Phys.org Newsletter Monday, Oct 7

Dear Reader ,

Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for October 7, 2013:

Spotlight Stories Headlines

- Physicists find that entanglement concentration is irreversible, in contrast with previous research
- Improving our image: Motion-tolerant BOLD fMRI improves signal-to-noise, connectivity analysis and statistical inference
- Cells prefer nanodiscs over nanorods
- 3-D printing allows scientists to design bacterial communities
- Giant channels discovered beneath Antarctic ice shelf
- 'White graphene' halts rust in high temps
- New more effective antimicrobials might rise from old
- Two Americans, German win Nobel medicine prize (Update 3)
- Massive DNA study points to new heart drug targets and a key role for triglycerides
- Gene activity and transcript patterns visualized for the first time in thousands of single cells
- Better robot vision: Neglected statistical tool could help robots better understand the objects in the world around them
- Phone charger can place user on malware alert
- New microfluidic approach for the directed assembly of functional materials
- Five achievements that haven't won a Nobel Prize
- Plastic waste is a hazard for subalpine lakes too

Space & Earth news

Cleaning up Europe's bathing waters
By investigating health risks associated with bathing waters, scientists are contributing to future reviews and revision of the EU's Bathing Water Directive.

Brazil govt backs natives on land demarcation
Brazilian authorities on Friday sided with protesting natives and slammed as unconstitutional an amendment that would give lawmakers authority to approve and demarcate indigenous lands.

New smartphone app will help consumers 'beat the microbead'
Fauna & Flora International is part of an NGO collaboration that has launched an international smartphone app to help consumers find plastic-free personal care products.

Policy study weighs up water catchment uses
A national methodology for protecting the sources of drinking water – while accounting for recreational needs in surface water catchments – is being developed by Edith Cowan University researchers.

High pollution levels hit Beijing at Golden Week's close
A cloud of pollution descended over Beijing at the weekend, shrouding the city and its famous cultural landmarks in a thick haze amid a US warning against physical activity outdoors.

China issues highest alert for Typhoon Fitow
China was on its highest alert for Typhoon Fitow Sunday, with tens of thousands evacuated as the storm was set to slam into the east coast as early as Sunday night.

Is comet ISON disintegrating?
Astronomer Ignacio Ferrin, FACom researcher, analyzed the most recent observational data of Comet ISON and has identified clear signatures of what he has called an "impending demise." The so-called light-curve of the comet shows features previously observed in disintegrating comets.

BP trial to focus on scientists' spill estimates
When BP used a capping stack to seal its blown-out well in the Gulf of Mexico, the device didn't just shut the source of the nation's worst offshore oil spill. Its pressure gauge also provided scientists with crucial data about the rate that crude was spewing from the well when engineers finally plugged the leak in July 2010.

'Minamata' mercury treaty conference kicks off in Japan
A UN conference to sign a historic treaty aimed at reining in the use and emission of mercury began Monday in Kumamoto, near Minamata, the site of Japan's worst-ever industrial poisoning.

Biochar in soils cuts greenhouse gas emissions
University of Tübingen microbiologists show soil microbe communities can be influenced to decrease nitrous oxide emissions.

Terahertz sensor aiming for Jupiter's moons
A high performance terahertz receiver aiming for space missions such as ESA's "Jupiter icy moons explorer" has been developed in a joint European effort, led by Chalmers University of Technology.

Astronauts exploring the depths
Usually, ESA sends astronauts to outer space, but last week six astronauts from around the world spent six days underground to get a taste of working together in extreme conditions.

Desert trial for ESA Mars rover
(Phys.org) —Next week will see ESA's most ambitious planetary rover test yet. Robotic exploration of a Mars-like desert in South America will be overseen from the UK, providing experience for future missions to the Red Planet.

Methane seeps of the deep sea: A bacteria feast for lithodid crabs
Cold seeps are the basis for a surprising diversity in the desert-like deep sea. Off the coast of Costa Rica, an international team of scientists documented lithodid crabs of the genus Paralomis sp. grazing bacterial mats at a methane seep. The analysis results and a time-lapse video, published in the online journal PLOS ONE, show that not only sessile organisms benefit from the productivity around the cold seeps.

CERN's CLOUD experiment shines new light on climate change
(Phys.org) —In a paper published today in the journal Nature, the CLOUD experiment at CERN reports a major advance towards solving a long-standing enigma in climate science: how do aerosols - tiny solid or liquid particles suspended in the air - form in the atmosphere, and which gases are responsible? This is a key question in understanding the climate, since aerosols cause a cooling effect by reflecting sunlight and by seeding cloud droplets.

How the detergent of the atmosphere is regenerated
It sounds unlikely: a washing machine recycles used detergent in order to use it again for the next load of dirty washing. But this is just what happens during the degradation of pollutants in the atmosphere. German scientists have now been able to demonstrate this for the first time for isoprene, the most important natural hydrocarbon. The new findings have now been published in the scientific journal Nature Geoscience.

Space: the Olympic flame's final frontier
When Russia first floated the idea of sending the Olympic flame to the International Space Station (ISS) ahead of next year's Winter Games in Sochi, most people treated it as a joke.

Plant diversity may affect climate–vegetation interaction
In a new study, published in Nature Geoscience, Prof. Dr. Martin Claussen, director of the department "The Land in the Earth System" at the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology (MPI-M) and Chair of the Cluster of Excellence CliSAP, and researchers of his team analysed to what extent plant diversity influences the stability of climate–vegetation interaction.

Extrusive volcanism formed the Hawaiian Islands, study determines
(Phys.org) —A recent study by researchers at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) and the University of Rhode Island (URI) changes the understanding of how the Hawaiian Islands formed. Scientists have determined that it is the eruptions of lava on the surface, extrusion, which grow Hawaiian volcanoes, rather than internal emplacement of magma, as was previously thought.

New finding shows climate change can happen in a geological instant
(Phys.org) —"Rapid" and "instantaneous" are words geologists don't use very often. But Rutgers geologists use these exact terms to describe a climate shift that occurred 55 million years ago.

Runaway binary stars
CfA astronomers made a remarkable and fortuitous discovery in 2005: an extremely fast moving star, clocked going over three million kilometers an hour. It appears to have been ejected from the vicinity of the galactic center's supermassive black hole around 80 million years ago by powerful gravitational effects as it swung past the black hole. Racing outward from the galaxy, the star lends added credibility to the picture of a massive black hole at the galactic center, and to calculations of how black holes might interact with their stellar environments.

Radio observatory helps identify missing link between solar storms and radio bursts
(Phys.org) —New research by scientists at Trinity College Dublin, University College London, and the University of Hawai'i, published online in Nature Physics, has shown for the first time a direct link between solar storms, shock waves and solar radio bursts.

Plastic waste is a hazard for subalpine lakes too
Many subalpine lakes may look beautiful and even pristine, but new evidence suggests they may also be contaminated with potentially hazardous plastics. Researchers say those tiny microplastics are likely finding their way into the food web through a wide range of freshwater invertebrates too.

Cloud-chamber experiments show that clouds on Mars form in much more humid conditions than clouds on Earth
At first glance, Mars' clouds might easily be mistaken for those on Earth: Images of the Martian sky, taken by NASA's Opportunity rover, depict gauzy, high-altitude wisps, similar to our cirrus clouds. Given what scientists know about the Red Planet's atmosphere, these clouds likely consist of either carbon dioxide or water-based ice crystals. But it's difficult to know the precise conditions that give rise to such clouds without sampling directly from a Martian cloud.

Abrupt climate shift may have altered Everglades 2,800 years ago
A semi-permanent high pressure weather pattern, commonly known as the Bermuda High, shifted to the southeast about 2,800 years ago. As a consequence, tropical storms that had routinely hit South Florida were shunted into the Gulf of Mexico. The resulting change in weather pattern was an important precursor of current environmental conditions in the Florida Everglades.

Giant channels discovered beneath Antarctic ice shelf
Scientists have discovered huge ice channels beneath a floating ice shelf in Antarctica. At 250 metres high, the channels are almost as tall as the Eiffel tower and stretch hundreds of kilometres along the ice shelf. The channels are likely to influence the stability of the ice shelf and their discovery will help researchers understand how the ice will respond to changing environmental conditions.

Technology news

'League of Legends' champs win in legendary venue
When it comes to sports, the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles is usually home to award-winning basketball and hockey. However, the behemoth arena hosted a very different kind of competition this weekend: the sold-out season three championships of "League of Legends," a free-to-play video game that attracts more than 32 million players a month.

Sloppy Silicon Valley techies find their style
The Silicon Valley has had a men's fashion problem dating back to its founders. From their inception, tech companies went out of their way to be different—and that meant no more business suits. Thus brilliant innovations took place in the dumpiest of outfits as leather sandals, elastic-waist jeans and old T-shirts became ubiquitous.

United Technologies cancels planned furlough
United Technologies Corp. canceled a planned furlough of 2,000 workers after the Department of Defense recalled most of its civilian employees.

More profitable biogas production by optimization of anaerobic waste digestion
VTT Technological Research Centre of Finland (VTT) coordinates a new European project, which focuses on studying anaerobic digestion (AD) of organic waste and developing its control. AD process can be optimized to produce either biogas or volatile fatty acids that are even more valuable products than biogas. The produced volatile fatty acids can be converted further to raw materials with which it's possible to produce oil-replacing biobased products, such as bioplastics.

Former Google CEO to co-write management book
Now that he is no longer Google's CEO, Eric Schmidt evidently has a lot more time to write books.

LA students get iPads, start playing video games
Education officials in the nation's second-largest school district are working to reboot a $1 billion plan to put an iPad in the hands of each of their 650,000 students after an embarrassing glitch emerged when the first round of tablets went out.

IPO spotlights Twitter co-founders
Twitter co-founder Evan Williams, who sold blogging platform startup Pyra Labs to Google a decade ago, will cash in anew when the hot one-to-many messaging service hits Wall Street.

Twitter tunes in to TV partnerships ahead of IPO (Update)
Americans don't just watch TV anymore; they talk about it on Twitter. From the comfort of couches, they share reactions to touchdowns and nail-biting season finales—and advertisers and networks are taking note.

Publishing start-ups crowd world's biggest book fair
A rush of publishing start-ups and ever new ways to lure readers in an industry with Amazon breathing down its neck will be a central theme at the world's biggest book fair, opening in Germany on Wednesday.

Russian website publishes photo of 'Snowden' shopping
A sensational Russian news website on Monday published a photograph that it claims is the first to show US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden since he emerged from a Moscow airport in August.

Top banks launch integrated messenger service
Leading banks have teamed up with financial data provider Thomson Reuters to launch a shared messenger service to facilitate communication between traders, British information services company Markit announced on Monday.

Explosive dynamic behaviour on Twitter and in the financial market
(Phys.org) —Over the past 10 years, social media has changed the way that people influence each other. By analysing data from the social networking service, Twitter, and stock trading in the financial market, researchers from the Niels Bohr Institute have shown that events in society bring rise to common behaviour among large groups of people who do not otherwise know each other The analysis shows that there are common features in user activity on Twitter and in stock market transactions in the financial market. The results are published in the scientific journal, PNAS, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA.

Web alliance seeks affordable Internet access for the poor
Accessing the Internet in the developing world is unnecessarily expensive, partly due to government policies that hinder competition and should be scrapped, a new alliance backed by Google, Yahoo and Microsoft said Monday.

Despite data privacy scandal, no deal yet on new EU laws
EU justice ministers meeting for the first time since revelations of US spying on Europeans, agreed on Monday that new data protection laws were needed but disagreed on how to proceed.

UN says 2.7 billion people will be online by year's end
Around 2.7 billion people—40 percent of the world's population—will be connected to the Internet by the end of 2013, the United Nations said Monday.

New devices drive global IT spending
Global spending on information technology is expected to reach $3.8 trillion in 2014, driven by growth in connected devices ranging from jewelry to refrigerators, researchers said Monday.

Tesla CEO says fire caused by impaled battery
The CEO of electric car company Tesla said Friday that a battery in a Model S that caught fire this week was apparently impaled by a metal object.

China pays two million to monitor Internet
China is employing two million people to keep tabs on people's Internet use, according to state media, in a rare glimpse into the secret world of Beijing's vast online surveillance operation.

openPDS software focuses on control of personal data
(Phys.org) —Regarded as a building block for the personal data ecosystem, open PDS has arrived. As Thomas Hardjono, technical lead of the MIT Consortium for Kerberos and Internet Trust commented in New Scientist, "We want people to have equitable access to their data. Today, AT&T and Verizon have access to my GPS data, but I don't."

Volkswagen XL1: 'World's most efficient car' makes its US debut
(Phys.org) —VW's XL1 hybrid car made its official debut in the United States this past week at this year's Annual Society of Environmental Journalists conference in Chattanooga Tennessee—home of one of VW's hi-tech manufacturing plants. The vehicle has been dubbed by various media outlets as the "world's most efficient car." Testing has shown the vehicle to have a fuel consumption rate of 261mpg European-200mpg US. VW reports that the car is able to travel 32 miles when driven in all-electric mode.

Disney researchers harvest energy from rubbing, tapping paper-like material
Electric current sufficient to light a string of LEDs, activate an e-paper display or even trigger action by a computer can be generated by tapping or rubbing simple, flexible generators made of paper, thin sheets of plastic and other everyday materials, researchers at Disney Research, Pittsburgh, have demonstrated.

UltraHaptics—it's magic in the air (w/ Video)
A system that allows users to experience multi-point haptic feedback above an interactive surface without having to touch or hold any device will be unveiled this week [Friday 11 October] at one of the world's most important conferences for innovations in human-computer interfaces.

Researchers develop algorithm for rendering 3-D tactile features on touch surfaces
A person sliding a finger across a topographic map displayed on a touch screen can feel the bumps and curves of hills and valleys, despite the screen's smooth surface, with the aid of a novel algorithm created by Disney Research, Pittsburgh for tactile rendering of 3D features and textures.

New motion tracking technology is extremely precise, inexpensive with minimal lag
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and Disney Research Pittsburgh have devised a motion tracking technology that could eliminate much of the annoying lag that occurs in existing video game systems that use motion tracking, while also being extremely precise and highly affordable.

Where in the world are young people using the internet?
According to a common myth, today's young people are all glued to the Internet. But in fact, only 30 percent of the world's youth population between the ages of 15 and 24 years old has been active online for at least five years. In South Korea, 99.6 percent of young people are active, the highest percentage in the world. The least? The Asian island of Timor Leste with less than 1 percent.

Phone charger can place user on malware alert
(Phys.org) —More smartphones, more smartphone apps, and more busy smartphone users downloading apps have become attractive magnets for malware agents. A new category has grown up, not just general malware software but "mobile malware" and it continues to grow. Users have their own headaches when victimized and so do businesses. A sobering example of mobile malware surfaced this year at the Black Hat security event in August, where a Georgia Institute of Technology team showed how iPhones could be compromised with a charger, performing actions such as adding apps on the device without the user's permission. Interestingly, if that put a whammy into people's emotional feelings about phone chargers as a necessary evil, they may soon find themselves switching views in seeing chargers as a saving grace.

Better robot vision: Neglected statistical tool could help robots better understand the objects in the world around them
Object recognition is one of the most widely studied problems in computer vision. But a robot that manipulates objects in the world needs to do more than just recognize them; it also needs to understand their orientation. Is that mug right-side up or upside-down? And which direction is its handle facing?

Medicine & Health news

Obesity suppresses cellular process critical to kidney health
Obesity increases a chronic kidney disease patient's risk of developing kidney failure.

Better coordinated health care needed to better serve Haitians post-earthquake
Three years after an earthquake killed more than 200,000 people and left an estimated 1.5 million people homeless in Haiti, a Henry Ford Hospital study found that more mobilized medical care is necessary to bridge cultural and health care barriers and better serve the Haitian population.

USPSTF updates recommendations on youth blood pressure screening
The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) found insufficient evidence to recommend for or against routine screening for primary hypertension in asymptomatic children and adolescents. Hypertension in children and adolescents has increased over the past several decades, which may be attributable to the climb in childhood overweight and obesity rates.

Fighting fat with Botox
You may know Botox from its use by the rich and famous to eliminate facial wrinkles. But now Helene Johannessen, a PhD candidate at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), is studying whether or not Botox could be used as an alternative to treating morbid obesity, replacing costly and dangerous operations.

Discovery of novel regulators of the birth of blood platelets
EU research has led to a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms that make certain blood-producing cells function normally. The research will help prevent diseases that lead to heart attacks and strokes.

Understanding the brain to relieve chronic pain
Chronic pain syndrome (CPS) represents a major healthcare challenge, both in terms of delivering effective treatment and cost. One out of every five Europeans suffers from chronic pain, which is usually defined as persistent and severe pain that lasts longer than three to six months.

Study sheds light on association between adolescents' anxiety and depressive symptoms
The School of Nursing of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) and Christian Family Service Centre (CFSC) have jointly conducted a large-scale study on the family life, physical and emotional health of high school students.

Micronutrients intake mapped out
A new guiding framework is designed to help national governments determine recommended daily vitamins and minerals intake, depending on where they live in Europe.

Food addiction a step closer to formal diagnostic status—or not?
Food addiction is not yet recognised as a mental disorder but certain obese individuals clearly display addictive-like behaviour towards food. To achieve a formal diagnostic status, 'food addiction' requires a stronger evidence base to support the claim that certain ingredients have addictive properties identical to addictive drugs of abuse. This topic is up for debate in the session, 'Binge eating obesity is a food addiction'.

Glutamatergic agents show promise for mood and anxiety disorders
Glutamergic agents may one day be used as a novel treatment for mood and anxiety disorders, new research presented at the 26th ECNP Congress suggests.

GABA inverse agonist restores cognitive function in Down's syndrome
A selective GABA inverse agonist has restored cognitive function in a mouse model of Down's syndrome (DS) and has the potential to benefit humans, French researchers have revealed.

Fresh advance in the diagnosis and control of childhood asthma
In a piece of research run at the Paediatric Service of the Hospital Universitario Donostia, Dr Paula Corcuera-Elosegui, assistant consultant in Infant Pneumology, has studied the validity of the exhaled nitric oxide measurement as a complementary procedure in diagnosing and monitoring treatment for childhood asthma and overseeing the condition. She not only confirmed the usefulness of the test, she was able to develop a technique to apply it in breast-fed babies.

Seniors in long-term care residences: High risk of head injuries
Seniors in long-term care facilities are at high risk of head injuries, with 37% of people experiencing head impact in falls, according to a study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

South Africa reverses mortality trend in children under 5
Over the past decade, South Africa has made a dramatic reversal in child survival—mainly because of improvements in HIV/AIDS care, reports a study in AIDS, official journal of the International AIDS Society.

Improving the quality of clinical ethics consultants
Clinical ethicists play a vital role in hospitals and other health care systems by helping to resolve ethical conflicts that arise between patients, families, and clinicians about end-of-life care and other important medical decisions. To improve the quality of clinical ethics consultants, the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities (ASBH) has proposed a method for assessing them. An article in the Hastings Center Report describes the process and explains its importance.

Study tracks factors linked to creation of accountable care organizations
Regions of the U.S. where doctors and hospitals are consolidated into large networks are more likely to have accountable care organizations, medical practice structures intended to improve medical care and cut costs, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

Study questions use of less-invasive lymph node surgery for breast cancer
(HealthDay)—A study that sought to see if a less-invasive, less-debilitating procedure could determine accurately how far breast cancer has spread fell short of the safety threshold the researchers set.

Incentives help Mass. General's physicians organization reach quality-improvement goals
A program offering modest financial incentives to salaried Massachusetts General Hospital-affiliated physicians who achieve specific quality improvement targets has helped the organization meet goals related to the adoption of electronic health technology, improved quality and efficiency, and communication with patients and other providers. In their report in the October issue of Health Affairs, leaders of the Massachusetts General Physicians Organization (MGPO) describe results of the first six years of the MGPO Quality Incentive Program.

Contralateral prophylactic mastectomy may not significantly increase life expectancy
Women with early-stage breast cancer in one breast are increasingly opting to undergo a more aggressive operation to remove both breasts called contralateral prophylactic mastectomy (CPM). Rates of double mastectomies have more than doubled over the last decade for women with early-stage cancer, but for women with cancer in one breast, having the healthy breast removed may not provide a survival benefit, according to new research findings presented today at the 2013 Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons.

Study examines probiotics to prevent or treat excessive infant crying
There still appears to be insufficient evidence to support using probiotics (Lactobacillus reuteri) to manage colic or to prevent crying in infants, especially in formula-fed babies, but it may be an effective treatment for crying infants who are breastfed exclusively and have colic, according to a study in JAMA Pediatrics by Valerie Sung, M.P.H., of the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute and Royal Children's Hospital, Australia, and colleagues.

No 'weekend effect' seen following appendix removal operations
Patients who undergo surgical removal of the appendix on a weekend do not experience more postoperative complications than those who undergo the same operation on weekdays, but they do pay slightly more in hospital charges, a new national study finds. Results were presented during a scientific poster session at the 2013 Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons.

Poor nutritional status before bladder operation causes higher risk of complications
Patients with bladder cancer are two times more likely to have complications after a radical cystectomy procedure if they have a biomarker for poor nutritional status before the operation, according to study findings presented today at the 2013 Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons. Surgeons from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, identified a potentially modifiable risk factor for such postsurgical problems: a low preoperative level of albumin, a marker of the protein level in the blood.

Study examines effect of use of gloves and gowns for all patient contact in ICUs on MRSA or VRE
The wearing of gloves and gowns by health care workers for all intensive care unit (ICU) patient contact did not reduce the rate of acquisition of a combination of the bacteria methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE), although there was a lower risk of MRSA acquisition alone, according to a study published online by JAMA. The study is being released early to coincide with its presentation at IDWeek 2013.

Skin infection linked to exposure to aquariums is under-diagnosed
A skin infection linked to exposure to contaminated water in home aquariums is frequently under-diagnosed, according to a Henry Ford Hospital study.

Tech glitches add to Obamacare challenges
It's not just politics, but technology issues raising questions about the future of Obamacare, the landmark health reform spearheaded by President Barack Obama.

How binge drinking impairs bone healing
Physicians have long observed that binge drinking can significantly impair the healing process following a bone fracture.

Identical twins with significant weight differences shed light on the phenomenon of metabolically healthy obesity
A unique study of 16 pairs of identical twins in which one twin is obese and the other lean has yielded some surprising results. In 8 of the pairs of twins, the obese twin was as 'metabolically healthy' as his or her lean co-twin, while in the other 8 pairs, the obese twin had a poorer blood fat profile, higher liver fat and increased insulin production and resistance, and higher blood pressure—all hallmarks of unhealthy obesity that can lead to diabetes, heart problems and other complications. The study is by Dr Kirsi Pietiläinen, Dr Jussi Naukkarinen and colleagues from the Obesity Research Unit, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland, and is published in Diabetologia, the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD).

New drug candidate found for fungal lung infections
On a molecular level, you have more in common with shower curtain mold or the mushrooms on your pizza than you might think. Humans and fungi share similar proteins, a biological bond that makes curing fungal infections difficult and expensive. Current costs to treat these stubborn infections can top $50,000 per patient, and no new classes of antifungal drugs that treat systemic infections have been introduced for at least 20 years.

Ethical issues as scientists peek into baby genes
Little Amelia Sloan is a pioneer: Shortly after her birth, scientists took drops of the healthy baby's blood to map her genetic code.

Air pollution increases heart attacks
Air pollution increases heart attacks, according to research presented at the Acute Cardiac Care Congress 2013 by Dr Savina Nodari from Brescia, Italy. The Acute Cardiac Care Congress 2013 is the annual meeting of the Acute Cardiovascular Care Association (ACCA) of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). It takes place 12-14 October in Madrid, Spain.

Exercise program gives older people the power to prevent osteoporosis
A new exercise program trialled by Deakin University's Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition Research in collaboration with the University of Melbourne could be the answer to reducing the risk of osteoporosis and fractures in people over 60 years.

Nobel laureate: 'Joy, disbelief' at news
Randy Schekman, one of the recipients of the 2013 Nobel Prize for Medicine, told AFP Monday that he received the news with a mixture of "disbelief and joy."

People mean most for our collective happiness
Swedish soccer star Zlatan is associated with happiness, but not iPhones. A new study at the Sahlgrenska Academy and Lund University suggests that our collective picture of what makes us happy is more about relationships, and less about things.

Mutated stem cells trigger pituitary tumours in children
(Medical Xpress)—A type of pituitary tumour known as craniopharyngioma appears to form via a different mechanism to that thought to occur in more common tumours, according to a paper in the journal Cell Stem Cell.

Cognitive function drug proves beneficial for patients with brain cancer
(Medical Xpress)—Whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT) proves to be a positive therapeutic and survival tool in the treatment of brain tumors in adults, but the effect of WBRT on long-term brain function and performance is a major concern. Because of this, researchers at Emory's Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing and the Winship Cancer Institute conducted a study that highlighted positive outcomes in long-term cognitive function due to the use of the cognitive drug Memantine.

Is the human brain capable of identifying a fake smile?
Human beings follows others' state of mind From their facial expressions. "Fear, anger, sadness, and surprise are quickly displeasure inferred in this way," David Beltran Guerrero, researcher at the University of La Laguna, Explains to SINC. But some emotions are more difficult to perceive.

Work seems life threatening to people suffering from stress
Stress causes today more cases of prolonged absence from work due to sickness. Work and identity are more closely knit together than ever before, and therefore work becomes a matter of life and death to the person suffering from stress. This is the conclusion of Copenhagen University researcher Malene Friis Andersen in a newly published anthology which questions modern quick fixes for those faced with stress. The book is based on research into stress by prominent experts in the field.

Athlete sweat studies deliver refreshing results
A project with Scottish Rugby players by sports scientists from the University of Stirling has highlighted the growing importance of studying sweat.

Study explains why diabetic retinopathy is difficult to treat
Damage to the retina due to diabetes can be ameliorated only partially, despite treatment with the standard drug metformin. Scientists of Helmholtz Zentrum München have discovered that metformin treatment normalizes the alterations induced by diabetes in only about half of the altered retinal proteins. The results of the study were published in the journal Diabetologia.

Study describes effects of prenatal environmental stressors on regulation of microRNAs
The Leipzig Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research has gained new insights on the influence of tobacco smoke in utero. For the first time, it could be demonstrated with smoking pregnant women and their children, how exposure to tobacco smoke affects the development of human immune system on molecular level. The focus thereby was on microRNA – a short, single-stranded RNA molecule that is now recognised as playing an important role in gene regulation.

Epigenetic markers shows promise in Alzheimer's disease
Increasing evidence suggests that epigenetic regulation is associated with the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and targeting it may one day lead to novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies, research suggests.

Enzymatic pathway common to drugs of abuse could lead to new treatment options
The extracellular-signal regulated kinase (ERK) pathway plays a role in multiple drug addictions and appears to modulate neuronal plasticity through epigenetic mechanisms, say French scientists.

Adult ADHD undertreated despite effective interventions
Up to two-thirds of children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) find their disorder persists into adulthood yet only a small proportion of adults ever receive a formal diagnosis and treatment, research suggests.

Pre-menstrual dysphoric disorder helps elucidate role of female sex hormones on mood
Improved understanding of the role of female sex hormones on the drivers and symptoms of premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) may shed light on the complex interactions between sex hormones and mood, potentially helping to explain the increased prevalence of mood disorders in women.

Novel accelerometer-based algorithm detects early signals of AD in everyday motion behavior
The projected substantial increase in Alzheimer's disease due to the higher life expectancy in modern societies is one of the great future challenges of health care systems worldwide. Alzheimer's disease leads to significant changes in the temporal structure of activities that impair everyday activities. Abnormal motion behavior and degeneration of the sleep-waking cycle are among the most severe behavioral symptoms. An early detection and even a prediction of these behaviors would allow a timely onset of interventions that aim to delay the manifestation or exacerbation of symptoms and reduce the need of institutionalized care.

NAC amino acid offers a potential therapeutic alternative in psychiatric disorders
Improved understanding of the roles of inflammation and oxidative stress in psychiatric disorders has generated new leads in the search for novel therapies. One such investigative compound currently in clinical trials is an amino acid, N-Acetyl Cysteine (NAC), which appears to reduce the core symptoms of bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, depression, autism and cravings in addictions including cocaine, cannabis abuse and cigarette smoking.

Study identifies possible biomarker for Parkinson's disease
Although Parkinson's disease is the second most prevalent neurodegenerative disorder in the U.S., there are no standard clinical tests available to identify this widespread condition. As a result, Parkinson's disease often goes unrecognized until late in its progression, when the brain's affected neurons have already been destroyed and telltale motor symptoms such as tremor and rigidity have already appeared.

Stress steroid mediated withdrawal anxiety in dependent rats reversible by flumazenil
SUNY Downstate Medical Center announced today that Sheryl Smith, PhD, professor of physiology and pharmacology, has published new findings demonstrating a reproducible pathology that may help shed light on anxiety and mood volatility in methamphetamine dependence. In her animal study, Dr. Smith demonstrates that neuroactive stress steroids can trigger identifiable changes to the brains of methamphetamine dependent rats in withdrawal. Interestingly, Dr. Smith notes, these changes appear to be reversible by an existing pharmacological agent – flumazenil.

Vaccination campaign doubles HBV mutations
A universal infant vaccination campaign in China has led the Hepatitis B virus (HBV) to more than double its rate of "breakout" mutations. These mutations may enable the virus to elude the vaccine, necessitating new vaccination strategies. Researchers at the Chinese Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, report their findings in an article published ahead of print in the Journal of Virology.

Study identifies essential molecule in formation of differentiated blood cells
New research in the Journal of Experimental Medicine identifies a protein that controls the formation of different types of mature blood cells – a finding that could be important to developing new treatments for blood diseases and helping realize the potential of regenerative medicine.

Swiss university launches Human Brain Project
A Swiss university has launched what it calls the world's most ambitious neuroscience project with a budget of 1.2 billion euros ($1.6 billion).

Nobel medicine laureate was told cell idea was 'nuts'
James Rothman, one of the three recipients of the Nobel Prize for Medicine, said Monday that when he started research into cells' internal transport systems his colleagues called it "nuts".

Use of post-operative blood clot rate as measure of hospital quality may be flawed
A new study published by JAMA questions using the rate of postoperative blood clots as a hospital quality measure. The study is being released early online to coincide with the American College of Surgeons 2013 Annual Clinical Congress.

Risk factors for MACE following noncardiac surgery for patients with coronary stents
Emergency surgery and advanced cardiac disease are risk factors for major adverse cardiac events (MACE) after noncardiac surgery in patients with recent coronary stent implantation, according to a study published by JAMA. The study is being released early online to coincide with its presentation at the American College of Surgeons 2013 Annual Clinical Congress.

Examination of less-invasive surgical procedure to detect cancer in lymph nodes near breast
Judy C. Boughey, M.D., Kelly K. Hunt, M.D., and colleagues for the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology conducted a study to determine the false-negative rate of sentinel lymph node surgery in patients with node-positive breast cancer receiving chemotherapy before surgery. A false-negative is occurrence of negative test results in subjects known to have a disease for which an individual is being tested. The study, published by JAMA, is being released early online to coincide with its presentation at the American College of Surgeons 2013 Annual Clinical Congress.

Researchers test effectiveness of treatments for alcoholism and anxiety
Domenic Ciraulo, MD, chair of psychiatry at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and David H. Barlow, PhD, professor of psychology at Boston University (BU), have collaborated to study the effect of behavioral and medication treatments on patients with alcoholism and anxiety.

Life in a bubble: Nobel secrets of body's cell transport system
Vesicles, the bubble-shaped vessels that transport molecules within cells, may hold the secret to halting viruses or even combating Alzheimer's, say experts who hailed Monday's Nobel awarded to three leaders in the field.

How do stress hormones during pregnancy predict adult nicotine addiction?
Adult women whose mothers had increased levels of stress hormones while they were pregnant are at greater risk of becoming addicted to nicotine, according to a new study led by a Miriam Hospital researcher.

Leptin may explain the link between abdominal obesity and cardiovascular disease
High levels of adipose tissue hormone leptin in the blood reduces blood vessels' ability to dilate, and also affects blood clotting, all of which increase the risk of heart attack and stroke. These are some of the results that Manuel Gonzalez shows in his doctoral thesis he defended at Umeå University on 27 September.

Understanding the brain and mind: Science's final frontier?
The brain and the mind are two sides of the same coin. We have always wanted to understand how our minds work but, until recently, lacked the tools to investigate the brain.

Battling defiant leukemia cells
Two gene alterations pair up to promote the growth of leukemia cells and their escape from anti-cancer drugs, according to a study in The Journal of Experimental Medicine.

How JC Polyomavirus invades cells
For more than a decade the research group of Brown University Professor Walter Atwood has doggedly pursued the workings of the JC polyomavirus, which causes a disease called PML that fatally degrades the central nervous system of patients with weakened immune systems. In a study published online Oct. 2 in the Journal of Virology, his team describes how it gains entry into cells: It breaks in via certain receptors of the neurotransmitter serotonin called 5-HT2 receptors.

Nobel laureate Suedhof: 'My wife thinks I'm crazy'
Thomas Suedhof, one of a trio receiving the Nobel Prize for Medicine on Monday, said he worked so hard his wife thought he was "crazy".

Team designing new drug for common heart condition
An international research team led by medical scientists at the University of Alberta has shown that new medications based on resveratrol—a compound found in red wine and nuts—may be used to treat a common heart-rhythm problem known as atrial fibrillation.

Study casts light on addressing domestic violence among female US veterans
A new study, published in Springer's Journal of Family Violence, casts light on how health care providers respond to the emotional, sexual and physical violence that female veterans sometimes experience at the hands of their intimate partners. According to the research group, this type of abuse can be common in the lives of women veterans and there is a need to understand how health care providers can best be responsive to this population's health care needs. The research was headed by Dr. Katherine Iverson and colleagues of the National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Boston Healthcare System and Boston University School of Medicine.

Pediatric atrial fibrillation, rare, but has serious complications risk and high recurrence rates
Atrial fibrillation (AF), characterized by a rapid and irregular heartbeat, is the most common chronic arrhythmia in adults, but is rare in children. In one of the first studies of pediatric "lone AF" (AF without associated heart disease), researchers found a nearly 40% recurrence rate and that AF in the young is accompanied by substantial symptoms. Three patients had significant complications: one with a stroke and two with substantially impaired heart function. The researchers' findings are published in the October issue of the Canadian Journal of Cardiology.

Overhauling confusing prescription medicine labels
Northwestern Medicine, Walgreens, Alliance of Chicago community health centers and Merck are collaborating on a study with a deceptively simple goal: provide clear instructions on prescription medicine labels so patients don't make mistakes and overcomplicate taking their daily medications.

Researchers find chemicals in marijuana could help treat MS
Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease in which the immune system attacks the nervous system. The result can be a wide range of debilitating motor, physical, and mental problems. No one knows why people get the disease or how to treat it.

Research shows 'advergames' promote unhealthy foods for kids
Not only do some online video games promote a less-than-active lifestyle for children, the content of some of these games also may be contributing to unhealthy diets.

Team uncovers pathway linking heartburn and esophageal cancer
Got heartburn? More than 60 million adults in the U.S. have acid reflux, or heartburn, and approximately 10 percent are at risk for developing esophageal cancer, due in part to complications from Barrett's esophagus. But researchers at Rhode Island Hospital discovered a pathway they believe links Barrett's esophagus to the development of esophageal cancer. Their data suggest that blocking this pathway, such as with a proton pump inhibitor (e.g. omeprazole), may prevent the development of esophageal cancer. The study is published online in advance of print in the journal American Journal of Cell Physiology.

Researchers test biofeedback device in lowering grandmothers' stress
In a pilot study by Case Western Reserve University's Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, 20 grandmothers were able to lower their stress levels with a biofeedback device that tracks breathing patterns.

Drive behind Nobel Medicine Prize say winners
A German-born neuroscientist who describes himself as "incredibly driven" was actually driving around in Spain when his phone rang Monday with the news that he'd won the Nobel Prize.

Star athletes often endorse junk food, study says
(HealthDay)—Professional athletes may be known for their fitness, but the foods they endorse are usually less than healthy, a new study finds.

Parents' feeding choices may raise baby's risk for celiac disease
(HealthDay)—Delayed introduction of gluten to a baby's diet and breast-feeding longer than one year appear to increase the risk of celiac disease, researchers report.

Two-dose vaccination program cuts varicella incidence
(HealthDay)—There have been declines in varicella incidence during the first five years of the two-dose vaccination program, according to a study published online Oct. 7 in Pediatrics.

Senators request delay in transition to meaningful use 2
(HealthDay)—A group of U.S. senators has requested that the transition to meaningful use 2 be delayed by one year, according to an article published Sept. 30 in Medical Economics.

Familial component identified in papillary thyroid cancer
(HealthDay)—First-degree, second-degree, and third-degree relatives of patients diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) are at significantly increased risk of developing the disease, according to research published online Oct. 3 in JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery.

Health-care providers should aggressively treat unhealthy lifestyles
Healthcare providers should treat unhealthy behaviors as aggressively as they treat high blood pressure, cholesterol and other heart disease risk factors, according to an American Heart Association policy statement published in Circulation.

Study examines prescribing of levothyroxine for borderline thyroid hormone levels
A study of patients in the United Kingdom suggests widespread prescribing of the medication levothyroxine sodium to boost thyroid function among patients with borderline high levels of the thyroid-stimulating hormone thyrotropin (a sign of low thyroid function), raising the possibility of overtreatment, according to a study published by JAMA Internal Medicine.

Nearly one in ten young people report perpetrating sexual violence
Nearly 1 in 10 people 21 years of age or younger reported perpetrating some type of coercive or forced sexual violence during their lifetime, and perpetrators reported more exposure to violent X-rated material, according to a study published by JAMA Pediatrics.

Meals for more seniors could save some states money
Home-delivered meals bring not only food to seniors but also the opportunity to remain in their homes. A new study by Brown University public health researchers projects that if every U.S. state in the lower 48 expanded the number of seniors receiving meals by just 1 percent, 1,722 more Medicaid recipients avoid living in a nursing home and most states would experience a net annual savings from implementing the expansion.

A new, clinically validated diagnostic test for detecting BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations
The recognition of a causal link between mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes and increased risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer has intensified the demand for genetic testing. Identifying mutations in these large genes by conventional methods can be time consuming and costly. A report in the November issue of the Journal of Molecular Diagnostics describes a new technique using second-generation sequencing technology that is as sensitive as the standard methodology but has the potential to improve the efficiency and productivity of genetic testing laboratories.

Death rates higher among middle aged and elderly when economy is booming
Death rates among middle aged and older people are higher when the economy is growing than when it's heading for recession, reveals a long term analysis of the economic cycles of developed countries, published online in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

Design and software problems plague health exchanges
(HealthDay)—Problems signing up for health insurance through HealthCare.gov, the federal website serving health exchanges in 36 states, are the result of design and software problems, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Experts urge routine test for all patients with invasive breast cancer
(HealthDay)—All women with invasive breast cancer should be tested for the HER2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2) gene and protein, according to updated guidelines from two expert groups.

Researchers find six new Sjogren's syndrome genes
With the completion of the first genome-wide association study for Sjögren's syndrome, an international coalition of researchers led by scientists at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation has identified six new disease-related genes.

Neuroscientists identify class of cortical inhibitory neurons that specialize in disinhibition
New research now reveals that one class of inhibitory neurons—called VIP interneurons—specializes in inhibiting other inhibitory neurons in multiple regions of cortex, and does so under specific behavioral conditions. The new research finds that VIP interneurons, when activated, release principal cells from inhibition, thus boosting their responses. This provides an additional layer of control over cortical processing, much like a dimmer switch can fine-tune light levels.

Researchers discover a protein that triggers inflammatory responses in hemorrhage and sepsis
Investigators at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research have discovered a protein in the human body that can trigger and mediate inflammation in patients suffering from hemorrhage and sepsis. The findings were published in the online version of Nature Medicine on October 6, 2013.

Air pollution and psychological distress during pregnancy
Maternal psychological distress combined with exposure to air pollution during pregnancy have an adverse impact on the child's behavioral development, according to researchers at the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health at the Mailman School of Public Health.

In stem cells, like real estate, location is most important factor
(Medical Xpress)—Stem cells and real estate have this in common: the most important thing is location, location, and location.

New research sheds light on abnormal heart muscle thickening and potential treatment
While most people would consider a big heart to be a good thing, for heart disease experts, it is often a sign of serious disease. Now, Dr. Lynn Megeney of the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI) and the University of Ottawa (uOttawa) has made the surprising discovery that proteins involved in cell death also play a key role in abnormal heart muscle thickening. The research, published in the October 13, 2013 online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), could lead to new treatments for certain forms of heart disease.

Study shows how neurons enable us to know smells we like and dislike, whether to approach or retreat
Think of the smell of freshly baking bread. There is something in that smell, without any other cues – visual or tactile – that steers you toward the bakery. On the flip side, there may be a smell, for instance that of fresh fish, that may not appeal to you. If you haven't eaten a morsel of food in three days, of course, a fishy odor might seem a good deal more attractive.

Delayed aging is better investment than cancer, heart disease
On the heels of an announcement from Google that the company's next startup, Calico, will tackle the science of aging, a new study shows that research to delay aging and the infirmities of old age would have better population health and economic returns than advances in individual fatal diseases such as cancer or heart disease.

Wedded bliss or blues? Scientists link DNA to marital satisfaction
What makes some people more prone to wedded bliss or sorrow than others? Researchers at UC Berkeley and Northwestern University have found a major clue in our DNA. A gene involved in the regulation of serotonin can predict how much our emotions affect our relationships, according to a new study that may be the first to link genetics, emotions, and marital satisfaction. The study was conducted at UC Berkeley.

Massive DNA study points to new heart drug targets and a key role for triglycerides
A global hunt for genes that influence heart disease risk has uncovered 157 changes in human DNA that alter the levels of cholesterol and other blood fats – a discovery that could lead to new medications.

Two Americans, German win Nobel medicine prize (Update 3)
Two Americans and a German-American won the Nobel Prize in medicine on Monday for discovering how key substances are transported within cells, a process involved in such important activities as brain cell communication and the release of insulin.

New more effective antimicrobials might rise from old
By tinkering with their chemical structures, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have essentially re-invented a class of popular antimicrobial drugs, restoring and in some cases, expanding or improving, their effectiveness against drug-resistant pathogens in animal models.

Improving our image: Motion-tolerant BOLD fMRI improves signal-to-noise, connectivity analysis and statistical inference
(Medical Xpress)—Functional neuroimaging technologies – such as functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), Positron emission tomography (PET), multichannel electroencephalography (EEG), magnetoencephalography (MEG), Near Infrared Spectroscopic Imaging (NIRSI), and Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) – are used to measure brain activity and its relationship to specific brain areas. Of these, resting state fMRI (known as rs-fMRI) is employed to evaluate regional interactions that occur when a subject is not performing an explicit task. Since these interactions represent network communication between brain regions, their study is integral to further understanding human behavior, cognitive development and neuropsychiatric disease. More specifically, this resting brain activity is observed noninvasively using fMRI, which detects changes in blood flow in the brain as Blood Oxygen Level Dependent (BOLD) MRI signals. While powerful, so-called BOLD fMRI has ! two drawbacks: even 1 mm or less of head movement while scanning can impact connectivity estimates, and BOLD sensitivity can be reduced by high subject motion. (This limitation means that when comparing the rs-fMRI data of adult controls versus high-movement subjects such as neuropsychiatric patients or children, false positive functional connectivity findings can become very prevalent.) Recently, however, scientists at the National Institute of Mental Health, University of Cambridge and other locations devised an integrated strategy for data acquisition, denoising, and connectivity estimation by combining data acquisition with multiecho (ME) echo planar imaging and analysis with spatial independent component analysis (ICA), called ME-ICA, which distinguishes BOLD (neuronally related) and non-BOLD (artifactual) effects. The researchers found that when compared with traditional techniques, their proposed strategy results in a fourfold signal-to-noise ratio improvement, more speci! fic functional connectivity analysis, and valid statistical inference and error control between groups with different levels of subject motion.

Biology news

Salt-tolerant bacteria improve crop yields
Uzbek microbiologist Dilfuza Egamberdieva, group leader at the National University of Uzbekistan, at Tashkent, has isolated salt-tolerant bacterial strains that live in salt-degraded soils, where they help the rooting process in plants. After the selection of potentially root-colonizing bacteria, she has tested them in experimental settings on plants' roots, obtaining 10-15% yields increase. She hopes to apply her technique soon, in Uzbekistan, to boost the yield of economically important varieties such as wheat, cotton, tomato and cucumber.

Stroking could stress out your cat
A new study by an international team of animal behaviour specialists suggests that cats who reluctantly allow their owners to stroke them could be more stressed out than moggies who carefully avoid being petted.

Nicaragua gears up to aid threatened tapirs
Nicaragua is pulling out the stops to try to aid threatened tapirs, an endangered mammal sometimes mistaken for anteaters or tiny hippos.

Bt sweet corn can reduce insecticide use
Since 1996, corn containing a gene that allows it to create a protein that is toxic to certain insects, yet safe for human consumption, has been grown in the United States. However, most of this "Bt corn" has been used for animal feed or processed into corn meal, starch, or other products. Although varieties of sweet corn (corn on the cob) have existed since the late 1990s, relatively few acres have been planted.

Stress a key factor in causing bee colonies to fail
Scientists from Royal Holloway University have found that when bees are exposed to low levels of neonicotinoid pesticides - which do not directly kill bees - their behaviour changes and they stop working properly for their colonies.

Crocodiles disappearing as dinner in Jamaica
Crocodiles were once so abundant along the salty rim of southern Jamaica that images of their toothy jaws and spiny armor crown the tropical island's coat of arms and are stenciled on the bumpers of military vehicles.

Dutch fishermen give vanishing eels new lease of life
On an autumn morning on a small Dutch canal, fisherman Aart van der Waal pulls up a fish trap stuffed with squirming eels—not for the pot, but as part of a bold initiative to save the critically endangered species.

Japan dolphin-killing town to open marine park
The Japanese town made infamous by the Oscar-winning documentary "The Cove" will open a marine park where visitors can swim with dolphins, but its annual slaughter of the creatures will continue in a nearby bay, an official said Monday.

Endangered frog gets new lease of life
(Phys.org) —In a bold conservation move, one of Australia's rarest frogs has been given a new lease on life following the first successful frog translocation in Queensland's history.

Fruit science: Switching between repulsion and attraction
A team of researchers based at LMU Munich and the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has shown how temporal control of a single gene solves two problems during fruit ripening in strawberry.

The root of the matter: The role of nitric oxide in root branching
The structure and plasticity of root systems play an important role in determining the growth and yield of crop plants, and understanding how environmental and biological factors affect root structure is of key importance for plant scientists—particularly agricultural scientists.

Minute traits and DNA link grass species from Old and New Worlds
The kinds of traits that show genealogical relationships between species are often minute and easily overlooked.

Dog's mood offers insight into owner's health
Monitoring a dog's behaviour could be used as an early warning sign that an older owner is struggling to cope or their health is deteriorating.

Numerically identifying pollen grains improves on conventional ID method
Researchers have developed a new quantitative – rather than qualitative – method of identifying pollen grains that is certainly nothing to sneeze at.

Africa's most biodiverse area endangered by oil firm: WWF
Environmental campaigners WWF filed a complaint on Monday against a British oil company accused of intimidating the local population and endangering wildlife in the oldest nature reserve in Africa.

Scientists unlock secret of cattle ticks' resistance to pesticide
Scientists have discovered how a tick which transmits devastating diseases to cattle has developed resistance to one of the main pesticides used to kill it.

Infanticide linked to wet-nursing in meerkats
Subordinate female meerkats who try to breed often lose their offspring to infanticide by the dominant female or are evicted from the group. These recently bereaved or ostracised mothers may then become wet-nurses for the dominant female, an activity that may be a form of "rent" that allows them to remain in the community.

Microsatellites are repetitive, but the lab work doesn't have to be
Microsatellites are molecular markers with numerous applications in biological research. In studies of both plants and animals, they can be used to investigate speciation, gene flow among populations, mating systems, and parentage, as well as many other questions. A new protocol created by researchers at the University of Cincinnati and several other institutions improves the efficiency of current methods, allowing quicker and cheaper development of microsatellite markers for any species of interest.

Building a better fish trap: WCS reduces fish bycatch with escape gaps in Africa
Scientists from the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Kenyan Marine and Fisheries Research Institute have achieved a milestone in Africa: they've helped build a better fish trap, one that keeps valuable fish in while letting undersized juvenile fish and non-target species out.

Scientists create technique for high-speed, low-cost epigenomic mapping
(Phys.org) —A new technique developed by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine could pave the way to an era of personalized epigenomics.

What evolved first—a dexterous hand or an agile foot?
Resolving a long-standing mystery in human evolution, new research from the RIKEN Brain Science Institute indicates that early hominids developed finger dexterity and tool use ability before the development of bipedal locomotion.

Bile salts—sea lampreys' newest scent of seduction
Bile salts scream seduction – for sea lampreys, that is. New research at Michigan State University shows that bile salts, secreted from the liver and traditionally associated with digestive functions, are being used as pheromones by sea lampreys. The interesting twist, though, is that this scent has evolved as the invasive species' cologne of choice.

Researchers find soaring variety of malaria parasites in bats
Researchers have discovered a surprising diversity of malaria parasites in West African bats as well as new evidence of evolutionary jumps to rodent hosts. Led by scientists at the American Museum of Natural History, the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, and the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin, the new study reveals that two bat-infecting parasites are closely related to parasites in rodents that are commonly used to model human malaria in laboratory studies. The results will be published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Doing it to death: Suicidal sex in 'marsupial mice'
Imagine if you only had one shot at passing on your genes before you died. It happens more often in the natural world than you might expect: suicidal reproduction – where one or both sexes of a species die after a single episode of mating – occurs in plants and some invertebrates including insects and spiders.

Gene activity and transcript patterns visualized for the first time in thousands of single cells
Biologists of the University of Zurich have developed a method to visualize the activity of genes in single cells. The method is so efficient that, for the first time, a thousand genes can be studied in parallel in ten thousand single human cells. Applications lie in fields of basic research and medical diagnostics. The new method shows that the activity of genes, and the spatial organization of the resulting transcript molecules, strongly vary between single cells.

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