Phys.org Newsletter Wednesday, Oct 9

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Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for October 9, 2013:

Spotlight Stories Headlines

- Future phones and laptops could have speakers made of carbon nanotubes
- Evidence for a new nuclear 'magic number'
- New strategy to treat multiple sclerosis shows promise in mice
- Karplus, Levitt, Warshel win Nobel chemistry prize for cyber experiments (Update 3)
- Blind man sees with help from tooth-implanted lens
- Carbon's new champion: Theorists calculate atom-thick carbyne chains may be strongest material ever
- What happens when synapses run out of transmitter?
- A strange lonely planet found without a star
- Study shows alpine swift can stay aloft for 200 days
- Recombinant human prion protein inhibits prion propagation
- Researchers make progress toward treatment for dangerous allergies
- Chinese team finds drinking Sprite might help prevent hangover
- Water and lava, but—curiously—no explosion
- Twitter overtakes Facebook among US teens
- Greek scholar invented the term asteroid, researcher reveals

Space & Earth news

China criticises US space agency over 'discrimination'
Beijing on Wednesday criticised the US space agency NASA for what it termed "discriminative action" over a decision to exclude Chinese from a forthcoming science conference in the United States.

Major study investigates human impacts on tropics
Human impacts on the forests of the tropics are causing irreversible changes to these ecosystems yet the effects of these changes are poorly understood.

A selective approach to draw data from altered foraminifera shells
A sudden surge in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the air and the ocean 56 million years ago may have triggered the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum (PETM), a period of rapid and dramatic warming. In conjunction with the rising atmospheric temperature, ocean acidification significantly increased the dissolution, or "burndown," of carbonate sediments on the seafloor, destroying the preservation quality of seafloor foraminifera shells. Analyzing foraminifera shells is one of the main proxy measurements used by paleoclimatologists to reconstruct past ocean temperatures. Kozdon et al., however, find that by using two highly precise analytical techniques, they can draw useful data from foraminifera samples that were damaged by the burndown.

Seismic network detects landslides on broad area scale
From 1999 to 2006, Taiwan's Chenyoulan watershed experienced 48,000 landslides, rock avalanches, and other geomorphic events, the bulk of which are thought to be triggered by the powerful tropical cyclones that batter the island each summer. Rock slides and other geomorphic events are a natural hazard, but they're also the source for some of the raw sediment that ends up winding its way downstream, affecting watershed erosion and sedimentation dynamics. From both of these perspectives, having a handle on when and where these geomorphic events occur is important. However, the main method used to track landslides—optical satellite observations—has a low temporal resolution, has trouble discerning new activity at previously affected sites, and struggles to see through clouds or dense canopy cover. Using 14 seismic sensors installed from July to September 2010, Burtin et al. studied the skill of their network in detecting geomorphic activity in the Chenyoulan watershed.

Examining increasing potential for storms with global warming
Increases in convective available potential energy (CAPE)—the energy available to a parcel of air as it rises through a cloud that is warmer than its surroundings, causing it to rise—may increase the potential for severe storms. Model simulations have shown that global warming will increase CAPE in the tropics, but scientists do not fully understand why this occurs or what the implications may be for future precipitation intensity.

Understanding oxygen depletion on the Oregon coastal shelf
Each spring, the winds off Oregon shift, changing ocean currents and spurring the onset of the upwelling season, an approximately 4 month period where cold, nutrient-rich, oxygen-depleted deep water is driven into the coastal region. In recent decades, measurements have shown that the concentration of oxygen in the waters off Oregon has been decreasing. More recently, seasonal hypoxia has become a concern. Although this long-term decline is well documented, the details of the annual and seasonal variability in the concentration of dissolved oxygen on the shelf are not. Using moored sensors installed off the coast of Oregon for three seasons, from 2009 to 2011, Adams et al. measured the properties of the water, including changes in the current as well as the temperature, salinity, and concentration of dissolved oxygen. They find that although the seasonal upwelling initiates the annual reduction in dissolved oxygen, it is also responsible for staving off widespread anoxia.

Southeast Asia agrees anti-haze system
Southeast Asian leaders on Wednesday approved a new system aimed at cracking down on illegal forest fires blamed for the region's worst smog crisis in years.

Shutdown slows bid to fix NASA-China controversy
NASA is trying to resolve an international spat over banning Chinese scientists from a planetary conference but efforts are being hampered by the US government shutdown, a meeting organizer said Wednesday.

EU on track for climate targets
The European Union is on track to meet its 2020 targets for reducing carbon emissions and switching to cleaner energy sources, its environmental watchdog said on Wednesday.

Chile glacier bill pits mines against water supply (Update)
Just how to define a glacier is at the heart of a Chilean congressional battle that could determine the future of mining in the world's largest copper-producing country.

European ground stations enable Galileo search and rescue testing
(Phys.org) —ESA's completion of a pair of dedicated ground stations at opposite ends of Europe has enabled Galileo satellites in orbit to participate in global testing of the Cospas–Sarsat search and rescue system.

West Antarctic ice sheet formed earlier than thought
About 34 million years ago, Earth transitioned from a warm "greenhouse" climate to a cold "icehouse" climate, marking the transition between the Eocene and Oligocene epochs. This transition has been associated with the formation of a large ice sheet on Antarctica.

Unique study reduces pollution in India while calling conventional auditing markets into question
The structure of the auditing business appears problematic: Typically, major companies pay auditors to examine their books under the so-called "third-party" audit system. But when an auditing firm's revenues come directly from its clients, the auditors have an incentive not to deliver bad news to them.

Bye Earth: NASA spacecraft barrels toward Jupiter (Update)
NASA's Juno spacecraft whipped around Earth on Wednesday, using our home planet as a gravity slingshot to fling itself toward Jupiter.

No sperm impact for bulls from Fukushima radiation, study finds
The testes and sperm count of bulls abandoned in the evacuation zone around the battered Fukushima nuclear plant were not affected by chronic exposure to radiation, a Japanese academic study has found.

Historic trends predict future global reforestation unlikely
Feeding a growing global population while also slowing or reversing global deforestation may only be possible if agricultural yields rise and/or per capita food consumption declines over the next century, according to historic global food consumption and land use trends. Published October 9, 2013, in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Chris Pagnutti, Chris Bauch, and Madhur Anand from the University of Guelph, this research underscores the long-term challenge of feeding everyone while still conserving natural habitat.

A close look at the Toby Jug Nebula
ESO's Very Large Telescope has captured a remarkably detailed image of the Toby Jug Nebula, a cloud of gas and dust surrounding a red giant star. This view shows the characteristic arcing structure of the nebula, which, true to its name, does indeed look a little like a jug with a handle.

Imager sends ultra high-res photo from Mars
(Phys.org) —An instrument aboard NASA's Curiosity rover has sent back to scientists on Earth an ultra high-resolution image of a penny the rover carried to Mars.

Archival Hubble images reveal Neptune's 'lost' inner moon
(Phys.org) —Neptune's tiny, innermost moon, Naiad, has now been seen for the first time since it was discovered by Voyager's cameras in 1989. Dr. Mark Showalter, a senior research scientist at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California, announced the result today in Denver, Colorado, at the annual meeting of the Division for Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society. He and collaborators Dr. Jack Lissauer of the NASA Ames Research Center, Dr. Imke de Pater of UC Berkeley, and Robert French of the SETI Institute, also released a dramatic new image of Neptune's puzzling rings and ring-arcs, which were first imaged by Voyager.

Water and lava, but—curiously—no explosion
Rocky pillars dotting Iceland's Skaelingar valley were projectiles tossed into the fields by warring trolls. That, at least, is the tale that University at Buffalo geologist Tracy Gregg heard from a tour guide and local hiker when she visited the site on two occasions.

Study reveals urgent new time frame for climate change
Ecological and societal disruptions by modern climate change are critically determined by the time frame over which climates shift. Camilo Mora and colleagues in the College of Social Sciences' Department of Geography at the University of Hawaii, Manoa have developed one such time frame. The study, entitled "The projected timing of climate departure from recent variability," will be published in the October 10 issue of Nature and provides an index of the year when the mean climate of any given location on Earth will shift continuously outside the most extreme records experienced in the past 150 years.

Greek scholar invented the term asteroid, researcher reveals
It was hardly the greatest mystery in the cosmos, and solving it won't change the course of science. But a Fort Lauderdale astronomer has cracked a 200-year-old puzzle: Who coined the word "asteroid"?

A strange lonely planet found without a star
(Phys.org) —An international team of astronomers has discovered an exotic young planet that is not orbiting a star. This free-floating planet, dubbed PSO J318.5-22, is just 80 light-years away from Earth and has a mass only six times that of Jupiter. The planet formed a mere 12 million years ago—a newborn in planet lifetimes.

Technology news

Los Angeles police tests new electric motorcycles
The Los Angeles Police Department is testing two types of electric motorcycles as part of an effort to increase efficiency, decrease its carbon footprint and ultimately cut costs.

Funding for new security screening technology
Asqella, a spin-off of VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, sells revolutionary passive THz imaging systems capable of remote detection of items concealed about the body. The company has received nearly one million euros funding from an angel syndicate, VTT Ventures and Tekes – the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation.

The move toward 'crowdsourcing' public safety
Earlier this year, Martin Dias, assistant professor in the D'Amore-McKim School of Business, presented research for the National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System in which he examined Nlets' network and how its governance and technology helped enable inter-agency information sharing. This work builds on his research aimed at understanding design principles for this public safety "social networks" and other collaborative networks. We asked Dias to discuss how information sharing around public safety has evolved in recent years and the benefits and challenges of what he describes as "crowdsourcing public safety."

Twitter deal lets viewers change channels from tweet (Update)
Twitter unveiled a partnership Wednesday with Comcast and its NBCUniversal unit that allows television viewers to tune in to a show or change channels directly from a tweet.

Accused Silk Road mastermind remains in brig
A judge on Wednesday ordered the accused mastermind of nefarious online bazaar Silk Road shipped to New York to stand trial.

PC maker HP issues upbeat guidance for 2014
Computer maker Hewlett-Packard Co. on Wednesday projected earnings for the fiscal year starting in November that exceeded analysts' forecasts.

Tangling over Twitter: NYSE, Nasdaq fight for IPO
Twitter's stock debut is the biggest coming-out party since Facebook, and Wall Street's largest exchanges are fighting to host it.

Silk Road bust unmasks our misconceptions on anonymity
The US National Security Agency and the UK's GCHQ have upped the stakes in the battle for internet privacy by targeting users of Tor.

Mobile security: Android versus Apple
Smartphones are big business, prompting fierce competition between providers. One major concern for consumers is whether a smartphone will keep their private data safe from malicious programs. To date, however, little independent research has been undertaken to compare security across different platforms.

Bat vision system could help protect buildings
Vital data on bat behaviour is being analysed by a computer vision system developed by the University of Lincoln and Lincolnshire Bat Group.

Crucial passive safety measures to save lives
The mandatory use of seat belts and innovative vehicle designs have done much to reduce injury and death from road accidents. Such 'passive' safety measures are an important part of any strategy to reduce the number of road accident victims.

Apple sets iPhone launch for 50 new markets
Apple's new iPhone models, coming off record opening sales, will be launched in more than 50 new markets by November 1, including Russia, Spain and Italy, the company said Wednesday.

Traditional computer sales eroded by love of tablets
Industry trackers on Wednesday reported that sales of traditional personal computers continued to wither in the recently ended quarter as tastes shifted to tablets.

Toyota drops price on slow-selling plug-in Prius
Toyota is lowering the price of the Prius plug-in hybrid.

Review: Apple iOS 7 plagued with problems
Apple's iOS 7 represents the most dramatic update to date of the software that powers iPhones and iPads. It also appears to be one of the buggiest.

Voice of Siri steps forward
Oh Siri, now we really know you.

Microsoft focuses on tablets in bid to catch up to Apple
Microsoft Corp. had a rough go with the first generation of its Surface tablets, but the company hasn't let those early struggles deter its mission to compete in the tablet market.

Russian warhead fallout keeps America warm
Uranium fuel from 20,000 disarmed Russian warheads are generating about half of US nuclear power in a spinoff from a landmark disarmament accord, a top US official said Wednesday.

US data collection opens doors to abuse: report
US law enforcement and intelligence agencies are collecting massive amounts of data on Americans and storing it for too long, creating a potential for abuse, a research report said Tuesday.

LG Chem turns to stepped, curve and cable batteries
(Phys.org) —Stories have been rolling in from technology news sites this week about vendors in a race to debut curved smartphones and flexible OLED panels for smartphones. Also making news on Tuesday is Seoul, South Korean-based chemical company LG Chem, which has curved batteries in production. The company, which is a major lithium-ion battery manufacturer, on Tuesday said it has curved batteries in mass production, and in fact has been producing curved batteries since July this year, at a plant in China. Curved batteries are being used to power G2 smartphones manufactured by the company's affiliate, LG Electronics.

Twitter overtakes Facebook among US teens
Twitter has overtaken Facebook as the most popular social network among US teens, according to a new survey.

Medicine & Health news

Fear of missing bowel cancer may be exposing patients to unnecessary risks, say experts
We cannot allow a collective fear of missing bowel cancer to risk unnecessary and harmful treatment of patients with non-cancerous lesions, argue experts in BMJ today.

Physician job satisfaction driven by quality of patient care
Being able to provide high-quality health care is a primary driver of job satisfaction among physicians, and obstacles to quality patient care are a source of stress for doctors, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

Rare amoeba found in one water system in Louisiana
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say a rare amoeba that caused the August death of a child in south Louisiana has been found in five locations in a north Louisiana water system.

Marilyn Monroe plastic surgery files to be sold
Medical files proving that screen icon Marilyn Monroe underwent cosmetic surgery including on her nose and chin are to be sold at auction next month, auctioneers said Tuesday.

Use of beta-blocker helps achieve target heart rate level among patients in septic shock
Andrea Morelli, M.D., of the University of Rome, Italy, and colleagues conducted a study to investigate the effect of the short-acting beta-blocker esmolol on the heart rate of patients with severe septic shock and high risk of death.

Use of statin does not improve survival among adults with ventilator-associated pneumonia
Laurent Papazian, M.D., Ph.D., of Hôpital Nord, Marseille, France, and colleagues conducted a study to determine whether statin therapy decreased day-28 mortality among intensive care unit patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia.

An IT tool to improve seniors' autonomy and promote active ageing
Led by Barcelona Digital Technology Centre, the European R&D&I project SAAPHO (Secure Active Ageing: Participation and Health for the Old) has developed an ICT tool in prototype phase that will help seniors to monitor their health and the security of their home and avoid social exclusion by means of digital technologies. The final aim of the project is to improve seniors' quality of life and boost their autonomy. Starting this week, the prototype will be tested by more than 40 people at the Ageing Institute in Barcelona (Spain) and at the Union of Senior Organisations in Slovenia.

French families file suit over alleged blood-thinner deaths
The families of four elderly people who died while taking an anti-clotting drug have filed a legal complaint against France's drugs safety body and Germany-based drugmaker Boehringer Ingelheim, their lawyers said Wednesday.

Research shows HIV stigma strong
For the first time since the epidemic began 30 years ago, the health-related quality of life of Western Australians living with HIV/AIDS has been examined as part of a comprehensive international study.

IQWiG: Reliable assessment of drugs is only possible on the basis of clinical study reports (CSRs)
In 2012 researchers from the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) presented a study in the BMJ analysing information sources used in 16 health technology assessment (HTA) reports of drugs ("benefit assessments"). This study clearly demonstrated that publicly available sources, such as scientific journals and entries posted in trial registries ("registry reports"), contained far less information on methods and outcomes of clinical trials than non-public CSRs prepared by pharmaceutical companies.

Gliptins: IQWiG assessed data subsequently submitted by the manufacturer
The German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) analysed additional data on drugs from the group of gliptins. The drug manufacturers had subsequently submitted these data to the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) in the commenting procedure. The Institute came to a different conclusion on the fixed combination of sitagliptin/metformin: As for the single agent sitagliptin before, there are now hints of an added benefit for this fixed combination. However, IQWiG still does not see any advantages of vildagliptin and the fixed combination of vildagliptin and metformin versus current standard treatment.

New studies show cholera emerging as a driver of progress in public health in Haiti
The deadly cholera epidemic that rocked earthquake-shattered Haiti in 2010, claiming 8,000 lives and counting, has rallied the public health community to seek water and sewer improvements that, combined with vaccination, could prevent some 89,000 future cholera infections. These findings are among the many insights published this month in a special section of the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene - AJTMH and PAHO: Commemorating the 3rd Anniversary of the Cholera Outbreak in Haiti: Invited Papers documenting the public health response to the largest national cholera outbreak in modern history.

Novel gene therapy enables persistent anti-tumor immune response
Cancer immunotherapy can successfully use the body's own immune system to kill tumor cells. But some current approaches to stimulate an antitumor immune response are short-lived, with limited clinical effectiveness. A new gene transfer strategy that introduces modified, immune-stimulating human stem cells is both feasible and effective for achieving persistent immunotherapy to treat leukemias and lymophomas, according to a study published in Human Gene Therapy.

Study finds readmission rates impacted by a patients' knowledge and skills
A study by physicians at Boston Medical Center (BMC), has found that patients with a high degree of activation (possessing the knowledge, skills, confidence and inclination to assume responsibility for managing one's health and health-care needs) were less likely to be readmitted to the hospital within 30 days of discharge than those with a low level of activation. This study, which appears online in Journal of General Internal Medicine, is the first to evaluate patient activation and its effects on utilization of hospital services after discharge.

Improving health care, controlling costs: Rutgers launches new initiative
During nearly three decades as a primary care physician, Alfred Tallia has identified a daunting list of flaws with the nation's health care.

Researchers study new heart valve that doesn't require open-heart surgery
Northwestern's Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute has enrolled its first participant in SALUS, a clinical trial studying the effectiveness of a prosthetic aortic heart valve that can be placed without open-heart surgery. The heart valve under study, the Direct Flow Medical Transcathether Aortic Valve System manufactured by Direct Flow Medical, Inc., is a non-metallic, investigational device specifically designed to be placed inside the heart using a catheter that is inserted through a blood vessel in the groin and then navigated into the aorta to the heart. The study valve is also designed to have the unique ability to be repositioned or even replaced with a different size after the valve's initial placement to achieve a better fit if one is needed.

BUSM identifies barriers to implementing complimentary medicine curricula into residency
Investigators at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have identified that lack of time and a paucity of trained faculty are perceived as the most significant barriers to incorporating complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and integrative medicine (IM) training into family medicine residency curricula and training programs.

Using stem cells to promote nerve regeneration
Johns Hopkins researchers from the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery report that a type of stem cell found easily in fat cells and also in bone marrow promoted nerve regeneration in rats with paralyzing leg injuries and in some of the rodents that received hind-leg transplants.

Haiti victims file cholera lawsuit against UN (Update)
Victims of a Haiti cholera epidemic Wednesday filed a lawsuit demanding compensation from the United Nations over an outbreak that killed more than 8,300 people.

AAFP urges congress to end federal government shutdown
(HealthDay)—The American Association of Family Physicians (AAFP) is urging Congress to end the federal shutdown, according to a statement from the association.

USDA warns CA poultry producer linked to outbreak
The Agriculture Department is threatening to shut down three California poultry processing facilities linked to a salmonella outbreak that has sickened 278 people across the country.

New study shows uterine fibroids have greater impact in African-American women
A national survey has found that uterine fibroids have a disproportionate impact on African American women, causing more severe symptoms, interfering with their daily life, and causing them to miss work. These new findings are reported in Journal of Women's Health.

Standard, RHDVRT for bladder cancer has comparable tumor control, decreased toxicity
Standard and reduced high-dose volume radiation therapy for muscle-invasive bladder cancer provide comparable tumor control and decreased late toxicity when compared to surgery, according to a study published in the October 1, 2013 print edition of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics, the official scientific journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). The research is part of the United Kingdom's BC2001 clinical trial, one of the largest randomized trials conducted involving radiation therapy (RT) in patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer.

Definitive imaging study finds no link between venous narrowing and multiple sclerosis
A study led by Dr. Anthony Traboulsee of the University of British Columbia and Vancouver Coastal Health to see whether narrowing of the veins from the brain to the heart could be a cause of multiple sclerosis has found that the condition is just as prevalent in people without the disease.

Researchers find link between aircraft noise and heart disease
Exposure to high levels of aircraft noise is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, find two studies published in BMJ today.

Six dead in Philippine epidemic caused by rat urine
A bacterial epidemic caused by water contaminated with rat urine has hit a flood-ravaged region in the northern Philippines, killing six people and overwhelming local hospitals, a health official said Wednesday.

New potential for nutrient-rich prairie fruits
Researchers working at the University of Saskatchewan have discovered new potential in prairie fruits, in particular, buffaloberry, chokecherry and sea buckthorn, according to a new study published today in the Canadian Journal of Plant Science. Findings showed that these fruits were nutrient-rich and that the potential food value is high. This is good news for fruit growers in Saskatchewan as these results add further credence to support the development of these fruits for commercial food markets.

Study compares risk of death of fluid replacement therapies for critically ill patients
Djillali Annane, M.D., Ph.D., of Raymond Poincare Hospital, Garches, France, and colleagues conducted a study to compare the effects of 2 types of intravenous fluids on survival for critically ill patients in an intensive care unit.

Among critically ill patients, muscle wasting occurs rapidly
Zudin A. Puthucheary, M.R.C.P., of University College London, England, and colleagues conducted a study to characterize and evaluate the time course and pathophysiology of acute muscle loss in critical illness.

Patient-centered medical home philosophy boosts patient, physician satisfaction
(Medical Xpress)—The common refrain about health care is that it's a broken system. A new joint program between UCLA and USC demonstrates a way to mend the system with a new patient-centered program that is getting rave reviews from patients and from the residents and nurses who provide their care.

Automated assessment of multiple datasets using artificial intelligence accurately diagnoses common cause of blindness
Pathological myopia is a condition characterized by severe, progressive nearsightedness caused by the protrusion of pigmented tissue from the back of the eye. The disease is one of the leading causes of blindness worldwide and the leading cause in Asian countries. Early diagnosis is essential for preventing permanent loss of vision but heavily relies on manual screening and involves a complete eye exam, which can take up to an hour.

Harassment common for female GPs
More than half of Australian female GPs have experienced sexual harassment by patients - from inappropriate exposure of body parts to unwelcome touching - according to Monash University-led research.

Workplace cancers study leads occupational disease research
Public health researchers have identified which carcinogens are likely to contribute most to occupational cancer in New Zealand workplaces.

Researchers find that 'peanut butter' test can help diagnose Alzheimer's disease
(Medical Xpress)—A dollop of peanut butter and a ruler can be used to confirm a diagnosis of early stage Alzheimer's disease, University of Florida Health researchers have found.

Poetry is like music to the mind, scientists prove
(Medical Xpress)—New brain imaging technology is helping researchers to bridge the gap between art and science by mapping the different ways in which the brain responds to poetry and prose.

Cigarette alternatives may not be 'safe' tobacco
Cigarette alternatives, widely perceived to be safe, are often addictive and can be stepping stones to cigarette smoking, according to a scientific review published online in the journal Clinical Reviews in Allergy and Immunology.

Unaccompanied teens often unable to get needed vaccines
Health care providers report that older teens often go to the doctor without a parent or guardian, a new survey in the Journal of Adolescent Health reveals—and those teens may not get necessary vaccinations because there's no parent or guardian present to give consent.

When a baby dies, parents' health could be at risk
Approximately one third of parents who experience the death of an infant go on to suffer from clinical depression or clinical post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) up to 13 months after the event, according to research by FIU nursing professors.

Neurological researchers find fat may be linked to memory loss
Although problems with memory become increasingly common as people age, in some persons, memories last long time, even a life time. On the other hand, some people experience milder to substantial memory problems even at an earlier age.

Household chaos may be hazardous to a child's health
Kindergarten-age children have poorer health if their home life is marked by disorder, noise and a lack of routine and they have a mother who has a chaotic work life, new research suggests.

Visits to multiple HIV clinics linked to poorer outcomes
Patients who received care at multiple HIV clinics—as opposed to only one— were less likely to take their medication and had higher HIV viral loads, a new study published in the journal AIDS and Behavior of almost 13,000 HIV patients in Philadelphia from Penn Medicine found. The findings reinforce the notion that continuous care with one provider/clinic is optimal for outcomes and even reducing transmissions, and can help cut down on duplicative HIV services that contribute to higher health care costs.

No serious adverse reactions to HPV vaccination
Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and their Danish colleagues have monitored HPV-vaccinated girls via patient data registries in order to examine the incidence of a wide range of diseases and thus determine if there are any serious adverse effects of the vaccine. Their results show no significant increase of the examined diseases in the vaccinated girls relative to their unvaccinated peers.

Salmonella outbreak sickens nearly 300 in US (Update)
An outbreak of salmonella in raw chicken has sickened nearly 300 people in the United States, officials said Wednesday as consumer advocates warned the federal shutdown was hampering a government response.

Daytime sleepiness predicts hypoglycemia in diabetes
(HealthDay)—Elderly patients with type 2 diabetes who experience increased daytime sleepiness may be at increased risk for hypoglycemia, according to a study published online Oct. 2 in Diabetes Care.

Football players suffer more injuries when their team is ahead
Male football players are at a greater risk of injury five minutes after a card has been given or after a goal has been scored. The frequency of player injuries also increases when their own team is in the lead. These are the findings of researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy, who, in collaboration with Fifa, have analysed injuries over the last three World Cup tournaments.

When it comes to the good cholesterol, fitness trumps weight
There's no question that high levels of good cholesterol—also known as high-density lipoprotein (HDL)—seem to be protective against heart disease. Rather than depositing fat into the blood vessels the way the "bad" cholesterol (low-density lipoprotein (LDL)) does, HDL appears to carry cholesterol away from blood vessels to the liver. From there, the liver processes it for removal from the body.

Multivitamins with minerals may protect older women with invasive breast cancer
Findings from a study involving thousands of postmenopausal women suggest that women who develop invasive breast cancer may benefit from taking supplements containing both multivitamins and minerals. The new research, published today in Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, found that the risk of dying from invasive breast cancer was 30 percent lower among multivitamin/mineral users compared with nonusers.

ALS stem cell trial begins at U-M Health System with first two patients receiving injections
Two patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) have received stem cell injections to their spinal cords at the University of Michigan Health System – the first two to receive the experimental injections in Michigan as part of a national clinical trial.

Sleeping in on the weekends doesn't fix all the deficits caused by workweek sleep loss
In many modern societies, adults often sacrifice sleep during the workweek to make time for other demands, then snooze longer on the weekends to recoup that lost sleep. Research has shown that even a few days of lost sleep can have adverse effects, including increased daytime sleepiness, worsened daytime performance, an increase in molecules that are a sign of inflammation in the body, and impaired blood sugar regulation. These last two could be partially responsible for why sleeping less negatively affects health in other ways and shortens the lifespan. Though many people believe they can make up sleep lost during the workweek by sleeping more on the weekend, it's unknown whether this "recovery" sleep can adequately reverse these adverse effects.

Amniotic stem cells show promise in helping to repair cardiac birth defects
Researchers at the University of Michigan Department of Surgery have begun testing an alternative to embryonic stem cells that could one day regenerate muscle tissue for babies with congenital heart defects. A research-in-progress report on this new approach, which uses amniotic stem cells, was presented today at the 2013 Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons. Although this research is still in an early phase, this new approach has the potential to one day help thousands of babies born each year with congenital heart defects.

South Africa winning malaria fight with DDT help: report
South Africa has turned the tide on malaria, cutting mortality rates by 85 percent over the last 12 years, and hopes to soon eliminate the disease, a report stated Wednesday amid controversy over the use of highly controversial DDT.

Does good cholesterol increase breast cancer risk?
High levels of high density lipoprotein (HDL), also known as the "good cholesterol," are thought to protect against heart disease. However, what's good for one disease may not be good for another. High levels of HDL have also been linked to increased breast cancer risks and to enhanced cancer aggressiveness in animal experiments. Now, a team of researchers led by Philippe Frank, Ph.D., a cancer biologist in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Thomas Jefferson University, has shown that an HDL receptor found on breast cancer cells may be responsible for this effect, proposing a new molecular target that could help treat the disease.

Cataract surgeries on the rise as boomers age, raising access, cost issues
As baby boomers enter their retirement years, health care costs for complex and debilitating conditions such as Alzheimer's disease are expected to soar. Not drawing as much attention is the likelihood of similarly rising expenses for common age-related medical procedures. A Mayo Clinic study looked at one of those—cataract surgery— and found that more people are getting the vision-improving procedure, seeking it at younger ages and having both eyes repaired within a few months, rather than only treating one eye. The demand shows no sign of leveling off, raising the need to manage costs and ensure access to appropriate cataract treatment, the researchers say.

Running a marathon can be bad for the heart, especially in less prepared runners, say experts
Investigators who studied a group of recreational marathon runners have established that strenuous exercise such as running a marathon can damage the heart muscle. Although they found the effect is temporary and reversible, they warn that these effects are more widespread in less fit distance runners and that recreational distance runners should prepare properly before marathons. Their findings are published in the October issue of the Canadian Journal of Cardiology.

Researchers close in on cause of gynecological disease
For the first time, researchers have created a model that could help unlock what causes adenomyosis, a common gynecological disease that is a major contributor to women having to undergo hysterectomies.

New technique allows anti-breast cancer drugs to cross blood-brain barrier
Some breast cancer drugs can penetrate the blood-brain barrier (BBB), but they have not been very effective against brain metastases, whereas other, more effective anti-breast cancer drugs cannot penetrate the BBB at all. In a study published October 9 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, researchers used a new approach to selectively permeabilize the BBB at sites of brain metastases, even those 200 times smaller than currently detectable in the clinic.

Whites more prone to certain heart condition than other ethnic groups
An individual's race or ethnic background could be a determining factor when it comes to risk of atrial fibrillation, the most frequently diagnosed type of irregular heart rhythm, according to researchers at UC San Francisco.

Having a stroke may shave nearly three out of five quality years off your life
Stroke treatments and prevention to improve quality of life for people who experience a stroke is poorer than researchers hoped, with stroke still taking nearly three out of five quality years off a person's life, according to a new study published in the October 9, 2013, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

40 years of federal nutrition research fatally flawed: Study shows flaws in NHANES data
Four decades of nutrition research funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) may be invalid because the method used to collect the data was seriously flawed, according to a new study by the Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina.

Skill ratings predict which surgeons perform safer surgeries
Video ratings data of surgeons' operating skills successfully predicted whether patients would suffer complications after they leave the operating room, according to a University of Michigan Health System study.

Medical experts recommend steps to reduce risk of inadvertent harm to potentially normal pregnancies
A panel of 15 medical experts from the fields of radiology, obstetrics-gynecology and emergency medicine, convened by the Society of Radiologists in Ultrasound (SRU), has recommended new criteria for use of ultrasonography in determining when a first trimester pregnancy is nonviable (has no chance of progressing and resulting in a live-born baby). These new diagnostic thresholds, published Oct. 10 in the New England Journal of Medicine, would help to avoid the possibility of physicians causing inadvertent harm to a potentially normal pregnancy.

Team finds potential topical treatment for macular degeneration
Researchers from Tufts University School of Medicine and the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences have identified a possible topical treatment for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in a study of mice that shows promise for clinical use. The research findings, published today in PLOS ONE, are the first to report successful topical use of a compound capable of inhibiting symptoms associated with both dry AMD (the earlier form) and wet AMD (the rarer, later form) and could represent a breakthrough for treatment of these conditions. AMD is among the leading causes of blindness among the elderly. Currently, there is no treatment for dry AMD, and wet AMD can only be treated with regular injections into the eye.

Honey shows no advantages compared to standard antibiotics in trial on patients with kidney failure
Applying medical grade honey to wound sites in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis—a procedure used to clean the blood in patients with kidney failure—shows no advantages over standard antibiotic use, according to new results published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

Insulin 'still produced' in most people with type 1 diabetes
New technology has enabled scientists to prove that most people with type 1 diabetes have active beta cells, the specialised insulin-making cells found in the pancreas. Type 1 diabetes occurs when the body's immune system destroys the cells making insulin, the substance that enables glucose in the blood to gain access to the body's cells.

Trauma-related psychophysiologic reactivity identified as best predictor of PTSD diagnosis
Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and several other institutions including the National Center for PSTD, VA Boston Healthcare System, Suffolk University, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard University, have determined that psychophysiologic reactivity to trauma-related, script-driven imagery procedures is a promising biological predictor of a post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis. These findings appear online in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology.

New strategy lets cochlear implant users hear music
For many, music is a universal language that unites people when words cannot. But for those who use cochlear implants—technology that allows deaf and hard of hearing people to comprehend speech—hearing music remains extremely challenging.

Gene and stem cell therapy combination could aid wound healing
Johns Hopkins researchers, working with elderly mice, have determined that combining gene therapy with an extra boost of the same stem cells the body already uses to repair itself leads to faster healing of burns and greater blood flow to the site of the wound.

Adempas approved to treat pulmonary hypertension
(HealthDay)—Adempas (riociguat) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat two types of pulmonary hypertension, characterized by high blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs.

Do breast implants boost women's sex lives?
(HealthDay)—Women who got breast implants said the surgery spiced up their sex lives, a small, preliminary study found.

ASPS: Soft tissue measures can optimize face transplant
(HealthDay)—Soft tissue measurements can predict facial transplant donor-to-recipient match, according to a study to be presented at Plastic Surgery The Meeting, the annual meeting of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, held from Oct. 11 to 15 in San Diego.

Why we can't accurately judge our friends' behavior
There is no such thing as objectivity when it comes to your friends: According to a new study, people evaluate their friends' behavior more positively than do strangers, regardless of actual performance on a series of tasks. Researchers say that we should then think twice before allowing people who know each other to be in positions to judge each other – from job interviews to legal settings.

Team finds likely culprit behind liver problems linked to intravenous feeding
Researchers know that feeding some patients intravenously can save their lives – but also can cause liver damage. Now scientists at the University of Colorado and Children's Hospital Colorado have figured out the likely culprit, one of the ingredients in intravenous food, behind the liver problems.

Organ donor promotion at DMV brings increase in registrations
More than 90 percent of the public supports organ donation, yet less than half the population registers as donors, surveys show.

Depression during pregnancy may raise risk of psychiatric trouble in kids
(HealthDay)—Teens are more likely to experience depression at age 18 if their mothers were depressed during pregnancy, a new study finds.

Cancer drug nexavar tied to pancreas damage in two patients
(HealthDay)—The cancer drug sorafenib, known by its trade name Nexavar, could have a toxic effect on the pancreas of patients who take it for extended periods.

Not just a 'women's disease,' osteoporosis strikes men too
Osteoporosis, a disease that causes bones to weaken and sometimes break, is often thought of as a "women's disease," but it poses a significant threat to more than 2 million men in the United States, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Recombinant human prion protein inhibits prion propagation
Case Western Reserve University researchers today published findings that point to a promising discovery for the treatment and prevention of prion diseases, rare neurodegenerative disorders that are always fatal. The researchers discovered that recombinant human prion protein stops the propagation of prions, the infectious pathogens that cause the diseases.

Researchers identify likely causes, treatment strategies for systemic scleroderma
Using mice, lab-grown cells and clues from a related disorder, Johns Hopkins researchers have greatly increased understanding of the causes of systemic sclerosis, showing that a critical culprit is a defect in the way certain cells communicate with their structural scaffolding. They say the new insights point the way toward potentially developing drugs for the disease, which affects approximately 100,000 people in the United States.

Big data reaps big rewards in drug safety
Using the Food and Drug Administration's Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS), a hospital electronic health records database, and an animal model, a team of researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai report that by adding a second drug to the diabetes drug rosiglitazone, adverse events dropped enormously. That suggests that drugs could be repurposed to improve drug safety, including lowering the risk of heart attacks.

Single gene mutation linked to diverse neurological disorders
A research team, headed by Theodore Friedmann, MD, professor of pediatrics at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, says a gene mutation that causes a rare but devastating neurological disorder known as Lesch-Nyhan syndrome appears to offer clues to the developmental and neuronal defects found in other, diverse neurological disorders like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases.

What happens when synapses run out of transmitter?
(Medical Xpress)—The recent Nobel Prize Award in Medicine highlights the importance of vesicle-based transport for different kinds of cells. One of the recipients, Thomas Sudhof, has contributed extensively to our current understanding of vesicle function in the synapses of neurons. Despite the fact that this is one of the most studied areas in neuroscience, we don't have a satisfactory theory that explains why information, ostensibly represented in high-fidelity using precisely timed spike trains, is then transferred with a low-fidelity, probabilistic mechanism that uses soft sacks of chemicals. A paper recently published in the journal Neuron, takes a closer look at this process in inhibitory neurons of the hippocampus. The authors find that if neurons continue to spike beyond a certain rate for a long enough time, their vesicles may still retain their potential for to fuse at release sites, but the synapse eventually runs out of transmitter to fill them with. Furtherm! ore, they show that if the synapse can not supply sufficient transmitter, either through transport from the soma, or through local metabolic processing and uptake, then the synapse adapts by reducing the number of cycling vesicles.

New strategy to treat multiple sclerosis shows promise in mice
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have identified a set of compounds that may be used to treat multiple sclerosis (MS) in a new way. Unlike existing MS therapies that suppress the immune system, the compounds boost a population of progenitor cells that can in turn repair MS-damaged nerve fibers.

Blind man sees with help from tooth-implanted lens
(Medical Xpress)—In 1998, Ian Tibbets lost vision in his right eye, some time after he severely injured the cornea with a piece of scrap metal. Later on he also lost vision in his left eye. Tibbets was eventually referred to Christopher Liu, a surgeon at the Sussex Eye Hospital, and was qualified for a radical procedure known as osteo-odonto-keratoprothsesis (OOKP). The procedure sounds a little strange, and it is, but for Tibbets and the five other patients who have undergone the procedure, it worked.

Biology news

Kenya seizes ivory as elephant slaughter surges
Kenyan customs officers have seized almost four tonnes of elephant ivory in two separate shipments, officials said Wednesday, amid a surge in poaching of the threatened animals.

Crowdsourcing seahorses: New smartphone app offers hope for seahorse science and conservation
Marine conservationists from the University of British Columbia, Zoological Society of London (ZSL), and John G. Shedd Aquarium, Chicago today launched a smartphone app that could lead to new discoveries about some of the ocean's most mysterious and threatened animals—seahorses—and pave the way for similar efforts with other difficult-to-study species.

Philippines bans heavy-weighted fishing nets over coral reef concerns
The Philippines said Wednesday it is banning the use of heavy-weighted fishing nets that drag along the ocean floor inflicting damage to seabed communities and coral reefs.

Vietnam seizes two tonnes of illegal ivory
Vietnam has seized two tonnes of illegal elephant tusks found stashed in bags of shells being shipped to China, state media reported Wednesday.

Mutant flies give mixed-up mating messages
Ruifen Weng did not originally set out to study fly sexual behavior. As a researcher in Stephen Cohen's laboratory at the A*STAR Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Singapore, she was attempting to clarify the function of the miR-124 gene in neuronal development. When Weng generated flies in which this gene was deleted, however, she observed striking shifts in courtship and mating activity that ultimately led her and her co-workers to important new insights into pheromone function.

Researchers helping China's rarest seabird rebound from near-extinction
A collaborative project between researchers in Asia and Oregon has helped establish a new breeding colony for one of the world's most endangered seabirds – the Chinese crested tern, which has a global population estimated at no more than 50 birds.

Human impact on parasitic disease questioned
Human behaviour could be a major contributing factor in the transmission of parasitic infections to wildlife, research being conducted across WA suggests.

Scientists discover new mechanism that preserves genomic integrity, is abnormal in the rare DiGeorge syndrome
An international team of scientists—including researchers at GENYO, the Centre for Genomics and Oncological Research (Pfizer-University of Granada- Andalusian Regional Government)—has described a molecular mechanism that facilitates the defence of the human genome against "bombarding" by mobile DNA sequences. Abnormalities in the mechanism could be responsible for some symptoms of DiGeorge syndrome, a rare disease. The research could in the future help develop new therapies against the disease, which is caused by the microdeletion of a small part of chromosome 22.

Experts discover the mother of Roman perfumes on the Mediterranean coast
Researchers at the Pablo de Olavide University in Seville have described a new plant in the eastern Mediterranean, growing mainly near the coast. The importance of this discovery is that the plant is the maternal ancestor of a species of hybrid origin, Reseda odorata, used since Roman times due to the fragrance of its flowers, and whose essence was used in the ancient cosmetics industry.

'Chimpanzees of a feather sit together': Friendships are based on homophily in personality
Like humans, many animals have close and stable friendships. However, until now, it has been unclear what makes particular individuals bond. Cognitive Biologists of the University of Vienna, Austria, and the University of Zurich, Switzerland, explored that chimpanzees choose their friends as to be similar in personality. The results of this study appear in the scientific journal Evolution and Human Behavior.

Longer life for humans linked to further loss of endangered species
As human life expectancy increases, so does the percentage of invasive and endangered birds and mammals, according to a new study by the University of California, Davis.

New discovery should save wheat farmers millions of dollars
The global wheat industry sometimes loses as much as $1 billion a year because prolonged rainfall and high humidity contribute to grains germinating before they are fully mature. The result is both a lower yield of wheat and grains of inferior quality. This phenomenon, known as pre-harvest sprouting or PHS, has such important economic repercussions for farmers around the world that scientists have been working on finding a solution to the problem for at least a couple of decades. Their focus has been on genetic factors, and on the interaction between genotypes and the environment as they have tried to breed wheat that is resistant to PHS, but with little success so far.

A step towards increasing crop productivity
(Phys.org) —A breakthrough in understanding the evolutionary pathways along which some crops have become significantly more productive as others may help scientists boost yields of some staple foodstuffs.

DNA analysis identifies endangered Indian bird egg
(Phys.org) —The only known egg in the world of a critically endangered bird from India has been discovered at the University of Aberdeen.

Social insects put the 'I' in team to fight disease
Social insects such as ants, termites, and some bees and wasps live in a sort of eternal "airplane environment," according Rebeca Rosengaus, an associate professor in Northeastern's Department of Marine and Environmental Sciences. That is, they live in confined quarters, sharing the same air, food, and even microbes for their entire lives.

Impending species loss opens 'compelling' genetic discussion
Somewhere between the ideas of resurrecting extinct species and engaging in genetic engineering of existing ones lies space for a conversation about a third potential approach to fending off conservation disaster.

Spinning-disk microscope offers window into the center of a cell
A new method of imaging cells is allowing scientists to see tiny structures inside the 'control centre' of the cell for the first time.

Study shows alpine swift can stay aloft for 200 days
(Phys.org) —A combined team of researchers from Bern University and the Swiss Ornithological Institute has found that alpine swifts are able to fly for up to 200 days at a time, without landing. The team learned of the bird's unique abilities to fly for such long stretches by attaching tiny sensors to several migrating specimens. They have published the results of their findings in the journal Nature Communications.

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