Science X Newsletter Sunday, Oct 5

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Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for October 5, 2014:

Spotlight Stories Headlines

- Attacking type 2 diabetes from a new direction with encouraging results
- Breakthrough allows researchers to watch molecules 'wiggle'
- GIANT study reveals giant number of genes linked to height
- Barcoding tool for stem cells: New technology that tracks the origin of blood cells challenges scientific dogma
- Engineers use 3-D gaming gear to give eye-opening look at cells in action
- First pictures of BRCA2 protein show how it works to repair DNA
- 'Programmable' antibiotic harnesses an enzyme to attack drug-resistant microbes
- Scientists discover pain receptor on T-cells
- Discovery of a novel heart and gut disease: The genetic mutation involved would date back to 12th century Vikings
- 'Unsung' cells double the benefits of a new osteoporosis drug
- Solar dimming caused by air pollution increases river-flows
- US Navy to deploy armed, robotic patrol boats
- RCas9: A programmable RNA editing tool
- SDO watches giant filament on the Sun
- Study questions the prescription for drug resistance

Astronomy & Space news

SDO watches giant filament on the Sun A snaking, extended filament of solar material currently lies on the front of the sun— some 1 million miles across from end to end. Filaments are clouds of solar material suspended above the sun by powerful magnetic forces. Though notoriously unstable, filaments can last for days or even weeks.

Technology news

	Engineers use 3-D gaming gear to give eye-opening look at cells in action For hundreds of years biologists have studied cells through the lens of a microscope. With a little help from a team of engineers at Drexel University, these scientists could soon be donning 3-D glasses in a home-theater-like lab to take their own fantastic voyage into the petri dish.
	The Physical Web project aims to ease smart object interactions The Physical Web project envisions having URLs, not mobile apps, enable people to use with ease Internet of Things devices. Ease is the key word. A bus stop tells you when the next bus is to appear. A ZipCar broadcasts a signup page and these are only two of the numerous ways the project could grow into something of benefit. The plan is to have people interact with their smart objects, from cars to toys, without downloading any app, in an open ecosystem. "People should be able to walk up to any smart device - a vending machine, a poster, a toy, a bus stop, a rental car - and not have to download an app first. Everything should be just a tap away," said the posting introducing the project. Two things were made clear; the Physical Web is not shipping yet nor is it a Google product. "This is an early-stage experimental project and we're developing it out in the open as we do all things related to the web. This should only be of inter! est to developers looking to test out this feature and provide us feedback."
	Sounds of science: Japan leads push for high-res audio A quarter of a century after the Walkman made music portable and turned Sony into a household name around the world, the company is hoping to set the agenda again with "high-res" audio.
	US Navy to deploy armed, robotic patrol boats The US Navy says it will soon use armed, robotic patrol boats with no sailors on board to escort and defend warships moving through sensitive sea lanes.
	It's good to talk: app aims to spur voice renaissance Two former Google employees are hoping an innovative new phone application will trigger a renaissance in an increasingly unfashionable method of human communication: talking.
	TSMC, ARM see impressive results with FinFET process Technology from a Taiwanese semiconductor foundry is to bring considerable benefits in performance and power efficiency to big.LITTLE implementations, in the name of FinFET. Hsinchu, Taiwan-based TSMC announced last month it had successfully produced the first fully functional ARM-based networking processor with FinFET technology and explained how TSMC's 16FinFET process promises speed and power improvements as well as leakage reduction.
	Facebook steps up battle on 'fake likes' Facebook said Friday it has stepped up its battle against spammers who promise to deliver "likes" to its members, and warned users on using such scams.
	Yahoo wants to invest in Snapchat: report Flush with cash from its investment in Alibaba, Yahoo is angling to buy into hot mobile messaging startup Snapchat, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.
	Hackers hit bank. Is your money safe anywhere? Hackers stole personal information from millions of JPMorgan Chase customers this summer, in one of the biggest breaches of a financial company.
US states probe JPMorgan data theft US states are investigating a cyberattack against JPMorgan Chase that stole customer information, it emerged Friday, a day after the big bank revealed the massive scope of the breach .
Social networks make push as shopping destinations They're not just for sharing any more: Facebook and Twitter are now looking to play a bigger role in shopping.
	S. Korea rumor crackdown jolts social media users South Korea's president is cracking down on rumors in cyberspace in a campaign that threatens the popularity of Kakao Talk, the leading social media service in a country with ambitions to become a global technology leader.
Hewlett-Packard to split business Hewlett-Packard is poised to become the latest technology firm to split into two entities by separating its computer and printer businesses from its corporate hardware and services operation, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.
Sprint cutting unspecified number of jobs Sprint Corp., the nation's third-biggest cellphone carrier, is cutting an unspecified number of jobs this month to reduce costs as it tries to better compete with AT&T and Verizon, and hinted that more layoffs are possible.
	No selfies: Brazil keeps phones out of vote booths Some of the globe's biggest users of social media, Brazilians snap selfies at the beach, at soccer matches, at the gym, in maternity wards and even inside the dens of drug-dealing gangs.

Medicine & Health news

	GIANT study reveals giant number of genes linked to height The largest genome-wide association study (GWAS) to date, involving more than 300 institutions and more than 250,000 subjects, roughly doubles the number of known gene regions influencing height to more than 400. The study, from the international Genetic Investigation of Anthropometric Traits (GIANT) Consortium, provides a better glimpse at the biology of height and offers a model for investigating traits and diseases caused by many common gene changes acting together. Findings were published online October 5 by Nature Genetics.
	Attacking type 2 diabetes from a new direction with encouraging results Type 2 diabetes affects an estimated 28 million Americans according to the American Diabetes Association, but medications now available only treat symptoms, not the root cause of the disease. New research from Rutgers shows promising evidence that a modified form of a different drug, niclosamide – now used to eliminate intestinal parasites – may hold the key to battling the disease at its source.
	Study questions the prescription for drug resistance In response to the rise of drug-resistant pathogens, doctors are routinely cautioned against overprescribing antimicrobials. But when a patient has a confirmed bacterial infection, the advice is to treat aggressively to quash the infection before the bacteria can develop resistance.
Woman has baby after womb transplant in world first (Update) A 36-year-old Swede has become the world's first woman to give birth after receiving a womb transplant, doctors said Saturday, describing the event as a breakthrough for infertile women.
Discovery of a novel heart and gut disease: The genetic mutation involved would date back to 12th century Vikings The disease, which has been named 'chronic atrial intestinal dysrhythmia syndrome', is a serious condition caused by a rare genetic mutation. This finding demonstrates that heart and guts rhythmic contractions are closely linked by a single gene in the human body.
	'Unsung' cells double the benefits of a new osteoporosis drug Experiments in mice with a bone disorder similar to that in women after menopause show that a scientifically overlooked group of cells are likely crucial to the process of bone loss caused by the disorder, according to Johns Hopkins researchers. Their discovery, they say, not only raises the research profile of the cells, called preosteoclasts, but also explains the success and activity of an experimental osteoporosis drug with promising results in phase III clinical trials.
Scientists discover pain receptor on T-cells Researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have discovered that T-cells – a type of white blood cell that learns to recognize and attack microbial pathogens – are activated by a pain receptor.
New study finds lack of adherence to safe handling guidelines for administration of antineoplastic drugs A new National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) study, published online in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, found that recommended safe handling practices for workers who administer antineoplastic drugs in healthcare settings are not always followed.
	Across three continents, Ebola makes its way to US His week began thousands of miles away with a frantic bid to save a life.
	Ebola in US: People scared, but outbreak unlikely Ebola has arrived in the United States and people are frightened.
Pakistan polio cases at 14-year high after threats The number of polio cases recorded in Pakistan has soared to its highest level in 14 years after attacks on immunisation teams led to a surge in incidences of the disease, health authorities said.
Texas tracks 50 exposed to Ebola, 10 'high risk' Texas health officials were monitoring 50 people for Ebola exposure Friday, 10 of whom are at high risk of the disease after close contact with the first diagnosed US patient.
	Mother of two volunteers to aid study seeking DNA patterns for breast cancer After having two children in her 30s, Brianna Hinojosa-Flores had been vigilant about getting mammograms and performing breast self-exams, as suggested by her gynecologist. But when she ran for a congressional seat in 2012, she missed a scheduled mammogram by six months.
Training for Ebola, a disease that 'doesn't forgive' Jean-Sebastien Lerolle peels off the head-to-toe body suit—the yellow and white plastic hallmark of the world's desperate battle against Ebola—and his green nurse scrubs are drenched from sweat.
Texas Ebola patient in critical condition: hospital The first person diagnosed with the deadly Ebola virus on US soil is faring worse and now in critical condition, health officials said Saturday, having previously described him as seriously ill.
	Photographer covering Ebola: The world must see The biggest danger in a war zone is not seeing the enemy. What people face here in Liberia is a war, and no one has seen the enemy.
Officials look for possible Ebola patient contact Authorities in Dallas are searching for a homeless person who might have had contact with the lone Ebola patient diagnosed in the United States, officials said Sunday.
Man dies from Ebola-like Marburg virus in Uganda A hospital technician has died of the Ebola-like Marburg virus in Kampala, the Ugandan government announced on Sunday.

Biology news

	Barcoding tool for stem cells: New technology that tracks the origin of blood cells challenges scientific dogma A 7-year-project to develop a barcoding and tracking system for tissue stem cells has revealed previously unrecognized features of normal blood production: New data from Harvard Stem Cell Institute scientists at Boston Children's Hospital suggests, surprisingly, that the billions of blood cells that we produce each day are made not by blood stem cells, but rather their less pluripotent descendants, called progenitor cells. The researchers hypothesize that blood comes from stable populations of different long-lived progenitor cells that are responsible for giving rise to specific blood cell types, while blood stem cells likely act as essential reserves.
	RCas9: A programmable RNA editing tool A powerful scientific tool for editing the DNA instructions in a genome can now also be applied to RNA, the molecule that translates DNA's genetic instructions into the production of proteins. A team of researchers with Berkeley Lab and the University of California (UC) Berkeley has demonstrated a means by which the CRISPR/Cas9 protein complex can be programmed to recognize and cleave RNA at sequence-specific target sites. This finding has the potential to transform the study of RNA function by paving the way for direct RNA transcript detection, analysis and manipulation.
	First pictures of BRCA2 protein show how it works to repair DNA Scientists have taken pictures of the BRCA2 protein for the first time, showing how it works to repair damaged DNA.
	'Programmable' antibiotic harnesses an enzyme to attack drug-resistant microbes The multitude of microbes scientists have found populating the human body have good, bad and mostly mysterious implications for our health. But when something goes wrong, we defend ourselves with the undiscriminating brute force of traditional antibiotics, which wipe out everything at once, regardless of the consequences.
	Thousands march worldwide for rhino, elephant protection Thousands marched in Africa and around the world to pressure governments to do more to stop the poaching industry that many fear is driving rhinos and elephants to the brink of extinction.

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