Science X Newsletter Monday, Sep 15

Dear Reader ,

Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for September 15, 2014:

Spotlight Stories Headlines

- Machine learning algorithm makes impossible screening of advanced materials possible
- Neutrino trident production may offer powerful probe of new physics
- Best of Last Week – The sound of an atom captured, solid light created and the banality of evil
- Study sheds new light on why batteries go bad
- Team finds elusive quantum transformations near absolute zero
- 'Femme fatale' emerald ash borer decoy lures and kills males
- Invisibility cloaks closer thanks to 'digital metamaterials'
- Martian meteorite yields more evidence of the possibility of life on Mars
- 'Most famous wheat gene' found
- Scientists control surface tension to manipulate liquid metals (w/ Video)
- Researchers find one type of algae able to adapt to warming oceans
- Researchers' acid-free approach leads to strong conductive carbon threads
- How an ancient vertebrate uses familiar tools to build a strange-looking head
- Neuroscientists identify key role of language gene
- Blood-cleansing biospleen device developed for sepsis therapy

Astronomy & Space news

	Martian meteorite yields more evidence of the possibility of life on Mars (Phys.org) —The finding of a 'cell-like' structure, which investigators now know once held water, came about as a result of collaboration between scientists in the UK and Greece. Their findings are published in the latest edition of the journal Astrobiology.
	Rosetta's lander Philae will target Site J (Phys.org) —Rosetta's lander Philae will target Site J, an intriguing region on Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko that offers unique scientific potential, with hints of activity nearby, and minimum risk to the lander compared to the other candidate sites.
	Hubble paints a spattering of blue in irregular galaxy IC 559 (Phys.org) —Far beyond the stars in the constellation of Leo (The Lion) is irregular galaxy IC 559.
	Planets with oddball orbits like Mercury could host life Mercury has an oddball orbit—it takes longer for it to rotate on its axis and complete a day than it takes to orbit the sun and complete a year. Now, researchers suggest photosynthesis could take place on an alien planet with a similarly bizarre orbit, potentially helping support complex life.
	India's spacecraft 'on target' to reach Mars An Indian spacecraft is on course to reach Mars, an official said Monday, following a 666-million-kilometre voyage that could see New Delhi's low-cost space programme win Asia's race to the Red Planet.
	Solar storm arrives at Earth, but not a problem A solar storm zapped Earth on Friday but it was causing few, if any, problems. It also may allow more people to see the colorful northern lights.
	ESA's five 'cavenauts' set to explore the caves of Sardinia, Italy ESA's five 'cavenauts' and their instructors are set to explore the caves of Sardinia, Italy, where they will live and work during their six-day stay.
	NASA unveils world's largest spacecraft welding tool for space launch system (Phys.org) —The largest spacecraft welding tool in the world, the Vertical Assembly Center officially is open for business at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The 170-foot-tall, 78-foot-wide giant completes a world-class welding toolkit that will be used to build the core stage of America's next great rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS).
	NASA asteroid defense program falls short: audit The US space agency's program to detect and protect the Earth from incoming asteroids is poorly managed and far behind schedule, said a government audit report on Monday.

Technology news

	Will Apple's digital wallet kill the card swipe? Apple wants the plastic credit card to become as rare as the paper check.
	Sparks fly as Di Grassi wins first electric race A spectacular crash at the last corner that ended leader Nicolas Prost's race and sent ex-F1 driver Nick Heidfeld flying into the fencing gave Brazil's Lucas di Grassi victory in the first ever Formula E electric race in Beijing Saturday.
	Toyota, Grenoble set stage for test in ride-sharing Toyota is testing ride-sharing. As simple as that may sound, the experiment indicates an innovative model for the future of urban transportation. The Grenoble metro area could turn out to be the trial stage for a new city system in mobility. The model, which gets under way next month, calls for electric vehicles connected to a public transport system; the result is a weave of route planning, reservations and drop-offs. Five partners are sharing the vision: the City of Grenoble, the Metro Area, French electricity company EDF, Toyota, and local car-sharing operator, Cité lib. How it will work: 70 Toyota cars with 27 charging stations will be available for city trips. The stations will be operated by Sodetrel, an affiliate of EDF. Grenoble riders will be under a pricing plan called "3, 2, 1 euros." Users can pick-up one of the 70 vehicles and drop it off at any station near their destination without having to return it to the origi! nal pickup point. They will only be charged for the ride.
	A spray-on light show on four wheels: Darkside Scientific Darkside Scientific recently drew a lot of gazes its way in its video release of a car treated to the company's electroluminescent paint called LumiLor. Electroluminescence (EL) is a characteristic of a material that enables it to emit light in response to an electrical field. The company site said that at subatomic level, the process behind electroluminescence is radiative recombination, also known as spontaneous emission. In radiative recombination, phosphorescent substances emit photons (light particles) in response to alternating electrical current. As Geek.com noted, a custom deployment of this kind of paint with some custom electronics allows different sections of painted areas to light up independently. Seeing what the company did to the car, one can easily imagine marketing opportunities for this path to eye-grabbing showmanship.
	New algorithm enables MIT cheetah robot to run and jump, untethered, across grass Speed and agility are hallmarks of the cheetah: The big predator is the fastest land animal on Earth, able to accelerate to 60 mph in just a few seconds. As it ramps up to top speed, a cheetah pumps its legs in tandem, bounding until it reaches a full gallop.
	'Minecraft' could boost Microsoft's mobile reach (Update) Microsoft's decision to spend $2.5 billion for the creator of the hit game "Minecraft" could help the Xbox maker grab attention on mobile phones, a new priority for the company.
	Google debuts $105 Android One smartphone in India Google on Monday launched a $105 smartphone in India, taking aim at emerging markets as part of an initiative called Android One.
	Netflix sets sights on European screens US online streaming giant Netflix will launch the second phase of its European expansion plan on Monday as it sets about seducing French viewers with a "House of Cards"-style drama set in Marseille.
	China demand to fuel Hong Kong iPhone grey market Wealthy mainland Chinese looking to buy the new iPhone 6 next week could expect to pay an eye-watering US$2,500 for the handsets in Hong Kong, following Apple's decision to delay the launch in China.
	Apple a decade behind Japan mobile payment curve Apple's proud announcement that its new iPhone could be used to buy goods in a single swipe left customers non-plussed in Japan, where mobile contactless payments have been normal fare for a decade.
China's Alibaba sets new path with US IPO With a possible record-breaking stock offering, Chinese online giant Alibaba is set to boost its role as a global company with a massive expansion potential.
	Alibaba IPO gives fresh life to Yahoo China's Alibaba will star on Wall Street with its upcoming stock offering, but US-based Yahoo also gets a windfall, which may help the turnaround efforts of the fading Internet pioneer.
Alibaba: China's giant online shopping 'crocodile' Alibaba has become by far the dominant e-commerce company in China, a country with the world's greatest number of Internet users, in only 15 years.
In Vermont, a milestone in green-energy efforts Vermont's largest city has a new success to add to its list of socially conscious achievements: 100 percent of its electricity comes from renewable sources.
Samsung accuses LG execs of damaging its products Samsung Electronics Co. has accused senior executives from rival LG Electronics Inc. of vandalizing its washing machines at stores in Germany earlier this month and has asked for an official investigation.
	Advanced buoys bring vital data to untapped energy resource Two massive, 20,000-pound buoys decked out with the latest in meteorological and oceanographic equipment will enable more accurate predictions of the power-producing potential of winds that blow off U.S. shores.
	Imaging fuel injectors with neutrons Blowing bubbles may be fun for kids, but for engineers, bubbles can disrupt fluid flow and damage metal.
Cognizant buying TriZetto for $2.7 billion Cognizant will buy the health care software company TriZetto for $2.7 billion in cash.
	No, digital natives are not clueless about protecting their privacy online Standing on a stage in San Francisco in early 2010, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg announced that as internet users had become more comfortable sharing their lives online, privacy was no longer a "social norm". He had an obvious commercial interest in relaxing norms surrounding online privacy, but this attitude has nevertheless been widely echoed in the popular media.
	Facebook vs. loneliness Are people becoming lonelier even as they feel more connected online? Hayeon Song, an assistant professor of communication at UWM, explored this topic in recent research.
	Wearable computing and privacy invasions you might want to think about now Are you being recorded? Thanks to the ubiquity of CCTV and camera phones, the answer is more than ever before likely to be "Yes". Add to this the growth of wearable technology such as Google Glass and people are increasingly exposed to devices that can monitor and record them, whether they realise it or not.
	Chinese city creates cellphone sidewalk lane Taking a cue from an American TV program, the Chinese city of Chongqing has created a smartphone sidewalk lane, offering a path for those too engrossed in messaging and tweeting to watch where they're going.
	Apple sees record demand for new iPhones Apple on Monday said it had received record pre-orders for its new iPhone models, and that some customers will have to wait for the larger-screen versions of the smartphones.
One man trying to bring Broadway into 21st century When John Travolta shocked theater fans by mangling the pronunciation of Idina Menzel's name at the Oscars, one person saw a gift in the slip—Damian Bazadona.
	YouTube to go offline in India on Android phones YouTube users in India will soon be able to save videos from the Google-owned service, making it possible to watch them offline, and the feature will eventually be available globally, the company said Monday.
	Netflix goes live in France as part of Europe expansion Netflix launched its service in France on Monday, with the US online streaming giant also announcing a deal with a French cable operator as it began the second phase of its European expansion.
	Government data requests up 150 pct in five years, Google says Google said Monday that worldwide government requests for user data rose 150 percent over five years, as the Internet giant renewed its call for reforms to allow for greater disclosure.
	Kim Dotcom's party poised to win New Zealand seats (Update) At a recent political rally in Wellington, indicted Internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom jokingly asked members of New Zealand's spy agency to raise their hands.
Gamers use police hoax to lash out at opponents Authorities are increasingly concerned about a hoax in which video game players lash out at online opponents by making fake 911 calls that send SWAT teams to their homes.
Alibaba founder conciliatory over missed HK listing Alibaba founder Jack Ma struck a conciliatory note Monday over its failure to list in Hong Kong, as the Chinese e-commerce giant began an Asian roadshow before a possible record-breaking IPO in New York.
Danish TDC to buy Norway's Get for $2.2 billion Danish TDC telecom group says it plans to acquire Norway's leading cable TV company Get AS, in a deal valued at 13.8 billion kroner ($2.2 billion).
	Better non-functional security tests for software The integration of digital expert knowledge and automation of risk analyses can greatly improve software test procedures and make cloud computing more secure. This is shown by the latest results of a project by the Austrian Science Fund FWF on the quality assurance of security critical systems which has just been published. The results provide a platform for what are known as non-functional security tests. These attempt to identify weaknesses in software which do not arise directly from the execution of the program – and play an increasingly important role for cloud computing. The recently developed platform allows such tests to be automated further and made more user-friendly.
Al-Jazeera's AJ+ eyes young viewers on 'social stream' Al-Jazeera launches its AJ+ online video service Monday, aiming to connect with young people who want to keep up with news without watching television or reading newspapers.
Coroner: Bitcoin exchange CEO committed suicide A Singapore Coroner's Court has found that the American CEO of a virtual currency exchange committed suicide earlier this year in Singapore because of work and personal issues.
Computer scientists win a major grant to network mobile devices in the cloud A team of computer scientists at NJIT has won a multi-year grant from the National Science Foundation to come up with a platform that would allow mobile devices to interact with each other with help from the cloud. The technology they are developing is designed to support collaborative applications in areas such as healthcare, safety, and social interaction, potentially benefiting millions of users.
Habitual Facebook users: Suckers for social media scams? A new study finds that habitual use of Facebook makes individuals susceptible to social media phishing attacks by criminals, likely because they automatically respond to requests without considering how they are connected with those sending the requests, how long they have known them, or who else is connected with them.
App would help women in NYC find women cab drivers Sometimes a woman can be hard to find—if you're looking for one behind the wheel of a taxi in New York City.
Court: Tesla Motors can sell directly to buyers The highest court in Massachusetts has thrown out a lawsuit aimed at blocking Tesla Motors from selling its electric cars directly to consumers.
	Alibaba to raise up to $25 bn with revised IPO price Chinese online giant Alibaba on Monday boosted the price range for what was already expected to be the biggest stock offering on record, to as much as $25.03 billion.
	Apple helps iTunes users delete free U2 album Apple on Monday began helping people boot U2 off their iTunes accounts after a cacophony of complaints about not wanting the automatically downloaded free album by the Irish rock band.

Medicine & Health news

	Blood-cleansing biospleen device developed for sepsis therapy Things can go downhill fast when a patient has sepsis, a life-threatening condition in which bacteria or fungi multiply in a patient's blood—often too fast for antibiotics to help. A new device inspired by the human spleen and developed by a team at Harvard's Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering may radically transform the way doctors treat sepsis.
	Neuroscientists identify key role of language gene Neuroscientists have found that a gene mutation that arose more than half a million years ago may be key to humans' unique ability to produce and understand speech.
New study identifies molecule that induces cancer-killing protein A new study by University of Kentucky researchers has identified a novel molecule named Arylquin 1 as a potent inducer of Par-4 secretion from normal cells. Par-4 is a protein that acts as a tumor suppressor, killing cancer cells while leaving normal cells unharmed.
Muscular dystrophy: Repair the muscles, not the genetic defect A potential way to treat muscular dystrophy directly targets muscle repair instead of the underlying genetic defect that usually leads to the disease.
	Team finds neural compensation in people with Alzheimer's-related protein The human brain is capable of a neural workaround that compensates for the buildup of beta-amyloid, a destructive protein associated with Alzheimer's disease, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley.
	Genetic testing can identify men at six-fold increased risk of prostate cancer Scientists can now explain a third of the inherited risk of prostate cancer, after a major international study identified 23 new genetic variants associated with increased risk of the disease.
	New drug blocks gene driving cancer growth When active, the protein called Ral can drive tumor growth and metastasis in several human cancers including pancreatic, prostate, lung, colon and bladder. Unfortunately, drugs that block its activity are not available.
	Vitamin E intake critical during 'the first 1,000 days' Amid conflicting reports about the need for vitamin E and how much is enough, a new analysis published today suggests that adequate levels of this essential micronutrient are especially critical for the very young, the elderly, and women who are or may become pregnant.
	Schizophrenia not a single disease but multiple genetically distinct disorders New research shows that schizophrenia isn't a single disease but a group of eight genetically distinct disorders, each with its own set of symptoms. The finding could be a first step toward improved diagnosis and treatment for the debilitating psychiatric illness.
	Zebrafish genes linked to human respiratory diseases A small freshwater fish found in many tropical aquariums may hold the key to unlocking one of the leading causes of respiratory diseases in humans.
	Marker found in one in six people could give higher risk of lung and other cancers Cancer Research UK scientists have discovered why a gene fault found in around one in six people gives a higher risk of 26 cancer types, according to research published today in Nature Cell Biology.
	A positive boost to the immune system (Medical Xpress)—A positive attitude can improve your immune system and may help you live longer, according to a University of Queensland study.
	A link between Jacobsen syndrome and autism (Medical Xpress)—A rare genetic disorder known as Jacobsen syndrome has been linked with autism, according to a recent joint investigation by researchers at San Diego State University and the University of California, San Diego. In addition to suggesting better treatment options for people with Jacobsen syndrome, the finding also offers more clues into the genetic underpinnings of autism.
Genetics reveals patients susceptible to drug-induced pancreatitis Doctors have discovered that patients with a particular genetic variation are four times more likely to develop pancreatitis if they are prescribed a widely used group of drugs.
	Researchers develop new type of genetic test for identifying developmental disorders (Medical Xpress)—A large team of researchers with members from a host of countries across the globe has conducted an exhaustive study that has resulted in the development of a new genetic test to help identify development disorders in children. In their paper published in the journal Nature Genetics, the researchers describe their study, the results they found and what it might mean for children with development disorders in the near future.
	Cell surface sugars can promote or inhibit cancer depending upon stage During cancer development, tumor cells decorate their surfaces with sugar compounds called glycans that are different from those found on normal, healthy cells. In the Sept. 15 online Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine report that sialic acids at the tips of these cancer cell glycans are capable of engaging with immune system cells and changing the latter's response to the tumor – for good and bad.
	Slow to mature, quick to distract: ADHD study finds slower development of connections A peek inside the brains of more than 750 children and teens reveals a key difference in brain architecture between those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and those without.
	Network measures predict neuropsychological outcome after brain injury Cognitive neuroscience research has shown that certain brain regions are associated with specific cognitive abilities, such as language, naming, and decision-making.
Profit motive big hurdle for Ebola drugs, experts say For nearly four decades, mention of the Ebola virus has evoked death and terror, yet a simple factor—money—has stood in the way of erasing the curse, experts say.
One care lapse can be fatal for heart attack patients University of Leeds research has revealed that heart attack patients have a 46% increased chance of death within a month of discharge if they miss any one of nine types of care.
Breast screening for over 70s doesn't prompt sharp fall in advanced disease Including much older women in a national breast cancer screening program does not prompt a sharp fall in new cases of advanced disease in this age group—as would be expected for a successful initiative—reveals a study of the Dutch experience, published in BMJ today.
Experts raise concern over unnecessary treatment of mild hypertension in low risk people Lowering the drug threshold for high blood pressure has exposed millions of low-risk people around the world to drug treatment of uncertain benefit at huge cost to health systems, warn US experts in BMJ today.
Cheaper alternative to licensed drug for treating eye disease has similar side-effects Health policies which favour using ranibizumab for treating eye disease in older people over safety concerns for a cheaper alternative should take account of a new Cochrane Review published today. The researchers looked at the results of studies which compared the safety of two drugs used for treating age-related macular degeneration, ranibizumab and bevacizumab. Contrary to what was argued by some experts the review has found that the cheaper drug, bevacizumab, does not appear to increase deaths or serious side-effects compared with ranibizumab in people with neovascular age-related macular degeneration.
	Walking or cycling to work improves wellbeing, researchers find Walking or cycling to work is better for people's mental health than driving to work, according to new research by health economists at the University of East Anglia and the Centre for Diet and Activity Research (CEDAR).
Health officials warn of Sea-Tac measles exposure Public health officials are warning that people may have been exposed to measles at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
	Japan: More and more, a land of centenarians Reaching the century mark remains a relative rarity for humans, but it is increasingly less so, and perhaps nowhere more than in rapidly aging Japan.
Kids' poisonings linked to anti-addiction medicine A federal study says an anti-addiction drug used to fight the nation's heroin and painkiller abuse epidemics poses a threat to young children.
	Working with aggressive children prevents some from becoming violent, criminal adults Aggressive children are less likely to become violent criminals or psychiatrically troubled adults if they receive early intervention, says a new study based on more than two decades of research.
Identifying a better message strategy for dissuading smokers: Add the positive Which is more likely to convince a smoker to quit? The words, "Warning: cigarettes cause cancer" beneath the image of an open mouth with a cancerous lesion and rotten teeth, or the same image with the words, "Warning: Quitting smoking reduces the risk of cancer"?
New knowledge of genes driving bladder cancer points to targeted treatments The story of cancer care seems so simple: find the mutated gene that causes cancer and turn it off or fix it. But rarely does a single gene cause cancer. More often, many genes are altered together to drive the disease. So the challenge becomes sorting out which altered genes are the most to blame in which cancers. A collaborative study between researchers at the University of Colorado Cancer Center and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) published today in the journal Clinical Cancer Research takes an important step toward answering this question in bladder cancer.
	Marijuana users who feel low get high Adolescents and young adults who smoke marijuana frequently may attempt to manage negative moods by using the drug, according to a study in September's Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.
Hypersensitivity to non-painful events may be part of pathology in fibromyalgia New research shows that patients with fibromyalgia have hypersensitivity to non-painful events based on images of the patients' brains, which show reduced activation in primary sensory regions and increased activation in sensory integration areas. Findings published in Arthritis & Rheumatology, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), suggest that brain abnormalities in response to non-painful sensory stimulation may cause the increased unpleasantness that patients experience in response to daily visual, auditory and tactile stimulation.
	New drug formulations to boost fight against respiratory illnesses and antibiotic-resistant superbugs A team of five researchers and clinicians in Singapore led by Dr Desmond Heng, ICES, has developed a new combination of drugs to effectively combat bacteria in the lungs which lead to common respiratory system infections, or bacteria-linked pulmonary diseases such as pneumonia, bronchiectasis and cystic fibrosis.
New study looks at improving vaccine awareness The best medical therapies won't do much good if the public abstains from using them. Resistance to life-saving interventions may have a variety of root causes, particularly if the biotechnology involved is new and poorly understood in the non-medical community.
	The public's perception of the obesity epidemic Obesity has been called a major health crisis and a national epidemic. Health authorities, including prominent spokespeople like Michelle Obama and the Surgeon General, have sounded the alarm, and the media have responded with a bombardment of stories about the state of the nation's waistline.
	Gilead to license generic version of Sovaldi (Update) Gilead Sciences has reached a deal with several generic drugmakers to produce a cheaper version of its popular, $1,000-per-pill hepatitis C drug Sovaldi for use in developing countries.
Vaccine proves effective against deadly Middle East virus (Medical Xpress)—A vaccine developed by an international team of scientists led by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine successfully protects mice against a contagious and deadly virus spreading across the Middle East. The vaccine is a promising candidate for immunizing camels, thought to be the source of human infection.
	Breaking down experiences into million parts may help explain consciousness Take the screen on which you are reading this article. When you look at it, you see one complete scene, but you know that this scene is composed of millions of pixels that only come in three colours: red, blue and green. When you look out at the world, you see one integrated landscape, whole and complete. But what if like every other biological system, this conscious experience too has its basic building blocks? I ask this question because, despite decades of research, consciousness remains an unexplained phenomenon. Perhaps thinking of consciousness as being made of bits of awareness is the solution.
As kids get older, snacks get poorer American kids snack about three times a day on average, totaling about a third of their daily calorie count. But whether those snacks are good choices has a lot to do with the child's age, according to a new study.
	Abhor asparagus and can't stand coffee? You may be a supertaster There are natural variations between humans in our senses. We need different prescriptions to correct our eyesight. Some people say that vinyl sounds better than CDs or MP3s and will pay big money for audio equipment, while others can't tell the difference.
Ovarian cancer remains elusive to early diagnosis and successful treatment A population-based study of all ovarian cancer cases diagnosed in Australia in 2005 found a crude five year survival rate of 35 per cent.
	Conservation versus innovation in the fight against antibiotic resistance "Antibiotic resistance is a problem of managing an open-access resource, such as fisheries or oil," writes Ramanan Laxminarayan, a research scholar at Princeton University and the director of the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy in Washington, D. C., in today's issue of the journal Science. He goes on to say that individuals have little incentive to use antibiotics wisely, just as people have little incentive to conserve oil when it is plentiful.
A qualitative analysis of 'informed choice' among young adult smokers Flaws in the tobacco industry's argument that smokers exercise "informed adult choice" when they start smoking have been highlighted in new study.
New drug target could prevent major global cause of maternal death (Medical Xpress)—Researchers at the University of Warwick have discovered a new target for drugs that could prevent the deaths of thousands of women in the developing world due to heavy blood loss after childbirth.
	New glaucoma culprit is found Glaucoma, a leading cause of irreversible blindness, is associated with elevated pressure in the eye. This elevated pressure essentially is due to a plumbing problem. Fluid builds up in the eye, increasing pressure and eventually damaging the optic nerve. For nearly 150 years, researchers have been trying to understand what causes the blockage that prevents the eye from draining properly.
Some lung cancer patients could live longer when treated Treating advanced small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) with thoracic (or chest) radiation therapy in addition to standard treatment significantly prolongs long-term survival and reduces cancer recurrence in the chest by almost 50%, according to new research published in The Lancet and being presented simultaneously at ASTRO's 2014 Annual Meeting in San Francisco.
	Breakthrough in detecting early onset of refractory epilepsy in children 65 million people around the world today suffer from epilepsy, a condition of the brain that may trigger an uncontrollable seizure at any time, often for no known reason. A seizure is a disruption of the electrical communication between neurons, and someone is said to have epilepsy if they experience two or more unprovoked seizures separated by at least 24 hours.
Advancing the science for health programming in crisis conditions Humanitarian crises are becoming increasingly complex and a growing threat to the health and safety of populations. An improved evidence-base to guide interventions in the countries most vulnerable to these conditions is more critical than ever. A paper by researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health published online in the journal Science, looks at the challenges of doing research in such settings and the strategies that must be adopted for scientific advance.
	Researchers discover the healing power of 'rib-tickling' Unlike salamanders, mammals can't regenerate lost limbs, but they can repair large sections of their ribs.
	Lessons from the war on terror could help the war on cancer There may seem to be no connection between terrorism and cancer. But that is an oversight. If considered closely, it is easy to see that both exhibit loss of control present in "normal" conditions and are often detected only when they have already invaded and spread to different sites.
T-bet tackles hepatitis A single protein may tip the balance between ridding the body of a dangerous virus and enduring life-long chronic infection, according to a report appearing in The Journal of Experimental Medicine.
	Study finds young women involve parent in abortion when anticipating support When an adolescent wants to terminate a pregnancy, how does she decide whether to talk to a parent? A recent study from the Section of Family Planning and Contraceptive Research at the University of Chicago found that pregnant teens will turn to parents and adults who are engaged in their lives and who will offer support, regardless of her pregnancy decision. Young women will avoid talking with parents who are less involved or may try to prevent them from seeking care.
	One in five men reports violence toward intimate partners One in five men in the U.S. reports violence towards their spouse or significant other, says a new nationally-representative study by the University of Michigan.
Everyday discrimination impacts mental health Researchers have determined that African Americans and Caribbean blacks who experience discrimination of multiple types are at substantially greater risk for a variety of mental disorders including anxiety, depression and substance abuse.
	Mindfulness helps adults overcome childhood adversity (Medical Xpress)—With significant implications for early childhood education, new research reveals that a mindful disposition is associated with alleviating lasting physical and emotional effects of childhood adversity. A team of scientists from Temple University, UNC's Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute (FPG), Child Trends, and the Rockefeller University conducted the groundbreaking study—the first to examine relationships between childhood adversity, mindfulness, and adult health.
Skin cancer risks higher for soldiers serving abroad Soldiers deployed to tropical and sunny climates are coming home with increased risk factors for a threat far from the battlefield: skin cancer.
Brain development in schizophrenia strays from the normal path Schizophrenia is generally considered to be a disorder of brain development and it shares many risk factors, both genetic and environmental, with other neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and intellectual disability.
	Kids prescribed antibiotics twice as often as needed, study finds (HealthDay)—Pediatricians prescribe antibiotics about twice as often as they're actually needed for children with ear and throat infections, a new study indicates.
	Small number of drugs behind kids' accidental poisonings: CDC (HealthDay)—A relatively small number of medications are responsible for sending thousands of young children to the hospital for accidental ingestion, a U.S. government study finds.
	AAFP joins coalition to prevent misuse of ADHD meds (HealthDay)—The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) has joined the Coalition to Prevent ADHD Medication Misuse (CPAMM), which launched Aug. 28.
	Poverty tied to increased respiratory hospitalization rate (HealthDay)—Household income is tied to significant differences in hospitalizations for ambulatory-care-sensitive respiratory conditions, according to a study published in the September/October issue of the Annals of Family Medicine.
Implementing new care strategies can cut health care usage among system's biggest users Co-ordinating patient care better can reduce use of the health care system by its most frequently seen patients, according to new research published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
Strategic self-sabotage? MRSA inhibits its own growth Scientists at the University of Western Ontario have uncovered a bacterial mystery. Against all logic, the most predominant strain of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in North American produces an enzyme that degrades skin secretions into compounds that are toxic to itself. The research is published online ahead of print in the Journal of Bacteriology.
Congenital and genetic heart disease screening recommendations for people 12-25 Healthcare professionals should include 14 key elements that can be used as a checklist for screening young people age 12-25 for congenital and genetic heart disease. If any of the elements are positive, further testing may be needed, but initial screening using electrocardiograms (ECG) to detect underlying genetic and congenital heart disease in this age group prior to employing this checklist, has not been shown to save lives, according to a joint American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology statement.
What's more effective: Generic or brand-name statins? Statins are the most frequently prescribed drugs in the United States and are effective in reducing cardiovascular events. However, evidence suggests that patients do not always take these medications as prescribed and may not receive their full benefit. Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), Harvard Medical School and CVS Health investigated whether the use of generic versus brand-name statins can play a role in medication adherence and whether or not this leads to improved health outcomes. They found that patients taking generic statins were more likely to adhere to their medication and also had a significantly lower rate of cardiovascular events and death. These findings are published in the Annals of Internal Medicine on September 15, 2014.
Predicting prostate cancer: Test identifies new methods for treatment A genetic discovery out of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine is leading to a highly accurate test for aggressive prostate cancer and identifies new avenues for treatment.
Largest ever study of awareness during general anaesthesia identifies risk factors, consequences Accidental awareness is one of the most feared complications of general anaesthesia for both patients and anaesthetists. Patients report this failure of general anaesthesia in approximately 1 in every 19,000 cases, according to a report published in Anaesthesia. Known as accidental awareness during general anaesthesia (AAGA), it occurs when general anaesthesia is intended but the patient remains conscious. This incidence of patient reports of awareness is much lower than previous estimates of awareness, which were as high as 1 in 600.
	Cellular protein may be key to longevity Researchers have found that levels of a regulatory protein called ATF4, and the corresponding levels of the molecules whose expression it controls, are elevated in the livers of mice exposed to multiple interventions known increase longevity.
Delay in age of walking can herald muscular dystrophy in boys with cognitive delays The timing of a toddler's first steps is an important developmental milestone, but a slight delay in walking is typically not a cause of concern by itself.
	Poverty-obesity link is more prevalent for women than men, study shows Adolescent girls living in economically disadvantaged families are more likely than their male counterparts to become overweight or obese, according to new research from The University of Texas at Austin.
	Study finds drop in death rates from strokes over last two decades Despite the significant reduction in the overall incidence and death rates from strokes in the United States over the past twenty years, more attention needs to be paid to specific age groups, a recent study found.
Caregivers of family members newly diagnosed with mental illness at risk for anxiety Researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Nursing, who studied the emotional distress of caring for a family member diagnosed with a mental illness, found anxiety is high for the primary caregiver at the initial diagnosis or early in the course of the illness and decreases over time.
Scientists identify the master regulator of cells' heat shock response Heat shock proteins protect the molecules in all human and animal cells with factors that regulate their production and work as thermostats. In new research published Sept. 16 in the journal eLife, scientists at NYU Langone Medical Center and elsewhere report for the first time that a protein called translation elongation factor eEF1A1 orchestrates the entire process of the heart shock response. By doing so, eEF1A1 supports overall protein homeostasis inside the cell, ensuring that it functions properly under various internal and external stress conditions. The researchers suggest that this finding could reveal a promising, new drug target for neurodegenerative diseases and cancer.
	Long-term effects of childhood asthma influenced by socioeconomic status According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 6 percent of children younger than five have been diagnosed with asthma, the fastest-growing and most common chronic illness affecting children in the United States. Studies have shown that asthma is associated with attention and behavioral issues in children, yet little existing research examines how socioeconomic status may influence the ultimate effects of these difficulties. Now, an MU researcher has found that the overall outcomes for children with asthma are influenced by socioeconomic inequalities.
Researchers develop improved means of detecting mismatched DNA Researchers at Johns Hopkins have identified a highly sensitive means of analyzing very tiny amounts of DNA. The discovery, they say, could increase the ability of forensic scientists to match genetic material in some criminal investigations. It could also prevent the need for a painful, invasive test given to transplant patients at risk of rejecting their donor organs and replace it with a blood test that reveals traces of donor DNA.
Freshman girls know how to eat healthy but lack confidence in their ability to do it Female college freshmen understand the benefits of eating healthy foods and know which foods they should include in their diets. But they lack confidence in their ability to act on that knowledge, especially when it comes to getting enough calcium, says a new University of Illinois study.
	Number-crunching could lead to unethical choices, study shows Calculating the pros and cons of a potential decision is a way of decision-making. But repeated engagement with numbers-focused calculations, especially those involving money, can have unintended negative consequences, including social and moral transgressions, says new study co-authored by a professor at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management.
Combining epilepsy drug, morphine can result in less pain, lower opioid doses Adding a common epilepsy drug to a morphine regimen can result in better pain control with fewer side effects. Moreover, the combination can reduce the dosage of the opioid needed to be effective, according to a team of pain researchers at Indiana University.
Web-based training can reduce campus rape Web-based training targeted at college-aged men is an effective tool for reducing the number of sexual assaults on U.S. campuses, according to a researcher in the School of Public Health at Georgia State University.
Researchers urge psychologists to see institutional betrayal Clinical psychologists are being urged by two University of Oregon researchers to recognize the experiences of institutional betrayal so they can better treat their patients and respond in ways that help avoid or repair damaged trust when it occurs in their own institutions.
	Researcher develops, proves effectiveness of new drug for spinal muscular atrophy According to recent studies, approximately one out of every 40 individuals in the United States is a carrier of the gene responsible for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a neurodegenerative disease that causes muscles to weaken over time. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri have made a recent breakthrough with the development of a new compound found to be highly effective in animal models of the disease. In April, a patent was filed for the compound for use in SMA.
	EEG study findings reveal how fear is processed in the brain An estimated 8% of Americans will suffer from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at some point during their lifetime. Brought on by an overwhelming or stressful event or events, PTSD is the result of altered chemistry and physiology of the brain. Understanding how threat is processed in a normal brain versus one altered by PTSD is essential to developing effective interventions.
Certain form of baldness at age 45 linked to higher risk of aggressive prostate cancer A new, large cohort analysis from the prospective Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial, indicates that men who had moderate baldness affecting both the front and the crown of their head at age 45 were at a 40% increased risk of developing aggressive prostate cancer (usually indicates a faster growing tumor resulting in poorer prognosis relative to non-aggressive prostate cancer) later in life, compared to men with no baldness. There was no significant link between other patterns of baldness and prostate cancer risk. The study, published September 15 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, supports earlier research suggesting that male pattern baldness and prostate cancer may be linked.
Multiple-birth infants use more resources, spotlight on reproductive technology Hospital costs are higher and the odds of complication and death are greater for multiple-birth infants than singleton births and some of this clinical and economic burden can be alleviated through single-embryo transfer in assisted reproductive technology (ART).
The 'hidden injury' in sports: research sheds light on concussions Star receiver Charles-Antoine Sinotte suffered a concussion during his last home game for the McGill Redmen in 2010. "It was like nothing I had experienced before," recalls Sinotte. "I felt like I was out of my body." Although he received medical attention and missed the rest of the game, he admits he downplayed his symptoms in order to play in the next game – his last before leaving McGill.
Study adds to cancer-fighting promise of combined immunotherapy-radiation treatment A study in mice implanted with breast and melanoma cancers adds to a growing body of evidence that highly focused radiation – long thought to suppress immunity – can actually help boost the immune system's fight against cancer when combined with a new kind of immune-enhancing drug.
	Study first to use brain scans to forecast early reading difficulties UC San Francisco researchers have used brain scans to predict how young children learn to read, giving clinicians a possible tool to spot children with dyslexia and other reading difficulties before they experience reading challenges.
Dutch Ebola doctors 'to be evacuated on Sunday' Two Dutch doctors feared to have contracted the deadly Ebola virus while working in Sierra Leone are set to be flown back to the Netherlands "as soon as possible", the foreign ministry said Saturday.
	Fourth Sierra Leonean doctor dies from Ebola A fourth Sierra Leonean doctor, a woman, died Sunday after contracting the dreaded Ebola virus, a top health official said, while a Dutch charity repatriated two doctors suspected of having been contaminated with the disease.
Hundreds of Vietnamese drug addicts escape rehab More than 400 Vietnamese drug addicts have escaped from a rehabilitation centre where they were detained to receive compulsory treatment, a local official said Monday.
	Venezuela's newest shortage: breast implants Venezuela's chronic shortages have begun to encroach on a cultural cornerstone: the boob job.
Obama to ask for $88 mn to boost anti-Ebola effort President Barack Obama plans to ask Congress to approve his request for $88 million to fund a major Ebola offensive in West Africa that would include greater military involvement, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
	New actions to address the North-South health divide Public Health experts from the University of Liverpool have contributed to a major new report that aims to tackle the widening health gap between the North and the rest of England.
	Care for older people doesn't come top of the list, but we disregard them at our peril Two recent complementary reports on long-term care for older people - one from the Demos Commission on Residential Care, chaired by former care minister Paul Burstow, and the other from the King's Fund Commission on the Future of Health and Social Care in England, chaired by economist Kate Barker - suggest we need urgent reforms to deal with the increasing demands for health and social care, created by the ageing population, as a result of technological and medical advances.
Danaher pays $2.2 bn for dental implant group Nobel Biocare: firms US healthcare group Danaher aims to buy Swiss Nobel Biocare, the world's biggest dental implant specialist, for $2.2 billion, they said on Monday, sending the Swiss company's shares spiralling.
Mayo finds many liver transplant patients can avoid costly stay in ICU after surgery The liver transplant team at Mayo Clinic in Florida has found, based on 12 years of experience, that more than half of patients receiving a new liver can be "fast-tracked" to return to a surgical ward room following their transplant, bypassing a one- or two-day stay in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
AGA releases new tool to help GIs evaluate and treat Crohn's disease The treatment of Crohn's disease is evolving. To help gastroenterologists better identify and manage their Crohn's disease patients, the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) has created a clinical decision tool to guide GIs in their decision-making process. The "Identification, Assessment, and Initial Medical Treatment in Crohn's Disease Clinical Decision Support Tool," published in Gastroenterology, the official journal of the AGA, synthesizes gastroenterologist's understanding of the disease with data from recent studies to create a pathway for GIs to follow in assessing and treating their patients.
Case studies challenge students to diagnose infectious diseases For almost 25 years, medical students have relied on Cases in Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases to prepare for Part I of the National Board of Medical Examiners Exam. First published in 1992, the newly updated, fourth edition, now available from the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Press, continues to challenge students to develop a working knowledge of the variety of microorganisms that cause infections in humans.
Re-expression of an embryonic signaling pathway in melanoma utilizes different receptors Metastatic melanoma is a highly aggressive skin cancer whose incidence is on the rise at an alarming rate. Research has revealed that metastatic tumor cells share similar signaling pathways with embryonic stem cells to sustain plasticity and growth. However, major regulators of these pathways are often missing in tumor cells, thus allowing uncontrolled tumor growth and spreading to occur.
Gut bacteria tire out T cells Leaky intestines may cripple bacteria-fighting immune cells in patients with a rare hereditary disease, according to a study by researchers in Lausanne, Switzerland. The study, published in The Journal of Experimental Medicine on September 15, may explain why these patients suffer from recurrent bacterial infections.
Results of CLEAN-TAVI trial reported at TCT 2014 A first-of-its kind study found that using a cerebral protection device during transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) can significantly reduce the number and volume of cerebral lesions in high risk patients with severe aortic stenosis.
Results of US CoreValve High Risk Trial reported at TCT 2014 According to a new study, transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) provided meaningful clinical benefits relative to surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) in high risk patients with incremental costs considered acceptable from a US perspective. Findings from the cost-effectiveness analysis of the US CoreValve High Risk Trial were reported today at the 26th annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific symposium. Sponsored by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF), TCT is the world's premier educational meeting specializing in interventional cardiovascular medicine.
Results of PARTNER I trial reported at TCT 2014 New data from a landmark clinical trial found that after five years, transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) demonstrated a persistent mortality benefit, improved functional status, and resulted in a lower rate of repeat hospitalizations when compared with standard therapy for patients with severe aortic stenosis who are not candidates for surgery.
	US works to step up Ebola aid, but is it enough? The American strategy on Ebola is two-pronged: Step up desperately needed aid to West Africa and, in an unusual step, train U.S. doctors and nurses for volunteer duty in the outbreak zone. At home, the goal is to speed up medical research and put hospitals on alert should an infected traveler arrive.
Improved survival shown in early-stage Hodgkin's Disease patients who receive radiation therapy Patients with stage I and II Hodgkin's Disease who receive consolidated radiation therapy (RT) have a higher 10-year survival rate of 84 percent, compared to 76 percent for patients who did not receive RT; and, the data also shows a decrease in utilization of RT, according to research presented today at the American Society for Radiation Oncology's (ASTRO's) 56th Annual Meeting.
Two-year results of the CoreValve US Pivotal trial reported at TCT 2014 In extended follow-up from a clinical trial, a self-expanding transcatheter aortic valve was shown to have low rates of all-cause mortality and major stroke. Findings were reported today at the 26th annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific symposium. Sponsored by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF), TCT is the world's premier educational meeting specializing in interventional cardiovascular medicine.
Results of ISAR-CLOSURE trial reported at TCT 2014 A new clinical trial found that vascular closure devices (VCD) are non-inferior to manual compression in patients undergoing transfemoral coronary angiography. Findings were reported today at the 26th annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific symposium. Sponsored by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF), TCT is the world's premier educational meeting specializing in interventional cardiovascular medicine.
Shorter course of ADT for high-risk prostate cancer patients yields improved quality of life High-risk prostate cancer patients who receive radiation therapy (RT) and an 18-month course of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) recover a normal testosterone level in a shorter amount of time compared to those who receive a 36-month course of ADT, thus resulting in a better quality of life (QOL) and without detriment to long-term outcomes, according to research presented today at the American Society for Radiation Oncology's (ASTRO's) 56th Annual Meeting.
Blood test for VEGF-A, TGF-B1 could help determine treatment options for esophageal cancer patients A blood test may be beneficial in indicating neoadjuvant treatment regimens for patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), according to research presented today at the American Society for Radiation Oncology's (ASTRO's) 56th Annual Meeting. Results of a nine-year study of patients undergoing concurrent chemotherapy and radiotherapy (CCRT) for esophageal cancer show that levels of two proteins found in the body, vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A) and transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), indicate patients' pathological response and disease-free survival rates.
Patient-reported data shows RT does not increase risk of lymphedema in node-negative BC patients A secondary analysis of the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project B-32 trial (Krag 2010) indicates that radiation therapy (RT) does not increase the incidence of lymphedema in patients with node-negative breast cancer, according to research presented today at the American Society for Radiation Oncology's (ASTRO's) 56th Annual Meeting.
Manuka honey does not decrease pain of radiation-induced esophagitis for lung cancer patients Patient-reported data indicates that when Manuka honey is prescribed for esophagitis pain during radiation therapy (RT), it is not more effective than standard medical care, according to research presented today at the American Society for Radiation Oncology's (ASTRO's) 56th Annual Meeting.
Nurses need education on advance health care directives An educational program for nurses can help address knowledge gaps related to advance health care directives (AHCDs)—thus helping to ensure that patients' wishes for care at the end of life are known and respected, reports a paper in the October/December Journal of Christian Nursing, official journal of the http://www.ncf-jcn.org/">Nurses Christian Fellowship.
Advanced esophageal cancer patients who receive RT alone experience less problems when swallowing Radiation therapy (RT) alone is as effective in decreasing swallowing complications experienced by advanced esophageal cancer patients as RT combined with chemotherapy, thus allowing patients to forgo chemotherapy, according to research presented today at the American Society for Radiation Oncology's (ASTRO's) 56th Annual Meeting.
Countries scramble to make up for 'precious time' lost in Ebola fight (Update) The European Union urged the international community Monday to boost aid to make up for "precious time" lost in the response to west Africa's deadly Ebola outbreak, as the UN Security Council announced an emergency meeting on the crisis.
	New role of patient as consumer requires market changes (HealthDay)—The new consumer retail market in U.S. health care is necessary and will benefit consumers, and as consumers take on more costs of care, access to information to help them make informed decisions is crucial, according to a recent white paper published by Vitals.
Change laws to exempt unwell doctors from mandatory reporting, say medico-legal experts In a report published in today's Journal of Law and Medicine, the authors say an exemption to mandatory reporting in Western Australian legislation provides a model for amending equivalent laws in others jurisdictions, which could pave the way for nationally consistent legislation.
Airborne particles beyond traffic fumes may affect asthma risk Researchers in Sydney and Newcastle, Australia have found that elements of dust, particularly those coarse particles that contain iron traces, stimulate the production of inflammatory molecules in cells from the airways of mice and healthy human volunteers.
A thin line lies between fantasy and reality in people with psychopathic traits New research indicates that people with psychopathic traits have a preference for nonromantic sexual fantasies with anonymous and uncommitted partners. The study's investigators noted that psychopathic sexual behavior is likely due to a preference for sexual activity outside a loving, committed relationship rather than only an inability to form such relationships.
This is your brain on snacks: Brain stimulation affects craving and consumption Magnetic stimulation of a brain area involved in "executive function" affects cravings for and consumption of calorie-dense snack foods, reports a study in the September issue of Psychosomatic Medicine: Journal of Biobehavioral Medicine, the official journal of the American Psychosomatic Society.
	Genes may help explain why some people are naturally more interested in music than others Research suggests that genes that affect hearing and cognitive function may play roles in one's musical aptitude, or the ability to understand and perceive rhythm, pitch, timbre, tone durations, and formal structure in music.
Report urges individualized, cholesterol-targeted approach to heart disease and stroke A recent guideline for using statins to reduce atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease has wavered too far from the simple cholesterol goals that have saved thousands of lives in the past decade, and doesn't adequately treat patients as individuals, experts said today in a national report.
Measuring defensive medicine costs on three hospital services About 28 percent of the orders for three services at three hospitals were judged to be at least partially defensive by the physicians who ordered them.
Cardiorespiratory fitness can delay male, age-associated blood pressure hikes A man's cardiorespiratory fitness can drastically delay the natural, age-associated increase of his blood pressure over his adult life span. According to a study published today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, men with higher fitness levels experience a delay in the development of hypertension when compared to those with lower fitness levels.
Dutch doctors feared to have Ebola leave hospital Two Dutch doctors flown home from west Africa after fears they might have been contaminated with the killer Ebola virus have left hospital "in good health," their employer, the Lion Heart Medical Centre, said Monday.
	Sierra Leone: WHO too slow to help doc with Ebola Sierra Leone accused the World Health Organization on Monday of being "sluggish" in facilitating an evacuation of a doctor who died from Ebola before she could be sent out of the country for medical care.
Study shows consumption of high-fat dairy products is associated with a lower risk of developing diabetes New research presented at this year's annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Vienna, Austria, shows that people with the highest consumption of high-fat dairy products (8 or more portions per day) have a 23% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes than those with the lowest consumption (1 or less per day). The research is by Dr Ulrika Ericson, Lund University Diabetes Center, Malmö, Sweden, and colleagues.
	Smoking rates on the rise in New York City For the first time in years, more than 1 million New Yorkers are smoking, marking a disturbing rise of tobacco use in the city that pioneered a number of anti-smoking initiatives that were emulated nationally.
UN Security Council to hold emergency meeting on Ebola The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on the Ebola crisis Thursday to find ways to scale up the global response to the epidemic, the US ambassador announced.

Biology news

	How an ancient vertebrate uses familiar tools to build a strange-looking head If you never understood what "ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny" meant in high school, don't worry: biologists no longer think that an animal's "ontogeny", that is, its embryonic development, replays its entire evolutionary history. Instead, the new way to figure out how animals evolved is to compare regulatory networks that control gene expression patterns, particularly embryonic ones, across species. An elegant study published in the September 14, 2014 advance online issue of Nature from the Stowers Institute for Medical Research shows just how humbling and exhilarating that pursuit can be.
	'Femme fatale' emerald ash borer decoy lures and kills males An international team of researchers has designed decoys that mimic female emerald ash borer beetles and successfully entice male emerald ash borers to land on them in an attempt to mate, only to be electrocuted and killed by high-voltage current.
	'Most famous wheat gene' found Washington State University researchers have found "the most famous wheat gene," a reproductive traffic cop of sorts that can be used to transfer valuable genes from other plants to wheat.
Measuring modified protein structures Swiss researchers have developed a new approach to measure proteins with structures that change. This could enable new diagnostic tools for the early recognition of neurodegenerative diseases to be developed.
New insights in survival strategies of bacteria Bacteria are particularly ingenious when it comes to survival strategies. They often create a biofilm to protect themselves from a hostile environment, for example during treatment with antibiotics. A biofilm is a bacterial community that is surrounded by a protective slime capsule consisting of sugar chains and "curli". Scientists at VIB and Vrije Universiteit Brussel have for the first time created a detailed three-dimensional image of the pores through which the curli building blocks cross the bacterial cell wall, a crucial step in the formation of the protective slime capsule.
	Final pieces to the circadian clock puzzle found Researchers at the UNC School of Medicine have discovered how two genes – Period and Cryptochrome – keep the circadian clocks in all human cells in time and in proper rhythm with the 24-hour day, as well as the seasons. The finding, published today in the journal Genes and Development, has implications for the development of drugs for various diseases such as cancers and diabetes, as well as conditions such as metabolic syndrome, insomnia, seasonal affective disorder, obesity, and even jetlag.
	Proteins can be easily and sensitively detected by their scattered light In future, some diseases might be diagnosed earlier and treated more effectively. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light in Erlangen have developed an optical method that makes individual proteins, such as the proteins characteristic of some cancers, visible. Other methods that achieve this only work if the target biomolecules have first been labelled with fluorescent tags; In general, however, that approach is difficult or even impossible. By contrast, with their method, coined iSCAT, the researchers in Erlangen are able to directly detect the scattered light of individual proteins via their shadows. The method could not only make biomedical diagnoses more sensitive, but also provide new insights into fundamental biological processes.
	X-rays unlock a protein's SWEET side Sugar is a vital source of energy for both plants and animals alike.
	Boosting armor for nuclear-waste eating microbes (Phys.org) —A microbe developed to clean up nuclear waste and patented by a Michigan State University researcher has just been improved.
	From whales to larvae, study finds common principles at work in swimming At nearly 100 feet long and weighing as much as 170 tons, the blue whale is the largest creature on the planet, and by far the heaviest living thing ever seen on Earth. So there's no way it could have anything in common with the tiniest fish larvae, which measure millimeters in length and tip the scales at a fraction of a gram, right?
	The quick and the dead among tropical reptiles: Study suggests some faster lizards can survive climate change Some tropical reptiles may be able to adapt quickly to climate change rather than go extinct as widely expected, a Dartmouth-led study finds.
Researchers explain mystery of cereal grain defense Crop scientists at Washington State University have explained how genes in the barley plant turn on defenses against aging and stressors like drought, heat and disease.
	Cells simply avoid chromosome confusion: Reproductive cell division has a mechanical safeguard against errors Reproductive cell division has evolved a simple, mechanical solution to avoid chromosome sorting errors, researchers report in the Sept. 11 Science Express.
	Decoding virus-host interactions in the oxygen-starved ocean For multicellular life—plants and animals—to thrive in the oceans, there must be enough dissolved oxygen in the water. In certain coastal areas, extreme oxygen-starvation produces "dead zones" that decimate marine fisheries and destroy food web structure. As dissolved oxygen levels decline, energy is increasingly diverted away from multicellular life into microbial community metabolism resulting in impacts on the ecology and biogeochemistry of the ocean.
	Scientists discover tropical tree microbiome in Panama Human skin and gut microbes influence processes from digestion to disease resistance. Despite the fact that tropical forests are the most biodiverse terrestrial ecosystems on the planet, more is known about belly-button bacteria than bacteria on trees in the tropics. Smithsonian scientists and colleagues working on Panama's Barro Colorado Island discovered that small leaf samples from a single tree were home to more than 400 different kinds of bacteria. The combined sample from 57 tree species contained more than 7,000 different kinds.
Scientists discover RNA modifications in some unexpected places The so-called central dogma of molecular biology—that DNA makes RNA which makes protein—has long provided a simplified explanation for how genetic information is deciphered and translated in living organisms.
	Bangladesh meet begins to save endangered tigers Some 140 tiger experts and government officials from 20 countries met in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka on Sunday to review progress towards an ambitious goal of doubling their number in the wild by 2022.
	Plastic pollution choking Australian waters, study says Three-quarters of the trash found off Australian beaches is plastic, a study released Monday said as it warned that the rubbish is entangling and being swallowed by wildlife.
	Wild Chinese sturgeon on brink of extinction: state media The wild Chinese sturgeon is at risk of extinction, state media reported, after none of the rare fish were detected reproducing naturally in the polluted and crowded Yangtze river last year.
	Whale huddle braces for clash over Japanese hunting Nations square off in Slovenia this week over the fate of hundreds of whales in the crosshairs of Japanese and Greenland hunters accused of sidestepping a commercial killing ban.
	Multiple studies provide insight into drought tolerance of TAM wheat varieties Drought is the most important constraint limiting wheat yields in the U.S. Southern High Plains, and the past four years of exceptional drought have provided a tremendous opportunity for research and genetic improvements.
Timing clutch for greater sage-grouse (Phys.org) —It's an oft-repeated phrase that the early bird gets the worm. And, according to a collaborative study between the University of Maine and University of Nevada, Reno, it's also true that a greater sage-grouse that lays her eggs earliest, lays the most eggs.
	Mosses survive climate catastrophes Mosses have existed on Earth for more than 400 million years. During this period they survived many climate catastrophes that wiped out more robust organisms such as, for example, dinosaurs. Recently, British scientists brought single moss plants back to life after they had been frozen in the Antarctic ice for 1,500 years. Why are these small plants so resilient to climate changes? The biologists Professor Ralf Reski and Professor Peter Beyer and their teams discovered that mosses have specific genes that are activated quickly at low temperatures.
Project prepares collection for 21st-century challenge of invasive species UW-Madison sophomore Alex Idarraga carefully feeds a paper sheet holding a pressed, dried plant into a light box, closes the door and triggers the camera mounted overhead.
	Think big: Bacteria breach cell division size limit The life of a cell is straightforward: it doubles, divides in the middle and originates two identical daughter cells. Therefore, it has been long assumed that cells of the same kind are similarly sized and big cells cannot divide symmetrically. Silvia Bulgheresi's team, University of Vienna, revealed that two non-model bacteria divide regularly despite growing so long to be perceivable by the naked eye. These findings have been published in the renowned journal Nature Communications.
	Study finds warming Atlantic temperatures could increase range of invasive species "The results will allow us to better understand how the fish communities might shift under different climate change scenarios and provide the type of environmental data to inform future decisions relating to the management and siting of protected areas," said Paula Whitfield, a research ecologist at NOAA's National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) and lead author of the study.
	Tigers, pandas and people a recipe for conservation insight The first big revelation in conservation sciences was that studying the people on the scene as well as nature conservation was crucial. Now, as this science matures, researchers are showing that it's useful to compare apples and oranges.
Collaboration drives achievement in protein structure research When this week's print issue of the journal Science comes out, a collective cheer will go up from New Mexico, Montana and even the Netherlands, thanks to the type of collaborative effort that is more and more the norm in these connected times. Yes, the research was brilliant, and if we're lucky, it will produce innovations in biology, medicine, biotechnology and agriculture. It could save lives, and it happened because this scientist talked with that one, that one knew another one, and brilliant minds overcame geographic distance to advance human understanding.
	How to control the cats that are eating our wildlife Feral domestic cats are a global threat to biodiversity and were recently named as the biggest threat to endangered Australian mammals.
	Japan's whale hunt under scrutiny at IWC meeting Japan's intention to resume whale hunts in the Antarctic—despite a ruling by the top U.N. court—topped the agenda as an international whaling conference opened Monday in Slovenia's Adriatic Sea resort of Portoroz.
	If hippopotamuses can't swim, how can some be living on islands? There is no published account where hippopotamuses are demonstrably shown swimming or floating at the surface of any body of water. But if they can't swim, how did they reach and colonize islands?
	How are hybridized species affecting wildlife? Researchers who transplanted combinations of wild, domesticated, and domesticated-wild hybridized populations of a fish species to new environments found that within 5 to 11 generations, selection could remove introduced foreign genes from wild populations that hybridized with domesticated populations.
Study indicates hunting restrictions for tapirs may not be enough A published study indicates that lowland tapir populations may continue to drop in French Guiana, despite recent restrictions on hunting. Researchers from the Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage in French Guiana and San Diego Zoo Global reviewed data retrieved from camera traps in the Nouragues National Reserve over the last four years and compared this data to current harvest rates in the region.

---

This email is a free service of Phys.org
You received this email because you subscribed to our list.
If you no longer want to receive this email use the link below to unsubscribe.
https://sciencex.com/profile/nwletter/
You are subscribed as jmabs1@gmail.com