dramatic mass attacks on prey (Figure 1) and care for their young. The ecology of these social species is fascinating and has been the subject of several landmark scientific papers. The study was published in a special issue of the open access journal ZooKeys.
An introduced bird competitor tips the balance against Hawaiian species
Biologists Leonard Freed and Rebecca Cann from the University of Hawaii at Manoa have been studying birds at Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge for 20 years. Located on an old cattle ranch on the windward slope of Mauna Kea on the Island of Hawaii, it was established in 1985 to protect 8 species of rare and endangered perching birds. The refuge and its volunteers planted over 400,000 seedlings of native koa trees in an abandoned pasture to restore high elevation forest. The once-rare white-eye colonized the restoration area, grew rapidly in it, but then surged into the old-growth forest below. Freed and Cann estimated that tens of thousands of native birds were lost. Their study was recently published in the open access journal NeoBiota.
Top 10 new species list draws attention to diverse biosphere
The International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University and a committee of scientists from around the world announced their picks for the top 10 new species described in 2011. This is the fifth year for the top 10 new species list, which was released May 23 to coincide with the anniversary of the birth of Carolus Linnaeus, the Swedish botanist who was responsible for the modern system of plant and animal names and classifications.
Factors behind past lemur species extinctions put surviving species in 'ecological retreat'
New research out today on the long-term impact of species extinctions suggests that the disappearance of one species does not necessarily allow remaining competitor species to thrive by filling now-empty niches.
Octopuses focus on key features for successful camouflage
Octopuses camouflage themselves by matching their body pattern to selected features of nearby objects, rather than trying to match the entire larger field of view, according to new research published in the open access journal PLoS ONE.
Warm, dry El Nino weather puts baby sea turtle at risk
Climate variability associated with El Niño was associated with higher mortality for eggs and hatchlings of the critically endangered leatherback turtle, an effect that could be worsened by continuing global climate change, according to research published May 23 in the open access journal PLoS ONE.
Light pollution transforming insect communities
(Phys.org) -- Street lighting is transforming communities of insects and other invertebrates, according to research by the University of Exeter. Published today in the journal Biology Letters, the study shows for the first time that the balance of different species living together is being radically altered as a result of light pollution in our towns and cities.
Not a one-way street: Evolution shapes environment of Connecticut lakes
Environmental change is the selective force that preserves adaptive traits in organisms and is a primary driver of evolution. However, it is less well known that evolutionary change in organisms also trigger fundamental changes in the environment.
Human-like spine morphology found in aquatic eel fossil
For decades, scientists believed that a spine with multiple segments was an exclusive feature of land-dwelling animals. But the discovery of the same anatomical feature in a 345-million-year-old eel suggests that this complex anatomy arose separately from – and perhaps before – the first species to walk on land.
Research suggests cells communicate via biophotons
(Phys.org) -- Biologists have long been familiar with luminescence in organisms, where plants and animals produce visible light, but more intriguing perhaps is the newer field of study centered around biophotons, whereby cells in organisms produce photons, but in numbers that are too few to be seen. How they do so and why, is an area that has come under more scrutiny of late. Now, new research by Sergey Mayburov, of the Lebedev Institute of Physics in Moscow, has uncovered a pattern in photons being generated by cells in fish eggs that gives credence to the theory that some cells use biophotons to communicate. He has written a paper describing his results and has posted it on the preprint server arXiv.
Project to examine 'Yeti' DNA
(Phys.org) -- A new collaboration between Oxford University and the Lausanne Museum of Zoology will use the latest genetic techniques to investigate organic remains that some have claimed belong to the ‘Yeti’ and other ‘lost’ hominid species.
The living fossils of brain evolution
(Phys.org) -- In the course of its evolution, the architecture of the mouse brain may have barely changed. Similar to the tiny ancestors of modern mammals that lived about 80 million years ago, nerve cells in the mouse visual cortex are densely packed in a small area of the brain. However, during the subsequent evolution of larger brains the architecture of the cerebral cortex was radically restructured. This is the conclusion of an international team of researchers led by scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, the University of Göttingen and the Bernstein Center Göttingen. The brains of larger mammals, such as humans, however, have a completely different structure to those of mice. Processes of self-organisation led to the emergence of modules in which neurons conjointly are responsible for specific tasks.
Hacking code of leaf vein architecture solves mysteries, allows predictions of past climate
(Phys.org) -- UCLA life scientists have discovered new laws that determine the construction of leaf vein systems as leaves grow and evolve. These easy-to-apply mathematical rules can now be used to better predict the climates of the past using the fossil record.
Newly discovered sensory organ in the chin of baleen whales allows them to be world's largest hunters
Lunge feeding in rorqual whales (a group that includes blue, humpback and fin whales) is unique among mammals, but details of how it works have remained elusive. Now, scientists from the Smithsonian Institution and University of British Columbia have solved the mystery. They discovered a sensory organ in the chin of rorqual whales that communicates to the brain. The organ orchestrates the dramatic changes and adjustments needed in jaw position and throat-pouch expansion to make lunge feeding successful. The team's research will be the featured cover story in the May 24 issue of Nature.
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