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Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for November 24, 2013:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
- Unusual greenhouse gases may have raised ancient Martian temperature- Scientists find brain region that helps you make up your mind
- How losing information can benefit quantum computing
- Novel X-ray device developed
- Electric two-seater Volocopter is tested in Germany (w/ Video)
- X-rays reveal another feature of high-temperature superconductivity
- Diamond 'flaws' pave way for nanoscale MRI
- Scientists prove X-ray laser can solve protein structures from scratch
- Even if emissions stop, carbon dioxide could warm Earth for centuries
- Study identifies protein essential for immune recognition, response to viral infection
- Gene-silencing study finds new targets for Parkinson's disease
- How living cells solved a needle in a haystack problem to produce electrical signals
- New genomic study provides a glimpse of how whales could adapt to ocean
- New tool developed for profiling critical regulatory structures of RNA molecules
- A new, flying jellyfish-like machine (w/ Video)
Space & Earth news
New faultlines widen at UN climate talks
Fraught UN climate talks revealed growing frustration this week among vulnerable nations and observers with the political stance of emerging economies like China and India in the battle to stave off dangerous Earth warming.
Philippines to plant more mangroves in wake of Typhoon Haiyan
The Philippines said Sunday it will plant more mangrove areas to prevent a repeat of the deadly storm surges that claimed hundreds of lives during Super Typhoon Haiyan earlier this month.
Calm solar cycle prompts questions about impact on Earth
The surface of the sun has been surprisingly calm of late—with fewer sunspots than anytime in in the last century—prompting curious scientists to wonder just what it might mean here on Earth.
Will icy comet survive close encounter with sun?
For months, all eyes in the sky have pointed at the comet that's zooming toward a blisteringly close encounter with the sun.
Even if emissions stop, carbon dioxide could warm Earth for centuries
Even if carbon dioxide emissions came to a sudden halt, the carbon dioxide already in Earth's atmosphere could continue to warm our planet for hundreds of years, according to Princeton University-led research published in the journal Nature Climate Change. The study suggests that it might take a lot less carbon than previously thought to reach the global temperature scientists deem unsafe.
Unusual greenhouse gases may have raised ancient Martian temperature
Much like the Grand Canyon, Nanedi Valles snakes across the Martian surface suggesting that liquid water once crossed the landscape, according to a team of researchers who believe that molecular hydrogen made it warm enough for water to flow.
Technology news
Pixar lays off up to 5 percent on 'Dinosaur' delay
Disney subsidiary Pixar is laying off up to 5 percent of its 1,200 employees after it pushed back the release of "The Good Dinosaur" to November 2015 from next May.
Dim traffic sensors dull how 'smart' freeways are
California's freeways aren't as smart as they used to be.
Swiss reject plan to cap managers' pay
Swiss voters soundly rejected on Sunday a proposal to limit the pay of companies' highest-paid managers to 12 times that of their lowest-paid workers, a plan that business leaders had warned could weaken the prosperous nation's economy.
Cutting-edge coal plants planned in Fukushima: report
A Japanese utility plans to construct two cutting-edge coal power plants in Fukushima, an area severely hit by the 2011 nuclear disaster, a report said Saturday.
Indie video games make their mark
Indie video games made by tiny teams on even tinier budgets are increasingly competing with the big guys, making inroads on consoles after cutting their teeth on phones and tablets.
Energy loses $139M on loan to electric car maker
The Energy Department says it will lose $139 million on a loan to struggling electric car maker Fisker Automotive Inc.
Smartphone shoppers see app-y holiday season
When Georgia Benjamin goes holiday shopping this year, her smartphone will be her guide, pointing her to the items she is seeking and the best deals.
Boeing advises about engine icing problems
Boeing is alerting airlines about possible engine icing problems on some of its new planes. It is recommending that planes with a specific General Electric engine avoid flying near thunderstorms that might contain ice crystals.
Tesla chief expects US to clear Model S in fires
The leader of upstart automaker Tesla Motors is confident that its Model S electric car is safe and will be cleared by a U.S. investigation into two battery fires.
Twitter toughens encryption to thwart online snooping
Twitter on Friday announced it has toughened the encryption of traffic at the globally popular one-to-many messaging service to thwart online snooping.
If gov't backs in-flight calls, will the airlines?
The Federal Communications Commission might be ready to permit cellphone calls in flight. But what about the airlines?
HydroBee uses water from rivers or faucets to power phone (w/ Video)
(Phys.org) —Whether a person is residing off-grid, or on an outdoors adventure off-grid, finding a place to juice the smartphone is not always trivial. A Kickstarter project aims to interest people in a prototype device called the HydroBee, and its creators hope to bring it to production stage once they reach their support goals. HydroBee can power up devices with the use of water, whether drawn from rivers, streams, hoses, or faucets. Burt Hammer, one of the founders and president of Seattle-based HydroBee SPC, whose career has included working as a clean technology consultant in Southeast Asia and South America, refers to the action as charging your phone using "nature's free and renewable energy."
New research aims to teach computers common sense
Researchers are trying to plant a digital seed for artificial intelligence by letting a massive computer system browse millions of pictures and decide for itself what they all mean.
Electric two-seater Volocopter is tested in Germany (w/ Video)
(Phys.org) —The flying machine looks something like a helicopter but it is quite different and is intended to be a future answer to the greening of noisy, vibration-heavy helicopters as we have known them. A two-seater prototype of the Volocopter, by the company e-volo, made its maiden voyage earlier this month in Karlsruhe, Germany. The team used a prototype of the two-person VC200. Based on this model, it will be prepared for series production. Billed by its makers as "the world's first green helicopter," the emission-free Volocopter is a vertical take-off and landing manned aircraft, with features that set it apart from conventional aircraft. For one, the machine, instead of being kitted out with one combustion engine, carries eighteen electrically driven rotors to propel it. Through the propellers, the Volocopter can take off and land vertically just as does a helicopter. The team responsible for the machine said the 18 rotors present a considerable advantage, apar! t from the simple construction not requiring complex mechanics. The advantage is said to be in the redundancy of drives. This enables the safe landing of the Volocopter even if some drives fail.
Medicine & Health news
More surgery for Indian baby with swollen head
Doctors said Saturday they plan to carry out more surgery on a two-year-old Indian girl to correct a rare disorder that caused her head to balloon to twice its normal size.
White house extends enrollment deadline for health insurance
(HealthDay)—Consumers who want to enroll in a health insurance plan through HealthCare.gov will get a few extra days to sign up for coverage that will take effect on Jan. 1. The deadline for buying insurance through the federal health insurance exchange will be pushed from Dec. 15 to Dec. 23, a spokeswoman for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) said during a Friday news conference.
CVD expert calls for mandatory screening of 18 year-old Mexicans
A cardiovascular disease (CVD) expert is calling for mandatory screening of 18 year-old Mexicans to halt the CVD epidemic plaguing the nation. Cardiovascular risk factors will be a key theme at the Mexican Congress of Cardiology, held 23 to 27 November in Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico. The Congress is organised by the Mexican Society of Cardiology (MSC) and features a collaborative programme with the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).
Study finds link between allergies and increased risk of blood cancers in women
A team of scientists looking into the interplay of the immune system and cancer have found a link between a history of airborne allergies – in particular to plants, grass and trees – with risk of blood cancers in women.
50 percent of patients in Cedars-Sinai brain cancer study alive after five years
Eight of 16 patients participating in a study of an experimental immune system therapy directed against the most aggressive malignant brain tumors – glioblastoma multiforme – survived longer than five years after diagnosis, according to Cedars-Sinai researchers, who presented findings Nov. 23 at the Fourth Quadrennial Meeting of the World Federation of Neuro-Oncology.
US group seeks to block Gilead drug patent in India
A US-based patient rights group said Saturday it has sought to block a bid by California-based Gilead Sciences to obtain an Indian patent for a potentially blockbuster drug to treat hepatitis C.
Saudi announces 55th MERS death
The Saudi health ministry on Sunday announced a new MERS death, raising to 55 the number of people killed by the coronavirus in the country with the most fatalities.
Nexavar approval expanded for common thyroid cancer
(HealthDay)—U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for the anti-cancer drug Nexavar (sorafenib) has been expanded to include late-stage differentiated thyroid cancer, the most common type of thyroid cancer.
Stuck on flu: How a sugar-rich mucus barrier traps the virus—and it gets free to infect
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have shown for the first time how influenza A viruses snip through a protective mucus net to both infect respiratory cells and later cut their way out to infect other cells.
Paths not taken: Notch signaling pathway keeps immature T cells on the right track
One protein called Notch, which has well-known roles in the development of multiple tissues, plays an essential role in triggering T-cell development. Notch signaling induces expression of genes that promote the maturation of T cells and discourage alternative cell fates. Deficiency of the Notch target gene Hes1 in blood stem cells results in extremely low T-cell numbers, and could shed light on how normal cells are transformed in the context of cancer.
Steroid injections for premature babies linked to mental health risk
Steroid injections given to pregnant women before premature birth may increase the child's risk of later behavioural and emotional difficulties, a study has found.
Watching sport can make you fitter, study claims
Watching sport can make you fitter, according to research Sunday that said viewing other people exercise increases heart rate and other physiological measures as if you were working out yourself.
Study identifies protein essential for immune recognition, response to viral infection
A Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)-led research team has identified an immune cell protein that is critical to setting off the body's initial response against viral infection. The report that will be published in an upcoming issue of Nature Immunology and is receiving early online release describes finding that a protein called GEF-H1 is essential to the ability of macrophages – major contributors to the innate immune system – to respond to viral infections like influenza.
Gene-silencing study finds new targets for Parkinson's disease
Scientists at the National Institutes of Health have used RNA interference (RNAi) technology to reveal dozens of genes which may represent new therapeutic targets for treating Parkinson's disease. The findings also may be relevant to several diseases caused by damage to mitochondria, the biological power plants found in cells throughout the body.
Scientists find brain region that helps you make up your mind
One of the smallest parts of the brain is getting a second look after new research suggests it plays a crucial role in decision making.
Biology news
Wind energy company pleads guilty to eagle deaths
For the first time, the Obama administration is taking action against wind farms for killing eagles.
First Taiwan-born panda cub to meet public in January
The first Taiwan-born giant panda cub is healthy and set to make her public debut in January, a zoo official said Sunday after panda mania swept the island in recent months.
How living cells solved a needle in a haystack problem to produce electrical signals
Scientists have figured out how calcium channels – the infinitesimal cell membrane pores that generate electrical signals by gating a charged-particle influx – have solved a "needle in a haystack" problem.
New genomic study provides a glimpse of how whales could adapt to ocean
In a paper published in Nature Genetics, researchers from Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology, Korea Genome Research Foundation, BGI, and other institutes presented the first high-depth minke whale genome and their new findings on how whales successfully adapted to ocean environment. The data yielded in this study will contribute to future studies of marine mammal diseases, conservation and evolution.
New tool developed for profiling critical regulatory structures of RNA molecules
A molecular technique that will help the scientific community to analyze—on a scale previously impossible—molecules that play a critical role in regulating gene expression has been developed by a research team led by a chemist and a plant biologist at Penn State University. The scientists developed a method that enables more-accurate prediction of how ribonucleic acid molecules (RNAs) fold within living cells, thus shedding new light on how plants—as well as other living organisms—respond to environmental conditions. A paper by the research team—led by Sarah M. Assmann, Waller Professor of Biology, and Philip Bevilacqua, professor of chemistry—is scheduled for early online publication in the journal Nature on 24 November 2013.
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