Science X Newsletter Monday, Sep 8

Dear Reader ,

Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for September 8, 2014:

Spotlight Stories Headlines

- Best of Last Week – New model for dark matter, Martian clouds and mind to mind conversing
- Phosphorus a promising semiconductor
- Co-flowing liquids can stabilize chaotic 'whipping' in microfluidic jets
- Layered graphene sandwich for next generation electronics
- Engineers advance understanding of graphene's friction properties
- Textbook theory behind volcanoes may be wrong
- A single evolutionary road may lead to Rome
- Faces are more likely to seem alive when we want to feel connected
- Fish as good as chimpanzees at choosing the best partner for a task
- A bird-pollinated flower with a rather ingenious twist
- Google team rises to 2014 visual recognition challenge
- Whale sex: It's all in the hips
- New species of titanosaurian dinosaur found in Tanzania
- New study shows how conversion of forests to cropland affected climate
- New remote-sensing instrument to blaze a trail on the International Space Station

Astronomy & Space news

	Image: Hubble sees spiral in Serpens (Phys.org) —This new NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image shows a beautiful spiral galaxy known as PGC 54493, located in the constellation of Serpens (The Serpent). This galaxy is part of a galaxy cluster that has been studied by astronomers exploring an intriguing phenomenon known as weak gravitational lensing.
	Solar system simulation reveals planetary mystery When we look at the Solar System, what clues show us how it formed? We can see pieces of its formation in asteroids, comets and other small bodies that cluster on the fringes of our neighborhood (and sometimes, fly closer to Earth.)
	New remote-sensing instrument to blaze a trail on the International Space Station The Cloud-Aerosol Transport System (CATS), a new instrument that will measure the character and worldwide distribution of the tiny particles that make up haze, dust, air pollutants and smoke, will do more than gather data once it's deployed on the International Space Station this year.
	Small meteorite strikes Nicaragua, government says Nicaragua's government said Sunday that a mysterious boom heard overnight in the capital was made by a small meteorite that left a crater in a wooded area near Managua's airport.
	What would it be like to fall into a black hole? Let's say you decided to ignore some of my previous advice. You've just purchased yourself a space dragon from the Market on the Centauri Ringworld, strapped on your favorite chainmail codpiece and sonic sword and now you're going ride head first into the nearest black hole.
	Speed demon asteroid sprints safely past Earth Earth-approaching asteroid 2014 RC ripped pass Earth today, got its orbit refashioned by our planet's gravity and now bids us adieu. I thought you'd like to see how fast this ~60-foot-wide (20-meter) space rock moved across the sky. The team of observers at Remanzacco Observatory in Italy photographed it remotely with a telescope set up in Australia. 30 minutes before closest approach to Earth of 25,000 miles (40,000 km), 2014 RC was traveling at the rate of 49.5 arc minutes (1.6 times the diameter of the full moon) per minute.
	Sweet success for SpaceX with second successful AsiaSat launch this summer Shortly after midnight this morning, Sunday, Sept. 7, SpaceX scored a major success with the spectacular night time launch of the commercial AsiaSat 6 satellite from Cape Canaveral, Florida, that briefly turned night into day along the Florida Space Coast.
	Image: Rosetta comet observed with Very Large Telescope (Phys.org) —Since early August 2014, Rosetta has been enjoying a close-up view of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. Meanwhile, astronomers on Earth have been busy following the comet with ground-based telescopes. As Rosetta is deep inside the 'atmosphere' coma – it was 100 km from the nucleus on 6 August, and has been getting much closer since then – the only way to view the whole comet is to 'stand back' and observe it from Earth.

Technology news

	Bringing gesture-control technology from Hollywood to corporate conference rooms When you imagine the future of gesture-control interfaces, you might think of the popular science-fiction films "Minority Report" (2002) or "Iron Man" (2008). In those films, the protagonists use their hands or wireless gloves to seamlessly scroll through and manipulate visual data on a wall-sized, panoramic screen.
	Buddhist singing bowls inspire new tandem solar cell design The shape of a centuries-old Buddhist singing bowl has inspired a Canberra scientist to re-think the way that solar cells are designed to maximize their efficiency.
	Sun-powered desalination for villages in India Around the world, there is more salty groundwater than fresh, drinkable groundwater. For example, 60 percent of India is underlain by salty water—and much of that area is not served by an electric grid that could run conventional reverse-osmosis desalination plants.
	Professor makes the case for Supercool Metals (w/ Video) Someday, digital citizens around the world may have a Yale professor to thank for the supercool, extra-durable case protecting their smartphones.
	Google team rises to 2014 visual recognition challenge Google's Christian Szegedy, software engineer, blogged Friday about GoogleNet's entry into a visual recognition challenge, the results of which indicate improvements in the state of machine vision technology. The Large Scale Visual Recognition Challenge is the largest academic challenge in computer vision, held annually to test state-of-the-art technology in image understanding—in recognizing objects in images and locating where they are. The competition tracks are classification, classification with localization, and detection. Szegedy detailed the tracks: "The classification track measures an algorithm's ability to assign correct labels to an image. The classification with localization track is designed to assess how well an algorithm models both the labels of an image and the location of the underlying objects. Finally, the detection challenge is similar, but uses much stricter evaluation criteria."
	Will Apple finally reveal its next big thing? Apple is poised to reveal its next big thing in a crucial attempt to prove its technological tastemakers still have the power to mesmerize the masses.
	Apple feeds frenzy with selective silence It is a marketing strategy that few experts would recommend and even fewer companies can pull off.
	Cutting fossil subsidies must to advance renewables: agency Renewable energy, essential for meeting global CO2 emission targets, needs a stable regulatory framework, a cut in fossil fuel subsidies and more interconnected power grids to develop, a global energy agency said Sunday.
	Microsoft revamps MSN to flow across devices Microsoft is giving its MSN news service a crisper look, new lifestyle tools and seamless syncing across devices.
	Australia's first fuel cell bicycle UNSW researchers have built an Australian-first bicycle that can take riders up to 125 kilometres on a single battery charge and $2 of hydrogen.
	Why global contributions to Wikipedia are so unequal The geography of knowledge has always been uneven. Some people and places have always been more visible and had more voices than others. But the internet seemed to promise something different: a greater diversity of voices, opinions and narratives from more places. Unfortunately, this has not come to pass in quite the manner some expected it to. Many parts of the world remain invisible or under-represented on important websites and services.
	Big data tamed with the cloud Big data: it's the hot topic these days, promising breakthroughs in just about every field, from medicine to marketing to machine learning and more. But for many of us, the problems of managing big data hit home when we confront the welter of digital photos and videos we have recorded with our smartphones and cameras. Multiply this by the number of people doing this around the world and it is a big problem. On the surface, it does not seem like an endeavor on the order of treating cancer (more on that later), but it is a colossal headache to organize, classify, search, and retrieve our multimedia content—and designing systems to do this at scale effectively is a huge challenge.
	Video: Future armored ground vehicles could sprint, dodge and shield their way out of danger One of the key goals of DARPA's Ground X-Vehicle Technology (GXV-T) program is improving the survivability of ground-based armored fighting vehicles by increasing vehicle agility. Vehicle agility involves the ability to autonomously avoid incoming threats, either by rapidly moving out of the way or reconfiguring the vehicle so incoming threats have a low probability of hitting and penetrating—all without injuring the occupants in the process. This concept video illustrates three of many potential approaches: active repositioning of armor, burst acceleration and suspensions that would enable the vehicle to dodge.
3Qs: Password and cloud security The recent news that hackers accessed celebrities' cloud accounts and released their intimate photos online has prompted many to question the security of sensitive data stored on people's own smartphones and in the cloud. Here, Wil Robertson, an assistant professor who holds joint appointments in the College of Computer and Information Science and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, discusses this recent hack and provides some advice for people to protect their privacy and online data.
	Twitter tests 'buy' button for posted ads Twitter on Monday began testing "buy buttons" that let people make purchases directly from marketing posts fired off at the globally popular one-to-many messaging service.
	Amazon slashes price of its Fire smartphone Amazon slashed the price of its Fire smartphone Monday, a day before Apple is expected to unveil its latest version of the iPhone.
GE, home appliance pioneer, gives up on consumers General Electric, a household name for more than a century in part for making households easier to run, is leaving the home.
With wireless competition heating up, time to thank the FCC It's time to give the regulators who oversee the wireless industry a big cheer - and urge them to keep up the good work.
	'Rowing' wheelchair is a moving experience Rice University students have built a unique wheelchair for a Houston teenager who will now be able to row his way forward.
	A Closer Look: A second layer of security online Recent hacks exposing nude photographs of Jennifer Lawrence and other celebrities are prompting calls for people to fortify their online accounts with a second layer of security.
	Ships without skippers A 200 metre long vessel moves slowly across the dark sea surface. There is no one at the wheel. It is quiet on the bridge. There are no signs of life in the engine room or on deck. A scene from a horror film or science fiction, perhaps? No. This is the bold aim the EU project MUNIN is working to achieve.
	High-performance computing crossing the barriers between clouds achieved The Information Technology Research Institute of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology has developed a technology with which once an environment to perform high-performance computing has been established, a virtual cluster-type computer can easily be built on a different cloud and made available for immediate use.
Amazon launches 'Fire' smartphone in Germany, Britain US online giant Amazon said Monday it was selling its "Fire" 3D smartphone in Germany and Britain as it cut the price of the handset for US customers.
Home Depot confirms breach in US, Canada stores Home Depot is confirming that its payment data systems have been breached, and says the hack could affect customers who used cards at U.S. and Canadian stores.

Medicine & Health news

	Taking short walking breaks found to reverse negative effects of prolonged sitting An Indiana University study has found that three easy—one could even say slow—5-minute walks can reverse harm caused to leg arteries during three hours of prolonged sitting.
Evil not so banal, says disturbing new probe What prompts ordinary people to commit acts of evil? The question has been debated by philosophers, moralists, historians and scientists for centuries.
	A potential breakthrough on liver cancer In the battle of humans versus disease, the latter usually gets the upper hand in the end. For patients with terminal diseases, the pace of biomedical research can seem glacial. It takes years—if not decades—to understand how disease spreads in the body and to develop a drug to treat it. Then there are countless more years of testing in the lab and animal studies before a drug can be approved for clinical trials in humans. You only have to consider the millions of lives lost to HIV/AIDS before drugs were developed to manage the disease.
	New prosthetic leg attaches directly to the bone (Medical Xpress)—Researchers at the Royal National Orthopaedic hospital and the Royal Orthopaedic hospital, both in the U.K. have just completed the first stage of medical trials for a new type of leg prosthetic—instead of a cup design, the artificial leg attaches to a piece of metal that is connected directly to the leg bone. Developed and built by Stanmore Implants, the prosthetic called ITAP (Intraosseous Transcutaneous Amputation Prosthesis) takes a whole new approach to creating an artificial leg.
	Scientists reveal cell secret potentially useful for vaccines The best defense is a good offense, especially when it comes to the immune system. The troops that respond to an infection are split into two squadrons, and, until recently, it seemed that the two were independent, without much interaction.
	Faces are more likely to seem alive when we want to feel connected Feeling socially disconnected may lead us to lower our threshold for determining that another being is animate or alive, according to new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
	Brain injuries no match for sPIF treatment Researchers at Yale School of Medicine and their colleagues have uncovered a new pathway to help treat perinatal brain injuries. This research could also lead to treatments for traumatic brain injuries and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
	Broken signals lead to neurodegeneration Researchers from the RIKEN Brain Science Institute in Japan, in collaboration with Juntendo University and the Japan Science and Technology Agency, have discovered that a cell receptor widely involved in intracellular calcium signaling—the IP3R receptor—can be locked into a closed state by enzyme action, and that this locking may potentially play a role in the reduction of neuron signaling seen in neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington's and Alzheimer's disease.
	Biologists delay the aging process by 'remote control' UCLA biologists have identified a gene that can slow the aging process throughout the entire body when activated remotely in key organ systems.
	Sleeping on animal fur in infancy found to reduce risk of asthma Sleeping on animal fur in the first three months of life might reduce the risk of asthma in later childhood a new study has found.
Many patients in cancer centers may not experience a dignified death A new study that surveyed physicians and nurses in hospitals within cancer centers in Germany suggests that many patients there do not experience a dignified death. Published early online in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study indicates the need for cancer centers to invest more in palliative care services, adequate rooms for dying patients, staff training in end-of-life care, and advance-care-planning standards.
	Parents may be putting kids on path to drinking Teenagers whose parents supply alcohol in early adolescence are three times as likely to be drinking full serves of alcohol at age 16 as children in families that do not supply alcohol, a major new study from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre at UNSW has found.
Breath temperature test could identify lung cancer The temperature of exhaled breath could be used to diagnose lung cancer, according to a new study.
	Ebola is surging in places it had been beaten back Doctors Without Borders shuttered one of its Ebola treatment centers in Guinea in May. They thought the deadly virus was being contained there.
Coping with suicide loss If you're grieving after a loved one died by suicide or attempted suicide, you don't have to suffer alone.
Toward a theory of child well-being For most of us, being healthy is more than lack of disease. It is a state of physical and mental well-being.
	Young people who have attempted suicide disadvantaged on the job market People who have attempted suicide when young are less likely to have a successful professional career later in life. This was discovered in a joint study by the Swedish Karolinska Institutet and MedUni Vienna. The prospect of long-term unemployment later in life threatens many people who have attempted suicide once or more. However, they make up an even larger proportion of the statistics for long-term sick leave and disability pensions.
	Father's smoking prior to conception could increase asthma risk for baby A baby has a greater risk of asthma if his or her father smoked prior to conception.
France announces second artificial heart transplant France last month carried out the second transplant of a new-generation artificial heart, Health Minister Marisol Touraine said Monday.
	Research explains how you bite off the chocolate from nuts Simply biting off the chocolate from a nut dipped in chocolate, instead of biting through both the chocolate and nut requires sophisticated control of the biting power. This is possible owing to an advanced coordination of muscle activation and brake reflexes in different parts of the jaw muscles, in accordance with a thesis from Umeå University in Sweden.
	New cell model to speed up development of brain tumour drugs New research from The University of Nottingham looks set to improve screening for new cancer drugs and drug delivery systems specifically designed for children with brain tumours.
	Cancer immunotherapy on the cusp Glass crystals with thread-like filaments floating inside sit in the offices of two prominent immunologists. The clear blocks encase models of the structure of PD-1/PD-L1, a receptor-ligand pair that rides on the surface of cells, ready to rein in the immune system after its work attacking invaders is done.
	Tiny heart valve has big potential for startup An unlikely combination of biomedical engineering and meticulous sewing skills has led to an innovative heart valve replacement that could save countless lives.
	Is football stress hazardous to fans' health? The excitement of football, and even the activities and feelings of anticipation leading up to games, can be unhealthy in ways many do not realize, according to Jody Gilchrist, a nurse practitioner at the University of Alabama at Birmingham's Heart and Vascular Clinic at The Kirklin Clinic at Acton Road.
	Gold specs considered in pregnancy research The biodistribution and toxicity of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) in pregnant mice has been explored to gain a further understanding of how maternal or placental conditions might be treated without causing foetal side effects.
Study examines discrimination among homeless adults in Toronto with mental illness Vulnerable populations in ethnically diverse Toronto reported more discrimination by health care workers based on their housing status, mental health or substance abuse issues than race, a new study has found.
	Area of animal-to-human Ebola risk bigger than thought (Update) More than 22 million people live in parts of Africa where conditions exist for the Ebola virus to jump from animals to humans, a bigger area than previously thought, researchers said Monday.
Thyroid, kidney cancers up in kids but still rare Children's kidney and thyroid cancers have increased in recent years, and though the diseases are rare, U.S. experts wonder if the rising rates could be related to obesity.
	Food craving is stronger, but controllable, for kids Children show stronger food craving than adolescents and adults, but they are also able to use a cognitive strategy that reduces craving, according to new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
How quickly viruses can contaminate buildings and how to stop them Using tracer viruses, researchers found that contamination of just a single doorknob or table top results in the spread of viruses throughout office buildings, hotels, and health care facilities. Within 2 to 4 hours, the virus could be detected on 40 to 60 percent of workers and visitors in the facilities and commonly touched objects, according to research presented at the 54th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC), an infectious disease meeting of the American Society for Microbiology.
	Facial plastic surgery can safely address the major aspects of aging in one operation A total facial rejuvenation that combines three procedures to address the multiple signs of an aging face and neck can be performed safely at one time, a new study shows.
	Poor recording of physical health and medication could be causing dementia trials to fail Dementia trials could be failing because they all-too-often overlook the physical health of patients – according to new research from the University of East Anglia and Aston University.
Bureaucracy consumes one-quarter of US hospitals' budgets, twice as much as other nations A study of hospital administrative costs in eight nations published today in the September issue of Health Affairs finds that hospital bureaucracy consumed 25.3 percent of hospital budgets in the U.S. in 2011, far more than in other nations.
To admit or not to admit: Variation in hospitalizations from ER costs billions It sounds like the setup for a joke: Two identical patients go to two different hospital emergency entrances, complaining of the same symptoms. But what happens next is no laughing matter, according to a new University of Michigan study published in the September issue of Health Affairs. While one patient may get treated and released from the emergency department, the other gets sent upstairs to a hospital bed – at a cost of tens of thousands of dollars.
Targeted immune booster removes toxic proteins in mouse model of Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease experts at NYU Langone Medical Center and elsewhere are reporting success in specifically harnessing a mouse's immune system to attack and remove the buildup of toxic proteins in the brain that are markers of the deadly neurodegenerative disease.
Unusual immune cell needed to prevent oral thrush An unusual kind of immune cell in the tongue appears to play a pivotal role in the prevention of thrush, according to the researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine who discovered them. The findings, published online today in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, might shed light on why people infected with HIV or who have other immune system impairments are more susceptible to the oral yeast infection.
New compound inhibits enzyme crucial to MERS and SARS viruses, with a catch Scientists at the University of Illinois, Chicago, have identified a compound that effectively inhibits an enzyme crucial to the viruses that cause Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). The compound appears to have a different method of inhibition in each virus due to slight differences in each virus' enzyme which means finding other compounds that inhibit both may be difficult according to research presented at the 54th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) an infectious disease meeting of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM).
	There could be increased numbers of psychopaths in senior managerial positions and high levels of business A breakthrough by a talented University of Huddersfield student has shown for the first time that people with psychopathic tendencies who have high IQs can mask their symptoms by manipulating tests designed to reveal their personalities. It raises the possibility that large numbers of ruthless risk-takers are able to conceal their level of psychopathy as they rise to key managerial posts.
Scientists take a look at the feel-good benefits of belly dance Belly dancers have fewer hang-ups about their bodies. Most women who participate in this torso-driven dance do so because it is fun and they get to perform interesting moves – not because they necessarily feel sexier while doing so. This is the conclusion of Marika Tiggemann of Flinders University in Australia, leader of a study in Springer's journal Sex Roles about the body image of people who belly dance in their free time.
	Parkinson's, cancer findings earn medical prizes Key discoveries about breast cancer, Parkinson's disease and the body's handling of defective proteins have earned prestigious medical awards for five scientists.
Novel cancer drug proves safe for leukemia patients Results of a Phase I clinical trial showed that a new drug targeting mitochondrial function in human cancer cells was safe and showed some efficacy. The findings, reported by doctors at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, are published in the current online edition of the journal Clinical Cancer Research.
Hog workers carry drug-resistant bacteria even after they leave the farm A new study suggests that nearly half of workers who care for animals in large industrial hog farming operations may be carrying home livestock-associated bacteria in their noses, and that this potentially harmful bacteria remains with them up to four days after exposure.
Popular cancer drug target implicated in cardiovascular defects UNC School of Medicine researchers have discovered an unlikely relationship between CXCR7 – a protein implicated in tumor growth and metastasis – and adrenomedullin – a hormone involved in cardiovascular health. Deleting CXCR7 allows adrenomedullin to run rampant, triggering the development of an enlarged heart and the overgrowth of the lymphatic vessels that traffic immune cells and fluids throughout the body.
Team finds new genetic target for a different kind of cancer drug Researchers from the UNC School of Medicine have discovered that the protein RBM4, a molecule crucial to the process of gene splicing, is drastically decreased in multiple forms of human cancer, including lung and breast cancers. The finding, published today in the journal Cancer Cell, offers a new route toward therapies that can thwart the altered genetic pathways that allow cancer cells to proliferate and spread.
Social networking can help people lose weight Social networking programmes designed to help people lose weight could play a role in the global fight against obesity, according to research.
	New targets for treating pulmonary hypertension found Two new potential therapeutic targets for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension, a deadly disease marked by high blood pressure in the lungs, have been identified by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Their findings are reported in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
Lasker award-winner urges wider genetic tests for cancer An American scientist Monday was awarded a top prize for discovering the location of the BRCA1 gene for breast cancer, and used the occasion to call for wider genetic testing of women.
	Gobbling up poison: A method for killing colon cancer These days, cancer researchers aim to design targeted and specific therapy – those that kill cancer but spare the surrounding tissue. Immunotoxins, which use cancer-targeted antibodies linked to deadly toxins such as ricin, are one such therapy. However, few have succeeded to date in part because cancer cells share many molecules with normal cells, and because it can be challenging to unlock the deadly chemical only after the antibody has homed to the diseased tissue.
Study shows nationwide declines in central line infections and ventilator pneumonias Hospitals across the country have seen sharp declines in rates of central line-associated blood stream infections (CLABSIs) and ventilator-associated pneumonias (VAPs) among critically ill neonates and children, according to a new study in the journal Pediatrics.
Bone cancer surgical team sees success in new application of surgical aid An ortho-oncology team at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Norris Cotton Cancer Center successfully adapted a shoulder surgical aid (the Spider Limb Positioner) to conduct a left hip disarticulation on a melanoma patient as described in a case report published online in Medical Devices.
Improving prescribing for patients late in life Older adults are typically prescribed a large number of medications, often including drugs that should not be taken by individuals late in life. In a commentary published online by JAMA Internal Medicine on September 8, Regenstrief Institute investigator Greg Sachs, M.D., calls for physicians to carefully review older patients' medication lists.
	Pastors get scant seminary training on how to help mentally ill, study finds People struggling with mental illness often turn to pastors for help, but seminaries do very little to train ministers how to recognize serious psychological distress and when to refer someone to a doctor or psychologist, according to a Baylor University study.
	Brain damage caused by severe sleep apnea is reversible A neuroimaging study is the first to show that white matter damage caused by severe obstructive sleep apnea can be reversed by continuous positive airway pressure therapy. The results underscore the importance of the "Stop the Snore" campaign of the National Healthy Sleep Awareness Project, a collaboration between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American Academy of Sleep Medicine, Sleep Research Society and other partners.
Too many kids with asthma, food allergies lack school emergency plans Only one in four students with asthma and half of children with food allergies have emergency health management plans in place at school, leaving schools inadequately prepared to manage daily needs and handle medical emergencies related to often life-threatening medical conditions, reports a new Northwestern Medicine study in partnership with Chicago Public Schools (CPS).
Respiratory virus 'clusters' sweep US, sickening kids Clusters of severe respiratory illness across a dozen US states have raised concern about the spread of an unusual virus that is striking children but not adults, health officials said Monday.
	Spinal manipulation, exercise best for neck pain in seniors (HealthDay)—The combination of spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) with home exercise (HE) is most effective for neck pain in older patients, according to a study published in the Sept. 1 issue of The Spine Journal.
	Sibling bullies may leave lasting effects (HealthDay)—While a burly kid on the playground may be the stereotype of a childhood bully, a new study suggests some of the most damaging bullies are as close to home as you can get: They're siblings who tease, make fun of and physically hurt their brothers and sisters.
	ICAAC: Moxifloxacin regimens are not noninferior for TB (HealthDay)—For patients with uncomplicated, smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis, moxifloxacin-containing regimens over four months are not noninferior to a control regimen, according to a study published online Sept. 7 in the New England Journal of Medicine to coincide with the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, held Sept. 5 to 9 in Washington, D.C.
Medical students invent foam tool to treat battlefield wounds Polyurethane foam, long used in products such as bedding, furniture and insulation to make people more comfortable, someday also may save lives.
Exploring the link between sleep apnea and heart failure Tyrone Conner's heart was in such bad shape that he could barely walk up a flight of steps.
Exercise-induced asthma surprises many athletes, but it can be managed Kelly O'Boyle has always been an athlete. As a child, she played lacrosse, basketball, soccer and softball. In high school, she ran track. At the University of Miami, she rows.
Many spend 15 minutes or less picking health insurance Many people (41%) spent 15 minutes or less researching their health insurance plan options during the 2013 open enrollment period, according to an Aflac survey, out Thursday.
Study: More breast cancer patients should keep their healthy breasts Too many women with breast cancer are sacrificing too many healthy breasts for too little benefit, new research suggests.
	Teens living with two college-educated parents less likely to use alcohol and marijuana A high school senior who lives with two college-educated parents is significantly less likely to drink alcohol or smoke marijuana than a teenager who lives with one parent, a new University of Texas at Arlington study has found.
Watchful waiting isn't right for everyone There is an active controversy among oncologists about when to treat prostate cancer patients, with some suggesting that the word "cancer" be removed from the description of low grade disease, in order to prevent overtreatment. However a new study shows that these guidelines may not be appropriate for everyone, especially African American men.
Study examines immunosuppressant effect on central nervous system disorder In patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD, an autoimmune inflammatory disease of the central nervous system similar to multiple sclerosis but even more debilitating), the immunosuppressant medication mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) appears to reduce the frequency of relapse, stabilize or improve disabilities and be well tolerated by patients.
Study of almost 900,000 people shows prediabetes increases the risk of cancer by 15 percent A meta-analysis comprising 16 studies and 891,426 participants from various regions of the world shows that prediabetes increases the risk of cancer by 15%, with differing risks depending on the type of cancer. The study, published in Diabetologia (the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes) is by Professor Yuli Huang, The First People's Hospital of Shunde, Daliang Town, Shunde District, China, and colleagues.
Fish oil may help curb seizure frequency in epilepsy Low doses of fish oil may help to curb the frequency of epileptic seizures when drug treatment no longer works, suggests a small study published online in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry.
	Sodium's influence on blood pressure statistically insignificant, new research says A new study published in American Journal of Hypertension finds evidence that increased Body Mass Index, age, and non-sodium dietary factors are much more closely related to increases in systolic blood pressure than sodium intake.
Serious respiratory illness hits dozen US states Hundreds of children in more than 10 U.S. states have been sickened by a severe respiratory illness that public health officials say may be caused by an uncommon virus similar to the germ that causes the common cold.
Notch1 and osteoblasts play role in bone cancer initiation (Medical Xpress)—A new mouse model of osteogenic sarcoma, a potentially deadly form of bone cancer, shows that high levels of Notch1, a gene that helps determine cell fate, can drive osteoblasts (cells that normally lead to bone formation) to become cancerous, said researchers from Baylor College of Medicine in a report in the journal Cancer Cell.
Researchers improve severe asthma care through new, antibody-based treatment A team of researchers at McMaster University and St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton have successfully evaluated a new, antibody-based drug for certain patients with severe asthma. The drug – named mepolizumab – can replace traditional, steroid-based treatments for a specific subset of patients, resulting in improved outcomes and reduced side effects.
High rates of recreational drug use among HIV-positive gay and bisexual men strongly linked with condomless sex New research published in The Lancet HIV shows that polydrug use is common among HIV-positive men who have sex with men (MSM) and is strongly linked to sex without a condom (condomless sex).
Harvard's health school gets record $350M gift (Update) Harvard University announced Monday that its school of public health has received a record $350 million donation to support students and bolster research into major global health threats.
	Nebraska doctors say Ebola patient making progress The Nebraska doctors treating an American aid worker who became infected with Ebola while working in Liberia said Sunday that he is making progress, but it's not yet clear if he will recover.
Using smartphones to map Parkinson's and other degenerative diseases Smartphones will soon be able to perform the functions of a 'pocket doctor' and map Parkinson's disease and other degenerative diseases, thanks to the work of an Aston University mathematician and others.
	Latest advances in medical imaging for revolutionary proton therapy cancer treatment Advances in medical imaging technology which could make proton beam therapy a viable treatment for many more cancer sufferers will be described on an international stage.
African Union meets for Ebola crisis talks (Update) African Union chiefs held an emergency meeting Monday to hammer out a continent-wide strategy to deal with the Ebola epidemic, which has killed over 2,000 people in west Africa.
Taiwan gutter oil scandal spreads to Hong Kong Pineapple buns and dumplings have been pulled from the shelves in Hong Kong as authorities check whether they contain Taiwanese "gutter oil" which has sparked a growing regional food safety scare, officials said Monday.
Multiple myeloma treatment enters clinical trial A potential new treatment for multiple myeloma with ties to the University of Kansas has entered a clinical trial.
	Accommodating LGBT patients in dental, medical offices As the pediatric dentist walked her 4-year-old patient back to the waiting room, she inquired, "Is your mommy or daddy here?" The child, who had two mommies, burst into tears. The dentist, a lesbian, felt awful.
Input from a psychologist can help improve asthma symptoms Psychological input into the treatment and management of people with severe asthma can help improve their symptoms, according to a new study.
	Women and health professionals spark new cycle of improving maternal and newborn health Demand for better care by women linked with the expansion of basic services, rather than political pressure, has helped to improve midwifery services in low to middle-income countries, according to international research involving the University of Southampton.
Trial shows improved overall survival for patients with liver cancer not amenable to surgery The mature results from a trial conducted by the Asia-Pacific Hepatocellular Carcinoma Trials Group led by the National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS) and Singapore General Hospital (SGH) have shown that patients who suffer from inoperable advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) may have a chance to live significantly longer by using a combined therapy.
Simeprevir in hepatitis C: Added benefit for certain patients The drug simeprevir (trade name: Olysio) has been available since May 2014 for the treatment of adult patients with chronic hepatitis C infection. In an early benefit assessment pursuant to the Act on the Reform of the Market for Medicinal Products (AMNOG), the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) examined whether this new drug offers an added benefit over the appropriate comparator therapy.
Nearly half of older adults have care needs 18 million people—have difficulty or get help with daily activities, according to a new study.
	AU warns efforts to stop Ebola are stigmatizing Border closures, flight bans and mass quarantines are creating a sense of siege in the West African countries affected by Ebola, officials at an emergency African Union meeting said Monday, as Senegal agreed to allow humanitarian aid pass through its closed borders.
	New genomic editing methods produce better disease models from patient-derived iPSCs Highly valuable for modeling human diseases and discovering novel drugs and cell-based therapies, induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are created by reprogramming an adult cell from a patient to obtain patient-specific stem cells. Due to genetic variation, however, iPSCs may differ from a patient's diseased cells, and researchers are now applying new and emerging genomic editing tools to human disease modeling, as described in a comprehensive Review article published in Stem Cells and Development.
New antimicrobial strategy silences NDM-1 resistance gene in pathogens Researchers have synthesized a molecule that can silence the gene responsible for severe antibiotic resistance in some bacteria. The research, presented at the 54th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC), an infectious disease meeting of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) could be a viable new strategy for treating resistant infections.
	WHO: Liberia will see thousands of new Ebola cases (Update) The United States and Britain will send medical equipment and military personnel to help contain West Africa's Ebola outbreak, as the World Health Organization warned Monday that many thousands of new infections are expected in Liberia in the coming weeks.
Study: Rise in ER visits after Medicaid expansion A new study finds that many people newly covered by Medicaid under the federal health law are seeking treatment in hospital emergency rooms. That's one of the most expensive settings for health care.
Report: Security agency not prepared for pandemic The Homeland Security Department's internal watchdog says the agency is ill prepared to respond to a pandemic and has a stockpile of expired or soon-to-expire medicine and supplies on hand.
Patients with advanced dementia continue receiving medications of questionable benefit More than half of nursing home residents with advanced dementia (a terminal illness marked by severe cognitive impairment and functional dependence) continue to receive medications of questionable benefit (including medications to treat dementia and lower cholesterol) at substantial financial cost.
Access to care among young adults increases after health insurance expansion Health insurance coverage increased, as expected, among 19- to 25-year-olds after the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) allowed them to remain on their parents' insurance longer but there were no significant changes in perceived health status or the affordability of health care.
Study finds tear gas could have temporary impact on lung health The effects of tear gas are not just short term and could be experienced for up to two weeks after the event, according to a new study.

Biology news

	Seeing protein synthesis in the field (Phys.org) —Caltech researchers have developed a novel way to visualize proteins generated by microorganisms in their natural environment—including the murky waters of Caltech's lily pond, as in this image created by Professor of Geobiology Victoria Orphan and her colleagues. The method could give scientists insights to how uncultured microbes (organisms that may not easily be grown in the lab) react and adapt to environmental stimuli over space and time.
	From water to land and back, the mosquitofish is on a roll Some fish will leap out of water to escape a predator, but the dramatic exit doesn't do much good without an effective technique for returning. The mosquitofish, it turns out, not only finds its way back—it chooses the most energy-efficient method for doing so.
	Whale sex: It's all in the hips (Phys.org) —Both whales and dolphins have pelvic (hip) bones, evolutionary remnants from when their ancestors walked on land more than 40 million years ago. Common wisdom has long held that those bones are simply vestigial, slowly withering away like tailbones on humans.
	Fish as good as chimpanzees at choosing the best partner for a task Coral trout are fast when chasing prey above the reefs of their habitat, but can't pursue their quarry if it buries itself into a hard-to-reach reef crevice.
	A bird-pollinated flower with a rather ingenious twist When researchers studying several bird-pollinated species of Impatiens flowers in the mountains of western Cameroon noticed one with an odd, upwardly curving nectar spur, they couldn't imagine how any sunbird could ever sip from it. After recording visitors to the flower continuously for a period of days, they had their answer, which they report in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on September 8.
	A single evolutionary road may lead to Rome A well-known biologist once theorized that many roads led to Rome when it comes to two distantly related organisms evolving a similar trait. A new paper, published in Nature Communications, suggests that when it comes to evolving some traits – especially simple ones – there may be a shared gene, one road, that's the source.
	Team traces ecological collapse over 6,000 years of Egyptian history Depictions of animals in ancient Egyptian artifacts have helped scientists assemble a detailed record of the large mammals that lived in the Nile Valley over the past 6,000 years. A new analysis of this record shows that species extinctions, probably caused by a drying climate and growing human population in the region, have made the ecosystem progressively less stable.
	In directing stem cells, study shows context matters Figuring out how blank slate stem cells decide which kind of cell they want to be when they grow up—a muscle cell, a bone cell, a neuron—has been no small task for science.
	In one of nature's innovations, a single cell smashes and rebuilds its own genome Life can be so intricate and novel that even a single cell can pack a few surprises, according to a study led by Princeton University researchers.
Long-distance Aussie migratory birds 'under threat' Two once-common migratory birds have been nominated this week for admission to Australia's list of threatened species.
	Fishing-bait bloodworms have bee-sting bites The bite of a bloodworm delivers venom that causes severe allergic reactions. Scientists studying the venom for the first time have discovered why it causes a reaction similar to that of a bee sting.
	Swallows of the western skies Ushuaia and Fairbanks are cities near the tips of the world.
New mechanism in gene regulation revealed The information encoded in our genes is translated into proteins, which ultimately mediate biological functions in an organism. Messenger RNA (mRNA) plays an important role, as it is the molecular template used for translation. Scientist from the Helmholtz Zentrum München and the Technische Universität München, in collaboration with the Centre for Genomic Regulation (Barcelona, Spain) and colleagues in Grenoble, France, have now unraveled a molecular mechanism of mRNA recognition, which is essential for understanding differential gene regulation in male and female organisms. The results are published in the renowned scientific journal Nature.
	Bacteria from bees possible alternative to antibiotics Raw honey has been used against infections for millennia, before honey - as we now know it - was manufactured and sold in stores. So what is the key to its' antimicrobial properties? Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have identified a unique group of 13 lactic acid bacteria found in fresh honey, from the honey stomach of bees. The bacteria produce a myriad of active antimicrobial compounds.
Plant insights could help develop crops for changing climates Crops that thrive in changing climates could be developed more easily, thanks to fresh insights into plant growth.
	Study puts some mussels into Bay restoration Restoring oysters—and their ability to filter large volumes of water—is widely seen as a key way to improve the health of Chesapeake Bay. New research makes this calculus even more appealing, showing that the mussels that typically colonize the nooks and crannies of a restored oyster reef can more than double its overall filtration capacity.
	Seychelles snail, thought extinct, found alive A snail once thought to have been among the first species to go extinct because of climate change has reappeared in the wild.
	Two rare Indonesian elephants found dead without tusks Two critically-endangered Sumatran elephants have been found dead in Indonesia's Aceh province with their tusks missing, police said Monday.
Plant diversity in China vital for global food security With climate change threatening global food supplies, new research claims the rich flora of China could be crucial to underpin food security in the future. The research was presented at the British Science Association's press launch for the British Science Festival, which starts today (Monday 8 September).
	The future of our crops is at risk in conflict zones Wild species related to our crops which are crucial as potential future food resources have been identified by University of Birmingham scientists, however, a significant proportion are found in conflict zones in the Middle East, where their conservation is increasingly comprised.
	NOAA expands Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary in Lake Huron NOAA today released a final rule and environmental impact statement expanding the boundaries of Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary in Lake Huron from 448 square miles to 4,300 square miles. The new boundaries now include the waters of Lake Huron adjacent to Michigan's Alcona, Alpena and Presque Isle counties to the Canadian border.
	New parasitoid wasp species found in China For the first time, wasps in the genus Spasskia (family: Braconidae) have been found in China, according to an article in the open-access Journal of Insect Science. In addition, a species in that genus which is totally new to science was also discovered.
New baby orca spotted in Washington waters Whale researchers are celebrating a newborn orca in the waters off San Juan Island in Washington state.

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