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Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for December 28, 2012:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
- Interview: What does the future hold for energy and lighting?- Toshiba smartphone camera sensor has eye on future
- Blink if your brain needs a rest
- Researchers use earthworms to create quantum dots
- Apple wins multi-touch and glass process patents
- Apple to drop patent claims against Samsung phone
- An image gallery gift from Swift satellite
- Hyundai unveils NFC smartphone feature to replace key fob
- Cave dwelling nettle discovered in China
- Study shows early cognitive problems among those who eventually get Alzheimer's
- China launches rival GPS satellite system (Update)
- LG seeks ban on Samsung tablet sales in Korea
- Archeologists unearth King David era temple near Jerusalem
- China court orders Apple to pay in rights dispute
- Revealing quantum flow
Space & Earth news
Unilever to phase out 'microplastics' by 2015
(AP)—Unilever, the maker of Vaseline, Axe deodorants and Dove soaps, among other cosmetic and hygiene products, says it will phase out the use of microplastics by 2015.
Study warns of more great quakes in the Himalayas
A research team led by scientists from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) has discovered that massive earthquakes in the range of 8 to 8.5 magnitudes on the Richter scale have left clear ground scars in the central Himalayas.
Groundbreaking air-cleaner saves polluting industrials
Industries across Europe are threatened with shutdown as European Union emission rules for Volatile Organic Compounds are tightened. Now an air cleaning invention from the University of Copenhagen has proven its ability to remove these compounds. And in the process they have helped a business in Danish town Aarhus improve relations to angry neighbors.
Wood-burning sets off pollution alarm bells in Athens
Air pollution in Athens has surged in recent days because of people choosing wood over more expensive fuels to heat their homes in the grips of a continuing economic crisis, the environment ministry said Friday.
NASA sees Wukong struggling to survive in South China Sea
NASA's TRMM satellite captured rainfall data on Tropical Depression Wukong as it struggles to stay together in the South China Sea. Wukong has been battered with wind shear for days and NASA satellite data still shows an area of moderate rainfall within the dying storm.
China launches rival GPS satellite system (Update)
China has launched commercial and public services across the Asia-Pacific region on its domestic satellite navigation network built to rival the US global positioning system.
An image gallery gift from Swift satellite
(Phys.org)—Of the three telescopes carried by NASA's Swift satellite, only one captures cosmic light at energies similar to those seen by the human eye. Although small by the standards of ground-based observatories, Swift's Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope (UVOT) plays a critical role in rapidly pinpointing the locations of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), the brightest explosions in the cosmos.
Technology news
China requires Internet users to register names (Update)
China's government tightened Internet controls Friday with approval of a law that requires users to register their names after a flood of online complaints about official abuses rattled Communist Party leaders.
US probes HP's Autonomy fraud allegations
US authorities are probing allegations by Hewlett-Packard that a British software firm it bought out had fraudulent accounts, the US tech giant said in its annual report released Thursday.
UK's Pearson invests in Barnes & Noble's Nook (Update)
(AP)—Pearson, the U.K. publisher and education company, is to take a 5 percent stake in Barnes & Noble's NOOK e-reader as technology companies seek new inroads into the potentially lucrative business of digital textbooks for schools.
Facebook stocks lower as Instagram loses users
Facebook shares fell Friday after a report said its photo-sharing app Instagram had lost millions of users following the release of planned policy changes since dropped on an outcry from users.
Once-vaunted tech firms struggle against challengers' onslaught
Consumer electronics are among the most popular holiday gifts, but how many people really wanted a BlackBerry tablet, a Panasonic television or a Nokia smartphone for Christmas?
LG seeks ban on Samsung tablet sales in Korea
South Korea's LG Display said on Friday it had asked a Seoul court to ban the domestic sale of Samsung's Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet computer, citing alleged patent infringements.
China court orders Apple to pay in rights dispute
A Chinese court has ordered Apple Inc. to pay 1.03 million yuan ($165,000) to eight Chinese writers and two companies who say unlicensed copies of their work were distributed through Apple's online store.
Apple wins multi-touch and glass process patents
(Phys.org)—The US Patent and Trademark Office has published thirty-six patents granted for Apple. Patently Apple has highlighted two of those patents. One has to do with multi-touch displays. The multi-touch patent relates to sensor panels using capacitive sensors to detect and localize touch events. The other patent has to do with new ways to shape glass for iDevices, e.g., the iPhone and iPad. One of the advantages of Apple's proposed process on glass is that it would not involve dangerous chemicals and gasses.
Hyundai unveils NFC smartphone feature to replace key fob
(Phys.org)—Korean car maker Hyundai has unveiled what might be the next step for car accessory options: the disappearance of the key. Instead of a key, or fob, engineers at Hyundai have integrated the electronics generally found inside of a fob, into a smartphone. To gain access to their car, drivers would simply swipe their phone over a Near Field Communications (NFC) tag that has been affixed to the inside of a window.
Apple to drop patent claims against Samsung phone
Apple has agreed to drop its patent claims against Samsung's Galaxy S III Mini after the South Korean rival said it would not sell the gadget in the United States, a court filing showed Friday.
Toshiba smartphone camera sensor has eye on future
(Phys.org)—Toshiba may be targeting the end of 2013 for the launch of a new camera sensor for smartphones and tablets, where the picture taker can choose a specific area of focus in the photo after having taken the photo. Photography enthusiasts as well as all creative picture-takers will be able to manage how they want the photograph to tell the story, allowing for managing the focus after the fact. This resonates heavily with the Lytro light field camera, which was introduced as a way to allow photographers to shoot the image first and focus on the subject later, thinking about focus points during the editing process.
Interview: What does the future hold for energy and lighting?
(Phys.org)—As 2012 comes to a close, scientists and engineers are looking forward to molding the future, starting with the work they do in their own labs. Phys.org has interviewed a few of today's leading researchers in the areas of energy and lighting, and asked them what they're most excited about in their fields in the years to come.
Medicine & Health news
Program helps veterans reintegrate through music
(AP)—Many military veterans say having music to listen to helps them deal with the stress of deployment.
Survival of 'Obamacare' tops list of biggest health news in 2012
(HealthDay)—With millions of Americans watching and waiting, the U.S. Supreme Court largely upheld the Obama Administration's health care reform legislation, making the survival of "Obamacare" this year's top health news story.
19 ill in suspected norovirus outbreak on liner
Nineteen people aboard the cruise ship Queen Mary 2 have been diagnosed with a gastrointestinal illness as the liner docked Friday in the Caribbean island of St. Lucia.
FDA clears anticlotting drug Eliquis
The Food and Drug Administration says it has approved the anticlotting drug Eliquis, developed by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and Pfizer Inc. It's a potential blockbuster drug in a new category of medicines to prevent strokes and heart attacks.
EP studies helpful in lumbar spinal stenosis prognosis
(HealthDay)—Electrophysiological abnormalities have been identified that are of some prognostic value in determining deteriorating clinical status over the long term for patients with mild-to-moderate lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS), according to research published in the December issue of the European Spine Journal.
Teen vitamin D intake not related to adult RA or SLE risk
(HealthDay)—Dietary vitamin D intake during adolescence does not appear to be associated with the risk of adult-onset rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), according to research published in the December issue of Arthritis Care & Research.
56 percent of female university students get drunk in record time
on purpose – quicker than their male counterparts, and live a more sedentary life than they do, according to a study by the University of Vigo. Results show that 56.1% of female students are considered binge drinkers, as opposed to 41.3% of males.
Tumor boards linked to little association with effects on cancer care
There is little association of multidisciplinary tumor boards with measures of use, quality, or survival, and measuring only the presence of tumor boards may not be adequate in determining their effects on cancer care, according to a study published December 28 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Study reports racial disparities in pediatric appendicitis treatment tied to hospital type
When researchers from UCLA Medical Center investigated the link between racial disparities and appendicitis outcomes in children, they found that the type of hospital in which black, Hispanic and other minority patients receive care—community, children's or county—affects their odds of developing a perforated appendix. The study published in the January issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons is a first-of-its-kind look at the role hospital type plays in race-based treatment variances among this patient subset.
Study links disease, poverty and biodiversity
Poverty and disease often come together. That much is well understood. But how much does poverty foster disease? Or, how much can disease perpetuate poverty? And what's the role of nature, given that so many infectious diseases are spread by mosquitoes or spend part of their life cycle outside of the human body?
Debate heats up over screening athletes for sickle cell trait
(HealthDay)—Though heart problems or heatstroke generally are to blame for a young athlete's sudden death, experts now know that carrying an aberration called the sickle cell trait also poses substantial risk.
Sickle cell disease, sickle cell trait are not the same
(HealthDay)—Both sickle cell disease and the condition known as sickle cell trait are genetic blood diseases: You're born with one or the other because of the genes inherited from your parents. Beyond that, the two conditions vary considerably.
Limited value for pap tests in endometrial cancer recurrence
(HealthDay)—For women who have undergone a hysterectomy for endometrial cancer, abnormal Papanicolaou (Pap) test results do not aid in diagnosing recurrent disease, according to a study published in the January issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
Dietary PA/OA fat ratio may affect T2DM risk in women only
(HealthDay)—A diet low in palmitic acid (PA) and high in oleic acid (OA) improves insulin sensitivity and is associated with lower levels of markers of metabolic and oxidative stress in women only, according to a study published online Dec. 13 in Diabetes.
Study shows early cognitive problems among those who eventually get Alzheimer's
People who study or treat Alzheimer's disease and its earliest clinical stage, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), have focused attention on the obvious short-term memory problems. But a new study suggests that people on the road to Alzheimer's may actually have problems early on in processing semantic or knowledge-based information, which could have much broader implications for how patients function in their lives.
Blink if your brain needs a rest
Why do we spend roughly 10 percent of our waking hours with our eyes closed - blinking far more often than is actually necessary to keep our eyeballs lubricated? Scientists have pried open the answer to this mystery, finding that the human brain uses that tiny moment of shut-eye to power down.
Biology news
Japan whaling fleet leaves port for Antarctica
Japanese whaling vessels left port Friday bound for the Southern Ocean on their annual hunt for the huge marine mammals, a media report and Greenpeace said.
Cave dwelling nettle discovered in China
South West China, Myanmar and Northern Vietnam contain one of the oldest exposed outcrops of limestone in the world. Within this area are thousands of caves and gorges. It is only recently that botanists have sought to explore the caves for plants. This exploration is yielding many new species new to science, that are known only from these habitats. The current study was published in the open access journal PhytoKeys.
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