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Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for June 11, 2013:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
- Physicists show self-correcting quantum computers are theoretically possible- Similar connectivity profiles in humans and monkeys used to generate a Theory of Mind
- Researchers sequence genome of mysterious candidate phylum TM6 bacteria
- Researchers find people learn to use brain-computer interfaces the same way as other motor skills
- Closing the last Bell-test loophole for photons
- Polymer structures serve as 'nanoreactors' for nanocrystals with uniform sizes, shapes
- There is more gas in the Galaxy than is dreamt of by astronomers
- Marks on martian dunes may be tracks of dry-ice sleds
- Black hole naps amidst stellar chaos
- New study refutes claims of early humans in India prior to Mount Toba eruption
- Chlamydia protein has an odd structure, scientists find
- Scientists identify thousands of plant genes activated by ethylene gas
- Scientists uncover new details of natural anticancer mechanism
- Do parasites upset food web theory?
- Researchers discover two-step mechanism of inner ear tip link regrowth
Space & Earth news
Space droids calling
Secondary-school students can play the ultimate robot game: the annual Zero Robotics tournament turns the International Space Station into a playing field for European students to control minisatellites with self-developed software.
The cucumbers carbon footprint in focus
Since the outbreak of E. coli in Germany and Austria 2011 resulting in suspicions against ecological cucumbers, student Michaela Raab has been interested in the environmental impacts of the cucumber. The overall aim is to help consumers to make an eco-friendly buying decision and show the producers' process emissions.
Land use changes, housing demographics shift in Washington State
A recent government report reveals that the number of houses in dispersed rural settings in western Washington has doubled over the past 30 years, and that 20 percent of nonfederal land is currently developed.
Mayor to discuss prepping NYC for warming world
(AP)—The projections paint an unsettling picture of New York's future: a city where by the 2050s, 800,000 people could be living in a flood zone that would cover a quarter of the land, with temperatures steadily rising.
California tops list of states with water infrastructure needs
California could use $44.5 billion to fix aging water systems over the next two decades, according to a federal survey that placed the state at the top of a national list of water infrastructure needs.
Despite a lot more people and cars, California's air is cleaner
Despite a threefold increase in people and cars in the last 50 years, California's strict vehicle emissions standards have managed to significantly clear the state's air, according to new research.
Image: Fourmile and Silver Fires in Arizona and New Mexico
The Fourmile fire located 20 miles northeast of Morenci, Arizona is basically a grass fire. Currently it is over 5000 acres in size and is not contained at all. Because of the hot, dry conditions, the potential for growth of this fire is high. Officials are estimating that containment of this fire will be on or about June 15, 2013.
Tillage and reduced-input rotations affect runoff from agricultural fields
No-till management practices can reduce soil erosion, but evidence suggests they can also lead to increased runoff of dissolved phosphorus from soil surfaces. Meanwhile, farmers looking to avoid herbicides often have to combat weeds with tillage, which causes erosion. With all of the tradeoffs of different management systems, which one should growers use? To answer that question, researchers from the USDA Agricultural Research Service compared nutrient and sediment loss from no-till, conventional tillage, and reduced-input rotation watersheds in a study published online today in Soil Science Society of America Journal.
NASA satellite sees Tropical Storm Yagi just south of Japan
Tropical Storm Yagi is not expected to make landfall in Japan, but NASA satellite imagery showed that the storm was just south of the big island.
Levees, removable walls in plan to protect NYC
(AP)—Mayor Michael Bloomberg is proposing removable flood walls for much of lower Manhattan, a permanent 15-to-20-foot levee in part of Staten Island and a system of gates and levees at a Brooklyn creek as part of a nearly $20 billion plan to protect New York City from storms and global warming.
Brazil's natives protest dam construction
Indigenous activists occupied the headquarters of a government agency Tuesday to demand a voice in the construction of a controversial dam in the Amazon.
Egypt eyes Nile deal with Ethiopia
Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi is facing heavy pressure to secure a negotiated settlement to a bitter dispute with Ethiopia over the sharing of Nile waters.
China to launch longest-ever manned space mission
China was to launch its longest-ever manned space mission Tuesday, with its second woman astronaut among the crew, as it steps up its ambitious space programme, a symbol of the country's growing power.
Chinese spacecraft blasts off with three astronauts
China's latest manned spacecraft successfully blasted off Tuesday on a 15-day mission to dock with a space lab and educate young people about science.
Weather balloon takes solar cell experiment toward sun
(Phys.org) —How do solar cells behave at high altitudes? Do they perform better the closer they get to the sun? Those simple questions propelled four undergraduate students from Northwestern University's McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science into high gear.
Fukushima accident raised levels of radioactive strontium off the east coast of Japan by up to a hundred times
Researchers from the Institute for Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA) and the Department of Physics of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) have studied the spread of radioactive strontium in the coastal waters of eastern Japan during the three months following the Fukushima nuclear accident, which happened in March, 2011. The samples analysed show the impact of the direct release of radioactive materials into the Pacific Ocean, and indicate that the amount of strontium-90 discharged into the sea during those three months was between 90 and 900 Tbq (terabecquerels), raising levels by up to two orders of magnitude. The highest concentrations were found to the north of the Kuroshio current, which acts as a barrier preventing radioactive material from being carried to lower latitudes.
Pinwheeling across the sky
(Phys.org) —The face-on Pinwheel spiral galaxy is seen at ultraviolet wavelengths in this image taken by ESA's XMM-Newton space telescope.
Plunging fish numbers linked to dam releases
A significant decline in the numbers of native fish in Australia's Murray-Darling Basin may be linked to released dam water being too cold for breeding.
Wood not so green a biofuel
Using wood for energy is considered cleaner than fossil fuels, but a Dartmouth College-led study finds that logging may release large amounts of carbon stored in deep forest soils. The results appear in the journal Global Change Biology-Bioenergy.
Euclid to probe dark Universe with Astrium science module
(Phys.org) —The module carrying the telescope and scientific instruments of ESA's Euclid 'dark Universe' mission is now being developed by Astrium in Toulouse, France.
TRMM satellite sees Andrea's heavy rains in Cuba, US East Coast
Tropical Storm Andrea formed on the late afternoon of June 5th, 2013 from a trough of low pressure that had persisted for several days over the southeast Gulf of Mexico. This trough extended out over the Gulf from the Yucatan Peninsula and provided the focus for the development of showers and thunderstorms in the region, eventually leading to the formation of Tropical Storm Andrea.
Landsat satellite looks back at El Paso, forward to a new mission
Landsat has seen a lot in its day. In one spot of desert, where the Rio Grande marks the border between the United States and Mexico, the satellite program captured hundreds of images of fields turning green with the season, new developments expanding from El Paso, Texas, and clouds moving over the neighboring mountains.
Tiny submersible could search for life in Europa's ocean
One of the first visitors to Jupiter's icy moon of Europa could be a tiny submarine barely larger than two soda cans. The small craft might help strike the right balance between cost and capability for a robotic mission to look for alien life in the ocean beneath Europa's icy crust.
Astrobiologists find Martian clay contains chemical implicated in the origin of life
(Phys.org) —Researchers from the University of Hawaii at Manoa NASA Astrobiology Institute (UHNAI) have discovered high concentrations of boron in a Martian meteorite. When present in its oxidized form (borate), boron may have played a key role in the formation of RNA, one of the building blocks for life. The work was published on June 6 in PLOS One.
Is a sleeping climate giant stirring in the Arctic?
(Phys.org) —Flying low and slow above the wild, pristine terrain of Alaska's North Slope in a specially instrumented NASA plane, research scientist Charles Miller of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., surveys the endless whiteness of tundra and frozen permafrost below. On the horizon, a long, dark line appears. The plane draws nearer, and the mysterious object reveals itself to be a massive herd of migrating caribou, stretching for miles. It's a sight Miller won't soon forget.
Moon radiation findings may reduce health risks to astronauts
Space scientists from the University of New Hampshire (UNH) and the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) report that data gathered by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) show lighter materials like plastics provide effective shielding against the radiation hazards faced by astronauts during extended space travel. The finding could help reduce health risks to humans on future missions into deep space.
Zoe robot returns to Chile's Atacama Desert On NASA mission to search for subsurface life
The autonomous, solar-powered Zoë, which became the first robot to map microbial life during a 2005 field expedition in Chile's Atacama Desert, is heading back to the world's driest desert this month on a NASA astrobiology mission led by Carnegie Mellon University and the SETI Institute. This time, Zoë is equipped with a one-meter drill to search for subsurface life.
Oldest record of human-caused lead pollution detected
Humans began contributing to environmental lead pollution as early as 8,000 years ago, according to a University of Pittsburgh research report.
There is more gas in the Galaxy than is dreamt of by astronomers
(Phys.org) —A survey from Herschel has revealed that the reservoir of molecular gas in the Milky Way is hugely underestimated - almost by one third - when it is traced with traditional methods. Monitoring the emission from ionised carbon, the new study identified molecular gas in the intermediate evolutionary stage between diffuse, atomic gas and the densest star-forming molecular clouds. The discovery not only indicates that there is more raw material for the formation of new stars in the Galaxy, but also that it extends farther than astronomers knew.
Marks on martian dunes may be tracks of dry-ice sleds
(Phys.org) —NASA research indicates hunks of frozen carbon dioxide—dry ice—may glide down some Martian sand dunes on cushions of gas similar to miniature hovercraft, plowing furrows as they go.
Black hole naps amidst stellar chaos
(Phys.org) —Nearly a decade ago, NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory caught signs of what appeared to be a black hole snacking on gas at the middle of the nearby Sculptor galaxy. Now, NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR), which sees higher-energy X-ray light, has taken a peek and found the black hole asleep.
Technology news
Testing smart homes technology
A safer and healthier old age – that is the aim of GiraffPlus, an international project led by researchers at Örebro University, Sweden. With a focus of developing sophisticated aids for the elderly in close collaboration with the intended users, the project is now about to test the new technology in real homes.
On a different wavelength: Scientists set out to create 'superspectral' camera
A team of engineers is setting out to create the world's first camera sensor capable of 'seeing' across a wide range of wavelengths.
French nuclear designers tap American expertise
The world's nuclear experts have reached out to U.S. Department of Energy engineers for help evaluating a new nuclear reactor design that could increase safety margins while reducing waste.
Luggage screening standards prove their value
Every month, between 50 and 70 million passengers travel through U.S. airports, toting more than 30 million pieces of luggage destined for aircraft cargo holds. Since 2004, federal legislation requires that every one of those checked bags – around a million a day – has to be scanned for explosives and other threats, typically using computed tomography (CT) machines similar in operation to those used in medical diagnostics but several times as long.
Ukraine launches publically funded online TV
Leading Ukrainian journalists have announced the launching of a new online television channel that will be independent of government and business interests.
UC San Diego launches new research computing program
The University of California, San Diego has deployed a new high-performance research computing system called the Triton Shared Computing Cluster, or TSCC, serving researchers at UC San Diego and any of the other UC campuses as well as external academic, non-profit, and corporate users.
Pinterest moves to conquer French
Pinterest said Tuesday it was launching a new "localized" version of the bulletin-board style social media site for French users.
Smartphones, drones, to save lives in Malawi
A mobile phone equipped to measure heart rate, body temperature and breathing, with a digital medical manual for health care staff. Unmanned drones that can drop medicine and collect blood samples in remote areas. Researchers from Lund University in Sweden, Cork and Oxford are set to develop new technology that could revolutionise health care in the country.
Patent awarded for novel use of water jets to create high tensile strength alloy parts
A patent was awarded today to the late Ernest Geskin, PhD, of Florham Park, an expert in water jet technology and a mechanical engineering professor at NJIT for more than 25 years. Sharing the patent with him is Krzysztof Kluz, PhD, his former student and now a senior mechanical engineer for Marotta Controls, Montville.
UT Arlington civil engineering professor studying Texas high-speed rail plan
A UT Arlington civil engineering associate professor is studying the feasibility of placing a high-speed rail line within the public right of way from North Texas to Houston and San Antonio.
NREL teams with Navy, private industry to make jet fuel from switchgrass
The Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is partnering with Cobalt Technologies, U.S. Navy, and Show Me Energy Cooperative to demonstrate that jet fuel can be made economically and in large quantities from a renewable biomass feedstock such as switch grass.
Broad coalition protests US surveillance program
A coalition of Internet and civil liberties groups launched a campaign Tuesday protesting the huge US online surveillance program revealed in the past week.
France launches mobile app for fight against racism
A French anti-racism group on Tuesday launched a smartphone application designed to speed up the removal of racist graffiti.
News Corp shareholders approve split
News Corp. says its shareholders have approved a plan to split into two publicly traded companies.
Poorest WTO members win new patent-rule waiver
The globe's poorest nations have won an eight-year extension of a waiver on intellectual property rules, but still need to hold talks on the vexed issue of pharmaceutical patents, World Trade Organization officials said Tuesday.
Nintendo focuses on games at E3 with new 'Mario'
It's all about the games for Nintendo.
SF, NY officials wait to judge Apple 'kill switch'
The top prosecutors in San Francisco and New York say they are reserving judgment of Apple's new iOS7 security feature designed to make it harder to reactivate a stolen iPhone.
US spy programs raise ire both home and abroad
The Obama administration faced fresh anger Monday at home and abroad over U.S. spy programs that track phone and Internet messages around the world in the hope of thwarting terrorist threats. But a senior intelligence official said there are no plans to end the secretive surveillance systems.
Intelligence official: No plans to end broad surveillance program (Update)
President Barack Obama's administration is considering whether to charge a government contractor with leaking classified surveillance secrets while it defends the broad U.S. spy program that it says keeps America safe from terrorists.
EU wants privacy guarantees from US amid Prism crisis
The EU said Tuesday it will seek a strong commitment from the United States to respect the rights of European citizens, following revelations that Washington is running a worldwide Internet surveillance programme.
Remote-controlled helicopter tested for use in vineyards
Under the watchful eye of news media and area winegrape growers, a remote-controlled helicopter, fitted with a spray applicator system, was field tested today over a vineyard in the heart of the famed Napa Valley by engineers at the University of California, Davis, and Yamaha Motor Corporation, USA.
3-D Magnetic field measurement
Magnetic field sensors are a contact- and wear-free means of measuring the position of machine parts and products. A new generation of Hall sensors is now making the process even more precise and free of interference.
Europe's online surveillance still less than US
European governments' ability to monitor citizens' online activity on security grounds has increased significantly in recent years.
No mistaking how NSA story reporter feels
The man who claimed to leak state secrets on U.S. government eavesdropping sought to break the story through a columnist for a U.K.-based publication who has made no secret of his distaste for intrusions on privacy.
Amazon freed up to expand Fresh, delivery lockers
With fewer worries about new sales-tax requirements, Amazon.com Inc. is free to cross over to the bricks-and-mortar world - starting with a large fleet of grocery-delivery trucks.
Booz Allen says it's fired Snowden after leak
Edward Snowden, who admitted leaking details of secret U.S. government surveillance programs, was fired by his employer Tuesday while the U.S. government considers criminal charges against him.
Waze sale signals new growth for Israeli high tech
Google Inc.'s $1.03 billion purchase of Israeli navigation software maker Waze marks an important milestone for the country that affectionately calls itself "Start-Up Nation."
Facebook shareholders vent ire over sagging stock
Facebook shareholders on Tuesday grilled leaders of the social network regarding how they planned to revive the company's stock and protect user privacy from snoops including US spy agencies.
Search for first Web page takes detour into US
For the European physicists who created the World Wide Web, preserving its history is as elusive as unlocking the mysteries of how the universe began.
Google snaps up Waze to add to mapping service (Update)
Google is buying online mapping service Waze in a $1.03 billion deal that keeps a potentially valuable tool away from its rivals while allowing it to gain technology that could improve the accuracy and usefulness of its own popular navigation system.
Cloud computing user privacy in serious need of reform, scholars say
When Web surfers sign up for a new online service or download a Web application for their smartphone or tablet, the service typically requires them to click a seemingly innocuous box and accept the company's terms of service and privacy policy. But agreeing to terms without reading them beforehand can adversely affect a user's legal rights, says a new paper by a University of Illinois expert in technology and legal issues.
Google asks to publish more US gov't information
Google is asking the Obama administration for permission to disclose more details about the U.S. government's demands for emails and other information that people transmit online.
Shark Wheel on a roll to reinvent skateboarder experience
(Phys.org) —A California-based company has a new kind of wheel for skateboards that delivers a novel shape and claims a special ride experience. This is the Shark Wheel, not circular, not square, but something more interesting. The wheels appear as square when in motion from a side view but the wheel geometry is more than that. The wheels feel circular to the rider, and viewing them along with more details may help to clear the mystique. The wheels are made of three strips each; these create a helical shape when they roll, and they form a sine wave pattern. When the wheels make contact with the ground, good things happen, say the team behind the wheels—the user gets speed, better grip, and a smoother ride.
Medicine & Health news
Transplant group considers lung rule changes
(AP)—Members of the national organization that manages organ transplants are voicing concern about a federal judge's ruling to make two sick children at a Pennsylvania hospital eligible for adult lungs.
UN goal to halt spread of AIDS will be met by 2015
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says the overall U.N. goal of halting and reversing the spread of AIDS will be met by the target date of 2015.
Transplant vote seeks medical and legal balance
(AP)—Faced with a federal judge's order in the heart-wrenching cases of two terminally ill children seeking lung transplants, a national review board is searching for a balance that will keep such decisions in the hands of doctors, not lawyers or judges.
US to allow morning-after pill for girls of any age
The Obama administration said Monday it would comply with a judge's order to allow women and girls of any age to purchase emergency contraception, ending its efforts to restrict the drug's availability.
Examining food labelling across Europe
The FLABEL project ('Food Labelling to Advance to Better Education for Life') was the first EU-funded research programme to examine nutrition labelling when it was launched three years ago. Now having ended, has it made an impact in the food industry?
Researchers recommend clearer national guidance on the role of community nursing assistants
A pioneering study led by researchers from the University of York highlights the role and contribution of community nursing assistants and their potential impact on patient experience.
Report calls for urgent action and further research to protect children from exposure to pornography
Kristina Massey, Lecturer in the Department of Law and Criminal Justice Studies, is part of a research team, led by Middlesex University, calling for urgent action and further study on the effect pornography has upon the behaviour of children.
Professor finds increased job burnout among TV journalists
(Medical Xpress)—The media landscape has changed drastically in recent years, but despite increased hiring and revenue, those changes often result in increased and premature burnout among those working in the field.
PET medical image analysis improved in order to optimize radiotherapy treatments
Elena Prieto-Azkarate, a graduate in Telecommunications Engineering at the NUP/UPNA-Public University of Navarre and member of the Nuclear Medicine Service of the University College Hospital of Navarre, has implemented 12 algorithms to process medical images produced by means of PET (Positron Emission Tomography). As she points out in her PhD thesis, read at the NUP/UPNA, the results obtained are highly promising and this technique could be very useful indeed.She has also developed a graphics interface that will enable the doctor or oncologist to use this technique in clinical practice comfortably, rapidly and intuitively.
Breast cancer: PET and MR predict chemotherapy's ability to prolong life
For patients with advanced breast cancer, positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging can improve quality of life and survival by providing physicians with information on the effectiveness of chemotherapy prior to surgery, say researchers presenting at the 2013 Annual Meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging.
Pre-Alzheimer's: Metabolic disorder found in cognitively normal patients
Alzheimer's disease has been linked in many studies to amyloid plaque buildup in the brain, but new research is finding a common thread between amyloid burden and lower energy levels, or metabolism, of neurons in certain areas of the brain associated with Alzheimer's disease—even for people with no sign of cognitive decline. This is a new development in the understanding of Alzheimer's pathology, say neuroscientists unveiling the research at the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging's 2013 Annual Meeting.
PET/MR effective for imaging recurrent prostate cancer
When prostate cancer makes a comeback, it becomes increasingly important to have exceptional imaging available to find all possible regions where cancer has spread to other parts of the body, or metastasized, in order to plan the best possible treatment. A relatively new imaging system that simultaneously combines positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance (PET/MR) demonstrates a higher capacity for mapping recurrent prostate cancer than the already high standard of integrated PET and computed tomography (PET/CT), say researchers presenting a study at the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging's 2013 Annual Meeting.
Dose analysis predicts non-Hodgkin lymphoma survival
Outcomes can be bleak for non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), a cancer that develops in the white blood cells of the immune system. Accurate estimation of radiation absorbed dose in radioimmunotherapy (RIT) based on state-of-the-art 3D imaging could lead to more personalized and effective treatments to improve patients' chances of living longer without progression of their cancer, say researchers at the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging's 2013 Annual Meeting.
SPECT/MR molecular imaging system makes its debut
The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging's 2013 Annual Meetingmarks the unveiling of the successful application of a new preclinical hybrid molecular imaging system—single photon emission tomography and magnetic resonance (SPECT/MR)—which has exceptional molecular imaging capabilities in terms of potential preclinical and clinical applications, technological advancement at a lower cost, and reduction of patient exposure to ionizing radiation.
Crystal Clear: Real-time 3-D motion tracking optimizes PET/MR scans
One of the biggest hurdles of hybrid positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance (PET/MR) imaging is the prevalence of motion artifacts—blurring and ghostly visual anomalies caused by patient motion on the table during imaging. An MR technology has now been designed for PET/MR that employs tiny radiofrequency solenoids—metal coils integrated into hardware placed on the body—to track motion from those who do not or cannot stay put. Special software can then use the additional information provided by the coils to optimize the image, according to research being revealed at SNMMI's 2013 Annual Meeting.
Screening fails to affect breast cancer mortality statistics
New research analysing breast cancer mortality data spanning almost 40 years concludes that breast cancer screening does not yet show an effect on mortality statistics. The research, published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, analysed mortality trends before and after the introduction of the National Health Service Breast Screening Programme in 1988. The research was based on an analysis of mortality statistics in the Oxford region because, unlike the rest of England, all causes of death on the death certificate, not just the underlying cause, are available prior to the commencement of the National Health Service breast cancer screening programme. In addition, mortality statistics for the whole of England, where death is recorded as an underlying cause, were analysed.
Metabolic PET imaging provides earlier warning of coronary disease
Coronary artery disease (CAD) is one of the world's most prevalent and silent killers. Positron emission tomography (PET), which images miniscule abnormalities in cellular metabolism, can tip off clinicians about cardiac disasters waiting to happen— including sudden death from a heart attack—better than standard angiography, researchers revealed at the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging's 2013 Annual Meeting.
Radioimmunotherapy could extend lives of advanced lymphoma patients
A new patient protocol for aggressive and recurrent lymphoma that combines intensive chemotherapy and radioimmunotherapy (RIT) may become the most powerful cancer-killing therapy available, with the hope that patients' lymphoma can be eradicated as they prepare for bone marrow transplant, say researchers at the 2013 Annual Meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging. In a study presented at the meeting, survival rates without recurrence improved with the addition of RIT, with some having a 100 percent chance of survival over two years.
Radiopeptide therapy improves survival outcomes for neuroendocrine cancer patients
Peptide-receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) has been a subject of growing research on neuroendocrine tumors, which take up residence in a variety of organs replete with nerve cells that respond to hormone signaling. A countrywide study in Germany deemed PRRT treatment not only safe and effective but life-prolonging, according to a study unveiled during the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging's 2013 Annual Meeting.
Molecular imaging improves care for children with brain cancer
A relatively new weapon in the fight against childhood brain cancer has emerged that improves upon standard magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) by providing information about tumor metabolism and extent of cancer in children diagnosed with glioma, a growth caused by the abnormal division of glial cells in the brain, say researchers at the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging's 2013 Annual Meeting.
Software toolkit shapes models for personalized radionuclide therapy
External beam radiation treatment has long been manipulated into the unique shape of patients' tumors for personalized cancer care. Technology providing a means of patient-specific radionuclide drug therapies has not been standardized, as it has been limited to software that requires oncologists to manually define the areas of tumors. A new "phantom" model of the human form that can be deformed and reformed to match anatomy in a matter of hours using 3D graphic design software is being combined with a precision method for predicting how radionuclide therapies interact with tissues to determine the most effective cancer-killing dose for every patient.
New research urges caution on use of peer support in chronic disease
Health organisations need to give careful consideration to schemes which encourage people with chronic diseases to seek support from peers, to avoid the potential negative effects, new research shows.
Protein database for biomedical research
As personalized medicine is on the rise, the healthcare field is discovering the opportunities of "big data" analysis. The result of a joint project between the TUM Chair of Proteomics and Bioanalytics, SAP and the SAP Innovation Center, ProteomicsDB, is a major step forward in human proteomics. It currently contains more than 11,000 datasets from human cancer cell lines, tissues and body fluids and enables real-time analysis of this highly dimensional data and creates instant value by allowing to test analytical hypothesis.
Columbia Nursing develops online tool to reduce stress in Hispanic caregivers of dementia patients
Dementia often claims two victims: The patient and the caregiver. That's because caring for people with dementia requires close supervision and constant care, which can place a caregiver's psychological, physical and financial health at risk.
Mayo Clinic first in US to test stem cells in pediatric congenital heart disease patients
Mayo Clinic has announced the first U.S. stem cell clinical trial for pediatric congenital heart disease. The trial aims to determine how stem cells from autologous umbilical cord blood can help children with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), a rare defect in which the left side of the heart is critically underdeveloped.
Do women know which lifestyle choices may affect cancer risk?
The lifetime risk for cancer is greater than 1 in 3 for women in the U.S., but most women do not make the lifestyle choices recommended by the American Cancer Society to reduce that risk and prevent cancer. A multifaceted new survey determined how women view diet and exercise in relationship to cancer and whether they believe they are engaging in healthy behaviors, and whether their diet and exercise choices really meet the minimum recommendations. The results are presented in Journal of Women's Health.
France reports new suspected cases of MERS virus
French medical authorities on Tuesday reported two new suspected cases of infection with the SARS-like virus MERS which has killed more than 30 people worldwide, the bulk of them in Saudi Arabia.
DEA settles Walgreens painkiller case for $80M
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has reached an $80 million civil settlement with the Walgreens pharmacy chain over violations of rules governing the distribution of powerful prescription painkillers.
Big toe isn't biggest culprit in gout flare-ups; other joints tied to higher risk
The painful rheumatic condition gout is often associated with the big toe, but it turns out that patients at highest risk of further flare-ups are those whose gout first involved other joints, such as a knee or elbow, Mayo Clinic has found. The study is among several that Mayo researchers are presenting in Madrid at the European League Against Rheumatism's annual meeting. In other findings, Mayo discovered a clue to why lupus tends to be worse in African-Americans; chronicled erratic blood pressure in rheumatoid arthritis patients; found gout-like deposits in the joints of people with advanced osteoarthritis and examined why smoking doubles the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis.
OTC morning-after pill sales coming—but not yet
Don't look for the morning-after pill to move next to the condoms on drugstore shelves right away. But after a fight that's last more than a decade, it appears it really will happen. Backed into a corner by a series of court rulings, the Obama administration has agreed to let the Plan B One-Step brand of emergency contraception sell over the counter to anyone of any age.
Nerve stimulation might ease fibromyalgia pain
(HealthDay)—An implanted device that zaps the nerves at the nape of the neck—shown effective in treating some people with migraines—may also help ease the ache of fibromyalgia, an ailment that causes widespread body pain and tenderness.
Estrone levels predict incident type 2 diabetes in men
(HealthDay)—Levels of estrone are associated with increased risk of incident type 2 diabetes in a cohort of community-dwelling men, according to a study published online May 20 in Diabetes Care.
Depression, antidepressant use linked to future CVD risk
(HealthDay)—For patients with type 2 diabetes, higher self-reported depression symptoms and antidepressant medicine (ADM) use in the previous year are independently associated with developing certain cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factor-positive status over the next four years, according to a study published in the May issue of Diabetes Care.
Demographic variation in early PET scan use for NSCLC
(HealthDay)—For Medicare beneficiaries with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), demographic differences in the rates of positron emission tomography (PET) scan use persisted from 1998 to 2007, according to research published in the June issue of Radiology.
Oncologists, PCPs differ in cancer follow-up concerns
(HealthDay)—Medical oncologists (MOs) and primary care physicians (PCPs) report different barriers/concerns in cancer follow-up care to be problematic, according to research published online May 20 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Last-line antibiotics increasingly ineffective against gonorrhea
The last remaining antibiotics used to treat gonorrhea (cefixime and ceftriaxone) in England and Wales are becoming less effective. But recent changes in prescribing practice, based on new recommendations that challenge previous public health thinking, seem to have delayed or reversed this trend, and may help to delay the growing threat of multi-drug resistant gonorrhoea, suggests new research published Online First in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.
Frequent soccer ball 'heading' may lead to brain injury
Soccer players who 'head' the ball with high frequency demonstrate poorer performance on memory tests and have brain abnormalities similar to those found in traumatic brain injury patients, according to a study published online in the journal Radiology.
Study builds dossier on JC polyomavirus
A new study shows that common mutant forms of the deadly JC polyomavirus are not responsible for the pathogen's main attack, which causes a brain-damaging disease in immunocompromised patients called progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy. But that finding raises the ominous question of what the mutants might be up to instead.
Dengue fever surges in Singapore; 9,000 sickened
Singapore is telling doctors to be more vigilant against dengue fever as the mosquito-borne disease surges this year.
Research uses lasers, resistance training to zap fibromyalgia pain
(Medical Xpress)—For years, Kay Greenlee couldn't wash the windows in her home without hurting. The Terre Haute woman suffers from fibromyalgia and allergic reactions prevented her from taking medicine to relieve pain in her legs and shoulders.
Hope for spinal cord injuries: Coaxing damaged nerve cells to grow, send messages to the brain again
"An ailment not to be treated," read the prescription for a spinal cord injury on an Egyptian papyrus in 1,700 B.C. Not much has changed in the intervening millennia. Despite decades of research, modern medicine has made little headway in its quest to reverse damage to the central nervous system.
One-third of students' diets affected by lack of funds
(Medical Xpress)—More than a third of university students say their diets have been affected by a lack of funds, according to the results of a new Massey University/Westpac survey.
Posttraumatic stress disorder treatment: Genetic predictor of response to exposure therapy
There is growing evidence that a gene variant that reduces the plasticity of the nervous system also modulates responses to treatments for mood and anxiety disorders. In this case, patients with posttraumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, with a less functional variant of the gene coding for brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), responded less well to exposure therapy.
Asian cinema reignites smoking in movies debate
A University of Adelaide expert says that while the war against smoking in Hollywood movies has been largely won, Asian cinema represents the next major battleground for anti-smoking and anti-cancer groups.
Home palliative care services double people's chances of dying at home and reduce symptoms
(Medical Xpress)—A new Cochrane review led by King's College London has found that providing home palliative care doubles the odds that someone with a terminal illness can die at home if they want to, and leads to better control of their symptoms.
Hearing loss clue uncovered
(Medical Xpress)—Researchers from the Department of Otolaryngology at the University of Melbourne and the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Monash University have discovered how hearing loss in humans is caused by a certain genetic mutation.
Researchers use special foams to treat aneurysms
An innovative method for treating potentially fatal brain aneurysms by filling them with foam-like plastics is a step closer to clinical trials after demonstrating an ability to promote healing at unprecedented levels, says a Texas A&M University researcher who is developing the treatment.
Study uncovers why women remember events better
(Medical Xpress)—Gender plays a strong role in how people remember, a new Cornell study confirms. Research – and many tales from real life – report that women are typically better at remembering past events than men. Why?
Brain parasite has potential to unlock neurobiology secrets
(Medical Xpress)—Dr. Anita Koshy sees a common and typically harmless brain parasite as a potential key to unlocking secrets of neurobiology that can be used to intervene in diseases such as Alzheimer's and multiple sclerosis.
System taps on crowdsourcing for real-time dengue monitoring
When it comes to stopping dengue, social media posts, tweets and a web system may be just what the doctor ordered.
High sugar intake linked to low dopamine release in insulin-resistant patients
(Medical Xpress)—Using positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of the brain, researchers have identified a sweet spot that operates in a disorderly way when simple sugars are introduced to people with insulin resistance, a precursor to type 2 diabetes. For those who have the metabolic syndrome, a sugar drink resulted in a lower-than-normal release of the chemical dopamine in a major pleasure center of the brain. This chemical response may be indicative of a deficient reward system, which could potentially be setting the stage for insulin resistance. This research could revolutionize the medical community's understanding of how food-reward signaling contributes to obesity, according to a study being presented at the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging's 2013 Annual Meeting.
Child-led research reveals how children manage their anxiety going to the dentist
(Medical Xpress)—A unique child-led study by Queen Mary, University of London has challenged the common perception that children fear a trip to the dentist. The research shows that even the most anxious child can cope well with their feelings if they are treated with honesty.
Why tumor cells leave home
(Medical Xpress)—Malignant cells can escape from primary tumors and colonize new sites in other tissues. In a new study, LMU researchers show how the transcription factor AP4 promotes the development of such metastatic tumors.
Genetic studies lead to clinical trial of new treatment for type 1 diabetes
(Medical Xpress)—A clinical trial is underway for a potential new treatment for type 1 diabetes that could eventually mean patients are able to reduce insulin treatment from several times a day to only once or twice a week. The new treatment is a direct result of research to understand the genetics of the disease.
Scientists discover new layer of the human cornea
Scientists at The University of Nottingham have discovered a previously undetected layer in the cornea, the clear window at the front of the human eye.
Molecular imaging enlists prostate enzyme to detect metastases
No matter where they have hidden, metastatic prostate cancer cells still express some of the same signaling as normal prostate cells; in some cases even more so, as with the PSMA enzyme. Harnessing this enzyme could mean the beginning of a new platform for prostate cancer detection, staging, treatment and post-treatment monitoring, say researchers at the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging's 2013 Annual Meeting.
Dual agent scan differentiates diabetic foot disorders
Researchers are kick-starting better diabetic foot care and promoting reduced radiation dose with a new take on a hybrid molecular imaging technique. By targeting both bone cell activity and immune response and improving imaging data interpretation, doctors can better distinguish diabetic foot infection from another common foot condition that often requires an additional bone-marrow scan for definitive diagnosis, say researchers presenting a study at the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging's 2013 Annual Meeting.
Molecular imaging finds hurdle for smokers' vaccine
Researchers have yet again been sent back to the drawing board in the development of the much-sought-after vaccination for smokers, which would hypothetically inhibit the action of nicotine and its pleasure-producing chemical response in the brain. One of the newest studies of a proposed vaccine shows mixed results for patients after molecular imaging revealed no desirable effect and potentially allowed even more nicotine accumulation in the brain in some cases due to variations in immune response, say neuroscientists at the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging's 2013 Annual Meeting.
Hormonal treatment for endometrial cancer does not directly target the malignant cells
Progesterone, a female hormone that can be used as a therapy for endometrial cancer, eliminates tumor cells indirectly by binding to its receptor in stromal or connective tissue cells residing in the tumor microenvironment, according to a study from the G.O. Discovery Lab team and collaborators at UCLA.
First double-leg transplant patient has limbs amputated (Update)
The world's first double-leg transplant patient has had both limbs amputated after an unrelated illness forced him to stop taking anti-rejection drugs, the Spanish hospital that carried out the operation said Tuesday.
Sleep apnea increases risk of sudden cardiac death
A moderate case of obstructive sleep apnea can significantly increase a person's risk for sudden cardiac death, an often fatal condition where the heart stops beating and must be immediately treated with CPR or an automated external defibrillator, according to the largest study of its kind published online today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Stem cells reach standard for use in drug development
Drug development for a range of conditions could be improved with stem cell technology that helps doctors predict the safety and the effectiveness of potential treatments.
Obesity can be predicted from infancy, researchers find
Infants as young as two months old already exhibit growth patterns that can predict the child's weight by age 5, according to researchers at Case Western Reserve University's Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing and Tennessee State University.
At least 23 Canadian deaths linked to contraceptive
At least 23 Canadian women died and hundreds more may have been harmed taking the world's two most commonly prescribed birth control pills, the country's public broadcaster said Tuesday.
Why is my baby hospitalized? Many moms in under-developed countries don't know the answer
Mothers in low-income countries may not understand why their babies are hospitalized after delivery, putting sick newborns at higher risk of health problems and death after being released from the hospital, a new study shows.
Background mortality rates key to accurate reporting of vaccine safety risks
In a study using the Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD), investigators analyzed four years of data and determined that background mortality rates (rates of death irrespective of cause) are crucial in interpreting the numbers of deaths following vaccination. The VSD mortality rate following immunization is lower than the general US population mortality rate, and the causes of death are similar. These background rates can be used in communications to the public about vaccine safety risks, reports the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
Team discovers an unknown channel in the heart could illuminate unsolved cases of arrhythmia
The heart's regular rhythm is crucial to the delivery of oxygenated blood and nutrients to all the organs of the body. It is regulated by a bundle of cells called "the pacemaker," which use electrical signals to set the pace of the heart. Dysfunction in this mechanism can lead to an irregular heartbeat, known as arrhythmia, and often necessitates the implantation of an artificial pacemaker.
Fetal neuromaturation associated with mother's exposure to ddt and other environmental contaminants
A study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has for the first time found that a mother's higher exposure to some common environmental contaminants was associated with more frequent and vigorous fetal motor activity. Some chemicals were also associated with fewer changes in fetal heart rate, which normally parallel fetal movements. The study of 50 pregnant women found detectable levels of organochlorines in all of the women participating in the study—including DDT, PCBs and other pesticides that have been banned from use for more than 30 years. The study is available online in advance of publication in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology.
Females fend off gut diseases
At least among mice, females have innate protection from certain digestive conditions, according to a new Michigan State University study.
Discovery of the gene responsible for multiple intestinal atresia in newborns
Physicians and researchers from Sherbrooke, Montreal and Quebec City have conducted a study that has led to the discovery of a gene that causes multiple intestinal atresia (MIA), a rare and life-threatening hereditary disorder that affects newborns. In addition to exploring novel therapeutic treatments for children with the disease, the discovery of the gene TTC7A will make it possible to develop a prenatal diagnostic test and a screening test for parents who are carriers. The Centre hospitalier universitaire de Sherbrooke (CHUS) should offer the tests.
Telephone counseling plus physician advice key to motivating breast cancer survivors to exercise
Telephone-based counseling, when combined with physician advice, can help breast cancer survivors become more physically active, which can improve quality of life and lessen the side effects of cancer treatment, according to new research from The Miriam Hospital.
Flu vaccines aimed at younger populations could break annual transmission cycle
The huge value of vaccinating more children and young adults for influenza is being seriously underestimated, experts say in a new report, while conventional wisdom and historic vaccine programs have concentrated on the elderly and those at higher risk of death and serious complications.
Diabetes drug points the way to overcoming drug resistance in melanoma
Advanced metastatic melanoma is a disease that has proven difficult to eradicate. Despite the success of melanoma-targeting drugs, tumors inevitably become drug resistant and return, more aggressive than before. In the current issue of the journal Cancer Cell, however, researchers at The Wistar Institute describe how they increase the effectiveness of anti-melanoma drugs by combining anticancer therapies with diabetes drugs.
Exercise for stroke patients' brains
(Medical Xpress)—A new study finds that stroke patients' brains show strong cortical motor activity when observing others performing physical tasks – a finding that offers new insight into stroke rehabilitation.
Video gamers really do see more, research says
Hours spent at the video gaming console not only train a player's hands to work the buttons on the controller, they probably also train the brain to make better and faster use of visual input, according to Duke University researchers.
Bacterium that causes gum disease packs a 1-2 punch to the jaw
The newly discovered bacterium that causes gum disease delivers a one-two punch by also triggering normally protective proteins in the mouth to actually destroy more bone, a University of Michigan study found.
Researchers provide first prospective characterization of a genetic subtype of autism
In the first prospective study of its kind, Seaver Autism Center researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai provide new evidence of the severity of intellectual, motor, and speech impairments in a subtype of autism called Phelan-McDermid Syndrome (PMS). The data are published online in the June 11 issue of the journal Molecular Autism.
Intervention improves adherence to antibiotic prescribing guidelines for children
An intervention consisting of clinician education coupled with personalized audit and feedback about antibiotic prescribing improved adherence to prescribing guidelines for common pediatric bacterial acute respiratory tract infections, although the intervention did not affect antibiotic prescribing for viral infections, according to a study in the June 12 issue of JAMA.
Certain inflammatory biomarkers associated with increased risk of COPD exacerbations
Simultaneously elevated levels of the biomarkers C-reactive protein, fibrinogen and leukocyte count in individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) were associated with increased risk of having exacerbations, even in those with milder COPD and in those without previous exacerbations, according to a study in the June 12 issue of JAMA.
Hearing loss associated with hospitalization, poorer self-reported health
The authors found that compared with individuals with normal hearing, individuals with hearing loss were more likely to have a positive history for cardiovascular risk factors, have a history of hospitalization in the past year, and have more hospitalizations.
Obesity increases the risk of preterm delivery
The risk of preterm delivery increases with maternal overweight and obesity, according to a new Swedish study published in Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Women with the highest Body Mass Index (BMI) also had the highest statistical risk of giving preterm birth – and especially extremely preterm birth.
Very high prevalence of chronic health conditions among adult survivors of childhood cancer
In an analysis that included more than 1,700 adult survivors of childhood cancer, researchers found a very high percentage of survivors with 1 or more chronic health conditions, with an estimated cumulative prevalence of any chronic health condition of 95 percent at age 45 years, according to a study in the June 12 issue of JAMA.
APIC: CDC develops toolkit to assist with patient notification
(HealthDay)—The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has developed a toolkit designed to assist health departments and health care facilities to notify patients of an infection control lapse or disease transmission; the toolkit was presented during a workshop at the annual conference of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, held from June 8 to 10 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Most doctors feel they are under-using mobile apps
(HealthDay)—Most physicians feel they are not maximizing use of mobile applications, and would utilize additional electronic health record (EHR) functionalities if they were available, according to poll conducted by Black Book Market Research.
Doctors do not spend enough time planning their finances
(HealthDay)—Physicians do not spend enough time reviewing their finances, and half are behind in their retirement planning, according to a report published by the American Medical Association (AMA) Insurance Agency.
Trans fats down in two-thirds of food products, 2007 to 2011
(HealthDay)—Manufacturers have slowed in their reformulations of food products to reduce trans fatty acids (TFA), according to a study published online May 23 in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Preventing Chronic Disease.
New, more efficient blood-ordering guidelines issued
(HealthDay)—By extracting blood utilization data from electronic medical records and applying it to a proposed algorithm, a cost-saving, institution-specific maximum surgical blood order schedule (MSBOS) can be created, according to a study published in the June issue of Anesthesiology.
Fish oil lowers stress response
(Medical Xpress)—Fish oil supplements may protect the heart in stressful situations, according to a recent research study.
New therapy target for kids' fever-induced seizures
Fever-induced childhood seizures, known as febrile seizures, can be terrifying for parents to witness. The full-body convulsions, which mostly affect children six months to five years old, can last from mere seconds up to more than 40 minutes. Currently, children are not treated with daily anticonvulsant medication to prevent these seizures even when they recur repeatedly because toxic side effects of existing treatments outweigh potential benefits.
Walking or cycling to work linked to health benefits in India
People in India who walk or cycle to work are less likely to be overweight or obese, have diabetes or high blood pressure, a study has found.
Low-and middle-income countries need to prioritize noncommunicable disease prevention
Nine years after the World Health Organization adopted a global strategy on diet, physical activity, and health to address risk factors for chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes (referred to internationally as noncommunicable diseases), only a few low-and middle-income countries have implemented robust national policies to help prevent such diseases, according to a study by international researchers published in this week's PLOS Medicine.
Researchers identify another piece of the 'histone code' puzzle
(Medical Xpress)—DNA is often called the blueprint of life, but the four-letter combinations that make up the genetic code are just part of the story. Built upon the DNA lies additional epigenetic information in the form of a complex ensemble of chemical tags attached to the DNA itself and on proteins that package our DNA – called histones – which ultimately control how our genetic code is accessed and used. Interestingly, histones are decorated with many types of chemical tags, and their particular combinations have been referred to as the "histone code." But understanding how the cell interprets the code has proven challenging due to its sheer complexity and a lack of tools to study the code inside the cell.
Scientists uncover new details of natural anticancer mechanism
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have identified key triggers of an important cancer-blocking mechanism in cells.
Perfect pitch may not be absolute after all
People who think they have perfect pitch may not be as in tune as they think, according to a new University of Chicago study in which people failed to notice a gradual change in pitch while listening to music.
Experimental vaccine shows promise against TB meningitis
A team of Johns Hopkins researchers working with animals has developed a vaccine that prevents the virulent TB bacterium from invading the brain and causing the highly lethal condition TB meningitis, a disease that disproportionately occurs in TB-infected children and in adults with compromised immune system.
Researchers discover two-step mechanism of inner ear tip link regrowth
A team of NIH-supported researchers is the first to show, in mice, an unexpected two-step process that happens during the growth and regeneration of inner ear tip links. Tip links are extracellular tethers that link stereocilia, the tiny sensory projections on inner ear hair cells that convert sound into electrical signals, and play a key role in hearing. The discovery offers a possible mechanism for potential interventions that could preserve hearing in people whose hearing loss is caused by genetic disorders related to tip link dysfunction. The work was supported by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), a component of the National Institutes of Health.
Researchers find people learn to use brain-computer interfaces the same way as other motor skills
(Medical Xpress)—Researchers at the University of Washington have found that people who learn to control an object on a computer screen using only their thoughts, do so in ways that are very similar to the ways people learn other motor skills. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers describe how they monitored data from brain probes in epilepsy patients to learn more about how the human brain learns to control machines with thoughts.
Similar connectivity profiles in humans and monkeys used to generate a Theory of Mind
(Medical Xpress)—The ability to infer emotion or intention in others from their outward appearance and behavior, has been called a "Theory of Mind" (TOM). While cognitive scientists have debated whether animals other than humans possess a TOM, many animals (like monkeys) clearly react to facial expression or body movements. One area of the human brain that has received considerable attention in discussions of TOM, is the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ). If each half of the brain is viewed as a boxing glove, the TPA corresponds to the junction between the "thumb" and body of the glove. To explore whether the TPJ regions of humans and monkeys have similar "functional connectivity" profiles, a group of Oxford researchers turned to high resolution at-rest fMRI. The researchers generated correlation maps between each time series obtained for specific voxel regions of interest. Their results, just published in PNAS, show that the most similar TPJ connectivity profiles correspo! nd to areas that process, among other things, faces and social stimuli within the temporal cortex.
Biology news
Philippines to destroy five tonnes of ivory tusks
The Philippines said Tuesday it would destroy five tonnes of confiscated elephant tusks as part of a global campaign to raise awareness against the illegal trade of so-called "blood ivories".
Fall wheat seed availability questioned before harvest: Drought, freeze and hail limit supplies
(Phys.org) —The question of wheat seed availability is still to be answered, because none of it is in the bin yet, according to Steve Brown, Texas Foundation Seed manager in Vernon.
Automated plant factory for the prodution of vaccines
Molecular farming is an easy, fast, and safe method for producing vaccines and therapeutic proteins in plants. Now a team of Fraunhofer researchers from the USA has built up a Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) compliant plant factory.
Iberian lynx attacks on farm animals are on the rise
Scientists working on the LIFE IBERLINCE project have spent six years studying the hunting behaviour of the Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus), registering a total of 40 attacks with 716 farm animals killed. Their results indicate that, although the resulting economic losses are not high, this behaviour is on the rise, and it is therefore necessary to establish conflict prevention programmes alongside the existing conservation programmes.
Blood-sucking deer keds are spreading in Norway
A high moose population density and mild autumn weather result in a higher prevalence of deer keds (louse fly parasite). A great deal of pine forest in the habitat of the moose has the same effect. These are the results of new research into how deer keds are spreading in Southeast Norway. The findings of this PhD project can be used to limit the damaging effects of the parasite in the Norwegian landscape.
New means to communicate population risk assessments among scientists and decision-makers
Population viability analysis (PVA) is a method used by conservation scientists for a range of purposes – including advancing conservation theory, planning, policy and management. PVAs are particularly important for assessing the risks of population extinction and for comparing alternative management options to protect species. The fact that so many PVAs are already available, for hundreds of species, offers an exciting opportunity for learning and especially for moving from single-species experience to multi-species knowledge. But this opportunity is often lost in translation: PVAs are usually complex, and many people find them hard to design, apply and communicate. Many PVA descriptions also lack sufficient structure, and are difficult to understand, assess, or even repeat.
New book explains extraordinary gender differences in animal kingdom
What does it mean to be male or female in the animal kingdom? How do our own gender differences compare with those of other animals? Why do adult male elephant seals weigh more than four times as much as an adult female? And why are male octopuses forty thousand times lighter than females?
Painting by numbers
Individuals of a particular species generally differ from one another. We are clearly most adept at recognizing members of our own species, although dog and cat owners will be ready to confirm that their pets look unique. Differences within species relate to characteristics such as size and shape but also to colour: it is not only humans that show a wide range of skin pigmentation. Nevertheless, the cause of the variation in skin colour in animals has remained largely a matter for conjecture. Recent work in the group of Christian Schlötterer at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna sheds light on the topic. The results are published in the online journal PLOS Genetics and point to a general method for studying variation in natural populations.
Celebrity pandas and tigers hog the extinction limelight
(Phys.org) —Worldwide, around 20,000 endangered animal species are competing for scarce conservation funds – but just 80 'celebrity species' are hogging most of the attention.
TB bacteria's trash-eating inspires search for new drugs
(Phys.org) —When hijacking a garbage truck, one might as well make use of the trash. That logic drives how tuberculosis-causing bacteria feed, say Cornell scientists.
1-D to 3-D genomics
(Phys.org) —Since his recent selection as an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow, Remo Rohs continues to demonstrate the research and creativity necessary to become a leader in the scientific community.
Blueprint for blood vessel fusion discovered
The fusion of blood vessels during the formation of the vascular system follows a uniform process. In this process, the blood vessels involved go through different phases of a common choreography, in which the splitting and the rearrangement of endothelial cells play a critical role. Markus Affolter`s research group at the Biozentrum, University of Basel, has been able to demonstrate this in a living organism, the zebrafish. The findings have been published in the journal Developmental Cell.
New study reveals mechanisms behind trunk to tail transition in vertebrates
One of the most remarkable anatomical differences among vertebrate bodies is the relative size of their neck, trunk and tail. This can be illustrated by comparing the bodies of a typical snake and of a long tailed lizard. They are both very long and superficially similar. However, most of the snake's body is a trunk full with organs of the digestive, excretory and reproductive systems, whereas the largest part of the lizard's body is a muscular tail. These different body plans are genetically determined during embryonic development. In the latest issue of the journal Developmental Cell, Moisés Mallo and his group at the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência (IGC), Portugal, showed that the trunk to tail transition is intrinsically associated with the induction of the legs and the embryonic cloaca, and that this process is coordinated by a genetic cascade triggered by the signaling factor Gdf11. This study may contribute to understand some congenital human syndromes that lead to malformations in the lower part of the body.
Thousands of abandoned fishing nets to be made into carpet tiles
Nine thousand kilos of discarded fishing nets have been collected for recycling into carpet tiles, drastically transforming littered beaches along the Danajon Bank, Philippines.
At the heart of the circadian clock
(Phys.org) —Cellular processes in most organisms are regulated by an internal clock, and proteins called cryptochromes are at the core of its central oscillator. The three dimensional structures of cryptochromes from mouse and fruitfly have now been determined.
Identifying potential disease-transmission sources in animal species by calculating risk to humans
Spanish and US scientists have successfully identified animal species that can transmit more diseases to humans by using mathematical tools similar to those applied to the study of social networks like Facebook or Twitter. Their research—recently published in the prestigious journal PNAS—describes how parasite-primate interactions transmit diseases like malaria, yellow fever or AIDS to humans. Their findings could make an important contribution to predicting the animal species most likely to cause future pandemics.
Fractal patterns spontaneously emerge during bacterial cell growth
Scientists discover highly asymmetric and branched patterns are the result of physical forces and local instabilities; research has important implications for understanding biofilms and multicellular systems.
A creature from an alkaline spring could improve biofuel processing
(Phys.org) —The only truly practical biofuels will be those made from abundant feedstocks like switchgrass, wheat straw, and other woody plants, whose cell walls consist of lignocellulose. After pretreatment to remove or reduce the lignin, the sugary remains of cellulose and hemicellulose are fermented by microorganisms to yield the biofuel.
New scientific analysis shines a light on Otzi the Iceman's dark secrets
After decoding the Iceman's genetic make-up, a research team from the European Academy of Bolzano/Bozen (EURAC), Saarland University, Kiel University and other partners has now made another major breakthrough in mummy research: using just a pinhead-sized sample of brain tissue from the world-famous glacier corpse, the team was able to extract and analyse proteins to further support the theory that Ötzi suffered some form of brain damage in the final moments of his life.
Scientists identify thousands of plant genes activated by ethylene gas
It's common wisdom that one rotten apple in a barrel spoils all the other apples, and that an apple ripens a green banana if they are put together in a paper bag. Ways to ripen, or spoil, fruit have been known for thousands of years—as the Bible can attest—but now the genes underlying these phenomena of nature have been revealed.
Do parasites upset food web theory?
Parasites comprise a large proportion of the diversity of species in every ecosystem. Despite this, they are rarely included in analyses or models of food webs. If parasites play different roles from other predators and prey, however, their inclusion could fundamentally alter our understanding of how food webs are organized. In a paper published 11 June in the open access journal PLOS Biology, Santa Fe Institute Professor Jennifer Dunne and her team test this assertion and show that including parasites does alter the structure of food webs, but that most changes occur because of an increase in diversity and complexity, rather than from unique characteristics of parasites.
Researchers sequence genome of mysterious candidate phylum TM6 bacteria
(Phys.org) —Researchers at the J. Craig Venter Institute have succeeded in sequencing the genome of a mysterious type of bacteria known only by its status—candidate phylum TM6. The sample sequenced, the team reports in their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, was found in a sink drain in a hospital.
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