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Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for April 6, 2014:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
- Does a junk food diet make you lazy? Psychology study offers answer- Arid areas absorb unexpected amounts of atmospheric carbon
- Amino acid fingerprints revealed in new study
- Groundbreaking optical device could enhance optical information processing, computers
- Scientists provide new grasp of soft touch
- Self-assembled superlattices create molecular machines with 'hinges' and 'gears'
- Team finds potential drug targets in deadly pediatric brain tumors
- Experts decode germs' DNA to fight food poisoning
- Field study shows why food quality will suffer with rising carbon dioxide
- Blood test could provide rapid, accurate method of detecting solid cancers
- Friedreich's ataxia: An effective gene therapy in an animal model
- Scientists identify key cells in touch sensation
- Sparks fly over US plan to shift Internet role
- Windows XP diehards to fend off hackers on their own
- Zombie cancer cells eat themselves to live
Astronomy & Space news
SpaceX reschedules space station resupply launch
A delayed supply run to the International Space Station is now set to launch April 14.
NASA set to debut online software catalog April 10
(Phys.org) —Get ready for a stimulating software catalog. You may want to write NASA CAT. next to Thursday, April 10, on your calendar. That is the day that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is to make available to the public, at no cost, more than 1,000 codes with its release of a new online software catalog. The catalog, a master list organized into 15 categories, is intended for industry, academia, other government agencies, and general public. The catalog covers technology topics ranging from project management systems, design tools, data handling, image processing, solutions for life support functions, aeronautics, structural analysis, and robotic and autonomous systems. NASA said the codes represent NASA's best solutions to an array of complex mission requirements.
Technology news
Wall Street orders up GrubHub in market debut
Wall Street has a major craving for takeout. Investors sent shares of GrubHub Inc. up more than 30 percent Friday in an initial public offering that gave the online food ordering service a market capitalization of nearly $2.7 billion.
Turkey keeps YouTube ban after court backtrack
YouTube will remain blocked in Turkey, despite the end to a similar controversial ban on Twitter, after a court backtracked on an earlier ruling to grant access to the video-sharing site.
India offers help to Samsung chief over court appearance
India will help Samsung in "whatever way" it can to avoid the South Korean company's chairman being forced to appear in an Indian court over a payment dispute, a top government official said Saturday.
Cuba denounces 'subversive' US texting program
Cuba on Sunday slammed a "subversive" US texting application which, like a Twitter-like program Washington launched here, Havana said aims to foment political unrest.
Samsung 'selfie' flap now in hands of lawyers: White House
The controversy over a "selfie" photo of President Barack Obama and baseball star David Ortiz now is in the hands of attorneys, a White House official said on Sunday.
Weibo seeks to raise at least $340 mln in US IPO
The microblogging service Weibo—often described as China's version of Twitter—will raise at least $340 million in its US stock offering, an updated filing showed Friday.
5-year-old finds flaw in Xbox Live security
A 5-year-old San Diego boy has outwitted the sharpest minds at Microsoft—he's found a backdoor to the Xbox.
Vivendi accepts 17 bn euros Numericable bid for SFR mobile unit
Vivendi on Saturday accepted a bid by French cable and fibre-optic network operator Numericable worth 17 billion euros to buy its SFR mobile phone unit, rejecting a rival offer from telecoms group Bouyges.
Tetris in the sky: Gamers play on Philly building (Update)
A skyscraper-sized version of the classic video game Tetris in Philadelphia created a spectacle that organizers hope inspired onlookers and players to think about the possibilities of technology.
ZunZuneo: The new sound of US-Cuban discord
ZunZuneo, a Twitter-style application designed to get Cubans talking among themselves on their cell phones, has become the latest obstacle to improved relations between Washington and Havana.
Startup aims to poach workers at tech bus stops
Where some see a queue of engineers awaiting private commuter shuttles, one San Francisco startup sees an opportunity to lure talent from top Silicon Valley tech firms.
Samsung adding anti-theft solutions to smartphones
Samsung Electronics is adding two safeguards to its latest smartphone in an effort to deter rampant theft of the mobile devices.
Windows XP diehards to fend off hackers on their own
People clinging to Microsoft's aging Windows XP operating system will be left to fend off cyber criminals by themselves come Tuesday.
Sparks fly over US plan to shift Internet role
It could be a difficult breakup between the US government and the Internet.
Medicine & Health news
Brachytherapy helps maintain erectile function in prostate cancer patients without compromising treatment outcomes
The use of permanent brachytherapy, a procedure where radioactive sources are placed inside the prostate, into or near to the tumour, preserves erectile function in approximately 50% of patients with prostate cancer, a researcher will tell the ESTRO 33 congress today (Saturday).
Ankle fractures could be significant risk factor for subsequent fracture
A study by researchers at the University of Geneva concludes that prevalent ankle fractures should be considered as osteoporotic fractures and taken into account in fracture-risk assessment.
Ebola-hit Guinea calls for calm after attack on aid group
Guinea appealed for calm in the Ebola-hit south of the country on Saturday after international aid workers battling to contain an outbreak of the deadly virus were attacked by a mob.
7M enrolled doesn't guarantee health law's success
Seven million people signed up, so there is an appetite for President Barack Obama's health care law.
Helium ions may provide superior, better-targeted treatment in pediatric radiotherapy
For the first time, researchers have been able to demonstrate that the use of helium ions in radiation therapy could provide accurate treatment to tumours while helping to spare healthy organs. A treatment planning study to be presented at the ESTRO 33 congress today [Sunday] has been able to show that helium may have effects that are superior to radiotherapy using protons, themselves a considerable advance on conventional photon beam radiotherapy.
Pot growers association launched in Jamaica
A group of influential Jamaicans gathered Saturday to launch an association of supposed future marijuana cultivators as momentum builds toward loosening laws prohibiting pot on the Caribbean island.
Mass polio vaccine campaign launched after Iraq case
Authorities launched a massive polio vaccination campaign on Sunday in Iraq, Syria and Egypt after health officials found a suspected case of the virus in a young boy near Baghdad.
US heroin addicts face barriers to treatment
As the ranks of heroin users rise in the U.S., increasing numbers of addicts are looking for help but are failing to find it—because there are no beds in packed facilities, treatment is hugely expensive and insurance companies won't pay for inpatient rehab.
Gay men divided over use of HIV prevention drug
A drug hailed as a lifesaver for many people infected by HIV is at the heart of a rancorous debate among gay men, AIDS activists and health professionals over its potential for protecting uninfected men who engage in gay sex without using condoms.
Major genetic study links liver disease gene to bladder cancer
A University of Colorado Cancer Center study published today in Journal of the National Cancer Institute (with related research being presented this weekend at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Conference 2014) details the discovery of a new genetic driver of bladder cancer: silencing of the gene AGL.
Analysis finds less research attention given to diseases of the poor
Death is not distributed equally around the world. In high-income countries, people typically die in old age of chronic diseases such as cancer or cardiovascular problems. In low-income countries, death comes primarily from infectious and perinatal diseases, and strikes at a young age.
New test developed to detect men at high risk of prostate cancer recurrence
Vienna, Austria: A new genetic "signature" to identify prostate cancer patients who are at high risk of their cancer recurring after surgery or radiotherapy has been developed by researchers in Canada, the 33rd conference of the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO33) in Vienna will hear today (Saturday).
Visualizing a safe place reduces procedural pain
Visualising a safe place reduces operative pain, according to research presented today at EuroHeartCare 2014. Nurses guided patients into a trance and found it helped patients cope with pain and anxiety during ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF).
Calcium supplementation does not increase coronary heart disease concludes new study
Researchers presenting at the World Congress on Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases showed the results of a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials of calcium supplements. The results do not support the hypothesis that calcium supplementation, with or without vitamin D, increases coronary heart disease or all-cause mortality risk in elderly women.
Poor sleep doubles hospitalizations in heart failure patients
Poor sleep doubles hospitalisations in heart failure, according to new research in nearly 500 patients presented today at EuroHeartCare 2014.
Prognosis of tumors positive for human papilloma virus in head and neck cancers varies according to the site
Patients with cancer of the throat and who are positive for the Human Papilloma virus (HPV+) have a good prognosis, but until now the effect of being HPV+ on the prognosis of tumours located elsewhere in the head and neck was unknown. Danish researchers have now shown that HPV status appears to have no prognostic effect on the outcome of primary radiotherapy in head and neck cancer outside the oropharynx (the part of the throat located behind the mouth, and which contains the soft palate and the base of the tongue), the ESTRO 33 congress will hear today (Sunday).
Swiss building provides refuge for the hypersensitive
No smoking, no perfume, no mobile phone use—the list of rules at a newly opened apartment building on the outskirts of Zurich is long. For a reason: the structure has been purpose built for people who say exposure to everyday products like perfume, hand lotion or wireless devices make them so sick they cannot function.
'We're all paying:' Heroin spreads misery in US
On a beautiful Sunday last October, Detective Dan Douglas stood in a Minnesota home and looked down at a lifeless 20-year-old—a needle mark in his arm, a syringe in his pocket. It didn't take long for Douglas to realize that the man, fresh out of treatment, was his second heroin overdose that day.
In US, vaccine denial goes mainstream
Kathleen Wiederman is not staunchly against vaccines. She simply believes it is better for her child to naturally battle an illness than to be vaccinated against it.
Researchers find that renal cancer cells thrive when put in the right environment and supported by a specific enzyme
Tumor cells are picky about where they live. In the wrong environment, they fail to reach their potential. But put those same cells on the right bit of real estate, and they grow like mad. Researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center found renal cancer cells planted in a supportive environment proliferate with the help of an enzyme usually only seen in the brain.
Non-invasive imaging instead of repeated biopsy in active monitoring of prostate cancer
Your body's cells have two major interconnected energy sources: the lipid metabolism and the glucose metabolism. Most cancers feed themselves by metabolizing glucose, and thus can be seen in Positron Emission Topography (PET) scans that detect radiolabeled glucose. However, prostate cancers tend to use the lipid metabolism route and so cannot be imaged in this way effectively.
Sweden has 2-3 times as many adolescents and young adults with type 1 diabetes as previously thought
New research published in Diabetologia (the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes) suggests that Sweden—the country already thought to have the second highest prevalence of type 1 diabetes in the world—could have 2-3 times more adolescents and young adults with type 1 diabetes than previously estimated. The research is by Dr Araz Rawshani, Swedish National Diabetes Register, Gothenburg, Sweden, and colleagues.
Smoking visibility mapped for the first time
The visibility of smoking in city streets has for the first time anywhere been mapped, in new research from the University of Otago, Wellington, New Zealand.
AMA provides resources to aid physicians' collections
(HealthDay)—The American Medical Association (AMA) has released resources to help doctors confront policy jumpers who may pose a financial risk to physicians during the Affordable Care Act's 90-day premium grace period, according to an article published March 25 in Medical Economics.
Hearing aid use in children with mild loss improves speech
(HealthDay)—The level of hearing improvement achieved by hearing aid (HA) use in children correlates with better speech and language development, according to a study published online April 3 in JAMA Otolaryngology.
Experimental breast cancer drug seems safe, effective for advanced disease
(HealthDay)—In an early trial, an experimental breast cancer drug stopped disease growth and shrank tumors by more than 30 percent in some patients.
So long snow, hello pollen
(HealthDay)—Although it still feels like winter in many parts of the United States, it's time to prepare for spring allergies, an expert says.
Scientists generate 3-D structure for the malaria parasite genome
A research team led by a cell biologist at the University of California, Riverside has generated a 3D model of the human malaria parasite genome at three different stages in the parasite's life cycle—the first time such 3D architecture has been generated during the progression of the life cycle of a parasite.
Zombie cancer cells eat themselves to live
A University of Colorado Cancer Center study recently published in the journal Cell Reports and presented today at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Conference 2014 shows that the cellular process of autophagy in which cells "eat" parts of themselves in times of stress may allow cancer cells to recover and divide rather than die when faced with chemotherapies.
Scientists identify key cells in touch sensation
In a study published in the April 6 online edition of the journal Nature, a team of Columbia University Medical Center researchers led by Ellen Lumpkin, PhD, associate professor of somatosensory biology, solve an age-old mystery of touch: how cells just beneath the skin surface enable us to feel fine details and textures.
Team finds potential drug targets in deadly pediatric brain tumors
Researchers studying a rare, always fatal brain tumor in children have found several molecular alterations that drive the cancer, according to a new study from scientists at Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center and McGill University. The findings identify potential new targets for drug treatments.
Blood test could provide rapid, accurate method of detecting solid cancers
A blood sample could one day be enough to diagnose many types of solid cancers, or to monitor the amount of cancer in a patient's body and responses to treatment. Previous versions of the approach, which relies on monitoring levels of tumor DNA circulating in the blood, have required cumbersome and time-consuming steps to customize it to each patient or have not been sufficiently sensitive.
Friedreich's ataxia: An effective gene therapy in an animal model
The team led by Hélène Puccio, director of research for Inserm at the Institute of Genetics and Molecular and Cellular Biology in close collaboration with Patrick Aubourg's team has demonstrated, in the mice, the efficacy of gene therapy for treating the heart disease associated with Friedreich's ataxia, a rare hereditary neuro-degenerative disorder.
Experts decode germs' DNA to fight food poisoning
Chances are you've heard of mapping genes to diagnose rare diseases, predict your risk of cancer and tell your ancestry. But to uncover food poisonings?
Does a junk food diet make you lazy? Psychology study offers answer
A new UCLA psychology study provides evidence that being overweight makes people tired and sedentary—not the other way around.
Scientists provide new grasp of soft touch
A study led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) has helped solve a long-standing mystery about the sense of touch.
Biology news
Japan whaling fleet returns from Antarctic
A whaling fleet anchored at a Japanese port Saturday after Tokyo said it would cancel its annual hunt for the first time in more than 25 years to abide by a UN court ruling.
Researchers net 'zombie bass' with electricity
Researchers are trying to answer a key question for people who enjoy America's $48 billion recreational fishing industry: What's in the water?
Loneliness impacts DNA repair
Scientists at the Vetmeduni Vienna examined the telomere length of captive African grey parrots. They found that the telomere lengths of single parrots were shorter than those housed with a companion parrot, which supports the hypothesis that social stress can interfere with cellular aging and a particular type of DNA repair. It suggests that telomeres may provide a biomarker for assessing exposure to social stress. The findings have been published in the journal PLOS ONE.
Undocked working dogs at greatest risk of tail injuries in Scotland
Undocked working dogs in Scotland are at greatest risk of tail injuries, indicates a survey of their owners, published in this week's Veterinary Record.
Death, tumors harm efforts to save rare rhinos
Efforts to save critically endangered Sumatran rhinoceroses were dealt a double blow this week with the death of one animal in a US zoo and the discovery of reproductive tumors in another.
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