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Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for November 3, 2013:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
- SEL shows promising advances in flexible OLED displays (w/ Video)- Nanotube-based sensors can be implanted under the skin for a year
- Global warming led to dwarfism in mammals—twice
- Researchers expose molecular secrets of bile duct cancers from different countries
- Mutations linked to breast cancer treatment resistance
- Team unlocks secrets of diabetes drug: How and why metformin needs to interact with insulin to be effective
- Is DNA from mom or dad? New technique will accelerate personalized medicine
- Study finds molecular link between gut microbes and intestinal health
- Lasers might be the cure for brain diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's
- Important mechanism behind nanoparticle reactivity discovered
- Project turns to sensors in sewers to catch bomb-makers
- Insects making eco-friendly buzz in Dutch kitchens
- Twitter set to make a splash on Wall Street
- Hubble's new shot of Proxima Centauri, our nearest neighbor
- Mission accomplished for Europe's cargo freighter
Space & Earth news
Warming report sees violent, sicker, poorer future (Update)
Starvation, poverty, flooding, heat waves, droughts, war and disease already lead to human tragedies. They're likely to worsen as the world warms from man-made climate change, a leaked draft of an international scientific report forecasts.
The biggest mass extinction and Pangea integration
The mysterious relationship between Pangea integration and the biggest mass extinction happened 250 million years ago was tackled by Professor YIN Hongfu and Dr. SONG Haijun from State Key Laboratory of Geobiology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan). Their study shows that Pangea integration resulted in environmental deterioration which further caused that extinction. Their work, entitled "Mass extinction and Pangea integration during the Paleozoic-Mesozoic transition", was published in Science Сhina Earth Sciences.2013, Vol 56(7).
India reaches for Mars on prestige space mission
India began a countdown Sunday to the launch of its most ambitious and risky space mission to date, sending a probe to Mars which was conceived in just 15 months on a tiny budget.
Gabon town gets rare glimpse of solar eclipse
Despite rain and overcast skies residents of southern Gabon got a glimpse Sunday of a total eclipse of the sun, a rare phenomenon also visible in eastern Africa.
Solar eclipse sweeps Africa, Europe and US
Africans were treated Sunday to a spectacular solar eclipse that swept across the continent, while sky-gazers in the United States and Europe also glimpsed the rare phenomenon.
Global warming led to dwarfism in mammals—twice
Mammal body size decreased significantly during at least two ancient global warming events, a new finding that suggests a similar outcome is possible in response to human-caused climate change, according to a University of Michigan paleontologist and his colleagues.
Mission accomplished for Europe's cargo freighter
Europe's heaviest-ever cargo carrier to the International Space Station burned up in Earth's atmosphere Saturday in a controlled manoeuvre after a five-month mission, the European Space Agency (ESA) said.
Hubble's new shot of Proxima Centauri, our nearest neighbor
(Phys.org) —Shining brightly in this Hubble image is our closest stellar neighbor: Proxima Centauri.
Technology news
Kerry: Some NSA surveillance reached 'too far'
Secretary of State John Kerry's remark that some National Security Agency surveillance "reached too far" was the first time a high-ranking Obama administration official acknowledged that U.S. snooping abroad might be seen as overzealous.
Germans: European spy agencies swap tech tips
Germany's foreign intelligence agency confirmed Saturday that it swaps information on the latest technological developments with its European counterparts, but denied a report that it tried to bypass legal restrictions on Internet surveillance to be able to use advanced technology developed by the British.
Twitter's influence mounts as reach grows
It is becoming the preferred social network for American teens. It is an important "second screen" for TV viewers of NFL football and "Dancing With the Stars."
Twitter genesis shrouded in mystery
The story of Twitter's creation is a murky tale complete with betrayed trusts and dueling claims for credit.
US appeals court: Warrants needed for GPS tracking
A U.S. appeals court in Philadelphia has ruled that police can't routinely put GPS devices on vehicles without search warrants.
YouTube debuts first-ever music awards
YouTube debuts its first-ever music awards ceremony Sunday, in a star-studded showcase notable for some of the industry's biggest names but also its webcast format.
Instagram starts showing ads
Instagram began displaying ads, as Facebook moved to start making money from the smartphone photo sharing service it bought in a billion-dollar deal last year.
Twitter set to make a splash on Wall Street
Wall Street is aflutter over Twitter, set to make the most anticipated stock market debut since Facebook in a huge test for social media and the technology sector.
Project turns to sensors in sewers to catch bomb-makers
(Phys.org) —A European research group has an answer for catching people who aim to make explosive devices at home. Waste products that go down the drain deliver clues. Sensors that can identify these ingredients and sound an alarm are the solution, Bomb-making residue in city sewers may be an important signal for finding bomb-makers out, thanks to special sensors placed in sewers. A project called EMPHASIS aims to do just that. Emphasis is an EU-funded project of team members who are working on a method of sniffing out home-made bomb setups through chemical sensors placed in city sewer systems. Under the scenario, if the sensors do find traces of explosives, an alarm is sounded, and a special police team swings into action with a with a high resolution sensing unit, conducting a search to pinpoint the site.
Experts say nuclear power needed to slow warming
Some of the world's top climate scientists say wind and solar energy won't be enough to head off extreme global warming, and they're asking environmentalists to support the development of safer nuclear power as one way to cut fossil fuel pollution.
SEL shows promising advances in flexible OLED displays (w/ Video)
(Phys.org) —On hand at the recent FPD 2013 show in Japan, a key event focused on the flat panel display industry, an impressive show of prototypes from Semiconductor Energy Laboratory (SEL) showed what is possible in achieving color and clarity in flexible OLED displays and panels. Yoshitako Yamamoto of SEL demonstrated "concept" display and non-display devices using its c-axis aligned crystal (CAAC) technology. The report on the demo from DigInfo News clearly indicates SEL's research edge through use of CAAC oxide semiconductors. CAAC is described as a novel crystalline structure without clear grain boundaries.
Medicine & Health news
Hopkins Medicine suspends black lung X-ray service
Johns Hopkins Medicine says it has suspended a service in which radiologists give second readings on X-rays of coal miners seeking benefits for black lung disease.
Sticker shock often follows insurance cancellation
Millions of people across the country are trying to figure out what to do after receiving notices that their individual health insurance policies are being discontinued because they don't meet higher benefit requirements of the federal Affordable Care Act.
Reinstatement of abortion law closes Texas clinics
Many pregnant women in Texas are facing limited options after an appeals court allowed most of the state's new abortion restrictions to take effect. The decision effectively barred more than a third of the state's abortion clinics from performing the procedure.
Nicaragua's dengue death toll rises to 16
A dengue epidemic sweeping Nicaragua has claimed the life of a 13-year-old boy, raising the disease's death toll there to 16 people, according to officials.
DC on fast track to decriminalizing pot possession
It took nearly 15 years after voters approved medical marijuana for it to become available in Washington, D.C., but the next major change to pot laws in the U.S. capital is on the fast track.
Leadership void, not lack of money, slows efforts to address cervical cancer
A study by Indiana University public health researchers found that the opportunity for significant progress in addressing cervical cancer across the country is being squandered—not because of a lack of money, but because of a void of leadership and organization at the state levels.
More Cuban doctors due in Brazil to work in poor areas
Some 3,000 more Cuban doctors are to arrive in Brazil from Monday to join a government program to fill vacancies in the country's public health system.
Study finds molecular link between gut microbes and intestinal health
It's well established that humans maintain a symbiotic relationship with the trillions of beneficial microbes that colonize their bodies. These organisms, collectively called the microbiota, help digest food, maintain the immune system, fend off pathogens, and more. There exists a long and growing list of diseases associated with changes in the composition or diversity of these bacterial populations, including cancer, diabetes, obesity, asthma, and even autism.
Is DNA from mom or dad? New technique will accelerate personalized medicine
A new technique successfully takes on a longstanding challenge in DNA sequencing – determining whether a particular genetic sequence comes from an individual's mother or father. The method, described in a Ludwig Cancer Research study in Nature Biotechnology, promises to accelerate studies of how genes contribute to disease, improve the process of matching donors with organs and help scientists better understand human migration patterns.
Team unlocks secrets of diabetes drug: How and why metformin needs to interact with insulin to be effective
About 120 million people around the world with Type 2 diabetes – and two million in Canada – take the drug metformin to control their disease.
Researchers expose molecular secrets of bile duct cancers from different countries
Singapore-led scientific team discovers critical genes in bile duct cancers from different parts of the world. New molecular insights point to potentially different treatment regimens for the same cancer type depending on underlying genetic alterations.
Mutations linked to breast cancer treatment resistance
Researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center have identified a type of mutation that develops after breast cancer patients take anti-estrogen therapies. The mutations explain one reason why patients often become resistant to this therapy.
Biology news
Tanzania halts anti-poaching drive after abuse claims
Tanzania has suspended a controversial anti-poaching operation following reports of rampant human rights abuses including the seizure of property, torture and killing of suspects, the speaker of parliament said Saturday.
Insects making eco-friendly buzz in Dutch kitchens
Cecile's latest batch of students watched attentively as she launched into the last step of the dish—swirling grasshoppers around in a frying pan before setting them on the coucous.
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