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Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for July 22, 2012:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
- Artificial jellyfish 'Medusoid' swims in a heartbeat: Creation is an amalgam of silicone polymer and heart muscle cells- Samsung readies first batch of super-thin bendable AMOLED displays
- New clues to the early Solar System from ancient meteorites
- Lighting up the plant hormone 'command system'
- Coursera makes top college courses free online
- Key mutations discovered for medulloblastoma -- most common childhood brain cancer
- New method for associating genetic variation with crop traits
- Comcast may raise Mbps to grab takers in FiOS markets
- New genomic sequencing method enables 'smarter' anaysis of individual cells
- Hair samples from infants show exposure to anti-HIV drugs in the womb and during breast-feeding
- 'Minority Report' software hits the real world
Space & Earth news
Japan sends cargo to space station
A Japanese H-IIB rocket blasted off Saturday to deliver an unmanned supplies vessel to the International Space Station.
New clues to the early Solar System from ancient meteorites
In order to understand Earth's earliest history--its formation from Solar System material into the present-day layering of metal core and mantle, and crust--scientists look to meteorites. New research from a team including Carnegie's Doug Rumble and Liping Qin focuses on one particularly old type of meteorite called diogenites. These samples were examined using an array of techniques, including precise analysis of certain elements for important clues to some of the Solar System's earliest chemical processing. Their work is published online July 22 by Nature Geoscience.
Technology news
Nasdaq ups ante in Facebook reimbursement plan
(AP) — The Nasdaq stock exchange is chipping in more money to reimburse investment firms that lost money when online social network Facebook went public in May because computer glitches delayed their trading orders.
Facebook acquires mobile app maker Acrylic
The engineer behind Canadian startup Acrylic said Friday that he was closing up his one-man shop and joining the design team at leading social network Facebook.
Senators revive US cybersecurity bill, with changes
A group of US senators has revived stalled cybersecurity legislation by offering compromises to address civil liberties concerns, an effort quickly endorsed by President Barack Obama.
Samsung 'sells 10 mn Galaxy SIII smartphones'
South Korea's Samsung Electronics, the world's top smartphone maker, has sold more than 10 million units of its newest Galaxy S III model since its launch about two months ago, a report said Sunday.
Comcast may raise Mbps to grab takers in FiOS markets
(Phys.org) -- In the Mbps competitive race, Comcast is reportedly set to five-up Verizon with an Mbps Internet offer that delivers 305 Mbps against Verizon’s residential broadband top-shelf 300 Mbps, says Broadband Reports. The two would in turn be in closer competition since Verizon’s introduction of a Quantum FiOS offer of 300 Mbps downstream, and 65 Mbps upstream tier for $205 a month, Verizon made the announcement of raising its fastest offering from 150/35 Mbps to 300/65 Mbps for FiOS subscribers, saying the move was all because of what customers wanted. Now Comcast is said to be preparing to offer 305 mbps downstream in FiOS markets, and before the end of the year.
'Minority Report' software hits the real world
The software behind the film "Minority Report" -- where Tom Cruise speeds through video on a large screen using only hand gestures -- is making its way into the real world.
Medicine & Health news
Mozambique launches Brazil-funded drugs plant to battle HIV
Mozambique on Saturday launched a Brazilian funded pharmaceutical plant that will make anti-retroviral drugs to battle the HIV/AIDS scourge in the southern African country.
Sierra Leone says cholera killed 66 since January
(AP) — Sierra Leone's health ministry says a cholera outbreak has sickened more than 3,800 and killed 66 people since January.
Among new HIV treatment recommendations, all adult patients should be offered antiretroviral therapy
Included in the 2012 International Antiviral Society-USA panel recommendations for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patient care is that all adult patients, regardless of CD4 cell count, should be offered antiretroviral therapy (ART), according to an article in the July 25 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on HIV/AIDS. Other new recommendations include changes in therapeutic options and modifications in the timing and choice of ART for patients with an opportunistic illness such as tuberculosis.
International group urges prompt HIV treatment for all
An international group of scientists on Sunday called for all adults who test positive for HIV to be treated with antiretroviral drugs right away rather than waiting for their immune systems to weaken.
Working toward an AIDS-free generation
Ending the global HIV/AIDS pandemic may be possible by implementing a multifaceted global effort that expands testing, treatment, and prevention programs, as well as meets the scientific challenges of developing an HIV vaccine and possibly a cure, according to a Viewpoint in the July 25 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on HIV/AIDS.
For gay couples, condom decision-making and condom use varies by race
Black gay couples tend to practice safe sex but don't talk about it, while white gay couples discuss safety but are less likely to use condoms, according to new findings presented at the 19th International AIDS Conference.
AIDS charity honors Gates on eve of global conference
Leading AIDS charity amfAR honored Microsoft tycoon Bill Gates on the eve of the International AIDS Conference, for his part in funding an ongoing struggle against the disease.
Increased cardiovascular risk in HIV-infected patients may relate to arterial inflammation
The elevated risk of cardiovascular disease seen in patients infected with HIV appears to be associated with increased inflammation within the arteries, according to a study that will appear in a special issue of JAMA published in conjunction with the International AIDS Conference. The report from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) found that levels of inflammation within the aortas of HIV-infected individuals with neither known cardiovascular disease nor elevated traditional risk factors were comparable to those of patients with established cardiovascular disease.
Benefits of HIV drugs rise -- but less than previously believed, study shows
The percentage of HIV patients taking antiretroviral drugs who experienced the full benefit of the drugs jumped from 45 percent of 72 percent during the past decade, a figure that is lower than previous estimates. The findings, considered important for HIV prevention efforts, since patients whose virus is in tight control are less likely to transmit the infection to others, are published this week in JAMA by a team of researchers led by the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. The issue's publication coincides with AIDS 2012, the annual international AIDS conference, being held in the United States for the first in over 20 years this week in Washington, D.C.
HPV testing in HIV-positive women may help reduce frequent cervical cancer screening
A new study by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University suggests that HIV-positive women may be able to use new methods that can help to safely reduce the frequency of screening in some women, similar to practices accepted in the general population. The findings will be published in the July 25 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), a theme issue on HIV/AIDS.
HIV suppression not as good as previously thought, largest study of viral-load blood tests show
Tens of thousands of Americans taking potent antiretroviral therapies, or ART, to keep their HIV disease in check may not have as much control over the viral infection as previous estimates have suggested, according to results of a study by AIDS experts at Johns Hopkins and the University of Pennsylvania.
Study examines characteristics, risk factors among HIV-positive persons born outside the US
An examination of the characteristics of persons born outside the United States diagnosed with HIV while living in the U.S. finds that, compared to U.S.-born persons with HIV, they are more likely to be Hispanic or Asian, and to have a higher percentage of HIV infections attributed to heterosexual contact, according to a study appearing in JAMA being published online.
Clinical study in rural Uganda shows high demand for antiretroviral drugs
An ongoing clinical study in rural Uganda, begun in 2011, suggests that many people infected with HIV/AIDS would take antiretroviral drugs if they were available to them—even before they developed symptoms from the disease.
Hair samples from infants show exposure to anti-HIV drugs in the womb and during breast-feeding
Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and Makerere University in Uganda have used hair and blood samples from three-month old infants born to HIV-positive mothers to measure the uninfected babies' exposure—both in the womb and from breast-feeding—to antiretroviral medications their mothers were taking. The results, they said, are surprising.
Key mutations discovered for medulloblastoma -- most common childhood brain cancer
Researchers at Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Center (DF/CHCC) and several collaborating institutions have linked mutations in specific genes to each of the four recognized subtypes of medulloblastoma, the most common malignant brain tumor of children. The discovery, reported July in the journal Nature, provides doctors with potential biomarkers for guiding and individualizing treatment and reveals prospective therapeutic opportunities for countering this devastating malignancy.
Biology news
Panners seek sapphires in Madagascar lemur haven
Knee-deep in muddy water, a 10-year-old child and a woman with braided hair lean over a large sieve, washing earth and rocks, their eyes clenched against the filthy splashing water.
New genomic sequencing method enables 'smarter' anaysis of individual cells
Only by viewing a Seurat painting at close range can you appreciate the hidden complexities of pointillism – small, distinct dots of pure color applied in patterns to form an image from a distance. Similarly, biologists and geneticists have long sought to analyze profiles of genes at the single cell level but technology limitations have only allowed a view from afar until now.
New method for associating genetic variation with crop traits
A new technique will allow plant breeders to introduce valuable crop traits even without access to the full genome sequence of that crop.
Artificial jellyfish 'Medusoid' swims in a heartbeat: Creation is an amalgam of silicone polymer and heart muscle cells
Using recent advances in marine biomechanics, materials science, and tissue engineering, a team of researchers at Harvard University and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have turned inanimate silicone and living cardiac muscle cells into a freely swimming "jellyfish."
Lighting up the plant hormone 'command system'
Light is not only the source of a plant's energy, but also an environmental signal that instructs the growth behavior of plants. As a result, a plant's sensitivity to light is of great interest to scientists and their research on this issue could help improve crop yields down the road. Similarly understanding a plant's temperature sensitivity could also help improve agriculture and feed more people. Two new papers from Carnegie's Zhiyong Wang laboratory identify key aspects of the hormonal responses of plants to changes in light and heat in their environments. Their work is published online July 22 by Nature Cell Biology.
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